Not off the Press: More basketball on the schedule
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
This week has allowed some basketball talk, thanks to the Ohio High School Athletic Association, better known as the OHSAA.
No, they didn't implement a shot clock or take away the three-point line … they accepted a proposal from the coaches association that will allow schools to add two more games to their schedules, starting in the 2012-13 season.
My opinion has changed on this, sort of. My first thought when I read this rule back in April, was Really? More games? Aren't 20 enough in a season that seems to last almost half the year? But that was just the grumpy sports editor in me who already covers nearly 70 boys and girls basketball games a year. Then I got to thinkin' and talking to others about this ruling.
Though I think 20 games is enough, having 22 games can't hurt and can only help teams in Highland County.
Here is the story about the ruling.
One thing I thought about was the McClain basketball schedule in December last year, where they went, I think, 11 days without a game. Now when this new rule starts, hopefully they can have more than practices in the middle of December.
So, in that line of thinking, that is a good point.
Another thing that I will admit to is that I'm glad teams in the South Central Ohio League will be able to keep two more non-conference games when East Clinton joins the league that same year. So again, this ruling helps the SCOL in the fact they can schedule the same amount of games out of the league as they currently can.
What else I understand with this ruling is the season isn't extended in terms of how long it is. The regular season will still be however many days it currently is, but with two more games mixed in, which is a good thing because the winter season is the longest season of the three in high school sports. Or maybe it seems like that because the weather is the worst, but I'm pretty sure it is the longest.
However, it will mean more games, and I'm pretty sure players like games more than practices, so this is a good decision because the season doesn't get any longer. That I like. It just means I'm gonna have to add a few more cups of coffee to my schedule in a couple years.
• The 2011 NBA Finals
More basketball talk in June … yeah, crazy, I know!
This NBA Finals was so much fun to watch. I know people in Cleveland loved it (maybe more than Dallas fans), and I was even told the Mavericks are the best team in the state of Texas, in any sport … which I disagree with.
But not just these Finals, but the entire NBA Playoffs, were just so much fun to watch. This season has rekindled my love for the NBA. Last year, the season was a spark, but the 2010-11 regular season and especially the Playoffs just make me love this sport. A lot of people, I know, don't like the NBA, but those people need to give it a chance … it is back.
What helped spark my interest back in the NBA was a book by Bill Simmons titled "The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy." This is such a fun read, and though it's 700 pages, it will help bring you back to the NBA or like it even more.
Also, it was nice to see Dirk Nowitzki finally win his ring, and since I'm a fan of Mavs owner Mark Cuban, it was fun to see him celebrating in front of NBA commish David Stern.
By the way, I don't blame LeBron James for leaving Cleveland because if he stayed there … well, he'd be at home watching the Finals.
So with Dirk and Jason Kidd off the list of great players to never win an NBA title, now I guess the best player on that list (who is currently playing) is LeBron James. I don't think he will be on that list much longer, though. Though I'm not a fan of the Heat, this team will win at least one title before all is said and done.
Here is my Top 5 list of current players (at least 5 years) in the NBA without a ring:
1. LeBron James (Heat), 2. Steve Nash (Suns), 3. Dwight Howard (Magic), 4. Chris Paul (Hornets), 5. Carmelo Anthony (Knicks).
All five of those names above are great talents, and eventually I can honestly see four of them getting a ring. I don't see Nash getting one as long as he's with the Phoenix Suns.
• 10 Random sports thoughts
1. The Reds did better in San Francisco than I thought they were going to do. Split the four-game series before heading to Los Angeles.
2. I've come to realize I own way too many sports books.
3. ESPN had the dumbest stats graphic on-screen last night: At halftime it had James, Wade and Bosh 29 points and on the other side Dirk 3. I'm pretty sure Jason Terry had 19 points at halftime and Shawn Marion had eight … that would have been nice to know as well.
4. Jeff Gordon proved on Sunday he's still got it when it comes to Sprint Cup racing. He is now tied for third-place all-time in wins with 84. He's tied with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison.
5. I hope Derek Jeter can wait to get his 3,000th hit in Cincinnati, but I doubt it will take that long. He'll get it in Chicago.
6. Do you realize the Reds were one of five teams who passed on Jeter in the 1991 MLB Draft? At the time, the Reds had Barry Larkin at shortstop, but the Reds scouts wanted to put him in centerfield until Larkin broke down. Read "The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter" by Ian O'Conner. All of the details are in chapter 2.
7. This weekend the Big Ten Network had a few classic football games playing. Though I didn't watch much of them, it was cool to see the 1979 Michigan-Ohio State game game with Woody and Bo on the sidelines. Must have been fun to see that when it actually happened.
8. I really hope all these TOP SECRET meetings the NFL and the Players Association are having makes it possible for a full season in '11. I don't want to go into a depression in early September.
9. Is it too early to start thinking about high school football? I'll give it a couple more weeks.
10. The Legion baseball team returns home this Friday for their annual Wooden Bat Tournament. It will be the second time they have played at Richard Shaffer Park this season.
(Extra thought)
Not only did Mike Tyson make the Boxing Hall of Fame this past weekend, so did Sylvester Stallone, who played Rocky Balboa (the best fictional boxer EVER). I'll be honest, I'd rather watch Rocky V than most heavyweight fights that could happen in real life nowadays.
• Quote of the Week
"For us (McClain), this works out perfect with East Clinton joining the SCOL. With East Clinton joining our league, that allows us to still have two extra non-conference games." — McClain boys basketball head coach Brent Eaton, about the new 22-game schedule.
