Right now the Final Four is set. UNC, Syracuse, Villanova and Oklahoma will be travelling to Houston for the chance at the National Championship. But I want to take a small break from the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, known more commonly as March Madness, and instead focus on a lesser known story: Dwight Howard. Yes, the Houston Rocket’s superstar, or as I like to refer to him, the athlete that Jeremy Lin never was. Over the past couple of weeks, Howard has faced harsh criticism for a story involving, strangely, a substance called “stickum”.

Here’s the story: Howard admitted earlier this month that he had been using the substance for the past five years. Stickum, as the name implies, is a substance that allows stuff to stick to a person’s hand. Think Lebron James’ magic dust, only stickier and less magical.

So, how did this happen? Well, during a game, players were complaining to officials about how when they took the ball after a basket so they could inbound said ball, it would feel…funny. After officials examined the ball, they also realized the ball felt weird. The ball ended up getting replaced. Howard also at that point took himself out of the game, not wanting to cause much trouble.

However, Howard sitting out of course cast suspicion on him, and in interviews conducted by news media, Howard admitted to using stickum for the past five years, blowing the door wide open for accusations by countless ESPN writers and other writers for other news networks.

In fact, debate has sparked on “Around the Horn”, a show that airs every weekday on ESPN; and “First Take”, another show that airs every weekday on ESPN2; which asked sports writers if Howard’s use of stickum should be the NBA equivalent of Deflategate. Here were the various responses, recalled to the best of my knowledge:

Kevin Blackistone: “Of course this is a violation of NBA rules, but how do we charge Howard? Do we take stickum as a PED and therefore suspend him in accordance with the NBA Substance Violation policy, or do we take stickum as a violation of equipment and therefore fall in the same category as Deflategate? To be brutally honest, I could see either way. But keep in mind, the punishments will be different depending on the path the NBA takes. So, it’s up to the commissioner. But will it be interesting to follow this story in the coming months? Answer: It’s all up to the NBA.”

Woody Paige: “I am definitely taking this as the NBA equivalent of Deflategate, the only issue is how aggressively the NBA is willing to push this case against Howard. The NFL of course pursued this aggressively when they had their own scandal, but as of right now they are on appeals and it’s not certain if the NFL will win. So, if you can push this aggressively and show a clear violation and don’t go full Roger Goodell like the NFL did, the NBA will get this suspension successfully pushed and at the same time show what the NFL did wrong.” (Blogger’s Note: Paige was silenced and lost a point for this comment by host Tony Willis.)

Skip Bayless: “Oh, boy, here we go again. First it’s A-Rod, then it’s Deflategate, and now this. I’m getting sick and tired of these stories alleging scandals. Of course, it will be interesting at first, but after awhile it’s going to make any honest person throw up when they hear this story. The NBA needs to do this fast and quick, and not make the mistakes the NFL and MLB made and drag this case on for months, or in the case of Deflategate, a year and a half and still counting.”

Stephen A. Smith: “Listen, Skip, I will not disagree with you on this one, and I believe both you, me and everyone watching this show now knows how rare that is. I myself have grown tired of covering Deflategate…and now I have to cover this? I firmly agree with you, Skip, that this needs to be done fast and quick. But let me ask another question: Do you believe the media is blowing this out of proportion?” (Skip’s answer: Yes.) “Then at this point, we should drop this subject and let my fellow colleagues sort it out on ‘Around the Horn’ and ‘PTI’ later, yes?” (Skip’s Answer: Yes, I agree. I’ll watch both shows with interest and as a company man.) “Then let’s move on then. Next topic of discussion, please.”

Ok, I don’t think the consensus could be any more clearer. Yes, this stickum incident is the NBA equivalent of Deflategate, but how this investigation is handled will hopefully show what the NFL did wrong in its pursuit of a suspension of Tom Brady. And I hope that the NBA does it quick so that these scandals don’t leave bad tastes in all our mouths. Catch you all next week.