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Basketball from a fans perspective

“And I was drug tested”

Monday evening NBA players continued their scoring binge, this time it was Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell. Sure it was an OT game, but 71 points is 71 points. That’s an amazing total in the 145-134 win over the Bulls. If you thought Mitchell was just tossing shot after shot at the basket far from it. In 50 minutes of action he shot .647% from the floor, to further demonstrate his all-around game Mitchell also had 8 rebounds and 11 assists. Oh, the explanation for the headline. Most are aware the NBA conducts random drug test, it’s an NBA and players association agreement. Guess whose turn it was to be drug tested? Tuesday morning it was Donovan Mitchell's turn for a random check. 

Tonight another battle will occur

The Mizzou Tigers are in Fayetteville Arkansas and facing the Razorbacks tonight. If we just check the ratings the latest poll finds Arkansas number 13 and Mizzou number 20 in the nation. Who wins, I hope the Tigers although I have no way to prove it some 8-10 hours ahead of the start. All I ever want Mizzou to do is compete, sometimes you win…sometimes you lose. The hope is to present an effort and not lay an egg in the skirmish.

He just plain looks good

Sometimes I’m easily confused, I spot a prospect in college or Europe and decide in advance. “That guy has star written all over him” and that is the case for Sterling ‘Scoot’ Henderson of G-League Team Elite. I had another opportunity to see him in action on Sunday evening. He wasn’t the high scorer but was key to Team Elite’s victory over the Birmingham Stallion 126 to 124. Henderson scored 20 points and dished out 7 assists while shooting .562 from the floor. This game was unique for reasons indirectly connected to basketball.

You might have read there were reports circulating Henderson planned on sitting out the balance of the season to insure he suffered no further injuries. What I found most interesting the youngster denied the story almost immediately indicating there was any desire on his part to sit down.  This is a unique draft, in any other year Henderson would be the top pick but this is the year of Victor Wembanyama. The French youngster has made the 2023 draft all about him. In any event pay attention to Henderson, he is a smooth operator on the court and certainly worthy to be the top pick. At 6 foot 4 and 195 pounds he’s listed as a point guard but that’s not quite correct, he’s a combo guard. 

Retired numbers

I don’t know this to be fact just a belief, each professional team might have a different criteria for deciding to retire the number of an athlete for that particular franchise. Cavs forward Kevin Love made news recently with his announcement to the media. Love says the team should retire Kyrie Irving’s number 2; he claims Irving sinking the winning basket for the Cavs only championship would be the basis for this move.

What do you think, do you believe the Cavs should retire Kyrie Irving’s number? Below are the team’s retired numbers, Bill Russell’s number 6 is not listed since it was retired across the association. Depending on your age some of the names might be unfamiliar to you, most played key roles in the history of the franchise over its 52-years. It should be of note Austin Carr is enshrined in the College Basketball Hall of Fame while Nate Thurmond is in the College and Naismith Hall of Fame.

Bingo Smith 7

Zydrunas Ilgauskas 11

Larry Nance 22

Mark Price 25

Austin Carr 34

Nate Thurmond 42

Brad Daugherty 43

Only mascot based on a cartoon 

The Oregon Ducks likely stand alone, as far as I can determine they are the only school with a mascot based on a cartoon character. Yes, that cartoon character is Walt Disney’s Donald Duck and how did this come about. The story is extensive however it will be detailed briefly in this account, and this is how it goes. Oregon teams were originally nicknamed the Webfoots back to the 1890’s. Over the next several years a number of names were presented for Oregon teams, but nothing seemed to stick. In the 1920’s a live duck nicknamed Puddles first appeared on the scene. Years later In 1940 cartoon drawings of Puddles looked strangely close to that of Disney’s Donald Duck. This is where the Donald Duck character became associated with Oregon sports with a few minor changes.

Mike Royer then athletic director at Oregon was acquainted with Disney and arranged a meeting with him seeking permission. In 1947 a handshake agreement between Disney and Oregon sealed the deal. Can you imagine a multi-million-dollar deal consummated by a handshake. The changes mentioned, cartoons of Donald Duck show him in a blue sailors costume along with a blue cap. Oregon’s Duck looks similar except the color, his outfit is green top and green cap the colors of the university. I have serious doubts such an arrangement would exist today without huge sums of money exchanging hands. So now you have the brief story of why the mascot of the University of Oregon looks so much like Donald Duck. The reason is quite simple they are the same character except for a few minor changes. Next time you see the Oregon Duck mascot remember this story.