I loved the recent hullabaloo about NBA MVP LeBron James (6-8, 260) being dunked on by Xavier’s Jordan Crawford (6-4, 195) at the LBJ Skills Academy in Akron.

Supposedly, after Crawford banged on Bronnie two-handed and sent the high school kids watching into a tizzy, a Nike rep went to two media-types filming the pick-up game and confiscated the tapes. Some are saying that the Nike employee was directed to do so after James came over and talked to him. If true, it really shows a lack of class by LeBron (give the kid his due, King!) but it takes me back to a discussion I have frequently when somebody loses their mind because somebody else got dunked on. That’s basketball, it happens, and it usually happens to the biggest, baddest guys because they’re the ones trying to make a play at the rim to stop it. Give the dunker his due and move on. It’s a great play by him, not a failing on the part of the shot blocker, some poor guy who is guarding someone else and, like a good teammate, is just trying to cover up for some clown on the perimeter (that might be me) who gambled on a steal or got shook with a crossover.

The idea that somebody should get ridiculed for trying to make a heroic defensive stop while some other more image-conscious dweeb runs out of the way to avoid the “embarrassment” of having a phenomenal athlete ram a ball through a hoop 10 feet off the ground is really goofy to me. If you try to block shots, or even if you just play in the paint against good players, you’re going to get dunked on every now and again (or if you’re Shawn Bradley, all the time). That’s just a part of the game when great athletes are playing against each other. It would be like an NFL player being embarrassed for getting blasted going across the middle. It’s an unavoidable part of playing, not some kind of referendum on your manhood.

Getting hammered on really shouldn’t be something that causes shame (unless you take the dreaded crotch rub to the face) and a guy who does it all the time to others should understand that. I hope that if tapes were confiscated it was at the direction of some 5-foot-7 Nike employee who has never played a game in his life — not somebody that should know a lot better.

- Padraic

Madison topped Lennox in one Class A semifinal to secure a spot in the Class A title tilt Saturday against the winner of the Platte-Geddes and Sisseton semifinal. I was talking with a Madison player after the game who told me that he’s definitely cheering for Platte-Geddes to win the semifinal. The Black Panthers have knocked off Madison the last two times the schools have played — in the Hanson Classic this season and in the title game last year — and the Bulldogs want one last chance at redemption.

- Padraic

One of the best days of the year is coming to a close … the opening of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the opening day of the South Dakota high school boys’ tournaments fell on the same Thursday this year and it’s my second-favorite day of the year (after my daughter’s birthday).

I’d guess there are around 6,000 people in the civic center for the Red Cloud-Sisseton tilt. Great atmosphere for what should be a great game.

Time for the tip.

- Padraic

After trailing 12-8 at the end of the first quarter, the No. 6-seeded Rapid City Central girls basketball team went on a 16-6 second-quarter run to take a 24-18 lead into halftime. McKenzie Johnson, Kattie Ranta and Jacqee Jasinski all had four points in the quarter.

The Cobblers, the No. 6 seed, look pretty relaxed during warm-ups. We’ll see if that cool demeanor pays off when the game gets going.

Rapid City Central is up next with a tough matchup against Brandon Valley.

Alison Kusler’s 3-pointer with 2 seconds left lifted Aberdeen Central to an upset of second-seeded Sioux Falls Washington, 54-53. Great game by both teams with several momentum swings.

A late scoring push has Aberdeen Central up 48-44 with just over 2 minutes left.

Pine Ridge is playing a physical game against Wagner in the opening round of the State A Girls Basketball Tournament at Watertown. The Lady Thorpes are getting a lot of second shots. Wagner’s coach Michael Koupal is beside himself asking officials as they pass why they aren’t calling more fouls. At the end of the first half it’s Pine Ridge 19, Wagner 15.

No. 7 Aberdeen Central is hanging tough with second-seeded Sioux Falls Washington, taking a 27-25 lead into halftime. The smaller Golden Eagles are outworking the Warriors on the boards, 16-15.