Where Loyalties Lie

The Buffalo Braves are coming back to Buffalo.

No, not really. But wouldn't it be nice? You may be unfamiliar with the sport of basketball, considering you live in the land of puck and pigskin. But at one time, hoops happened in Buffalo, and we had a pretty good squad.

Back when Bob McAdoo took the NBA by storm and dazzled all who came down to "The Aud" to watch him play, Buffalo was a part of the basketball landscape. But hockey won out and the team moved. After a short stint in San Diego, the team was moved to Los Angeles and is known today as the Clippers, the ultimate laughingstock.

Well, fasten your seatbelts, because by the end of this column, I'll fully expect you to join me as a member of Clippers nation.

First off, the last year has seen Buffalo's professional sports hit rock bottom. The Bills are picking third in this year's NFL Draft, and the Sabres are likely to miss the playoffs. So you're going to need something to watch until training camp begins. Why not the Clippers?

Blake Griffin has taken the NBA by storm, and he has quickly become a national sensation. He literally is a human highlight reel and is averaging 22.6 points and 12.8 rebounds per game as a rookie. He's competing in the Sprite Slam Dunk contest during All-Star weekend and should electrify at the Staples Center, where he also plays his home games.

Buffalo knows something about having once-in-a-lifetime athletes. We had O.J. Simpson, Jim Kelly, and Dominik Hasek. The Clippers have Griffin.

Just think, when it finally becomes available, how cool would it be to rock a Buffalo Braves Griffin jersey? He could be like our adopted son.

The Clippers are basically half our team anyway. They started here, and the franchise record for wins in a season is still 49, set by the 1974-75 Braves. The only MVP in team history was McAdoo, in 1975.

One of the most compelling reasons to start cheering for the Clippers is because they are such an underdog story, and nobody gets behind an underdog like the Queen City. Aside from Griffin and upstart guard Eric Gordon, the team is littered with a roster full of guys nobody wanted.

Baron Davis is the poster child for overpaid has-beens, but, suddenly, the former All-Star has found the fountain of youth playing alongside Griffin. If you follow March Madness, you probably remember the names Randy Foye, Ryan Gomes, and Craig Smith. All three players were standouts for their alma maters but have yet to find their way in the NBA, until now.

Foye has been filling in for the injured Gordon and has really been great for the Clippers. He will provide some nice depth for head coach Vinny Del Negro down the stretch.

Somehow things are just working for the Clippers. Sure, they started off the season 1-13, but look at what they've done since. They're 17-15 in their last 32 and only 6.5 games back of the eighth-place Blazers. With Brandon Roy out for the season for Portland, the Clippers have a legitimate shot to challenge for the final spot.

The Clippers have won eight in a row at home and since the turnaround have knocked off some of the NBA's elite, including the Lakers, Heat, Spurs, and Bulls.

Another reason to cheer for the Clippers is because they win in spite of their joke of an owner, Donald Sterling.

Considered by some to be the worst owner in professional sports, Sterling literally tries to lose by not paying for top talent and scouring the free agent wire for bottom-of-the-barrel talent so he can end every season in the black. There have been rumors swirling already that he'll try and trade Griffin to avoid paying the mega-deal he'll indeed garner when he becomes a free agent.

Sterling has been accused of racism in the past and has been seen verbally harassing his own players from his seats at courtside. He questions everything from their toughness to their manhood, and nobody can stop him.

It makes it that much sweeter that the Clippers are now winning, even with this idiot. If I was a fan at these games I wouldn't let this moron hear the end of it, but I don't have enough frequent flyer miles to attend home games.

Sterling is really in trouble because youngsters Eric Bledsoe, Al-Faroq Aminu and DeAndre Jordan are decent now, but have a chance to be All-Stars in the future. Trust me, this whole Clippers thing is meant to be. Backup forward Ike Diogu was actually born in Buffalo.

So the Braves won't be gracing the court at HSBC Arena anytime soon, and the Clippers are a country away, but haven't I at least made you want to watch the next game?

If not, enjoy the off-season full of golf and watching Daniel Briere play in the playoffs for the Flyers. I'll be watching "The Video Game" [Blake Griffin] continue his assault on the NBA, and will not stop until I find that Braves jersey.

E-mail: matthew.parrino@ubspectrum.com