Let’s all wish a happy birthday to one of the greatest shots in all of basketball history. 15 years ago today, No. 13-seed Valparaiso’s Bryce Drew buried this iconic buzzer beater in Oklahoma City to upset 4-Seed Ole Miss in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament. Read More »

Thank God for Steve Blake. The man who couldn’t hit a shot to save the Lakers’ season in the playoffs might just be bold enough to save the NBA season. Sam Amick and Adrian Wojnarowski broke the story on Twitter, saying Blake is doing whatever he can to rally the troops, and gain support for a vote by Wednesday. He’s irate at the union and wants to play. He’s not pushing them to take the deal; He just wants a vote. A few other players, and some big names like Kobe Bryant and LaMarcus Aldridge, are willing to look into this deal the owners are offering. Amick even said he called two agents who represent 19 players in total, and that every one of those players wanted to take the NBA’s deal. Read More »

In light of seeing all of these former NBA stars getting into trouble, I’ve been thinking about a whole lot, about untapped potential (hence my repeated posts on Penny & G-Hill & ‘Mac) and about why some guys make it and others don’t. It’s more than talent. Much more.

It’s always so hard to judge someone from afar. You grow up believing most of the stories you hear, thinking “oh this dude’s a bad guy…this guy is cool, but sometimes he doesn’t care…this guy can’t play.” But eventually, you find out that most of the stuff you hear is untrue. Read More »

One of the commentators on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” said it best earlier this week: Upsets are the life-blood of the NCAA Tournament. Even if it’s at the cost of a busted bracket, people want to see Cinderella stories and have lovable underdogs.

Case in point: When Michigan State benefited from a couple shaky referee calls to knock off 12-seed New Mexico State in this year’s tourney, the crowd was loudly booing as the upset bid fell short. Read More »