I’ll generally try to touch on local subjects in this spot every week, but when national sports news is all the hub-bub I can’t help but dive in, especially while I’m still getting my feet wet on the local scene.That being said, the hot topic these past few days has been the Indiana Pacers-Detroit Pistons melee with fans in the Motor City. It probably best exemplifies why my interest in the NBA has been waning over the past several years.I used to be a hard-core Lakers fan, especially in the glory days of the Lakers-Celtics-Pistons rivalries. I even convinced my wife to enjoy our first anniversary at a Lakers game in Denver, during Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s last season. I was on the floor during warm-ups, taking pictures of Kareem practicing his patented sky-hook. Once the game started, I returned to my seat at the top of McNichols Arena, where the only guy with worse seats than mine was seated right behind me. Yes, we were two rows from the top. It was still a memorable night in my life.A few years later, we learned what a sleazeball Magic Johnson was. Then we put up with fellow degenerate Charles Barkley. Even Michael Jordan’s shiny facade was blemished by gambling accusations. Then the free fall started — enter the Riders, Sprewells and Iversons of the day. It’s hard anymore to even separate them from the hip-hop thug world. Need I mention Kobe Bryant?The NBA seems to target the young urban crowd, and the Kevin Garnetts and Karl Malones of the NBA world get overshadowed by the negative attitudes of their brethren. So Midwestern farm boys like me, who grow up to live in small towns like Valley Springs, Hills, Adrian and Luverne, find little in common with whiney, spoiled rap star wanna-be’s like the Pacer guys we saw slugging fans over the weekend.On the flip side of that, on Saturday I watched whom I consider to be real inspirational athletes, who toil in anonymity. They were featured during the Iron Man Triathlon. Men and women swam, biked and ran 140 miles through Hawaii, the race lasting from eight to 15 hours depending on where they placed.There were many inspirational stories among the athletes, and none of them stopped to plug their newest hip-hop CD.They were out there to test themselves, better themselves and not to get on Sportscenter. They behaved like … well, adults.In the NBA, these players in their 20s and 30s act less mature than most 13-year-olds I know. Until I start seeing NBA players grow up and behave like mature adults on and off the court, I'll stick to watching The Simpsons, whom I at least expect to act like idiots.