Basketball from a
fan’s perspective
Habits
Good or bad habits are often difficult to break, quitting smoking, eating too much you get the idea, I hope. There are plenty of others I fail to mention one for me is sports talk radio, for several years I’ve believed it was a bad habit. I listened driving to and from work, rarely did I listen at home unless there was a reason. I confess it’s been less than a year, but I’ve finally broken the habit, I’ve given it up. One of the key reasons we have a local drive-time radio host who loves to stoke controversy. He’s done it for years and gotten away with it, this time he’s gotten bit in the butt.
Listeners who call
in with opposing views are sometimes berated over the airways by the host. The station he works for has suspended him
indefinitely regarding comments he made about Chiefs coach Andy Reid and family. Will he lose his job probably not however
hopefully he learned a lesson? We have
freedom of speech however as once said; “Freedom of speech doesn’t allow you to
yell fire in a crowded theater.” I listened
to his tweeter “apology” which is almost laughable, I’m sorry my words were
misunderstood that was not my intention etc. etc. etc. You said it, are we to read between the lines
and conclude “that’s okay he wasn’t talking about the coaches’ son.”
The heart
It’s said the human heart is about the size of our balled-up fist, I claim no medical expertise just remember my anatomy class in high school and college. Cancer is probably thought to be the number one killer is actually in second place, heart disease is the number one killer. Shareef O’Neal son of Shaquille and Shaunie was prepared to play basketball this past season for UCLA, a medical check detected a heart issue requiring surgery. The surgery was successful and young Shareef has recovered. Recently a report was issued claiming Shareef could have died without surgery.
It’s said the human heart is about the size of our balled-up fist, I claim no medical expertise just remember my anatomy class in high school and college. Cancer is probably thought to be the number one killer is actually in second place, heart disease is the number one killer. Shareef O’Neal son of Shaquille and Shaunie was prepared to play basketball this past season for UCLA, a medical check detected a heart issue requiring surgery. The surgery was successful and young Shareef has recovered. Recently a report was issued claiming Shareef could have died without surgery.
This is not the
first time we have been informed of heart related problems for basketball
players, just a brief history. The
Celtics Reggie Lewis, Hank Gaithers Loyola Marymount and Hall of Famer Pete
Maravich all died of heart related problems.
Wilt Chamberlain lived to the age of 63 died of congestive heart
failure. Basketball players are not the
only athletes to suffer, rest assured its likely other sports has witnessed its
number impacted as well. What might
appear to be a doom and gloom report is not the intent, have your heart and the
balance of your body checked annually.
We all have limited time on earth, there is no requirement to leave
early regarding a medical issue that could have been prevented.
Just because he said
it
The disappointment was quite evident on his face, I speak of Oregon’s Bol Bol. As most are aware Bol missed the 2018-19 college season. Despite the season ending injury several mock draft sites projected Bol to be a mid to late round first round draft pick. Bol’s slide downward to the second round and the 44th pick surely was a letdown to him and family members. The day after the draft Shaquille O’Neal may have shocked the world with a portion of his comment regarding Bol.
The disappointment was quite evident on his face, I speak of Oregon’s Bol Bol. As most are aware Bol missed the 2018-19 college season. Despite the season ending injury several mock draft sites projected Bol to be a mid to late round first round draft pick. Bol’s slide downward to the second round and the 44th pick surely was a letdown to him and family members. The day after the draft Shaquille O’Neal may have shocked the world with a portion of his comment regarding Bol.
The Big Aristotle declared;
“When I was his coach in AAU, we never
lost. He's got it all. He's (7-2), can shoot, dribble, can pass. Nobody really
knows it because he was always hurt. I’d
build a team around Bol rather than Zion.”
We’ve got three issues to explore which call the statement into
question.
The Big Man might favor a similar
type player. The closing portion of
Shaq’s statement might be the most detrimental, “he was always hurt.” His statement causes us confusion, was it AAU
ball or Oregon Shaq mentioned? Build a
team around Bol rather than Zion is a strong statement on Shaq’s part. Wikipedia indicates Bol weighs 236 pounds
however one report indicated he was 204 pounds.
Perhaps he’s one unable to gain weight but I believe he’s got to gain a
bit of weight.
You might have seen
it different
Trae Young could have been Rookie of the Year, just my opinion. If you remember early on December I believe, I declared the Mavs Luka Doncic the winner. Young got off to a slow start, from January through the balance of the season his numbers were equal to Doncic. Naturally the 6 foot 7 Doncic grabbed more rebounds than the smaller Young. It was my view ROY could have been shared by both, oh well I ain’t mad at Doncic or those who voted for him.
Trae Young could have been Rookie of the Year, just my opinion. If you remember early on December I believe, I declared the Mavs Luka Doncic the winner. Young got off to a slow start, from January through the balance of the season his numbers were equal to Doncic. Naturally the 6 foot 7 Doncic grabbed more rebounds than the smaller Young. It was my view ROY could have been shared by both, oh well I ain’t mad at Doncic or those who voted for him.
