Basketball from a fans perspective
Superstitious
If I believed in superstition or curses I could say I understand. Since I don’t what in the world is going on with the sports administration at Mizzou? At the time Mike Alden stepped down as athletic director his record of accomplishment was a mixed bag. Loud applause for Alden in hiring football coach Gary Pinkel basketball has been a completely different subject. In basketball Alden hired and replaced four coaches during his tenure, Quin Snyder was terrible Mike Anderson adequate but with one foot out the door at his hire.
Frank Haith had baggage left-over from his time at Miami (FL) and the jury is still out regarding Kim Anderson. Once Alden moved on he was replaced by Mack Rhoades who appeared to be a good hire but now he’s gone too. After less than two years on the job (15 months) Rhoades left to become athletic director at Baylor. Baylor sports might be more successful on the field and court than Mizzou but has far more “off-the field” issues to resolve. This has got to be a financial rewarding move for Rhoades that's the only way I can understand this.
Society and sports
A number of basketball fans are likely upset, sports and society came together. Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade and LeBron James took the stage at the ESPYS call on athletes to promote change and urged fellow athletes to become socially active. This was done in response to several white police shootings of black men across the nation. In another portion of the nation police officers hired for security at the Minnesota Lynx game took issue with shirts worn by the home team.
Prior to the game the Lynx wore t-shirts with the wording “Black Lives Matter.” The officers responded to the shirts worn by the team by walking off the job. I find it interesting the NBA has lead the way, there were no NFL or MLB players issuing any sort of statements demanding change. The manner this quartet of players chose to voice their concern provides us an indication NBA players must operate without fear of reprisal by any of the NBA owners.
Yes I understand---I think
This is an interesting development if the report is true. You remember last week Larry Brown abruptly resigned as head coach at Southern Methodist University. It was reported the coach wanted a 5-year contract and the school only offered him four years, assistant Tim Jankovich was hired as Brown’s replacement. On Wednesday ESPN Senior writer Andy Katz claims Jankovich was offered a 5-year contract, the issue of money was not a portion of the discussion.
If this report is true it becomes confusing, why did SMU offer Jankovich a 5-year while ignoring Brown’s request for the same length contract? Could it be an age issue rather than money? At the end of five years Brown would be 80-years old while Jankovich would be approaching age 62. Brown filled out paperwork six years ago indicating his age again if this report is correct why does it now appear to be a factor in Brown’s case?
“Sink your damn free-throws”
Once again the NBA believes it’s addressed a problem this is in reference to “Hack a Shaq”. A number of teams intentionally foul poor free-throw shooters in an effort to regain the basketball. As I once stated Shaquille O’Neal retired in 2011 however the title has remained because it was first used against him. The victims of today are DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers, the Pistons Andre Drummond and Dwight Howard now with the Hawks and some I might have omitted.
The NBA in its wisdom has now mandated a rule change to address intentional fouling of a player. My question is why is it necessary to reward the Clippers, Pistons and Hawks because they have such a poor free-throw shooters on their roster. I’m sure I can locate plenty of folks not okay with any sort of change. I believe Hall of Fame player Rick Barry might say over and over FREE-Throw you have nobody contesting your shot. I will take his statement further and say “Sink your damn free-throws” that’s why they are referred to as FREE!
Who are you?
Are you Nike, Adidas, Under Armour or somebody else? I ask the question because I just purchased another pair of shoes. Although I’m not competitive on the court anymore I still prefer basketball style shoes. Those who know me might question me about being competitive on the court but one upon a time I was. As for the shoes I was searching for a color and style more than brand name. I settled on a pair and did an on-line purchase. UPS delivered a black low-cut with three silver stripes on each side white around the sole area, the brand I purchased are Adidas. My shoe collection is nowhere near a number of you however I’ve got a mix.
I have two pair Adidas, two pair Nike one pair Reebok and one pair Converse basketball shoes. Question, do you have allegiance to a particular brand? I have a friend all he’s got is Nike shoes, clothing and everything Nike---he loves the swoosh. Another acquaintance focus is on Adidas across the board while a co-worker is strictly Under Armour. My wife who doesn’t care one way or another purchased a pair of Nike’s. To demonstrate how unattached I am to any brand as this is written I have a Nike tee shirt on with Starter basketball shorts along with the Adidas shoes which arrived yesterday---as for my athletic socks they are K-Mart specials.
