So with the Brett Favre ending his NFL iron man streak and Cliff Lee signing with the Phillies (which I’m loving, by the way) dominating the headlines lately, I felt a little sports overkill. This all changed when I learned my childhood hardwood idol would be playing and I could catch him online.

That’s right, Allen Iverson, who has had his share of troubles this year, would be playing for his Turkish club team Besiktas for the world to see. This excitement quickly diminished into disappointment upon hearing news of A.I. sitting out because of an ankle injury. Read More »

“You gonna be ‘Bitches’ … I mean, like you have so many bitches, that’s what n****s is gonna call you. No disrespect.” - Riley Freeman

Welcome to Bitches, Ohio.

You know the town. Home to the Browns and the Dawg Pound, the Rock ‘N Roll Hall and Halle Berry. You call it Cleveland. But in the five months since the local basketball team lost its sunshine when LeBron James decided to write the next chapter of his career with the Miami Heat, the blue-collar Midwestern city that was supposed to be tough enough to handle sports heartbreak has been — at least on TV — playing the role of a pathetic lovesick puppy. Read More »

You could see it coming, albeit it took an extra year to truly surface. You could feel the woosh as it swept by, but that feeling was never quite as strong as it is now. Too bad it didn’t have an odor, for if it did, the smell would undoubtedly make you cringe, more so for its authority than the stench. This force of nature, the amazingly nimble, slippery, yet destructively dangerous power that exploded out of this young NBA season was supposed to happen.

But not like this. Read More »

They don’t jump like that in Raptors practice. (Well, unless your name is DeMar or Vince.) In Atlanta, Chris Bosh got scalped by Marvin Williams last night during TNT’s Heat/Hawks broadcast, as Marv follow-dunked right on Bosh’s head at one point. Bosh should have just left the building after that one. But at least Bosh got crowned in ATL, where people care more about Dem Franchise Boyz than they do about the Hawks … Despite LeBron going off for 38 points (13-19 FT) and 11 boards, Miami left with another preseason loss, but this time they had their big guns on the floor in the fourth quarter. Read More »

With NBA Training Camps now underway, it’s always interesting to see some of the names that resurface looking for a shot. From NBA veterans looking to make it back, to big-time college players that never quite made it, here are five guys that you’ll be surprised to see a step away from the League. Read More »

Forget “Real Training Camp” on NBA TV. Can we get the Charlotte Bobcats a reality show on Showtime? Stephen Jackson is worth the airtime alone, but then throw in Michael Jordan getting used to everything that comes with being The Boss, Shaun Livingston‘s (latest) comeback story, Tyrus Thomas‘ mood swings, Sherron Collins‘ out-loud Chitown personality getting rookie hazed, Boris Diaw‘s battle to stay below 320 pounds, the Kwame Brown/MJ dynamic, and Larry Brown‘s manic obsessive nature, and you’ve got potential greatness. Read More »

Antoine Walker made more headlines in the past year outside of the NBA than he did during his last couple of seasons in the League.

Following his last official NBA appearance in February 2008, ‘Toine was back in the headlines last year when news began to spread that — despite earning about $108 million in salary over his career — he was having money problems. ESPN did an “Outside the Lines” special about the former All-Star’s financial troubles, which included writing bad checks to a casino and failed investments. Read More »

We’re all the way to the Final Four of the World Championship, and it’s still not clear whether Team USA is simply way better than almost everybody, or if they’ve yet to get a truly tough test (beyond the Brazil game). After today’s semifinal there won’t be any doubt, though. Lithuania has been ballin’ in the WC, going undefeated and coming off a surprisingly easy smashing of Argentina. Linas Kleiza is playing out of his mind, averaging 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds … Can Danny Granger get some PT today? Read More »

After he averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 rebounds in the month of April during his rookie season — as the youngest player in the League, mind you — I knew Anthony Randolph was going to be something special.

This is a kid who put up 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a freshman at LSU before bolting to the NBA. After being selected with the 14th pick in the ’08 draft to run in Don Nelson‘s up-tempo offense — which should have been a blessing for the ultra-talented human highlight reel — Randolph started 22 games as a rookie and capped the season with averages of 7.9 points and 5.8 rebounds. Read More »

Our business is prone to over-exaggeration: It was the best dunk ever, the worst trade ever, the sickest pair of sneakers ever, etc. We have to grab your attention and we have to get advertisers and, well, that’s just how it goes. But taking away all hyperbole and being totally straight — the NBA TV announcer calling yesterday’s Spain/Lithuania and France/Canada games at the World Championship was the WORST ANNOUNCER IN THE HISTORY OF BASKETBALL … Seriously, what soccer game did they steal this guy from? We would have been better off with Moses Malone and Darryl Dawkins on the mic. Read More »