There is a distinction between lack of talent and lack of effort!

-------Larry Laker

Remix
I believed we heard the last of former Clippers owner Donald Sterling, riding to his rescue is comedian Dave Chappelle. In an interview in GQ Chappell said “he shouldn’t have lost his team over a secret recording.” Chappell might be correct in the series of events however there are two sides to every story. I wonder if the comedian considered this might be a case of retribution for the past public history of Sterling.

I‘m reminded
Watching the Kentucky-Kansas game play by play announcer Dan Shulman said; “Kentucky has 9 McDonalds All Americans.” Former Mizzou Coach Norm Stewart once questioned about the players on his team responded with this quote; “We don’t have any McDonalds All Americans but we do eat there.” On a serious note there were significant events we can examine from the Tuesday night match, I’m focusing on number 32 and 11. Kansas lost its game against Kentucky 72-40 a 32 point loss.

The 32 point differential was the largest for a Kansas team in a loss dating back to the 1982 season. The other number is 11 the number of shots Kentucky’s length managed to block during the game. I lost count of the misses, shots that may have been altered by the presence of a Kentucky defender. Take heart Kansas you played the number one team in the nation and its likely you will be the 2014-15 Big 12 champion. In addition its likely Kentucky will never be capable of playing this well again?

Speaking of Kansas
An acquaintance of mine (Kansas fan) said; “I should get over my animosity with Kansas no longer playing Mizzou.” I took his advice the only probably several of his “friends” have failed to heed his advice to me. It was reported a number of Kansas fans were laughing out loud when they heard University of Mo-Kansas City had beaten Mizzou 69-61. Early season or not a 32 point “beat-down” by Kentucky (72-40) over Kansas is historic on a number of levels. In conclusion be real, real careful who you laugh at you may discover someone later laughing at you.

Zero tolerance
We cannot be sure if the NBA acted in response to the fury surrounding the NFL’s Ray Rice or Adrian Peterson. Hornets forward Jeff Taylor had been suspended earlier however later pleaded guilty in a civil trial. He pleaded guilty to “misdemeanor domestic violence assault and malicious destruction of hotel property.” His earlier suspension plus the NBA suspension will total 24 games without pay. The NBAPA is appealing the suspension that should be expected. The NBA, NFL and other organizations have adopted a zero tolerance policy regarding domestic violence. The abuser will no longer escape with little if any penalty being levied.

“Takin’ Care of Business”
In 1973 Bachman Turner-Overdrive a rock band had a hit with “Takin’ Care of Business.” The same statement could certainly be made of the Cavs LeBron James. As an 18-year old LeBron signed with a well-known agent and we assumed that would be lasting. He would later terminate the contract with that agent and sign a deal with his home-boys. We said in unisons, “that’s a big mistake to hire guys you know personally, some of them you grew up with.

Today LeBron is worth $53 million in endorsements alone. Among those whose products he’s endorsed are McDonalds, Coca-Cola and of course Nike. Maverick Carter, Rich Paul and crew have become wealthy but so have their chief product LeBron James. Someone might say check back in 20 years and see if the money is still rolling in. Despite our concerns LeBron’s crew has taken care of business. We seriously doubt if his lifestyle will be very much different from that of today.

Come on Charles
Dan Patrick was questioning Charles Barkley on his morning show. Patrick made the mistake of mentioning the Laker win over the Rockets the previous night. Barkley (who is often critical of Dwight Howard) said; “The Lakers are still a terrible team and besides the fact (Dwight) Howard was out of the lineup.” I am a realist I know the Lakers will not make the playoffs however; I do not fully understand Barkley. Barkley and Shaq are the leading critics of Dwight Howard’s overall game. Hey Charles, if I used your correlation can I toss out the 76 games Kobe missed last season. To detail how injuries can affect a team consider this little gem. After two weeks of the season, the Lakers won-loss record is better than the Thunder.