While we wonder what\u2019s next for LeBron James and his legacy, future generations taking note of James\u2019 four NBA titles and MVPs, his position atop the career scoring list, his top-five place in assists and triple doubles, not to mention his longevity at the top of the game, just might think he\u2019s the greatest of all time. But in turn, they\u2019ll be amazed to discover from AI that dating back to 2026 and before, nitpicking TV squawkers and online pests persistently argued that, in one way or another, he just didn\u2019t measure up. The Jordan vs. James debate is so tired.<\/p>\n
Hoops du jour:<\/strong> Said the Washington Wizards after landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery, \u201cTank you very much.\u201d<\/p>\n Projection:<\/strong> Probable Wiz pick AJ Dybantsa, on why he should be the first player drafted: \u201cI fill seats.\u201d He\u2019s not wrong.<\/p>\n Quick hit:<\/strong> Is America supposed to get all tingly over the NFL\u2019s nine international games this season? Because, as far as I can tell, they do nothing to enhance viewer engagement in the U.S.<\/p>\n Numbers game:<\/strong> I suppose there are some credulous folks who thought ACC athletic directors and football coaches might emerge from this week\u2019s spring meeting with a different recommendation than a potentially unwieldy 24-team College Football Playoff. Wasn\u2019t going to happen. It was always going to be a bloated 24.<\/p>\n Bottom line:<\/strong> In every move proposed by the biggest college sports leagues, you see unmistakable signs of greed.<\/p>\n Local ties:<\/strong> A Virginia Wesleyan softball star has the perfect name for a pitcher \u2013 Hannah Hearl.<\/p>\n Different guy:<\/strong> For another season, a left-handed swinging Japanese slugger is among MLB home run leaders. Only this year, it\u2019s White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami.<\/p>\n Well-armed:<\/strong> Though struggling at the plate, Shohei Ohtani is managing to earn his keep with the Dodgers. After seven scoreless innings in a win over the Giants, he has allowed four earned runs in 43 innings.<\/p>\n Idle thought:<\/strong> MLB pitching is just too good, and that\u2019s not great for the game.<\/p>\n Mystery men:<\/strong> The overachieving Rays, who recently leap-frogged the Yankees into first place and boast the MLB\u2019s second-highest winning percentage, feature a lineup straight from the Federal Witness Protection Program. Go ahead, try naming a Rays player.<\/p>\n Change required:<\/strong> NBC will put the best face on a Preakness featuring only three Kentucky Derby horses, and without Derby winner Golden Tempo. Scheduling traditions die hard, but the consensus is that the only way to create robust interest in the Triple Crown is to extend the season to allow more prep time for the thoroughbreds.<\/p>\n Returning:<\/strong> Turns out the football series between Notre Dame and Southern Cal, thought to be kaput, is only on hiatus. The schools are already negotiating a continuation of the rivalry, though it may take until 2030 to resume play. Conference musical chairs have diminished some traditions. This one is worth saving.<\/p>\n Hoop thoughts:<\/strong> Between the Pistons and Cavaliers \u2013 Cleveland is up 3-2 going into Friday\u2019s game \u2013 I give the Pistons the best chance to wipe the grins from the faces of the Knicks\u2019 celebrity courtside jesters, primarily because of Detroit\u2019s Cade Cunningham. But his 39 points weren\u2019t enough the other night, were they? In any case, everybody\u2019s playing for second place to the Thunder, right?<\/p>\n Bob Molinaro is a former Virginian-Pilot sports columnist. His Weekly Briefing runs Fridays in The Pilot and Daily Press. He can be reached at bob5molinaro@gmail.com and via Twitter@BobMolinaro.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While we wonder what\u2019s next for LeBron James and his legacy, future generations taking note of James\u2019 four…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":796499,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1370,1260,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-796498","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-latest-headlines","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116574585345642998","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/796499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}