Though I’ve never been asked who I’d like to dine with if I could choose from any 3 individuals living or dead, I’ve no trouble selecting the trio off the top of my head ; “Iron” Mike Doskocil, the late Laura Carter and former Knicks PF / Charles Oakley. Slam’s Nick Rattner interrogated Oak recently on a number of topics including, but not limited to, Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame acceptance speech, cooking, and Tim Donaghy. Though you should check out the entire interview, here’s a few highlights :
SLAM: Would you be disappointed if Michael Jordan hadn’t spoken his mind in Springfield?
CO: At first he said he wasn’t gonna say nothing. I knew he was going to say something. A lot of us [were] in the hotel, just talking about basketball, about life, the NBA, and this moment… For me it’s a statement that you did something nobody else could accomplish along the way. Somebody might have got 10,000 rebounds but you might have got 8,000 offensive, that’s something special… And look, I told somebody on Facebook, they keep asking when the Knicks are going to retire my jersey. They probably will never retire my jersey. The only way they’ll retire my jersey is if I marry Dolan’s daughter, and I never see that happening in life. People ask me that, but I don’t know.
SLAM: [Jordan] knows that he got special treatment, right?
CO: You know, some people say I’m going to get a manicure-pedicure… No, they came to his house. I’m going to get an oil change. Jiffy Lube, they brought a truck to his house. He said he’s gonna get his haircut, the barber comes over… Looking back you might say the man might have deserved it. But while I’m playing, no… While we’re playing he’s trying to kill me. That’s how it is. He’s trying to cross me over with a jump shot, I’m trying to hit him in the paint…
SLAM: You play cards? Poker?
CO: I love poker. They tried to get me in a couple poker shows. I had an idea when I was in Washington in ‘00-01, or 2002 I think. Whenever we was in Washington that last year with the Wizards. I told MJ and some friends that we should do a poker show.
It would concern six guys, doing their regular, everyday work. We meet up, I cook the meal. We talk and mess. Eat dinner. Then we all put masks on and play poker.
SLAM: Masks?
CO: Yeah, but we’ll be talking mess while we’re playing. Get chips, buy in. You know, tape it. It was just something fun. So people wouldn’t know who was playing. They’d probably figure it out. It was just something different.
Normal service will return to CSTB shortly — you’d be surprised how many people get upset when I try to drive a school bus and blog at the same time. But for now, here’s an unhappy item from the Sacramento Bee’s Bill Lindelof that serves as a reminder the restaurant business is a tough one.
The game is apparently over — at least for now — for Center Court With C-Webb, the sports restaurant opened by the former Sacramento Kings basketball star three years ago.
A recording on the restaurant answering machine said that Chris Webber is calling a time out for his sports bar and restaurant at 3600 N. Freeway Blvd.
“We regret to inform you that we have decided to close our Natomas location on Tuesday, Nov. 17. However, we look forward to seeing you at our new location in the near future. Thanks to all of our patrons for your continued support over the past years. Chris Webber and staff.”
There is no indication where or when a new Webber restaurant might open. It is also unclear what caused the sudden closure, but the recession and a recent shooting could not have helped the bottom line.
The star burger was the “Fab 5,” touted as Sacramento’s biggest burger with 44 ounces of choice Angus beef and selling for a princely price of $29.50.
I’m no expert on this industry, but there’s no way Don Nelson’s frequent, negative Yelp reviews were helping Center Court’s bottom line. But if Chris Webber could have a theme restaurant in the California capital this long after he left town, maybe there’s still a chance for Aubrey Huff to open a bar in Baltimore?
While I still think Hal McRae is the champ when it comes to answering stupid questions with aplomb, Charlie Coles’ reaction to being asked how his charges blew an 18 point lead to Kentucky Monday night is deserving of much more glory than mere YouToob/meme status.
(never let it be said no one cares about the Nets – their recent woes resonate greatly with persons who consider David Wells to be an aesthetic influence)
All season ticketholders will receive two extra tickets for Tuesday’s home game against the Indiana Pacers. The Nets are also selling some seats for $10 at the box office, while supplies last.
“Your team has played very hard this season, but with an unprecedented amount of injuries, we just haven’t been able to attain a victory,” Brett Yormark, the team’s chief executive, said in a statement.
“But even with the injuries, the entire team believes that ‘10 Is Enough.’ That’s why we are asking you, our loyal fans, to rally around your team like never before at Tuesday night’s game. So bring your enthusiasm, show your support, and let’s get our first win.”
Belson quotes a Nets source as expecting 15,000 people to turn up at the Swamp tonight, which sounds like the sort of wide-eyed optimism that should serve Mr. Yormark very well during his job interview with the New York Mets next spring.
A full season and change removed from a 56 win campaign, the New Orleans Hornets had “begun to moonwalk” under recently deposed head coach Byron Scott, argues the Times-Picayune’s John DeShazier. The New York Post’s Peter Vecsey — a longtime Scott castigator — was far less diplomatic, citing “offensive predictably, stagnation and susceptibility to being bullied”, and worst of all, a recent loss to the Knicks. Ignoring the ugly exits in New Jersey and New Orleans, True Hoop’s J.A.. Adande yesterday considered Byron Scott’s future job options and for the time being, anyway, analyst work seems more likely than coaching.
There are plenty of good golf courses in Southern California, and it’s possible Scott could wind up back there when Phil Jackson decides to leave the Lakers. Scott’s on the list of potential replacements, along with Minnesota Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis and Lakers assistant Brian Shaw. Remember, Scott began and ended his playing career with the Lakers, spending his final season alongside a rookie named Kobe Bryant. Last year Scott told the Los Angeles Times that the Lakers are “an organization that will be embedded in my heart for the rest of my life.”
But Phil Jackson is looking more and more embedded in the organization. His health and energy seem better than they have in years and his team appears set to be a championship contender for a few seasons. Then there’s the possibility that there could be a lockout for some of the 2011-12 season, which would appeal to Jackson because he could make another run at a championship without trudging through a full 82 games.
Adande correctly surmises Scott is no more likely to return to the Swamp than Bobby Valentine is to Flushing —- though it should be stressed, the Nyets will have new ownership and Jason Kidd’s no longer around to make the big decisions.
“If (Knicks PG) Chris Duhon continues to play the way he did and has been playing,” grumbles Knicks Blog’s Chris Alvino after last night’s 121-107 loss to Golden State, “this might be a 20 win team this year.” 20 seems optimistic , as the 1-9 Knickerbockers might be fortunate to win half that many during a season in which Mike D’Antoni’s charges seem to have totally bought into management’s agenda for the future. Why bother playing defense until LeBron arrives?
That said, D’Antoni’s job security isn’t being question this morning, but rather, Warriors counterpart Don Nelson, who didn’t survive a pissing match with Chris Webber during a prior tenure, and might not last after his relationship with Steven Jackson has fallen apart, either. CBS Sports’ Ken Berger claims Nellie’s “insistence on alienating and humiliating his best players — which continued at Madison Square Garden even in victory — could soon lead to a coaching change.”
With no realistic trade scenarios emerging for Stephen Jackson — and with the team’s other miserable star, Monta Ellis (above), wanting out, too — Nelson’s last option to keep the team from blowing up already is under consideration. Nelson, 69, would assume a consultant role, with top assistant Keith Smart taking over as head coach.
“It could happen by next week,” the source said.
When confronted about the possibility of stepping aside only eight games into a two-year, $12 million extension, Nelson crafted a bullet-proof answer. He insisted he has no intentions of going anywhere other than the Bradley Center, where the Warriors play the second half of a back-to-back Saturday night. Thanks to Nellie, they’ll do so with their two stars, Jackson and Ellis, coming off inexplicable 47- and 45-minute performances, respectively, against the Knicks. “Oh, I have the patience, yes,” Nelson said when I asked if he had the staying power to continue coaching/imploding this team. “The team wanted me to come back for two more years. I signed that contract and I will abide by that.”
