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 Jeremy Lin the Victor Cruz of the NBA?  Lin of the New York Knicks has taken the basketball world by storm this past week.  Averaging 26.8 points and eight assists in his first five games of significant NBA action has set Lin and the Knicks on fire, with five straight wins. Lin-sanity is officially here.

You have to wonder what were the scouts and recruiters looking at when they watched this kid.  He played high school ball in California and wasn’t offered a scholarship.   He went to Harvard, where there are no athletic scholarships, and played four years there.  He wasn’t drafted out of college.  ‘Played’ for  Golden State Warriors 2010-2011 but rarely left the bench, was sent down to the d-league during the lockout and was cut by the Warriors and the Houston Rockets early this season.  Signed with the Knicks and sent back to the d-league, where he had a triple double, which must have opened some eyes.  Jeremy was then brought back to the Knicks where he sat for seven games before he made history.  So much for judging talent.

The Knicks for once are catching a break, they are playing some very beatable teams over the next couple of days and this will allow Lin to do his thing.  Additionally, they will be able to figure out howto integrate Carmelo and Amar’e back in to the lineup without losing Lin’s positive impact.  Lin is the perfect guard for Coach D’Antoni’s  system, sees the court, plays pick and roll, runs well, and is energetic.  If D’Antoni figures this out the Knicks may just become contenders again.  And Coach D. will save his job.  (Or does this make the Knicks even more attractive to the coach in waiting, Phil Jackson?)

Just think the NBA season is nearly 40% over and teams are still trying to find themselves.  And injuries continue to mount, as players are pushing their bodies.

Who’s Hot:

 

Philadelphia

Boston

New York

Chicago

Miami

San Antonio

Dallas

Oklahoma City

L.A. Clippers

Who’s Not:

Toronto

Cleveland

Detroit

Charlotte

Washington

New Orleans

New Jersey

Latest NBA power ratings:

http://www.nba.com/powerrankings/

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 is Floyd Mayweather determined to pick a fight with a person of Asian descent?  Mayweather rarely hesitates to air racially charged opinions, either in person or on twitter.

Mayweather posted on Monday: “Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he’s Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.”

He has repeatedly insulted boxing rival Manny Pacquiao, including an online video in 2010 in which he used racial and homophobic slurs against the Filipino congressman.

Floyd would probably agree to fight Lin without blood testing.

Is it me…

Or did the NFL have a great season?  Congrats to the champions-The New York Giants.  Pay Cruz!!!!!!!!!! (enough said.)

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 is men’s college basketball a victim of its own success?  March Madness looms over the entire basketball season.  Every game is an attempt by coaches to place their teams in a better position for the NCAA tournament –MARCH MADNESS.  We often criticize teachers who ‘teach for the test’.  But what about coaches who coach for the tournament, and are focused on very little else?  Even rivalry week matchups were all viewed with an eye to how this helps or hurts teams in the tournament.

Don’t get me wrong, I think March Madness is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  But it really does diminish the value of the regular season.  One and done in the tournament makes for pure excitement, but it doesn’t guarantee that the best team is crowned the champion.  The team that gets hot at the right time is the horse you want to ride.  For example, Kentucky is the best college team I have seen play this year and I would bet the house on them in a best of seven series.  But in a one game matchup anything can happen and usually does.  Let the games begin!!!

The latest rankings in Men’s Basketball are as follows:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/rankings/top25

Is it me …

Or do the Passaic County Boys Basketball coaches need to take off their hoods and robes so they can see what is best for the kids?  Every year the Passaic County Coaches seed (rank the teams) the boys’ basketball program so the schools from Paterson or Passaic (Passaic, Eastside, and Kennedy) or the school with a large population of Patersonians (Passaic County Technical Inst.) meet each other early in the county tournament to assure that they don’t dominate the tournament.  The seeding ALWAYS has these schools knocking each other out early and not letting the best teams get in to the semi-finals and finals.  The kids deserve better.  If they are one of the best teams they have a right to play for the championship and not be victims of unconscious or conscious racism.

Is it me…

Or is with great sadness we note the death of Whitney Houston?  Houston is dead at 48 years old.  She was found and pronounced dead at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday afternoon; thus far, no cause of death has been revealed. In recent years, she struggled with drug abuse.

Whitney’s rendition of the national anthem paid tribute to America at more sporting events than we can possibly count.  It was the perfect song to demonstrate her range and vocal talent, and she did just that, causing goose bumps on all.

  R.I.P  Whitney

Edited by D. Pride.