Los Angeles: City of Lights? I Don't Think So ...

        Los Angeles has long been called "the City of Lights".  I dispute that claim.  Sherwood Park is the new "City of Lights".  Yes, LA has thirty million people illuminate the night sky; however, Sherwood Park is the worldwide leader of traffic lights.  Bar none.  

I have had the pleasure (?) of living in Sherwood Park for over forty-six years.  There was one set of lights when I moved here, as there was only five thousand people in 1964.  Forty-six years later, the same three main roads—Sherwood Park Freeway, Baseline Road, and Highway 16—attempt to accommodate the eighty-five thousand commuters that travel between Edmonton and the Park.  In 1964 there was little problem getting people from the cosy bedroom community into the city on their daily drive to and from work.  Not so now! The highly trained and educated visionaries, known as "County Planners", unfortunately have dropped the ball, so to speak, when it comes to realizing that three main thorough fares are not sufficient to move 85,000 people on a daily basis. 

And what have they come up with to solve this obvious problem for the commuters?  Traffic lights.  Fucking traffic lights.  Every fucking two hundred metres apart, there is another set of traffic lights.  It is incredible.  Here is a little fun sociological phenomena: enter Sherwood Park by the Freeway, head East over the overpass, and begin counting traffic lights. Then turn North down Sherwood Drive, towards Baseline Road, turn left at Baseline Road, and drive East to Highway 21.  If you survive that drive without killing yourself, you are a better man than I. There must be at least 25 traffic lights in approximately six miles.  Do the math. Unbelievable.  

My question is: who the hell decided to put all of these traffic lights in Sherwood Park?  Did they get some kind of fucking deal on a bunch of lights?  How the traffic lights in Sherwood Park work has already been covered by this writer, and trust me when I tell you that over the Christmas holidays, it has driven me fucking crazy, per usual.  Please reread my traffic light blog on this site.  

My thinking is that they bought these lights in huge quantities and are forced to put them up so not to waste the taxpayer's money.  As I ran on the treadmill, I thought of a conversation that some company flunky had with the County of Strathcona (oops, I mean Strathcona County… I wonder how much taxpayer's money was spent of that earth-shattering name change?) employee:

Flunky: "Ya, we can let you have these 500 traffic lights, and it will only cost you the same as if you bought 499." 

County Idiot: (excitedly) "Ohh, we'll take 'em!  Now do they all work?"

Flunky: "Well, they all work … to some degree."

CI: "What do you mean?"

F: "Well, the turning lights on all of them are a little inconsistent in terms of working.  By that  I mean that some don't work at all, some only work for a short time each day, and some only work for very, very short, intermittent stretches.  This will add a little bit of mystery and excitement whenever someone pulls up to a light!"

CI: "Well that's not so good, is it?"

F: "No problem.  Just tell everyone that you are doing a study concerning traffic flow and the new lights will reflect the results that you are getting.  Trust me, all the people will believe anything you tell them.  Just like the bullshit about all snow flakes being different.  They'll eat it up."

CI: "Where will we use 500 lights?"

F: "No problem.  Put them up every mile or so."

CI: "Hey, Sherwood Park is not that big."

F: "Even better.  Put them up about one hundred metres apart and everyone will love the colours. It will be just like Christmas all year around."

CI: "Nice!"

And that is how Sherwood Park became the "City of Lights".   

Poker

     Poker is a great game (when you win).  Sitting around with your friends; grinding each other's gears; sharing good food, having some laughs, is a lot of fun (when you win).  What could be better (when you win)?  Poker involved no physical skill but the mental and emotional skill is tremendous. It's thrilling (when you win). Getting cards is exhilarating (when you win). Making a really good bluff gives you a warm, smug feeling (when you win).  

