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

-------Larry Laker

“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet“ Wm Shakespeare
Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau, Bulls management and fans might have some difficulty with the Shakespeare quote. Sure the prospect of a full Rose recovery is sweet however that’s not been the case. I hope this is not considered an indictment against the former MVP. Injuries forced Rose to the sidelines for much of the last two seasons, in fact he’s played but 42 out of a possible 162 games during this period.

We expected a near return to form or at least a portion of the skill he exhibited in the past. For much of the early 2014-15 season Rose has been in and out of the lineup with various injuries. I’m borrowing this statement; “there is a difference between an injury and playing hurt.” None of us can get inside the head of Derrick Rose so this account might be totally off base. In conclusion we’ll continue to wait for the sweet smelling game Rose once produced.

Bits n Pieces
My wife has a tendency to call me out at times; this is one of those times. For reference check the lead story I wrote on November 26. My wife claims “I got it wrong about Cari Champion.” She says “Champion may have misunderstood the Jeannie Buss statement.” I guess I must quit reading between the lines.

Coach K. was certified in some circles for a statement he made regarding Okafor. He hinted his prized freshman was probably headed to the NBA after his freshman year. Several in the media wanted to know why Coach K. was pointing out the door to the talented freshman. Why is there condemnation of the coach when 99% of us believed at the time he enrolled Okafor was headed to the NBA after his first collegiate season.

I was checking out scores and came across the Grambling St-Notre Dame results. I believe I have a sense of humor however sometimes one’s attempt at humor falls on deaf ears. I mentioned last year a studio analyst provided the score of a game and stated; “I didn’t realize Wichita was a state.” A reference to the school named Wichita State, if he’d thought a moment he’d realize a number of schools have “state” as part of their name. Besides the two schools above there is Cleveland State, Wayne (MI) State, Boise (ID) State and Pittsburg (KS) State just to name a few.

Despite what you might believe (of me) the basketball world does not revolve around the Lakers. Maybe that’s the problem; the Lakers have been good so long the media (especially ESPN) must focus on the downturn in their fortunes. There is one difference for me there are a number of NBA teams playing poorly right now. Despite what ESPN would desire us to believe the Lakers are not bad because of Kobe’s contract.

One addition to my sports idiot list
I wonder if it is me or them---members of the sports media. Do they really believe their often brash pronouncements or do they make them to provoke people like me? I am unsure if I can answer the question however I have an addition to my sports idiot list. I have discovered often the folks making provocative statements cover the wide world of sports they do not cover college or the NBA exclusively. With the disclaimer out of the way here goes, the focus is the Boomer and Carton program on the CBS Sports Network. We know the Knicks are not good however this morning Carton is complaining about the team and Phil Jackson being in Los Angeles rather than New York. The report is Jackson was in Los Angeles receiving medical treatment, which rankled Carton too.  Anthony left a game the team lost with back spasms Carton left us with this little jewel.

“He (Anthony) will begin to miss games if the team becomes worst.“ This is a point-by-point objection to Carton’s rant. Point number one anybody who follows the NBA realizes the Knicks problems are not going to be resolved in a short space of time, in this instance roughly 15 games. Point number two last time I checked Derek Fisher was the head coach not Phil Jackson. Jackson was not hired to coach he was hired as president. Point number three as for the medical trip to Los Angeles PJ gets a pass in this regard. If you have a physician in Los Angeles you trust implicitly why is it necessary to locate one in New York especially if you have the financial power to fly coast to coast periodically. I have no ability to look inside Carmelo Anthony’s brain and determine his fitness or willingness to play neither does Carton.