All kinds of basketball stuff in here today

We’re almost all basketball today.

Don’t worry, it’ll get slow again for a few days so we can get to some of the usual off-the-wall stuff.

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Big basketball goings on in China.

No, not brawls.

The men’s FISU Games team plays Serbia for the gold medal this morning our time and it speaks to the depth of talent across all levels.

This is a group of CIS kids – Kevin Hanson’s the coach – and they’ve gone 5-1 after other university-age players to reach the final.

They beat Lithuania in the semis, after Lithuania had upset the United States in the quarters, which is a significant win in itself.

Now, World University Games (as they used to be known) and success for Canadian men really shouldn’t come as that big as a surprise.

A whole bunch of you most likely remember the “Miracle On Wood” out in Edmonton way back in ’83 when Canada won the gold medal in a tournament that included a stirring win over an American team with a couple of kids named Malone and Barkley on it.

I wasn’t at that one but I was in Buffalo in ’93 and that was almost as dramatic.

The Americans had a pretty good team – I seem to recall Damon Stoudamire on it, and Carlos Rogers, too – and the Canadians were supposed to be fodder for them in the gold medal.

Again, if my fading memory is right, I remember Canada taking almost a 20-point lead as the crowd looked on in stunned disbelief before the Americans rallied to win.

I emphatically recall one of Canada’s best – and youngest – players taking the loss particularly hard because he’d been on a college team that had pulled off a significant upset over a Stoudamire-led team earlier in his career.

I also remember thinking that the kid was going to be pretty good, an opinion held by Canada Basketball officials, who took him from Buffalo to the qualification tournament for the world championships to help get his feet wet at the highest international level.

The kid’s name?

Steve Nash.

Wonder whatever happened to him?

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So, the NBL Canada draft?

Good show, they tried their best to make it as professional and first-class they could and pulled it off.

Right down to comely lasses walking the draft picks up to meet the CEO, hats for them to put on (league caps in some cases since some teams don’t have names) and a packed room, they did pull it off quite well.

It was a big first weekend for the league and now they have to find some way to capitalize on the energy to sell some tickets and keep going in each of the league cities.

Best of luck.

Here’s the thing about the draft, though.

Think it might be better not to get picked? I know the league wanted a show – and put on a very good one – but if you’re a player, isn’t it now better to have seven teams to try to cadge a camp invite to rather than just one.

Unlike, say, the NBA, there are no guaranteed contracts for any of the draft picks and now they have to make sure they make the teams when camps open in October.

Me?

I’d almost like to not get drafted and have my agent try to see my services to all the teams rather than have one just control me.

And the other thing that struck me?

How happy a lot of these kids were to have a chance to play in North America.

Listening to them rattle off the countries where they’ve played – and I heard Saudi Arabia, Germany, China, Japan, Argentina, Sweden, Iceland and France from the handful of players I talked to – just hammered home the fact a league in North America that seems legit and could do good things was the most important part of the night.

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Okay, this is from the Department Of Totally Logical.

How in the world there are people who think the marriage of a woman who, to the best of my knowledge, is famous for a sex tape and little else, and NBA journeyman can be remotely considered “news.”

That said, I wish Kim and Hump all the best.

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One last NBL thing.

It’s amazing who you’ll see at a tryout camp for a new Canadian basketball league.

The First Lady Of The Beat (reprising the role she played when, you know, she was on the beat) and I were standing around Seneca College at the NBL combine thingy on Saturday and there’s this bearded guy standing a few metres away.

He looks so familiar it’s killing us and finally we ask someone who it is.

Fred Jones!

The beard threw us off.

Yes, the combine did include a former NBA dunk champion, if only as a spectator, as the ex-Raptor was back at around his old stomping grounds making sure a cousin of his – Joshua Porter -- handled himself well at the tryout.

You remember Fred, right?

A rather inglorious half a season in Toronto where he seemed to shoot more three-pointers than manage to get to the rim but a good guy and it was good to see him.

He’s been in Italy and China the last two seasons and isn’t sure where he’ll be playing this fall.

And there you go, one of our infrequent stops on the Where Are They Now Tour.

Oh, and Joshua?

Didn’t get drafted.

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Hey, guess who’s Mr. Baseball this week?

Yep.

Tuesday night as a one-off fill in during the Royals series and then the Rays are all mine on the weekend for four games.

Excited?

Figure we need to bring back IGBT?

