So we’re guessing this is how they get down in Minnesota. After what could be described as a tumultuous beginning to his career in Miami, Michael Beasley put together an altogether by-the-book first season in Minnesota. Well, it looks like Beasley might have taken a major step backwards, as he was ticketed for speeding in a Minneapolis surburb and was reportedly in possession of 16.2 grams of Mary Jane. And what was the former No. 2 overall pick’s excuse? That it was his buddy’s – who he had coincidentally just dropped off before getting pulled over (amazing!). Basically, the same thing everyone says. The good news: the petty misdemeanor charge cost him just $128. The Wolves didn’t comment on Beasley’s incident due to that whole lockout thing as the player they’ve been rumored to be shopping just lost some more value … After a couple of sources have taken stabs at their claims, do you still believe the NBA when they say they are losing a ton of money? … Day one voting officially wrapped up in the Dime 1-On-1 NBA Tournament with the two higher seeds advancing. LeBron easily advanced past Amar’e, grabbing over 65% of the total vote. And in the other matchup, which was expected to be much closer as a No. 8 vs. No. 9, Paul Pierce narrowly edged Deron Williams with just under 56% of the vote. Now ready yourselves for early next week when the King will square off with the Truth in the second round. Tomorrow, we’ll have the winners of the KD/Ellis and D-Wade/JJ first round matchups … If you were a GM, who would you be trying to sign: Tyson Chandler, Nene or Marc Gasol? … Frank Vogel, who served as the interim coach for the Indiana Pacers much of this year, was officially announced as the team’s new head coach. He’s returning to one of the more promising crops of young talent, whenever it is that his return is legally allowed. With the addition of George Hill, the returns of Darren Collison, Danny Granger and Paul George, and the potential cap room they may be sporting in the 2011 offseason, Vogel might be able to work a little magic with this crew. Now if they could just find a way to wake Roy Hibbert up from his naps before the games start, they’ll be set … Unlike some other big-market teams that have parlayed their nominal success into jacking up ticket prices (we’re looking at you James Dolan), the Clippers have made the generous decision to keep their season ticket packages status quo. Despite an increase in attendance and overall awesomeness since Blake Griffin strolled into town, the team will keep prices reasonable for Billy Crystal and his pals. We would extend a solid hoops fan salute to owner Donald Sterling, but he just was a part of an ownership group that locked out the dudes that play in our favorite sports league. We just hope he gets enough dough in the deal to pay for all the damage The Blake Show is gonna do to that roof. Ya know, when he brings it down … Amar’e Stoudemire re-upped with Nike on a five-year contract … And the USA U19 team lost by two to Croatia despite Jeremy Lamb‘s 25 points. Croatia scored five points in the final 50 seconds to knock the US off their unbeaten pedestal. Still, the USA will have a No. 1 seed once the medal round quarterfinals starts tomorrow … We’re out like The Hammer.
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