[Strategerist]

Which is why hoopsters are called 'cagers' - they had to enclose the court in a cage to protect players from fans and vice versa.

Be careful not to upset the stereotypical warm-n-fuzzies about the good ol' days in sports compared to the thuggish criminals of today....

[Skywalk]

It's hilarious. If anything, the NBA was far worse in the 70s. Sure, some of these guys are thugs, but a lot of them are more harmless posers. But in the 70s cocaine and violence and criminality were part and parcel of what the NBA offered.

And even back in teh 20s you read how many administrators and others condemned football or other sports.

There was no "romantic past." You think none of these racist fantasies would exist after Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle or Paul Hornung came and went.