The different cards that you get throughout the night will determine your mental and emotional well being. What could be better than pocket aces (if you win)?  Looking at cowboys (kings) is fabulous (if you win).  Having ladies (queens) staring at you is wonderful (if you win).  Could there be anything better than catching that inside straight (if you win)?  Flushing out is excellent (as long as you win). Making a really great bet is tremendous (if you win), as is making a really good value bet (if you win).  Turning over fives and saying "presto" is superb (as long as you win). Spiking a set, or better yet quads, can't be beat (as long as you win). Pushing people around because you have the big stack is brilliant (as long as you win). Making a good lay down or a good read; makes you feel happy (even though you didn't win, it felt like you won!). Thinking you have the nuts gives you a feeling of invincibility (as long as you win). What could be better that having a night of getting every card you want (as long as you win)?  

   All of these things make poker a great, great game. There are few things better than a successful night of poker.  The good things that I have mentioned above might happen 10% of the time and when it happens, nothing could be more fun or thrilling. The only problem with poker is that you lose 90% of the time.  The incredible high of winning 10% of the time must sustain you for the 90% of the time in which you get your ass handed to you by everyone else at the table. 

Even when you get the cards sometimes you lose.  You might get aces and still lose.  Having kings, queens, a straight or a flush, still do not ensure that you will win the pot, or have a successful night. I recently lost when I had quads (four of a kind - the second best hand possible).  Nothing is guaranteed in poker.  Luck has a lot to do with it.  Sometimes you get the cards; sometimes you don't.  You can occasionally outplay others when you don't get cards but that won't last long. Eventually the cards you get will determine success or failure. Success means happiness; failure means being pissed off until the next game…  and you can't fucking wait! 

Parking Lots

    I spend a lot of time in parking lots.  In fact most of life is spent sitting in my car observing the goings on of parking lots. My wife loves to shop and I'm her ride so... I call it driving Miss Crazy.  There are a lot of things going on in parking lots and generally most of it pisses me off.  When not reading I just sit and watch.
    Let's start with some really bad parking lots.
    The single worst parking lot in the city of Edmonton, without question is the 97St Market.  What a shit show.  It is fucking Thunder-dome.  Anything goes. Now I must admit that they have tried to improve the situation by closing the entrance at the corner or 97th and 107; however, it is of little consequence. Every time  you go there it becomes a used car lot with nobody moving. The Asian culture must include sitting and waiting for grandma to grocery shop, whilst blocking everyone else from moving.  I refuse to go into there any more.  We park on the street and my wife walks.
    The TD bank in Sherwood Park off of the Freeway is a gong show.  People love to park anywhere because they need to 'just pop in'.  Fucking great!
    Costco is always fun.  It's never busy, is it?  Carts everywhere, fat assed people wandering down the middle of the roads, eating hot dogs, special people parking in front of the doors because they need to just grab something.  Then you get to stand in line...  Kill me now!
    Italian Centre downtown brings into play the street people who love to harass you in your car (97 St. Market is bad for this also).  There is about twelve spots available to park and people start parking illegally on the little side road, which makes coming out and going in an adventure.  Luckily there is good food or I would refuse to go there.
    South side Italian market has a lousy parking lot also.  There is never any spaces.  One thing that I have observed is how mean looking the Italian Nona's are. (I have a theory about that after watching many Nonas come and go at the Italian Centre.  My theory is that Italian women are very beautiful when young; however, they lose their looks quickly and as they get older, they get really pissed off about it - hence the miserable looks! It's just a theory based on observation but tell me I'm wrong!)
    WEM.  Why would anyone possibly go there to shop? Just to drive around and around all day looking for a spot?
    Now for the parking situations that drive me crazy:
- Parking at an angle instead of straight.  Fucking special people doing whatever they want.  Lucky for them I do not act upon my first thought of keying their car or parking the same way beside them and repeatedly open my door and hitting their door. I'm such a pussy!
- Not parking between the lines.  Everyone on earth wants world peace.  Ha!  How the fuck can we achieve something as difficult as world peace when we can't get people to agree to stay within two yellow lines.  It really is not that fucking difficult, is it?
  -  Creating your own parking space.  I love when people come to a lot and find that others actually got there before them, so because they are special, they just create there own parking area where there wasn't one before.  Of course the other retards then start following along and soon the road to drive in and out gets eliminated.  But that's ok.  These are special, entitled people who deserve it.
- I have already written in another blog about people who park in the front of stores and banks just because... they too are the special people in the world who do whatever they want.  Fuck 'em!
- Waiting for a parking spot.  Isn't it great to be stuck behind some ignorant asshole who insists upon waiting for fifteen minutes to get a spot.  Indoor parking lots are great for this.  Nobody moves but luckily buddy got his spot.
- The people making everyone wait for their spot. It's great when someone puts their boughten goods into the car and then takes fifteen to twenty minutes to vacate the spot.  They light up a smoke; they have a conversation on the cell phone; they talk with their co-pilot - the dog, they finish that last nineteen bites of a dried up cannoli, finish that coffee, or whatever the hell else they do. Meanwhile everyone waits, and waits, and waits.
- Aren't car alarms going off in a parking lot wonderful?  Don't they serve that purpose that they were intended to serve?  Everyone rushes over to capture someone robbing or swiping the car... right? Not fucking likely.  Instead, people would like to go to that car and blow it up.  Car alarms are useless.
- Driving fast in a parking lot.  Brilliant idea.  Kids, old farts, fat assed people, all walking in and out of hidden areas and Mario Andretti is gunning it up and down the lanes.  Again, some people are too stupid to live.
- Canadian Tire is a good one for this. People doing car repairs in the parking lot and then throwing their old parts and crap on the ground.  Fucking hillbillies!
- Shopping carts.  People can't walk eleven steps to put their carts away.  I'll just leave this here and block another parking spot.  As long as I don't get put out, that is the important thing.  How about hillbillies riding carts in the parking lots?  This is usually done to entertain young children.  Retards.  And those kids were usually in my class and I was supposed to teach them to read.  
    Christmas shopping is a great time for parking lots.  I suggest you all take a little trip to one of my favourites and see for yourself.  
  

