Jack’s Blog

Every day the list of those underclassmen who are making themselves eligible for the NBA draft lengthens.  While nearly every person I’ve talked to, listened to or read has said the national championship game between Michigan and Louisville was terrific, nearly all of them thought this year’s March Madness was one of the poorest in terms of exciting, well-played games.  Emphasis on well-played.  Maybe this year was an aberration in terms of all we’ve come to expect from March Madness or maybe the absurd number of early exits has finally caught up with the college game.  If that actually were the case, the deterioration should have happened well before now but there’s no questioning this year’s NCAA tournament was as poorly played as any in memory.

One reason could be that, usually, experience makes offenses and defenses work better.  Those teams who are composed mainly of seniors, some fifth and sixth year seniors or guys who are as old as 24 or 25, are more mature, understand the intricacies better and have greater chemistry than a group of freshmen who just got thrown together and have played a total of thirty or so games, barring injuries.  How, then, a cynic or a fan might ask, could Kentucky have won the national championship a couple years ago?

Simple.  John Calipari is a master at leading and motivating a young group, getting them all to buy into his philosophy.  However, here is a life lesson that needs to be learned and never forgotten: Above all else, talent wins out.  He recruited them, motivated them and coached them.  Had Nerlens Noel not suffered a seasoning ending injury, we might have seen those results for a second straight season.  Can one man mean that much to a team?  For that answer watch the Lakers from here on out.  Especially if they make the playoffs.  Can anyone even fathom how good Kentucky would have been, forget this year’s incoming class, if the team that won it all - relatively easily - had all returned to UK for another run?  And another?  I started my college coaching career in 1972.  That was what UCLA did.  Beat everybody to death and recruited to fill the spots left by graduation.  Simple formula that worked for quite a while.

Undoubtedly, the early entry rule changed the player’s thought process but what really flipped the college game was the color green.  The talk of giving a college kid a stipend is nice - for the good players who are planning on going to school for four years anyway.  Does anybody really think a stipend is going to change a kid’s mind when he’s looking at the possibility of a six or seven figure contract?  If he can’t make the right decision there, maybe he’s not smart enough to be in college.

Louisville’s Russ Smith has declared for the draft even though most who make up mock drafts have him going mid- to late-second round, meaning no guaranteed money.  You think he’d change his mind if the NCAA passed a $300/month stipend?  $400?  $500?  Maybe, as the old joke goes, “he loves college but hates class.”  What compounds the problem is the timing of when to leave.  OK, most guys are going to go as soon as they can.  There are others, though, who realize they need some more seasoning and another year (or more) under their current “professor” would make them a much better and more ready prospect.  And that’s where the timing dilemma comes in.

Take, for example, this year.  I don’t pretend to know even one foreign prospect.  I leave that up to my man Franny Frascilla who can tell you all of them.  As far as the college players who comprise this year’s crop, there’s not one who doesn’t have “holes” in his game?  The consensus number one pick is Nerlens Noel who’s intercollegiate career was limited to 24 games.  Even if a team is comfortable with the brief showing of his considerable skills, there has to be a concern regarding the injury.  One, did it heal properly and two, is he injury-prone, e.g. Grant Hill, Darko Milicic or the two guys no one can ever forget - Greg Oden and Sam Bowie?

The rest?  In no particular order (since different mock drafts have them in different order), the guys who are consensus top picks are: Ben McLemore, Marcus Smart, Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter, Anthony Bennett, Trey Burke, Shabazz Muhammed, Cody Zeller, Alex Len.  Let’s not forget Isaiah Austin.  He hits home because he played with my younger son, Alex, back in the 5th grade AAU days.  What makes it particularly difficult when I evaluate him is that he looks exactly the same as he did when he was ten!  From the long, lanky arms and legs to the same goggles, it’s like watching him through a magnifying glass.  There is little doubt he’s going to be a great one just as there’s little doubt he’s not NBA-ready.  Ready to start banging his slender body with the 25-30 year old men who’ve been in the league for several years, taking advantage of all the professional strength trainers and facilities.  I’m sure Baylor’s facilities are first-class, but if they were placed side by side, I’m certain the state-of-the-art NBA equipment is far superior.  Plus, the NBA isn’t limited as to how much time - or when - coaches can work with players, as do NCAA-affiliated institutions.

