THROW BACK, THURSDAY!!

Step right up and enter the Larry B. "wayback machine". 

Today we spin back to those wonder years at ESPN when I was hosting "SportsCenter" and the "NBA Today" program

 and got my very own NBA Hoops card.

These cards went into production just before my daughter, Jenna, was born in CT. We cannot forget her.

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TALKING SPORTS HEROES WITH BIO.COM!

Once again this year, the Biography Channel (bio.com) invited me to Century City to be a participant in their

 sports biography segments. 

This is the third year that I have worked with them on the mini-docs that focus on some of sports' all-time greatest athletes. 

Bio.com invites various broadcasters, writers, and sports authorities to share their thoughts and memories of selected sports personalities and then the "bio brains" combine those recollections with interesting video highlights, stats and pertinent information to make some very entertaining vignettes.

This year, bio.com chose to feature Michael Jordan, Florence Joyner, Usain Bolt and Wilma Rudolph for the web site. 

The stories should appear in a few months. 

I'll let you know when they are available. 

Until then, here is a sample from one of our previous shoots.

This mini- bio is all about Sugar Ray Leonard.

http://www.biography.com/people/sugar-ray-leonard-9379459/videos/sugar-ray-leonard-mini-bio-2192804056

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L.A. SPARKS NEWS!!

I've had a lot of Sparks' fans contact me with questions about what is / is not happening with their WNBA team. They, as I, are baffled that local ownership backed out in December, fired the staff, and left the franchise in limbo. They, as I, are perplexed at the total lack of information emanating from the WNBA's executive offices. 

I haven't had much to say because I have not had any inside information. In fact most of the people that I talked with, who were part of the team or close to the team, are looking for answers to the same questions. 

Finally, this week, sources have told me that there is more than one local ownership group that is interested in buying the Sparks and keeping the team in Los Angeles. The NBA's Golden State Warriors are also interested in the Sparks, but they would move the team to the Bay Area and eventually have the Sparks as the summer attraction in their proposed new arena.

The WNBA also has the option of running the Sparks this season (much as the NBA did with New Orleans a few years ago) while the team plays in Los Angeles, and the search for new ownership continues. In my mind, the longer the Sparks' status remains in limbo, the more likely that scenario becomes. 

Hey! It takes time to complete the sale of a sports franchise. It is complicated. Just look at all the hoops you have to jump through and all the documents you need just to get a mortgage, these days, or buy a house. 

Let's face it. The WNBA wants a team in Los Angeles, but if the league does not have new ownership for the Sparks very soon, the clock will be ticking on the schedules, the draft, the Sparks' season,  and the Sparks' franchise. I know the WNBA has no desire to operate the L.A. franchise, but if new ownership isn't in place in a hurry, that might be the best way to save the season and keep the Sparks' rich basketball tradition alive in Los Angeles, at least for 2014.

I expect the WNBA to make an announcement, within the next week, about the status of the L.A. Sparks. February is almost here and, traditionally, this is when the WNBA unveils its upcoming season schedule. 

It is a critical time for preparation, ticket sales, promotion, and all the organizational chores that have to be done long before the season ever tips off. 

If the WNBA doesn't have a quick solution to the Sparks' dilemma,  all of those very necessary efforts will be delayed for the rest of the league. 

Literally, the WNBA and its teams cannot "afford" that kind of delay.

Keep in mind, these are my thoughts and they are based on minimal "inside info", but I have been around the league for 16 years and I know this. Time is running out for the WNBA to get a deal done and new ownership in place. If that does not happen quickly, this season and the Sparks' franchise could be in jeopardy. 

Sparks' fans deserve so much better than that! 

Sparks' fans deserve their team in L.A! 

Sparks fans deserve answers NOW!

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SEMI- PRO BOWL!

No matter how the NFL dresses it up. No matter how the NFL changes the format or the rules, the Pro Bowl is still the Pro Bowl. It is that "fill the gap" game that takes up space on the free weekend between the end of the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl.

I will admit, this year's game was better than recent years, but the draft, the Hall of Fame G.M.'s, the "mic'd up players, and all the trumped up hoopla couldn't keep fans in their Hawaiian seats or viewers tuned to their T.V. sets. Those sizzling, high-fashion unis didn't help either. 

B-O-R-I-N-G.

Grey and white? 

That's the best the Crayola-challenged NFL creative brains could come up with? Even the Civil War combatants wore grey and BLUE. Heck! It was easier to have a rooting interest in the Civil War than there is in the Pro Bowl.

The bad news is that fans paid money to sit in a Hawaiian drizzle to watch the NFL's All-Stars "compete".

The best news is that no players got hurt. That would be the ultimate indignity.

