When my wife found me I was laying on the floor. I was curled in the fetal position, wearing my replica 2004 Olympics Argentina basketball jersey. I had laid all my Josh McRoberts rookie cards in a circle around myself, like a protective force field. Read More »

An integral part of Dime’s literary footprint is basketball-related video game news. This has become doubly important in the wake of the ongoing lockout, where getting one’s hoops fix sometimes leads to the digital world. With this in mind, Konami is prepared to launch a basketball game that will change everything. The Dime editorial staff has been provided with an advance copy, and I am privileged to give you a sneak peek. Plug in your controllers, blow on your cartridge, turn the television to Channel 3 and come with me. Read More »

They say every champion boxer has one great fight left in his bones. They say every writer has one great story to tell. If both of these things are true, and I would wager they are, then one more thing would seem to be true as well: Every basketball player has a game that got away. Read More »

An essential element in the cult of Michael Jordan is the fact that the man never lost an NBA Finals. It’s how we choose to remember him: Perfect. 6-0 in the endgame. Unassailable. In doing so, we place him in the tiniest of circles, that being multiple champions who never lost a title. Read More »

Basketball legend and mustache aficionado Karl Malone recently embarked on a USO tour of the Middle East to meet with soldiers and lend his support. At a dinner in Afghanistan with members of the Alabama National Guard, The Mailman sat next to Dime reader Tim Pierce, who is also my kid brother. Read More »

Today’s look at collectibles will have a distinct Boston flavor. We’re going to go Bill Simmons on you and put the spotlight on a selection of Boston Celtics basketball cards. (Or caaaaahhds, right guys? Right?) Sorry. I’ll leave that joke alone.

Of course no Boston collection would be complete without a Rajon Rondo card, but I was not able to find a suitable one to feature. Perhaps I could have done better if Topps had sent me something cool. (Note to Topps: Please do not send me a Scott Wedman rookie card.) Read More »

Like a lot of kids who grew up in the ’80s, I was an avid baseball card collector. It started with my Dad, who would tell me stories of his own baseball card collection, long since lost. He would shake his head sadly, as if these lost treasures were why we lived in a three-bedroom house and not a sprawling mansion. Inspired, I spent every quarter I could find on packs of Topps cards, intent on recapturing the dream. I would rifle through the cards for hours, inspecting the little brown cardboard rectangles and sorting them into stacks. At some point all of us from that era put our Bo Jackson and Dwight Gooden cards in a special container, so that our Moms wouldn’t throw them out. And then we lost our Bos and Dwights. Read More »

It didn’t used to be like this.

He used to be so small. When I was a senior in high school, my youngest brother Tim was nine. I was the big brother, the family basketball star that the cheerleaders chanted for. He was a doughy little kid who sat with my parents in the bleachers.

Now he’s in the car with me, and we’re about to play a game of 1-on-1 that’s been months in the making. My brother is a soldier. He’s been in the Middle East, in one of the places that’s always on the news. We’ve been planning a basketball game ever since he deployed, and here he is, 7,000 miles later, about to lace them up with me. Read More »

If you missed the Eastern Conference Roundtable, this is its Western Conference counterpart. Below is a breakdown of each series, with exclusive insight from various experts, including the shady AAU guy, the 12th man on your school team and that Laker fan who wears $400 sunglasses. Again, we recommend using this information to place large bets on your hometown team, unless you live somewhere other than Texas or California. Read More »

As the NBA Playoffs rapidly approach, we here at Dime want our readers to be prepared for the postseason. To accomplish this, we assembled a definitive panel of experts including your high school coach, the 40-year-old guy at the park (who’s still got next, by the way) and your girlfriend. These authorities have given us exclusive information on all four of the first round series. Use this guide to make huge wagers on your team of choice, unless your team of choice is Atlanta. Read More »