* You Can’t Suspend Baseball
Shortly after starting to write this silly column came word that District 55 suspended the Newport Beach Little League (NBLL). They had too many coaches on their board and two baseball games were suspended. There is a rule that coaches can’t make up more than 50 percent of the board. Someone should tell District 55 that this is the way things are done in Newport Beach. It is quite common for people with positions to also serve on the board that oversees them. In politics some might call this cronyism. All that said, punishing the kids for a minor infraction not of their doing and easily corrected is a little harsh. You can’t suspend baseball. After all, baseball and America are synonymous.
* Earlier Than Expected?
How many times have you read in the local sports pages that the injury to one of your favorite athletes is “taking longer than expected to heal?” For example, Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash are now officially out for the rest of the 2013-2014 basketball season and maybe longer. Millions of dollars were thrown down the drain by Laker management. Just once wouldn’t you like to read in the morning Sports Section that player X is healing miraculously and coming back sooner than expected?
* Round Ball Specifics
Add the $30 million to Kobe this year 2013-2014 to the $49 million guaranteed in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 and you get a sum of $79 million. Steve Nash is guaranteed $19 million for this year 2013-2014 and next 2014-2015. So the two injured players together will cost the Lakers a tidy $98 million and both may never play again. No wonder the Lakers have little left over for new talented players. No wonder the management gets little sleep.
* New Offense
Under Phil Jackson the Lakers used the “triangle” offense. What the Lakers need is a new coach who uses the “hexagon” offense. The power of the hexagon is well known in the technical field. It is far superior to the triangle, square or rectangle. The offense would use five players with the sixth on the bench. The bench guy would signal the plays. Using the power of the hexagon the Lakers will rise again.
* Biggest Product
Lawyer fees and lawsuits are one of the United States’ largest domestic products. But with ubiquitous talent shows like The Voice, American Idol, The X-Factor, and Americas Got Talent, etc., legal-man has a colossal challenger. It now seems that our number one product is singers and musical albums. Might this possibly have something to do with the current downfall of our nation as a world power? In case of a war, we could always bomb our enemies with music, albums and discs. We could play non-stop rap that would cause the opposition to surrender in a few minutes. On second thought torture is illegal.
Michael Arnold Glueck lives in Newport Beach and writes extensively on medical-legal issues. He loves baseball.
