LaLa Land

What can Brown do for you?  Los Angeles Laker fans are asking themselves that question today as the Lakers have reportedly offered Mike Brown the head coaching job to replace legendary coach Phil Jackson, who retired after the Lakers were eliminated by the Mavericks in the second round of this year's NBA playoffs.  Mike Brown is the winningest coach in Cleveland Cavalier history.  He guided the Cavs to the 2007 NBA Finals and two trips to the Eastern Conference finals in five seasons with an incredible record of 272-138.  Oh yeah, that LeBron guy might have had something to do with that, too...which is exactly why I for one would not be too excited about this hire if I'm a Laker fan.

Mike Brown will be under constant pressure to produce championships in LA,
something he has yet to do in his young yet successful career.

Mike Brown is widely-known as a coach that stresses defense, so it will be interesting to see how fans that are used to "Showtime" will like watching their team be more "Slowtime". But anyway, back to that LeBron guy...is it just me or did it always seem like Mike Brown coached 4 of the guys on the court and LeBron kind of did his own thing?  Now, what will Kobe do and how will he react when the Lakers did not hire Laker assistant coach, Brian Shaw, who Kobe had publicly endorsed for the job.  Mike Brown seems like a nice guy and a hard worker and I wish him luck in LaLa land, but I wonder if Jack Nicholson and the other Hollywood starlets want a nice guy as a coach or someone who will be able to continue to do what Phil Jackson has done so often during the past 10 years - win NBA championships.

Meanwhile, just 3 miles south of Staples Center, USC learned today that the NCAA infractions appeals committee upheld all penalties and findings against the USC athletic department for the improper benefits received by Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and star basketball player OJ Mayo.  The penalties, which were issued last year, include the loss of a significant amount of scholarships over the next three years and prohibits the football team from playing in any postseason games after the upcoming 2011 season.  Also upheld was the provision that any USC senior football play can transfer this summer to any other Division-I school and play his final season at a school of his choosing without the standard one-year penalty.

Reggie Bush was exciting to watch as a USC running back
in the 2000's but USC fans and players are still paying the price.

It's hard for me to understand why the NCAA continues to penalize players and administrators that have to clean up the mess of those that were directly involved in the infractions.  Bush is now in the NFL and has won a Super Bowl ring, OJ Mayo is in the NBA and a contributor to Memphis' run in the playoffs this year, former USC coach Pete Carroll split for the NFL prior to the penalties being handed out last year, etc., etc.  The current USC players were in junior high school when the infractions were committed, but they will have to pay the price for Bush's and Mayo's sins.  If the NCAA really wants to teach players, coaches, and administrators a lesson with appropriate penalties for serious infractions, why doesn't a program like Ohio State receive similar penalties while the players and the coaches that have committed the infractions are still at the university where they can at least feel a little bit of the same pain USC is experiencing for their actions?