Sign on the dotted line
Two Mizzou verbal commits made it official on Wednesday, November 12 was the first day of the early signing period.  6-7 225 pound power forward Kevin Puryear and 6-4 195 pound shooting guard Cullen VanLeer made their commitment official. Both athletes are 3-star prospects in the Class of 2015 according to Rivals.com.

This is stupid
There is no doubt in my mind Kobe Bryant hates playing on a bad Laker team. For him to demand a trade to the Knicks is just plain stupid in my view. Alex Johnson a writer for Gimmesports.com makes that claim in a November 11 story. He basis his view on comments made by former Laker Rick Fox on a telecast. Kobe wants to be reunited with Phil Jackson and to have another opportunity to close out his career with another NBA championship before he retires. I could be wrong however it’s my belief Johnson has taken the Fox comment out of context. He’s written an article to provoke guys like me and I fell into his trap. This is my counterpoint why the trade will not occur.

1. The Knicks are not a championship caliber team nor in two years.
2. Kobe Bryant has a no-trade clause in his contract, he must approve a trade.
3. The author makes no mention of any player(s) the Knicks intend to trade for Kobe.
4. Unless Carmelo Anthony is headed to the Lakers think the Knicks can afford both?

“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you”
Ever heard of the old expression above? I always took it to imply “don’t beat up verbally or physically someone who may be or might be rewarding you financially.” Frank Kaminsky at Wisconsin probably needs to take the expression to heart. After bursting on the national scene the 7-foot power forward/center had thoughts of leaving for the NBA. Kaminsky decided to return to school noting; “The NBA looks flat out boring.” Tell us Frank what you really think.

I believe it’s me
I’ve had no argument with anyone who says the NBA regular season is too long. I do have a problem when you try to apply NFL standards to basketball. Mike Greenberg and his partner were discussing the issue of shorting the season. This paraphrases the view expressed by Greenberg. He stated; “There are so many games (television) no one game becomes a must-see.” The NFL plays 16 regular season games once a week (excluding Monday, Thursday), if the NBA reduced its schedule to 70 games we might still be left without a must-see game. Hey Greenberg I have no issue with you regarding a reduction in games, I do have an issue with the fact you are looking for must-see games. They simply cannot exist in the NBA if the league was only playing 50 or 60 games a season.

Missed this one
2015 is almost upon here, the annual NBA All Star will be held after the first of the year. The game will be held February 15 but under different circumstances. This could only occur in New York City with two teams and two buildings. Barclays Center home of the Nets will serve as host for the Friday and Saturday activities including the slam dunk championship. Madison Square Garden the Knicks home will host the All Star game. Maybe you remember when this was originally announced; I probably was aware at the time but forgot. Hope your memory is better than mine.