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly... in the NBA

Christmas Eve and I am feeling a little... I don't know what.  Santa's coming and I don't really want to go to bed quite yet so I thought I would comment upon several NBA players.  Some I like; some I don't:

The Don'ts

- Luis Scola: WTF is with that headband?  Can't he afford a real one?  # 2 on the all crossed-eyed team.
- LBJ: Mr. Sincere. Yuck.  Maybe he will get a jump shot for Christmas.
- Monta Ellis: He thinks a pass is something you make at a women.
- Andrew Bynum: Big body... little desire.  Too bad.
- Pau Gasol: Such a little head.  And such big nostrils.  Looks like a Frenchman. Can play though!
- Kobe: What's with the eye brow?  Is that his mean face?
- Derek Fischer: Used to like him.  Now he's a thug.  A little thug, but a thug never the less.
- Kevin Garnett: Mr. Huff and Puff.  Look how mean I am before the game.  Has anyone ever seen him knock someone down in the game.  Didn't think so.
- Coach K: Duke.  Ratface.  Say no more.
- Carmelo Anthony: Another thug.  Living on his 'Cuse days.
- J.R. Smith: Thank God he didn't go to Carolina.  Major thug.  Never met a shot he didn't like.  He's a shooter... needs to be a maker!
- Chris Anderson: Nice tats.  That hair is impressive... if you're living on the West End of London.
This is what happens when trailer people get money.
- John Calapari: Don't you feel like you need a shower after listening to him talk?
- Kentucky Basketball: You know how they cheat in the SEC in football?  Guess who started it in the 50's with basketball?  As Bob Knight says about Kentucky, "Those cheating bastards."
- TFT: ahhh, traded again.  Back to fuck up Orlando.  Let's see, Toronto didn't want him.  Phoenix didn't even keep him until Christmas.  I wonder if the flight is booked to Istanbul yet?
- Rajon Rondo: Please watch this guy the next time he's on TV.  He never, ever, ever, guards his man.  He just runs around and tries to steal the ball.  Kind of like the best athlete in Junior High School.  Shoots like it also.  Probably cheats 'cus he from Kentucky.
- Vince Carter: When Dean Smith dies, he will spin in his grave every time Vin-sanity  doesn't play hard to goes down with another pretend injury.  Which mean it will happen each game at least twice. An embarrassment to UNC.
- Baron Davis: Watch how many time he comes down and shoots without anyone else on his team touching the ball. Leads the league in this category.  And he is a point guard. Fuck!
- Chris Paul:  He's a great player but he looks like he's a prick. I don't know... he just looks like it!
- Jose Calderon: Anyone who looks like Prince just can't be a basketball player.  Next time he guards someone, will be the first.
- Shane Battier: WTF is up with the hair line? Is it his hairline or his eyebrow?
- Kurt Thomas: # 1 on the cross-eyed team.  How in hell can he shoot straight?
- Manu Ginobili: Greasy bastard.  How would you like to meet him on a dark side road? You're not coming out of that alive, I'm telling you.
- DeMarcus Cousins: Kentucky player.  Say no more.  Has the emotional maturity of a four year old.
- Tyreke Evens:  Another Calapari product.  Soap anyone?
- U Conn Men and Women: Unlikable. Calhoon and Auriamo (too lazy to look up correct spelling of his name - don't like him enough to do it): miserable pricks both of them.
