A sporting article, an off tangent

In the last two articles that I wrote, I revealed my thoughts on issues that were related to my academic involvement. When I talked about the case of former Senator Leila Delima, I showed some basic principles of Constitutional Law, a subject which I taught for nearly forty years. In my column entitled Boycott China Movement, I somehow indicated some influences of another subject that i handled in the College of Law - Public International Law. Today, allow me to explore a topic which, even many of my friends, cannot easily associate to me.

My beloved eldest daughter, Belynda, recently chatted (I hope this word is grammatically correct) with her Mom, my lady Carmen. Belynda informed her mom that she was going to be a part of the halftime show in the NBA basketball game of the Sacramento Kings versus Minnesota Timberwolves. I could not suppress my surprise because all along, I thought that my daughter was focused on being an officer of a bank in California. But, if she astonished me with that piece of information, I hope I can stun you with this unexpected write up.

An NBA halftime show takes place, of course, after the first half of the basketball game. While a quarter of this James Naismith invented game is presently timed for 12 minutes, the actual play of two quarters runs not just 24 minutes but for a little more than an hour. The show at the end of the first half is intended to entertain the crowd while the players presumably rest for five minutes. The show features unusual talents like a person sitting on a stilted seat attached many feet above a mono bike or like a man in our own Carbon Market supposedly spewing fire from petrol in his mouth! In that Kings vs. Timberwolves match, Belynda was with a group of entertaining five zumba gym instructor-dancers and their students.

For a long while, I followed, in betamax tapes, the games of Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the acknowledged leader of the dominant LA Lakers, in the 1980s. I was also a fan of Patrick Ewing, of the New York Knicks. By the way, Pat Riley happened to coach both teams. Then in the early 2000, I would not miss the games of the Sacramento Kings coached by Rick Adelman. Three of the first five starters of that team came from outside America. Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic, were both Serbians. Vlade was the team’s center while Peja was a feared three-pointer. Hedo Türkoglu was a Turk. Chris Webber and Mike Bibby, both Americans rounded up the King’s starting five.

 I am a returning fan of the Sacramento Kings, the oldest team in the NBA. Thanks to Belynda. The team’s starting five is composed of De'Aaron Fox, point guard; Kevin Huerter, shooting guard; Harrison Barnes, small forward; Keegan Murray, power forward and Domantas Sabonis, center. Perhaps, no one among them may individually approximate the incredible skill of Oscar Robertson, perceived as the greatest Sacramento King player but with a record of 40 wins and 27 losses, as of Tuesday, the team ranks third in the Western Conference standing. Sacramento is a shoo-in for the play-offs which start in about a month. My lady Carmen, Belynda and I might watch them play at its home court, the Golden 1 Center for the Western Conference finals, at least.