Ron got the boot again last night? Flagrant 1? Flagrant 2? You be the judge.

Leave it to Ron Artest and some antsy refs to bring extra drama to an otherwise drama-less game between the Rockets and Lakers. With L.A. comfortably ahead in the final minute of the fourth, Pau Gasol went up for a layup and Ron-Ron put him down with a hard foul. Naturally, Ron was immediately hit with with a flagrant call and ejected. There shouldn’t be any suspensions or anything; even Kobe said afterwards he didn’t think it should’ve been a flagrant. Read More »

Ask and you shall receive. A commenter just posed the Kobe vs. Ron rap battle question. Here is Kobe’s… attempt. Who wins?

How’d I miss this? Props to Jacoby for bringing this to our attention.

SI’s Steve Aschburner isn’t even asking the question. He’s coming right out and saying that Kobe is a definitively dirty player.

“I’m coming with the good stuff right up top: Kobe Bryant is a dirty player,” writes Aschburner. “Not definitive enough for you? OK, then let the record show that Kobe Bean Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is the eighth most dirty player in the NBA.” Read More »

Danny Granger understands the power of hard work. You don’t go from being a high school senior in New Orleans who doesn’t even get recruited by LSU to being an NBA All-Star in your fourth year making franchise-player dollars without working hard.

Granger also understands the power of expectations. Every ballplayer wants to improve whatever he needs to in order to win, but when you put specific goals out there in public, the expectation is now on you to produce. Read More »

If you haven’t picked them up already, the Nike Zoom Kobe IV: Martin Luther King Day special editions are available now. Read More »

Right now, Rajon Rondo could sponsor just about anything and it would make sense. Fast cars, fast trains, fast planes. Plus his Game Six performance against the Bulls (58 minutes, 19 assists, 0 turnovers) would make him a great choice for armored cars, insurance companies, and anyone who wants to promote efficiency.
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No matter what you think of his fashion sense as a mini-George Karl with more hair, you have to admire Rick Adelman right now. He’s got his Rockets playing their best basketball of the season without their highest-paid player. He’s winning the mental war against L.A. right now – the normally even-keel Derek Fisher went Hines Ward on Luis Scola, and Kobe elbowed Ron Artest in the throat out of frustration. Read More »

The e-mails started early yesterday morning, and unfortunately I was asleep through most of the exchange. (Occupational hazard of living on the West Coast.) If I’d been awake, I wouldn’t have gotten a headache from Dime’s Top 25 Motherf*ckers of All-Time.

The original list we debated had more than SIXTY names on it for consideration. Darrell Armstrong was on it. Kenny Smith was there. Clarence Weatherspoon’s name popped up. Read More »