But nowhere does it say that Nelson has to fill out lineup cards or draw up plays to fulfill that contract. It was sad, pathetic really, that this brilliant basketball man’s idea of coaching Friday night was leaving the disgruntled Jackson on the floor for all but 35 seconds of a blowout. For good measure, he also embarrassed No. 7 overall pick Curry in the very building where he’d hoped to spend his NBA career. If Curry thought he might face some dysfunction if the Knicks had picked him at No. 8, these few months with Nelson have been quite the education.
“On Draft Day 2007. I couldn’t have been more certain if the late Wilt Chamberlain had called from his water bed in the sky to tell me Joakim Noah was a 6-foot-11 fraud.” So writes the Chicago Tribune’s Rick Morrissey, recalling a June 29, 2007 column in which he predicted bust-status for the two time National Champion and the 9th overall pick in the ‘07 NBA Draft. With Noah currently averaging a double double in his third Association campaign, Morrissey made good yesterday on his vow to “drizzle salsa on the column and eat it.”
“It tasted like a crow enchilada,” boasted Morrissey, proving, if nothing else, that Sam Smith got out of print journalism just in time. (thanks to Tim Midgett for the link)
“Etan Thomas should keep his mind on basketball,” argues one not on whether he agrees with what other players or owners are doing with their lives.” So opined Oklahoman reader “Benny Smith” upon learning the Thunder center has taken his political activism to Hoops Hype, with a debut blog appearing Monday. Here’s a couple of the highlights, just in case no one has forwarded the column to Brendan HaywoodTom Knott.
Why does the NBA, an almost 80 percent African-American league, constantly uses terms that reference slavery? Why are the CEO’s of the teams called owners? Why do they use the term “property” of a certain team when referring to a player’s employment? Why is the term trading block utilized? Why all the references to slavery, and why hasn’t anyone up until this point objected to this?
Would it be possible for the NBA to instill a rule for which reporters covering the league would be fined if they misreport, contort facts or simply write blatant lies? Are the fans not deserving of accurate, factual reporting, instead of articles laced with anonymous sources, embellishments and overall inaccuracies?
Has the dress code instilled a while ago made fans feel more connected, safer, more comfortable and whatever else the goal of implementing that rule was?
Can any doctor state to a medical certainty that injecting yourself with the swine flu/H1N1 vaccine will have no ill effects, repercussions or reactions in the near or distant future? Is there enough data on this vaccine for team doctors to attempt to force, no, strongly suggest that players take this?
While on the subject of team trainers and doctors, is it possible to impose a fine or forced firing when a team trainer or doctor consistently misdiagnoses numerous players? Not to call out any names but certain teams (not here with the Oklahoma City Thunder) employ trainers and doctors who regularly make medical mishaps (if that’s a politically correct way of saying it).
“I’m disgusted with the quality of Don Nelson’s coaching and with the lack of trust his players have in him,” howled Mark Stevens, agent for deposed Warriors captain Steven Jackson in what sounds like a doozy of a phone call to ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard last night. “Nelson is the winningest coach in NBA history to never have coached in the NBA Finals, let alone won a championship,” continued Stevens, “yet he keeps getting jobs despite being 69 years old.” Believe it not, that’s the mild stuff from Stevens, who holds Nelson accountable for career atrocities including, but not limited to, allowing Baron Davis to leave Oakland, fucking over Mark Cuban and aiming a racial slur at Wayne Embry. Hey, he forgot pissing off Patrick Ewing!Golden State Of Mind’s Atma Brother One took in Broussard’s column and asks Jackson’s representative, “do you realize Nellie ressurected your client’s career and took it to new heights when practically NO ONE in the league wanted anything to do with him?”
5 Questions for the “Captain’s” Agent
1. Did it ever hit you and your client that each and every inane public outburst you guys make just makes decreases the chances some other GM and head coach are willing to foolishly trade for Jackson and the remaining 3 years on his contract (thank you Robert Rowell)?
2. Do you charge your clients extra for unfathomably making it even harder for home fans to root for them?
3. Do you seriously want to bring up “credibility and character” when your client is none other than “Captain” Jack?
4. Do you really think it’s classy or the least bit wise to talk trash about your client’s head coach through the media when he’s still playing for him?
5. Who are you again?
If Alan Iverson can’t start ahead of Mike Conley, would he get more minutes than Chris Duhon in New York? Newsday’s Alan Hahn calls a mooted (by him, anyway) Knicks approach towards the iconic, yet embattled point guard “the equivalent of the franchise selling its soul”, while in the following breath, promising, “at least Iverson still has some go-to caliber game and star cachet among fans.” Hey, if Isiah Thomas was still running the show, I bet this deal would already be done.
It could be an ideal situation for both parties. Iverson wants to go to a team that will allow him to dominate the ball, score and, of course, start. D’Antoni’s system will put Iverson in several pick-and-roll situations with plenty of shooters to kick to on the perimeter. No one will ever demand he play great defense and, of course, produce anything more than merely a playoff berth.
But you can understand the hesitation within the Knicks’ hierarchy, especially after they just cleared the locker room of the Marbury megalomania. Perhaps Iverson would be too much, too soon. If so, then perhaps the Knicks should keep close tabs on yet another of the fading divas, Tracy McGrady. It is believed that the Rockets, once McGrady is ready to return from his knee injury (perhaps by December) would be open to soliciting offers for his $23.2-million expiring contract.
D’Antoni’s system can’t survive without a capable point guard and so far this season, confidence in Chris Duhon has been ripped out by the root. Duhon’s game against the Bucks on Saturday was so alarmingly poor, at one point D’Antoni had to yank him off the court early in the third quarter when Duhon blew two defensive assignments. All Duhon could offer was that he didn’t make an effort on effort plays. In hockey, that’s enough to get the “C” ripped right off your chest.
Utah make their annual visit to the Garden tonight, a circumstance that has the Daily News’ Frank Isola reminding us the Jazz possess the Knicks’ 2010 first round draft pick, a selection previously obtain by Phoenix as part of the Stephon Marbury trade. Said doomed deal (in Isola’s words, anyway) sounds awfully familiar to what Hahn is proposing (”the Knicks were desperate to give the Garden some life so Isiah jumped the gun for a short term gain”) while Isola also cites former GM Scott Layden as part of his list of persons (ie. Anucha Browne-Sanders, Mike D’Antoni) who benefited in some way from the ill-advised swap.
Layden was working on a Marbury deal in the weeks before he was canned. Isiah swooped in and sweetened the deal for Phoenix with a couple of first round picks, one of which eventually was traded to Utah where Layden now works.
Come to think of it, maybe Layden was working as a double agent the entire time.
(Iverson, shown in happier days, before learning Guitar Center has a strict, “you brandish it, you bought it” policy)
While I’m very pleased to welcome Clint and Jimmy Conley to Austin later today, I am hopeful the topic of their younger brother, Grizzlies G Mike, doesn’t come up. I hate to give this wonderful family a hard time, but I have great difficulty understanding how Mike can start for Memphis in place of Allen Iverson, even if the latter isn’t all the way back from a preseason hamstring injury. No prizes, by the way, who had an even tougher time coming to grips with 6th man status, but suffice to say, those Iverson jerseys the Grizzlies were eager to sell shall now be heavily discounted. From the Memphis Commercial-Appeal’s Roland Tillery :
The disgruntled Iverson left the Grizzlies on Saturday after he asked for and was granted an indefinite leave of absence to deal with a personal matter, the team confirmed before its game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Instead of traveling to Staples Center, Iverson boarded a flight to Atlanta in the afternoon. Atlanta is where Iverson lives during the offseason.
Griz owner Michael Heisley vehemently insisted that Iverson needed time off to handle an important family issue. A timetable for Iverson’s return is unknown.
The veteran guard did not ask for a trade or request to be waived. Heisley said the team knew about Iverson’s issue before signing him to a one-year, $3.1 million contract in September.
