HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

Yes I know this phrase, first made famous by English poet Alexander Pope ,has mostly been borrowed to refer to the former national pasttime of baseball. But I couldn't care less about that sport anymore. There are only a few baseball related things left for which I have any feeling so if Ken Burns would just do a film on the history of basketball and someone would write a poem for my kids that puts Casey on the free throw line I could be done with it for good.

But yet that phrase comes to mind this weekend because the season for the sport still dearest to my heart, basketball, begins. Now it will be awhile yet before fans get to see their favorite teams in action but in every college and high school gym around the country this week the preparation begins. The hope springs eternal. And the pros are already in the middle of their own training camps so I hold out some hopes for all levels of the game.

I hope my beloved Lakers finally rid themselves of the sideshow that is Kobe Bryant. I fell in love with the game of basketball watching the Showtime Lakers on CBS on Sunday afternoons. That is why I can't bring myself to abandon my lifelong love for this team. Magic to me was the example of how the game should be played. He would always make the extra pass, he always appeared to be having fun. (Don't even bring up AIDS. Every time anyone brings up Magic the conversation quickly goes to AIDS, as if contracting that disease or the way he contracted it somehow negated everything he was on the floor. That is what I hate about the celebrity culture coming into sports. We have what should be the shining example of how the game should be played and kids don't respect that because he has AIDS. Sometimes we have too much information. For basketball purposes I will repress those memories. We all know Earvin Johnson has the HIV virus, tried to host a terrible TV talk show, and should stay away from broadcasting, but "Magic" was just a joy to watch and for all intents and purposes ceased to exist after the All Star Game in 1992.) But Kobe to me is the anti-Magic. He pouts too much. Every call against him, every missed play by a teammate gets a visible negative reaction. Just play. He stops the ball too much, takes too many bad shots, he just makes the game less fun to watch. Even if I could get over the fact that I believe he raped that girl in the hotel room, I just get no joy from watching the way he plays the game. So I have a little hope that since the Lakers owner Dr. Buss has come out this week saying he will listen to deals that someone will make them an offer. Yes I know he is the best player in the game and the team will probably get worse in the short term, but I would rather watch five young players fight and scrap and play their hearts out then watch Kobe sulk through another season in the Purple and Gold. I just want the game to be fun again.

I hope Billy Gillipsie has a long and successful career as the University of Kentucky's head coach. I liked Tubby Smith but the fans were never going to let him enjoy coaching again. You could see it. Just too much pressure. You now have a guy who has no wife, no kids, and what seems to be true passion for the game. A good fit for a program where the fans will allow nothing less that complete dedication to chasing another national title. He is signing more heralded recruits than UK has had in years. He seems more comfortbale with the press and the attention that comes with this job than Tubby ever was. The last few years were no fun. It seemed to be more about how much longer could Tubby hold on than what was going on on the court. I hope UK basketball is fun again and the fans back off and let this coach work for awhile. And I hope Tubby can have a little success himself in his new location.

And finally hope springs eternal at the old Public High School this year where I will be an assisstant coach for a sixth season. We have more size, athletic skill, and talent than we have had since I started. We have a schedule that excludes all of the teams we just can never compete against. Everything is set up for what could me our most successful season by far. Anything less than a winning season (we have only had one in six seasons) and a trip to the regional tournament ( I have never been) will be a disappointment. But that said our players are tough to get through to. They play the game for their own (and their parents) selfish reasons and it is like winning is a secondary consideration. They can take what should be one of the most enjoybale experiences of their lives and make it miserable, to the point they almost drove me out of the game last year. But there is still somehwere inside that love for the game that little boy felt watching Magic whip those no look passes on a Sunday afternoon. I wish they could feel it. I want them to run the floor, be unselfish and play together, and make the game fun. For me and for them. Because once you have felt that way about a team, about a game, it is a hard thing to let go. Especially when every October hope springs eternal.

BO KNOWS I don't have the time or the money to dedicate to UK football tickets anymore, but I was at the game when LSU threw that pass 75 yards to win while UK set off fireworks and idiots climbed the goal post and I just couldn't help but feel a little jealous of those people in the stadium yesterday when the Cats won that amazing game.

FOOTBALL SUNDAY

Wow 0-5 last week to drop to 11-13 on the year. I would rename my team I KNow Nothing if Brian hadn't already beat me to it and posted a brilliant new team logo. Good Work. Week 6

BO KNOWS after finally getting a win last week I would love to pick myself to beat my wife and get a little streak going, but she is undefeated and her big guns Palmer and Burress have favorbale match-ups this week. Plus you wait that 30 point game from Tomlinson has to be coming. Bitches win.

BO KNOWS in the second inter-marriage game of the day The Juice takes on Eye of the Tiger. I have mentioned it before but I can't believe with 3 of the top 15 running backs the Tiger hasn't done better this season. I know the WRs aren't great but I am picking Tiger every week util they win. It has to be coming soon.

BO KNOWS Randy Moss was a great pick-up this year but they don't have anything else on I Know Nothing. It is surprising to say but the Griz is going to ride that Browns offense (QB and RB) to a win today.

BO KNOWS The biggest question for the Dullards may be whether he will ever get to use Travis Henry again. As far as this week goes I would like it even better if Adrian Petersen was not playing the Bears but I think the Cheese has to many key BYEs to overcome. Dullards will win.

BO KNOWS I can not believe we have drafted a league where P. Manning actually sits on someone's bench. You still like that Jay Cutler pick Brian? But even with that Romo has his work cut out for him this week and I think McNabb and Smith may put up enough points to lead the Sith to a win.