L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast.  A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey.  His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me …

Or is it Dwight Howard, of the Orlando Magic, who is not finishing the NBA season?  Last week Coach Van Gundy reported that Howard went to Magic management and asked to have him (Van Gundy) replaced.  It appears that Howard, who injured his back, will miss the rest of the regular season and is questionable for the playoffs.  Who thought that Van Gundy would outlast Howard.

The NBA playoff picture as of Tuesday is as follows:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/standings/playoffrace

Along with officially getting a new owner Monday, (the owner of the NFL Saints) the New Orleans Hornets will also be named hosts of the 2014 All-Star Game, the NBA announced. 

New Orleans hosted the NBA’s big event in 2008, which was the first major sporting event to be held in the city following Hurricane Katrina. 

This fulfills part of the new lease agreement between the state and the franchise that included a future All-Star Game. The arena is being renovated and the first phase should be completed by 2014, according to the report.

The NBA All-Star Game is typically in late February and Mardi Gras is early March. So with the two large events potentially having some spillover, the early announcement is to try and give enough advance notice for plans to start being made.

 NBA teams continue to adjust and shape their rosters;

A list of current NBA transactions can be found at:

http://www.nba.com/news/transactions/2011_12/

Is it me…

Or am I imagining that the NFL has started its off-season workouts already?  The NFL has opened its training facilities and the players are permitted to work out under the watchful eye of their conditioning coaches.  It seems like we were just watching the Giants win the championship last week.   Oh well, time moves on.  The new NFL schedule was announced Tuesday (http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/51475/opponents-for-the-2012-nfl-season) , after we went to press, and the draft is a couple of weeks away.

As far as the off-season workout goes, it is an opportunity for players to meet and bond as they begin the preparation for a long and hard season.  They can also begin to mend fences from last year as the N.Y. Jets are doing.  Holmes and Sanchez are making nice.

 It doesn’t look like the Jets are returning to Hard Knocks this season.  We hear they are offering it to the Atlanta Falcons.  It would be a disaster for the Jets to appear on the show, but it would be great television.

.NFL teams continue to adjust and shape their rosters;

A list of current NFL transactions can be found at:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/transactions/

Is it me…

Or does the NHL really not get it?  They are in the middle of their playoffs and it has looked like a street fight on ice.  Players are taking cheap shots at each other, and the there has been several major brawls.  In the past, the fighting and other nonsense stopped in the playoffs, and we were afforded the opportunity of watching great athletes perform.  NOT THIS YEAR!  Frustration has led to the return of “goonery and thuggism”.

The best game of the playoffs so far was the 1-0 victory by the Rangers over the Senators. The teams played a physical game without the cheap shots and fighting.

It amazes me that the NHL permits and encourages the unnecessary violence in its sport.  Hockey players pride themselves on being tough, when are they going to get smart and realize someone is going to get hurt during their MMA impersonation.

Is it me …

Or is Mike Tyson still an iconic figure in boxing?  Follow the link to a very interesting show put on by Tyson- The Undisputed Truth.

http://www.cbssports.com/boxing/story/18584193/column-musings-from-a-night-with-mike-tyson

Is it me…

Or  does baseball honor its heroes correctly?  This past Sunday Major League Baseball honored Jackie Robinson, as it does annually.  They allow any and all players to wear Jackie’s number 42.  42 has been retired by baseball and may not be issued to any player.  Mo Rivera of the Yankees is the only current player wearing number 42.  He had it prior to its being retired and was allowed to keep it.  Robinson who broke the color line in major league baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers would be both happy and concerned at the current state of affairs in MLB.  Boston was the last baseball team to integrate in 1959 and at that time seventeen percent of pro baseball players were African American, currently eight percent of baseball is African American.  Not exactly moving in the right direction.  However, we will note that African Americans are represented in management and hold many key front office positions, which was not the case when Robinson played.

It appears that every step forward results in two back.

Bobby Valentine , the new manager of the Boston Red Sox, had problems with players the last time he managed in the majors.  And why did Boston think it would be different this time around?  Valentine criticized Boston’s third basemen Kevin Youkilis for not being mentally and physically into games this season.  Way to motivate one of the hardest working players you have Bobby.

Valentine has apologigized,.  We don’t know if Youkilis has accepted or even cares what Valentine is saying now.

  Is it me…

Or is it with great sadness we report the passing of Dwayne Schintziu?  Schintzius, one of the biggest characters in Florida basketball history, died Sunday at 43, according to Tampa Bay Online. He battled cancer in recent years, but it was respiratory failure that wound up taking his life. 

Schintzius was picked by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the 1990 NBA Draft, and played off and on for six teams in the league until 1999. Prior to his NBA career, Schintzius led the Gators to their first three NCAA tournament appearances in the late ’80s.

Edited by D. Pride.