“I’m not going to get into the personal reason but it has nothing to do with the other stuff,” Heisley said, referring to Iverson’s public displeasure over his reserve role. “I’m the guy who said he could go. It’s a real family issue that I don’t think should be reported.”
Let’s say for instance, that Iverson isn’t going on strike and there’s a legit family/emergency tragedy here. Doesn’t it benefit both the player and the team to come up with something slightly more detailed given the additional dent to Iverson’s reputation, let alone his plummeting trade value? ESPN’s Chad Ford claims there’s zero interest around the Association in taking on Iverson.
“I can’t imagine anyone wanting him at this point,” one GM said. “Struggling teams now know he’s going to be a distraction. Contending teams have to live with the fact that Iverson puts himself above the team. Even the Clippers backed away from him this summer and Donald Sterling will do anything to sell tickets. I’m still not sure what the Grizzlies were thinking.”
No one is, especially in light of recent revelations that neither GM Chris Wallace nor Hollins addressed Iverson’s role as a starter or bench player before signing him.
“That is, in a word, amazing,” one NBA executive who explored signing Iverson this summer said. “The guy has a documented history of resisting coming off the bench. The Grizzlies had a young starting backcourt of Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo. No one thought to explore it?”
TNT went flufftastic on the Lakers F Thursday night, and following clips of Artest hanging out in a recording studio, the TMZ offices and explaining his haircut, Charles Barkley suggested that perhaps the Aubernica brawler would be better served concentrating on hoops. Hours later, Artest took the fight to (where else) Twitter, as the Riverside Press-Enterprise’s Jeff Eisenberg recounts.
“He tried to turn the whole story around,” Artest said. “TNT was trying to make me look good, but Charles was trying to make me look bad. They were pointing out a lot of good things I was doing, and Charles totally took my spotlight. He could have picked another time to do that.”
An incensed Artest spoke directly to his fans via twitter on Friday, noting that he’s one of the last players to leave the practice court every day, that he doesn’t shoot commercials during the playoffs like other guys and that he nearly led the shorthanded Rockets to the NBA Finals last year.
He also referenced Barkley’s DUI arrest from last year, adding “What’s worse; rapping or driving drunk?”
Asked whether he thought it might have been more prudent to let Barkley’s latest comments pass without response, Artest said, “I think it’s important for me to speak because he took my shine away.”
I realize nobody asked me, but in some instances, rapping IS worse than driving drunk. Depending on how you feel about auto-tune.
As part of their 15th Anniversary celebrations, the Toronto Raptors honored former PF Charles Oakley Wednesday night, an occasion that has me checking the schedule to see when Doug Christie’s number is being retired. The Globe & Mail’s Michael Grange used the opportunity to recall a time when the legendary clotheshorse/gourmand/Michael Jordan wingman wasn’t welcomed with open arms north of the border.
Seems Oak wasn’t very happy about coming to Canada. The Raptors were the NBA’s version of Siberia and coming off that epic 16-66 season, he was probably right. As the exiled toast of New York, Oak was sincerely grumpy when he pulled up to the border crossing on his way to training camp, driving up from his home in Cleveland. He’s rolling in a black BMW with tinted windows, stuffed to the gills with whatever belongings he might need to make the Royal York Hotel feel like home away from home.
The border guards are curious maybe even suspicious and Oak gets questioned. He tells them he’s on his way to play for the Raptors, but that doesn’t quite cut it. They want to see his work papers and documentation etc., but Oak doesn’t have it. They search the BMW. Tens of thousands of dollars of suits only Oak and the Ohio Players could wear are being rifled through, and who knows what else.
He’s mad. He calls his agent. “This is bull***, call (then Raptors GM) Glen Grunwald, F*** this! I’m not coming up there, I’m turning around right now.”
Diamond calls Grunwald, who in turn gets pumping on trying to find out how to get a very angry, very big, power forward admitted to Canada. On a Sunday.
The story doesn’t quite end there, but in the interests of protecting Canada’s newspaper industry, I suggest you check out the rest of it yourself.
“You expect flamboyant wastefulness and outrageously shitty taste from Russian oligarchs,” wrote David Roth in this very space in March of 2008, “but Shabtai von Kalmanovic isn’t about show horses or dipping random things around his house in platinum or competitive jet-sailing or whatever it is that tacky ultra-billionaires do. He is more of a Diana Taurasi guy.” As of yesterday, however, the owner of the Spartak Moscow women’s hoops team was spectacularly whacked. From The Age’s Sergei Lokio :
Kalmanovic was killed near Moscow’s Novodevichy monastery on Monday when assailants in a Lada sedan pulled beside his black Mercedes-Benz and opened fire, the Vesti television news program reported. Mr Kalmanovic died instantly. His driver was injured.
”Submachine-guns and shotguns were used in the attack,” Moscow prosecutor’s office investigator Anatoly Bagmet said.
”The car was in motion when shots were fired.”
The attackers fired at least 20 rounds at the businessman’s car, a police source said.
Mr Kalmanovic, 61, had invested millions of dollars into the Spartak, a women’s professional basketball team that won the EuroLeague Women title the past three seasons. He hired stars of the Women’s National Basketball Association to play during the American league’s off-season, paying them as much as 10 times their US salary.
Since there’s nothing quite as guffaw-worthy as a mob hit, I’ll leave the last word to NY Post funnyman Peter Vescey who observed, “the shooting evidently was a contract (guaranteed or a 10-day?) killing. Think how bad a day it would’ve turned out for Kalmanovich had someone randomly emptied a clip in him.”
“When you can’t dunk anymore you’ve got to find some way to make it to the news,” said Spurs G Manu Ginobili after nearly killing an AT&T Center bat with his bare hands this past Saturday night. As you might’ve guessed, PETA’s Amanda Schinke found the incident a tad less hilarious than most of the sporting blogosphere.
To bludgeon a 4-ounce animal to death, it takes either a small man or a totally unthinking one—with no respect or consideration for lives humbler than his own. This is a time when athletes in particular need to be on their best behavior around any animal and show that they have brains and a heart, not just reactionary brawn.
Bats always try to avoid contact with humans, and there are plenty of easy ways to keep bats out of a basketball arena (or your home). We hope that the next time someone’s life is on the line, Manu Ginobili will take just a few seconds to think before he acts.
“As I return after a grueling multiyear, life-threatening, life-changing ordeal with back problems, it is time to dedicate the rest of my life to service,” Walton said in a statement Monday. “It is great to be back in the game. Thanks everybody — for everything.”
I cannot be alone in hoping, nay, praying, that while resting comfortably, Walton takes up podcasting.
This is about as scary as things get at MSG without hiding a camera in Steve Mills’ office. The always down with the cultural zeitgeist John McEnroe helps a far from capacity crowd at the Knicks home opener recall “The Young Ones”. Trailing the Sixers, 40-25, at the end of the first quarter, the hosts have apparently decided to pay Halloween homage to the Washington Generals.
Cuban said Friday that he indeed was glad to see Artest on the Western Conference rival because there always is the possibility that Artest’s volatile nature will get the better of him and he will cause problems for the team.
“History repeats itself,” Cuban said. “I’m not saying something you guys haven’t considered, right? That’s just the risk. Every team has to deal with chemistry and the impact of the chemistry on the team. Normally, you try to minimize that.
“Ron is an amazing talent, he’s a great guy. I don’t really know him, but the way he’s handled this is phenomenal. I give him a ton of credit. But it is what it is.”
So what team does Cuban think Artest would fit best?
“I don’t know the culture of every team, so I don’t know where he would fit in best …. Maybe Detroit?”
