Bits n Pieces
Amar’e Stoudemire reports he will return to the Knicks lineup by Christmas. He further indicates there is no problem for him to assume the role of a sub.  Stoudemire might become the permanent 6th man with the Knick team playing so well.  What do you think?     

It was mentioned several weeks ago veteran Rick Majerus’s health issues forced him to take a leave of absence. He would be unable to coach the St. Louis University Billikens this season. Over the weekend the 64-year old Majerus died of heart failure. The basketball world will miss Majerus and what he brought to the game.

At times you make commitments which cause you to later think “that was stupid!” I assumed (incorrectly) with the additional sports channels added to my system I would be able to view basketball from dawn till sunset and beyond. I forgot the key factor I have no ability to clone myself. Games I want to view often conflict with others. Then we must consider the overlap factor, I began watching a game and then be unable to see the conclusion due to another critical game starting. Picture in picture does not work for me if that was going to be your suggestion.

Monday I wrote Mizzou’s backcourt might suffer losing Michael Dixon. That might be the case however there is hope on the horizon. Transfer Jabari Brown will be eligible in a couple of weeks; this 6-5 205 pound shooting guard has all the tools. I’m not sure what occurred at Oregon but if he has his head screwed on straight we might be saying Michael Who?

Speaking of Mizzou somewhere in America there is a disciple of Nostradamus who must be a basketball fan! He wrote; Mizzou will never win an NCAA Championship with Frank Haith at the helm. He (or she) could be correct Haith might never win a championship. I guess the person is comfortable making such a bold prediction.         

I made critical remarks regarding the LeBron James shoe and its cost. I have a new target, Michael Jordan. I know he’s an owner (Bobcats) and has been retired for years. MJ’s current status didn’t bring to an end his Nike shoe line. Yesterday Nike introduced the Jordan XX8 (28) a cool $250.

Yesterday 6-11 225 pound Karl Towns Jr. made his college choice known. He gave his verbal commitment to Kentucky and is reclassifying his class status. Instead of a 2015 graduation Towns will leave a year earlier. I misunderstood his Olympic play last summer; I reported he’d played on the Dominican age 16 and under team. This was not correct; he was on the Olympic “big-boy” team of Al Horford, Charlie Villanueva and Francisco Garcia. As for the question of his parentage mom is originally from the Dominican Republic

Hope they are able to sustain this effort
Laker fans are hoping for several repeat performances similar to their game against the Nuggets rather than the Magic or Rockets.  You might think I was referring to the 28 point 20 rebound game 3 block shots of Dwight Howard. That was certainly noteworthy but the teams Achilles heel at least to date---the bench made its present known. Antwan Jamison emerged from the bench shot 13-19 from the floor (.684) and 5-10 from the 3-point line (.500). His game total 33 points but he also managed to grab 12 rebounds. But wait there’s more, backup shooting guard Jody Meeks also made his presence known. Meeks went 7-9 from the floor (.778) and 7-8 from the 3-point line (.875) and scored 21 points. Both players were certainly in a zone Friday night with their crisp shooting.