On 3-on-3 hoops and other phenomena
Pounding the sports beat ...
I like Ice Cube’s new three-on-three pro hoops league, although now my kid is pestering me for an Al Harrington jersey.
The league could use some tweaking. The halftime entertainment every game should be Allen Iverson picking a random subject out of a hat and talking about it for 10 minutes. Health care? We’re talkin’ ’bout sick people, people.
Also, the BIG3 league has too many old hoopsters. Mix it up! Each team should consist of one former NBA guy, one current Champions Tour player (everyone loves those old golfers) and one woman (talkin’ ’bout diversity, people). I want to see Stephen Jackson, John Daly and Oprah go against Iverson, Fred Couples and Dorothy Hamill.
Like a drowning man, Ichiro, age 43, is struggling to keep his head above .200.
When Barry Bonds was a slightly younger 42, he hit .276, with 28 homers, and led the majors with 132 walks. And he couldn’t get a job the next season. His 1.045 OPS in 2007 would rank fourth right now in MLB.
This is Bonds’ 10th season in retirement, although I’m not sure he has officially retired.
Just Once Dept.: After the Earthquakes fired head coach Dominic Kinnear, general manager Jesse Fioranelli said, “This decision was made after a lot of thought and evaluation.”
Just once, please, a GM or team owner saying, “This decision was made this morning when I was standing in line at Starbucks and everyone ahead of me was ordering drinks that take five people to assemble, and I got so mad I decided to fire someone.”
Heard an old radio interview with Ringo Starr. Before drumming for the Beatles, Starr played with several Liverpool bands. “I went from band to band,” he said. “My aim was to play for good players.”
Kind of like Kevin Durant — seeking artistic fulfillment. Starr and Durant both escaped a weather phenomenon. Ringo left Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, Durant left Russell Westbrook and the Thunder.
Someday, Durant will say about the Warriors what Ringo says of the Beatles: “We were a really cool band.”