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 was World Peace the last name Ron Artest should have selected?  Ron Artest, Lakers,  assaulted James Harden, Oklahoma City, with an elbow knocking him out and causing a concussion during a nationally televised game Sunday.  Artest who   apologized for the elbow after the game, has once again proven how dangerous and out of control  he is.  He apparently suffers from flashbacks and thinks he is back at the “malice at the palace” or is auditioning for a UFC contract. How embarrassing is it for the Lakers to be associated with “World Peace”?

The NBA Playoff picture is beginning to take shape.  Follow this link to the latest results:

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

Ray Allen, Boston Celtics, has been an ironman for most of his NBA career. The most games he’s ever missed in a season during his 16-year NBA career is 27. He’s been a durable player, that rarely has battled injury. 

But he’s been dealing with a sore ankle as of late which has caused him to miss 13 games. And with the Celtics only having two regular season games left, Allen’s availability for the postseason is starting to come into doubt. 

So what’s the deal with this ankle?  He has bone spurs. 

OK, so what are bone spurs? They’re small, pointed growths of bone that happen when there’s a lot of wear and tear put on something. So basically, a 16-year NBA career.

Let the games begin (in peace and without “World Peace”).

Is it me…

Or is it with great sadness we note the ‘retirement’ of Coach Pat Summitt,  women’s head basketball coach, University of Tennessee?  Summitt, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s , coached  for 38 years at Tennessee, and has more wins (1098) than anyone else in college basketball. Coach Summitt is being replaced by long time assistant coach Holly Warlick.

Now Summitt can focus on her health and taking on duties that will keep her with the program she guided to eight national titles since taking over in 1974.

Summitt’s new role will include helping with recruiting, watching practice, attending  staff meetings, helping coaches analyze practice and games, and advising the Southeastern Conference on women’s basketball issues and mentoring players. Summitt will also be working as a spokeswoman in the fight against Alzheimer’s.

Every Lady Vol player who has completed her eligibility at Tennessee graduated under Summitt, and 74 former players, assistants, graduate assistants, team managers and directors of basketball operations are currently among the coaching ranks at every level of basketball.  We should just name the women’s trophy after Summitt, in recognition of her successes on and off the court.   We can call it the ‘Glare Ware’ in honor of Pat’s famous stare.  If anyone has reached the summit of their career it is Coach Pat

Good Job Coach Summitt!!!!

Is it me …

Or is no one interested in being on “Hard Knocks”.  According to reliable sources the Atlanta Falcons have declined an opportunity to appear on HBO’s Hard Knock series.  Hard Knocks , which is an inside look at a pro training camp and can be distracting to a team,  is having trouble finding a team willing to appear.  It has gotten so bad that they are reconsidering the New York Jets.  Tebow,  the quarterback, and Coach Ryan would make for great reality television, but what a disaster it would cause with the Jets, who had major issues with each other last year, without the TV exposure. D. Revis has used the ‘H’ word –holdout.-more money, again.

Déjà vu all over again

The Saints continue to get hit with bad news.   As they try and get through the ‘bounty’ issue, and the accompanying suspensions (coaches and players offering rewards for hurting players on the opposing team), it appears they now have another major issue.  They are accused of electronically tapping into the visiting teams headsets and listening to the other coaches speak to their players and coaches during the game.

According to the report, Mickey Loomis, general manager of the New Orleans Saints, who has already been sentenced to an eight games suspension, had rewired that device so he could eavesdrop for most of the 2002 season, the year he was hired, and all of the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana was told about these allegations Friday. U.S. attorney Jim Letten has briefed the FBI in New Orleans.

When the New England Patriots were accused of a similar offense they were fined and lost draft picks.  It probably won’t go that well for the Saints, who are possibly facing criminal charges.  This form of wiretapping is illegal in the state of Louisiana and is a violation of Federal law.  Loomis will probably claim he thought he was listening to cable and watching ‘Hard Knocks’

The NFL draft is this week.  Good luck to all the draftees.  May they have long and healthy careers.

Andrew Luck will be selected number one overall and RG3 number two.  Both players are tagged as franchise players who can’t miss.  However, before the Indianapolis  and Washington fans book their seats at the Super Bowl …please say JaMarcus Russell.  JaMarcus Trenell Russell (born August 9, 1985) is a quarterback who is currently a free agent. Russell played college football for the LSU Tigers where he finished 21–4 as a starter and was named MVP of the 2007 Sugar Bowl. The Oakland Raiders selected Russell with the first overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft. Russell held out until the Raiders signed him to a contract worth $61 million with $32 million guaranteed. In three seasons with the Raiders, Russell finished 7–18 as a starter before his release on May 6,   Russell was tagged as a can’t miss, also.

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 did the student teach the mentor this weekend? Jon Jones kept his light heavyweight title with a one-sided victory over Rashad Evans, his former training partner and close friend, before a loud sellout crowd at Philips Arena in a UFC bout.

Jones’ 84 1/2-inch reach was the biggest difference in the grudge match that was 14 months in the making. The two split after Jones said he’d consider fighting Evans, the man who brought him into the highly regarded Jackson’s MMA camp in Albuquerque, N.M., and helped develop him into one of the most dominant forces in the sport.  Jones landed a series of kicks, punches and elbows that kept Evans on the outside and didn’t allow him to generate any sustained offense. The champion had a 112-56 edge in strikes, including a 52-12 advantage in power shots, according to CompuStrike.

Is it me…

Or should we mention baseball?

Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox, celebrated its 100-year anniversary last week.  Boston invited all their former players to the celebration and had the Kennedy’s throw out the ceremonial pitch (a Kenney ancestor threw out the first pitch 100 years ago).  It was a grand day, until they played the game against their hated rivals, The New York Yankees..  Needless to say, the Yankees ruined the party and won the game.

As Yankee fans are fond of saying “Boston S&%#s”, but this year they really do.  Bobby Valentine, the new manager of Boston, must have angered the baseball gods in another life to step into this mess.  But then again Valentine can be a real snob and probably deserves it. J

Phil Humber had Tommy John surgery on his pitching arm before his career even started. He bounced around a bit as he tried to make it in the major leagues.

Now, well, Humber is perfect.  Humber threw the first perfect game in the majors in almost two years, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 4-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday.  Way to hang in there Phil and begin a perfect season.

Albert Pujols,  The Machine, has not hit a home run as of yet.  Do you think he needs a tune-up and oil change or did he underestimate the American League pitchers when he switched leagues?
Edited by D. Pride.