- Stan Van Gundy: Ron Jeremy with a turtle-neck.  If you know who Ron Jeremy is... shame on you!
- Jeff Van Gundy: Skeletar look alike. Should marry Maria Shriver.  How would you like to wake up to either of them in the morning.  YIKES!
- Brandon Jennings:  Here is an idea: practice the jump shot instead of getting another tattoo.
- Josh Smith:  His 3 point shot makes him look like the third little pig (figure it out!).
- Andre Iguodala: Captain of the all under-bite team.  Should have attended Boston Collage.
- Dwight Howard: Shooting range... an inch and a half.  You might want to try a little lift on that shot, Dwight.
- Stephan Jackson: How many felonies does this guy have to commit before the NBA gets rid of him?
- Gilbert Arenas: Speaking of felonies...
- John Wall: Kentucky.  'nuff said.
- O. J. Mayo: A chip off the old block, perhaps?
- Andre Blatche: I can't remember who said it but some player who got traded from Washington somewhere else said that this guy is the laziest human being on earth.  Sounds like someone who should be playing professional basketball.
- Hasheem Thabeet: How could a top five draft pick be this bad?  Has someone lost their job over this draft pick?
- Glen Davis:  Big Baby.  Big cross-eyed baby.  Shoot for the middle basket, Big Baby!

The Dos
- Blake Griffin:  If you haven't seen him play, make a point of it.  Awe-fucking-some.  Every game there  is something amazing.  He is the most explosive big man in history. Now if he could get two things: the ball from that fucking ball hog Baron Davis and a jump shot.
- Derrick Rose: Changed my tune on him.  He's good. Still needs work on his J but explosive and quick. Luckily he had only one year of Calapari.
- Ty Lawson: UNC. Quick. Strong.  Needs to play more. Odd how he is the best player from that awesome UNC team of two years ago?
- Joaqim Noah: changed my opinion of him.  Still a flake but he's the only guy in the league who has stood up to LBJ and told him to stop being such a fucking, disrespectful asshole.  Too bad they didn't scrap.  The Frenchman won, the Frenchman won.  There's something you don't hear often.
- Yao: He's done.  Always had a certain dignity to him that I appreciated.
- Ray Allen: Chews his gum funny but what what a sweet jumper.
- Steve Noosh:  He's Canadian.  He plays hard and he's tough.  What's not to like?
- Kevin Durant: Notice how he is never in the news about signing his new contract? Just shuts up and plays... well! Very well! He needs to follow me around for a while... he'll gain a few pounds!
- Deron Williams:  I will take him over Chris Paul any day. Tough, skilled, and a better athlete than he looks.  Too bad he has a Battier hair line.
- Jerry Sloan: Gawd I bet he would like to fucking snap on some of their wimpy, soft, pampered players of today.  Better yet he would like to be able to guard them when he was in his prime.  He would make them cry.
- Dirk: Eins, zwei, drei (it's great to have a linguist for a son!). Best shooting big man EVER! Like butter!
- Kevin Love:  Beach Boy my ass. Tough bastard.  Gets every rebound.  Remember: no rebounds ... no rings (Pat Riley)
- Seniors: NCAA champions need seniors.  The reason UNC has sucked the last two years.

