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I did it, you can thank me later   

You probably have a confused look on your face, “what did he do?” The Saturday edition of Off the Dribble contained a story on Emoni Bates and his basketball future. It was written Friday morning prior to the evening game and later published. It’s only one game but Bates demonstrated to me, and maybe you he might be able to play this game. I admit, I’ve remained curious regarding Emoni Bates…can he play, and better yet can he play big time basketball? It’s only one game but Friday night against Michigan was impressive despite the loss. The Michigan Wolverines won 88-83 over Bates Eastern Michigan Eagles, I was unable to see the game however the point total registered by the 18-year-old was impressive. Coach Heath is playing the 6 foot 9 Bates at shooting guard and that’s exactly what he did, shoot.

He would lead the way for the Eagles scoring 30 points while shooting 63% from the floor and 50% from three. Naturally since I didn’t see the game, I have no ability to judge the defensive side of Bates game. Hopefully at some future date I will have the opportunity to make a judgement on that portion of his effort. Is he back, is this the former high school athlete we saw on the cover of Sports Illustrated? This is really far to early to make an assessment of Bates however perhaps this is what was needed. Playing college basketball at Eastern Michigan over the spotlight of Memphis University basketball might be the change he needed, just a thought. In closing there is one area needing improvement free throws, he’s got to raise that above the 60% from the line he shoot on Friday. In my view Bates should be shooting at least 75% or above.    

MIZ   ZOU

As one might say “I don’t wish to get out in front of my ski’s” but I’m impressed so far. Mizzou basketball registered two wins in the same week. On Monday they beat Southern Indiana University 97-91. For the second time in that span Mizzou managed but 8 turnovers yet almost scored 100 points. The final score in this match read Mizzou 92 Penn 85, the Tigers only registered 16 assists on Friday evening below the 20 they managed against Southern Indiana on Monday.

Okay you ask me why I’m so excited, after all Penn is not a Top 25 team. That certainly is a true statement however teams must still come prepared to play no matter the opponent. Penn certainly appeared to be a worthy competitor. How about some Mizzou defense, Penn was forced into 16 turnovers in the game. Friday’s game saw forward Noah Carter lead the way for the Tigers with 30 points and 8 rebounds. The Tigers will now prepare for a Sunday afternoon match where they will serve as host to Lindenwood University from St. Charles Missouri.

Remember Enron Field?

Corporate tie ends with sports can be rewarding and dangerous at the same time. The financial reward of course to the team or individual but what about the danger. Enron Field was the brand-new baseball stadium opened in Houston in 2000. Enron an energy financial and financial trading company signed a 30-year $100 million naming rights deal, in 2001 the company went bankrupt due to a financial scandal. All that is history now as the ballpark is known as Minute Maid Park, was there any payment received in the short space of time? That is an unknown however we might have a similar story brewing. FTX a cryptocurrency exchange has made a number of deals associated with sports teams and individuals. The founder has informed his investors the company may file for bankruptcy.

A number of the larger deals are re-naming of American Airlines Arena to FTX Arena to the tune of a reported $135 million. The Warriors have a sponsorship arrangement with the company. Having equity stake are Shaquille O’Neal, Steph Curry and Udonis Haslem. There are individuals in the NFL, Major League Baseball along with tennis and racing entities also involved. As this account was being completed additional news came forth, Miami-Dade County and the Heat are in the process of ending the naming rights agreement. The county had signed a 19-year $135 million deal, an initial payment of $14 million was paid with $5.5 million due in January. The announcement indicated signage and the name will come down by the end of next week. There are conflicting stories circulating, some indicate FTX has already declared bankruptcy while others claim it’s just a matter of time.

Do you remember

Peja Stojakovic, he spent most of 17 years in the NBA as a member of the Kings. Later Stojakovic won an NBA championship in May 2011 while a member of the Mavs, in December of the year he retired citing back and neck injuries. I wasn’t sure if Peja returned to Croatia after his playing days. Recently we became acquainted with Peja’s son Andrej who is a 6-foot 7 inch small forward, currently he attends Jesuit in Carmichael California. This week the youngster announced he will be attending Stanford University which proves two things. He can hoop and he also has brains to match as he will enroll at the “Harvard of the west.” Andrej is ranked 24^th in ESPN 100 for the Class of 2023, although he was born in Greece he decided in favor of an American college.

What do you think?

An author writing in a dot.com site from December 2020 wrote “The 25 Sport Franchises That Have Always Been Losers”. Included in his list was the Kansas City Royals baseball team but this is a basketball blog. The writer chose 7 NBA teams however I might take issue with a few of his selections. The Pelicans, Knicks, Hornets, Wizards and Wolves being noted as losers I get it, as for the others I could question them being included. As an example, the Suns have suffered down seasons over the course of their history, but I would have difficulty referring to them as “losers.” Not only have the Suns played competitive basketball in the recent past they are a good team at present.

A brief check of Nets history indicates the team’s won 1,577 games losing 2,127 however 5 of the last 10 years the team’s experienced a +500 record. The Nets played for the NBA Championship once as the New Jersey Nets, since the Brooklyn move the team’s play has improved slightly. What I find most interesting while this writer chose to include the Nets in his account, he failed to include the Clippers. My question might be at what point did he begin checking the Clippers and why he failed to include them on his list. Despite the fact the Clippers are quite good currently it’s not always been that way, over the team’s history they have won 1,748 games and lost 2,448. Naturally if this is his belief so be it however, I disagree with a few of his selections.