The Lakers first practice is scheduled for October 2, a little more than 3 weeks away. A short-time until the start of the NBA season. I don’t know about you but I’m only a casual NFL/College Football fan. I have little interest in baseball or other sports so you see where my heart lies.

I once mentioned everyone probably has a favorite team(s), you root for them passionately and those times they lose your mental state is thrown off-balance. You skip SportsCenter or NBA TV not wanting to be reminded of the final score. Losing streaks make it even worse; your mental quagmire lasts much longer than you hoped. My NBA favorite team is the Los Angeles Lakers, collegiality it’s the Mizzou Tigers. I informed you I had no secondary teams although I did admit I followed the Knicks of New York. I had no team at the time I wrote the story but all that’s changed now. I think I’ve found a secondary NBA team, it’s the Brooklyn Nets. A number of news events have drawn me like a magnet. One of those events is the significance of Brooklyn on the road jerseys. It was 1957 the Dodgers had left the borough for the sunshine of California and Los Angeles; I didn’t realize how badly residents wanted a team they might claim fan identity. I thought the residents had latched on to the Knicks; some might have while others appeared to be unaffiliated. Other than Brooklyn’s Spike Lee it appears a number of Brooklyn residents already identify with the new team. The $1 billion dollar Barclays Center, resigning Deron Williams and the trade for Joe Johnson. They missed on Dwight Howard but certainly made an effort. The upcoming event is the pending “Battle of New York City!” I expect no conflict for me on Thursday November 1^st; TNT will be in the house to telecast the first regular season game in Barclays Center between these two city teams.

I’m amused by comments regarding the Lakers off-season moves. First it was James Harden and Kevin Durant on the Letterman Show; they were followed by a Chauncey Billups interview in the Detroit Free Press. Next up was Chris Paul on the Dan Patrick Show. The latest to chime in on Laker moves is David Robinson former Spurs center. “Lakers still a few moves from challenging the Spurs” so stated The Admiral. If I were anywhere near Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood I would enjoy stopping by for a brief discussion. First of all I would ask him what happened to the Spurs last season; they fooled all of us twice. Going into the season we figured the team was on life-support and not expected to recover, they exceeded all expectations. In the Lockout shortened season the Spurs managed to win 50 games the most of any NBA team. Then comes the true test the NBA playoffs, I figured no-way would the young Thunder team be able to circumvent the wily veteran Spurs. I was wrong, the Thunder ran around and through the “tough” Spurs defense on the way to a 4-2 series win. I’m always the voice of moderation as it pertains to wins and losses; I refuse to believe the Lakers have a clear path in front of them to an NBA championship. My point, I think the Spurs have as much of a challenge in front of them as that other team on the left coast. After this diatribe by me I wonder if I’d be welcome in “Mr. Robinsons Neighborhood? “ Would he sing for me and others; it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, it's a beautiful day for a neighbor, would you be mine? (www.imdb.com)

Often in my attempt to provide stories I might write a story and not print it. I searched for the name Tai Webster but remain unsure if I’d written about him previously. In any event allow me to introduce Webster to many of you; he’s a 6-3 combo guard according to ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla. Webster from Auckland New Zealand is another of the growing number of international prospects headed to the U.S. to play ball. After fielding several offers Webster has provided Nebraska a verbal commitment for fall 2013. Can he play; “he averaged 13.5 points and shot 52.5 percent from the field (62.5 percent from 3-point range) against veteran professional players from around the world.” The University of Nebraska has always been a basketball wasteland. Over the years the school’s produced a number of outstanding players and teams. The problem the school never seems to sustain competitive over successive years, maybe this might be the beginning of a change in fortune for the basketball program. (aol.sportingnews.com)