R-I-P

"A-B-C, easy as 1-2-3."
That was probably the first record I heard that I liked as a kid. I don't know if it was the simple lyrics, addictive beat or the fact that a kid only slightly older than me was singing it. But, there was something about that song that had me wearing out that record growing up.
Michael Jackson changed a lot from his "A-B-C" days to his death yesterday at the age of 50. A few people have changed genders but he might be the only person to change ethnicities.
It's easy to focus on Wacky Jacko but before those days, Michael Jackson was probably the most influential musician of my lifetime.
I was always a Prince fan. During the 80s, you couldn't like both. You were either a Prince guy or a Michael guy. I liked Prince but part of me chose him because I liked being different. EVERYBODY liked Michael.
Like most folks my age, I remember where I was when he moon walked on stage for the first time. I remember where I was when the video for Thriller came out. Those are moments etched in my mind.
Regardless of how you feel about his later years, which saw him on trial for heinous accusations and also saw him exhibit incredibly weird behavior. The dude really was the King of Pop. He didn't create MTV but he made it with ground breaking videos.
Like Elvis and the Beatles, Michael Jackson's contributions to music will last forever.
His videos, his dance moves, his weirdness - "A-B-C. It's easy as 1-2-3."
Rest in peace.

Coach Smith resigns

By now, I'm sure most everyone in South Arkansas has heard the rumors about why Corey Smith abruptly resigned as El Dorado's girls basketball coach last week. I talked to Corey before he stepped down and he told me he was considering his options. I was still surprised when he turned in his resignation.
Admittedly, I've only heard Corey's side of the story but I do believe him. He made a mistake, a bad mistake, even a dumb mistake. But, I really don't believe his job was in jeopardy if he had stayed and explained himself.
Of course, I could be wrong and the decision was his and his wife's to make. They did what they had to do and they've elected to move on and put this incident behind them.
As I'm sure you've noticed by how I'm writing this, I'm not going to repeat any of the rumors about what happened. You'll have to hear those for yourself and, by now, they shouldn't be that hard to find.
I will say, I think Corey Smith is a good guy. I'm sure he'll land on his feet and will be a good coach or administrator or teacher or whatever it is he chooses to do in the future. I am disappointed he left, however.
This reminds me of when ol' man Brad Slatton left El Dorado, although for very different reasons. Slatton had done a lot of the dirty work, put in a lot of time and effort to lay the groundwork for a successful program. He left before reaping the fruits of his labor.
I believe Corey has left a program that is on the way up, too. He worked hard trying to develop winning attitudes in his players. It wasn't a physical battle for Coach Smith. His task was getting his kids to believe they could, not only win, but win big games against really good teams.
They hadn't done that, yet, but I believe they were on their way. Whoever replaces Coach Smith will have a difficult job but it will be a lot less difficult because of Corey's tenure at El Dorado.

Bought and paid for

Did any of you catch San Antonio's come-from-behind three-point win over New York Saturday night on NBA TV? Probably not. Well, my girl Becky Hammon scored 10 points in the final two minutes to lead the Silver Stars to the win.
If you didn't see her Saturday, you'll won't see her for a little while unless you happen to be in Latvia.
After the game, Hammon boarded a plane to join her Russian National Team for the 2009 European Women's Basketball Championships.
You remember me telling you how she was trying to get out of it? Sorry Becky, you're a Russian, now - bought and paid for.
Hammon will miss San Antonio's games at New York and at Connecticut but expects to be back with the Silver Stars for a home game against Phoenix on June 23. Already, fans in New York who bought tickets in advance are expressing their displeasure that the player they paid to see won't be there.
I wonder if the WNBA will be refunding any money. I wonder how the Silver Stars feel that their best player and face of the franchise will miss two games.
More importantly, I wonder what's going on in Becky's head as she flies to Latvia for games she doesn't want to play in. Before you say, she doesn't have to go, remember, if she refuses, she will lose her Russian passport and citizenship, which would cost her millions of dollars.
Who are you loyal to, your home country that pays you a little bit or a foreign country that pays you a lot? Ask yourself that same question and think long and hard before you answer.
Let me know what you think at http://www.tonybrns1@gmail.com

