Sometimes an early test is all a top seed needs to get themselves going in March Madness (think Tyus Edney for UCLA in ’95). Ohio State had theirs yesterday against Iowa State, and are still alive because they have one of the best leaders in college basketball … Read More »

You would think a hush would’ve rained over Cleveland. But on top of the constant hum, you could almost hear fans crying and wailing, and even Cleveland’s epic broadcast team sounded like they wanted to go lock themselves in a closet. It’s not every day you blow a 27-point lead… and it’s not every lifetime you can blow that lead against a team on a 23-game winning streak that has one of your city’s most hated athletes ever. Read More »

“What ifs” in sports can run deeper than still waters. What can be a simple question or proposition on the surface, may also result in major changes to a player or players’ careers and, in some instances, even swing titles. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. Charlotte Bobcats (14-52) Last week: 30, - The Bobcats are pretty well locked in the last spot in the league. That’s good! With another high pick to go along with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kemba Walker, Charlotte might actually be decent next season. Hopefully. Read More »

In theory, these first-round matchups could all be null soon. The reality is that in the Eastern Conference, three teams are tied for fifth, at 14.5 games behind Miami. In the West, just 3.5 games separate sixth from ninth. Read More »

Every night in the NBA is its own minimovie, played out in any number of acts. Wednesday there were 14, and we could have called it, The Closers, for the way Kobe and Kyrie won after ridiculous comebacks in the fourth quarter. Friday would be The Takeover. Read More »

The first MVP Ladder of the second half of the season is finally here. There’s been a lot of action to catch up on since our last ladder, and with the All-Star break coming last month, a lot of our MVP candidates have kicked it in to high gear. Particularly LeBron James and his Heat, who have now won 16 straight games but are still chasing the League’s best record. Read More »

We fell asleep at some point in the third quarter, and when we woke to see the Lakers were back in it, we thought it was an entirely different game. In a way, it was. L.A. overcame a 25-point deficit in New Orleans last night to beat the Hornets, 108-102. They scored the game’s last 20 points, and held the hosts scoreless for the final 6:47. It felt more like a month. Read More »

A year and a half ago, Greg Smith was playing in the Mexican League just across the border from California, in Mexicali. This was his lot after declaring for the NBA early after two seasons at Fresno State right before the lockout hit. Out of bad timing can come young careers, however. Read More »

For the second time in the second half Sunday at Madison Square Garden, J.R. Smith passed the ball a little too casually from above the three-point line, allowing LeBron James to intercept it. The first time, about 16 game minutes earlier, LBJ went to the line for free throws in the middle of Miami’s comeback from 17 down to the Knicks. Uh oh. The second time, no one stopped him. And that was the story of the second half at MSG. Read More »