There’s something purely Americana about the hometown kid making good in front of the hometown crowd.

Whether it’s David Freese blasting home runs to lead his St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series title, or Chauncey Billups going from prep legend to college superstar to NBA bust back to NBA superstar in Denver, or even Jerome Bettis winning a Super Bowl in Detroit in his final NFL game while playing for another team, we like these stories. In a sports culture where free agency and stressed-out GMs eager to trade make it increasingly tougher for fans to claim one group of players as “our guys” for any length of time, hometown ties remain nearly impossible to break. Read More »

One of the most overlooked aspects of this season so far is how balanced the league has become. It used to be the West had three or four teams who missed the playoffs that could compete in the East. The East went about four or five deep before everyone fell off to 40, 35, 25 wins. Now, miraculously, both conferences have exactly eight teams who are either at .500 or above it. Read More »

Whereas last summer reshaped the NBA and as a byproduct of that, helped usher in the extended lockout, the upcoming abbreviated free agency period won’t include a single franchise player. There are probably no future Hall of Famers available. Hell, there might not even be a single All-Star out there. But what is being given up will be replaced in a frenzy. The signings and player movement will be fast and furious, and without any sure things, there will be plenty of opportunities to criticize GMs who panic and throw ridiculous contracts at simply average players. Read More »

The lockout is just a memory, the NBA is days away from its glorious Christmas Day return, and fantasy basketball preparations are in full swing. But you can’t escape the past. This isn’t a life lesson from the fingers of someone wholly unfit to give you non-fantasy basketball advice – it’s a reminder that suspensions handed down late in the 2010-11 NBA season are going to affect some players’ availabilities in the early going this season. On top of those suspensions are injuries and health conditions that will have implications from the outset of the 2011-12 NBA season. Below is a rundown of early suspensions and injuries, and the players who stand to benefit from those circumstances. Read More »

Sorry Knicks fans, but you lose again. While New York was Grant Hill‘s first choice, the Knicks lost their $5 million mid-level exception in the forthcoming Tyson Chandler deal. And although they looked into a sign-and-trade with the Suns, Hill isn’t going anywhere. According to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic, Hill agreed today to re-sign with the Suns for a one-year, $6.5 million contract. Read More »

NBA GMs are on a roll today. It looks like we’re about to be 2-for-2 with smart, veteran free agent signings (as opposed to MLB GMs giving the world’s oldest-looking 31-year-old a 10-year, $250-million deal).

Today’s New York Post is reporting that a Knicks free agent deal with Grant Hill is on the verge of becoming a reality. Read More »

No one wants to come out and admit it right now, but is there a race going on between Dwight Howard and Chris Paul to get to Hollywood? Some believe so. How it came to this, we aren’t sure. But it suddenly feels like the two biggest pieces in this new age NBA and are both privately gunning for the same team. The only problem is, most likely, only one of them gets there. As Yahoo! Sports reported, the Lakers and Hornets have already talked deals. With Howard not coming out one way or another and with the Hornets’ front office determined not to have a repeat of what happened in Cleveland, the focus shifted to CP, and the Lakers reportedly offered New Orleans their pick: Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol? Who do you want? Read More »

With no return date in sight for the 2011-12 NBA season, there are at least 10 current players that wake up every morning during this lockout and check their watch, clock or calendar to see what day it is. Because unless they can channel Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, each 24 hours means their internal NBA clock is ticking closer to the zero. Not everyone can be John Stockton or Karl Malone and play into their 40s. As we saw at the end of last season with Shaquille O’Neal‘s retirement, all good things must come to an end. With that, we evaluate the future of the NBA’s 10 oldest players: Read More »

We were soooo close. Imagine if the proper etiquette when you went out to eat or hit up happy hour was to tip two percent. That would feel like nothing. Well in what was considered to be the biggest day thus far of the lockout – the first one where a good percentage of those involved legitimately believed a deal could get done – the guys ended where they started: with nothing. The talks broke down on the dreaded BRI when neither the players nor the owners would move off their stances. The players wanted 52 percent; The owners were at 50. Of course, it’s pretty stupid to compare tipping $6 with a CBA for the NBA but still in the context – with millionaires fighting billionaires, you get our drift. You are two percent away. You want to know how easy it is to fix that? Each side give up a point. Read More »

The Phoenix Suns remain an offensive machine in the NBA, which makes the squad likable for fantasy purposes. However, with the face of the franchise is slipping into the sunset as he approaches the deep end of his 30s, it’s time for the emergence of new stars in Arizona. A certain hammer of Polish origin will lead the way for this new movement in Phoenix. Read More »