A fan’s perspective

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It’s a tough place to play

I came across this list from college basketball analyst Andy Katz, who has covered the sport for many years. Drawing on visits to arenas nationwide, Katz ranked the 10 toughest college venues for visiting teams. Road games are generally more difficult in college than in the NBA, and a strong home-court advantage can significantly boost a school’s record. Here is Katz’s ranking, from 1 to 10:

Allen Fieldhouse-Kansas Jayhawks

Cameron Indoor Stadium-Duke Blue Devils

Mackey Arena-Purdue Boilermakers

Madison Square Garden-St. John’s University

Hilton Coliseum-Iowa State

Bud Walton Arena-Arkansas

Breslin Center-Michigan State

The Pit-New Mexico

McKale Center-Arizona

United Supermarkets Arena-Texas Tech 

Too high….too low

One year ago Noam Gumerman wrote this for Clutchpoints.com 25, best centers, in NBA history ranked. This is his list his opinion however I reserve the right to disagree, IMO he’s ranked several too high while others I believe too low. With that out of the way I shall proceed with the changes I see differently. He’s got Kareem Abdul Jabbar at number 1, no disagreement on my part with that selection. He’s ranked Shaquille O’Neal as his 3rd best all-time.

The problem for me I believe is too low, he’s got Bill Russell winner of 11 NBA championships at 4 and Nikola Jokic listed at 6. Both Shaq and The Joker are outstanding however far too high. Ranked too high for what they were able to accomplish during their brilliant NBA careers, Nate Thurmond (12) and Wes Unseld (14). Yao Ming was listed at 19 and Chris Bosh 21 both had very good careers but all-time is my question. Ming should have been ranked a bit lower and I have difficulty with Bosh as an all-time great. Gumerman placed Dikembe Mutombo at 22, his defense presence alone  should rank him much lower.

Meanwhile….

I have attempted over the years to withhold my thoughts regarding the pay of an athlete for a variety of reasons. The chief purpose, we the public often have little detail on the negotiation process, we hear the final figure and number of years and that’s about it. Where am I going with this you ask….straight to a comment made by former NBA player turned analyst Blake Griffin. He’s questioning the amount of guaranteed money the Lakers are paying Bronny James as a second round draft pick. Griffin said and I paraphrase: “Unlike some 2nd round picks Bronny had NIL money when he arrived in the NBA.” For me that statement has little validity, the player (through his agent) asked for the specific amount and the team agreed to pay, case closed.

Annually Forbes publishes its list of most profitable sports teams. If you haven’t seen their 2026 list I’m going to provide you the information and I uncovered several surprises for me. If we are discussing all sports teams in the top 20 for Forbes at number one are the NFL Dallas Cowboys. As for the NBA there were 5 teams that earned distinction, I found several surprises, and it didn’t take very long. The Golden State Warriors were placed second, another shocker at 7 the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers were tied. Number 9 for Forbes were the Houston Rockets, rounding out the list it’s the Los Angeles Lakers at 18 and the Chicago Bulls number 19. This serves no purpose other than information for you the reader and it becomes a prime topic for discussion. On the other hand you might be among those with a few billion in disposable income, which allows you to purchase a share of one of the teams listed and perhaps others.

We are a people of the now, allow this brief explanation. A couple of podcasters (who appeared quite young) provided us “their list” of the best point guards in NBA history. One of the pair placed Magic Johnson at number one, the other disagreed and decided Steph Curry belonged there. I need help with this one, no disagreement on my part Curry is one of the best shooters I’ve ever seen play. As for point guard play that’s another story, clearly Magic was only an average shooter however the other things he did impacted the game more significantly than Curry. There, I said it and refuse to retreat from my statement.

To help me further in my trepidation (I like that word) for Mizzou men’s basketball 2026-27 I found this. Jeff Borzello ESPN media places Mizzou number 16 in the nation preseason. I’m unsure if I can ever remember Mizzou being ranked at this level in anyone’s preseason poll. On the other hand David Cobb of CBS Sports appears to take an opposing view, he sees the SEC race in this manner. He places Mizzou at number 8, that is the same position the Tigers finished in 2025-26. Although they received an invitation to the Big Dance that team won only 20 games, so which forecast do I take as being the most valid?