Allow me to shed a silver lining of optimism on the Allen Iverson doomsday parade. If it’s true that the Iverson/Memphis relationship is deteriorating fast with no reunion in sight, there is one sensible solution that can take place as soon as A.I. is eligible for a trade in mid-December.

There is one trade that can work, one fan base that would accept Iverson with (somewhat) open arms, one team that could slide him right into the starting lineup AND win some games in the process, one place where Iverson can work to rebuild his reputation and maybe even have a future beyond this season. Read More »

Now that NBA training camps are underway, some guys will have to get used to having all eyes on them — or more specifically, all eyes on their knees, shoulders, ankles, etc. — waiting to see if they’ll hold up or crumble like a toothpick sculpture … Chris Bosh wasn’t supposed to be on that list, especially given the results we’d seen from his offseason workout, but then he tweaked his hamstring right before Raptors camp opened. Bosh apparently hurt himself while playing golf, which just sounds like the first chapter of another bad-luck season in Toronto … Read More »

Eighteen years too late, I watched Pistol: The Birth of a Legend for the first time this summer. Mostly the story of Pete Maravich’s teenage years, partly a ball-handling instructional tape, the movie came to mind when I found out Allen Iverson was signing with the Memphis Grizzlies.

In Pistol, Maravich is a middle-school prodigy playing on a high school varsity team where the coach doesn’t like his style (too “Black”) and the older players don’t like him for being so good so young. Glued to the bench despite his talent, Pete just wants a chance to play, and when he finally gets it, predictably becomes a superstar and leads the team to glory. Ultimately, all that time he spent not playing was a colossal waste of time rooted in old-school values and silly stubbornness. Read More »

In a move reminiscent of these last two years of Brett Favre stalking in the NFL, Dwyane Wade kicked off another round of rumors regarding his 2010 plans when reports surfaced that he recently bought a $1.4 million townhouse in Chicago. Never mind that Wade is from the Chi, so that could’ve been a summer bachelor pad for himself or a gift to his Mom, but it still has people speculating now on whether Flash is interested in signing with the Bulls next summer … Read More »