NBA draft lottery. A winner and a loser

The results are in. The Minnesota Timberwolves will get the first pick and the LA Lakers the second. Most suspect the first two former college players that will be taken are Karl-Anthony Towns, a big man out of Kentucky, and Jahlil Okafor, another center from national champion Duke.

Idle thought: While we've long heard about the ping-pong balls in a "weighted system" being used to determine the outcome of the draft, how come when it actually happened the envelopes were already sealed? Further, how do we know they did it state lottery style somewhere along the line at all? Did you see it? Not me. They just trotted out the "results" that were done in secret. Hmmm.

At any rate, the above-mentioned K Tony T and Lil Okeydokey have quite a quandary on their hands. In all likelihood, neither wants to be the first draft pick. Sure, a few bucks are at stake between being #1 and #2, but both will become instant millionaires. And both will fall into the rookie contract structure of the NBA whereby, barring a trade at the team's discretion. they'll have to spend the next few years playing for whatever franchise drafts them.

Looking at it from their point of view -- where would you rather go? Minnesota or LA?

The land of 10,000 lakes, 10 below zero, and 10 feet of snow during the NBA season? With a little luck, one might meet Yo Adrian Petersen or learn the finer techniques of ice fishing in one's spare time. Endorsements? Well......

Or the kingdom of film stars, rap stars, TV stars, and the entertainment moguls behind it all? With a little luck, one might find themselves in a movie or learn the finer techniques of hanging out with drop dead gorgeous women in one's spare time. Endorsements? If you're the first round pick of the la-la- Lakers, regardless of how horrible they've become, you're going to get products to advertise. Cha-ching. Good grief, Chris Paul plays for the Clippers in the same building and has never won anything in his life. Look at the killing he's making with those dopey insurance commercials.

This is a no-brainer. What remains to be seen is how Towns and Okafor jockey for position to come in -- second. If one of them was really planning ahead, here is what he would do:

Call a press conference and announce he strongly believes that because Minnesota has so much water and California is experiencing another drought, a huge pipeline should be built from Minnesota to California to even out the water situation. Whichever of them does it first guarantees he won't get drafted by the Timberwolves. And the folks in LA would love him even more. Plus, he'd show a little brains -- never a given with young athletes, or some older ones too for that matter.

Irritating/Stupid Things Dept. If you're reading this, you're on-line. Which means you've been bombarded with the same come-ons as yours truly. That would be all those pop-up ads that want you to sign up for various things to protect your computer. Viruses, Spyware, Malware, and the like. Evidently, everybody on the internet is after you. You will be destroyed and resistance is futile. So they offer their services free for a 30 trial period. Just click here to get started, they say. As you also know, somewhere along the line they're going to ask for a credit card number.

In the fine print they will tell you if you're not satisfied with their product, you can cancel at any time -- but they don't tell you how to do it. Your account will be hit monthly and good luck trying to figure out how to stop it.

And besides, how do we know what they do -- if anything? Isn't this a little bit like paying somebody 10 bucks a month to protect your house against invisible alien invaders? They can say they warded off rogue Klingons, Romulans, or tea-partier threats here and there -- but how do we know they were ever there in the first place?

There's a better way. If they want to offer their services free for 30 days, great. One click should take care of it. Done. When that time is up, send us another notice that due to their heroics our lives have been spared for another month and give us an address. Maybe, just maybe, some of us will mail them a check as a tip to show our appreciation for something they may or may not have done. But giving them a credit card number up front? Not a chance.

That's almost as dumb as wanting to be the first player selected in this year's NBA draft.

But we've already been over that.....