In sports forums all over the Internet, there is debate about the legality of face guarding in basketball. The debate was sparked by two events: an ABC / ESPN televised game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers on March 16, 2008, and an article written the same day by well known basketball analyst, Charlie Rosen . Because much (but not all) of the face guarding in that game was against the world’s most controversial...

I only ref occasionally, but whenever I do, and deal with each team’s highly biased view of the exact same plays I am seeing, I am amazed again at how human passion affects not just how we feel, but what we actually see. Passion filters reality, causing us to mostly see that which we were already inclined to believe. There is a poignant scene in the movie The Color Purple where a white women who is prejudiced about blacks, gets her car...

I don’t like to write pre-game pieces, but with just 2 hours until the Houston Rockets host the Los Angeles Lakers, I have to say that I’m too excited to think about much else. Writing gives my mind some place to go until tip off. How sad is that? Five things make this game intriguing for me: 1 – The winner will hold first place in the Western Conference play off race. 2 – Both teams will be hampered at the center...

I just found out it is officially Kobe Bryant Blog Day. I wish I would have learned sooner — I’d have baked a cake — or at least had the time to do something more than warm over and serve you left overs. Sorry ’bout that, but for those of you who missed the first helping, maybe you’ll enjoying this now that it has had some time to season itself abit. By the way, why have Kobe Bryant blog day on March 11th? 11?...

Since Shawn Marion left town and Shaquille O’Neal arrived in Phoenix, the Suns have had 3 wins and 5 losses. The knee-jerk reaction would be to conclude the Shaq trade was a bad thing for the Phoenix Suns, but having watched the games, it seemed to me like the Phoenix Suns have not been pushing the ball as aggressively as they used to, so I did some research. Sure enough, in all 5 of the Suns’ losses, Phoenix had less fast break points...