BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE

There is a sleaze factor
I’ve got news for you, there is a sleaze factor in men’s college basketball.  Don’t kid yourself it exists and has for quite a period.  Directly or in-directly several athletes have been compensated in various forms to attend good old XYZ University, most often the coach is a factor but sometimes it’s the kid or family member saying, “what can I get.” 

There is no issue with discussing it in the open I have a concern with the manner it’s talked about.  Our resident drive-time sports guy names name’s.  No, not the one’s caught and punished for past misdeeds, but he indicates those he believes cheat in some form or another.  If the radio guy believes his words all I can say is prove it, don’t give me a bunch of tripe about coach _______ cheating or the university of ______. 

Give us proof rather than simply point out the warts in the sport, you have a legion of folks you sometimes influence by your often-unproven comments.  Many accept your diatribe as fact rather than investigate themselves.  If you don’t like covering the sport, I’m sure as a part-owner of the station there is no requirement during your radio program to discuss college basketball. 

You can chat NFL or college football, how about baseball or major league soccer.  There appears to be an abundant amount of sports to fill up your time slot without discussing college basketball.  The subject matter is far too detailed attempting to write about in this format but so is sports talk radio.  One interesting fact this issue doesn’t appear to be as prevalent in college football as it is in college basketball. 

“It’s gotta be the shoes?”
Several of you might remember the old Air Jordan commercials featuring Michael Jordan and the Mars Blackman character a.k.a. Spike Lee.  In case you never saw them or don’t remember video of MJ flying often dunking the ball.  Mars Blackmon would ask a series of questions and then conclude, “It’s gotta be the shoes?”  Well this ain’t Michael Jordan but we could also be asking is it the shoes.  We don’t know if it’s true or not the Lakers were reported to question Lonzo Ball regarding his signature BBB shoes.  The Lakers want to know if the shoes may have been a contributing factor in his injury history.  You are aware he’s missed major parts of two seasons while playing in the Big Baller Brand.

We cannot claim with proof the shoes are detrimental after all Nike also experienced negative news on one of its shoes.  The whole world witnessed the signature PG Nike tear apart on Zion Williamson earlier this season. We don’t have an answer if the BBB shoe was at fault however one issue seems much clearer.  Lonzo gives us the appearance he’s divorcing himself from the brand. The words of Charles Barkley, “He should’ve been his own man from the beginning.  You can’t let your family members try to piggyback on your success.  This is his time.”  Lonzo just might be moving to the Nike brand.      

ROY
Early on I believed Luka Doncic was the odds-on favorite for ROY in the NBA. The second half of the season I think Trae Young's caught him and they are dead even. Thoughts please.

Shot blocker extraordinaire
If you know the answer without consulting NBA stats your good.  As for others, “Who is the second leading shot blocker in the NBA?”  Is it Embiid or Rudy Gobert, how about Karl-Anthony Towns?  Let’s check the answers wrong, wrong and wrong it’s Knicks center Mitchell Robinson.  Even though Robinson plays limited minutes behind DeAndre Ayton he’s second in the NBA with 2.43 blocks per game.  The Knicks haven’t had a great deal to smile about this season rookie Robinson is one of the few bright spots.  The 7-foot 1 Robinson’s offensive game consists of mostly dunks that’s why he’s got a 68.2% field goal percentage. 

The best seat in the house 
No argument, it’s likely the best seat in the house is in your man (woman) cave in YOUR chair in front of the television.  The question is associated with arena seating, in this instance arenas where collegiate and NBA teams play.  I’ve done a great deal of travel but only attended games in Municipal Auditorium, Kemper (Hy-Vee) Arena and Sprint Center in Kansas City.  I once attended a pre-season NBA exhibition game in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence Kansas.  On two occasions I had an opportunity to view games from a suite, once in Kemper and one time in the Sprint Center.  What can I say very comfortable seats compared to other portions of the arena, a wide choice of food however I felt too far away from game action? 

I had complimentary tickets two rows behind the television broadcast announcers’ they were the worst seats ever.  Seated that close to the court referees, game officials at the table were often in my line of sight blocking my view, sometimes it was players themselves preventing me from seeing all the action.  I wasn’t sure if we ever appeared on camera, probably not.  Seats mid-level in the bottom portion of the bowl, also seats in the upper bowl 2 or 3 rows from the top of the arena.  We dub those seats “nose-bleed” since they are so high up in any arena.  The verdict is end, the cave wins overwhelmingly.  Think about it no lines to the rest-room, plenty of adult beverages or soda pop and food there is no bank loan required to purchase.  You might disagree with this assessment and that's okay.