“Daniel Gibson goes to the same barber as Lamar Odom.”

-B.Levy

In a double overtime win against the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday Night, LeBron James had 31 points, 19 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots.

Forget the near triple-double, Bron had 19 rebounds.

DAMN!!!

There isn’t anything else to say.

“This game ain’t basketball anymore, its entertainment,” Wallace said. “It’s starting to get like the WWF. There ain’t no real wrestling anymore either. It’s all fake.”

Stern responded with a rebuke on Friday.

“If it’s Friday, it must be Rasheed Wallace,” Stern said with a heavy sigh, according to the Detroit News.

“We have a great game and it provides a lot of people - Rasheed and myself included - a very good living,” Stern said. “I think we all need to learn to be respectful of all that this game has brought and know that there are a lot of people who have worked extremely hard to bring us all to this place. I think Rasheed needs to think about that before he starts questioning things and making those kinds of statements.”

What I am hearing is don’t bite the hand the feeds you. Don’t scream about the man behind the curtain pulling on the puppet strings. David Stern is pissed that Rasheed has violated this trust after he has reaped the benefits.

Well then I am pissed because this shit is fixed! The Tim Donaghy scandal is only the beginning of exposing a truly corrupt league. David Stern needs to figure out how to fix the integrity of the NBA or he needs to step aside and let someone else do it. Where are the instant replays? Where’s the accountability? The only thing DS did this summer to rectify the tainted games Tim Donaghy refed, is remove the zero-tolerance for gambling for the 53 refs named as recreational gamblers. Huh?!? We are loosening the rules on refs gambling? That’s the plan, seriously?

How can anyone blame Rasheed? How can you blame Ray Allen? How can you blame Amare? The league is fixed, and they don’t seem to care. Hopefully the Lakes are scheduled to win on Tuesday, cause I’ll be there…PR8 Row 8.

I just spent last the 30 minutes figuring out a 4 team mega deal that seems pretty fair…well maybe not for Houston. With Kwame’s contract expiring next year, that leaves them a lot of cap room and they haven’t achieved the success they have been looking for with TMac. This trade works in salary and effectively sends Kobe to the east and a big market.

So here it goes. I can live with this.                       Link

Los Angeles Lakers

Incoming Players
	Zach Randolph Salary: $13,333,333  Years Remaining: 4
	Quentin Richardson Salary: $8,105,500  Years Remaining: 3
	Dirk Nowitzki Salary: $16,360,094  Years Remaining: 4

Outgoing Players: Andrew Bynum, Kwame Brown, Kobe Bryant

Dallas Mavericks

Incoming Players
	Andrew Bynum Salary: $2,172,000  Years Remaining: 1
	Tracy McGrady Salary: $18,257,750  Years Remaining: 3

Outgoing Players: Devin Harris, Dirk Nowitzki

New York Knicks

Incoming Players
	Kobe Bryant Salary: $19,490,625  Years Remaining: 3

Outgoing Players: Zach Randolph, Quentin Richardson, Nate Robinson

Houston Rockets

Incoming Players
	Devin Harris Salary: $3,995,003  Years Remaining: 6
	Kwame Brown Salary: $9,075,000  Years Remaining: 1
	Nate Robinson Salary: $1,268,160  Years Remaining: 2

Outgoing Players: Tracy McGrady

Who wishes we had the music and basketball of 2001? I know I sound like a bitter old man reminiscing on yesteryear. If I really think back, that was pre bloc party, pre kings of leon, pre lebron james, pre kobe’s 81, pre arcade fire…but for some reason it seems much simpler.

Hip Hop wasn’t “dead.” The Lakers were winning championships. There wasn’t any tangible proof the refs were cheating. Britney’s VMA performances were mad hot, and the country didn’t hate George Bush. We actually rooted for Cheney to bomb the middle east. Things were simple back then. Why is it now so complex? For every 20000 “rappers” there is one genuine hip hop artist. For all of Kobe’s heroics, that championship team has been dismantled, shaq brought a title to miami, the lakes are stuck with kwame and izzo wants out.

I don’t know if it’s my perception, my age, my transgression from truly being a child to the “dreaded” 30s or the haze from the bubba kush, but everything seems tarnished. I know life works in cycles. The lakers, one day, will win again. Music will always change and for some, it’s never been better. The country will have it’s good, its bad and it’s phuking awful leaders. I know it cycles. I was just reminded of the lakers 2001 championship dvd. I thought of shaq and his pre game huddle chant.

“Red Light Green Light…How Far We Going Back?!”

Duncan said after the game: “He looked at me and said ‘Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight? If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don’t have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me ‘Do you want to fight?’ ” ESPN link

Why in the world would Joe Crawford pick a fight with the 7 foot tall Tim Duncan? Duncan may not be know for his fighting skills on the court but I guarantee Duncan would wipe up the floor with Crawford.

The Refs in the NBA have far too much power. The act as if they are infallible. Late whistles and missed travels clearly show otherwise. Where is the instant replay? This is 2007. We act as if we can’t watch the play in question to see if the ref was correct. They have started to use the video replay at the end of quarters to check if a shot counts. Why can’t we use it during the game? The league will argue that it will extend the length of games. So what. At least it will be a game and not a scripted mockery of basketball.

For many years stars (Ray Allen) have complained that the NBA, especially in the Playoffs, feels rigged. He said David Stern wants ratings and will go to great lengths to ensure superstars (AI, Kobe and Shaq) are in the Finals. I think he is right. The refs are able to control the outcome. Especially in a close game, during those last few minutes, the slightest call or non-call can affect a teams momentum and chance of winning. It’s even easier to affect the spread. The avg fan won’t care. Their team won. But by how much?

Read the rest of this entry »

There is something off about it, right? Mo Evans, Sasha, Vlad and cake-boy Kwame should not be wearing the purple and gold. They should not be playing with Kobe. Come on Mitch…do something or I will…..dot com.

In case you missed the 2007 ESPY Awards, someone was kind enough to cut a 53 second clip highlighting all the best moments.

Here is a link to watch the full video of Lebron’s rap.

"One of the running debates of these playoffs: Is Bruce Bowen a cheap player? I love the fact that anyone's actually debating this — if your answer is 'no,' or your answer is 'I'm not sure,' then you've obviously never played basketball in your life. Bruce Bowen is a cheap player. There's no debate. He's not some clumsy power forward who can't stay out of his own way (like Mark Madsen), or even some uncoordinated center who can't remember to keep his elbows near his body (like Shawn Bradley). He's a world-class athlete who has complete control over every inch of his body at all times."

Bill Simmons - ESPN

De La Hoya and Mayweather beat the shit out of each other for 12 rounds. Steve Nash looks more beat up than either of them.

• Denver beats the Spurs making everyone believe they are the "sleeper" team to watch.

• Golden State shocks everyone by beating Dallas, in Dallas.
• The Lakers surprise their fans be leading most of Game 1.
• Detroit sweeps Orlando.
• Chicago sweeps Miami. Where you at Shaq? Wade?
• Lakers get blown out by 28 in Game 2.
• Lakers surprise everyone and win game 3, after being down 17 in the first quarter.
• Houston takes a quick 2 - 0 series lead.
• Utah quickly evens the series.
• New Jersey is proving they belong in the playoffs.
• Bosh and crew (Toronto) are having trouble proving they are ready for the post season.
• Golden State has Dallas on their backs. 3 - 1
• Cleveland is about to sweep Washington. In all fairness, Washinton is missing Gilbert and Caron. That's 2 of their 3 best players.  
• Jordan Farmar is the only rookie to start in the playoffs. He has started in all 4 games. He likes to eat at Koo Koo Roo.