Basketball from a fan’s perspective

En Fuego

The headline is a phrase often used by Dan Patrick former ESPN SportsCenter anchor. I’ve since discovered he was not quite correct in his usage. “Borrowed from the Spanish word for fire, fuego is used in English as a slang term for something “excellent” or “sexy,” with the phrase en fuego expressing something “on fire,” or “performing extremely well.” On Monday evening I along with a national television audience witnessed Joel Embiid en fuego.

Embiid scored 70 points and pulled down 18 rebounds as his Sixer team beat the Spurs 133-123. Was it the fact he was facing Victor Wembanyama for the first time or maybe it was something else. Wemby had a good game as he aided his team to keep the game somewhat close, he scored 33 points and pulled down 7 rebounds. It’s interesting Embiid setting a Sixer single game scoring record broke the one set by Wilt Chamberlain. Stop a moment and reflect the gallery of talent that’s managed to wear the jersey over the years. Dr. J., Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, Allen Iverson are just a few of the names of the past that come to mind.  

Few could accomplish this

We’ve discussed athletes who could have played in the NFL and NBA. The list of two sport athletes in college is not extensive however there are more than 9. Once these individuals turned pro they chose the sport they believed they were best suited for. A name that comes to mind is LeBron James, he played football in high school but he never tried out for an NFL team. There are others who could have accomplished this feat I could only locate two.

The name Bud Grant is well known in NFL circles, most remember him as the long-time head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. Grant also played in the NFL for the Eagles and in the Canadian Football League. History indicates Grant left the Minneapolis Lakers to begin his NFL career. I uncovered one other athlete playing both sports professionally. His name is Lonnie Wright and he accomplished this feat in the same season, imagine that. Wright played for the NFL Broncos and later the ABA Denver Rockets, Wright was a guard in basketball.

They fooled me

I truly dislike repeating myself however I cannot figure out this Laker team. At the beginning of the season you could count me in as one of those fans eager to see what this team could do. I was pleased with the talent picked up last February, the draft and free agent signings had my pumped. Did I believe this team would be able to compete for an NBA championship…yes I did. I thought avoiding major injuries they had positioned themselves to play for it. The season through January 21 has been nowhere close to what I anticipated.

The Lakers have played up and down all season long and the problem certainly is lack of consistency. The consistency I speak of is on the defensive side of the court, this Laker team has no problem scoring being led by Anthony Davis and LeBron. The question continues to haunt me, when are they going to stop the opposition from scoring? If they continue to play at this same pace I believe it’s likely they miss the playoffs. I cannot speculate any further on the Laker season then what you’ve read thus far. I’ve not given up on them I’m just totally disappointed in how the season has progress to this point. In closing I continue to believe a change is required at head coach until its proven otherwise.

5-way tie

Would you believe me if I told you Kansas basketball was in a 5-way tie for second place? That is the case as this is written Sunday afternoon. Truth is if we check the Big XII standings we find Texas Tech and Kansas State tied for first place both teams with 4-1 records. The difference to date with Kansas basketball thus far is their inability to beat teams on the road. There was a loss to UCF 65-60 on January 10 and the upset loss to West Virginia 91-85 this past Saturday.

Both losses are games the Jayhawks normally should have won. Average to below average free throw shooting a problem for past teams fails to materialize for this team according to coach Self. We are early in the conference race so there is no doubt the Jayhawks can turn the conference race around. This is written prior to the Cincinnati-Kansas game on Monday, based on it being a home game for the Jayhawks more than likely they won. The primary reason it makes for news it’s just a little surprising to see them in this position at this point in the season.

Does it make sense

I came across a YouTube video regarding “old arenas,” and believe it or not Target Center in Minneapolis was the oldest having opened in 1990. Now keep in mind it has undergone renovation but the arena is only 34 years old. The others, Capital One in Washington D.C. opened in 1997, Portland’s Moda Center (1995), Smoothie King in New Orleans (1999). Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia was on the list too. Wells Fargo opened in 1996, there are plans in place to build a new arena anyway however that’s not where my question starts and begins. The beginning point is “the look” of these arenas, his narration description of some of the arenas “It has such a 1990’s look.”

My question to him is exactly what that describes. The last portion of this discussion involves who pays, it is quite easy and slick to produce a video and deciding which arena needs replacement. I realize we are discussing NBA arenas alone but this guy would have a fit if he traveled to Kansas City. Municipal Auditorium opened in 1935, the arena held numerous NCAA and NAIA Tournaments over the years. The NBA Kings once called the Muni home before their move to Kemper Arena. Until recently the University of MO-Kansas City Kangaroos played their games in this ancient cathedral of basketball. I cannot argue with the video in one instance, if the author believes these arenas need to be replaced so be it. The counter from me is this…who pays for the replacement arenas?