Sorry to grab a clip you’ve undoubtedly seen on all the highlights shows already, but on the slim chance you’ve not seen Orlando’s intro for head coach Stan Van Gundy prior to Wednesday’s 120-106 defeat of Philly, well, get used to it. I predict Stan V.G. becoming bigger than Keyboard Cat and Kayne parodies combined. And on this rare occasion, genuine props to Tony Kornheiser for coming up with the most creative answer so far to the question “what was Van Gundy thinking?” (”…of ways not to get J.J. Reddick into the game”)
Because of the N.B.A.’s salary-cap rules, the Knicks cannot outspend any other team to land a superstar. In fact, James and Wade can make millions more by staying put. D’Antoni is tremendously popular among N.B.A. stars, but his charm and his wide-open offense will get the Knicks only so far on the recruiting trail. Ditto for the mystique of Madison Square Garden and the lure of Madison Avenue.
At some point, the Knicks presumably have to show some progress and some promise, and the ability to help a superstar realize his championship ambitions.
“That’s the logic,” said the TNT commentator Kenny Smith, assessing the free-agent decisions of James and Wade. “Because the criticism of your move is: Did you go to win? And if you’re going and you can’t win, then why did you move?”
He concluded, “You 100 percent have to go somewhere and win, and have a chance to win.”
Can the Knicks make a compelling enough case? Will they be more attractive to Wade or James or Chris Bosh than the other half-dozen teams that are projected to have substantial cap room?
Smith, who was part of two championship teams in Houston, is not convinced. He considered the Knicks’ roster and their coach, their arena and their city, and concluded simply, “That list isn’t enough.”
So where do you think Ricky Rubio would be on the T-Wolves depth chart right about? In the middle of Ramon Sessions and Jonny Flynn, or behind both of them? Also, note the main beneficiary of Rubio’s passing is Fran Vaszuez, the Magic’s one-that-got-away.
With (my) apologies to Gerry Goffin and Carole King for the above headline, Isiah Thomas tells SI.com’s Ian Thomsen he’s dismayed by Magic Johnson’s comments in the newly published “When The Game Was Ours”, a book co-authored by Magic, Larry Bird and former Boston Globe scribe Jackie MacMullan. In the tome, Johnson describes his role in keeping Thomas off the 1992 US Olympic Dream Team, along with accusing Zeke of spreading rumors about Johnson’s sexuality.
“I’m really hurt, and I really feel taken advantage of for all these years,” said Thomas, the Hall of Fame point guard and former NBA coach and executive, most recently with the Knicks. “I’m totally blindsided by this. Every time that I’ve seen Magic, he has been friendly with me. Whenever he came to a Knick game, he was standing in the tunnel [to the locker room] with me. He and [Knicks assistant coach] Herb [Williams] and I, we would go out to dinner in New York. I didn’t know he felt this way.”
“I’m glad that he’s finally had the nerve and the courage to stand up and say it was him, as opposed to letting Michael Jordan take the blame for it all these years,” Thomas responded during one of several interviews he gave to SI.com on Wednesday. “I wish he would have had the courage to say this stuff to me face to face, as opposed to writing it in some damn book to sell and he can make money off it
“What most people don’t know is, before Magic had HIV, my brother had HIV,” Thomas said. “My brother died of HIV, AIDS, drug abuse. So I knew way more about the disease, because I was living with it in my house.”
His brother, Gregory Thomas, died five years ago, Isiah said.
“Magic acted and responded off some really bad information that he got,” Thomas went on. “Whatever friendship we had, I thought it was bulls— that he believed that. Let me put it to you this way: If he and I were such close friends, if I was questioning his sexuality, then I was questioning mine too. That’s how idiotic it is.”
Either Lakers G Kobe Bryant (above, left) has a Type-T(ommy Lasorda) strain of Dodger Blue ruining thru his veins or he’s still harboring a grudge over the 2002 NBA All-Star Game. Of Kobe’s decision to attend a Phillies/Dodgers game at Chavez Ravine in the company of Frank McCourt, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s John Gonzalez compares it to “like watching Zell Miller at the Republican National Convention.” “The defection was complete and the insult was obvious,” writes Gonzo, presumably secure in the knowledge there are no West Coast newspapers that might ever desire his services.
Ah, but that wasn’t enough. Mamba wanted to make sure we got the message and sent word through Craig Sager. TBS’s Technicolor Dreamcoat reporter asked the NBA’s version of Kanye West – Bryant’s ego has grown so impossibly large that he didn’t hesitate to go out in public wearing a shirt with his own likeness on it – if it felt a little strange to root against his hometown. Even Sager knows how poorly that sort of thing plays, especially here in Philly.
“It’s not weird.” Bryant reportedly said. “I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 14 years now.”
I lived in Boston and Dallas for eight years total, but I never had the urge to buy a Red Sox hat or spoon with former Big D mayor Ron Kirk. (He’s not much of a cuddler, anyway.) Plenty of athletes leave home to play elsewhere, but few have so openly and unapologetically dug up their roots and scorched the earth they left behind. Can you imagine Dwyane Wade so blatantly snubbing Chi-town?
In an attempt to finally cut whatever frayed ties he still had with Philly, Sager said Kobe told him that he grew up rooting for the Mets and that he still has Ron Darling’s baseball card. It’s bad enough that he was a closet Mutts fan, but he held on to Ron Darling’s card after all these years? Really? Until I heard that, I didn’t think it was possible for Bryant to be any lamer than some of us already suspected.
Man, when was the last time Ron Darling inspired this much disrespect on a national level?
If you previously blanched at Michael Jordan’s uncouth treatment of lesser lights ranging from Byron Russell to Kwame Brown, you’ll not be surprised to learn His Airness allegedly demanded $15K to pose for a photograph with the former Hakeem Seriki, aka Houston’s Chamillionaire. I dunno how much of the above story is true, but either way, it seems Cham has just pissed away any chance of being invited to appear on Charles Oakley’s cooking show (thanks to David Roth for the link)
Probably not, but there’s no harm in trying (and it’s not like he’s gonna be a starting point guard in the NBA, either). N8’s diplomacy skills were callled upon Sunday afternoon at MSG when Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv head coach Pini Gershon refused to leave the court after being hit with a pair of technical fouls during the fourth quarter of an exhibition loss to the Knicks. Newsday’s Alan Hahn described the scene thusly ;
Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, who is the founder of the game’s charity, the Migdal Orh orphanage, and spent halftime leading the crowd of 14,602 in singing Hebrew songs, stepped onto the floor and spoke with the coach and the officials.
Grossman said he tried to convince the referees to forgive Gershon, a legendary coach in European basketball known for having a hot temper, and allow him to stay on the bench.
“I said to , ‘This is not a regular game, this is a game for the children and the children are watching and I don’t want the children to see a picture of a fight. I wanted the children to see a picture of peace’,” Grossman said. “The kids are watching and it’s very important that they see he is forgiven . . . But he said this is the law. And you must leave. What can I do? I tried. I tried to make peace.”
During the bizarre 10 minute delay, Nate Robinson wandered over to the opponent’s bench and eventually was arm-in-arm with Gershon.
“I was asking him, ‘What’s the outcome gonna be? Are we either going to play or are we going home?’” said Robinson, who had 20 points. “Of course he wanted to play, so it turned out for the best.”
Taken from Meech One’s Twit-pic collection. Kind of astonishing to think the Sixers had the foresight to mark Shawn Bradley’s historic NBA debut in such fashion — did the Nets bother to do anything similar when the late Yinka Dare made his first professional appearance?
….for the New York Post’s Marc Berman. Which other NBA quote machine is likely to make Berman his personal diarist? On Friday, Marbury slammed Mike D’Antoni, sneered at the Knicks’ chances of signing LeBron James in 2010, and compared his upcoming year out of basketball to a Michael Jordan-esque sabbatical. Upon seeing Marbury’s comments greeted with something less than reverence, Berman took to his Post blog to defend his good buddy.
(above : Stephon, engaged in iChat with Berman, suggesting a third column to further explain the former’s point of view on Sunday)
It is fascinating that Marbury is not allowed to bash the team but everyone else in the continental U.S. can.