Having watched each of the above guys, some on multiple occasions, my belief is none of these guys are NBA-ready.  Yet they’re going to get picked high.  Why?  Because, if they all stayed in college and worked on their skills, strength and stamina . . . here is what the draft would look like: Mason Plumlee, CJ McCollum, Mike Muscala, Jeff Withey, Erick Green, Nate Wolters, Jackie Carmichael, Solomon Hill, Michael Snaer, Brandon Paul, Eric Murphy, Pierre Jackson, Richard Howell, Isaiah Canaan, Trevor Mbakwe, Rodney Williams and a whole lot of Franny’s guys from overseas.  And unless Fran has uncovered some real gems, many of those names listed would be lottery picks.  Each of those players are good prospects, but if the thought of your favorite team using a lottery pick on any of them gives you a warm a feeling, check your pants leg because you might have just . . .

There is another reason guys leave school early and this one you won’t find anywhere but right here.  My firm belief is that the real reason people go to college is not to get an education.  The real reason is:

“These kids go to college to improve their station in life, and with what the NBA is paying - even if their careers are short-lived - it is a considerable improvement of their station in life.”

The hottest sports story, including the Final Four, has got to be the total mess that took place at Rutgers and the ensuing domino effect of lost jobs and misery it’s caused.  Maybe the hottest news story as well.  Until it blows over and is replaced by something else that makes us breathe a sigh of relief while saying, “Well, there’s somebody whose life is in worse shape than mine.”

There was nothing good for Rutgers that came out of this situation - except for the hundreds of coaches who are bombarding the university with their resumes for the head and assistant coaching positions.  Their problem, however, is they don’t know exactly where they should send them.  The basketball office?  Athletics director?  President’s office?  On a more somber note, I, along with every coach I’ve seen interviewed, agree none of us have ever seen anything like that.  As loyal readers will know, I spent 30 years in Division I coaching, at nine institutions, going back to 1972.  Although one of those staffs in particular held daily practices that today would probably be considered child abuse, it was nothing at all like RU.

However, what terrified me nearly as much as the videos was what I heard Christine Brennan of USA Today say.  I was completely shocked and scrambled for a pen to write it down.  While I couldn’t remember it verbatim, it was something to the effect of - what a case like this says about college athletics is that it takes the media to police them.  After hearing that, I had a question for the sanctimonious Ms. Brennan.

Are you serious?

First of all, the person you most vilified (after Mike Rice), is Rutgers athletics director Tim Pernetti - who used to be a TV guy.  Had he stayed in the media world, he might be one of your guys policing college athletics.  Wow, how ironic would that be?  The person who watched the video of Mike Rice at Rutgers’ practices and decided not to fire him (which, correctly, offended you and the entire nation) . . . would be a watchdog.  Woof.  I don’t think so.

Since there are a couple, some, many, most, the overwhelming majority of people in this country who don’t, uh, what’s the right word here, oh, yeah, . . . trust the media, what exactly is the vetting process going to be like?  Can I be on the committee?  My memory recalls there have been media members who, how should I put it, have done wrong.  I think plagiarism (whether committed at the New York Times or lesser papers) is still against the law, isn’t it?  How would such people eliminated from your “policing” program?

Yesterday happened to be my annual check up with my optometrist.  After carefully watching and reading all the reports, I asked him if he could do anything to improve my hindsight.  One person I truly admired was the late Haywood Harris who served for five decades at the University of Tennessee as its SID (Sports Information Director, now referred to as Director of Athletic Media Relations).  Haywood was as intelligent and respected as anyone in the state.  He was inducted into four different Halls of Fame.  One day, he heard a young Knoxville sportswriter proudly claim that the media was “the watchdog of society.”  Haywood looked at the visitor and said:

“I’m a member of society.  I don’t remember ever requesting a watchdog.”

P.S. Here’s another question to ponder: Do you think these tapes would have been made public had Rutgers retained Eric Murdock?

Ohio State and Arizona played one of those NCAA tournament games in which the cliche “every possession counts” was to be taken literally.  ‘Zona was up at the half but the Buckeyes came storming out of the locker room and quickly claimed the lead.  Now, let’s flash forward to the final two-and-a-half minutes of the game when OSU’s Nick Johnson deflected an Ohio State pass into the backcourt.  He and the Bucks’ Aaron Craft scrambled for the ball.  Johnson did what he’s seen so many of his peers do in similar situations.  He wisely called time out.  Or was it such a smart move?  True, they got the ball - but the time out was the Wildcats’ last. Had Johnson simply grabbed onto the ball and been tied up, the call would have been a “held ball” with the possession arrow going to . . . Arizona.  In other words, there was no need to burn that final timeout, leaving the ‘Cats with zero so late in such a meaningful game.

