Basketball on a Ship II

Last April, I wrote a blog about North Carolina and Michigan State playing basketball on a carrier ship. Tonight, the game becomes a reality.

I think it’s a unique and great way to honor veterans on Veteran’s Day.

These are two historic programs and a great way to kick off the college basketball season. Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson will be in attendance. The two starred at North Carolina and Michigan State respectively.

Of course, we Iowans will pay close attention to North Carolina sophomore Harrison Barnes. The Iowa native had a productive first season for the Tar Heels and is posed for a banner second-year campaign. It will be interesting to see how far he can elevate his game.

The college sports world really needs this contest at this time. With the fallout at Penn State, it’s great that this game will steal some coverage from that ugly mess. For a while anyway, we can focus on the true spirit of competition and receive North Carolina against Michigan State too. It will be a special night.


I want to say thank-you to all the veterans on Veteran’s Day. We are honored and certainly blessed by your service. My dad served in Germany in World War II. I remember him on this day too.

Basketball on Ship

I must admit, some days I’m just plan slow. When I saw last week the words Michigan State, North Carolina and carrier, I thought the two college basketball powers were going to play a game at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Teams play games frequently at neutral sites.

When I investigated it further, I realized that the carrier was a small “c” and this carrier was a ship in California. Yes, Michigan State and North Carolina will play a basketball game on a real ship.

There will be no public sale of tickets. You either need to know somebody or be somebody to attend this game. Can you imagine the security issues involved?

This is no ordinary ship. It is normally used for military stuff not playing some basketball game. I assume the uniqueness of this event will draw considerable interest.

Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson will serve as honorary captains. I would like to see the two battle each other in a little one-on-one competition. It would be a throwback to their NBA days.

But let’s hope this game comes off without incident. These are troubled times and all these teams want to do is offer some friendly competition (minus the rough play under the basket) between two popular schools.