Marbury realizes the Knicks are a rebuilding team and doesn’t see LeBron James joining a rebuilding situation, especially once that doesn’t reek of promise (see: Danilo Gallinari).
Marbury feels the real reason they went this route – cutting their payroll monstrously – was to save James Dolan money on salary and luxury tax. If they are going to be mediocre, let them be mediocre more cheaply. And his point is, why should fans pay full price for this season’s product.
His remarks about his own career, you can laugh at if you want. Push comes to shove, I think he regrets turning down Boston’s early-July offer of $1.3M to return. When Boston got Rasheed Wallace, they were less interested.
Marbury, without an agent, didn’t see the horrendous economic climate. But then again, neither did veteran agent, Mark Bartelstein, representing David Lee.
“When you talk about the Blazers,” insists Portland GM Kevin Pritchard, ” you can’t help but talk about Bill Walton and his legacy.” And while that legacy includes the Blazers’ sole NBA Championship, there’s also the matter of the injury-prone <strike>SLA sympathizer</strike> Deadhead’s somewhat contentious exit from Portland, just one of the topics addressed by Walton yesterday, making his first public appearance since undergoing spinal fusion surgery. From The Columbian’s Blazer Banter :
Walton directly apologized to Blazer fans, stating he regretted not being a better person and a better player while with the team. He expressed remorse for the multiple injuries that slowed and eventually ended his once-remarkable career. And he said he was ashamed of the circumstances surrounding his departure from Portland — Walton sat out the 1978-79 season in protest after the Blazers failed to grant a trade request. He joined the San Diego — now Los Angeles — Clippers in 1979.
“I just wish that you could do a lot of things over, but you can’t,” said Walton, a two-time NBA champion who resides in San Diego, Calif. “And so I’m here to apologize. I’m here to try to make amends. I’m here to try to start over. I’m here to try to make it better.”
Walton’s post-playing career has been wrecked by an unending series of medical operations. The former UCLA standout and No. 1 pick in the 1974 NBA Draft said he has undergone 36 orthopedic surgeries.
Walton recalled a recent low point by stating, “I was lying on the floor, a pitiful, helpless ball of flesh, that could not walk, think, talk, sit, stand, sleep, do anything.”
He described “unrelenting, excruciating and debilitating” nerve pain that ranged from his chest to his knees.
And Walton ran through an injury report that sounded like a personal nightmare: He has two surgically-fused ankles; knees, hands and wrists that do not work; at least 11 metal bolts in his body; and is forced to wear a protective brace.
Walton stated that he went from standing on the edge and thinking his life was over, to seeing light finally appear on the horizon and having “dreams of a better tomorrow.”
Following up on a session initially put together by Heat guard Dwyane Wade, Beasley found himself responding Tuesday night to a posted comment relating to his substance-abuse issues this summer.
As he read the comment on the live video feed, teammates Daequan Cook and Mario Chalmers, who were in his room participating in the live Internet stream at the time, grew quiet.
In response to a snarky comment of knowing how to hide his stash, Beasley playfully responded about how true that was. Comments from those viewing the stream followed ripping the initial commenter about trying to lure Beasley into such a response.
Before Wednesday’s game, when asked if he would have been better off simply avoiding a reply, the second-year forward acknowledged with a smile, “you’re right.”
While Stephen Jackson attempts to tell his side of the story following his recent suspension, Yahoo Sports’ Ken Berger pulls no punches in blasting the Warriors, insisting “David Stern should forcefully suggest that it’s time for majority owner Chris Cohan to finally sell this franchise that has disintegrated on his watch.” Hey, no fair, Dolan gets to keep the Knicks!
Cohan isn’t the only problem, either. His problem is merely the only one that — if solved — would lead to the resolution of all the other problems. Namely, those problems are president Robert Rowell, Riley, and Nelson. Find me another NBA team with a triangle of stubbornness, petulance, and cluelessness that rivals this Warriors triumvirate and I’ll send you a P.J. Carlesimo bobblehead doll.
Two members of this bungling trio were present at Las Vegas Summer League this past July. (And when it comes to Nellie, I should point out that he was present in the arena, not just the casino.) It was a sad commentary on what the Warriors have become: A disheveled Nelson sitting uncomfortably in the stands, a ball cap scrunched down on his unkempt coiffure. By his side at all times, like a pea-brained pug, was Riley — whose ascent to the GM’s chair came at the expense of Mullin and by the forceful hand of Nellie. One night, Nellie invited a couple of scribes out for dinner and cigars, a gesture he hoped would curry favor and mold the mushy contents of their skulls to Nellie’s twisted brand of basketball management. One thing I have learned in this business: When a sports figure invites you to dinner for the sole purpose of showing you what a prince he is, he is up to no good.
The no-good has gone on in Golden State long enough.
As recent history lessons go, the two-part SonicsGate doesn’t disappoint. Could the demise of of a (previously) successful franchise and beloved local instituion have been kick-started by overpaying Jim McIlvaine? The pissing match between former GM Wally Walker and George Karl is quality stuff, as is the filmmakers’ discretion in calling Vin Baker “lethargic” (as opposed to, y’know, alcoholic).
- Broadus will not be allowed to make any off-campus recruiting trips.
- Before any recruiting trip the coaching staff will have to seek approval from the Athletic Department compliance office.
All staff on recruiting trips were asked to return to Binghamton so the new rules could be implemented.
Not to be pedantic, but is Broadus allowed to make on-campus recruiting trips? Admittedly, there’s probably not much of a talent pool to choose from amongst Binghamton’s current student body, but surely they wanna suit up more than 5 or 6 players next season.
They got into this mess by lying. By being afraid of the truth. By being weak (giving SJax the three-year extension that does not start until next year).
And by promoting falsehoods and expecting everybody–including Jackson–to play along and pretend that the lousiness was fake and that the fakery was real.
Turns out, Jackson could not do that. He can’t play for a losing team, which he probably should’ve realized before he signed the extension, but it’s really not up to him to protect the team from its own stupidity. He took the money. That was not dumb.
If Jackson is acting poorly, he deserves whatever happens. But he’s also proven he’s smarter than Rowell, so I’ll still bet on SJax ending up on a good team and Rowell screwing this up even further.
Once again, the Warriors were lying to everybody else, and almost assuredly, lying to themselves. That’s how you get a coach who’s only in it for the power and the money and a general manager who isn’t qualified to do the job.
Oh yeah, and an incompetent team president who has committed, at minimum, 25 fire-able, franchise-killing offenses in the last 18 months or so.
Yesterday’s announcement that U.S. President Barack Obama had been named a recipient of the Nobel Thanks For Not Being George W. Peace Price has received considerable criticism given the former Senator from Illinois’ modest track record as chief executive. Opined the Times’ Michael Binyon, “the prize risks looking preposterous in its claims, patronising in its intentions and demeaning in its attempt to build up a man who has barely begun his period in office, let alone achieved any tangible outcome for peace.” Let the skeptics peddle their hate fuckery, I say. The only views that really matter —- those of NBA journeyman/Steve Rhoades tribute-artist Doug Christie and wife/fashionista/control-freak Jackie — were made available to a breathless public via P.R. Newswire :
HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 10 — NBA star Doug Christie and his wife, author and designer, Jackie, send their congratulations to President Barack Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, only the fourth U.S. president ever to receive this high honor.
The Christies are proud to honor the president for creating a new positive climate and understanding on his quest for world peace.
“We must all, continue to support our Chief of Staff and honor him as he moves us into a great new era,” said Doug Christie.
“The impact President Obama has had on me, my family, our community, and our great nation — as well as internationally — was made clear with the announcement of this esteemed appointment. We are extremely proud of our president,” replied Jackie Christie, author of best-selling book ‘Proud To Be a Colored Girl’.
