Somebody forgot to send the memo to the Celtics
I have no idea who wins tonight’s Knicks-Celtics game; I do know the Knicks are light years ahead of the Celtics in tackiness! I’m sure my statement might upset Spike Lee and other Knicks fans but they deserve it. A number of Knick players arrived at MSG decked out in black as if attending a funeral. With a 3-1 series lead the Knicks figured to “bury” the Celtics on Wednesday. There was one problem, the “corpse” rose from the casket and smackdown the Knicks. In the future the Knicks might want to consider their attire before a key game.
One man leaves, one man enters
Tried to play on a quote from the movie “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome." Point guard Shane Larkin who drove the bus for the Miami Hurricanes announced he was leaving for the NBA after his sophomore year. Exactly 1,583 road miles northwest of Miami (Manhattan Kansas to be exact) Angel Rodriguez K-State guard is leaving as well. Rodriguez is not headed to the NBA just a desire to be closer to home. (Puerto Rico) Larkin exit stage left for the NBA, Rodriguez enter stage right for Miami. We are witness to the change at point guard from Larkin to Rodriguez. If you are unfamiliar with the movie or the actual quote it’s; “Two men enter, one man leave!”
Who do you hire?
Because the collegiate season ends much earlier the majority of head coaches have been hired and in place. That’s not the case for the NBA; a number of jobs remain open. There are an undisclosed number who as the Temptations once sang; “Standing on Shaky Ground. “ I don’t have an answer for the question; you answer it. Reports indicate there are a few assistant coaches vying for head coaching positions. Do you employ a collegiate head coach over an NBA assistant? A secondary question; is Larry Brown the last collegiate coach to sample victory at the NBA level?
We shall see
Many might view this as hatin’ on the Clippers but that’s not my intent. It should be pointed out the high-flying dunks and fast break scoring we witnessed during the season has vanished. Playoff basketball becomes slow and slower version of the game we witness during the season. Don’t misunderstand my statement NBA this teams will certainly break when given the opportunity; playoff games often curtail high speed play. Clipper fans will remind me “Blake (Griffin) is hurt,” that’s correct but Griffin is only one player, part of a team effort. The Lob City crew might still win this series---as for an NBA Championship?
I could make this statement with conviction
The Dallas metro has produced a significant number of NBA, professional and collegiate players over the years. We take for granted the area is a “hotbed” for basketball and it is to a degree. For reasons not clear developing talent is far different from attendance at games. I have not check attendance records for schools, this reflects tournament games only. A multi-game tourney is reported in the works for American Airlines Center next season. There was also one scheduled last season for Cowboys Stadium which was canceled. We could look at the Big XII Tournament for evidence. We must delve into the past a bit, the Big 8 post-season tournament was held annually in Kansas City.
Once the Texas schools merged and the conference became the Big XII it was thought the tournament should be rotated. Dallas served as host in 2003, 2004 and 2006 to visible empty seats. I located no attendance figures but memory says the tourney has never sold out in Dallas, I could be wrong. Could we assume the number of professional sports events impact attendance? I offer no proof just an observation. If we check the sports calendar we discover the baseball Rangers have begun spring training, the NHL Stars and NBA Mavs are into regular season play. In addition there is soccer; the MSL FC Dallas team is beginning play. In the smaller Kansas City metro the only competition is minor league hockey and spring training Royals baseball, MSL Sporting Kansas City has barely begun its season.