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Comments

[Dave]

Doug, I agree with you on the Hump and Kim deal. I always liked Hump as he always provided a good interview, had a good since of humour and seemed like an all around nice guy. For some reason, I feel sorry for him for marrying Kim and I wonder how long it will bebefore he gets hurt or Kim makes the headlines in some tabloid.

[Andre]

Hey Doug.

I think im the only person excited about a Canadian Basketball League. I feel it can grow. And finally our university/college players have an option to stay on and play the game they love. hopefully, this will develop our national program (get these guys playing together)

[Jacques]

RIP Jack.

[john]

Hmmm, doesn’t the mere mentioning of the marriage on a newspaper columnists’ blog sort of cement its newsworthiness? Just sayin...

[The J]

Calling Kim Kardashian "a woman who, to the best of my knowledge, is famous for a sex tape and little else" is a glib and unfair characterization at best. First of all that "sex tape" was made with the less talented brother of a music star. Secondly, since then she has gone on to date not one but two professional athletes, posed naked for playboy, and pimp her family out to a reality show on cable television. Not to mention she is the step sister to none other than Brodie Jenner, of TV's "the Hills". So no, I think her fame is well-deserved. And I am only dissapointed that a former Raptor did not get the respect he deserves with a proper IPWBT (In-Pompous Wedding Blog).

Blogger's note: My apologies. She's "famous" for a sex tape, her dating proclivities and pimping out her family. I presume she'll be on the dollar bill soon

[Lorie]

Well, many have commented that Kris' success on the court this past season was because he finally "accepted his role". May the wisdom of that choice guide him as he begins wedded life. However, having said that, I wonder if the similarities in the two roles may be limited. He may have been the Sixth Man on the hardcourt, but one hopes he'll (now) be The Only Man for his Blushing Bride. Well, at least until the end of the honeymoon.

[EricNS]

Thanks for covering the NBL. Andre Levingston is smart and persistent and will eventually get a good Canadian league going if anyone can. Basing himself in Halifax has been a smart move. Halifax has shown it can support a minor league team (and CIS championships). We've had several teams here over the years that were the solid franchises in otherwise struggling leagues. Are there any other small cities with this kind of history? If so, how well is the NBL doing in recruiting the right people in them? Sorry if you've already covered this. I've been traveling and away from my computer.

[doug]

this is has to be one of the best sports articles I have ever read, it hits the nail on the head in every regard, a absolute masterpiece...this is why this strike and Stern are just full of it and also why there will never be any contraction, fans need to wise up B-ball isn't a business for these men it's a hobby, a pastime,something far greater...... and also in this article he explains why I never,ever have cheered for the Red Sox and why I never will...just a good read and in the same way Feschuk's article on Bosh and his child was out of line so is anything related to Humphries and Kardashian they can marry and do with their life as they choose, so I wish them all the best as I would anyone that just tied the knot...

[doug]

oh forgot to include the link to the article...that Grantland site is just must see reading,,...

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6874079/psychic-benefits-nba-lockout

[john]

@Doug, your "one of the best sports articles I haver ever read" piece has this line. "For every disciplined and rational operator like the Patriots' Robert Kraft or Mark Cuban, there is also someone like Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder."

With a straight face, please explain when and how Mark Cuban became a "disciplined" and "rational" owner. Then explain to everyone how MLG is run as a hobby that just burns through money on the whim of the owner.

[Bob Wesley]

Hey Doug,Rumor had it,you were at the Humphries/Kardashian Wedding.Did you give a toast?

Blogger's note: I had toast. With peanut butter

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Hell of a link there, to Grantland. Hell of a good comment about wishing Hump and Ms. Kardashian all the best. They deserve and need that, just like the rest of us mugs.
Hell of a day in politics. Mr. Layton's letter to Canada is an historical treasure. This country lost a good man today. You didn't have to agree with the politics to know that he was a pro's pro, he fought fairly, and he fought the good fight. Rest in peace, Jack.
Cheers.

[Cluck Kent]

Well, I had high hopes for Fred when he first got here. He was doing some driving until he went up one time too early, someone got under him and he fell hard to the floor. It happened only a few games after he started here and he dropped right off from there. I always wondered if that had the same mental effect on him that TJ Ford seemed to have suffered after his similiar crash with Horford.

Personally, I don't understand any of the 'celebrity' news. But to each, their own.

Gosh, basketball news. It almost made me feel giddy.