Bits n Pieces
Despite my objection fans voted Kobe Bryant an All-Star once again. He’s played exactly 6 games this season; no way should he be an All-Star. I make this statement in consideration of past All-Star play on his part.

Speaking of the ASG we realize the change made electing “frontcourt” players however considered this. With little competition at center Dwight Howard wasn’t voted a starter. What’s that about in the eyes of NBA fans?

A number of readers might be too young to remember Danny Manning once played for Larry Brown at Kansas. Manning is now the head coach at Tulsa (9-10 4-1 Conf USA), Brown is coaching at SMU (15-4 4-2 American Athletic Conf).

Prior to the weekend match I knew ahead of time the winner would emerge from the Columiba campus.  The University of South Carolina is located in Columbia (SC) while Mizzou is in Columbia (MO).

Is this guy for real?
The question is regarding Skip Bayless of ESPN’s First Take. First of all far too much yelling and pointless arguments, I have viewed the program for the last time. Allow me to briefly explain the silliness expressed. I’ve never said (at least to my memory) player A is better than player B. I had made comparisons, player B’s game is similar to player A. I believe Kevin Durant is an extremely talented player, at the same time I don’t consider myself a fan. This is Bayless; he begins by naming players he believes are “superior” to Durant. He named (I assume a healthy) Dwayne Wade, he went on to include Damian Lillard and several others. I listened to his rant and then proceeded to change the channel. I didn’t bother to listen to Stephan A. Smith’s counter-point.

We are blaming the wrong guy
I along with a number of other Laker fans have pointed the finger of blame at the wrong person(s). It’s been Jim Buss first and Mike D’Antoni second, you can exchange the positions depending on which Laker fan discusses the issue. A number of negatives have been addressed toward both this season for the Lakers poor record. I contend David Stern belongs in the mix as well, I realize he doesn’t operate the team however consider this. If we retreat briefly into the past the Lakers traded Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom to acquire point guard Chris Paul. On December 8, 2011 Paul was headed to the Lakers rather than the Clippers until Stern stepped in.

David Stern as an advocate for the owners vetoed the trade. If you remember at that particular time the NBA owned the Hornets (Pelicans). Stern vetoed the trade in what he said was “in the best interest of the league.” On December 12 four days later the Clippers acquired Paul in exchange for several players. For unexplained reasons Stern never saw the need to validate this trade. I have stated previously I’m not a conspiracy theorists and I still maintain that outlook. Three years later I still don’t understand why a trade was vetoed in one instance and approved in another.

Transfers
I caught a panel discussion on college transfers. Although the conversation dealt with football it could easily be basketball talk as well. In a game I was viewing I wondered how a Kansas City player arrived at a particular school. The play by play announcer indicated he played at A University and his coach was hired by B University. He wanted to play for the coach so he transferred to the new school. Let’s face it kids might say it but they don’t identify with the school they identify with the coach. A youngster recently proved this, when announcing the school of his choice he said; “I’ve decided to attend the University of _____.” He made the statement despite the fact the school of his choice had initials which included university. You believe kids have any idea where Lawrence Kansas is located? Ask that same youngster who Bill Self is, bet you money they know who he is and his school. They still probably have no idea the location of Lawrence.