By Michael Elliott
Ben- The movie? No. The Michael Jackson song? Not. The rat? I don’t think so. The college basketball star out of LSU who has a shot at supplanting Kobe Bryant as the Lakers next superstar? Yup! Perhaps you have never heard of Australian product Ben Simmons. The Tigers’ freshman phenom is lighting it up in venues around the country and fans can’t get enough of him. He is so revered in Baton Rouge that Louisianans are mentioning him in the same breath as “Pistol” Pete Maravich, the iconic scoring legend whose floppy locks and saggy socks brought instant basketball cred to the Bayou Country ages ago.
Simmons went for his 16th double-double in 22 games recently in a 21 point, 13 rebound effort in a victory over Auburn. These types of performances are a big reason that the lowly Lakers may very well select Big Ben (6’-10” with a seven-foot wingspan) come next NBA draft if they get a shot at him. And his uniform colors would remain exactly the same. Karma baby!
The Boys Are Back In Town- Thin Lizzy ditty? Nah. My high school buddies have come to visit me? Nyet. The Dallas NFL football team is going to be good next year? Ha-ha-ha!!! The Rams are returning to Los Angeles? That be the one.
St. Louis Rams zillionaire owner Stan Kroenke is bringing the franchise back to the LA area. Will prior SoCal Rams fans re-engage or will they be unforgiving? The former, I’m sure. The Los Angeles area has been long-starved for another NFL entity.
Growing up in the tiny San Joaquin Valley town of Avenal, CA, I was sitting on the, if you will, Mason/Dixon Line, not knowing whether to follow San Francisco or Los Angeles sports teams. Laying on the couch with my dad on Sunday afternoons watching John Brodie commandeer the Forty-Niners never did sway my allegiance from the Rams once I fell in love with them. Going to games at the venerable LA Coliseum and watching Roman Gabriel and the Fearsome foursome perform was life-altering!
When the Rams left town my heart did not follow them. Upon their return I shall personally have a wait-and-see attitude. Welcome back my long-lost friends.
Potpourri- Biggest matchup in women’s college hoops to date this year between #1 undefeated UConn and #2 undefeated South Carolina should be a doozy! Is UFC champ Holly Holm tempting fate by facing off against Meisha Tate prior to her mid-summer rematch with a seething Ronda Rousey? If you happen to attend the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this summer be wary of swimming in their water. If you find yourself passing through Flint, Michigan anytime soon don’t drink theirs.
Local surfers are hanging tens on those awesome El Nino waves as of late. Mission Prep boy hoopsters are having a fine PAC 8 campaign as they sit at 9-1 at press time. Idiot Of The Year award last year and this year, to date, goes to the Cleveland Brown’s Johnny Manziel. It was quite nerve-wracking for Brandt Snedeker, as he finishes his final PGA golf round on a Sunday one stroke back before weather stoppage and has to squirm outside of the ropes all morning long on Monday as the final groups limp home and hand him the Farmer’s Insurance Open title in San Diego!
How many of you out there are sporting wry smiles as the Duke Blue Devils, and perhaps the Kentucky Wildcats, have dropped out of the top twenty-five college basketball rankings for the first time in years and years? The Washington Capitols seem to be the class of the National hockey League, but don’t be surprised if the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks hoist the cup once again this year. And finally, stay fit for more than a bit, and you’ll be a hit with your family close-nit.
Send Michael your favorite Michael Jackson and Thin Lizzy songs at [email protected]
