The NBA Development League needs further development.

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By Bill Smith

Sporting News Today reported that the NBA is making a basic change in the way that the Development League is going to be managed next season. The Development League is a replacement for the original Continental Basketball Association which Isiah Thomas, the current head coach of the Florida International basketball team, bought and drove into the ground like a Canadian goose shot out of the air by a canon.

The change that the NBA is going make is to allow the current investor/owners of the teams to maintain their positions but give total control basketball operations of the teams to their NBA affiliates. The NBA teams will assume funding responsibility for basketball operations. Does that remind those of us that owned Citibank stock of the recent “bail out” and government takeover? As usual, when control is taken away from those that own the assets, there are a number of problems that Big Brother has created that will not be solved and will certainly be made worse.

The greatest problem is that there are 30 NBA teams but only 16 DL teams. That number will be increased next year to 17 as part of the change. Now, multiple … Read more at FryingPanSports

Niblets from around the net for 4/11/09

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Niblets from around the net for 4/11/09

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By Bill Smith

Updates on previous articles

Niblets for 4/4/09

As I wrote Rick Serritella, of NFLDraftBible.com, reported Southern California LBs Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing tested positive for steroids. I did verify the original report with another source. Cushing and his agent have both denied the report. Thus far, Cushing has not provided any proof of his claim. The official NFL report will be given to teams next week. Most likely it will be leaked.

Kentucky is no longer THE basketball power—GET OVER IT!

New coach John Calipari will have a couple of the best prospects back out of their commitment to Memphis and announce that they will follow Calipari. This still doesn’t change my opinion about the long term future of Ky basketball. Calipari is an outstanding coach and an excellent recruiter. Memphis fortunes will decline and Ky will be better. But long term the ACC will continue to be the center of basketball with the Big East second and the SEC in the dust of those two.

Several NFL QBs are in the frying pan.

The Sporting News had an article Thursday in their emailed sports paper … Read more at FryingPanSports

Should they stay or should they go (pro)?

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Should they stay or should they go (pro)?

By Bill Smith

Clash had a song “Should I stay or should I go.” That same question is on the minds of a lot of college basketball players now that the season is over. Should they go pro or stay for another year of college ball?

It depends.

If the player had a particularly strong year and tournament, their stock is most likely as high as it is going to get. If not, or if the player had a down year due to injury, they are better off staying.

Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) will be the first overall choice. He has a combination of power, athleticism and explosiveness that scouts love. He also has an extremely high BB IQ. He has announced that he will enter the 09 NBA draft.

Generally, if a player is going to selected in the first round of the NBA or NFL draft, he should go. In the recent past, several big name athletes have made the mistake of staying one year too long. For example, after the 2007 season LB James Laurinaitis (Ohio State) would have been a top 10 pick in the … Read more at FryingPanSports

The NFL and NBA should be brought before the Supreme Court.

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The NFL and NBA should be brought before the Supreme Court.

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By Bill Smith

Where is the ACLU when you really need them? The rules against players going pro in basketball and football straight out of high school are illegal and violate the US Constitution. Of course based on the Supreme Court’s failure to strike down limits on political speech established by Campaign Finance Reform indicates that the Constitution and Bill of Rights doesn’t mean much anymore.

I am not taking a position that a year or two of college is necessarily bad for young men although given the state of public education it is hard to believe that they are all prepared for college. And I would agree that the vast majority of players are not ready for the NBA out of high school and very few are ready for the NFL. That is not the point.

The point is that not even the government let alone professional leagues or player unions have the right to prevent a player from pursuing his or her chosen profession as long as that profession is league.

The excuses given by the most recent court for upholding the right of the … Read more at FryingPanSports

Niblets from around the net for 4/4/09

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Niblets from around the net for 4/4/09

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By Bill Smith

Best comment of the last week: from fantasy basketball on Fantasy Baseball Fans—Beware of the WBC players in your drafts.

Great advice, WBC isn’t at ALL on par with MLB. I was actually having this discussion with a friend of mine last night as we were scoping out each others lineups (different leagues of course). He hadn’t even thought of that so I had to fill him in, I think he owes me a beer or two.

As you have seen, I am never shy about sharing my opinion. However, I think the MLB season will prove me right overall. And yes, I think he does owe you a beer or two. By the way, I do have a Pay-pal account if you wish to donate.

Updates on previous columns:

Kentucky is no longer THE basketball power—GET OVER IT!

John Calipari, the former head coach of Memphis, has accepted the Kentucky job and the 31 million dollars they offered. He said “Kentucky in basketball is like Notre Dame in football.”

My analysis: He is EXACTLY right. The fans and supporters of both of those teams live in their Read more at FryingPanSports

Saturday Niblets from around the net for 03/28/09

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Saturday Niblets from around the net for 03/28/09

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By Bill Smith

Best comment of the last 2 weeks:

Acai Burn’s comment on Don’t get too excited about a 3 team deal involving Jay Cutler and the Browns.

The Browns have two serviceable quarterbacks on the team at this time and to make a move at the qb position when they have other needs is a waste.

The problem is that in a three way deal, there is no way to compensate the Browns for the loss of Quinn. The Broncos will demand more than Quinn in return for Cutler. The question I posed boils down to where will the draft choice(s) for the Browns come from to compensate them for giving up Quinn?

Updates on previous columns:

Thoughts about the first 2 rounds of the NCAA Tournament. – CBS has done a little better job limiting the switches in games. The officials must be reading my site. There have been very few visits to the scoring table replay TV since I commented on the issue. The top seeded teams are still in control of the bracket although Xavier gave Pittsburgh a tough game on Thursday night. … Read more at FryingPanSports