BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE
The history
Sports is full of alcohol advertising especially of the beer variety, how about a sports team named after a liquor company? It’s true, the name of that team was the Rochester Seagram’s co-owned by Seagram’s Liquor and the Ebner Brothers. The team first began play in 1923 and played under that name until 1942, the 1942-43 season they would be identified as the Ebner Seagram’s, for two seasons (1943-1945) they became the Rochester Pros. 1945 saw another named change, the team became the Royals which lasted until 1957 with a move thus becoming the when a move to, that’s the year they moved thus becoming the Cincinnati Royals.
Sports is full of alcohol advertising especially of the beer variety, how about a sports team named after a liquor company? It’s true, the name of that team was the Rochester Seagram’s co-owned by Seagram’s Liquor and the Ebner Brothers. The team first began play in 1923 and played under that name until 1942, the 1942-43 season they would be identified as the Ebner Seagram’s, for two seasons (1943-1945) they became the Rochester Pros. 1945 saw another named change, the team became the Royals which lasted until 1957 with a move thus becoming the when a move to, that’s the year they moved thus becoming the Cincinnati Royals.
In 1972 the franchise moved again this
time re-named the K.C.-Omaha Kings, because their first home was not always
available Omaha allowed the full 82 game season to be accommodated. After Kemper Arena was built and more dates
were available the Omaha name was dropped and from 1975-1985 the team played as
the Kansas City Kings. In 1985 they moved
to Sacramento where they remain today.
It should be of note the Royals began play in the National Basketball
League which merged with the Basketball Association of America becoming the National
Basketball Association. The period from
1923-1945 witnessed the Rochester team in several unidentified leagues.
30 teams in 30 weeks
nba.com
A view of the past
Kofi Cockburn is a 6-foot 11-inch 290-pound center headed to Illinois in the fall. Presently he’s enrolled at Oak Hill Academy fine-tuning his basketball expertise. This Rivals 5-star prospect was born in Kingston Jamaica but moved to Queens New York in 2014. Cockburn played for Christ the King prior to heading for Virginia and Oak Hill. In an interview he mentions Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal as models for his game, that’s why he’s got a view of the past. Cockburn had 26 offers from several high-profile programs, he chose Illinois due to his association with an assistant coach.
Kofi Cockburn is a 6-foot 11-inch 290-pound center headed to Illinois in the fall. Presently he’s enrolled at Oak Hill Academy fine-tuning his basketball expertise. This Rivals 5-star prospect was born in Kingston Jamaica but moved to Queens New York in 2014. Cockburn played for Christ the King prior to heading for Virginia and Oak Hill. In an interview he mentions Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal as models for his game, that’s why he’s got a view of the past. Cockburn had 26 offers from several high-profile programs, he chose Illinois due to his association with an assistant coach.
I stopped at six
The Lakers have no second-round pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Rather than wait on Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis or someone else to improve the Lakers why not explore the draft. Nobody is instant ready, but I continue to believe given time a rookie can impact a team significantly and improve its prospects. Even more interesting each of the 6 sites had the Lakers choosing a different athlete, they are:
The Lakers have no second-round pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Rather than wait on Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis or someone else to improve the Lakers why not explore the draft. Nobody is instant ready, but I continue to believe given time a rookie can impact a team significantly and improve its prospects. Even more interesting each of the 6 sites had the Lakers choosing a different athlete, they are:
Bol Bol 7-foot 2 235 pounds, Oregon power
forward (injured)
Coby White 6-foot 5 185 pounds, North Carolina point guard
Daniel Gafford 6-foot 11 235 pounds, Arkansas center
Jaxon Hayes 6-foot 11 220 pounds, Texas power forward
Sekou Doumbouya 6-foot 9 209 pounds, forward International player
Rui Hachimura 6-foot 8 235 pounds, Gonzaga small forward
Coby White 6-foot 5 185 pounds, North Carolina point guard
Daniel Gafford 6-foot 11 235 pounds, Arkansas center
Jaxon Hayes 6-foot 11 220 pounds, Texas power forward
Sekou Doumbouya 6-foot 9 209 pounds, forward International player
Rui Hachimura 6-foot 8 235 pounds, Gonzaga small forward
There is no requirement to
be friends
At the conclusion of NBA games, you will sometimes note opposing players exchanging pleasantries. They do this despite the fact they have toiled for 48 minutes attempting to beat the crap out of the opposition. It’s likely you won’t witness this occurring with Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook is only friendly with Thunder teammates and he might even keep several of them at a distance. As for his unfriendly attitude he’s not the only player to exhibit this type of behavior.
In the early days of
his NBA career it was noted Kareem Abdul Jabbar was not very friendly with
opposing players and especially the media.
As for Westbrook there is no attempt to psycho-analyze the Thunder point
guard. This is just a short effort to
explain why he plays at 85 or 90 miles per hour when everyone else is closer to
70 or 75 m. Westbrook has a feud with
Joel Embiid, Patrick Beverly and Ricky Rubio to name just a few players on his
enemies list. This I believe, unless
it’s a trade to another team Westbrook will never win an NBA
championship. He won’t win due to his
attitude it remains his out of control play at times.
At the conclusion of NBA games, you will sometimes note opposing players exchanging pleasantries. They do this despite the fact they have toiled for 48 minutes attempting to beat the crap out of the opposition. It’s likely you won’t witness this occurring with Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook is only friendly with Thunder teammates and he might even keep several of them at a distance. As for his unfriendly attitude he’s not the only player to exhibit this type of behavior.
