Grow up, J.R.
J.R. Smith became a fan favorite during his one year in Oklahoma City with the Hornets.
It wasn’t his game we loved.
It was his youthful spirit.
Smith acted like a big kid. Goofy. Funny. He’d come out of the locker room at halftime, and if they were playing the “Everybody Clap Your Hands” song, he’d dance. He would still be shooting baskets, but he’d be doing all the dance steps as directed by the song.
Heck, even when he came back this past season with the Nuggets, he danced at halftime.
It was that child-like attitude, though, that got Smith relegated to the end of the Hornets’ bench. Byron Scott’s doghouse.
And now, Smith’s immaturity has landed him in an even worse place. He was driving an SUV during the weekend that ran a stop sign, collided with another car and flipped over. Smith was thrown from the vehicle but suffered only minor injuries.
Andre Bell was not so lucky.
Smith’s 21-year-old friend died Monday from the injuries he suffered in the accident. He had massive head injuries. He spent a couple of days in a coma. He did not survive.
Who knows what Smith was doing when he ran that stop sign. Singing to what was on the radio. Talking on his cell. Yacking to someone in the car. Time — and a police investigation — will reveal what happened.
Used to be, Smith’s antics were goofy and endearing. Now, they’ve cost a man his life.
Time to grow up, J.R.
Past time, actually.
Star in the making?
Hope you had a chance to catch our scholar-athlete package on Sunday.
Every year, these kids amaze me. Talented athletes. Dedicated students. None were more impressive this year than Leigh McCoy of Casady and Steven Perry of Bishop McGuinness.
Here’s a little leftover tidbit about Perry, who’s going to play soccer at Notre Dame:
“He’s got a great attitude, a very positive attitude,” said Notre Dame soccer coach Bobby Clark, who Perry first impressed at camp two summers ago. “When you see he’s got speed and a good attitude, not everyone has that.”
Clark likens Perry to Joseph Lapira, who will be a Notre Dame senior next fall. Lapira, a speedy, skilled forward, came to South Bend somewhat unheralded out of Louisiana. Last year, he won the Hermann Trophy, the Heisman of college soccer.
Could Perry be one of the nation’s best soccer players in the next few years?
He definitely has the work ethic.
The King is still a prince
LeBron James is still learning.
For the second time in as many games, James and his Cleveland Cavaliers gave away a victory in Detroit. They had a chance to win both road games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Great chances, in fact. Donyell Marshall had a wide-open look at a game-winning three in Game 1. James and Co. had three shots at the basket in the final seconds of Game 2.
And still, the Pistons lead the series 2-0.
This is all part of the maturing process for LeBron.
He came under fire after Game 1 for passing the ball to Marshall instead of taking the shot himself. You know what? Marshall hits that shot about 97.8 of the time. OK, so that might be an exaggeration, but not by much. And oh by the way, there were three defenders on LeBron. He would’ve been hammered.
By passing to Marshall, James made the smart play.
He made another one in Game 2. With time winding down, he found himself one-on-one against Rip Hamilton. LeBron took him to the hole. He missed the shot, but still, he did the right thing, taking it at Hamilton.
These are the lumps you have to take when you’re 23 years old. No doubt LeBron will be a star in the NBA for years and years to come. There may be MVPs. There may be NBA titles. But all of it requires experience, knowing what to do and when to do it.
King James is not yet royalty, but it’s obvious the prince is learning.
Pinging and ponging
The NBA has once again captured the imagination of Oklahomans.
The bouncing ping pong balls bounced in favor of the Seattle-soon-to-be-Oklahoma-City Sonics, and now, they have a chance to snag Kevin Durant or Greg Oden. Whichever player is left after the Portland Trail Blazers draft will be scooped up by the Sonics.
And won’t they be glad.
Won’t we be?
I suspect the Sonics’ good fortune in the draft lottery will delay their coming to Oklahoma City until at least 2008. There was a chance that the Clay Bennett-led ownership group would’ve pulled up stakes this summer and moved the team before the start of next season.
But now, the Sonics have a reason to stay in Seattle at least one more year. See how the locals around the Puget Sound react to Durant. (Here’s guessing the Blazers take Oden –check out this photo-shopped picture of him in a Portland jersey — though I’d hitch my wagon to Durant any day of the week.) If Durant’s ends up being as it looks like he will be, fans may go gah-gah over the Sonics. They may pack the Key. They may demand the Sonics stay.
They may even vote to build a new arena.
Here’s betting that doesn’t happen. Folks in Seattle seem apathetic about the Sonics. Putting forth the effort to build an arena and keep the team would go against the tendencies we’ve seen so far.
Thing is, they haven’t had the promise of Kevin Durant before.
Clay Bennett will want to see how this factors into the equation. That means Oklahoma City will have to wait on the Sonics until after Durant is named NBA Rookie of the Year.
Home of Super Bowl XLV
So, the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium has been awarded Super Bowl XLV.
That’s Super Bowl 45 for those of you who are Roman numeral challenged.
Even though the game is four years away — 2011 — the announcement that it is coming to the Dallas area should excite folks in Oklahoma. No doubt few of us will have a chance to actually get tickets for the game. Even though the stadium will seat 100,000, most of us don’t have the clams to shell out for a Super Bowl ticket.
But fear not, my fellow Oklahomans. You’ll still be able to go down to the Dallas area and enjoy Super Bowl week. There will be fanfests and, of course, the whole metroplex will be hopping with celebrities and notables and such.
People watching is free, and it will be every bit as fun as the game.
For those of us who aren’t able to swing tickets for the game, here’s a look at the stadium that will host XLV. It’s quite a place. A football palace really.
Reminds me of University of Phoenix Stadium actually. The state-of-the-art home of the Arizona Cardinals hosted the Fiesta Bowl and the college football national championship game this past season, and the Cowboys’ stadium looks a lot like it.
Very impressive.
See DeMarco run. Run DeMarco, run.
Just in case you need a little football fix, here’s a little highlight video of Oklahoma tailback DeMarco Murray.
On it are clips from his high school days at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas.
Most of them are impressive, but I particularly like the flip into the endzone only a few seconds into the highlights.
Enjoy.
And remember, football practices will begin in less than three months.