With the possible exception of winning the Nobel Peace Prize itself, I cannot imagine a higher honor for President Obama than words of enouragement from Jackie and Doug. And who knows how recent political history (if not late night comedy) might’ve been re-written if the likes of Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Edwards had imposed similar conditions on their husbands that Ms. Christie routinely placed on Doug?
Of the multitude of local celebs who appear in the above clip (Oklahoma University President David Boren, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett amongst them, Daily Thunder’s guest editorialist Clark Matthews writes, “I like some of those guys and respect most of them, but is seeing them cheese into a camera going to coax me into shelling out $60 to go sit underneath the basket? Or even $10 to traipse up to the nose bleeds?” More to the point, why are the Thunder so hellbent on goofy videos and billboards showcasing Nenad Krstic (!) and Russell Westbrook when they’ve got a bona fide megastar on the roster?
Seriously, any advertisement the marketing team sends out the door should feature Kevin Durant’s image prominently. This is similar to the mid-80’s Bulls trying to sell tickets by featuring Charles Oakley and John Paxson.
Most markets seem to understand this. When I was in Minneapolis last Summer you could not walk ten feet without seeing Joe Mauer or Adrian Peterson’s face on something. In Seattle this past Summer, Ichiro was everywhere. Even in Washington D.C. the Nationals were trying to use their star, who, let’s be honest no one outside of the Capitol had heard of, to convince people to buy tickets to their 100+ loss team.
Here? It’s as if the first superstar we’ve ever hosted is treated by the Thunder marketing office as that ugly statuette their mother-in-law got them that they hide in the closet until she comes over to visit. Put me in those marketing meetings and I’m pitching a line of comic books to be given away free to Oklahoma City public schools that feature the Durantula playing one-on-one against a giant gila monster and a series of commercials where Durant shows up at people’s office and gives them bad advice…the catch line “Kevin Durant…he may not know double entry bookkeeping, but don’t leave him open at the three point line”.
Excellent points all around by Matthews, but I must take exception to his diss of the Nationals’ Adam Dunn. Even within the Beltway no one wants to see him.
Olympiakos, the Greek powerhouse that signed former Hawk Josh Childress a year ago, plays Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James in an exhibition game next Monday in Cleveland. While Braylon Edwards might wanna put his tickets on StubHub, Olympiakos’ players are well advised to make their own return travel plans, just in case, as the Plain-Dealer’s Brian Windhorst explains.
On Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, Judge Christopher A. Boyko cleared the way for old American creditors of Olympiakos to attempt to collect more than $400,000 Olympiakos owes to an former American player’s agent from a five-year old lawsuit.The plaintiff, agent Tom McLaughlin, wants to have federal marshals seize everything they can that belongs to the club — including any currency and perhaps even the charter jet it will fly into town.
Boyko ordered a representative from Olympiakos to be deposed in court by Friday afternoon before he will rule whether McLaughlin can proceed with the asset seizure. Of course, a settlement could be reached before then or before Monday. Tuesday, Olympiakos was defended by powerful local law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey.
McLaughlin used to represent NBA player Chris Morris, who also played in Greece before a knee injury cut short his career. Olympiakos cut him in 2001, owing him $1.3 million in salary and fees and McLaughlin $400,000 in fees. In separate civil cases, Morris and McLaughlin won default judgments against Olympiakos by 2004.
The problem was, the team was in Greece and outside the jurisdiction. Until now, that is.
Presumably, proposed legislation against texting while driving shouldn’t im[act Stephon Marbury conducting a webchat from behind the wheel of an SUV. As for the business initiatives described above, while Ben Schwartz is fond of reminding CSTB readers that independent music and sports don’t mix, I see no reason why Marbury cannot be every bit as successful in these endeavors as Kyle Turley.
…and Luol Deng’s QB rating takes a hit. During and after my 5 + years residing in London, I’ve often been impressed with the amount of thoughtful, savvy coverage of American sports routinely found in the national newspapers. Richard Rae’s account of Tuesday’s Bulls / Jazz exhibition at the 02 Arena for The Independent, however, is not one of those instances.
Half the professional footballers in London were courtside, with Tottenham particularly well represented, but the Bulls started poorly, Luol Deng of all people giving up an immediate interception. Not that it really matters when you only have to blink to miss a score. By the end of the first quarter the score was 27-26 to the Bulls, there had been two time outs, during which the Utah dancers strutted their stuff, the hyperactive mascots – a bull and something that looked like the wrath of God, but was apparently some sort of bear – had thrown T-Shirts to the crowd and listened to cheesy tunes being belted out on an organ. When it played ‘If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands’, everybody did.
The entertainment in the break was even slicker. The Jazz Dunk team rolled out a couple of springboards and performed a series of such remarkably gymnastic, well, dunks, you had to watch the replays to believe your eyes hadn’t deceived you.
The game, when it resumed, felt like a distraction. At the next time-out, a lad called Edward shot so many long baskets he won a trip to New York. He walked off wearing a smile and a Utah dancer on his arm.
The points kept coming, and so did the gimmicks. ‘Disco cam’, picking out whichever sap in the stands happened to be gyrating most ridiculously at the time. It was chaos, but even chaos can have a pattern, and the pattern was on the scoreboard, high above the court.
Is Ron Artest one of the Association’s great all-around talents/personalities, or is he a ticking time-bomb, about to wear out a welcome with his 5th franchise (and counting)? Or is he a little bit of both? The Second Coming’s Kyle Slavin took an impassioned approach to Artest becoming part of the defending World Champion Lakers, warning, “you absolutely cannot mess this season up. You fail here, and you will never redeem your career again.”
No law when it comes to me.
I let you type critics write and I just keep it hood.
That will never change.
I am not kissing no ones ass because I’m in LA. Suck a cock.
Understandably taken aback by Artest’s invitation, Slavin responded thusly;
WTF, don’t tell me to suck a cock! I wanna ROOT FOR YOU. I want you to SUCCEED, and I want you to WIN US A CHAMPIONSHIP! All these things are good for you! I don’t want you to kiss anyone’s ass! You’re a LAKER now. Act like one!
Is the Tru Warier out of line telling a blogger to monger on his baloney pony? Well, yeah. But in Artest’s defense, the whole “don’t you dare tarnish the Laker legacy” spiel is a bit much. What does “act like a Laker” really mean?
If Eric Mangini (above) is imposing heavy fines for improper use of the mini bar, how might he react to WR Braylon Edwards allegedly assaulting a Cleveland party promoter at 2am this morning? Edwards Givens of Eighty81 tells the Plain Dealer’s Starting Blocks blog exactly how Edwards chose to celebrate the Browns’ 23-20 O.T. defeat to the Bengals yesterday ;
“After the club closed, I was outside greeting and saying goodbye to people. Braylon comes up and started saying things, degrading me. He said if it wasn’t for LeBron (James) or the Four Horsemen, I wouldn’t have what I have, nor would I be able to get girls. Everyone knows Braylon has a problem with LeBron. So I had to speak up for myself. The conversation started to escalate. As some of his teammates started to pull him back, he punched me. I have a black eye and a cut. I’m not a violent guy.
“As long as I’ve known Braylon, I’ve allowed him and his friends to come into our events free of charge. Whatever jealousy he has with LeBron, he felt he needed to take it out on me.”
James, who addressed the incident after the Cavaliers’ practice, criticized the attack on his friend. He said that he has no relationship with Edwards but has felt that the football player is jealous of his success.
Jealous? Really? It’s not as though LeBron’s won more championships than Edwards. And can The Chosen One claim he’s ever taken part in a nationally televised panel discussion alongside Will Leitch and Buzz Bissinger? I think not.
Rumeal Robinson has a varied resume ; star at Cambridge Rindge & Latin, starting PG for Michigan’s 1989 National Championship squad, alleged-small time hood, and now, according to the Cambridge Chronicle’s Jillian Fennimorer, you can add “World’s Worst Son” to that checklist. Robinson, you see, is accused of cheating his mom (by way of adoption) out of her longtime home (link courtesy Ryan Brown, who adds, “it’s Michigan/Michigan State weekend and I’ve got to find some enjoyment if we fall to the ‘Leaders and the Best’”).
