Out with the old and in with the new

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The L.A. Lakers and Kobe Bryant have been an NBA powerhouse throughout the history of the league....back in the day it was Jerry West, Bill Walton, Kareem and then came the trade for the most dominant big man of his generation....Shaq. When the time came to choose between their aging big-man and their rising superstar in Kobe Bryant the Lakers chose to put their faith in Kobe. At that point the Lakers had won rings with Kobe, but Kobe had never won rings without Shaq, he got that proverbial monkey off his back while cementing his legacy as one of the greatest in the game, one of the greatest in history by the time he hangs em up....After last seasons embarrassing end the Lakers went into the off season with needs and came into the year with a revamped lineup that could be it's scariest in years with the addition of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash while retaining Pao Gasol. Scary on paper doesn't get you wins though, and the one thing that the Lakers are doing a lot of this year is LOSING. 

In a game that seemingly featured half of the league's all stars, the consistent championship contender and 5 time NBA champion Kobe Bryant and the Lakers vs last years NBA champion Heat. With the win the Heat moved further ahead in the race for the #1 seed in the East while the Lakers dropped to 4 games under .500 and 10th place in the West. Kobe is scoring 2 points per game more then his career average this season but he's now in his 17th year and combine that with the fact that he's played in the post season(and played deep into it) throughout his career, his body has got to be getting worn down, and the losing isn't helping.

Maybe the changing of the guard came later then some expected but it's happening one way or another....if it's not the Heat then it's the Thunder

SURPRISE!!! 2 of the countries top 5 recruits choose same school giving them the new #1 ranked class of 2013 recruits

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John Calipari has a reputation around college basketball as a smooth, big time recruiter, a players coach who doesn't have a problem recruiting the high profile "1 and done" college basketball players that are looking for someone to get their game ready for the next level. While some coaches shy away from players that are in the spotlight regularly before even stepping on campus, garnering national attention sometimes before even becoming a teenager.

Whether they reason that its more detrimental to their program to bring guys in for only a year and then have to go through a constant rebuilding process year after year, teaching their system to a whole group of newcomers year after year as opposed to just filling in a few holes after graduation. Graduation is something that they can easily plan for, knowing the # of scholarships they will have open to make offers, with players that are teenagers having to make life altering decisions, pushing it off until the last minute possible, it makes recruiting that much more difficult. 

A job that is already time consuming, often frustrating, complicated, and difficult in general becomes something equivalent to guessing what your girlfriend heard about after the weekend bachelor party in Las Vegas. Coaches want an honest answer just as badly as that girlfriend, but players are young men, forced to choose where to possibly spend the next 4 years of their life, usually on their own for the first time, it's confusing.

Here are a few facts that are pretty straightforward and if your someone who follows sports, is being recruited by the top college basketball programs not only in the country today but also the most wins and championships in the history of college basketball, and have aspirations of lacing em up against the likes of Lebron James, there are very few programs that can compete with powerhouse recruiter/coach John Calipari and Kentucky.

Who Am I?

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I was diagnosed with testicular cancer during my career and instead of "giving up", "throwing in the towel" and feeling sorry for myself I fought Cancer like it was an Ali vs. Frasior fight. In the end I had the resources, doctors with the skills, knowledge and expertise to come out not only alive but gaining a new mindset and focus. I was able to push myself through a near death experience and lived to tell the story of how I beat a deadly disease that kills thousands and thousands of people across the world every year. There was a cost though...

I didn't tell the doctors, nurses, kids, or even my parents that I had in fact made a deal with the devil right before I went in to get my first treatment. I sacrificed a few not so important things in order to survive and be all I could be.....the rewards far outweighed the consequences though. Who really needs BOTH of their testicles? Think about how many children, men, and women were motivated and inspired to fight because of the story....whether he used steroids, HGH, cream, clear, cocaine or Heroine, the fact of the matter is that he survived CANCER. HE WON THE BATTLE AGAINST THE BIG C. 

DO I LIKE HIM AS A PERSON? NO. DO I RESPECT HIM AS A MAN? NO! HE LIED TO ME TOO MANY TIMES. MUCH MUCH TOO OFTEN. AM I IMPRESSED WITH HIS RESILIENCE AND DETERMINATION? YES