Busy week at camp

Last week was hectic with El Dorado's team camp going on. I saw a lot of things happen, including another loss by the Lady Wildcats to Camden Fairview.
You've got to be kidding me. How many players does Ronald Rogers have to lose before El Dorado can beat him?
Anyway, it was a great camp with several big schools and a lot of talented smaller schools. Unfortunately for me, the big school vs. small school matchups didn't happen. I would've loved to have seen Parkers Chapel play El Dorado or even better watch Mark Young and Gary Don Smith hook up again. That would've been fun, especially with nothing at stake but bragging rights.
Smith's Hot Springs Lakeside team looked like some of his old Union squads. Big, not very athletic but fundamentally sound and hard working - in other words - well coached. Lakeside gave El Dorado all it wanted before falling by about six. It's amazing. None of Lakeside's players could start for El Dorado yet Smith almost won with them.
Parkers Chapel showed signs of a promising season especially if a certain point guard returns from North Carolina. I don't know what Strong got out of the week. The Lady Bulldogs probably didn't have a starter at the camp. Maybe someone earned a starting position last week but if Porchia Robinson, Rubyanna McHenry and Kashuna Howard aren't there, it ain't Strong's team.
Norphlet was back and looked up and down. That's probably how the Lady Leopards' season will be. If Kyia Williams is ready to play, the team will be ready. If she's not ...?
But, my team of the week was definitely Junction City. I intentionally avoided watching the Lady Dragons all last season. I accidentally caught them at the camp and was impressed. I'm not saying they'll go from worst to first next season but don't be surprised if Junction City's girls make it to the regional tournament.
As for El Dorado, it's hard to tell about that team. They can look very good one minute, very disinterested the next. There are too many people on the bench that don't contribute. There seems to be confusion over players' roles. Their stars don't shine consistently.
As always, however, the Lady Wildcats have the potential to have a big year.
***
Congratulations to former El Dorado coach Bobby Harris, who was hired at Forrest City. I haven't talked to the coach since he got the job. I know he was excited about the possible opportunity after his interview.
Forrest City might be the perfect place for Harris' system. It's traditionally an area rich in athletes and they haven't enjoyed a lot of girls basketball success so they'll be receptive to what he's saying.
It should be interesting.

Expect Great?

Wow! The WNBA can't seem to get out of its own way.
After coming up with the lamest slogan ever, "Expect Great," the league popped the cork on the new season with the Sparks and Shock on national television Saturday. That's the Sparks without Candace Parker and the Shock without Cheryl Ford.
The teams turned in an unwatchable performance. I mean, I like women's basketball but I couldn't keep my eyes on this game. It was a wretched display that definitely won't draw any new fans to the league.
First, why would you put this game on national television when you know Parker won't be dressed out? Aren't you trying to showcase your marquee player? Didn't you know she was having a baby?
As it was, she still got more airtime than a lot of the starters.
There were so many whistles and bricks I thought I was watching a construction crew. Expect Great? Well, I certainly expected better.
The highlight of the game was when Tina Thompson and Plenette Pearson got tangled up. The director quickly popped in a tape of last year's brawl between the two teams. I actually wanted to see a replay for once and they started showing clips from last year?
And, for pete's sake, if you're gonna have the coaches wear microphones, at least let us listen to what they're saying. Every time Bill Laimbeer started to talk, Nancy Lieberman would talk over him about the history of women's basketball
I got an idea, turn the coaches' mics up and turn her's off.
The league is struggling, obviously, since the teams are putting sponsors' names on their uniforms, now. Bottom line, if the WNBA wants to survive, it has to put quality on the court. If you want people to watch, you have to give them something to see.
The season opener to this WNBA season was two steps in the wrong direction. There will be some great, entertaining games this season. The league had better find a way to get those on national television instead of stinkers like Saturday.
WNBA, you'd better believe fans expect great. You'd better start delivering great.
Forget great, I'd like something good, please.

