Basketball from a fans perspective

Is it necessary?
Why is it necessary for the media to “get inside the head” of an athlete to detail their actions?  Over the course of my life I’ve made numerous errors many of which could have been avoided if I’d only considered the possible outcome.  We don’t always operate our life in a manner that allows us to see the end result.  Len Bias would likely have gone on to an extraordinary NBA career with the Celtics; in an instance he made a decision which cost him his life.  

We could make the same statement about 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick although his decision did not cause death.  Does that make either of them bad guys--of course not however they made a choice which impacted their lives in the instance of Bias forever.  As I’ve often stated I sometimes wish we had the ability to follow those in the media.  We’d discover they are likely to make as many errors in judgment as those in the sports world they report or write about.  Hear that Stephen A. Smith, Jason Whitlock, Skip Bayless and others I failed to mention.

Listen to the man
Stephen A. Smith has made his opinion known regarding Carmelo Anthony however Jim Boeheim has taken a different stance.  Whom do you believe the writer or the coach?  Smith has been highly critical of Carmelo Anthony particularly he’s been unable to lead the Knicks to a championship.  What does Boeheim his former coach at Syracuse has to say on the subject?  He claims Anthony wants to win however he’s been on some bad teams during his career.  

Is Boeheim’s observation more accurate than Smith?  Check out Anthony’s NBA resume and draw your own conclusion.  In an ESPN interview Boeheim said; “Denver hadn’t done anything prior to him getting there and he took them into the playoffs. They weren’t going to beat the Lakers or Spurs.  In those days they won the championship most of the time.”  Basketball remains a team game and though Smith played in college he fails at times to comprehend this fact.  Boeheim goes on to say “Anthony might never win an NBA Championship.”

Big 12 expansion
The conference has been discussing expansion for quite awhile.  See the Big 12 only contains 10 schools at present.  Geography no longer curtails expansion in this day teams fly practically everywhere.  In this instance the prospect of expansion is for football purposes but let’s check it for basketball. Southern Methodist University in Dallas might be an interesting choice.  Larry Brown who reinvigorated the program has departed however it’s likely the school will continue its winning ways.  

Many might find this surprising but the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque is a school rich in basketball tradition dating back to the late ‘60‘s.  There are additional schools to be considered Memphis, Cincinnati and UConn.  Although I indicated geography was not an issue UConn is the only school mentioned in a different time zone.  Only two schools would be added to the conference it would appear any of the schools mentioned would be a worthy addition.

Chicago’s other team(s) 
I was researching a story and came across the name Chicago Stags, I believe a piece was written on them however just in case you missed it.  The Stags were just one of several pro teams in the Windy City.  The Stags were born in 1946 and died in 1950; games were played in Chicago Stadium which later became Michael Jordan’s first home arena.

The Stags played in the Western Conference the first three years and the Eastern Conference the last season.  They held the draft rights to the legendary Celtic Bob Cousy although he never played for the franchise.  Although they folded the team never experienced a losing record finishing 145-92 during their existence.  I was unable to locate any indication why the team folded.