Canadian baseball players invade Indianapolis

These players wore Mets' uniforms but traveled from Canada to Indianapolis to play in the wooden bat tournament.

Wooden bat baseball tourney at North Central High School

A North Central player scores a run for the Panthers in the 16-and-under wooden bat tournament at Indianapolis North Central High School.

North Central players watch the action.

Zane Miller represents the Phoenix Bats company. He says that the bats are among the best wooden bats in the world.

North Central High School baseball fans and friends unite to watch their sons play.

The Kodiak pitcher came into the game firing hard fastballs.

The Kodiaks right side of the infield were ready to make a play.

A group of fans at the tournament were rooting for the Kodiaks.

NBA Draft could be a Bulls market for Luol Deng

By Colin Alexander

             With the development of the Internet and social media, information has become much easier to access today. Sports information, too, is no different. When you hear rumors of your favorite team being in the mix for a trade that could result in a top five pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft, one would naturally become excited.

 As cited by ESPN and several other columnists, the Chicago Bulls are flirting with the idea of trading their All-Star small forward, Luol Deng, to the Washington Wizards for their third overall pick. With rumors of Cleveland being interested in Maryland center Alex Len, and Orlando flirting with the idea of trading out of the number two slot, this would create an interesting situation for a team that fell to the Miami Heat in the Semi-Finals of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

 Before I dive into the analysis of this potential trade, I must say this: Luol Deng has been a great player for the Bulls and I would hate to see him go. When on the court, he’s proven to be an All-Star player and workhorse for the club, leading the league in minutes the past two seasons. Along with averaging 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds, Deng provides tenacity on defense that has helped the Bulls stay near the top of the conference without the presence of the franchise player, Derrick Rose.

The thing about Deng that makes him potential trade bait, though, is the question of his durability and age, especially after missing the entire Semi-Finals after complications from a spinal tap. Deng has always been the type of player to battle through injuries but by getting near the age 30 mark, one must question how his health will respond as he becomes older.

Compounding the situation was the tough play of second year man, Jimmy Butler, in his absence. Butler brings a similar tenacity on defense, which became noticeable in this year’s playoff run. The 6’7’, 220 pound Butler also brings younger legs and better athleticism to the floor, while having similar size as Deng, though being two inches shorter.

When placed in perspective, the organization must consider what to do: either lose a young Butler, who has more upside, or hang on to an older, proven Deng. With no talks of a possible extension for Deng’s contract, a trade seems viable for the franchise. If the Bulls decide to follow through with this, the franchise can bring more youth and athleticism to the squad, as well as a player that could help the team immediately.

 Butler’s versatility enables him to play both the two and the three would make a pick like Victor Oladipo from Indiana University a splash pick. Oladipo brings another level of explosiveness with his high flying dunks to go with the likes of Nate Robinson. Likewise, Oladipo is a strong defender, commenting in a pre-draft interview with Jalen Rose that “playing defense is fun to me,” and would fit well in Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau’s scheme.

Another viable option could be Ben McLemore from Kansas. McLemore brings a better outside shot than Oladipo, thus projects better as a scorer but is not as good of a defender as Oladipo. A big man, too, could be a good option for a team who lost big man depth after the departure of Omer Asik to the Houston Rockets after the 2011-2012 season. Though, they signed Nazr Mohammed to replace Asik, Muhammad does not project well for the future of the Bulls as he will be entering his 15^th season in 2013.

 Nerlens Noel may be sitting in the green room at pick three, but one must consider how he will respond after tearing his ACL in February. Getting younger, more talented players is always on the mind of franchises, but when considering a trade that involves an all-star player for an unproven rookie, one must think the process out thoroughly. Regardless of what the Bulls decide to do with Deng and the draft, it will once again be an exciting season in Chicago and expectations will be high. 

James is no Jordan

By Vince Alexander

     Congratulations LeBron James for helping the Miami Heat win its second straight NBA championship.
     But I have one problem: James couldn’t do it with the Cleveland Cavaliers—the team that drafted him as an 18-year-old fledgling.
     Michael Jordan—to whom LeBron has often been compared—did. James and Jordan were lottery picks, but that’s one of the very few similarities that I see between the two. After being drafted by a struggling Cleveland team, which desperately needed him, James became a free agent and left the Cavaliers the first chance he got.
     That’s why Jordan is more special, and in my view, he is a lot better than James. Jordan was chosen to be that special person chosen to help deliver a down-trodden franchise to Hoops Heaven. Jordan fulfilled his obligation, guiding the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships.
     Despite LeBron’s second championship, he is no Moses or Jordan. When things got tough, Jordan didn’t bolt to the highest bidder with the best weather or the best tropical beaches. When Jordan’s Bulls were getting their butts whipped by Detroit and Boston, he didn’t go out and beg some of the other all-stars of his time to join him in Chicago. Jordan just got better, and he followed it with six rings, a statue, top-of-the line signature shoes, and a successful clothing line.
     LeBron is a long way from being in the category of a Jordan. In LeBron’s case, when things got tough in Cleveland, he gathered two other all-stars together to form a mini all-star team in Miami. We all saw what happened next.
     However, any pick-up basketball player in the country, especially in my home state of Indiana, where basketball is king, would agree that Jordan was the best player to have ever played the game. LeBron is just another great player, but he’s not a legend; a legend would have saved the poor Cavaliers.
     Think about it. You are about to choose teams in the park or at your favorite gym. LeBron shows up, and he will only play on the same team as the four other best players. Then he challenges the others, a collection of short, fat, and athletically challenged geeks to a game.
     The geeks complain. They say, “It’s just not fair!
     And I agree. It’s not competitive because the outcome is predictable. In other words, Lebron’s  team will and should win because he has abused the system of fair play by collecting the best available players at the time.
     With Cleveland, LeBron left a good team. The Cavaliers made it to the Eastern Conference championship in 2009 and the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2008 and 2010. The teams of ’09 and ’10 won more than 60 games. With a little more leadership, skill, and patience, he could have taken the Cavs to the promise land—an NBA championship—earning even greater respect.
     Leading Cleveland to two NBA championships would have put LeBron in the legendary category.
     Instead, he abandoned his team and home state. The Cavs haven’t won more than 25 games since.
     Consequently, for the second straight year, the Cavs are back in the draft lottery –with the rest of the losers.
     But winning in Miami, a place where you won’t see basketball hoops in every other driveway, park, or fitness center—doesn’t put LeBron in the same category with the legendary Michael Jordan.
     In fact, because of the way James ran out on Cleveland—King James is King Lame!
     And that’s not cool.