Basketball On The Internet.

BOB'S CORNER: It's Christmas Eve but USA correspondent BOB CRAVEN has been slaving over a hot laptop to bring you the latest in COVID disruptions to American sports, collating anniversaries, and even taking a look at how Aussies Patty Mills and Josh Giddey are faring in the NBA.

COVID-19 seems to be coloring a lot of sports news stories in the US.  One of the favorites to take the NBA title this season, that is, if we can even get this one to finish up at some point, is the Brooklyn Nets. 

One of their “Big 3” stars, Kyrie Irving, has not been able to play all season so far, since he has refused to meet New York’s state mandate to be fully vaccinated against Covid.

Initially, the team said he would not be able to play at all unless he could play in all games, home and away.  However due to the heavy workload placed on superstar Kevin Durant, plus being very shorthanded due to Covid restrictions (they were 7 players short at that point), the team has somewhat relented and issued a notice that he would play going forward in games not scheduled in NY. 

No sooner had they issued that directive, than it had to be rescinded as both he and Durant tested positive for Covid, making them down 10 players with Covid or injuries, the most in the league. 

As a result, Patty Mills with 23 points was their leading scorer in a 100-93 loss at home to the Orlando Magic. He was 10-of-24 from the field but only 2--of-14 on 3-pointers.

COVID continues to wreak havoc with schedules in all sports, but also things really slow down during the holiday season.

In a non-sports note for those of us who remember the early days of rock music and Motown, we recently lost one of the pioneers of the Motown sound, Wanda Young, who recently passed away at 78.  She was one of the two lead singers of The Marvelettes, a girl group whose 1961 song “Please Mr. Postman”, made when they were all still in their teens, was Motown’s first #1 hit.

They started in 1961 and were signed by Barry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, the same year as the Supremes and a year before Martha and the Vandellas. 

Other major hit songs they recorded included “Don’t Mess With Bill” and “Beechwood 4-5789, and others, several of which were written by Smoky Robinson.  She was married for 12 years to a member of The Miracles, Smoky Robinson’s group.  They had a total of 20 singles that made the charts.

Recent anniversaries of note:

1891—This is the big one:  Almost exactly 130 years ago, the first basketball game ever is played by 18 physical education students at the Springfield, Massachusetts YMCA, under the direction of a Canadian, Dr. James Naismith.  They used his rules for his newly minted sporting activity, Basket Ball, created for indoor use during the terrible weather of a New England winter.

1930—The first nationally famous men’s college basketball coach, Adolph Rupp of the U. of Kentucky, coaches his first game, a 67-19 win over Georgetown College.  He retired 42 years later after winning a then-record 879 games and four national titles.

1962—The 1,000,000th point in NBA history is scored.

1964—The Big O (Oscar Robertson) of the Cincinnati Royals scores 56 points, including 18 in the final quarter, in a 111-107 win over the LA Lakers.

1969—Pete Maravich of LSU scores 46 points and sets a new NCAA record by making 30 of 31 free throws in a 76-68 win over the Beavers of Oregon State U. at Corvallis, Oregon.

1982—Tiny Chaminade U. in Hawaii (with an enrolment of only 850 students) which plays in the NAIA (smaller than any of the three NCAA divisions) defeats NCAA #1-ranked U. of Virginia, led by 7’4” All-American, Ralph Sampson, 77-72, in a holiday tournament in Honolulu in front of 3,383 fans.  This is generally considered by far the biggest upset in NCAA history.

1997—Ranking 2nd on the list of biggest upsets in NCAA history, NCAA Division II school, American U.—Puerto Rico defeats #12-ranked Arkansas 64-59 in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic.  Personal note:  I have had the opportunity personally to watch some top-flight games in Puerto Rico way back in the day, and I would be confident in saying that in this game, the home team almost certainly benefitted significantly from the “home cooking” that local referees are justly famous for.

2006—Tenth-ranked Arizona State U. beats Texas Tech U. 61-45 in the second outdoor game in women’s college basketball history.  The game is played at Chase Field, home of the local franchise for Major League Baseball, the Arizona Diamondbacks.  With 4:18 left to play, the game is called due to rain and awarded to Arizona State, which led at that time by that 61-45 score.

I recently reported on the Memphis Grizzlies setting an all-time NBA record for margin of victory in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, 152-79. 

The two teams played each other again on Dec. 22 in Memphis, and the result proves why teams don’t just mail in games that seem to be a foregone conclusion. 

OKC won on the road 102-99—that’s why you have to lace’em up and just play the game—you never know how it’ll come out. 

Josh Giddey was definitely a factor in the game for OKC, as he scored 19 points and grabbed 11 boards—his second consecutive game where he just missed his first triple-double.

IN a super tight 104-103 win over the LA Clippers, Giddey came close to a triple-double. 

His shooting did him in, however, as he scored 8 points on 4-14 shooting, but he added 18 rebounds and 10 assists in one of his better games on the season.