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Basketball from a fans perspective

“If you see me in a fight with a bear, pray for the bear”    

Kobe Bryant     

Twice in two weeks

I reported Mizzou was hot on the trail for Jayden Quaintance on Wednesday. Despite my best effort I’d lost track of Trent Burns, he’s the 4-star kid from Houston Texas. Burns has offers from a number of schools around the nation including Mizzou. Burns is reported to be 7 feet 3 inches in height but a skinny 210 pounds, there are some who might express concerns regarding his weight, not me. Sports nutritionist are able to design programs to place an athlete on track to add bulk to his or her frame without decreasing speed.

I have no idea what occurs on Friday when Burns makes his commitment known. Earlier I hoped but had no clue if Mizzou would be able to secure a pledge from 5-star prospect Annor Boatang yet it occurred. In this instance there are additional questions, would Burns commit with 7-foot Peyton Marshall already secured and no decision yet from 6-foot 10 center Quaintance?  That question should be addressed today, could lightning strike twice in two weeks for Mizzou? After all there were several Blue Blood programs hoping to gain a commitment from Boatang but lost out to Mizzou. Has it been scientifically proven lightning cannot strike twice near the same location?  

There are exceptions

Magic Johnson has been quite an entrepreneur since his retirement as a player. He owns a dozen 24-Hour Fitness centers, 100+ Starbucks, 30 Burger King Restaurants plus movie theaters and malls. As you might remember he became a part owner of the Lakers but later sold his share of the team in order to become part of the ownership group of the Dodgers in 2012. In July 2023 Magic joined an ownership group which purchased the Commanders from Dan Snyder. So with a stake in major league baseball and the NFL would there be ownership in the NBA again someday?

As for the NBA Magic claims he’s turned down opportunities to purchase the Pistons, Warriors and Hawks in the past. Despite saying NO to the acquisition of other teams there might be an exception, the exception would be a team that’s not currently on the market…maybe. As you might remember I wrote of the strange tale of James Dolan Knicks owner. Dolan sounded as if he was interested in selling the Knicks although it was not a declaration indicating “I’m selling.” On the other hand Magic must have read the comments of Knicks owner James Dolan too. Magic maintains owning the Knicks would be the only team beside the Lakers he would want to own. It must be New York City, Madison Square Garden or something else, the Knicks still retain cachet despite their sometimes-subpar record over the years.

Multiplier dollar effect

This is a term from macroeconomics and the definition says, “The idea that because of the flow of money, an increase in wealth will pass through many hands.” Before I delve into the story allow a pre-story, it was said the NFL draft being held in Kansas City the last part of April 2023 would generate tremendous amounts of revenue for business and the city. A picture of prosperity was projected based on fans from all over the country arriving in Kansas City. Many weeks later we discover the multiplier dollar effect was only partially correct.

Businesses (hotels, bars, restaurants etc.) a short distance from Union Station profited tremendously, the same statement could be made for food truck vendors. Downtown businesses some distance from Union Station indicate they only saw a slight increase in revenue while others claim they actually lost money due to their location being some distance from Union Station. I want to assure you I’m not anti-progress but I prefer a moderate view of projected costs. As citizens we are not privy to all the information we must trust the individuals providing it. 76 Place at Market East is the projected home of the NBA Sixers which has been mentioned in this blog on more than one occasion.

76 Place has a planned opening in September 2031, let’s conduct a dollar and cents view based on information the proponents provided. They indicate the arena will generate “$472 million tax revenue for the State of Pennsylvania.” In addition they claim this project if completed will provide the City of Philadelphia $1 billion annually. One stumbling block still in the way are the merchants of Chinatown, they claim this project will impact businesses in a negative manner. Keep in mind these are projections, it’s probably unfair but we could look at the KC NFL Draft as a barometer.

Blue Blood

The term above is used often to denote a faction of college basketball programs around the nation. These schools have been given this unofficial designation due to the fact they have won several NCAA Championships, who are these Blue Blood programs? Generally they are considered to be UCLA, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina…we might ask can any of these be replaced by others? Maybe not replacement rather inclusion. Fans of the Hoosiers might be upset with this but when was the last time Indiana won it all? The Hoosiers have won 5 NCAA championships over time however the last was 36-years ago.

John Wooden, Lew Alcindor and others will forever be associated with UCLA domination over the landscape. If we checked there are 11 NCAA trophies on UCLA’s resume. There are a record 7 consecutive NCAA championships but the last was won in 1995, 28 years ago. Let’s look at a few schools missing from the list, Duke’s won 5 championships. All the championships won by Duke occurred from 1991 through 2015. How about UConn, all occurred from 1999 through 2023. North Carolina’s won 6 championships, from 1957 through 2017. This is strictly an exercise, it proves nothing but does indicate maybe the term Blue Blood might be expanded to include Duke and UConn as well.