Well a lot more don't like than like.  Shows you what a miserable bastard I am.  Ohh well!  Merry Christmas to you all.  Watch lots of hoops tomorrow.  You'll see I'm right.

These Are a Few Of My Least Favorite Things .... About Football

    I never used to like football too much.  I thought that you had to be nuts (actually stupid!) to play a game in which pain was the dominant factor.  I am still surprised that there is not someone literally maimed on each and every play.  It is a vicious, violent game.  I am too much of a wimp to play football; however, I have gained considerable respect and admiration for football and the players in the past ten years.
    I credit this to my friend Pete, who was a football player of some alleged skill (according to him).  Whilst spending considerable time with Pete, I have discovered that he has certainly taken too many hits to the head; however he is also not stupid.  Maybe football players are not what I assumed they were. I might have been wrong (And my motto is: I am rarely wrong and when I am; I don't admit it!).
    After many discussions with Pete, I  have come to change my beliefs about football, and I have begun to watching the game on TV.  HD has certainly made football watching much more enjoyable; but there are several things that drive me crazy about the game.  Such as:
- Long haired football players.  WTF? I have had enough of guys running around the field with hair down to their ass.  Every team now has at least five guys with long, flowing hair, covering their names and half of their numbers. Usually it is the corner backs.  Enough already! Although I do like it when these long haired guys get tackled by someone grabbing their locks.  Serves them right. Ouch!
- Players making a wiping motion with one hand, palm towards their faces, after they have made a play.  WTF does that mean? Why do they do it?  It means nothing.
- Sack dances.  Isn't it the job of the defensive linemen to tackle the QB?  So if you do it, why do you have to dance around like your ass is on fire?   Just what I want to see... some fat bastard dancing around with his blubber all jiggly (former fat man's revenge!). Get your fat ass back into the huddle and catch your breath. You're going to need it tubby!
- TD dances.  They are just fucking stupid.  Act like you have done it before (Dean Smith's advice). Is someone (DeSean Jackson perhaps?) going to light himself on fire after a TD just to get people to look at them?
- Defensive team trying to rip the ball out of the ball carriers hands, instead of tackling them.  Again it is a simple case of someone trying to be the hero instead of making the play.  Typical athlete of today. That way they get themselves on ESPN. It's all about face time.
- Fumbles.  I hate when there is a fumble.  Ten fat guys diving, punching, scratching, grabbing, fighting, pinching, gouging, biting and whatever else is going on at the bottom of the human mosh pit (groping?). How they figure out who has the ball is beyond me.  All I know is that I quickly turn the channel when a fumble occurs and turn back fifteen minutes later just as they unravel the humanity and give the ball to someone. Usually it is the team I don't like.
- Brett Favre.  Ha, ha, ha.  What a fucking joke.  This year couldn't have happened to a more deserving person than the selfish, drama queen himself.
- Penalties are a joke in football.  They could call probably five penalties each play. How do you decide when to call a penalty or not?  I guess you give the officials the leeway to make a judgement call.  That is a recipe for a fucking disaster.  Referee's... fuck'em all!
- Dumping Gatorade on the coach.  The first time it happened, it was funny. Ever since then, it has sucked.  Doing this to the coach in -15 degrees weather in Minnesota is cruel and unusual punishment. STOP.
- Moving the chains.  This is the 21st Century.  Can't we have a better system that two retards in funny uniforms, with long sticks and a chain strung between them?   How about something using a computer, or lasers, or GPS?  Lets get up to speed with technology and change this ridiculous, archaic system.
- Spotting the ball after a play.  Read the statement above concerning lasers, computers etc.  Don't depend on some fucking referee to do it.  I repeat: Fuck the refs!
- Pounding chests.  WTF does that mean?  HHHMMM, me strong! Give me banana.  What are they... baboons?
- Overtime.  IT IS NOT FAIR!  I don't really care much for the collage game's overtime, but at least each team get a chance.  Come on NFL, think about it.  You can do better than what you have now.  I can't wait until some team wins the Super Bowl in overtime and the other team did not even get a chance.  That is when the shit will hit the preverbal fan.
- Rex Ryan.  How about grabbing a great big can of shut the hell up, lard ass?  Win something before you declare yourself great.  On top of it, your coaches cheat.  Something about apples not falling far from the tree...
- Concussions.  With all the technology in the world; we can't make a better football helmet than what they have now?  Doesn't someone understand that there is big money to be made if they make a better hat for the football players?  Of coarse it doesn't help that you have gigantic, incredibly muscular, speeding human beings slamming into each other, every play.  Remember what I said about someone getting maimed on each play...
- Shirtless fans.  They should be taken out of the stadium and beaten.  They are too stupid to live.
- Jumping celebrations.  Tiresome already.
- DeSean Jackson.  I can't wait until some big, mean linebacker breaks him in half.  What a fucking clown.  From the first game he played and his first touchdown, he has proven that he is world class asshole.  Another perfect example of the modern athlete.  I am sure that he hangs with LBJ and the likes.
- The playoff system.  It drives me crazy when the sports talk shows discuss how teams are going to get into the playoffs.  The mathematics involved boggle the mind.  How about if we just wait a while and it will all take care of its self?  Talk about verbal masturbation.
    Other than that I love watching football.  Can't wait for the playoffs.

