Tit for Tat
If you’ve read Words for any length of time you recognize its basketball driven. At times there is a departure and this is one of them. My Kansas friends continue to send emails to the local paper uncomplimentary on Mizzou sports. The height of this silliness must be the Kansas fan who laughed at Mizzou’s 5-7 first year record in the SEC. It would appear he was laughing at the wrong team, Kansas football was 1-11 this past season.  Two years ago they finished 2-10. Once Mizzou officially announced the intention to become an SEC member the hate began. The basketball coach and university chancellor in a united voice indicated they had no desire to play Mizzou at any point. As mentioned the hate for schools leaving the Big XII only applies to Mizzou. Kansas recently played Colorado formerly of the Big XII.

The lay of the land remains in a state of flux
Big East Basketball is falling apart or perhaps dissolving might be a better term. The simple and short of the matter this 15-team conference founded in 1979 is suffering “football” hiccups. This conference founded specifically as a basketball conference is unraveling; seven non-football schools are now threatening to leave. For purposes of explaining the issue I will refer to Syracuse, Notre Dame and Pitt as football schools. These schools and others are on the way out the door. The seven non-football schools are; DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Villanova. No official decision has been reached at this point however the conference remains pretty much unstable. This entire mess has become a gigantic money drive by all parties involved. Across the nation other conferences have experienced the same story. One fact natural rivalries and geography have been tossed into the trash can, they no longer matter.

He’s Air no more
Dwayne Wade is no longer associated with the Jordan brand; he’s signed a deal with  Li Ning
a shoe and apparel company headquartered in Beijing China. Li Ning is the new kid on the block so to speak having been founded as recently as 1990. I thought it interesting Li Ning placed its American headquarters and first store in Portland Oregon. Nike world headquarters is located in Beaverton, city boundaries are but a short 10 miles from Portland. Li Ning has continued to grow as a company and gaining a high profile athlete such as Wade certainly increases the profile of the company in the U.S. A current list of Li Ning clients includes Baron Davis, Metta World Peace and Damon Jones.

“Don’t give up; don’t ever give up”
The inspirational quote above was delivered by North Carolina State’s Jim Valvano as he battled cancer. He eventually lost his life to the disease but his words have provided inspiration for the ages. I believe it might have provided inspiration to Stanley Roberts. Once upon a time LSU recruited two giant basketball players Shaquille O’Neal and Stanley Roberts. The school had two 7-footers in its lineup at a time a number of rivals had none. Truth is told seeing the two in college I was more impressed with Roberts than O’Neal. It appeared to me Roberts offensive game was superior to that of O’Neal.

Once the two arrived in the NBA their careers progressed in opposite directions, O’Neal’s career is well known what about Roberts? Roberts had a 14-year NBA career but never progressed to the level many of us thought. Once he retired financial issues and health problems caused a great deal of strife in his life. He did recover and later enrolled again at LSU to resume his college studies. Last Friday at age 42 Roberts received his undergraduate degree. The journey has been long and difficult for him, his dedication and commitment have provided him fulfillment and something no one can ever take from him----the college degree that bares the name; Stanley Corvet Roberts.

You can’t do that anymore
By now you are aware the NBA has instituted a no flop rule this season. The penalties are clear however we need to see the rule applied first. The NBA is a little late, the chief architect Vlade Divac no longer plays, second place might belong to Derek Fisher who is now playing again.  Floppers have always bothered me because of the phoniness. It looks a little ridiculous for a 180 pound guard to knock a 275 pound player to the floor. The block-charge in the NBA (and college) has always been one of the most difficult calls for an official. The prospect of monetary penalties should certainly curtail flopping. I thought the most interesting complaint came from Blake Griffin, this is his quote; "it’s a cash grab by the NBA."  If I were to chose an All-Flop team Griffin would certainly be a member.  In any event two members have already been chosen, not by me the NBA.  Reggie Evans and Gerald "Crash" Wallace are the first two players to be fined for flopping.  Wonder who might be next?