Here's something you might be interested in.
I've been enjoying the play-offs more than I have in many years.
Growing up I was a hardcore Lakers fan. But I got tired of Kobe acting like a punk and decided I wouldn't support the team again until he retired (or was traded). It also helped that I hate Phil Jackson. He's an overrated coach, and as much as I hate Kobe, Jackson writing a book about things that happened with Kobe on and off the court, was lame. Any coach would tell you that stuff should stay in the locker room.
And it's been fun rooting against them. It was tough last year against the Celtics, as I've hated them since the early 80s (although I love the old teams, with Sam Jones, Cousy, Russell, Jo Jo White, etc).
But it hasn't been hard for me to root for LeBron James. He's a kid that I thought would make all the wrong choices. People said he hung around with the wrong crowd in high school, and he jumped right to the NBA. But he hasn't gotten into trouble. He just became the best player in the NBA, without ever ending on the police blotter.
Earlier this year, I was sad to hear that two former Bulls died. Former coach and broadcast Johnny Kerr. And, a week later, Norm Van Lier, who was an all-star that died at 61.
More recently, I was saddened to hear of the passing of Wayman Tisdale. He was tearing things up at Oklahoma when I was playing high school basketball, and he went from being an All-American to being an NBA all-star.
I met him when he was part of the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1984 (they won the gold). As he was signing an autograph for me, he noticed the shirt I was wearing that said "New Orleans Jazz." He asked if I was a fan of the music or the team. I laughed and said, "Neither. My step-dad got this for me at a convention he went to in New Orleans." He asked what kind of music I liked and I told him rock 'n' roll. He said I should give jazz another chance, and he told me he played bass.
When he retired from basketball, he started making jazz albums. I started playing basketball with a guy that was a few inches shorter than him (he was 6'9") that worked at the post office. He was from Maryland and didn't talk much. We'd usually just talk about food before we played. He'd always say how much he missed good crab cakes. But one day we started talking about music. He told me he was a bass player and I said, "More like Bootsy Collins or Wayman Tisdale?" His eyes widened and he said, "You know Tisdale? That guy is the best in jazz. His stuff is amazing."
I admitted I had never heard anything he'd done. The next time we were at the gym, he brought me a few CDs. And I realized...nothing will get me to like jazz. I can hear some stuff I like...Mingus, Miles...even the "smooth" stuff like George Benson, Al Jarreau or Sade, can be okay in small doses.
Anyway...I heard Tisdale had a leg amputated 10 months ago. He had broken it and a tumor was found (if memory serves). I was shocked when I heard last week about his passing.
On the same day, I heard about a former player, another Bull -- Corie Blount. He got a year in prison for having something like 30 pounds of pot in the trunk of his car.
And it made it sadder. The nice guys seem to die young. The losers in sports...Darryl Strawberry, Ryan Leaf, Canseco, Blount...the list is probably a thousand players long. Those guys will probably live into their 90s.
I've been enjoying the play-offs more than I have in many years.
Growing up I was a hardcore Lakers fan. But I got tired of Kobe acting like a punk and decided I wouldn't support the team again until he retired (or was traded). It also helped that I hate Phil Jackson. He's an overrated coach, and as much as I hate Kobe, Jackson writing a book about things that happened with Kobe on and off the court, was lame. Any coach would tell you that stuff should stay in the locker room.
And it's been fun rooting against them. It was tough last year against the Celtics, as I've hated them since the early 80s (although I love the old teams, with Sam Jones, Cousy, Russell, Jo Jo White, etc).
But it hasn't been hard for me to root for LeBron James. He's a kid that I thought would make all the wrong choices. People said he hung around with the wrong crowd in high school, and he jumped right to the NBA. But he hasn't gotten into trouble. He just became the best player in the NBA, without ever ending on the police blotter.
Earlier this year, I was sad to hear that two former Bulls died. Former coach and broadcast Johnny Kerr. And, a week later, Norm Van Lier, who was an all-star that died at 61.
More recently, I was saddened to hear of the passing of Wayman Tisdale. He was tearing things up at Oklahoma when I was playing high school basketball, and he went from being an All-American to being an NBA all-star.
I met him when he was part of the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1984 (they won the gold). As he was signing an autograph for me, he noticed the shirt I was wearing that said "New Orleans Jazz." He asked if I was a fan of the music or the team. I laughed and said, "Neither. My step-dad got this for me at a convention he went to in New Orleans." He asked what kind of music I liked and I told him rock 'n' roll. He said I should give jazz another chance, and he told me he played bass.
When he retired from basketball, he started making jazz albums. I started playing basketball with a guy that was a few inches shorter than him (he was 6'9") that worked at the post office. He was from Maryland and didn't talk much. We'd usually just talk about food before we played. He'd always say how much he missed good crab cakes. But one day we started talking about music. He told me he was a bass player and I said, "More like Bootsy Collins or Wayman Tisdale?" His eyes widened and he said, "You know Tisdale? That guy is the best in jazz. His stuff is amazing."
I admitted I had never heard anything he'd done. The next time we were at the gym, he brought me a few CDs. And I realized...nothing will get me to like jazz. I can hear some stuff I like...Mingus, Miles...even the "smooth" stuff like George Benson, Al Jarreau or Sade, can be okay in small doses.
Anyway...I heard Tisdale had a leg amputated 10 months ago. He had broken it and a tumor was found (if memory serves). I was shocked when I heard last week about his passing.
On the same day, I heard about a former player, another Bull -- Corie Blount. He got a year in prison for having something like 30 pounds of pot in the trunk of his car.
And it made it sadder. The nice guys seem to die young. The losers in sports...Darryl Strawberry, Ryan Leaf, Canseco, Blount...the list is probably a thousand players long. Those guys will probably live into their 90s.