The Sucking of High School Basketball

   Other than my son and my wife; high school basketball has been the most important thing in my life.  I owe a lot to high school basketball.  It was the reason that I went to university and became a teacher.  I didn't really want to teach; I wanted to coach basketball and teaching was the best way to do that.  Most of my closest friends come from my coaching; whether they were players or assistant coaches.
     My love for high school basketball began in 1969 when I went to the Edmonton City Championship at the U of A.  The game was between JP and Ross Shep.  My memory of that night was crowd of Ross Shep fans pinning the officials to the wall at the end of the game; due to the fact that there was a no call in the last few seconds of a one point game (Refs - even then I knew that they were fuck-ups!).  Since that night I have played, followed, watched, coached, lived and died high school basketball.
    I was able to be part of one of the greatest dynasties in Alberta sports history.  Our/my high school had a run of about 25 years that is the equal of almost all high school in Alberta.  Yes I know about Raymond, HA, RS, but check the records.  We were much more successful for a period of 25 years than any other high school.  Being part of the wonderful tradition, the exciting times, and the success was something that I will never forget.
     Now,  this is not a trip down memory lane piece.  The problem is the things that once made high school basketball wonderful are gone.  The result is that high school basketball; as it now is played; basically sucks.  It's dead.  Playing high school sports should be something that spawns a lifetime of good memories.  It is supposed to be a situation where kids get a chance to compete, have fun, get better, hopefully win some games, have good times after the games, maybe get the opportunity to play at the next level, spend time with their friends, live the life of a high school jock, get chicks, have the teachers look the other way because you are the starting point guard (Hmm... not talking about me specifically of course), and basically be a kid.  Those are memories that come from high school basketball.
     High school basketball used to be a very simple thing.  It was my neighborhood against your neighborhood.  Simple.  Let's see if the guys in our school can beat the guys in your school.  It may have been neighborhood verses neighborhood, Dogans verses  Pagans.  My town verses your town.  That is what high school basketball WAS about.  There was no recruiting.  We didn't have kids all go the best school so they can win.  Kids didn't change schools to play volleyball or football, and then go back just to play basketball.  There would be a new good team each year because teams stayed together and improved. If they were young and had a poor record one year, they knew that they would be good next year and have a chance to win.
    Now, high school basketball is a joke.  There is only four teams in Edmonton with a chance to win.  Ainley, Shep, JP and OL (And OL has a very small chance).  That's it.  All the good players in the city basically go to those schools so they can win ( Just like LBJ did in the NBA).   Why the hell should any other schools even play?  It is a waste of time.  You'll hear the bleeding heart idiots; who have never played or competed, talk about just 'playing for fun', 'do your best', 'everyone gets to play', 'everyone gets a medal', 'as long as you try', blah, blah, blah.  What bullshit.  Playing is about competing.  If you cannot compete with teams because the playing field is uneven; why the fuck waste your time, and energy?
     And believe me, the playing field is not even.  The big four have all the advantages and if they lose; it's because they didn't work hard enough or had really, really shitty coaching.  Kids now want to win at all costs.  The kids think, that if they get every good player in the city to come to; say,  Ainley, they'll win.  It's like shooting fish in a barrel.  How can RS and HA lose; yet they seem to.  JP has as many 'transfers' (a softer, gentler word for recruits) and still never wins (they do work hard so...).  The big four get all of the publicity from the papers.  If someone came from out of town and reads the Edmonton Journal's high school sports page (a rare occurrence), they will think that the only schools in all of Edmonton and surrounding areas, are HA, RS and JP.  That's a joke.  80-90% of all articles in the 'Urinal' are about these three schools.