Anyone reading this blog is undoubtedly saying, “How in the hell - in the heat of such a moment - is Nick Johnson supposed to know the possession arrow in his team’s favor?”  My former boss and current friend and mentor George Raveling started a website about a year or so ago (CoachGeorgeRaveling.com - a site I highly recommend).  To date I’ve contributed a couple articles and I’m currently working on another (”Seating Arrangements and Duties for the Coaching Staff During Games”).  The first was entitled Top 10 Traits of a College Assistant Coach.  Trait #6 mentions “end-of-game situations.”  I encourage anyone who’d like to more deeply be involved when witnessing a game to read it.  The article I’m currently writing will reiterate the answer to the above posed question - as did Trait #6.

An assistant coach should have made everyone - coaches and players - aware of 1) how many times out the team had left and 2) which team had the possession arrow.  Some may think, “oh that’s easy to say.”  No.  It . . . really . . . is.  It’s just part of your practices.  Maybe not every day in October, November or December but as the season moves on (and the majority of your defensive and offensive sets or plays have been implemented), there is more time for special situations and incidents exactly like the one that occurred in the UA-OSU contest.

Arizona’s head coach Sean Miller was speaking about the final Ohio State possession when Aaron Craft passed the ball to LaQuinton Ross who buried a three-pointer with a couple of ticks left.  What he said was their plan was to switch the screen on the ball but didn’t.  He lamented (not a direct quote):

“In the pressure of the NCAA tournament, as the pressure mounts, it’s difficult for guys to do what you want them to do.”

Writing a blog on a daily basis is, as anyone who attempts to do it (or any rational person who would take the time to give it a thought), a difficult endeavor.  While I have fun doing it, I have to admit, there are days I can’t think of something to post that would be different, or in greater depth, than the reader could find elsewhere.  Even with yesterday’s great games, including the Florida Gulf Coast storyline, I’m offering up a previous blog (3/26/08) that will have true meaning for the reader.  I seriously doubt anyone’s been following me that long and even if you have, this one might have escaped your memory.  It’s well worth the time to (re)read it.  (Also, we’ll be bringing Alex back to CSU-Monterey Bay (their spring break is over) and will be spending a few days in that area.  Ain’t retirement great?  The blog will return Friday).

In any endeavor, hard work is the key phrase when it comes to attaining success.  This seems to be true more in the field of athletics than any other business.  At least, I’ve heard more leaders of teams (coaches) speak about outworking people than I do in any other business.  I can’t say that I’ve heard a pharmacist or a teacher, when asked about the key to success, mention “outworking” the competition.

Yet, it’s the standard line viewers, readers and fans get when they tune in & are presented with the outlook for the season.  When it comes right down to it, everybody can’t be outworking everybody else.  Somebody, while putting in the time and effort, is falling short of a competitor - somewhere.  But no one will admit to it and possibly, because they don’t believe it.  “Nobody is outworking us, I guarantee you that.”  Just saying it makes people feel like they’re beating down all comers.

The best I’ve ever heard the term “hard work” put in perspective was in a speech given to one of our USC teams in the early ’90s.  George Raveling, our head coach, deeply believed in the use of outside speakers to motivate, inspire, stimulate thinking or help players reach their full potential and each year, we’d have people outside the program, some well-known figures, others of lesser fame (but often with a higher quality message), address the squad.

One of those was a former Academic All-American basketball player from Duke named Dick DeVenzio.  I had known Dick mainly because I followed him in a graduate assistant’s role at Washington State where, by the way, George was also the head mentor.  Dick, a 5′11″ guard, had a terrific career for the Blue Devils in the late ’60s.  Being a fan of the game, I’d heard of Dick but getting to know him was a truly exceptional experience.

Without a doubt, he was one of the first “out-of-the-box” thinkers I’d ever come across.  When you spoke with Dick DeVenzio, you always came away from the conversation wiser, and often shaking your head in wonderment at some of the ideas he’d bring up.  He was a true Renaissance man whose life, tragically, was cut short by cancer nearly two decades ago.

The day he spoke to our players, he’d mention a few strategic things he’d do in a game that I found fascinating and I’ve passed on to other players I’ve coached.  But the one remark he made regarding hard work was the best in its simplicity, yet logical bluntness.  It stopped our players in their tracks and greatly increased the intensity of our practices from that time on - throughout the remainder of that year and a couple more to come for the underclassmen who had the benefit of hearing his message.

