Championship game wrap up, and postgame comments which rubbed me the wrong way.

Duke won. Great. Fantastic game that almost had a better ending then the hype with a half court shot hitting bank and off the front of the iron. Heartbreaking for the Bulldogs, who are no longer a secret anymore in College Basketball. I certainly hope Coach Stevens stays there and they get more resources and attention. They are a great program and one that deserved every bit to be in the championship game. Duke was not able to use their size to a rebounding advantage which was surprising. Butler's guards were absolute bullies on the floor with their physicality and speed.

Let me get to my real beef with last night. After the game, Digger Phelps got on his soapbox along with Bob Knight and made some disparaging comments about players who come to college for one year and enter the Lottery to get drafted into the NBA. He specifically mentioned Tyreke Evans, Derrick Rose, and even current college players like John Wall and Demarcus Cousins and sarcastically asked "What happened to them here? Why didn't they win?" This is outrageous. Phelps said that coaches should start recruiting "quality kids" who won't bolt after one year and go make money in the league. And by quality, please understand who Phelps is referring to. There were no one and dones on Duke or Butler. Both teams were mostly made up of Juniors and Seniors. Then Bob Knight jumped in and said that if the former head of the NCAA was still in power the one and done rule would be much stricter and kids couldn't leave after freshman year, and it would stop "the one-and-done garbage schools have to contend with." I resent that they would single out players (who are overwhelmingly black) and call them out even by name. As if the college basketball level is the end all. Forget that the vast majority of these kids are making life decisions and its either stay and take classes and make your school and the NCAA millions (while you get nothing) or go and get your parents and siblings out of a possibly dangerous environment and a better quality of life. Heaven forbid these players make the best decision for them and their family over the million dollar paid coaches and school! Hypocrisy and sickening to me. This is the same logic used to criticize Colt McCoy for not going back into the National Championship BCS bowl game against Bama. That he somehow should have risked more injury and a pro career for Longhorn glory. Thankfully his father saw the big picture and told him not to go back in. 12 freshmen or less will enter the nba out of roughly 300 schools w/12-15 players so maybe 1/300 players are true 1 & dones. Not that big a percentage. But to hear Digger and the basketball establishment say it, it's despicable and flies in the face of the purity of college sports. The purity? Don't make me laugh. When coaches are paid millions and get to choose what shoes and uniforms the team wears (only to get paid more) while boosters drop big money into programs and schools get huge checks for just making the tournament. Alabama A&M 3 years ago got into the play-in game (65 vs 64) and lost, and the school still got ~$500,000! There are clearly some bruised egos and angry feelings from the college basketball establishment when a kid plays for one year and goes pro, or even in the past when they could skip college and go straight to the NBA. The reason you come to College is to learn and prepare to get a job and make a living in life. To become educated in your field. Why on earth wouldn't you enter your field as soon as possible if you are deemed good enough to do it? Classes will always be there. As much as "purist" say you get paid to play by a free ride in education, how much is that for 4 years? $120,000 for tuition and room and board? Make the pro money and get educated during the summer. If you are a kid who is a locked in lottery pick, and you can help your family, or they need help, and you are deciding what you should do, remember this guy and how he helped his mother and family, or this guy and how he extended his sister's life.

LOL..ran across this online..sneakerheads will heartily agree...

Is this the beginning of the end of an era??

Click the pic above for a larger view.
You are looking at a smuggled b/w fax of the unreleased and very top secret Air Jordan XXIII, the final shoe of the Air Jordan line, to be released February 2008. This pic was taken from a leak post on Niktalk.com, the world's greatest shoe message board (I'm a proud member since 2004.) I am with holding judgment until I see a full production pics, but the shoe does hold some promise...I am impressed and happy they are are seemingly "going back to the basics" with this final one, instead of following their current trend and creating a shoe that could be in Back to the Future. Feel free to comment on what you think...look quick, Nike might make me take down the pic soon.....

A sneakerfreak's lament

Hi, my name is Steven and I am a confessed sneakerfreak. ("Hi Steven.") It started when I was younger and was captivated by both my older cousins and the exploits of Michael Jordan. It's gotta be the shoes! As I grew older and was able to buy all the retro's I wanted from when I was little, it became a complete sickness. I had to have the hottest colors in all of the exclusive releases. It wasn't until I sat down and started tabulating what was going on fiscally that I realized what I could be doing with the money I was spending and tapered off. Another big problem was that I refused to break the Sabbath to get these shoes, and anyone who is a sneaker addict knows that all of the Jordan's release on a Saturday. I love these shoes and I am happy that I am able to get them again, but it seems as if Nike and the big companies in general are out to do more then just fleece the consumers; they are out to exploit us to the point of bankruptcy. When you consider that the average retro costs less then $5 to produce and is sold at a insane markup to around $125-150, it really makes you stop and think what you are buying into. Is it really about the name on the shoe, or is the fact that it has become so embedded in pop culture that everyone wants them because they are a status symbol? At the same time as all of this capitalism, you rarely saw the big companies stepping forward when kids were getting robbed and killed over their sneakers. Part of the root of that problem was that Nike made all of the shoes relatively limited to spur hype and priced them at a point that the majority of kids in the hood were not able to afford without strain. This lead to crime to obtain them, and unfortunately, kids (and some adults) lost their lives over a pair of sneakers. I love these shoes, regardless of how the companies have exploited us, and will probably still continue to buy them....just at a heavy discount from hook ups...Lol....
I also would like to draw some positive attention to what the Knicks' Stephon Marbury is doing with his new line through Steve & Barrys. I have already bought a few pairs and I am in full support of a stylish and functional shoe at a great price. I also have completely bought into the clothing line that Starbury is putting out as well. Phenomenal. Check it out when you get the chance at your local mall.