Category Archives: Basketball
New Review of “Basketball and Football”
We’re Proud to Present this New Review of Basketball and Football “As a guy who coached in the NBA, I enjoyed the basketball stories very much. Clark certainly has a good feel for the game.” Jerry Reynolds Former coach of the Sacramento Kings March 20, 2020 For thirty-five years Jerry Reynolds has been a warm […]
Also posted in Basketball and Football, Donald Rogers, George Thomas Clark, Jerry Reynolds, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James
Kyle Guy Guards the Social Media
When the Kings drafted Kyle Guy I looked at stats and his bio and learned in high school he’d been Mr. Basketball in hoops-crazed Indiana. I also noticed several videos of Guy and a young woman. I clicked one called: “Reading Kyle Guy’s Hate Mail” filmed in early 2019. He and fiancée Alexa Jenkins munched […]
Also posted in Jimmer Fredette, Kyle Guy, Sacramento, YouTube
The Doncic Addiction
In recent years I’d heard the loudening chants: there’s a basketball prodigy in Europe named Luka Doncic and in 2018 he’s going to descend on the NBA and immediately become a “transformational” player. Okay, I thought, let me check him out. I watched highlight tapes and read scouting reports, and concluded his average speed and […]
Also posted in Basketball and Football, Dallas, Dallas Mavericks, De'Aaron Fox, Lebron James, Luka Doncic, Marvin Bagley
Battling Kids for Rebounds
This story appears in the collection “Basketball and Football” The experience was so painful and disillusioning I thought I’d never be able to write about it, but in three intervening years there’s been enough healing that I can finally reveal I tried a modest comeback in basketball. I never envisioned actually playing the game well, […]
Also posted in Basketball and Football, George Thomas Clark
Twilight Zone Benching of De’Aaron Fox
The final three minutes Golden State played championship defense, igniting its offense, and that’s not unusual. What is beyond unusual and quite bizarre is that Dave Joerger benched the team’s best player, De’Aaron Fox, because he picked up his fifth foul with little over three minutes to play and the Kings leading by ten. So […]
Also posted in Dave Joerger, De'Aaron Fox, Golden State Warriors
Doncic Blitz Fuels Bagley Debate
Dallas trailed Houston by eight with three minutes left when Luka Doncic, who had been shooting errantly, nailed a three-pointer from the left corner and another out front and a floater in the lane and then the pièce de résistance, a step-back three to lift his team to victory. I assume most viewers of the […]
Also posted in Basketball and Football, George Thomas Clark, Luka Doncic, Marvin Bagley, Sacramento Kings
E=Fun2
Okay, I know the Kings after losing three straight have won that many, the last two against teams that had but nine victories between them. It doesn’t matter who they beat. Every Kings win has begun to feel like a celebration fueled by youth, speed, athleticism, and dexterity. These guys come out firing because they […]
Also posted in Basketball and Football, Buddy Hield, Collin Sexton, Marvin Bagley, Sacramento Kings
Mo Wagner Intervenes
Had I not sprained my left knee and ankle during summer league action, it’s certain that as a sweet-shooting rookie almost seven-feet tall I’d already be an emerging star. Alas, I only recently regained my vigor, and the other night began my pro career in the G-League, scoring seventeen points. I consider that a promising […]
Also posted in Basketball and Football, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Luke Walton, Magic Johnson, Mo Wagner, Rajon Rondo, Rob Pelinka
Jerry West Watches the Lakers
At the Lakers third game this season, against the Spurs, I turned in my courtside seat, pulled out my mini-binoculars and spotted Jerry West standing in a luxury box. I hustled upstairs, twice used a counterfeit pass to trick security guards, and reached the hallowed door on which I knocked. A starlet opened up, and […]
LeBron James Assesses the Lakers
(Correspondent LeBron James files the first Lakers dispatch of the 2018-2019 season.) Talk to analytical scientists all you want. I’ll instead offer meat and potatoes to clarify why I’m concerned about my Lakers after the first two games this season. We hit a higher field goal percentage and modestly more baskets than either the Portland […]
Also posted in Brandon Ingram, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Kyle Kuzma, Lebron James, Lonzo Ball, Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron’s European Vacation
