The Pasadena / San Gabrial Valley Journal News - Black African American Business, Educational and Social News

HomeSports

New Job Posted!

Sports

Sports Watching & Wondering

MIXED EMOTIONS - I had predicted that the Thunder would slaughter the Lakers. The way that I had analyzed the teams showed that there could be no other outcome. Yet, as I was watching it happen, I found myself rooting for the Lakers, and hoping that they could find a way to win. The Thunder not only wanted to win the game; they also wanted to settle some old scores. They wanted to punish Metta World Peace for smashing his elbow into James Harden's face. They also wanted to show the world that they can now play Big Boy Basketball.

When the dust had settled, the Thunder had beaten the Lakers by a score of 119-90. As lopsided as the score was, the game was not even that close. The Thunder could have scored 150 points, if they had chosen to do so. The days when the Lakers were the top dogs in the NBA have come and gone. The NBA Champion will be the San Antonio Spurs, or the Oklahoma City Thunder, or the Miami Heat, and either the Philadelphia 76ers, or the Boston Celtics.

Some of the fans of the Lakers have unrealistic expectations for them. They cannot win the championship every year. The Draft and the Salary Cap are designed to keep the league competitive. In an ideal world, each team would win the NBA Championship once every 32 years.

MAGIC JOHNSON - The first time I saw him was in the NCAA Championship Basketball Game between Indiana State University and Michigan State University. Indiana State was undefeated, and their star player was an athlete named Larry Bird. Magic Johnson was the leader of the Michigan State team, and they were to meet in the most anticipated game of the year, if not the decade.

Johnson was different from what I had expected. He was a college superstar, but he preferred to pass the ball to a teammate, rather than shoot it himself. Byrd was a tireless opponent, who was skilled in every facet of the game. He played as if his very existence depended upon him winning.

World Peace Not Acting Very Metta

His cocky refusal to make amends for brutishly elbowing James Harden in the head proves that Metta World Peace's high-sounding moniker has no significance whatsoever. The Lakers star forward re-named himself Metta World Peace to denote kindness, benevolence, friendliness and non-violence – values summed up in the Buddhist concept of "metta." But by refusing to apologize or even to shake hands with the Oklahoma City player who suffered a concussion under his blow, MWP proves that he has no commitment to the lofty ideals embodied by his chosen appellation.

When he changed his name last September, the erstwhile Ron Artest announced that he wanted "to inspire and bring youth together all around the world." Publicist Courtney Barnes explained that the newly-minted Metta "took many years of research and soul-searching to find a first name that was both personally meaningful and inspirational."

Really? In his 2010 article "Metta: The Philosophy and Practice of Universal Love" (excerpted from his 1989 book), internationally-known Buddhist scholar Acharya Buddharakkhita explains that metta is all about love, friendship and going out of your way to make sure other people are OK. Buddharakkhita writes:

"Through metta one refuses to be offensive and renounces bitterness, resentment and animosity of every kind, developing instead a mind of friendliness, accommodativeness and benevolence which seeks the well-being and happiness of others. True metta is devoid of self-interest. It evokes within a warm-hearted feeling of fellowship, sympathy and love... Metta is indeed a universal, unselfish and all-embracing love."

Hmmm . . . Refuses to be offensive. Renounces bitterness. Seeks the well-being and happiness of others. Maybe Metta World Peace never stumbled across any statements like that during his "many years of research." Or maybe he just forgot. Bottom line is, Metta's behavior around the James Harden incident hasn't been very metta.

PCC Sports News

News Headlines for PCC Sports

Start Race Times Released For State Track/Field
Pasadena City College track and field athletes Luis Dorantes and Tenia Sebastian will each be running in the evening in their respective events at the...
Angie Ortiz Captures State Badminton Singles Title
Freshman Angie Ortiz performed a Pasadena City College athletics first Saturday afternoon. The Lancer captured the CCCAA State Individual Singles championship, the first by a...
PCC's Sebastian 3rd In 400 Hurdles At SoCals
Sophomore Tenia Sebastian placed third in the 400-meter hurdles in what was the lone highlight for the Pasadena City College track and field teams in...