Gil is beside himself. OK, that was corny…

Super busy day around here yesterday, between all the stuff leading up to the NBA Draft and the fact that it seems every ballplayer in the world is in New York this week … We spent most of the evening at NYC’s Rub BBQ joint, getting an exclusive first look at NBA Live 08 along with cover guy Gilbert Arenas and March Madness cover guy Kevin Durant. Gil and KD hung around for a few hours, eating some BBQ, playing Live for a while, and doing some interviews. When they played against each other (Arenas was the Wizards and Digi-Agent Zero shot it almost every time he touched it; Durant rolled with the Suns), the ratio of Arenas talking to KD talking was maybe 90-10 … Not only did we get an early glance at Durant in a Sonics uniform via the video game (looks good on him), but when KD created a team to play with, he put himself on Seattle along with Corey Brewer and Brandan Wright. Then he put Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Julian Wright on the Blazers and had them go at it, dropping buckets as himself against his future rivals … One of our buddies at EA informed us that when they brought Durant, the Florida guys and the Wrights in for a motion-capture session, Durant’s motion-capture suit was unlike any one he’d ever seen since Kevin’s arms are so long …

Kevin and Moms

When we talked to Gil, he said that after his knee heals this summer, he’s going to be working out with the D.C. United soccer team. Not just conditioning, but actually out there on the soccer field. Between Arenas and Steve Nash, is soccer going to become the new boxing when it comes to ballplayer’s summer workouts? … Arenas appeared to be going solo for the night, while Kevin had Mom, Dad, Grandma and his agent close by most of the time … From the conversations we were having with the assembled media and industry peeps on-hand, Kevin Garnett and Kobe are the most popular topics of the week. The latest we’re hearing on KG is that the Mavs are getting involved in trade talks with Minnesota. Not sure if that one would have a chance, though. The Mavs have quality players, but if the Wolves want high draft picks and cap space, the Mavs would have to involve another team (or two) to land Garnett … Earlier in the day we dropped by the Sports Club/LA in midtown Manhattan, where Tony Parker hosted a Lamisil-sponsored basketball clinic real quick before hopping on a plane (to France for the wedding, we’re guessing). Crazy media frenzy around Tony, but that’s what happens when you’re Finals MVP and a budding paparazzi darling …

We got closer to Tony than Larry Hughes did

During Tony’s media session we were dreading the inevitable barrage of wedding questions, but luckily Parker’s people snuffed those out quick. One reporter asked, “What’s it like for you to win a championship, win Finals MVP and be getting married all in the span of a couple weeks?” and barely got the word “married” out of his mouth before getting shut down … In honor of the 2007 Draft, we’re offering a super limited subscription promotion. Only 7 bucks for a year! Click here to subscribe today … When we weren’t running around the city, we managed to put up some more Draft-related stuff yesterday: a look back at some of the draft’s diamonds in the rough (everyone talks about Arenas and Josh Howard, but it’s amazing how many teams passed on Manu) and laying out the perfect scenarios for this year’s Draft class (Guess what? Greg Oden would have been great for the Celtics) … LeBron confirmed he will play for Team USA this summer. A lot of guys are gonna be out of action due to injuries (Arenas, D-Wade, Chris Paul, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce), but between ‘Bron and Kobe — at least we think Kobe’s still playing — the U.S. will at worst be competitive against anyone … Earl Boykins officially opted out of his deal and will be a free agent; even more reason the Bucks have to re-sign Mo Williams, make a serious run at Chauncey Billips, or land a PG in the draft … Gerald Wallace also opted out. We’re hearing Crash wants to stay in Charlotte, but he could be one of those missing-piece guys that puts a contender over the top. If we’re a team like Miami, we’re looking into making something happen … We’re out like wedding questions …