To Russia with regret

There's an old saying that goes, "if you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas."
I'm not calling all Russians dogs but my girl Becky Hammon is probably feeling a bit itchy these days.
Hammon, point guard for WNBA San Antonio, because a Russian citizen last year and competed in the Olympics, helping Russia win a bronze medal. Now, that country is pressuring the South Dakota native to compete on Russia's national team in a European event.
Hammon's side of the story is she agreed to play for Russia in the Olympics and would talk about other commitments to their national team. When Russia wanted her services for this particular event, she had to get permission from the Silver Stars, who, of course, said uh, no.
Hammon told everyone she would be back in San Antonio for the start of the WNBA season even when the Russian media was saying she would be over there. Once she got back to the states, she had to get back on a plane and go back to Russia to explain herself.
There's a lot of drama going on with this story. You can't serve two masters and Hammon is under contract with both Russia and San Antonio. She's stated she loves the WNBA but most of her money comes from Russia.
She can't afford to piss off the Russians, who have invested a lot of money in her and usually get what they pay for.
The Silver Stars have guaranteed their fans she will not miss any games this season. But, apparently she will as Russia has her on the roster for a tournament and is guaranteeing their fans she will be there.
Oooh, Becky, you done done it now.
I'm sure becoming a Russian citizen seemed like a good idea at the time. The Cold War is over but, at one point, Russia was our enemy for a reason.

Coaching news

The coaching carousel is circling in high speed these days. Former Strong boys basketball coach Anthony Avery is now the new boys basketball coach at Strong. A couple of long-time Union County softball coaches have called it quits - maybe. And, former Parkers Chapel coach Lee Scroggins has gotten out of the business along with perennial gray beard Brad Slatton.
I must say I was surprised when Avery came back to Strong after bolting for Warren a few years ago. The coach never moved and was commuting back-and-forth to Bradley County. But, I never thought he'd make the move back to his old gig. For some reason, I thought Avery would keep moving on to bigger schools.
I guess Strong is where his heart is and ain't nothing wrong with that. It doesn't hurt that the Bulldogs have a lot of talent to work with.
I haven't made the call but I think it was pretty much a done deal that Mike Poff would take over the girls program at Smackover after Marsha Cowling resigned. I guess I do need to call the Poffster to make sure.
Scroggins has been trying to get into administration and finally did. He is an assistant principle at Hot Springs Lakeside. Interestingly, his daughter Emilee, an outstanding point guard, will probably stay at Cutter Morning Star. I can't blame a kid for not wanting to move and leave her friends. I'm sure it's a bummer for Lakeside coach Gary Don Smith, though.
Parkers Chapel is looking for a new softball coach after Rhonda Swilley stepped down this week. Swilley's parents are getting older and she wants to take care of them. Although she won a slow-pitch state championship and was a perennial state tournament team in fastpitch, Swilley might be most missed in the classroom as a science teacher. The school wants to replace that vacant position before worrying about softball.
El Dorado new athletic director Phillip Lansdell is also looking for a softball coach. Lyn Benson resigned mid-season and was replaced by Michael Brooks, who resigned recently to take a job outside the school district - I think Saratoga?
Brooks was also the football receiver's coach. I talked to Lansdell on his first day as AD. He also has to find a tennis coach so he's a busy beaver. I've heard through the grapevine it's not out of the realm of possibility that Benson get the job back. There's a lot going on behind the scenes with this story that I won't even talk about on a blog.
Apparently not being a coach is agreeing with Slatton, who is looking forward to life in administration at his Fort Eliot school in Texas. We'll see how much he likes it when a new coach loses a game with his former team next year.
I'm hoping some of our former female athletes like Jamie Ball, Amy Kennedy and Adam Bishop will get a look at some of these coaching openings. We'll see how the carousel turns this summer.

A buck's a buck

I knew times were hard for the WNBA but I didn't know it was this bad. The Phoenix Mercury announced it has partnered with LifeLock, an identity theft protection company this season. What this means is, instead of Phoenix or Mercury on the front of the players' uniforms and warmups, there is the Lifelock logo.
That's right, the WNBA teams have sponsors just like Little League baseball and softball. I don't know how much it would cost but if you can dig up enough coins, you too, can sponsor a women's professional basketball team.
I'm not sure if this is a good idea. But, I guess desperate times call for desperate measures. The league lost the Houston Comets and cut the number of roster spots from 12 to 11.
Now, the teams are selling ad space on their jersies.
Wow!
If this takes off, we could see Dominos Pizza vs. Payless Shoes in the playoffs. I'd love to see a porn company buy a sponsorship with a team or perhaps a strip club. Apparently, for the right price, the WNBA will place a stripper pole in the middle of the lane.
Hey, a buck's a buck.