Helen Ford, 65, is close to tears when she explains the day when a constable came to her door this past March and handed her an eviction notice — giving her one month to clear her home of her belongings and leave. Back in 2003, Robinson, now 43 years old and living in Florida, allegedly tricked his foster mother into signing over the deed to her own home — on a street named after him — and transferred the property to people unknown to her. They held the home as collateral in a suspected business transaction gone wrong.
said what she thought she was signing was the mortgage so that Robinson could help her make the payments.
But it wasn’t.
She said Robinson told her of a real estate opportunity in Jamaica, where he was born, and asked for her support to build a luxury vacation resort.
But he didn’t.
For years, Ford said she didn’t receive any notices from the bank. No knocks on the door. She occasionally spoke to Robinson on the phone, but was never told that the mortgage was not being paid.
“I just couldn’t believe a son would do this,” Ford said.
Gawker’s John Cook reported earlier today that CityFile issued a retraction and apology earlier today over a July item headlined, “”Jim Dolan To Kill Christmas In July?” In said post, CF suggested Cablevision/MSG chief Dolan was contemplating shutting down the Rockettes’ annual Radio City Xmas revue or replacing the legendary troupe with another act (the Knicks City Dancers?). Apparently, out of all the disparaging things that have been written about Dolan over the years, THIS was the one deemed worthy of Dolan filing a defamation suit.
“We now realize that we could have done more to ensure that all relevant facts were included in the article,” sputtered CF, despite the original item including attempts by their reporter to contact the relevant Cablevision subsidiary for comment (they declined).
So there you have it. Not only is Dolan the saboteur of one of the NBA’s most glittering properties, he’s not merely one of the most horrible Blues Hammer tribute artists known to man, but he’s also a bona fide enemy of free expression.
Even though I’ve more or less given up on what used to be my favorite NBA team — and have seen my alternate favorites announce that they’ll be bringing Blake Griffin off the bench in favor of a guy who looks like an extra from the recent remake of The Hills Have Eyes — I still get excited for this time of year, basketball-wise. There’s still a sense of hope in most clubhouses, Eddy Curry might be under three-bills, the professional curmudgeons haven’t had time to declare themselves “disgusted” yet (although the Lakers wearing Manny Ramirez wigs on media day will surely give Bill Plaschke something to mash his keypad about), and players patiently explain to the assembled media what they did in the offseason.
Usually, this means tattoos. Yeah, Matt Bonner became a Canadian citizen and Kevin Durant kicked his flaccid raps in that goofy Nike Hyperize commercial, but for the most part: tattoos. Last fall around this time, Stephen Jackson broke down his brilliant offseason ink, and it made me glad. It’s like the old back-to-school feeling, except there are no tests or grades (so it’s like Bob Huggins-era Cincinnati) and everyone’s really overstated and immature and on their own shit (so it’s like Oak Hill Academy). And so, of course, DeShawn Stevenson of the Wizards shows up at media day with a bunch of goofy tattoos. This post by John Taylor of the Washington Times — one of the very best Moonie-run papers on this coast — features photos of all three. They are, in order, a tattoo of Abraham Lincoln on Stevenson’s adam’s apple, a stylized fissure running down the top of his forehead (”because I don’t crack,” Stevenson, um, explained) and a backwards “P,” in the Pittsburgh Pirates font, on his cheekbone. Good times, right?
Well, the P being backwards is weird. But the P being there at all — especially given the Fresno-born Stevenson (above) explaining that it’s there in honor of the Pittsburgh Pirates, which he claims as his favorite baseball team — is kind of jarring. “There’s no reason the ‘P’ has to be backward,” Bethlehem Shoals writes at The Sporting News. “I call gang sign,” he adds. I’m not sure what else to call it, personally, and the gang-sign thing makes more sense than… well, how do you get a tattoo backwards, and what’s up with the giant 5’s around Abe Lincoln’s face? Pardon me while I get all esoteric on you:
Stevenson’s Lincoln tattoo is bordered on both sides by the number five, which — like the stylized Pittsburgh P — is pure, familiar Bloods gang semaphore. (I know this from wikipedia, obviously). There are explanations for all that on the other side of that link, but it all goes back to ultra-arcane, byzantinely corny secret-society street gang stylistics. Whether this is just Stevenson being a doofus and getting a bunch of tattoos because he can’t think of anything else to do and me being (a devastatingly handsome masculine version of) Tipper Gore or not, I don’t know. I mean, Abraham Lincoln is on the five-dollar bill, after all, and maybe that’s the only reason why D-Steve thought to put those huge fives on both sides of his neck.
But if Stevenson really did just get a bunch of gang tattoos on his face and neck, that would… really have been fucking stupid of him. At least J.R. Smith can just take down his Twitter page when it gets too five-poppin’ for the Nuggets. Stevenson’s going to have to walk around explaining that the thing on his cheek isn’t a stylized, over-angular “9,” but rather his un-erasable statement of for-lyfe fealty to one of the most deservedly loathed organizations in the world. Or a botched salute to the Andy Van Slyke/Barry Bonds Pirates of the early ’90s. Either way: even Stephen Jackson thinks this isn’t a good look. Thanks to Brendan Flynn and Sid Kapstenel for the links.
After Newsday’s Alan Hahn had done his best to prepare us for a slim, trim, chisled Eddy Curry Supression Ring, Knicks Media Day resulted in what can safely be called varied reports about the fitness of New York’s lumbering underachiever.
For the first time in years, Curry will take the basketball court with a healthy, well-conditioned body and a relatively clear psyche.- Howard Beck, New York Times
Curry, whose season was a complete waste last year, is also expected to make his preseason debut against New Jersey. He’s lost about 40 pounds but he still looks huge and his conditioning leaves a lot to be desired. Both Walsh and D’Antoni admitted that Curry needs to get in better shape.
If Curry plays well he would increase his trade value and thus the Knicks could clear additional cap space to sign a second superstar to join LeBron. (Until LeBron re-signs with Cleveland we’re assuming that he’s coming.) If Curry plays well he could also opt out of his contract and score a lucrative deal during the off-season. It’s a win-win for Curry and the Knicks…but only if he’s stops overeating and improves his fitness. – Frank Isola, New York Daily News
No Artest, No Yao, No T-Mac, no problem, not with this sort of civic pride. Look for the Knicks to produce a similar pre-season video once Cablevision’s Human Resources Dept. signs off on having having a little guy crawl around MSG cubicles.
Given University of Tennessee Men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl credit where due ; these days, it’s pretty tough to come up with a remark controversial enough to keep Lane Kiffin out of the newspaper. The Tennessean collected the following remarks from Pearl yesterday at an Knoxville banquet.
Pearl was one of the featured speakers at a kickoff for charity fundraiser among TVA employees.
He took questions from the crowd. One person asked him about his three new players this year.
“I’ve got a tough job. I’ve got to put these guys from different worlds together, right? I’ve got guys from Chicago, Detroit. I’m talking about the hood! And I’ve got guys from Grainger County, where they wear the hood!” Pearl said. After a pause, he added, “That wasn’t part of the script.”
Later, Pearl issued a written statement, apologizing if anyone was offended by the joke, which he called inappropriate.
How eager would you be to watch a Peter McNeely/Mike Tyson rematch? Ever thought it would be fun to watch Lawrence Taylor chase Joe Theismann around a parking lot…in 2009? If so, you might be one a handful of persons impressed with the initiative of Utah Flash owner Brandt Anderson, who’d like Michael Jordan and Byron Russell to settle their recent pissing match with a game of one-on-one.
I will personally donate $100,00 to charity in the name of the winner. We can do it during the half time of the Utah Flash home opener on December 7th. $100,000 in cash for a 15 minute pickup game. MJ even you can’t say no to that.
