So for six months the NBA news revolves around Dwight Howard and it turns out he’s not going anywhere. Yes he’s arguably the best center in the league but he’s also the most indecisive. The latest news on Howard has him opening his own waffle house when he retires.
If I was Mitch Kuphcak, in the end, the only guy I would have traded Andrew Bynum for was Howard. Anybody else would have been disastrous. However the Chris Paul trade would have made the Lakers the team to beat in the West. They would still have Bynum in the middle and the best point guard in the league. That and Kobe Bryant could have put them over the top.
But since David Stern inexplicably vetoed that the Lakers could have done a lot worse than Ramon Sessions at the point. The trade worked in every way. I know he’s old, and I know he’s slow. I know he’s been getting torched by every young point guard in the league. But I still hated to see Derek Fisher go. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Fisher sign a one day contract with the Lakers and then retire within the next year. He’ll probably be sitting next to Mike Brown as an assistant.
Jordan Hill? Didn’t he average 14 points and seven boards a game for La Salle this season?
Nobody can replace Chauncey Billups, (the Clippers are under .500 since he got hurt), but Nick Young is an adequate addition. The former Trojan can do a lot of things and is averaging over 16 points per game.
Pasadena’s season came to an end last Tuesday night against St. John Bosco in the State Tournament. The Bulldogs had a great run and the truth is more people remember who won CIF titles, not State titles. And Pasadena did that a couple of weeks ago at Anaheim Convention Center.
What’s Big Tony Solorzano going to do now that the PAC 12 Tournament has been moved from Staples Center to Las Vegas? Is Big Tony headed to Sin City next March?
March Madness is upon us and of course I’m talking about the courting of Peyton Manning. Manning worked out for Tennessee and Denver and both teams came away very impressed. The 49ers were also in the mix. It was a little awkward in the city by the bay though since current 49er quarterback Alex Smith and Manning have the same agent – Tom Condon. Manning settled things Monday by inking a five-year $95 million deal with the Broncos. John Elway might have had a little something to do with it.
So where does that leave Tim Tebow? Jacksonville? New England? Seattle officially resolved their quarterback issues for now when they signed Matt Flynn to a three-year $26 million deal Sunday.
There’s nothing new on the local high school football head coaching openings as Keppel, Mt. View, Baldwin Park and La Canada are still searching. Baldwin Park just posted the opening on the CIF website for a walk on position after the job was turned down by all on campus candidates. We are hearing that La Canada is close to making a decision. Stay tuned…
As for the real March Madness it’s sill the best three weeks in sports. In the first week, there has already been two #15 seeds knock off number twos and a number 16 almost beat a number one. Ohio, a number 13, has advanced to Sweet Sixteen for only the second time in school history. The state of Ohio is well represented with Ohio State also cracking the round of 16 along with Cincinnati and Xavier. No state has ever pushed four teams into the sweet sixteen.
Of course there are the usual suspects. North Carolina, Kentucky, Syracuse and Michigan State are in as well. Indiana, who used to be a regular attendee, has made it to the 16 for the first time in 10 years.
As usual the betting in Las Vegas has gone through the roof during tournament time. This year they offered a new wager. What happens first? The NCAA Champion is crowned or Manning signs a contract with his new team? The smart money was on Manning. I liked Ohio.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com.
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