Why the NBA is the best run sports league

Just hear me out, okay? I personally feel that the NBA is the best run and most beneficial of the four major American sports leagues. And yes, I have reasons. Soccer is the world's most popular sport, but the NBA has also become a global league. The NBA has had two Canadian franchises: the Vancouver Grizzlies (who have since moved to Memphis) and the Toronto Raptors, who unlike some Canadian franchises in American leagues have a strong and passionate fan base as well as a good roster. Players like Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have brought national attention to the league, and NBA games are televised in all corners of the world. If you don't believe me, read this: 70 percent of NBA-related social media traffic comes from outside the United States. Other dominant sports leagues simply do not have the global reach of the NBA: the NFL still remains unpopular in other countries, the MLB statistically receives most of its viewers from the US, Japan and South and Central America, and European Soccer still doesn't have a consistently strong audience in the US (most only watch European Soccer during the world cup). And foreign countries don't just produce viewers. They produce players. Of the past 15 NBA MVP awards, 5 have been given to players who were not born in the US, and foreign players like Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Pau and Marc Gasol (Spain), Yao Ming (China), Ricky Rubio (Spain), Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia), and Steve Nash (Canada) have been some of the most exciting, talented, marketable, and admirable players in both recent and past years. The NBA doesn't have issues with steroid use like the MLB because basketball a game that requires athleticism and also incredible skill, so pure strength doesn't give you too much of an advantage. The NBA has some issues with foot and ankle injuries (especially in 7-footers), but it doesn't have the issues with injuries or violence that the NFL and NHL are criticized for. The last thing that I think sets the NBA apart is that Commissioner Adam Silver and the league are always looking at different ways to make the game better; they fix problems when they come up and they don't cling to tradition. This post is not made to berate the other leagues; I enjoy football myself and even baseball and hockey to an extent. I personally feel that the other leagues, mainly the NFL (Roger Goodell cough cough deflate gate cough cough domestic violence issues cough cough) could learn something from the way the NBA operates.

Kobe

So some people post about sports on here so I guess I'll join the party. One of the biggest stories in sports this year is the recent announcement that this NBA season will be the last for Kobe Bryant. Whether you follow basketball of not or even if you don't follow sports you almost definitely know who Kobe is. To many sports fans (most of them slightly older than me) Kobe is an icon and a childhood hero, similar to how basketball players like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson were before Kobe. I grew up watching Kobe play and as someone who follows basketball closely I find Kobe an extremely interesting person to observe both on and off the court. What intrigues me the most about Kobe Bryant is that in some aspects he is an exceptional and admirable man, and in others he is a great example of how not to live your life. The number one criticism against Kobe is always going to be that he was accused of rape in the summer of 2003. Rape cases involving athletes of other rich and famous people are often called into question because there have been cases of people claiming that rich and famous people have raped them in order to get a large settlement check out of them. Kobe admitted to having sex with the woman, and was married at the time, so either way he comes of the situation looking like a real scumbag. When looking at the facts of the trail, I think that there is decent evidence for both sides, however eventually his accuser refused to testify and the charges were dropped. Kobe's wife stayed with him for another eight years and then divorced him, but then returned to him in 2013 and the two are still married today. Personally, based off of what I know about Kobe as a person I don't think that he's guilty but clearly I am not an expert, I'm just going off my observations and gut feeling. Other lesser knocks on Kobe include him being a poor teammate who drives other star players away and also him being a ball hog who doesn't pass as much as he should. Just as with the rape case, there is a decent argument on both sides. Anyway on to the positive. Kobe has played 20 seasons in the NBA, every single one of them with the Los Angeles Lakers. This loyalty is impressive no matter which way you cut it. Often times Kobe has had opportunities to get paid more of be on better teams, but he has always stuck with the Lakers. This past week Kobe took himself out of the starting lineup so that younger players could get more minutes in. Kobe is also an extremely hard worker and a tough player. Kobe always gives 100% on the floor, even now after 20 years of wear and tear. Kobe is also a very tough player, playing through injuries, controversy and distractions all through his career. Kobe is also an exciting player and an incredible showman, his most memorable performance occurring on January 22nd, 2006 when Kobe put up 81 points. If you aren't familiar with basketball, here are some rough comparisons to 81 points in other sports:

an NFL quarterback throwing 14 touchdowns
a hockey player scoring 10 goals
a baseball player hitting 5 home runs

Anyway love him or hate him (personally I have both feelings toward him) Kobe is an incredible athlete and an icon, and his retirement is a significant event in American sports.

School in other countries

This doesn't pertain directly to our material, but it's a subject that interests me so I'll write about it anyway. Today at the after school program where I work, I had a conversation with a couple second graders about their school life and what school is like in other countries. This got me thinking, so I decided to do some research. One country whose school systems I learned about is Indonesia. Indonesia is a relatively small country in land area, but has the third largest population in the world. Because of this there is a very high population density and many schools start as early as 6 o'clock in the morning to account for high amounts of traffic. The schools in Indonesia didn't seem that different from ours, they still require 12 years of education as in the United States. One thing that interests me is that their high school curriculum has almost no flexibility. All high school students must take classes in English, science, math, history, computer science and other areas. according to a few articles I read English Education in Indonesia is pretty poor and most high school graduates can't really speak English. My only personal insight into foreign education is my uncle, who lived in Korea for a couple years. He married a Korean woman who taught Middle School English in Korea, which astounds me because she speaks very little English. I'm sure that other countries, especially European ones have superior English education, but with what I've heard learning English is very difficult for non English speakers because it is structured very differently.