NBA Thoughts

Performance Enhancing Drugs in the NBA? Not the NBA?!?!

How quickly will this story be swept under the rug? Derrick Rose was asked on a scale of 1-10 if there is a problem in the NBA with players using PEDs. Rose was quoted in the May 30^th issue of ESPN the Magazine as saying, “7. It’s huge and I think we need a level playing field, where nobody has that advantage over the next person. Now Rose has a bad case of amnesia… he does not remember the question and has backed away from his previous statement.

There was a time when I heard the word steroids and I automatically thought about body builders and pro football players. I think MLB woke many of us up to the fact that steroids can be used in different sports to achieve different desired results. The NBA suspended OJ Mayo, guard for the Memphis Grizzlies, 10 games in January for an over the counter nutritional supplement. My skepticism makes me wonder how bad an over the counter supplement really is if that product can be purchased at a vitamin store? Conspiracy theory: could this be the NBA’s way of covering up a failed steroid test?

Just to clarify, not all PEDs are used to add muscle mass or for weight lifting. Many people take steroids to speed up recovery time or take a PED like EPO, which helps one with their endurance (Lance Armstrong). David Stern has been very crafty about the NBA’s public image and I’m sure he will do everything he can to make Rose’s statement a non-issue. But it seems that even individuals within the NBA don’t feel like everything is on the up and up (see NBA draft conspiracies and referee scandal). Rose’s statement reminds me “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire”.

More NBA thoughts:

Enough of the whining you big baby!

Too much talk in Los Angeles and around the nation has been centered on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s recent statement regarding him wanting a statue of his likeness to be placed in front of Staples. He’s pouting because Magic Johnson and Jerry West will have statues in front of The Staples Arena and he won’t. There’s been a reason the public has not embraced Kareem nor has the Los Angeles Lakers; he’s not a likeable guy.

I’ve got a solution for you Kareem. We’ll build a statue for you but place it in front of The Forum in Englewood; where the Lakers played in the ‘70’s, 80’s, and ‘90’s. The occasional concert goers will be able to see your statue but Lakers fans and sports fans will not have to be bothered with it.

Just to clarify, I’m so tired of hearing about the younger generations being self centered and being all about “me”. Kareem is a 7’ 2” tall reminder of how selfish and greedy the Baby Boomer generation has become and how bad they’ve been all along. Our nation is in economic despair and ruin thanks to the Baby Boomer generation’s greed and there’s a 65 year old “baby” crying in the corner because he’s not getting enough “love”. Give me a break!