Despite trying to relax in and around a coastal castle magically backed by snowy Alpine peaks, LeBron James is tense during his European vacation. Every time he surfs he falls right off and is swallowed by massive waves. Efforts to hang glide invariably snap the cord connected to the speedboat and LeBron’s again deposited in […]
Summertime Love for Sacramento Kings
I like living in Lubbock year round and rooting for my alma mater Texas Tech Red Raiders in football and basketball but recently surrendered to my fifth wife, Melanie, who’s from Sacramento and during the seven months I’ve known her has been pestering me to buy a second home here so we can watch her […]
LeBron Updates Free Agency
Please ignore reports I screamed like an unanesthetized dental patient upon learning that stellar forward Paul George, presumed to be bound for the glorious Los Angeles Lakers, instead signed to stay a few years on the arid plain of Oklahoma City. I confess I did shout in pain but the source was physical rather than […]
LeBron Analyzes Draft
Please don’t ask what I plan to do because at the moment I only know I’m going to make a few comments about the NBA draft, the most essential being: thank god for basketball and my flat screen TV on which I behold the huge image of seven-one muscleman DeAndre Ayton. If this numero uno […]
Also posted in Chris Broussard, Collin Sexton, DeAndre Ayton, Lebron James, Luka Doncic, Marvin Bagley, Trae Young
LeBron and Gilbert at the Summit
About four o’clock this dark morning five armored SUVs enter an Akron estate, a man in the first vehicle using an electronic device to open the wrought iron gate, and speed to the entrance of a mansion boasting more than thirty thousand square feet. At least ten camouflaged commandos emerge from somewhere and aim automatic […]
Also posted in Basketball and Football, Chris Paul, Dan Gilbert, Golden State Warriors, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Lebron James
LeBron Hires Hypnotist
Siefried, the world’s preeminent hypnotist, proudly steps into the Cavaliers locker room after game three and says, “Where is LeBron? I’ve come to accept his congratulations.” “I’m right here, you charlatan,” says the star, stepping close and looking down. “I beg your pardon. Can you not count?” “I count fine. We just lost by eight […]
Also posted in Cleveland, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Lebron James, Stephen Curry, Tyronn Lue
Steph Curry Rescues LeBron
After game two Dan Gilbert marches into the locker room of his Cleveland Cavaliers and tugs the back of LeBron James’ jersey. “Hey, we gotta talk.” “I’ll give you five minutes when we get back to Cleveland.” “You’ll talk now or I’ll suspend you the rest of this series.” “Sure, we’re down two-oh and I’m […]
Also posted in Cleveland, Dan Gilbert, Golden State Warriors, Lebron James, Stephen Curry
LeBron Declares: Referees Robbed Us
Following game one of the NBA finals, it’s unfortunate fans can’t celebrate my masterful fifty-one points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to an upset over the formidable Golden State Warriors. Instead, we’re talking about obtuse referees who turned a great game into a farce. Late in the fourth quarter, I cleanly stripped the ball from […]
LeBron Previews NBA Finals
I’m thankful to be drowsy en route to dreamland where I can forget my body’s thirty-three-years old and tired from playing more minutes than anyone in the league and twice carrying us to playoff victories in game seven, and that almost everyone’s saying the Warriors are too good no matter what LeBron does, they’ve got […]
Gilbert Demands Examination of LeBron
In a lather, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert calls and tells me to get online and click the link he just sent. I do so and listen as he says, “Who the hell’s that little dude standing next to Joel Embid after the game? Looks like he’s smiling up at his hero. And check out poor […]
Also posted in Basketball and Football, Ben Simmons, Cleveland, Dan Gilbert, George Thomas Clark, Joel Embid, Lebron James, Philadelphia
Cavaliers Reshape the World
Quietly I enter Dan Gilbert’s office and ease into a corner to watch him stare at a massive wall map of the United States. Every few seconds he tightens arms locked across his chest and juts his jaw at various targets – NBA cities across the land. LeBron James and general manager Koby Altman stand […]
Also posted in Basketball and Football, Cleveland, Dan Gilbert, Koby Altman, Kyrie Irving, Lebron James
5-Star Review for “Basketball and Football”
I would like to thank Lance Smith, the Sports Book Guy, one of the top reviewers of sports books in the nation, for his kind words about my most recent book, “Basketball and Football.” Sports Book Guy Lance Smith January 20, 2018 “With one of the simplest titles for a sports book, ‘Basketball and Football’ […]
