A Warped POV by A. Dacosta Brathway

April 19th, Thursday... Jarrod Uthoff, a 6'8" basketball player at the University of Wisconsin, is being restricted of his choices to transfer to another university by head coach Bo Ryan, and the question is: What's the point? FYI: The NCAA has restrictions for transfers. They are to sit out a year and maintain a 2.5 GPA if I am not mistaken but they do not restrict a player's choice of schools. The school in question will usually restrict a player from transferring to a school in the same conference. Bo handed in a list that had so many restricted schools on it, the kid might as well quit school and go to work for a fast food restaurant! What's the point?
Why are the athletes the ones who receive the harshest punishment when an action takes place contrary to the opinion of the school and the coach barring a criminal act? Is it the scholarship money? Four year scholarships are no longer offered to basketball players. They are now on a year to year basis. Uthoff did not play a game. He was on the bench the whole season. Why would he not want to transfer after he was Mr. Basketball in the state of Iowa and recruited by Bo Ryan and only God knows what he was told by coach when they sat in the kid's living room and discussed the "bottom line"(?). Is coach "pissed off?" Or, is he shallow to the point of wanting the kid to suffer?
And, what about the good ole NCAA? When are they going to step in and stop the madness?Probably never because they are, usually, the perpetrators of said madness! Truth be told, big time college basketball coaches are gods. Most are arrogant and full of shit! They are rich and walk around with autonomy! They are also superstitious. Bo's fear is that Uthoff will transfer to a school Wisconsin will have on their schedule, the kid will score 30 and Bo will lose the game! Shit! There goes the legacy!

A Warped POV by A. Dacosta Brathway

March 16th, Monday/ Alright... It's on! The brackets are set for the 2009 NC2A basketball tourney and for the most part, the brackets look good. Of course there are some disagreements between the basketball faithful but that's every year. This year, the consensus believes that Arizona should not have gotten in because of yap, yap, yap. St. Mary's should have gotten in because of blah, blah, blah...
Look, get it through your thick skulls. The NC2A Division I basketball tournament is a tournament of the elite, picked by elitists to satisfy the constituency of their elite peers! The rationale for their picks is simple: We will pick who we want because "...that's the way we like it!" (Thank you KC and the Sunshine Band!) To hell with the SOS and screw the RPI! "They are who we say they are!" (Thank you Dennis Green.")
So, my advice to all parties involved is suck it up, strap your jocks on and "...get your popcorn ready," (Thank you T.O.) because March is about to get madder! If you don't like the fact that your team was left out, invest your time in the NIT tournament... And, if your team was left out of that, and you are really upset, you need Jesus!

A Warped POV by A. Dacosta Brathway

I saw it! I saw the basketball documentary called Black Magic and I have to say that the intention of it being shown during the NCAA's big event added, yet, another reason to love basketball at this time of year. That being said, it left a sour taste in my mouth because of the timing of its showing. Why?/ Basically, "Black Magic" blended into the fabric of the bigger picture and disappeared. It was that "feel good" feature where we get to see some of the history of the game. Sadly, nothing has changed to right the wrongs that have taken place in the sport as it relates to black coaches being treated fairly and equally. Blacks basketball royality was treated very harshly but that can be blamed to the times. The Civil Rights Movement was the backdrop to the piece and it also served as the explanation for the many wrongs black coaches faced. But what is so different now? What, blacks are not being attacked by dogs at the extention of a police officer's arm? What, blacks can eat next to whites in a restaurant? What? We can all use the same water fountain and restrooms? What about the disproportionate hirings of black coaches at major universities? Oh, my bad, that has gotten better too?/ I don't know if I feel so good that a white coach took a bunch of black players and dared to challenge and beat Kentucky, which had an all white team anymore. And the title, Black Magic implies, to me, that black athletes seem to carry a chicken's foot in their socks or rattle bones in a plate in the locker room before a game. Black athletes train as hard as anybody when it comes to playing sports, in general, basketball in particular. Earl Monroe did not represent black magic as it were. He was a highly skilled player and his feats are diminished by calling him "Black Magic" or "Black Jesus!" Why couldn't he be Earl Monroe, one of the baddest ever? Same for Cleo Hill and Peewee Kirkland... And, what about Ben Jobe and "Big House" Gaines? How come they are not mentioned everytime a coach"s wins are mentioned? Dean Smith and Bobby Knight are always mentioned! At one point I thought that they were the only two coaches that won a lot of basketball games until Mike krzyzewski showed up./ C'mon... Stop screwing around with my head and do the right thing. Either show the documentary and pieces about black's contributions year round or, when you do show it, get me a Coke and some popcorn at your expense. The never seems to be a problem treating blacks like an afterthought at a black's expense!