Ponder this
Spurs fans consider this a semi-apology on my part. I’ve always disliked the Spurs, part of this dislike they always were in contention with the Lakers in the Western Conference. I was critical of their offense; I said they had three speeds slow, slower and slowest. They can run when necessary although unlike the Heat it is not critical to their offense. Their style of play leads to few turnovers; they finished Thursday’s game with only four. Spurs pass the ball efficiently and are very strong defensively.

Between ESPN, ABC and NBA TV I’m unsure who made the following statement. Whoever it was said; “(Tony) Parker doesn’t get credit for being the player he is because he plays in San Antonio.” Many of us have been watching Tim Duncan so long we fail to realize Parker is now in the drivers’ seat. This is not a slap at Duncan he is still invaluable, he’s seated on the passenger side now. This is written Friday morning and will not be read until Monday, I have no idea who won on Sunday. Regardless of the outcome of this series I have gained an appreciation for Coach Pop and the Spurs team.

Changing opinions
I promise to not force you to read anymore stories written defending Mizzou’s Frank Haith. As this is written the Miami probe remains open with no resolution in sight. The key reason I’m taking the new stance is based on another coach, John Calapari at Kentucky. Calapari is a lighting rod to all it seems excepting Big Blue Nation. The complainants we read and hear have common themes and have no validity but they continue to be expressed by Calipari haters and Kentucky basketball.

* Calapari recruits only one and done players. His players all leave for the NBA.
* The athletes Calapari recruits only attend class during the fall semester, they don’t bother with spring classes since all headed to the NBA.

Hopefully you understand where I’m going with this. The outcome of the proceedings don’t matter, there will remain a number of people pointing fingers. They will half read or fail to read any portion of the proceedings. They have their minds made up from the Yahoo story three years ago. Certainly Calipari‘s resume is more extensive than Frank Haith however they still point fingers at him too. From this point forward as for Mizzou basketball I will attempt to concentrate on court action not the court of public opinion.

Who is it?
“Dwightmare” has begun once again, you remember back to last season. You remember all the drama surrounding Howard leaving Orlando. The Lakers traded for free agent Howard intending to sign him to a long range contract. Now the talk is “he’s exploring signing with the Rockets.” There are no issues if that’s his choice the problem once again becomes is it Dwight Howard or the media stirring the pot? The Lakers rest in the best position; they can pay him more than any other team if he resigns. At the same time there are no state taxes in Texas which would counter a Lakers offer. Counter to that is potential endorsement money Howard could earn in Southern California.

Endorsement dollars would be available in Houston or Dallas but they would not be comparable to Los Angeles. Money aside if we just look at personnel of the teams Dallas is in the same situation as the Lakers, they are an older team too. Despite what you might have heard or think the Houston Rockets not the Golden State Warriors are the youngest team in the NBA. In addition Houston is coming off a 45-37 season; they might appear to be the most opportune destination for Howard. As for the Lakers resigning him that’s their call, I’m unsure if he is worth all the drama surrounding him. We are unsure of Howard’s issues. I could be Kobe, D’Antoni or something else but just maybe its time for him to move on.

American Athletic Conference
Is the name of conference of schools formerly representing the Big East. The 7 Catholic schools which left the Big East were able to retain the name. The American Athletic Conference or “old” Big East is now a 10-team conference. Schools in bold are new members, the others are former Big East Conference members.

Cincinnati
UConn
Houston
Louisville
Memphis
Rutgers
Southern Methodist University
South Florida
Temple
University of Central Florida