Our venue is the perfect place for this challenge because it brings BRuss back to Utah and Michael Jordan has a home just outside of Park City (I have seen his Carolina Blue Jump Man plane on the runway at Million Air in SLC) so it is convenient for both guys. Not to mention that it would be sacrilegious to have this take place anywhere outside of Utah.
Think about the benefits for the two of them. BRuss wants some vindication and MJ puts that fire we have always seen to the test by lacing them up one more time in a casual ‘all for charity’ event.
Lorne Michaels was unavailable for comment.
Or, if you prefer, an homage to Diana Ross’ “Muscles”. Having already taken a bold stand against peers “who like to dress up like little girls”, Ron Artest’s new beefcake video wins the YouToob triple crown for simultaneous offenses against fitness, fashion and hip-hop.
The Kings signed F/G Desmond Mason to a one-year deal earlier this week, despite the Oklahoma State product having played in only 19 games for the Thunder a year ago. Sacramento coach Paul Westphal rationalized the pact, partially, by declaring, “The message I want to send to the young players and probably to the loyal fans, as well, is that nobody is given playing time.” To which Sactown Royalty’s incredulous Tom Ziller replies, “I’m not a coach, but I think there are ways to motivate young players without threatening them with a terrible, old player coming off knee surgery. Try cupcakes! Little children such Donte Greene and Omri Casspi loves cupcakes.”
That roster spot could be going to a younger player, a back-up center, a fan favorite, Chris Bosh’s best friend from third grade, a younger player, Tom Ziller or a younger player. If you were hoping for one of those guys, and instead get Desmond Mason, well that seems to be a loss. And if we get to, oh, October 10 and figure out Desmond Mason really can’t play anymore, well, then, you ain’t ever getting those preseason minutes and training camp reps back. Or the money you’re paying him to show up to training camp.
And again, Desmond Mason was not able to help anybody before his injury. He hasn’t been able to help anybody since 2004-05. Five years ago. Five. Years. Ago.
I don’t like to be pessimistic, but we are seeing the beginning of the justification for why Desmond Mason is on the court in the closing minutes of a tight game in February while Donte Greene waves a towel and Omri Casspi wishes he had a cupcake on the bench. This is not good, people.
At least with Mikki Moore we had awesome snake tattoos, and with Bobby Jackson we had everyone’s favorite King from the Glory Era. With Mason, we just have burbling anger.
After going from expressing skepticism over Barack Obama’s candidacy to adding the President to the “Black Rushmore” series of tattoos on his leg, Wizards G Gilbert Arenas is in danger of “winding up with a wheel of Comte made out of strands of Bill Walton’s hair or something,” writes DC Sports Bog’s Dan Steinberg. On a more serious tip, while crediting trainer Tim Grover with “saving my career”, Arenas has harsh words for his employers when it comes to trusting Agent Zero with his own injury rehab. From the Washington Times’ Mike Jones :
“They handled me going off what they had seen before and said, ‘You can’t lift weights because you might chip a bone,’ ” Arenas said. “That’s their experience. Everybody has theirs. It took me two years to realize that I was a case study. Ultimately, I can prove I can get hurt, sit out two years and come back and be as good as I was.
“If you have a kid that loves basketball, that eats, sleeps, drinks and thinks basketball and all he knows is basketball and he gets hurt and he’s your franchise player, you need to hold him back from himself,” Arenas said. “If I’m saying I feel good and you know it’s supposed to take six months, instead of letting me at four months run … they should have held me back. Rather than saying, ‘Let’s let this guy do what he wants and use him to sell tickets’ - sometimes you have to protect players from themselves. I don’t feel like I got that type of protection. But, I don’t judge them for that. Some things just happen. I told them I felt OK because I wanted to play, and they did what they did.”
Arenas – normally the one for brash predictions and bold statements – this time declines to join in.
“Where did we finish in the East last year?” he asked. “Last. Then until we prove ourselves, that’s what we are. You can’t predict. Anyone can guess where we’re gonna be at. But until the ball goes up in the air, we’re last in the East. We took some steps in the right direction this summer, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what I saw. If you wanna say stuff, it’s just for conversation, just for the chat rooms. And it’s all great and wonderful, but it doesn’t mean anything.”
Aside from scoffing at Greg Ostertag’s reported comeback attempt (”I heard a story from a trainer in Cleveland that he worked out with them in the summer and left. He said, ‘I’ve got to go to the bathroom,’ and never came back”), journeyman benchwarmer Scott Pollard tells the Lawrence Journal-World’s Gary Bedore that an exhibition appearance against Vlade Divac’s Traveling All-Stars does not portend a return to the NBA.
“I will not hold a press conference to say I’m retired,” said Pollard, who has been out of basketball since playing for the 2008 world champion Boston Celtics. “(But) the fact I didn’t hear from more than a couple teams last year … I don’t think it’ll happen this year.”
Pollard will be one of just two recognizable names (former Michigan State guard Mateen Cleaves the other) on the Midwest All-Star team that will meet the Serbian Club Partizan squad on Sept. 27 at Purdue-Calumet University in Hammond, Ind., and again on Sept. 30 at Dakota High in Macomb, Mich.
“This is strictly something where Vlade asked me to participate. There are no former NBA players besides Mateen. It adds a little luster to the team. I’m in good enough shape to play 15 minutes. I know I can play 15 minutes in my sleep,” Pollard said.
Pollard said he’d be making a trip to Los Angeles in coming weeks for negotiations that involve, “being in front of the camera.”
…but I don’t know why not. You can keep your MJ/Dominique slam dunk battle. A H-O-R-S-E competition between Doug and Bingo Smith might be the hottest hoops-related video this side of….well, Cafe’ Oakley.
The New York Post’s Peter Vescey is Will Leitch’s latest nominee for “Your Hometown Columnist Sucks”, a pretty rich concept considering that a “columnist” in Leitch’s own hometown would be the person who transcribes the cinema start times.
Writes Will,
Is Vecsey at least funny? You tell us: “Following his 1-for-16 misadventure in Game 1 against the Sonics, Mike Bibby, desperate to figure out his shooting problem, drove to the nearest Wendy’s to see if its employees could put their finger on it.” Um, what?
Admittedly, that’s not even close to Vescey’s best line. But still funnier than anything you’d find in a month of reading Deadspin.
Though hardly above reproach, Vescey is the guy who suggested that Pat Riley stopped talking about “The Disease Of Me” and switched to “The Disease Of Thee” when he noticed Madonna was sitting courtside. The same Vescey that labelled the Daily News’ Filip “King Kong Bondy” and was tearing into Stephen “Anal” Smith when Deadspin was just a twinkle in Nick Denton’s eye.
… and it involves Barack Obama, of course. Because honestly having two Final Fours vacated and putting up one of the most transcendently sketchy careers imaginable is one thing, but what is the deal with offering to send the President of the United States a Kentucky jersey with the name “Obama” on the back. I don’t know if it’s even legal to send that garment to a non-US citizen, but someone really should look into that. The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Jerry Tipton reports:
On his CoachCal.com website, he held up a No. 44 jersey and asked fans to guess where he planned to send it. Later Calipari turned the jersey around to reveal the name “Obama” on the back. Apparently several fans posted objections to the gift, which prompted an explanation from the UK coach.
“Folks – I think everyone is missing my intention of sending a jersey to the President,” Calipari posted on his Facebook page. “There was NOTHING political about it – it was simply a way of spreading the word of Big Blue Nation into the White House! I apologize if I offended anyone – that was not my intention. I know politics and sports don’t mix, but a friend offered to give ‘Bounce Back’ to the President and we figured we could send along a jersey as well.”
Two hours later, Calipari made another post explaining that he had removed the critical fan comments from the coach’s Facebook page.
“I deleted the original post because there were comments not appropriate for this Facebook page,” Calipari wrote.
That’s it, Mitch McConnell is now cheering for WKU. Jim Bunning, for his part, is napping.
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