Steve "Snapper" Jones
Died on Sunday age 75 after a reported lengthy illness. I never read or heard where the nickname Snapper originated, you might but I don't. Jones was one of the pioneers in making the transition from the basketball court to the microphone. He played for a number of ABA teams before eventually landing with the Blazers
Once Jones retired as an active player he moved into broadcasting in 1975 working commentary for the Blazers. Over the course of his extensive broadcast career Jones worked for almost every network broadcasting NBA basketball. NBC, TNT, TBS, USA Network and NBA TV represented the body of his work providing color commentary and analysis on the athletes and the NBA. R.I.P. Steve "Snapper" Jones.
They will be okay
Died on Sunday age 75 after a reported lengthy illness. I never read or heard where the nickname Snapper originated, you might but I don't. Jones was one of the pioneers in making the transition from the basketball court to the microphone. He played for a number of ABA teams before eventually landing with the Blazers
Once Jones retired as an active player he moved into broadcasting in 1975 working commentary for the Blazers. Over the course of his extensive broadcast career Jones worked for almost every network broadcasting NBA basketball. NBC, TNT, TBS, USA Network and NBA TV represented the body of his work providing color commentary and analysis on the athletes and the NBA. R.I.P. Steve "Snapper" Jones.
They will be okay
We know De'Aaron Fox had an outstanding game against Lonzo Ball but this supposed rivalry between the too proved interesting Wednesday evening. If you remember during the NCAA Tournament Fox lit up Ball at the time UCLA faced Kentucky. In any event ESPN expanded on this as the two teams faced each other Thanksgiving eve.
I guess we could say Fox won since his Kings team beat the Lakers. Fox scored 13 points to 11 for Ball, he shot .455 along with 4 rebounds 3 assists and 1 steal. As for Ball in addition to his 11 points he registered 7 rebounds 11 assists and 1 steal. The Kings won the game no doubt as for the individual match up I believe it might have been a draw....what do you think?
He got paid
What are the odds of a player coming from a small school un-drafted and receiving a big payday? Why don't we ask Sixer forward Robert Covington. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski Covington has a 4-year $62 million dollar extension in his back pocket. For a guy who arrived in the NBA un-drafted the agreement is proof hidden talent is out there if you are willing to search for it. I guess we could say Fox won since his Kings team beat the Lakers. Fox scored 13 points to 11 for Ball, he shot .455 along with 4 rebounds 3 assists and 1 steal. As for Ball in addition to his 11 points he registered 7 rebounds 11 assists and 1 steal. The Kings won the game no doubt as for the individual match up I believe it might have been a draw....what do you think?
He got paid
Covington arrived in the NBA from Tennessee State University. This Nashville school was once a hotbed for producing NBA talent but in recent years fewer and fewer players have been sent to the pro ranks. We must travel back to the 1980's to uncover the names of Carlos Rogers and Anthony Mason the last athletes from Tennessee State to secure NBA jobs.
The history
I didn't cover this portion of history until now. Did you realize the Pistons franchise has played in three different leagues, likely the only NBA this applies. The team was founded in 1941 as the Fort Wayne (Indiana) Pistons, they were members of the National Basketball League until 1948. In the 1948-49 season they were in the Basketball Association of American and in 1949-50 moved into the National Basketball Association but remained in Fort Wayne until 1957. The NBA in the 1950's begin moving from smaller to larger metropolitan cities and the Pistons followed moving to Detroit in 1957-58 season where they have remained. See you thought Pistons and Detroit and automatically figured the team always called the Motor City home.
Well you ask where did the team nickname originate? The first owner Fred Zollner owned a foundry which produced......pistons for the auto industry. The Pistons have played in several arenas over the years, Olympic Stadium was home which they shared with the NHL Red Wings. From 1961 through 1978 Cobo Hall would be home, in 1978 they moved to Pontiac (MI) and began play in the Silverdome home also to the NFL Lions. The Silverdome remained home until 1988 when the Pistons moved to the Palace of Auburn Hills some 30 miles from downtown Detroit. Auburn Hills was home until 2017 when the Pistons moved again in a return to downtown Detroit. Little Caesars Arena is now the new home they share once again with the NHL Red Wings. There you have it a brief history of Detroit's NBA history.
Will he become a star
Clint Capela was drafted by the Rockets in 2014 as the 25th pick in the first round. His NBA career has been unspectacular thus far but is there potential and possible stardom in his future? After serving as back-up to Dwight Howard he moved into the starting lineup last season. His numbers to date provided us proof he's upward bound. Born in Geneva Switzerland he becomes only the second player from Switzerland to earn an NBA position.
Listen to the man
Kyrie Irving played a grand total of 11 games at Duke before an injury sidelined him for the balance of his freshman season. I remember it like it was yesterday, it was 2011 when he announced he was declaring for the draft. My first thought; "He's not ready." I was wrong so I plan on listening this time around. Irving hearing of Michael Porter Jr. being sidelined by injury spoke. He said in a few words MPJr. would be okay. Now we realize Irving has no medical training but he spoke from the position of one who also had an NBA future looming. I going to trust the guy that has dealt with an injury issue, sure its not the same type of injury however he's (Irving) has been there.
