Basketball from a fans perspective
August 30, 2018
I wanted you to mark the date…. August 30, 2018 Stephen A. Smith and me in agreement. What brought the two of us together, we are often on opposite ends of the spectrum on most occasions. It was a statement by Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier that brought us together. Broadcaster Clyde said, “There should be an asterisk next to Kevin Durant’s name.”
Clyde said “He joined a team
that really didn’t need him” so he echoed the comment I’ve heard in the barber
shop since 2016. Durant joined the
Warriors a team that had just beaten his Thunder team for the NBA championship
and he did this within weeks after losing the championship. I’m certainly not going to detail Smith word
for word however I totally agree with his take.
We love to take down champions, this effort by Clyde is simply one
more. As for Smith all I can do is
laugh, this is one of those rare occasions we agree with one another.
Trivia
You can stump your friends with this bit of trivia, “This franchise has changed names three times without once moving.” What is the city and the present name of the team? The Denver Larks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association, in the fall prior to beginning play (1967) the team name was changed to Rockets. In 1974 the name was changed again, this time they became the Nuggets a name they retain to this day.
You can stump your friends with this bit of trivia, “This franchise has changed names three times without once moving.” What is the city and the present name of the team? The Denver Larks were a charter member of the American Basketball Association, in the fall prior to beginning play (1967) the team name was changed to Rockets. In 1974 the name was changed again, this time they became the Nuggets a name they retain to this day.
Will he ever
coach again?
Agree or not the world came crashing down on Rick Pitino October 16, 2017. That was the date the University of Louisville fired the Hall of Fame coach. His coaching resume is quite impressive apart from his tenure with the NBA Knicks and Celtics. He’s won NCAA championships at Kentucky and Louisville although the latter has been vacated. In 1,039 games his teams have won 647 of them. This is but a tiny bit of the coaches outstanding resume yet, he remains unemployed. I’m not going to detail the story that got him fired you already know it, the university found cause to fire Pitino although he continues to maintain his innocence.
Agree or not the world came crashing down on Rick Pitino October 16, 2017. That was the date the University of Louisville fired the Hall of Fame coach. His coaching resume is quite impressive apart from his tenure with the NBA Knicks and Celtics. He’s won NCAA championships at Kentucky and Louisville although the latter has been vacated. In 1,039 games his teams have won 647 of them. This is but a tiny bit of the coaches outstanding resume yet, he remains unemployed. I’m not going to detail the story that got him fired you already know it, the university found cause to fire Pitino although he continues to maintain his innocence.
Redemption and forgiveness are
due everyone, Pitino will coach again however it will not be a high-profile
program, it could even be at the NAIA level. Several years ago, a former coach
was involved in a scandal of gigantic proportions. Academic infractions, drug trafficking and a
roster member murdered a teammate. The
coach tossed the player under the bus perhaps hoping the university and NCAA
would stop short of him. Well they
didn’t stop, the “light of day” investigation revealed just how much this coach
was involved to cover-up the events. This
coach was banned by the NCAA for a period unable to coach anyone’s team, he
returned to coaching at the high school level because that’s the only job he
was able to obtain. Shorten version,
that same coach after several struggling years is still coaching but at a less high-profile
level college.
Politics and
sport
Off the top of my head I don’t remember, with few exceptions I’ve not included politics and sports often. It’s out there and it’s recognized by me and others, the difference is in most instances it’s ignored. I’ve always perceived Words eye view to be basketball, basketball and basketball. In the history of the sport racial issues have been detailed which in a sense involve the politics of then and now. This is reflective of a comment from LeBron James earlier, he said I “Didn’t feel right to stay silent on social issues.”
Off the top of my head I don’t remember, with few exceptions I’ve not included politics and sports often. It’s out there and it’s recognized by me and others, the difference is in most instances it’s ignored. I’ve always perceived Words eye view to be basketball, basketball and basketball. In the history of the sport racial issues have been detailed which in a sense involve the politics of then and now. This is reflective of a comment from LeBron James earlier, he said I “Didn’t feel right to stay silent on social issues.”
Although this blog will
continue to profile basketball I respect LeBron James and his take on social
issues of the day. Kobe Bryant in the
recent past and Michael Jordan earlier took no position, they didn’t speak out
on issues. Sometimes there is no middle
ground, several believe LeBron “should just bounce the basketball.” Back then it was stated, “Why don’t Kobe or Michael
speak on social issues?” I respect the
view of all, the right to speak and the right to remain silent.
