the other major sports news source reported this morning that isiah thomas, larry brown and jim dolan had a sit-down meeting in, of all places, atlanta.

everyone probably assumed it meant the end of the line for zeke, but from the report, all dolan did was give thomas a vote of confidence.  have we not figured this out yet? 99 times out of 100 the vote of confidence means nothing, except maybe that the wheels are in motion to rid an organization of whomever is supposedly safe from being fired or otherwise relieved of their position.  another report stated that thomas asked that he be able to resign, rather than be fired.  yet another report stated that if he hadnt been terminated for his legal problems, or the trade for jalen rose, or the fact he didnt even pursue ron artest, that his job is safe.

rich bucher said that if dolan sided with larry brown, he would not only have to remove thomas, but most of the roster as well, in an effort to bring the franchise back to the upper 1/3 of the league.  while removing thomas and most of the roster seems like a win/win for the fans and the organization, its not that easy to do.  sure thomas screwed up with just about every move he made there, including bringing brown in to coach a team with no structure.  you can blame dolan just as much for allowing it to happen.  the hiring of brown in and of itself isnt the issue. its the fact that the roster stunk last summer, and looks even worse now.

my theory in all of this, is that its all posturing by all sides, and thomas will step down at the end of the season, and assume the head coaching duties at indiana.  its just a hunch, but it seems logical that he'll end up there somehow.

here's the tough part....who does new york bring in to try and straighten out the mess he created?  it would take alot of luck to remove any of the high priced malcontents on the roster, and they make up half the team.  if none can be traded away, its a minimum of 2 years before any of the huge contracts expire, and 4 years for francis and marbury's to run out.  kiki vandeweghe's name was mentioned as a possible replacement for thomas. i just cant see why he'd want to go there, even with what's been going on in denver.  they need a real crafty expert in there if they have any hope of re-establishing themselves any time soon.

watching the nba lately, i've noticed a new trend in fashion.  some of the stars are now wearing tights underneath their skirts....errr shorts.  to the average fan this looks like nothing more than an attempt by players to get more attention from the announcers and the fans.  while it does cause much discussion, there's more to it than just looking cool. 

one of the main reasons players are turning to the tights is to keep their leg muscles warm during timeouts, and stints on the bench.  it also helps to keep the knee joint in place, for those who've had various injuries, and are somewhat fearful of exposing the knee to further damage.  joe smith was interviewed a couple weeks ago, and asked what the deal was, and he informed the FSN tv crew that after his knee surgery, he felt more comfortable with the tights, and it kept the knee warm while he was sitting idle on the bench.

another possible reason for the tights is to keep cameras from getting just a bit too much footage when a player hits the floor.  after all, as baggy and long as the shorts are these  days, there's plenty of opportunity for such a mishap.

this may seem like a new trend, but its more of a variation of something allen iverson stumbled upon a few years back.  after suffering an injury to his arm, he began wearing a protective sleeve.  after it was completely heeled, iverson continued to wear the sleeve, saying that it gave him a feeling of security, as well as having realized that by keeping the arm warm, it kept it loose late in games.

my 1st question is, why is it only players in the upper echelon who are sporting the tights?  sure, andrew bogut and joe smith are wearing them, but they both just happen to be former #1 overall draft picks.  if this tactic is so helpful, i would think that the majority of players would be doing it.

the next question is, when is the nba going to decide the tights violate the uniform code, and ban players from wearing them.

i never actually took the SAT's, for fear i'd either fail miserably, or score so well that my parents would put even more pressure on me to go on to college.  however, if i had taken them, and scored a 720 or so, would it be too late now to ask for a do-over? 

 i have a habit of putting my full name on important documents, but i prefer not to be called by it, because it makes me think i'm 11 again, and mom is hollering at me for picking on my sister.  this would be 1 reason why i should be entitled to retake the exam.   if its not the name i respond to, then it shouldnt be the name i'm held accountable to after a bad test score either.

of course i refused to take the ACT's also, because i felt that waking up early on saturday to do school type stuff was beneath me, and could in no way improve my position with the more elite colleges and universities.  after my horrible score on the SAT, i wonder if this was a mistake. however, after being taunted by the other kids with rising college academic stock, begging me to take it, i realize i made the right choice afterall.  i already made arrangements to take a similar, more biased test at home, on a tuesday night (when there was nothing good on tv) where i would feel more comfortable answering questions that i could later claim dont even apply to real life.

anyway, after all my grandstanding, the only letter i got from any college was 1 telling me that, if i enrolled there, i would start my freshman year on academic and legal probation, because of the unbelievable things my brother had done in his 4 years at the institution.  so, after much consideration, soul searching, numerous family meetings, i decided to forego any college eligibility, and jump straight to the professional level.  12 years later, i know i made the right choice.  i've learned more in the school of life than any 4 year, high tuition, party school could have ever taught me.

so, i say to you vince young....dont let anyone give you crap for failing miserably on 1 exam. just keep reminding yourself that all you need to do is go out there, sling that ball half-side-armed, and pray that the guy streaking down the field in a jersey matching yours catches it.  if not, you may be compared to another guy who came out of college with great expectations, quick feet, and less than stellar throwing accuracy.  thats right, you could be the next michael vick.