He simply said, “Who’s the hardest worker on the team?“  Nearly every team has one, maybe two guys, everybody would select.  On every team I’ve ever been around it’s always been that way.  There just seem to be one or two who stick out above the rest when it comes to work ethic.  It was the same for this particular Trojan club.

Then he said to the others, “What’s keeping everybody from saying you?“  He followed that up with the clincher:

“What’s keeping YOU from saying you?”

Pretty powerful when you think about it.

For those of you who read this space yesterday, you’re expecting the second installment.  That was the plan - until, as the saying goes, life got in the way.

After I left the dentist’s office today, I stopped at a Subway on the way home for a sandwich.  Outside the store, which is located about a block away from the junior high, I noticed a shopping cart with a few items in it, one of them a baseball glove.  There was a kid, junior high age, sitting nearby.  He said, “Excuse me, can I have a dollar for . . . ”

“No, sorry,” I cut him off.  It’s not that being panhandled is a pet peeve of mine.  In this case, what bothered me was that this was a predominantly upper class area and a young kid who, upon first blush (which may be somewhat prejudiced), looked anything like a person who needed to beg.  I remember thinking, “Now!  At your age?  This is the career choice you’ve selected?  Sorry, no.”

I went inside, ordered my sandwich and didn’t think any more of that initial scene - until another, older kid showed up and lurked in the doorway.  The young lady working at Subway recognized this apparent trouble maker and told him to go.  He walked past the store, giving her the one finger salute, followed by, you guessed it, my little friend and another little lost sheep who hooked up with the pair.  Not surprisingly, the trio returned, led by the obnoxious older boy.  As soon as I saw them, I sensed the situation was going to escalate, so I called 911.  He burst into the store and began dog-cussing the owner, dropping senseless racial epithets.  Although he was no farther than ten feet away from me, he had no idea I was explaining what was happening to the 911 operator.  It rather evident that this youngster was under the influence of something, calling the Middle Eastern owner the n-word, accompanied by f-bombs and other slang.  When the owner raised his voice and demanded the wannabe gangsta leave, the kid picked up a chair and hurled it at the middle-aged man.

The action did no harm, except for enraging the owner who chased after the youngster.  As we all learned long ago, when people are attacked, they make one of two choices: fight or flight.  Cowards, such as the one in this story, choose the latter.  When he got just outside the door, he collided with one of his smaller buddies who must have thought his man was going to choose the former.  The two collided, the owner caught up and fists were flying.  They weren’t hitting anybody, just flying.  Finally, the kids took off as I gave the play-by-play to the woman on the other end of my phone.  Evidently, she was passing along the info because she said to me, “OK, I think the officers have them against the wall near the junior high.”  Some criminals.

I went to the owner who, by now was on the phone to a friend (or relative or lawyer), explained I had called 911 and the kids had been apprehended.  He thanked me as I was getting a refill of my Diet Coke.  Naturally, while all this was transpiring (and I was talking to the operator), I never stopped eating my 6″ tuna and provolone on wheat (with avocado - my new health kick).  My curiosity got the better of me so, rather than drive home, I went out of the parking lot in the opposite direction.  Fresno’s Finest must be more efficient than most departments because as I pulled out heading south, I noticed a couple patrol cars headed the other way.  I U-turned at the light and returned to give my “deposition.”

During the entire experience, my mind kept returning to the same topic:

“Where are the parents and what are they like?”

My computer has been acting up and is going in for service later today.  I hope to have it back foe a blog next Tuesday.  Thanks for your patience and loyalty. 

With all of the tearing down of individuals and groups that’s been employed (in many cases, successfully) in this country, it’s time we changed our ways and became more trusting of each other.  I mean, is the answer to the gunning down of innocent people - as young as age five - really to get more guns?

Because our son’s college basketball team plays nearly every game in the state of California and because I have had to make so many visits to the Stanford Pain Management Clinic (from Fresno), I do an awful lot of driving.  In February of 2012 I bought a new car and, at my current pace, it’s first birthday will see it turn 25,000 miles.  On so many occasions I realize exactly how much trust I have to have with my fellow drivers.  I trust the guy driving on the (either) side of me won’t cut me off, putting me in an impossible situation and forcing an accident.  I have to trust that cars at red lights observe the rule that I have the right of way just as the vehicles approaching stop signs are going to stop.

And they have to trust me.

