Basketball from a fans perspective
Folks its just a game---cool it
I didn’t see the game however it ain’t that serious, news reports indicate referee John Higgins has received death threats. Higgins and crew were the officials for the North Carolina-Kentucky game. Kentucky fans were disappointed that is understandable but to threaten violence takes this to a different level. Coach Cal might have exacerbated the issue by discussing the number of fouls whistled on his Wildcats, North Carolina 75 Kentucky 73 final score.
“We eat at McDonalds”
Long-time Mizzou Coach Norm Stewart once questioned by a reporter, “You got any McDonald's All Americans on the team?” The response from Stewart; “We don’t have any but we eat at McDonald's.” The coach was attempting to humor the reporter. Over the years Mizzou has never been over run with McDonald's All Americans however there have been a few. On Wednesday Michael Porter Jr. was in action in the 2017 McDonald's game, he joins a small group of Tigers in this All-Star Game. The former players and the year they played are listed below.
*Alex Oriakhi-2009
Travon Bryant-2000
Anthony Peeler-1988
Derrick Chievous-1984
*UConn 2009-2012, Mizzou 2012-2013
Pittsburgh pro basketball
The NBA is not close to expansion but we occasionally hear conversation along that line. Familiar names are always mentioned; Seattle, Las Vegas, Louisville and Kansas City just to name a few. One name we NEVER hear in the conversation is Pittsburgh (PA) and I wondered why. I’ve never visited the city; only know a few folks from the city, this is an outsider’s perspective. Ever heard of the Pittsburgh Ironmen? The Ironmen was a charter member of the Basketball Association of America the league would later merge to become the National Basketball Association of today. The Ironmen only played the 1946-47 season before folding; they finished that season with a 15-45 record. The NBA remained “minor league” in scope however the league began to expand but Pittsburgh never appeared to be in the picture.
After being denied an NBA franchise the late Abe Saperstein owner of the Globetrotters founded the American Basketball League. Not to be confused with the ABA this 8-team league included a team from Pittsburgh the Rens, this time it wasn’t a Pittsburgh issue rather a league issue, the ABL played the 1961-62 season began the 1962-63 season however the league folded at the end of December. Pittsburgh was left out in the cold once again with no pro basketball team. The city would enter the world of pro basketball once again with the founding of the American Basketball Association or ABA. In 1967 the Pipers became a charter member of the ABA.
By this time period the NBA had truly become “major league” and that factor alone played a contributing factor in lack of interest to a team in an upstart league. The Pipers moved to Minnesota for the 1968-69 season and were no more successful there, the 1969-70 season they moved back to Pittsburgh. In 1970 the franchise changed names becoming the Condors; they lasted until June 1972 when "red ink" forced the ABA to fold the franchise. Many of the Condor players were taken by other ABA teams in a dispersal draft, since 1972 Pittsburgh has been without pro basketball. The NFL Steelers and baseball Pirates are an institution, in 1967 the NHL Penguins came into existence so the city has franchises in three of the four major sports. Perhaps at this juncture there no longer exists a desire for NBA basketball or any basketball (except college) in the "Steel City."
Yes ma’ am
The NBA has done more than any other professional sports in making diversity a priority. This began with hiring minority coaches and then extended into the front office of a number of teams. Women have no longer been tied down to just serving as administrative assistant roles. The Lakers, Clippers, Thunder and Jazz have women serving in key roles with the aforementioned teams.
Commissioner Adam Silver made news recently when he stated he could foresee the day an NBA team would have a female head coach. USA Today provided a list of candidates Becky Hammons, Dawn Staley and Nancy Lieberman were a few of the names the account profiled. Having a female head coach would present no problem for a few players as for others it might be a different story.