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Btw- Did you notice that, while calling plays, several of the Pro Bowl coaches used their play charts to cover their mouths to avoid having their top-secret signals stolen by lip-readers? Did they forget that they were "mic'd" and that their commands were being broadcast to NBC's viewing audience? 

Oops! Force of habit.

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SUBTRACTING EXTRA POINTS!

The NFL is considering the elimination of kicked extra points and I think  they should. With the exception of a botched snap every millennium or so, the kick for PAT has become one of the most automatic and boring plays in professional sports.

What I do not like, is the NFL's plan to give 7 points for touchdown and then give the teams the option to run a play to get and "extra point" to make it 8. If the play fails, the scoring team would have a point subtracted and wind up with a total of 6 points for their efforts. 

Can you imagine what this would do to various scoring records in the NFL? 

Can you imagine what this would do to anyone who had money bet on the game? The heart attacks in Vegas alone would be astronomical. Your team could be beating the spread after a touchdown, but  seconds later, if they strategically went for the 8th point and failed, 

you could be back to 6 points and out of the money.

The answer is simple. Keep the value of a touchdown at  6 points, but make every team run a play for  a two point conversion. If the play is successful, the scoring team ends up with 8 points. If the play flops, they still  get the 6 points for the TD. It's not a whole lot different than the way PAT's are handled now, except that teams would not lose points that were already up on the scoreboard. 

The NFL's concept is good, but it needs some very simple tweaking to make PAT's significant again.

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LB's EXTRA POINT-  If the NFL is serious about keeping the game moving, keeping the game interesting and eliminating boring, useless plays, how about outlawing the "Victory formation." Those kneel-downs in the closing minutes are a waste of time and an insult to the paying customers. You take a knee to pray NOT to play!

 Make NFL teams run plays until the final gun goes off. It could be a simple quarterback sneak or a handoff, or some fool running backwards zig-zags as the clock ticks to zero, but the offense and defense would have to be engaged. They would not be just going through the motions and playing patty-cake. More importantly, the trailing team would have a chance to clobber somebody and possibly get the ball back.

WHAT DO YOU THINK??

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OVER THE WALL GANG!

When you feel the contact, send the ball towards the hoop. You jut might get a shooting foul. In the case of John Wall v Chicago, his circus shot got him and the Wizards even more. 

Take a look!!
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/john-wall-finishes-over-shoulder-circus-shot-one-030733328--nba.html;_ylt=A0SO8yqNG9tSxAQAJI1XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTExOWpkbnBwBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1VJQzFfMQ--

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NO SHORT-CUTS FOR NBA ALL STARS!

If you hated the NBA's long- sleeved Christmas day jerseys, you just might loathe what the league's fashion gods have in mind for next month's NBA All Star game in New Orleans. 

Take a look.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/nba--adidas-officially-unveil-2014-all-star-game-jerseys--hear-from-the-guys-who-brought-you-the-sleeves--photos-225535692.html;_ylt=AwrSyCQZHNtSECsAIilNbK5_ 

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BIG SHOT DO-OVER!!!

Lightning is not supposed to strike twice.

 Correct?

Miracle shots are supposed to be once-in-a lifetime occurrences. Right?

Apparently, one young man in Minnesota did not get the message.

You will NOT believe this!

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/eighth-grader-makes-miracle-full-court-buzzer-beater-161309560.html

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NO 'WILT" IN THIS STILT!!

As a kid, Wilt Chamberlain almost died of pneumonia. He grew up thinking basketball was a game for "sissies". 

He preferred track and field, but went on to become, arguably, 

the most dominating big man in the history of hoops. 

Take a look at this Wilt feature that I participated in for bio.com

http://www.biography.com/people/wilt-chamberlain-9243766

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THE WORM TURNS- NORTH KOREAN STYLE!

Dennis Rodman has made a lot of news with his "basketball diplomacy" to North Korea. I have known Dennis since his early years with the Detroit Pistons. I have seen the evolution of his many personalities.

"Diplomacy"? Let's face it, the "Worm" is more of a dip #$%! than a diplomat, but he's not a bad guy. Misguided? Yes, but basically harmless. His impact on world affairs and the balance of power is minimal at best. 

Rodman is trying to run overtime on his 15 minutes of fame. His act has run too long and he has become a joke that is no longer funny, but the situation in Korea was a disaster long before Dennis got there.

In 1988, I was in Seoul covering the Summer Olympics for ESPN. The tension was especially high between South and North Korea. The only reason I got the gig was because Bob Ley decided not to go. Our flight was greeted by armed soldiers. There were anti-aircraft guns on the roofs of city buildings and a military presence everywhere.

