by MARK GREY

The other day while I was watching a basketball game with one of my friends, I turned and asked him a question. He replied, “you sure do complain a lot.” However, I wasn't complaining; it was just a simple question that he had no answer for. That got me to thinking: I really do have a lot of questions that I just can't seem to find any answers to, no matter how hard I look. So I figured why not write an article about my questions so that maybe one of my six readers could answer some of them for me. So, I introduce to you a list of questions/random thoughts I have that maybe some of you can answer since none of my friends can:

Whatever happened to Dajuan Wagner? What if Jason Williams (Duke) had never bought a motorcycle? Why is Kwame Brown still in the NBA? At what age do you stop having potential and just become flat out bad? Why do people think Shaq is funny, but find Kobe arrogant? Everyone says Kobe thinks he the best, while Shaq tells us he is the best every chance he gets. Does Shaq deep down really think he can rap? What's the difference between Roy Hibbert and Michael Olowokanbi? Why aren't Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter much better than they are?

Why do people forget that Scottie Pippen was one of the 50 best players of all time, not just a Michael Jordan sidekick? After all, he did finish third in the MVP voting the year after Jordan retired/ He also lead the team to 55 wins, only two less than with Jordan the year before. Why did Dwayne Wade leave in a wheelchair if he hurt his shoulder? Why don't they let the And 1 players in the NBA dunk contest? Surely And 1 vs NBA players would be more interesting than what we have now. Why does David Stern have so much power?

Why do the Tampa Bay Bucs have so many quarterbacks? Does Eli Manning winning a Super Bowl mean that he is a good quarterback? Does he now have a free pass to do nothing the rest of his career? Why does anyone care who Tony Romo dates? Why does Ladianian Tomlinson do that tea cup thing when he scores? What the hell is that?

Why in the world are cup stacking and the spelling bee on ESPN? What do they have to do with sports? Why is the WNBA never on Sportscenter or even talked about? Why is women's college basketball so much more popular than professional? Why isn't ESPN Deportes just called the soccer channel? Does Don Imus look like he would like black people? Come on people, what's the big surprise here? Why didn't they ever make a Tecmo Bowl three? What if Bo Jackson had more than one play on the first Tecmo Bowl? What was the point of having different teams on Double Dribble? How can Dale Earnhart Jr. really not drive for Dale Earnhart Inc.?

How good could Venus and Serena be if they only focused on tennis? Is there anyone in Track and Field who isn't on steroids? Why do athletes talk in third person? Why does Craig Sager dress like that? Who thought it was a good idea for Bryant Gumbel to do NFL games? Why does George Karl still have a job? Why do hockey players fight so much? Why does the USA men's Olympic basketball team only have one seven foot player on it? Why do the Knicks pay everybody so much money? Why is it still news every time Ozzie Guillen says something crazy? Why does everyone hate the best baseball and basketball players on the planet, A-rod and Kobe? Why is it still every kid's dream in South Florida to play for the “U” and the Hurricanes still stink? Has a police officer ever let a Cincinnati Bengal player slide?

How does Brett Favre play more recklessly than any other quarterback in the NFL and never get hurt? How is it that Tayshaun Prince, the skinniest man ever, never misses a game, and Corey Maggette, who is built like a tank, can't stay healthy. Why would someone watch a football game outside in below zero weather with no T-shirt on? Why do football players fight each other in full pads? Why is Oscar De La Hoya the biggest draw in boxing? Why would Michael Irvin, of all people, be the one to ask Josh Howard about using drugs? Why do athletes say, “I can't wait until the truth comes out,” when they know they are lying? Why does Skip Bayless hate on everyone? Who wouldn't want to play for Mark Cuban? Why do fans yell, “YOU SUCK” to superstars? I'm not a big Tim Duncan fan but yelling you suck is just stupid ... might want to save that for the Luke Waltons of the world. Doesn't Antoine Walker look like one of those kids who wouldn't take their shirts off in PE when you played shirts and skins? Or the kid who wore a shirt in the pool?

Why does Stephen A. Smith always yell? What happened to Linda Cohen? Why don't Americans care about soccer? What happened to Dontrelle Wills? Why was Sasha Vujacic isolated on Ray Allen at the top of the key at the end of game four? I wonder if he is still standing there now? Why does Joey Crawford still officiate Spurs games? Why do people love and feel sorry for John Daley, but think J. R. Rider was big waste of talent and a loser? Why do people mention Tiger Woods and Phil Michelson in the same breath? Why does Matt Millen still have a job? Why is it OK to leave a pitcher in during a blowout to try and get a no hitter, but seen as unsportsmanlike to leave a basketball player in trying to get 50? Who buys Chris Berman's ties?

Why do all the players on the Denver Nuggets only play offense or defense like they are playing football or something? Melo and Iverson you guys play offense, Camby and Kmart you guys play defense. If David Stern is trying to take the Hip Hop culture out of the NBA, why doesn't he start a 40 and over corporate office white collar league and see how that does? Why does Ohio State keep getting blown out in National Champion games? Why is the Big Ten so overrated in football? Don't you think Ty Willingham could lose just as much as Charlie Weis? Who was the last basketball player who went back to college and improved their draft status? Do you really think O.J. Mayo was the only player who received money last year in college basketball?

Is it really anyone's business how much money Charles Barkley loses gambling? Why wouldn't Patrick Ewing Jr. go to Georgetown to begin with? Is anyone going to care about David Beckham or the MLS next year? Why does Brady Quinn have a commercial played across the entire country? How bad of a teammate can a baseball player really be? I mean, they bat by themselves and they field by themselves. Why does David Stern say that the NBA is marketed towards kids, but the NBA finals games end after midnight on the east coast? Why do women call men at 2 pm on Sundays in the fall and say, “What are you doing?”

These are just a few questions that I hope someone out there can answer for me. See, I am not a guy who complains a lot, I just have a lot of questions. So if any of you out there have an answer to any of these questions, please help me out. If you share some of the same questions, let me know too. Or, better yet, maybe you have some questions I can help you with. After all, the more you ask, the more you know right? And remember, there are no dumb questions, just dumb people who ask them.