Basketball from a fans perspective

Meanwhile….

LaVar Ball may not have originated this but I first heard him say it, “Stay in your lane.” I’ve always interpreted that to say do what you do best, don’t try to move into someone else’s territory. From reading this blog in the past you are aware I have disagreed with comments made by former NBA players Gilbert Arenas and Charles Barkley. Despite my difference with them they do have one thing in common…they played in the NBA the highest level of basketball there is. Do I care what former NBA player Paul Pierce has to say about the NFL, or better yet Shannon Sharpe and his commentary of the NBA. Both played at a high skill level as professionals however neither was in the NFL or NBA. They likely played the sport as youth but …. they and others need to “Stay in your lane.”

Nike clearly is the winner in what might be considered round one in the battle for the hearts and minds of sneakerheads and others. As most of you are aware Cooper Flagg signed a shoe and apparel deal with New Balance last spring. While that’s all good for the Duke guy while at school he must sport Nike shoes and apparel. After Flagg's Thursday 30 point 6 rebound 7 assist and 3 block shot game this is what occurred. The marketing department at Nike sent out a tweet with Flagg’s image and this statement: "Powered by the Swoosh." That’s certainly one technique to capture a shoe and apparel audience.

This news came by way of French sports website Le’Equipe, the .com publication indicated Wemby has undergone surgery for the deep vein thrombosis discovered in his right shoulder in the middle of the NBA season. At the time he was initially diagnosed it was reported he would began taking a blood thinner to reduce the possibility of a clot forming. The earlier diagnosis was all the public was made aware, of course those trained in the medical field might be acquainted with surgery being utilized to resolve the thrombosis. The report indicated Wemby might be prepared to play for the French national team by late summer.

This is a true story

Sometimes your memory returns to another time, that’s what occurred for me after reading an email from a friend. Shopping with my wife once we met a friend of hers and introducing me this is exactly what she said. “This is my husband ___________, he watches every single basketball game on television.” I smiled at her friend but thought a moment, “Why would she introduce me in that manner?” There’s been a great deal of basketball the NBA variety and March Madness over the last past week.

I’ve watched a considerable number of games which sometimes have included double-header college games along with double-header NBA games. A friend sent me an email which simply read: “To much basketball,” well maybe for him but not for me. I just confessed to watching numbers of basketball games this past week, despite what you just read this fact stands alone. I am no machine, I’m incapable of watching every single basketball game on television. I did have a significant issue on at least two occasions this season, Laker games were broadcast near the same time as Mizzou basketball.

NBA Europe

Several of you reading the news might have a clearer understanding than me and that’s okay. I believed something must be said and here is a brief introduction for some. It appears the NBA and FIBA are going into business together in order to form an “NBA Europe.” The late David Stern as commissioner promoted the NBA footprint world-wide, I am unsure if this was the manner he envisioned. This is the construction path, a league of European teams backed by the NBA and FIBA would begin play at a future date. There would be no Lakers playing a team from Paris or the Spurs matched against an opponent in Berlin, my understanding is.

We are in the formation stage of this “marriage” so major portions have certainly not been finalized. On the surface I like it my only concern will this 16-team league drive the existing Euro League teams out of business. That question cannot be answered at the present time, there are far too many moving parts to decide at this stage until it’s a done deal. As I indicated earlier my chief concern is the number of Euro teams at present, if this league gets off the ground how would they be impacted? A friend mentioned the league could be more successful than NFL Europe because basketball is a more familiar game. His observation might be correct, basketball has been played extensively in Europe over NFL football which required an introduction to the game.