SUMMER LEAGUE v3.0 EYE CANDY

[CruzDude]

Eye Candy at summer league

Don't get too excited just yet. Summer League in Las Vegas os the biggest sports melting pot in the world. There are 23 NBA teams represented from every corner of the country and every one of them has their cadre of fans. *Las Vegas is a Lakers town but the Sacramento Kings are well represented due to the Maloofs and their (sic!) Palms Casino.

Fans from Boston are different from Chicago fans who are very separate from Spurs, Kings and Clipper fans. *Clipper fans are a bit like us Kings fans were in 1998 when the team took a major upturn. Every fan group seems to prefer different drinks and snaks too. *At any moment in the food court area between Cox Pavilion and Thomas & Mack one can see T-shirts from 10-12 different NBA teams and frequently see several Euro team shirts.

This is Las Vegas and show girls have to do something in their off hours. They tend to be easy to spot: high heels, short shorts, halter tops, a scarf here and there, you get the idea. *And most of them are 5-10 to 6-2. Laker games are a good bet. Try not to be too obvious in your appreciation of the arts, like everyone else.

Walking thru the food court this week you rub elbows with coaches , GM's, scouts, players, front office staff, ESPN anchors, NBA writers, dozens of folk you've seen on TV. *This is the ultimate eye candy for the basketball junkie. For over the hill ballers like yours truly, I prefer to support the Arts.

Cox Pavilion is the preferred venue for watching summer league with a big high school gym feel, seating only on the sides in about 20 rows. The first row is about a yardstick behind the player benches so up close and personal is easy. *After every game the NBA sets up an autograph table and one of the top name draftees from the game sign autographs for a limited time. Two years ago bajaden and I stood chatting with Cousins mother watching while he was doing autograph booth duty. Gavin Maloof joined the conversation and Geoff Petrie ambled by admiring his latest draftee.

 

[CruzDude]

Eye Candy v3.1

Imagine being able to rub elbows with and even speak to Geoff Petrie, or Gavin or Joe Maloof, or Coach George Karl, or players like Cuz or Tyreke or Scot Pollard, all of whom are spectators like you when they are walking around the common areas. Everyone there is in the general public and usually quite easy to approach. Sure July in Las Vegas is hot (this week a rather plain 98-102) but you'll be inside watching NBA basketball Summer League version. Prices went up this year to $28 for adults and $18 for seniors and kids. But you get to watch 7 games a day starting at 1pm daily and ending around 9pm that night.

Scoring, refs and fouls much the same as a regular NBA game as the refs in summer league are auditioning as well. For every game there are 3 auditioning refs and one alternate plus one regular NBA ref as a mentor watching from the stands and grading the refs during the game. Every day all the refs there that day meet for staff meetings to review the previous day and go over a multitude of live plays for OJT, on-the-job training.

Autographs? Easy, before games, after games and just walking around. After each game one key draftee is stationed at the autograph table providing free autographs to about 60-80 in line. Two years ago it was our Cuz.

 

[Section 101]

This is Las Vegas and show girls have to do something in their off hours. They tend to be easy to spot: high heels, short shorts, halter tops, a scarf here and there, you get the idea. *And most of them are 5-10 to 6-2. Laker games are a good bet. Try not to be too obvious in your appreciation of the arts, like everyone else.

this post is useless without pics.

 

[CruzDude]

this post is useless without pics.

If you go to summer league, then I don't need pics, eh? Besides, they would spoil the reality of actually being there.