A departure
Briefly I want to delve into another sport major league baseball. Once upon a time I paid almost an equal amount to the game of my youth. I don’t wish to place a date because I don’t truly know when it started. Several years back a number of baseball players began knowingly or unknowingly taking banned substances. They did this to enhance their game rather than depending on their strength to hit the baseball or throw a fastball. I thought (probably along with others) baseball had resolved its issues with banned substances. Questions will be raised on many future Hall of Fame players. Yesterday former MVP Ryan Braun of the Brewers was suspended for the balance of the season. According to unconfirmed reports next up will be Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez. I have no answers just disappointment they succumbed to the temptation of banned substances.
Bits n Pieces
Quick, name the 76ers head coach----give up? He’s no name because there is no head coach in place as of July 21. The turnover rate of coaches in the NBA is quite high compared to other professional sports. Every NBA team that replaced a coach since the end of the season has a replacement in place, every team with the exception of the 76ers.
You score at a 17.5 ppg clip dish out 6.5 assists per game; NBA teams would be falling over each other to sign you----right? Wrong, point guard Brandon Jennings has gone on record indicating he wants out of Milwaukee. His problems he’s a restricted free agent and his field goal percentage is considered poor.
The Warriors broke out T-shirt style jerseys late in the regular season. During the NBA Summer League I’ve noticed several teams including my Lakers wearing them. The jury is still out for me, I’m not sure I like them---what about you?
If I can reconcile myself to Mizzou in the SEC surely fans of Syracuse should adjust to the ACC. You just need to realize you are no longer competing against Georgetown and St. Johns.
I was excited with news the University of MO-Kansas City was moving to the WAC. I didn’t realize the extended travel required to play conference members, no such thing as a regional rival anymore in this nearly coast to coast conference. Kansas City to Chicago (Chicago State) or Bakersfield (Cal State-Bakersfield) to Kansas City definitely indicates a bus trip is out of the question.
How to fix the problem
The NBA still has a homework assignment; they must address Chris Hansen and the Seattle NBA fans. Hansen thought for sure the NBA was returning to the Emerald City, at the same time the NBA had an excellent opportunity to address a “black eye in some circles. It now appears unless a “struggling” franchise locates to Seattle expansion is in the picture. Every time the word expansion is mentioned it strikes fear and panic in the streets of the nation. You read 101 reasons why the NBA shouldn’t expand, I’m not going to even attempt to detail what we all have read and heard discussed. Expanding the NBA from 30 to 32 teams is the only method to mend the broken relationship with Seattle. Las Vegas continues to be mentioned every time the subject is discussed. Kansas City could be added as the 32nd team, I know what you are going to say the NBA is reluctant to return to areas it once had served. The Kansas City metro population has grown significantly since the Kings left in ‘85. It now stands at 2,343,008, which excludes regional cities which could impact attendance for weekend games. As an example Topeka Kansas, St. Joseph and Columbia Missouri are each about a two hour drive from Kansas City. The population for these cities and surrounding areas is well over 500,000. I‘m certainly not indicating every single resident is an NBA fan but certainly a factor to study.
In addition Kemper Arena (former home of the Kings) located in the difficult to reach old stockyards area has been replaced. Unlike Las Vegas which must build an “NBA” arena Kansas City has the Sprint Center and the drive to the downtown arena is so much easier. In addition Sprint was built to NBA/NHL standards no requirement for a retro fit. The only remaining question becomes one of ownership, who steps forward to purchase the Kansas City franchise be it expansion or a moved franchise? It would be ideal if local ownership existed but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one. Kansas City teams have been operating for a number of years without local owners. Lamar Hunt late owner of the Chiefs was a resident of Dallas; he never lived here, same for his son Clark who now runs the team. As for the baseball Royals Walmart executive David Glass lives in Bentonville Arkansas. He too has never had a Kansas City mailing address. The point here local owners would be idyllic but not a necessity. Brooklyn’s Barclays Center is quite a distance from owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s home in Moscow Russia.
