After the rap battles from Blitzen & Santa, check out the amazing music video that ensued.

D-Wade had three forces working against him on Sunday: nagging injuries that Martell Webster seemed bent on turning into major injuries, a red-hot Brandon Roy in fourth-quarter takeover mode wearing a Reggie Miller mask, and, apparently, the big man upstairs being a Blazers fan. “The basketball Gods didn’t want us to win this one,” Wade said after the Heat lost at home to Portland … Over the last four and a half minutes of a nip/tuck ballgame, B-Roy scored 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting with a pair of threes and a free throw. Usually when Roy (28 pts, 11-14 FG, 8 asts) is going ballistic, he’s mixing his defender up and knifing into the lane from all angles, getting layups with either hand. This time he was icing outside jumpers with Wade right in his face. Read More »

Blitzen, the self-proclaimed No. 1 reindeer in the world, has a message for Santa Claus, as he drops his boss, Kobe and LeBron with the diss song of the year. But Santa Claus has something to say after the reindeer challenge him to a game of basketball. Looks like it’s time to lace them up. Hilarious!

With Wake Forest on TV right, I don’t know why, but it got me thinking of how good Randolph Childress was for the Demon Deacons – especially during the 1995 ACC Tournament. Named tournament MVP, Childress carried Wake to the title averaging a ridiculous 35.7 points and 7 assists per game. In the championship game against a UNC team featuring Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace, Childress dropped 37 and 7 in addition to the game-winning jumper with 4 seconds left in overtime, but it was this crossover on Jeff McInnis that will go down as one of the all-time greats.

If only we could all be like Tony Montana in Scarface with the multiple-screen setup of TV’s at the crib, because Saturday night’s NBA schedule was too hectic to follow with just one clicker. Kings/Bucks, Bulls/Hawks and Spurs/Pacers all went down to the wire almost exactly at the same time — and not to mention over on NFL Network you had the Saints in the process of snapping their unbeaten streak against the Cowboys … It took a couple months into the post- Ben Gordon era to figure it out, but the Bulls are better when Derrick Rose isn’t the primary offensive option, and instead able to run the show as a playmaker then go into scoring mode when he needs to (similar to Steve Nash in Phoenix). Read More »

If all it takes to earn a reputation for toughness is a couple of confirmed badass stories that can morph into tall tales in due time, Dirk Nowitzki might be on his way to shedding that “soft” label he’s had hung on him for years by his harshest critics. In the second quarter of Mavs/Rockets, Dirk was driving the lane when his elbow caught Carl Landry in the mouth — or more accurately, his elbow caught some of Carl Landry’s mouth — while drawing a foul. Multiple teeth were lost in the collision, one of them, amazingly, wound up embedded in Dirk’s elbow flesh. Gross. Dirk gets tough-guy points for shooting the ensuing free throws with his left hand and even making one, but he also might lose some points with some people because he left the game after that and didn’t return. Read More »

Remember Terry Tate, Office Linebacker? One of my favorite ad campaigns of all-time has been replicated by one of my favorite people of all-time, Gary Payton. The Glove is going to appear on the “Sports Soup” 2009 Countup Countdown show, airing Dec. 20 at 10 p.m. EST on Versus. He’ll join host Snoop Dogg, plus Manu Ginobili will also be involved. Here’s a sample of what’s in store:

Back around Michael Myers Day, I listed six NBA players who came into this season with All-Star aspirations but would likely end up disappointed come All-Star announcement time. But as Biggie would say, things done changed.

Nearing the turn of the calendar and more than one quarter of the way through the season, there’s a new group guys who have been playing at an All-Star level and could make a solid argument to get on the squad, but have a better chance of landing on the “notable snubs” list. The new six… Read More »

Isiah Thomas is only 1,286 miles from New York City in Miami, Florida, but it probably feels more like halfway across the world in Zeke’s mind. Far from the beat writers, the columnists and the radio and TV personalities who slammed him for four straight years when he was the Knicks’ GM and head coach. Now he’s the head coach at Florida International University. The Golden Panthers of the Sun Belt Conference are just 3-10, fans on campus aren’t chanting “Fire Isiah” at home games and beat writers (not even sure if FIU even has one) aren’t crucifying him. Read More »

Buy Low: Andrew Bynum has failed to notch a double-double since Nov. 17, the game before Pau Gasol’s magnificent return. Bynum’s averaging 9.5 points, 3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1 steal and 1.5 blocks in his last two and has hit rock bottom. It’s clear that Gasol’s presence caps Bynum’s value but it’s also probable that Gasol won’t be grabbing 19.5 rebounds for the rest of the season, though that’s exactly what he’s done over the past four games. Bynum should find his way before 2010 rolls around. Read More »