There is a distinction between lack of talent and lack of effort!
-------Larry Laker
Bits n Pieces
I doubt Clipper guard Dahaty Jones should expect a Christmas card from Draymond Green of the Warriors. After the recent match Green was being interviewed after the game and Jones bumped him exiting the court. Was the bump intentional probably, was it worth a $10,000 fine certainly not. Jones would later indicate he was appealing the fine.
In other news it was announced Dwight Howard is resuming workouts planning to return. Most interesting to me (and maybe others) the Rockets don’t appear to have missed a beat since Howard left the lineup. Is he that critical to the Rockets playoff hopes?
College coaches once reigned supreme but no more. Several big name coaches have suffered consequences of improprieties in the programs in recent years. The first coach may have been former UConn coach Jim Calhoun. Next to undergo scrutiny was Jim Boeheim at Syracuse. The clock is ticking on Carolina’s Roy Williams and Duke’s coach K.
The Lakers backcourt might resemble last years Mizzou’s court. Injuries allowed Jordan Clarkson to move into the starting lineup at the point. His backcourt mate at Mizzou Jabari Brown wasn’t drafted but played for the Laker summer league team. Brown was recently signed to a 10-day contract, Mizzou united again.
Swaggy P.
You might remember I wrote the sports world lacks characters today. The characters of the recent past were known to make outrageous sometimes controversial statements. It seems the numbers of irrepressible sport characters grows smaller and smaller each year. Just a few from the past include former Oklahoma basketball Coach Billy Tubbs, so was the late Casey Stengel former Yankee manager. We might include Jets quarterback Joe Namath who guaranteed a Super Bowl victory although his team faced the highly favored Baltimore (Indianapolis) Colts. I’m going to add a new name to our list, Nick Young a.k.a. Swaggy P. Anytime a microphone is in sight of him there’s no telling what he might say. With him we can simply say what comes up comes out of his mouth. Welcome to the list Swaggy P., the list of unforgettable sports characters you deserve it. Swaggy is injured now and there have been few opportunities to hear from him. Are there other characters I may have missed, think about it?
I was divided
SMU beat Tulsa 67-62 I was divided in my sentiment. See Larry Brown coaching the Mustangs of SMU has been a long-time favorite of mine. Of course you know Tulsa is coached by former Mizzou head man Frank Haith. The win cemented SMU’s first place finish (15-3) over the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (14-4) in the American Conference. Its likely Brown’s Mustangs will receive an NCAA invite however Haith’s Golden Hurricane team might be on the bubble. In their home and home match SMU managed to win both, they won the first game February 7th 68-57. Who made the statement 74-year old Larry Brown couldn’t coach today’s players?
Basketball may have been the start
Sometimes life’s journey lies in a different direction other than basketball. Several celebrities played the game before eventually deciding their life’s pursuit might lie in another course. Imagine there may have been no Purple Rain if he’d pursued basketball. Prince Rogers Nelson a.k.a. Prince according to his coach was a talented point guard and valued 6th man. Prince played middle and high school ball but complained because he wasn‘t a starter. Despite his anger at 5 feet 2 inches music rather than basketball was the better choice. George Clooney’s resume includes several box office successes, if Hollywood has a royalty list he’s at or near the top. basketball and baseball in high school. According to reports Clooney actually had a tryout with the Cincinnati Reds. Just think Angelina Jolie may have never met Brad Pitt if he’d continued to play basketball.
Pitt may have remained in Missouri never venturing west to California and Hollywood. Once Pitt arrived in high school he dropped the sport for tennis, swimming and track. Two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington also has a basketball background; Washington was on the Fordham University basketball team. This actor first demonstrated his prowess on the basketball court along side teammate Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Warren was the point guard on the first of long-line of NCAA wins for UCLA. Warren might be best described as a character actor although he had a leading role in the Hill Street Blues television series which ran from 1981-1987. At 6-6 the late actor Chuck Connors surely must have had another career. He did indeed, in the early ‘50’s he played for the Celtics and the baseball Dodgers. In those days pro sports seasons did not overlap as they do today.