Also posted in Basketball and Football, Football, George Thomas Clark, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, O.J. Simpson
Balls in Lithuania
I surrender. No longer can I pretend I’m uninterested in the Big Baller Ball Family. In fact, I sense I’m going to write about them whenever I get the urge. I don’t care father LaVar, aside from Donald Trump, is the most obnoxious man in the nation. It doesn’t matter he gets more publicity than […]
Also posted in Ben Simmons, De'Aaron Fox, Donald Trump, LaMelo Ball, LaVar Ball, Lebron James, LiAngelo Ball, Lithuania, Lonzo Ball
Young Kings Routed
Sunday afternoon as I tried to nap I received a call from an aggrieved Sacramento Kings fan who upbraided me because the coach, Dave Joerger, had finally started the young, potential-laden five I’d been demanding for weeks, and look what happened: the Washington Wizards outmanned, outmaneuvered, and outshot the local lads to lead at halftime […]
LaMelo Ball at the Crossroads
I’d rather concentrate on passing virtuoso Lonzo Ball, who as a rookie seems poised to spearhead the resurgence of his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, or UCLA freshman LiAngelo and his task of making a rather heavy-footed game work against more athletic players his size and larger. Instead, boastful father LaVar has compelled me to write […]
Also posted in LaMelo Ball, LaVar Ball, LiAngelo Ball, Lonzo Ball
Letters from Two Basketball Coaches
Launching a book isn’t as prolonged as writing one, but it’s a tension-filled time of making sure the cover and text are editorially and graphically sound, that plenty of electronic and physical copies are sent to readers and potential reviewers who may be interested, and that internet advertising options are chosen to disperse the new […]
Also posted in Basketball and Football, Duke, George Thomas Clark, Mike Krzyzewski, Steve Alford, UCLA
“Basketball and Football” is Published
In a rousing trip through the worlds of Basketball and Football, George Thomas Clark explores the professional basketball league in Mexico, the Herculean talents of Wilt Chamberlain, the difficulties and humor of attempting to play basketball in middle age, and observes that coaching at Caltech can be more painful than studying all night for a […]
Fall of Pop
warriors bomb spurs lebron fires popovich
Also posted in Cleveland, Gregg Popovich, Lebron James, Poetry - GTC, San Antonio
Head on Rim
I was a newspaper correspondent in the summer of 1979 and assigned to go to a dormitory across the American River from Sacramento State University and get a story about any of the athletes preparing to compete the next day in the Golden West Invitational track meet for high school all stars. A meet official […]
Also posted in A'Darius Pegues, Cocaine, Facebook, George Thomas Clark, Kansas, Modesto, Track & Field, Tyke Peacock
Don’t Diss Pacquiao’s Hoops
For two decades Manny Pacquiao has excelled in a sport requiring mental and physical toughness, and when not punishing opponents in the ring he loves to relax playing basketball. He’s played the game all his life and does so fairly well. If no one’s near his five-six, short-armed frame, he can hit an unorthodox, two-handed […]
Also posted in Boxing, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Philippines
Clueless Kobe Bryant
Clueless Kobe Bryant yesterday cursed teammates for being inadequate and responsible for the Lakers losing most of their games. Kobe’s got it wrong. He’s the problem, and his compulsive gunning and low shooting percentage are why the Lakers are struggling. While Kobe hits an appalling 39 percent from the floor, most of his teammates are […]
Also posted in Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Las Vegas Hell Motel
Fritz and Ida go to bed early, arise refreshed, eat good breakfast, and then grit teeth before driving east to enter Mojave Desert where dry death and hot existence always depress, but they can’t afford flight to Las Vegas for NBA summer league. Thankfully, they’ve reserved good motel, for three nights at fifty bucks per, […]
Also posted in Alfred Hitchcock, Las Vegas, Mojave Desert, Motels, Movies, Psycho
Pray for Heat
Sunbathers and other celebrities believe Miami Heat certain to beat Indiana Pacers in series tied at two. I say lunch pail Pacers have five of eight best players, hobbled Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh aren’t second and third after LeBron James, and big Pacers Roy Hibbert, David West, and Paul George outrebounded all Heat in […]
Also posted in Indiana, Lebron James, Miami, Miami Heat, Short Pieces - GTC
Internal James