• One last item of business
I'll take this time just to thank everyone for allowing me to do what I do, and thanks for reading this column every week.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com.[[In-content Ad]]
No, they didn't implement a shot clock or take away the three-point line … they accepted a proposal from the coaches association that will allow schools to add two more games to their schedules, starting in the 2012-13 season.
My opinion has changed on this, sort of. My first thought when I read this rule back in April, was Really? More games? Aren't 20 enough in a season that seems to last almost half the year? But that was just the grumpy sports editor in me who already covers nearly 70 boys and girls basketball games a year. Then I got to thinkin' and talking to others about this ruling.
Though I think 20 games is enough, having 22 games can't hurt and can only help teams in Highland County.
Here is the story about the ruling.
One thing I thought about was the McClain basketball schedule in December last year, where they went, I think, 11 days without a game. Now when this new rule starts, hopefully they can have more than practices in the middle of December.
So, in that line of thinking, that is a good point.
Another thing that I will admit to is that I'm glad teams in the South Central Ohio League will be able to keep two more non-conference games when East Clinton joins the league that same year. So again, this ruling helps the SCOL in the fact they can schedule the same amount of games out of the league as they currently can.
What else I understand with this ruling is the season isn't extended in terms of how long it is. The regular season will still be however many days it currently is, but with two more games mixed in, which is a good thing because the winter season is the longest season of the three in high school sports. Or maybe it seems like that because the weather is the worst, but I'm pretty sure it is the longest.
However, it will mean more games, and I'm pretty sure players like games more than practices, so this is a good decision because the season doesn't get any longer. That I like. It just means I'm gonna have to add a few more cups of coffee to my schedule in a couple years.
• The 2011 NBA Finals
More basketball talk in June … yeah, crazy, I know!
This NBA Finals was so much fun to watch. I know people in Cleveland loved it (maybe more than Dallas fans), and I was even told the Mavericks are the best team in the state of Texas, in any sport … which I disagree with.
But not just these Finals, but the entire NBA Playoffs, were just so much fun to watch. This season has rekindled my love for the NBA. Last year, the season was a spark, but the 2010-11 regular season and especially the Playoffs just make me love this sport. A lot of people, I know, don't like the NBA, but those people need to give it a chance … it is back.
What helped spark my interest back in the NBA was a book by Bill Simmons titled "The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy." This is such a fun read, and though it's 700 pages, it will help bring you back to the NBA or like it even more.
Also, it was nice to see Dirk Nowitzki finally win his ring, and since I'm a fan of Mavs owner Mark Cuban, it was fun to see him celebrating in front of NBA commish David Stern.
By the way, I don't blame LeBron James for leaving Cleveland because if he stayed there … well, he'd be at home watching the Finals.
So with Dirk and Jason Kidd off the list of great players to never win an NBA title, now I guess the best player on that list (who is currently playing) is LeBron James. I don't think he will be on that list much longer, though. Though I'm not a fan of the Heat, this team will win at least one title before all is said and done.
Here is my Top 5 list of current players (at least 5 years) in the NBA without a ring:
1. LeBron James (Heat), 2. Steve Nash (Suns), 3. Dwight Howard (Magic), 4. Chris Paul (Hornets), 5. Carmelo Anthony (Knicks).
All five of those names above are great talents, and eventually I can honestly see four of them getting a ring. I don't see Nash getting one as long as he's with the Phoenix Suns.
• 10 Random sports thoughts
1. The Reds did better in San Francisco than I thought they were going to do. Split the four-game series before heading to Los Angeles.
2. I've come to realize I own way too many sports books.
3. ESPN had the dumbest stats graphic on-screen last night: At halftime it had James, Wade and Bosh 29 points and on the other side Dirk 3. I'm pretty sure Jason Terry had 19 points at halftime and Shawn Marion had eight … that would have been nice to know as well.
4. Jeff Gordon proved on Sunday he's still got it when it comes to Sprint Cup racing. He is now tied for third-place all-time in wins with 84. He's tied with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison.
5. I hope Derek Jeter can wait to get his 3,000th hit in Cincinnati, but I doubt it will take that long. He'll get it in Chicago.
6. Do you realize the Reds were one of five teams who passed on Jeter in the 1991 MLB Draft? At the time, the Reds had Barry Larkin at shortstop, but the Reds scouts wanted to put him in centerfield until Larkin broke down. Read "The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter" by Ian O'Conner. All of the details are in chapter 2.
7. This weekend the Big Ten Network had a few classic football games playing. Though I didn't watch much of them, it was cool to see the 1979 Michigan-Ohio State game game with Woody and Bo on the sidelines. Must have been fun to see that when it actually happened.
8. I really hope all these TOP SECRET meetings the NFL and the Players Association are having makes it possible for a full season in '11. I don't want to go into a depression in early September.
9. Is it too early to start thinking about high school football? I'll give it a couple more weeks.
10. The Legion baseball team returns home this Friday for their annual Wooden Bat Tournament. It will be the second time they have played at Richard Shaffer Park this season.
(Extra thought)
Not only did Mike Tyson make the Boxing Hall of Fame this past weekend, so did Sylvester Stallone, who played Rocky Balboa (the best fictional boxer EVER). I'll be honest, I'd rather watch Rocky V than most heavyweight fights that could happen in real life nowadays.
• Quote of the Week
"For us (McClain), this works out perfect with East Clinton joining the SCOL. With East Clinton joining our league, that allows us to still have two extra non-conference games." — McClain boys basketball head coach Brent Eaton, about the new 22-game schedule.
• One last item of business
I'll take this time just to thank everyone for allowing me to do what I do, and thanks for reading this column every week.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com.[[In-content Ad]]