It calls for both defensive and offensive driving.  While there are car accidents daily, it’s always amazed me how, overall, most people get to and from their destinations safely.  The rest of our interactions should run so smoothly.

Trust comes from being trustworthy.  It’s an admirable a trait for a person to have and it’s one of the easier ones to acquire.  Seldom is a trust broken that’s not done intentionally.  Possibly with regret, but nevertheless done on purpose.  The first quote below, from my late mentor, the brilliant John Savage, explains the value of trust while the second, from another whose life would be good to model, Abraham Lincoln, states how awful a world without trust would be:

“All relationships are built on trust and trust, once violated, can never be regained.”

“It is better to trust and occasionally be disappointed than to mistrust and be miserable all the time.”

A press release from Dallas said Derek Fisher requested to be waived by the Mavericks so he could spend time with his family.  No one can ever question Fisher’s character.  He was a major factor in the negotiations for the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), a level head in a room of . . . unlevel heads.  He can be remembered for, among other memorable plays, returning at game time and ultimately knocking down a crucial three to help the Jazz beat the Warriors in Game 2 of the NBA playoffs.  He had been with his daughter for her complicated, delicate eye surgery and flew from New York to Salt Lake City.

Although Fisher had built up enough equity with fans, what doesn’t quite pass the smell test is his excuse for retiring.  Players who want to spend more time with their families usually are guys whose ability has waned to where they no longer can make significant contributions to their clubs.  If family time was so important, different decisions would be made and more families would stay together.  There actually are players and coaches who work in the professional ranks without divorce or hard feelings.

What must be done is to prioritize properly.  The NBA schedule is brutal (as are all the other professional sports leagues).  For a select few (emphasis on few), the answer is to keep the family together during the season.  Obviously, this can only work if the player is married with children who aren’t of school age.  It’s expensive and because most teams don’t allow non-team personnel on their charters, it becomes one agonizing experience after another for the wife.

The better solution is to understand that family time together is limited.  Therefore, when everybody’s together, make it quality time.  I know - and have worked with - many coaches who realize that, while they may be physically tired from the stress and travel of a long season, when they get a day off, nothing interrupts family time, whether it’s a cookout, catching a movie or going to a school performance.

Players who claim they’re giving up their career so they can have more “family time” simply means their skills have eroded and no team’s offered them a contract.  In too many instances, they sacrifice their family for their career which is a shame when they could have both.  In no means am I giving marital advice, but I often wonder why some of those guys are in such a hurry to get married.  Worse, yet in vogue today, are those who bring children into the world only to become absentee dads.

No matter what someone’s salary is, the fact remains:

“Making a baby is not the same as being a father.”

Sorry, readers, but no new blogs until Tuesday.  Watching younger son, Alex, play a couple games in the Bay area.  

Kobe Bryant has such passion for the game of basketball in the way he plays (30,000 points is only one aspect of his greatness), speaks (to his teammates) and acts (he’s absolutely obsessed), it’s transparent that he wants to be known as the greatest of all-time (G.O.A.T.) but that moniker belongs to one Michael Jeffery Jordan.  He’d probably be thrilled to be referred to as the best of all-time but, alas, Pat Riley, the master of copyright (remember “Three-peat”?) has taken B.O.A.T. off the market, donning his superstar, LeBron James with that acronym.

So what’s left for Kobe?  First, getting Steve Nash on the floor has got to be his Christmas wishes #1 through 10.  Short of that, he needs to change his motivational speech to Pao Gasol.  Pau has been a part of a championship team so it’s not like he doesn’t know, or can’t handle, the feeling of winning it all.  Kobe’s verbal assaults, “You’ve got to put on your big boy pants,” being the latest, might have a reverse effect on the apparently ultra-sensitive Gasol.  How to reach Gasol in time to turn the season around is something beyond anyone not close to the Lakers and if anyone were to think otherwise, they would be foolish.  It’s just that Kobe wants desperately to win, Pau’s not getting it done and Kobe blitzing Pau with sharp words hasn’t been a solution.  Suggestion?  Try something else.

Next, downplay Dwight Howard’s poor foul shooting.  BUT, get him to make up for it at the defensive end.  Dwight was right when he said their loss to Orlando wasn’t due to his poor foul shooting.  It was the fact they continued to allow the Magic to score following his misses.

Finally, Kobe and Mike D’Antoni need to stay together during the tough times, e.g. until Nash comes back.  The coach can handle hostile fans and media considering where he’s been (and I’m not talking about Phoenix).