in crunch throw king james ball don’t really want but gotta dribble hard in place rather not drive now maybe i’ll shoot from timbuktu or you do something
Also posted in Cleveland, Lebron James, Miami, Miami Heat, Poetry - GTC
The NCAA Confesses
What’s in that syringe? Untie me. You’ll go to jail. This won’t work. I’m not talking. I hope I won’t. I know I shouldn’t say as a kid I was a white wimp and still am and therefore perfect to work for the NCAA. I loathe my athletic superiors and all the media and fan […]
Also posted in Education, Football, NCAA, Racism, Reggie Bush, Walter Byers
Twilight Next Door
Soon after moving into current home Joe walked out front to trim bushes and met next door neighbors, lady and gentleman both about eighty. She introduced herself and said, “This is George.” Joe said hello and enjoyed lady’s vivacity and charm but thought what rude bastard husband was, bearing silly semi-smile and not looking at […]
Also posted in Alzheimer's, Glen Campbell, Health, Music, Pat Summitt, Ronald Reagan, Short Pieces - GTC
Letter to my Cable Company
Dear Cable Company, Please excuse me for annually asking you to send a technician to upgrade my service from a “limited-basic” menu of twenty-one channels to the still-merely-“basic” package of seventy-five, and then a few months later recalling your cable guy, always a different one, to climb the telephone pole in my back yard and […]
Also posted in Advertisements, Alaska, Blake Griffin, Commercials, George Thomas Clark, Glenn Beck, Internet, Jerry Springer, Media, Sarah Palin, Television
Shooting Baskets in Dreams
Generation after Hal moved from two small dingy rooms connected to old house in battery-stealing part of town, he thought dreams had disappeared so was saddened to see himself there shooting baskets. Old friend sat behind and watched errant shots. Damn ceiling’s too low to shoot right. Friend should’ve agreed but only stared as Hal […]
Also posted in Alcohol, Dreams, Drugs, George Thomas Clark, Housing, Mental Health, Sacramento, Short Pieces - GTC, Sleep
Clippers Carve Kings during Thanksgiving Feast
On Thanksgiving night I made my first visit to Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles since New Year’s Day when the defending-champion Lakers hosted an aroused and hot-shooting group of young Sacramento Kings who would’ve prevailed if Kobe Bryant, with customary flair, hadn’t swished a three-point jumper a millisecond before the final horn. The capacity […]
Cruising in My First Car
I wish I’d been more on the ball and returned to somehow punish the scoundrel who sold me my first car. The deed occurred on an ominous weeknight when my stepfather drove me east of Sacramento to a fine suburban home where a slender dorky old man at least forty-five opened the door and said, […]
Also posted in Alcohol, Babe Ruth, Baseball, Cars & Driving, Civil War - American, Elvis Presley, Football, George Thomas Clark, Grambling University, Grapevine, Highway 99, Jim Cleamons, Kentucky, Lebron James, Los Angeles, Louisiana, Luke Witte, Mississippi, New York City, Niagara Falls, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State University, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Racism, Roberto Clemente, Sacramento, Siege of Vicksburg, Tennessee, Texas, Travel, Ulysses S. Grant, Vanderbilt University, Western Kentucky University, Woody Hayes
Basketball in Downtown Los Angeles
Trust yourself. You’ve been to the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles many times, so you know you’re walking the right way, south on Figueroa Street a couple of blocks to the arena. Okay, then. Where is it? It’s got to be there. They haven’t moved a building holding almost twenty thousand people, have they? […]
Also posted in Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Tyreke Evans
Highlights from the 2008 Olympics
I see many noble commentators have downplayed if not altogether ignored Olympic sports in order to rebuke China for a range of civil rights concerns and thereby imply the nation today is as ill as in the era of Mao, who shred at least as much flesh as Hitler and Stalin. China has in fact […]
Also posted in Asia, China, Gymnastics, Media, Olympics, Swimming, Television, Track & Field
Pistons Pound Lakers into New Era
Don’t dare claim you knew the Detroit Pistons were going to kick the stuffing out of the Los Angeles Lakers, not unless you’ve got it in writing and notarized by at least three solemn souls. You couldn’t have known a seven to one underdog was going to pound Hollywood’s favorite team, and pride of NBA […]
Also posted in Jerry Buss, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson, Shaquille O'Neal
