Kareem Wonders Why Such A Long Wait For His Place In Laker History

Names like Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Chick Hearn, Wayne Gretzky and Oscar De La Hoya all have statues outside The Staples center, but no Kareem Abdul Jabbar just yet. Kareem feels he have been slighted, but according to the Lakers there is no timetable for the next statue. They have told Kareem he is the next in line for one, but that has still not made him happy.

Jabbar won five world championships as a Los Angeles Laker and remains the NBA's all-time leading scorer. He does have a valid point and should have been honored by now. I can understand how he feels. Jabbar wants to enjoy the honor as nothing is a given in life. The sooner the Lakers do it this can be dropped. Until they do Kareem and others will wonder why one of the greatest Lakers ever has not got what he deserves.

Could Dwight Howard Actually Get Traded?

With the Los Angeles Lakers probably being dismantled is it time for the Orlando Magic to think about moving Dwight Howard before he becomes a free agent. Howard will play this coming season, but after that you just do not know. One option that Orlando may want to look into is trading him to the Lakers. The Magic could also send Arenas or Hedo as well which would free up some cap space for Orlando. If the Magic could get Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum this is something to consider.

The reality is I will be surprised if Dwight Howard sticks around as he can see with what he has now there is no way he can win an NBA Championship and he understands that. He would love to bring one to Orlando, but he also must be honest with himself. The current Magic roster will never win a NBA Championship.

Orlando has to look long term here and what is best for the franchise. Trading Howard is something they do not want to do, but in the end they may have no choice. With a lockout possible and his contract coming up a trade maybe the Orlando Magic best option.

Andrew Bynum Issues Apology Gets Suspended For Five Games By The NBA

Andrew Bynum came out today and did the right thing any gave an apology to J.J. Barea. In part here was his apology:

"My actions ... don't represent me, my upbringing, this franchise or any of the Laker fans out there that want to watch us and want us to succeed," Bynum said. "Furthermore, and more importantly, I want to actually apologize to J.J. Barea for doing that. I'm just glad that he wasn't seriously injured in the event and all I can say is, I've looked at [the replay], it's terrible and it definitely won't be happening again."

Bynum plans on talking to Barea as well to apologize, but it was good to see him admit his mistakes. People make mistakes in judgement and Bynum is human just like everyone else. Hopefully, he will learned and become a better player because of it.

Orlando Magic Live To Play Another Day

The Orlando Magic looked like a team that was playing loose and it showed on the scoreboard. They easily beat the Atlanta Hawks by a score of 101-76. This time Orlando did not need Dwight Howard to have a monster game because he did not. He was saddled in foul trouble, and thanks to a rout got a lot of rest for Game 6 in Atlanta.

Many guys stepped up for the Magic including J.J. Redick and Jason Richardson. Richardson tossed in 17 points while Redick came off the bench to put in 14 points. This is a game the Magic had to win and now they head to Atlanta where they have struggled. Even though the Magic have struggled all season they must feel better about themselves. If they win in Atlanta it is hard to tll what could happen in a Game 7.

Many Indicted In University Of San Diego Point Shaving Scandal

This should really not come much of a surprise to people. I would venture to say at smaller universities that do not have big college basketball programs this is more common than people think. Players know many times they can get away with it and make some good money doing it. These players from Sand Diego got caught. I wonder how many get through the cracks though and are never caught.

The indictment names Brandon Johnson, the school's all-time leader in points and assists who finished his college career last year; Thaddeus Brown, an assistant coach at the school in the 2006-07 season; and Brandon Dowdy, who played at USD in the 2006-07 season and at the University of California, Riverside, from 2008 to 2010. Seven other people were also charged.

Hopefully, this is a isolated case and we will not find out about anymore. It does make you wonder if there are many more out their in college basketball. Only time will tell if anymore exist, but for now these players and individuals are the ones that got busted.

Derrick Rose NBA MVP No Matter What Anyone Tells You

Many people may not want to admit to it, but Derrick Rose is this year's NBA MVP. Dwight Howard also has a case as well, but the truth is without Rose the Bulls would be lost. He does the little things that most people do not even think about. When the Bulls need a clutch basket he has been able to hit it this year. That was not the case last season. He also knows how to take over a game when he needs to as well, which was missing from his game.

Derrick Rose also knows how to keep his teammates involved in the game as well. He is an MVP player, but he is also a team player. It is never about Derrick Rose it is about the team which is something you do not hear enough anymore. He is a humble young man and deserves The NBA MVP trophy this season as he has earned it. Like it or not Derrick Rose is the league MVP no matter what others may think about it.

NFL, Players Association Getting Forced Mediation

Even though the NFL and The Players Association is not happy with it Judge Susan Richard Nelson told the NFL and NFL players that she will impose forced mediation on them early this week. The problem is both sides do not care about get a quick resolve in all of this no matter what they say in public.

The real losers in all of this is the fans who have to sit through this hoping there is an NFL season this fall. I think a good idea would be for fans all to boycott the first game of the season when it gets resolved. Imagine what an embarrassment the NFL and the Players would have if in Week 1 no fans showed up for the games. It will never happen, but something to think about as a statement from the fans about what they were put through.