     The big four have large populations, nice gyms, big tournament opportunities, pretty good coaching (as least one of them!), advantaged kids and and province wide reputations.  Great players look at the positives and go there.  Is this recruiting?  Is it against the rules?  I do wonder what would have happened if a coach or principal said no to the Alberta team player?  Tell them to stay and play with his team at QE or wherever.  Just because you don't go out and 'recruit' doesn't mean you don't recruit.  We tell the kids to, "Just say no".  Why don't the adults follow their own advice?
    The other big reason that high school basketball is broken is the most serious of all: parent involvement.  Parents have ruined high school basketball.  They are allowed, by school administration, to get themselves involved and it is WRONG.  Parents have their own agenda and do not care about teamwork, togetherness, role players, team depth, skill development and even winning.  They only care about their child playing.  That's it.  What's best for the team does not matter.  Just let my kid play and preferably let my kids shoot as much as they want, play no defense, not work hard or even come to practice, never pass the ball, not do any of the dirty work, or spend any time at all on the bench.  And if the team loses; of course it is the coaches fault and a phone call will soon follow.
    Parents think that because they have watched 50 basketball game since their precocious child began junior high; they are fucking experts on basketball.  They have never played; they have never coached; they know nothing about developing a team; but they feel compelled to criticize and berate the coaches. Hmmm...  Here is a coach that has spent 20 years teaching, coaching, learning about the game. They spend literally tens of thousands hours of their 'free' time trying to help young people get better. Daddy; who have spent 100 hours watching crappy basketball, is now the fucking expert and expects to give his opinion about how poor of a job the lifelong coach is doing.  Jesus; I've eaten in a lot of restaurants, but I don't think I could tell the chef how to do it.  Parents drive good coaches out and nobody holds them accountable for their bullying.
    No high school coach is above this parental bullying.  I know coaches that have won 4-5-6 provincial championships, who are still criticized, bullied and have had their lives made miserable by parents; who by some fucking miracle, know more that these coaches.   Like the uneven playing field; why would you want to put in all the time and energy when you get nothing but grief and criticism from parents of kids that you are giving up your time to improve?  So good coaches quit and the high school game suffers.
   Kids don't understand commitment, nor do the parents reinforce the need for commitment.  Coming to practice now is considered a suggestion to the kids.  They come if they want.  But they want to play 40 minutes the next game.
   Kids work.  They think that they should be able to work, not come to practice, and still play 40 minutes a game.  Parents complain like hell when you set a practice schedule because it restricts poor Johnny's ability to work at Starbucks and make money.
    Kids have low expectations of what high school basketball is all about.  They just about shit themselves when they play against someone who plays hard and plays to win.  When they have been given medals all of their life just for breathing, not for winning, your competitive spirit becomes non-existent.  They have no ability of overcoming adversity.  Mommy and daddy have always bailed them out and they expect it to happen in basketball or they quit. ...
   And the phone calls begin. Those are just some of the reasons why high school basketball now sucks.