Go into any basketball locker room in the world — CYO leagues, middle school, high school, or even in the NBA — and you’ll find sharpshooters, bench warmers, you’ll see Jordans, adidas and Reebok, you’ll see tall oafs and slippery guards, coaches that rarely say a word and coaches that never shut up. Every team will have it’s own unique flavor, it’s own unique environment. Read More »

Does 50 Cent still have it? The buzz certainly isn’t there like it used to be, but as for the actual content, you’ll soon be able to see/hear for yourself. His new album, Street King Immortal, is dropping Feb. 26, 2013, and this is the official video for the lead single, “My Life.” Featuring his old buddy Eminem, as well as Adam Levine, it shows the artists struggling to avoid the spotlight from a helicopter in a video shot at an abandoned train station in Detroit known as Michigan Central Station. Read More »

I can see Lamar Odom right now: face down, his head in the pillows, with rain drops sliding down his window, slow jams playing from his iPod dock, and his old Dallas gear wrinkled up in the corner. When you’re as talented as Odom and you end up basically being banished from basketball, something is wrong. Over the lockout this summer, he struggled with the murder of his 24-year-old cousin, and just days later was also a passenger in a vehicle that collided with a motorcycle, killing a teen pedestrian. Death and tragedy have followed Odom wherever he’s gone, like a dark curse that’ll never stop blocking the sun. Read More »

Even so little as 12 months ago, who would’ve thought we’d be starting an edition of Smack talking about J.J. Barea? He’s a big part of the story, but so is Tyson Chandler and Caron Butler. The plot of it all: the Dallas Mavericks are breaking up the defending NBA champions. They haven’t had a shot yet to defend what they won so amazingly last summer, and here we are, with the once-reckless Mark Cuban now a part of this new age NBA where superstars team up together, and Cubes doesn’t overpay for big centers coming off career years. It’s too bad for Mavs fans that it’s looking like the one time he wants to be careful is the one time they really need his wallet. Read More »

Hot Rod has played basketball practically his whole life. But for him, the game is secondary to music, as the 50 Cent-signed artist has his new album set for release this fall. With his single “Dance With Me” going viral, I had the chance to speak with Hot Rod on the latest in basketball and his music. Read More »

Kobe going at Shaq. Floyd going at Oscar De La Hoya. The Situation going at Ronnie? Our friends over at Complex developed their own Celebrity Smack Talk Soundboard. The soundboard compiles some of the best sound bites from their favorite trash-talking athletes, actors, rappers, and politicians.

You can also hear Read More »

Orlando’s goals were relatively humble going into last night’s Eastern Conference Finals Game 4: (1) Don’t get blown out of the water in the first quarter, (2) Get something resembling an average performance from your $118 million third option, and (3) Win or go golfing. By pulling off the hat trick, the Magic avoided elimination while winning the first overtime game of these 2010 playoffs … Jameer Nelson was the difference in this one. Read More »

50 Cent is easily hip-hop’s biggest bully. He’s had beef with everyone from Ja Rule to The Game to Rick Ross. Now he can add legendary TV commentator Marv Albert to that list. According to a bizarre LA Times story, on Thursday night Marv Albert got into an altercation with 50 Cent and his posse. Both were guests on Jimmy Kimmel Live and apparently the altercation stemmed from Albert walking into 50′s dressing room. 50 and his posse did not recognize Albert and got hostile with the NBA announcer. Read More »

Anybody who knows me knows that I’m a Nate Robinson advocate. After last season ended, I was positive Aaron Goodwin’s Blackberry was going to be blowing up with offers come July 1st. But here we are nearly two months later and Nate the Great is still unsigned with only a modest qualifying offer from the Knicks on the table. It baffles me that his only other option was a contract offer in Greece. Read More »