Got any extra dough laying around the crib
Its four days prior to the Nets home opener, if you are on the east coast you might care to attend the opener in Barclays Center? I might preface by saying you must have plenty of disposable income or a bank loan in mind otherwise forget it. “Tickets to the Nets’ first regular-season game at the new Barclays Center against the crosstown rival Knicks are commanding an average of $800.87 a pop on StubHub and other secondary-market sites. The Nets-Knicks game is running as high as $8,100 for courtside seats normally priced for $1,500, and the cheapest seats were selling for $217.” If you are willing to take the chance you could head there minus a ticket. You might be able to score a couple outside the building however no guarantee on that method of acquiring a ticket. (NY Post)

It was tragic
6-9 220 pound Jabari Parker is on top of the basketball world. Simeon High’s Parker is the number one 2013 prospect for several sites. Parker walks in the shadow of another Simeon athlete, Ben Wilson. Wilson was the first Chicago prospect to be ranked number one in the nation. Many of us are probably too young to remember Ben Wilson; others like me forgot the promise of his talent on the court. At the point a phenomenal athlete (in any sport) comes along a number of adjectives become prevalent. One of the adjectives applied to Wilson, “Magic Johnson with a jump shot.” Wilson was a 6-9 230 pound athlete comfortable playing both guard positions. He was a 5-10 little used point guard as a freshman, over the next three years his game (and height) would rise to unparalleled heights as he excelled on the basketball court. Wilson was tragically murdered in 1984 in a street confrontation with two other youth. The producers stated they wanted to force a tear in the eyes of gang
bangers.  I don't know about them the story brought a tear to my eye.  Wilson's story is profiled in "Benji" an episode of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. There are few basketball movies/documentaries worth viewing in my opinion. This documentary tells a tragic story but is still at the top of my list---see it for yourself.

Report to the Commissioner
Sorry fans another headline of an old movie, seriously Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver has huge shoes to fill. By now you’ve heard the news David Stern will retire in February of 2014 as commissioner of the NBA. Significant events occurred over his nearly 30 years many earth-shattering. He didn’t labor in a closet but many significant changes in the league occurred on his watch. Some of you will say “Larry Laker is retreating on his criticism on Stern!” I’m not retreating just recognizing a number of choice accomplishments. It’s easy to focus on the negatives, “he’s dictatorial, opinionated and other adjectives you could add.” Allow me for just a few moments to focus on the positives. The NBA was in serious trouble in 1984 when David Stern became commissioner. Younger fans would be shocked to discover many of us were forced to view the 1980 NBA Championship at 10:30 p.m. Central Time. It came on the air that late, unlike the World Series or the Super Bowl a championship game was tape-delayed to much of the nation. The game had nearly concluded live before many of us west of St. Louis even witnessed the opening tip. The issues, the NBA had “too many black players, the league had a drug problem was the prevailing view.”

David Stern would be aided by a crop of incoming good guys; Johnson, Bird and Jordan were just a few of the names. The NBA faced the issue of drugs upfront, the league worked with health facilities. A 3-strike rule was implemented for repeat offenders of the league drug policy. Sadly several repeat players talented were to receive life-time bans. Instead of running away from the racial issues detailed Stern faced them head on. He implored owners to hire qualified players as head coaches, general managers and other front office positions. The NBA was the first pro league to hire female officials for its games. Baseball made news this year when Magic Johnson became an owner with the baseball Dodgers. The Denver franchise had African American owners in 1989; the Bobcats were first owned by Bob Johnson but are now owned by Michael Jordan. The

Cavs, Wizards, Grizzlies, 76ers and Nets all have African American partial owners. The television broadcast world has changed too. At the time Stern first became commissioner the NBA had million dollar television contracts today thanks to Stern they have become billion dollar contracts. NBA basketball is now on ESPN/ABC, TNT and the leagues own NBA-TV. David Stern exported the game to Europe, Asia and Africa, prior to his tenure the NBA was an American game. I once read there are 100 nations of the world who telecast the NBA finals. On second thought perhaps Adam Silver might have it slightly better than David Stern had in 1984. Silver has to continue sailing the ship in the direction Stern laid out.

Giant of a man
At 6-5 and over 300 pounds Michael Clark Duncan was an imposing figure on the movie screen. He was probably unknown to most of us prior to his breakout role in the movie; The Green Mile. His role as John Coffey earned him an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination, prior to Hollywood there was basketball. Due to his large imposing figure I thought “he must have played football.” Back in the day Duncan was nearly the same height however he was a slim 205 pound basketball player. He was the starting center at Kankakee Community College (Ill) where he played from 1979-81. He later played at Alcorn State (MS) but left prior to graduation. His mother’s illness caused him to leave school to care for her. Retired Kankakee Community College basketball coach Denny Lehnus said Duncan was special to the college long before he became a movie star in Hollywood. “He had such a positive attitude. He was such a hard worker, but always had a smile,” Lehnus said. After being hospitalized in July Duncan succumbed to a fatal heart attack on September 3. (chicago.cbslocal.com)