30,000 points  
A significant number of the basketball universe hates Kobe Bryant. I realize that is a harsh word but my statement is true (see Jason Whitlock, Fox Sports). As I’ve stated in the past the criticism almost never relates to his basketball prowess. The haters point out “he’s arrogant, opinionated and other negative adjectives only they see.” I guess these same folks haven’t encountered Michael Jordan up close. I wonder if they remember his Hall of Fame acceptance speech where he trashed several individuals in his basketball past. MJ fits much of the same criteria I often hear expressed about Bryant arrogant, opinionated and other negatives. Last Wednesday evening he joined a very exclusive club, the 30,000 point club. Currently there are 4 other members in this very exclusive number. Missing from the list is a number of outstanding NBA players. Injuries or their skill began a downward decline as they entered their 30’s. The all-time NBA leader in points scored is Kareem Abdul Jabbar at 38,387. The others;

Karl Malone 36,928
Michael Jordan 32,292
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
Kobe Bryant 30,016 and counting

One other note, while researching this portion of Words eye view I discovered Celtic great Larry Bird is no longer a Top 25 scorer. Active players Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce have moved ahead of Bird forcing him out of the Top 25.

UCLA basketball
Only folks close to the source probably know what’s going on. One of the most prestigious basketball programs has developed the hiccups. UCLA has lost 2 players in 3 days; this season was to be a turn around for the program after last season. Ben Howland and staff were able to secure the services of two high profile prospects. Our focus is on Shabazz Muhammad, 6-6 shooting guard and number one (or two prospect) in the Class of 2012. As mentioned earlier NCAA suspension had not allowed him on the court until the teams’ fourth game. Lack of practice with teammates and the pace of his first game was evident. Since that first game Muhammad has played additional games and the reviews are mixed, he continues to demonstrate the talent many scouts foresaw. At the same time he needs to ramp up elements of his game. One specific area was a comment I heard expressed by Seth Greenberg former coach and ESPN analyst; “He (Muhammad) needs to learn to use his right hand.” A natural left-handed athlete Greenberg states learning to use his right hand will expand his offensive game. Is Muhammad good, the question can be answered in this manner? I would be satisfied with 5% of his NBA salary over the course of his career. Am I stating future All-Pro, certainly not but with today's NBA salaries. According to Real GM the minimum salary for an NBA rookie is $473,604.

What is fear?
The name of a sports team is intended to strike fear in the heart of the opposition. That’s the view of a number of folks inside and outside the media. Channel surfing I passed by CNN and this change was discussed as part of a news story, not sports mainstream news. What change, the proposed name change of the New Orleans NBA franchise. Must a sports franchise nickname always strike fear? Lets check out a few NBA, NFL and NHL teams. How bout the Orlando Magic who were anointed with their team name due to Disney World? I can’t speak personally but Dolphins (Miami) are supposed to be friendly creatures.

A Net (Brooklyn) surrounds the basketball goal; I guess it could become fearful if your team is missing shots at it. How about my Lakers who were originally based in Minneapolis? They took Lakers from the thousands of lakes in the State of Minnesota, seen any lakes in Los Angeles? Global warming could cause us all Heat (Miami) problems but that might be a reach. Seen any scary Penguins (Pittsburgh) lately? Owner Benson has the right to chose whatever name he thinks fits despite those of us outside the state and city might approve.  I guess the complaints might be minimized if he’d done what former Charlotte owner Bob Johnson did. I’m unsure how the name was chosen but several sources claim the name BOB-cats was actually named for owner Bob.

The voice of reason
Several Laker fans in Kansas City are asking me; “is it panic time yet?” They approach me as if I have inside information (which I don‘t)! This is a portion of my response to them, I noted them in bold so you would take note. Excuse number 1, no Steve Nash, excuse number 2, defensive failures at points. Excuse number 3, Kobe dominating the ball too much, excuse 4, teams slow adjustment to D’Antoni’s system. Excuse 5, Gasol’s tendinitis, excuse 6 backup point guard Blake injured. Excuse 7 Howard’s poor free throw shooting. Just kidding folks thus far Howard at 75 or 80% is light years of Andrew Bynum. I was wrong; he’s not a back to the basket center but runs the floor like a gazelle. At the same time blocking shots and the threat of a block has often caused the opposition to hesitate. Back to the first part of this story, there are probably 8 to 10 additional excuses however I’ve moaned enough for one column.