We were in South Korea for three weeks and managed to take a day trip to Panmunjom, the "truce village" on the border between north and south. It's the spot where the armistice was signed that ended the Korean War in 1953. If you ever thought there might someday be peace between the two countries, you should visit Panmunjom.

The blue building to the left is where North Korean reps and U.N. Peace Keeping officers met daily, for years since the end of the skirmish, to discuss grievances. By 1988 they still had not resolved much and very little has changed since.

By the way, and by design, the hut is directly on the border between north and south. The conference table is situated exactly over the border line and the microphone cord runs directly down the middle of the table, visually and symbolically emphasizing the dividing line and the chasm between the two sides. 

It was like a scene out of "MASH". There was a facade city nearby and propaganda messages blasted through loudspeakers and echoed across the countryside. We stood right near the guard in the above picture and we were warned not to wave or smile at the North Korean guards who were across the complex. They waved at us, watched us through binoculars, and snapped photos, but waving back might provide a political photo opp that the north could use in its propaganda material. One member of our tour did wave back. Guards immediately removed him from the observation area and escorted him to our bus. They were not fooling around. The atmosphere of tension, deception and distrust spoke volumes. Still does.

I don't like that Rodman is in Korea, but he comes from a free country that allows us to be stupid. Dennis has made a career out of doing and saying stupid things. He loves the spotlight and while his visits to North Korea may startle and amuse a few Koreans and anger a lot of Americans, his political impact is zero! 

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UN-TIE GOES TO THE GUNNER!!!

Check out J.R. Smith pulling off a J.R. Swifty"!!

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/yahoo-sports-minute/j-r--smith-unties-shawn-marion-s-shoe-101921738-nba.html?vp=1

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L..A. SPARKS' FUTURE IN DOUBT!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, L.A. SPARKS' FANS!

The franchise is, for all intents and purposes, dead right now as the WNBA tries to find new ownership for the franchise. 

SHOCKING NEWS!

Here is the post from the L.A. Times. League officials have confirmed its accuracy to me. Read it and weep, Sparks fans!

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The WNBA is searching for a new Sparks owner after Sparks Chairman Paula Madison told the league her family-owned company would no longer be involved with the 
team, The Times has learned.

“This was a big surprise to us,” WNBA President 

Laurel Richie said Thursday. “Right before the 

holidays, I got a call from Paula letting me know thatshe and her family were no longer in a position to 

continue with the Sparks.”

The WNBA is not taking over control of the Sparks, 

however.

Asked if the Sparks would field a team for the 2014 

season, or if the franchise would fold, Richie 

repeatedly said that several entities have expressed

an interest in owning a WNBA team and the league is 

exploring those options regarding the Sparks.

The Sparks’ front-office staff, including General 

Manager Penny Toler and President Vincent Malcolm,

have been laid off. Sparks Coach Carol Ross and her 
staff have also lost their jobs.

The Times obtained a copy of an email that was sent by Malcolm to team employees on Tuesday: “… we regret to inform you that effective December 31, 2013 you no 
longer will be employed by the Los Angeles Sparks.”

The players, however, have gotten paid and their 

benefits will continue, according to a WNBA spokesman.

Calls to Sparks minority owner Kathy Goodman and Ross for comment were not immediately returned.

The Sparks are one of the WNBA's original teams and 

won championships in 2001 and 2002. The late Lakers 

owner Jerry Buss sold the Sparks in 2006 to an 
investment group led by Goodman, a former film

executive, and attorney Carla Christofferson.

Majority owner Madison, a former NBC executive and 

partner of Williams Group Holdings LLC, became the 

Sparks’ chairman in 2007, with an ownership group that
included Goodman, Christofferson and former Sparks 

star Lisa Leslie.

The WNBA started out with eight teams in 1997 and grew to 16 before several franchises folded — it now 

fields 12 teams, including the Sparks.

The league has been dogged by financial concerns for

 years.

In 2012 the WNBA’s average attendance fell to a record low of 7,457, according to SportsBusiness Daily. In

 2013 the league said its overall attendance rose by 
1%.

Richie said the Sparks’ problems do not reflect on the financial health of the rest of the teams in the 

league.

“This is an issue for a particular ownership group,”

 Richie said. “We are very respectful of that and we are knee deep in exploring what this means for us and 
what our plan is going forward.”

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When I find out more- you will know about it!

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HAPPY HOLIDAY??

I was so impressed with Honda's " Happy Honda Days" commercials, that I went to my dealer and leased

MICHAEL BOLTON

I got a good deal too. 

One year-10,000 miles- 

and Bolton promises not to sing for the entire term of the lease!

I am truly blessed with holiday cheer!

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