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 »

I know what you’re thinking, and no, I’m not out of my mind. While everyone has been talking about the Summer of 2010 with as much voracity as Y2K, people often forget that there are reasons and rules behind people’s actions. Sure Torontans consider it blasphemous that Chris Bosh would opt out and/or not re-sign, just as Clevelanders are convinced that (title or no title) LeBron James will remain atop the throne in his home state, but there are economics backing up the future decisions of the NBA’s superstars this summer. And that is something you cannot argue with. Read More »

Tracy McGrady is finally a Knick, Nate Robinson is a Celtic and Tyrus Thomas has transformed from a sulky Bull into a brooding Bobcat. There were also a few odds and ends to note as the trade deadline passed, and it’s clear that fantasy owners have some work to do if they want to sort through the debris to separate the gems from the rubble. Let’s take a look at the notable fantasy implications. Read More »

So much for the Knicks not being able to land Tracy McGrady’s expiring contract, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, the Rockets, Kings and Knicks have agreed to terms that will expand the Houston-Sacramento deal into a three-way trade that lands Tracy McGrady and Sergio Rodriguez in New York, Kevin Martin, Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries and Hilton Armstrong in Houston and Carl Landry, Joey Dorsey and Larry Hughes in Sacramento. Read More »

At this point, the same pieces keep getting mentioned, but GMs are just trying to figure out which move is the right one. Tracy McGrady, Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood have been mentioned in trade chatter pretty much all season, but now a deal that includes Al Harrington could get it done. Read More »

Unlike some nights when you have to choose between five different games on League Pass, one on NBA TV and reruns of “Jersey Shore,” tonight was one of the few instances where everything came together. As the League’s top two teams and top two players squared off, all eyes were on Kobe vs. LeBron, and the League’s No. 1 and 1a did not disappoint … The mood was set before the jump, as “O Fortuna” from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana blasted from the speakers. Aside from perhaps “The Ride of the Valkyries” when the helicopters attack the village in Apocalypse Now, there’s nothing more epic … Read More »

A couple years back, I was interviewing somebody on the AND 1 Mix Tape Tour — I seriously can’t remember who — and asked for some crazy “life on the road” stories. The player told me about one hotel the team had used in a South American country (Argentina?) that everybody thought was haunted: furniture moving by itself, strange sounds in the hallway, super-creepy front desk guy, etc.

Apparently the pro playground ballers got a taste of life in the NBA that night. According to the New York Daily News and Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie, the New York Knicks believe the hotel they stayed in during a road trip to Oklahoma City was haunted. Read More »

Anything is possible in the National Basketball Association. On any given night a team can pull out an upset victory, David Stern can fine you for something you didn’t even say or a superstar can be traded for pennies on the dollar. For the most part we don’t know what General Managers and team executives are thinking. The general NBA fan has the common sense to know when a front office decision is a bad move. For instance everyone knew when Isiah Thomas signed Jerome James to his ridiculous contract that it was unwarranted. It is knee jerk reactions like that which create the special group of NBA players called the Untradeables. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Joakim Noah rose to the challenge of playing against a stacked Lakers frontline and finished with 11 points, 20 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 6 blocks and 3 turnovers. He missed a bunch of tip-ins and ended up shooting just 25 percent (4-16) from the field and 75 percent (3-4) from the line, but his overall line was too good to overlook for this honor. He continues to exceed expectations this season. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Ray Allen produced his finest line of the season so far, putting up 27 points, 5 threes, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 turnover. He shot 67 percent (6-9) from the field and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. He remains a solid buy-low candidate and it’s nice to see him finding his game amid a difficult family situation. Read More »