I had a moment last week Im not particularly proud of -- one of those projecting my sports dreams onto my kid moments. It was minor, in the grand scheme of things, but it stuck with me. So I drafted this message to him, to remind both of us what its all about.Hey, pal,Weve put in a lot of time together in the driveway and on the rec team. We talk about obscure NBA summer league players and listen to the Pure Sweat Basketball podcasts and follow the summer results of Team Takeovers 10-and-under championship AAU team on Instagram. I love watching you play.And I love that you love playing sports. But what really matters most isnt that I love anything -- its that you love it.Last week, I sent you to the legendary DeMatha Basketball Camp. Adrian Dantley! Danny Ferry! Victor Oladipo! Markelle Fultz!Im going to be really honest here: That was my dream, not yours. You were happy to drive 45 minutes away to play at a prestigious school -- if less happy to get dominated all day by much better, older players -- but the experience left me feeling as hollow as any moment on this sports journey we have had together. Because it was as much about me as you. (Sigh -- maybe more.)There is always going to be a certain amount of projection by a parent onto a kids athletics. That is basically the basis for the gajillion-dollar youth-sports industry. But seeing you in the camp T-shirt that I wanted so badly but never earned when I was a kid, I didnt feel excited for you -- I mostly felt ashamed of myself.Now that you are 10, its time for this to be your journey, all the way. I cant remind you to work on your dribbling; you have to appreciate on your own that the game becomes so much easier and more fun when you have a better handle. I cant encourage you to hustle for rebounds from the bleachers of the gym; you have to want to want them for yourself (or have a real coach instruct you).I cant let my 43 years of perspective eclipse your 10, even if it means that you potentially miss some exciting opportunities. From here on out, your mom and I are just here to support you as you figure out what role you want sports to play in your life.Trust me: Without me contributing so directly -- sharing sideline wisdom or rec-league postgame hot takes or handing you my phone so you can read the latest inspirational basketball quote from Coach Twitter -- youll still love basketball. Honestly, you can (and will!) love it even more than you can even realize right now.Youre going to keep playing and getting better and taking lessons from the sport that are going to be even more important than what happens on the court -- about being a good teammate and showing leadership and developing resilience and having meaningful relationships.Youre going to play ferocious pickup games with your buddies in high school and compete for intramural titles in college that rival anything that happens at the Final Four, and one day youre going to meet someone who will invite you into a weekly drop-in game of other middle-aged people who love basketball, and it sounds silly, but honestly, thatll feel like your NBA, even if you never make it to the high school varsity. Well love watching you learn, grow and -- yes -- play, all the way.Heres a promise: Ill always do my best to say yes if you ask me to rebound the ball for you in the driveway or count your free throws or just stand there mutely as you zip to the basket around me. But it is not fair to you for me to ask you -- Im just the parent ......?you are the player.Go get em,DadDan Shanoff writes about parenting for espnW. You can connect with him on Twitter at @danshanoff, follow Dans parenting effort on Instagram or continue the conversation on espnWs Facebook page. Air Max 720 For Sale . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Wholesale Air Max 720 Canada .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. http://www.cheapairmax720canada.com/ . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Air Max 720 Sale Canada . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Air Max 720 Discount . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. One game into the season and plenty is unknown about Cal State Northridge and No. 16 UCLA, but one element of both teams is certain as they prepare to play Sunday night at 9 p.m. Eastern time at Pauley Pavilion.Both teams can light up the scoreboard with efficient scorers. UCLA and Northridge combined to score 215 points in their respective season-openers on Friday night.The Bruins defeated Pacific 119-80 behind a school-record 18 3-pointers and 29 assists. Northridge beat Pomona-Pitzer 96-72 with four players scoring at least 15 points, led by Washington transfer Darin Johnson, a junior guard who had 20 points and seven rebounds.UNLV transfer Kendall Smith, a junior guard in his second year at Northridge, contributed 17 points for coach Reggie Theus, a former Running Rebels star under Jerry Tarkanian who is engineering a run-and-gun offense in his fourth season.Its nice to be deep as we are because you can get different guys in the game, said Theus, whose roster includes eight transfers from other Division I institutions, including his son Reggie Theus Jr. from South Carolina.Nine Matadors made their debut for Northridge, including Theus son, Johnson, Connecticut transfer Rakim Lubim and Texas A&M transfer Dylan Johns.UCLA coach Steve Alford expressed concern over a quick turnaround from Fridays game preparing for an experienced Northridge team.Were playing a really good opponent that had a lot of transfers sitting out last year, Alford said. Its a seasoned team were playing Sunday.The Bruins do not have as much college experience as Northhridge, but they have dynamic freshmen in guard Lonzo Ball and wing T.ddddddddddddJ. Leaf. Ball had a near-triple double against Pacific with 19 points, eight rebounds and a game-high 11 assists (with only one turnover) while Leaf contributed 22 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.They are unselfish guys, Alford said of his freshmen standouts. Im more impressed with them as young men than I am as basketball players, and I think they are very good players.UCLA senior guard Bryce Alford was one shy of his career record with 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Reserve point guard Aaron Holiday, who started all 32 games as a freshman last year, had 18 points with five assists and no turnovers.We just had a lot of really good things that took place, Alford said. We want to be a team that will stretch the floor because we have that ability. We have zero (personnel) issues. The culture has been terrific.Northridge has the confidence it can run with the Bruins after posting 20 fast-break points and 50 points in the paint against Pomona-Pitzer. The Matadors were not as potent from behind the 3-point line as UCLA, making 8 of 17, but Smith and Johnson were each 4 of 5 from that range.We are going to have to play a lot better basketball to beat UCLA, Theus said. We are going to watch a little bit of the film. Its a great challenge for us to go up to Pauley Pavilion. Im looking forward to that. ' ' '