For my belated birthday present Wednesday night, my fiancee hit a home run by taking me to a Harlem Globetrotters game. The ‘Trotters were at the Showare Center in Kent, Wash., a tiny (“intimate”) arena that usually houses the Seattle T-birds minor league hockey team. The Globetrotters annually come to Seattle around my birthday, and between the ages of like eight and 11, my Dad made it a yearly trip to see them play. Going to the game last night brought back that nostalgia and — at least for a couple of hours — I was able to watch a basketball game not like a sportswriter and just have fun.

A few notes:

* Remember Shagari Alleyne, the 7-foot-3 dude who played at Kentucky a couple years back? He’s a Globetrotter, playing under the name “Skyscraper.” When I figured out who he was, I told my fiancee, “Oh man, he’s HORRIBLE,” remembering his UK run that was — ask a Wildcats fan — disappointing to say the least. Skyscraper took part in the little dance routines and some of the on-court jokes, but really his role on the team is to be very tall and catch dunks where he barely has to jump. Read More »

Last Friday, at All-Star Weekend media day, we sat in for a couple minutes while Allen Iverson talked about his disappointing half-season with the Pistons. Long story short, A.I. wasn’t diplomatic about letting everyone know that he hasn’t been playing “my game,” as reporters around him — after so many years of calling him a jacker and a ball-hog — were now asking why he wasn’t shooting the ball more. Last night Iverson played his game, looking like the dude we all watched grow up at Georgetown and in Philly. He was launching everything in the fourth quarter of Pistons/Spurs, as Detroit’s offensive movement came to a complete stop every time Iverson (31 pts, 13-28 FG, 7 asts) got the ball. Aside from the occasional Rasheed Wallace pick, Deeeee-troit basketball consisted of A.I. trying to bust Bruce Bowen or Tony Parker‘s ankles while Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Antonio McDyess and ‘Sheed stood around and watched … Two things, though: Iverson had to do it, and it was working. You can’t knock A.I. too much for dominating the ball down the stretch, because no one else on his team was helping him out. Read More »

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After all the dust has settled, the actual deal is as follows: In a three-team deal, the Kings acquired Will Solomon and cash from Toronto, the Raptors got Patrick O’Bryant from Boston and the Celtics received a conditional future second round pick from Sacramento. Read More »

Apparently the Bulls weren’t done. ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that Chicago’s Thabo Sefolosha is headed to Oklahoma City for one of the Thunder’s five stockpiled first-round picks in the next two drafts. Read More »

I really don’t know what to say about this one. I mean people sing along to their songs but this is a full blown performance. Read More »

A while back I posted some info on Al Harrington’s new line of sneakers called Protege. The official launch of the sneaker and apparel line was this past All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, and with Fashion Week upon us New Yorkers I got up with Al at the swanky Bryant Park Hotel to holla at him about Protege. Read More »

Just as the trade deadlines passed, ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting a three-way deal that has been submitted to the League for approval:

NBA front-office sources tell ESPN.com that Orlando is acquiring Rafer Alston from Houston to fill the void created at point guard by Jameer Nelson‘s shoulder injury. The Rockets will receive Memphis guard Kyle Lowry, Orlando forward Brian Cook and perhaps two other minimum-salaried players to make the finances work. The Grizzlies will receive a first-round pick from Orlando.

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The deadline has come and gone and although trades are still trickling in, the big pick up seems to be Aaron Brooks. We’ve been saying it all year, if Brooks ever gets the gig full time he’ll have major fantasy value. That time is right now.

Sports Illustrated‘s Ian Thomsen dropped this earlier:

The big surprise of the morning was interest from the Indiana Pacers in making a run at Tyson Chandler, who was back in New Orleans after his trade to Oklahoma City had been rescinded. The Pacers could offer a combination of expiring contracts attached to center Rasho Nesterovic ($8.4 million), forward Marquis Daniels ($6.8 million) and point guard Jarrett Jack ($2 million), in addition to center Jeff Foster. Read More »