If Kobe can do all that, keep on scoring and doing whatever else it takes to win, someone will come up with an anagram for him.

What might work for Kobe is Goethe’s line:

“Treat people as they are and they’ll remain as they are.  Treat them as they can, and should, be and they’ll become that.”

Headed up to the Bay Area this weekend as Cal State Monterey Bay opens league play.  Younger son Alex is currently the team’s scoring leader at 17 ppg.  He gets his first collegiate start tonight.  The blog will resume on Tuesday.

The San Antonio Spurs were on a six-game road trip, having won the first five games when Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich decided to rest his Big Three - Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker (plus Danny Green).  He sent them home to rest because they had a big game coming up tomorrow (Sat) with Memphis and he wanted them at their best.

“Pop” is the longest tenured NBA head coach with the same team and is one of only five coaches who have won at least four championships.  No one doubts his ability to put a quality team on the court and give them every possible chance of winning.  Be it strategy, motivation, in-game and halftime adjustments or late game situations, he understands his job as well or better than anyone.

And therein lies the point of contention between his actions - which he sees as doing his job in the best possible way, i.e. win games and have a rested team free of injuries (if anyone can figure that out) come playoff time.  Even his title of President of Spurs Basketball connotes that his ultimate job each and every year he’s in charge is to win it all.  So what’s the problem?

David Stern is commissioner of the NBA and, as such, has no affiliation with any particular club.  His job is to build the NBA brand.  That’s why there are regular season games in Europe.  That’s why there’s so much individualization (even though, technically, it’s a team game), i.e. endorsements and commercials being encouraged.  It’s a league of stars - so put your stars front and center.  That’s why the NBA picks up the tab for the WNBA - even though that’s a losing venture year after year after year.  Stern realizes the WNBA losses are (relatively) insignificant compared to having the image of (financially) promoting women’s basketball.  Since women make up half of the population, why not cater to them too?  (Or at least don’t upset them).

That’s exactly the point.  David Stern is a servant to the public.  He needs giant corporations to buy luxury boxes and huge blocks of tickets.  He needs television and its _illions (fill in the first letter or two) of dollars - which they can give because the demand to see games is so high because of its superstars.  He needs the family of however many to take in a game.  He needs fans purchasing NBA souvenirs, memorabilia and gear (which mainly happens to be that of the superstars).

The argument I’ve heard why Pop was wrong is because of the young kid who whose dad saved up so they could go to one game - to see the boy’s idol.  Sounds nice and that’s true - in fairy tales.  What about the guy who’s head of a multi-_illion dollar company, who’s trying to seal a deal with another guy who owns a multi-_illion dollar company, and knows the guy has a man crush on whomever (Duncan, Ginobili, Parker) and says, “C’mon, let’s go to the Heat-Spurs game.  I’ve got a couple court-side seats.  We’ll check out these guys up close.”  That is what Stern dreads.  All of it is what Stern dreads.

It’s “Stern needs to keep the game as pure as the driven snow” vs. “Popovich needs to figure out the best way to win it all.”  Harken back to the days of yore when guys flew commercially - or went by train - and for a lot less dough.  The NBA Players Association has a strong union.  Players are making enough money that 90% of them ought to be able to retire comfortably if they had a morsel of decent financial advice.  They must stay at luxury hotels.  There have been stories about guys bitching because they had to stay at a Marriott - of all godforsaken places - when they first went to Oklahoma City.  Per diem is $125 even though some meals are catered. e.g. on the (private) plane.  It is written in the collective bargaining agreement that, during the season, players must have so many days off.  This is, obviously, an injury-prevention measure and a wise one.

What Pop did was not against the rules.  At the very least, though, he should have had communication with Stern prior to making the move.  Nearly ten years ago, I heard an educator, Dr. Bertice Berry, say something that I think applies here - because in the end, it’s the consumer who’s paying for the way for the NBA:

“There’s a big difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.”

During this time of year, non-profit organizations make pleas which are designed to tug at people’s heart strings.  And for good reason.  Although there are many in this nation who possess a lot, there are a great deal more who are in desperate need.  Thanksgiving is a good time to kick off a campaign.

There are many ways in which to give.  Most college coaches use this time of year to make a teaching point for their players.  College athletes are treated very well in this country.  At this time of the year, coaches take their athletes to soup kitchens and children’s hospitals and . . . anywhere that will make a lasting impression.

As he felt about most actions, Coach John Wooden used to say to :

“What you do is more important than what you say you’ll do.”