The late edition but there are a few links worth posting for your weekend enjoyment.
I'm going to start with a tip of the hat to Myron Medcalf. Typically I do not agree with much of what he writes but his post yesterday on Lebron is spot on.
Basketball creates, maintains and supports more divas than any sport in the country. The self-obsession, however, begins at the top of the game's pyramid.
(Kudos to Kevin Durant for signing a five-year extension Wednesday and avoiding the "me-first" attitude of his counterpart.)
James' one-hour promo on ESPN Thursday night will only make things worse for anyone preaching the value of teamwork, selflessness, loyalty and legacy to young basketball players who mimic everything the NBA all-star does.
MM talks about the ridiculousness of every high school athlete feeling the need for a press conference to announce his college decision which leads to college athletes believing that the world is at a near stand-still until they announce whether or not they'll return to college or take the money of the NBA. And of course then you get the ultimate diva who took up an hour on ESPN to tell everyone where he was going to play basketball.
I realize that the James' decision greatly affects the landscape of the NBA and really have no opinion on where he should or should not have signed. But the amount of self-absorption was unpleasant to watch. Ultimately I think this will tarnish his legacy. Nothing to do with leaving
- The Minnesota native and current Hawkeye, Broderick Binns is in trouble. He should not drink and drive. Not like the Gophers have been clean this offseason but since he is a MN native I thought it was worth the link.
- Dr. Saturday tells us about a few QBs who will put up big numbers at smaller schools this year. Dwight Dasher is a name you should start to recognize. He is the scrambling QB at Middle Tennessee State. 2,500 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing last year.
- You've probably heard by now that the U plans to install FieldTurf at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. It is what they play their games on, so I guess it makes sense.
- Let's Play Hockey talks about the 19 Minnesotan's drafted in the NHL Draft.
With all of these locals being drafted, one would think the Gopher hockey program could avoid the kind of seasons they have had recently.
from 1990 to 1999, only two players from Minnesota (Erik Rasmussen in 1996, David Tanabe in 1999) were selected in the first round. In the following 11 drafts (2000-10), 23 Minnesotans were taken in the first round, including an all-time high of four in 2006 (Erik Johnson, Kyle Okposo, Peter Mueller, David Fischer) and 2010.