Bits n Pieces
Commissioner Adam Silver indicates the NBA will review its domestic violence polices based on events impacting the NFL. We can applaud the NBA; once again it’s acting rather than re-acting as the NFL has done. Roger Goodell ducked and dodged a number of media questions as skillfully as Muhammad Ali had done boxing back in the day.
Remember the Cavs fan that ran onto the court in 2013 during a game against the Heat? The sprinter wore a tee-shirt inscribed with the words; “we miss you LeBron” looking toward 2014. The fan was arrested and later banned from attending Cavs games. With the return of LeBron to Cleveland all has been forgiven the edict baring the fan has been lifted.
Are you familiar with the Yankee Conference or maybe the Great Midwest Conference?
How about the Southwest Conference or the Gulf State, these are four of the 21 conferences no longer in existence. Interesting the Big 8 Conference was listed as one of the defunct conferences. The Big 8 actually morphed into the Big XII when Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech and Baylor were added. courtesy-basketball reference.com
Wichita State versus Kansas
Surprise to most of the nations last season the best college basketball in the State of Kansas was played in Wichita and not Lawrence. It’s likely this change in the fortunes of the Jayhawk faithful was a concern. Check the record; Gregg Marshall’s Wichita State team finished 18-0 in the conference and 35-1. They lost to Kentucky 78-76 in the elite 8. As for Kansas it was 14-4 with a 25-10 overall record. The Jayhawks lost in the Sweet 16 to Michigan 87-85. Face it Kansas loyalists your basketball was not the best brand played in the state. The schools are located 160.4 road miles apart a little over 2 hour’s drive time via I-35 and I-335.
Coach Bill Self has gone on record indicating no desire to play Wichita State period. Historically Kansas basketball has remained at or near the top of the pyramid, as for Wichita State it’s been up and down. Under Marshall the team has trended upward since his arrival. His first team finished 11-20, his last three years has seen Wichita State go 27-6, 30-9 and last seasons 35-1. I’d love to see the two meet however my opinion doesn’t count I’m a Mizzou fan. I hate government involvement in these types of sports matters. The State of Kentucky had to mandate Kentucky play Louisville over threat of funding, I read a Wichita legislator is considering the same type of tactic.
Is this really surprising?
It’s been reported sleeved jerseys worn by NBA teams have not sold particularly well. We can only conclude this generation of youngsters must not be impressed with them. I’m unsure of your sentiments but I didn’t exactly find this news earth shattering. Sleeved jerseys are a throw-back to an earlier basketball era. That might lead us to speculate they would grow in popularity but that’s not the case. According to my research Evansville University began wearing sleeve jerseys in 1947 and wore them through 2002-03. For you trivia buffs long-time Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan played for the Evansville Purple Aces and wore the sleeved jersey. Oh, I almost forgot to mention he played for the Bulls.
It’s different this time
99% of the time I would believe an observation made by an NBA player would offer more credibility than mine. They play the game at a high skill level and I couldn’t earn a spot on my middle school team, I‘m just a fan. The issue of race was detailed once again this time the focus was the Atlanta Hawks. The Knicks Carmelo Anthony claims “No free agents will sign with Atlanta.” Well that’s a strong statement by him and he provided no timeline on the boycott. Personally I don’t believe this scenario will play out in the manner Anthony indicates.
Agree or disagree this is not Clippers part II; Donald Sterling had a number of issues relating to the team and his real estate properties for years. Atlanta is certainly not South Beach but the area still continues to be a destination for many non-basketball players. Another response to Anthony from a fan read something like; “What free agent would head to New York with Anthony and company in place? “ His point is understandable; Anthony is tossing rocks in the direction of Atlanta but fails to look at his own team.
Upgrade time
I didn’t realize Mizzou Arena is now in its 10th year of operation. Any building in use that length of time would require an upgrade. That’s exactly what’s planned a number of enhancements to the arena. Most noticeable to fans will be an entry way upgrade and a new video scoreboard, although the board is listed at $1.5 million dollars not cost of the total construction was provided. The other upgrades will not be evident to the public. The good news on this expenditure the scoreboard will be paid by a private donor.
