Basketball from a fans perspective

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The Alien Report

This is not an account of extraterrestrials from another galaxy nor an alien abduction. In addition this is not a report of someone owing allegiance to another nation. The Alien in this instance is the recently released Wemby signature shoe by Nike. Naturally, I don’t have the draft rights so I cannot provide a photo of it in this blog. As for the name it was LeBron James who seeing Victor Wembanyama in action dubbed him “The Alien.”

Apparently the name registered with Nike executives and they decided to seize on this opportunity and utilize the name. Who knows, LeBron wears the Nike brand too, you suppose he might receive a percentage based on supplying the idea for the name. Second to that what I find interesting these $170 shoes were made available online and sold out within minutes of release. The bulk of the purchasers of this shoe released May 15 must be sneakerheads. The shoe is described as Apple Green and Black, the back and inside sole of the shoe contains an alien looking image. You can locate photos of it online if curious.

I thought it was over

The long-awaited television deal with the NBA was announced as complete. TNT is no longer a broadcast collaborator having been “dropped” in favor of Amazon. The reported 11-year $77 billion agreement consists of partners NBC, ESPN and of course Amazon. We are too early into the agreement to determine the manner of how the games will be divided, the new package will begin in the 2026-27 NBA season.

With that I can say all is done…maybe, maybe not. TNT’s parent company was given an opportunity to match the offer, later it was revealed the matching offer had been rejected. It was claimed TNT’s effort came up short or that’s the news being reported. Apparently TNT is now saying to the NBA “We’ll see you in court.” I ain’t no attorney but if a decision has been finalized what can TNT accomplish at this point? There are a number of fans upset with the possible change, the fact that Inside the NBA is likely to disappear from our view. I am a believer the game is larger than 3-4 individuals, if this agreement is implemented many claim they will boycott the NBA. If this is their view I certainly would make no attempt to change their mind.

I will monitor the possible legal action and attempt to keep you informed. In other associated news one Charles Barkley has expressed his concern regarding TNT eliminated from the package. If you care you can join me in welcoming Barkley into the real world. Barkley’s upset because TNT apparently is out of the broadcast picture. Mr. Barkley, I’d like to welcome you into the real world, a world where we don’t always receive what we desire. We are often disappointed however we keep on moving.

ESPN agenda

I personally don’t have an Instagram account, the news was brought to me by a dot.com site. Because I am unfamiliar with how it operates I sought out information. This from Wikipedia, “Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service etc. etc. etc.” Okay now it’s become clear to me as the why. It’s a social media thing which caused ESPN to place an account regarding Victor Wembanyama and Bronny James together.

This from the Worldwide leader and I paraphrase, “Despite the fact there is a foot difference in height both players weigh 210 pounds.” Again without access to the story I’m unsure if there was anything else added except what you just read. What is wrong with this picture, plenty in my view beginning with the premise. We have a budding NBA All Pro compared to a player attempting to earn his stripes probably in the G-League. Unlike some up till now I’ve never pointed a finger at ESPN…this time I will. ESPN is a business which must derive income in whatever areas it can. My hope is Bronny James is an NBA success on his own and requires no comparison to another player.  

The best ever

Who is the best basketball player from each state, in this instance I’m looking at high school to the NBA. This is based on an article I read online this is a shortened version of the article. The author said, “At the time he was considered the best high school player to ever come out of the state of Michigan.” This is 2024 and in my view he’s still the best, what about others? A task of this magnitude requires research and opinion. Just in case some of the names are unfamiliar to you take time to research them.

I also need to add this is the state the player was born not where they later played and came into prominence. We’ll begin with Michigan and Magic Johnson, my home state Missouri has Bill Bradley. New York has got to be Lew Alcindor, a later name change he became Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Pennsylvania is represented by Wilt Chamberlain and for Ohio its LeBron James. I could have added Gus Johnson and Nate Thurmond to the Ohio list. In Texas we add the name Bill Sharman to our list. In the state of Kansas I have a tie between Alvan Adams and Larry Drew. In California I selected Bill Walton who was closely followed by Gail Goodrich. I’m stopping at this point, this is a far more challenging task than I first thought, I encourage you to begin your own list.