Ruthie Bolton, a member of the original Monarchs (now-defunct) franchise, will be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend in Knoxville, Tenn. I saw here several weeks ago, and she was extremely excited about the awards ceremony. She continues to live in Sacramento and shows up at various Kings events and other local events. Other inductees include former WNBA and Olympic star Vicky Bullett, coach Muffett McGraw and Val Ackerman, the former NBA attorney (and salary cap whiz) who lobbied and badgered and begged David Stern, Russ Granik and Rod Thorn into forming a women's league in 1997.
Mark Jackson's quick trip
New Warriors head coach Mark Jackson will be introduced at a press conference this afternoon at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco. Don't envy his travel schedule. The departing ABC/ESPN analyst planned to take a flight to the Bay Area late Thursday after broadcasting Game 5 of the NBA Finals, then head cross country for Sunday's Game 6 in Miami.
A few late thoughts on Game 5:
* LeBron James. Two points in the fourth quarter. The mystery deepens. Actually, this is absolutely crazy.
* I totally agree with ABC/ESPN analyst (and former Kings guard) Jon Barry. This series does not rank among all-time great NBA Finals in quality of play, but in terms of competition, defense and intensity? Incredible. Can't believe it all ends within a matter of days.
* Mark Cuban has been so uncharacteristically quiet, he must be ready to pop. If the Mavericks ultimately prevail, will he have to be sedated?
* Jeff Van Gundy should be coaching somewhere in this league. Still don't understand why the Lakers didn't make a serious run at hiring him.
Final thoughts on a great player
Mike Mitchell, who was one of the league's premier small forwards in the 1980s, died of cancer. He was only 55. Though he flourished in spite of Ted Stepien's wacky reign with the Cavaliers (1978-81), his best seasons were with the San Antonio Spurs. On a roster that included George Gervin, Artis Gilmore and Johnny Moore, the 6-foot-7 Mitchell four times finished in the top 10 in scoring. Over a 10-years career, he averaged 19.8 points and 5.6 rebounds. He also shot 49.3 percent - very impressive given the percentage of attempts that were jumpers. The thing I'll always remember? Besides the fact his Spurs could never get past Magic's Lakers? That smooth, effortless jumper. He had great rotation on the ball, and every time he gathered one of those perfectly placed passes from Moore and released one of those familiar 18-20 footers, you expected the shot to drop into the net. Condolences to his family ....
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