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 »

Do you need a point guard? With so many little guys infiltrating the NBA these days, you’d think many teams would be aching to ship off some of their smaller contributors. But for every five me-first, get-my-own, shoot-‘till-my-arm-is-numb lil’ guys, we might have one legit point guard left. They’re a dying breed, even as teams line their benches with quick-hitting spark plugs. At this point, there are a few guys available, and you take what you can get – shoot-first or not – as long as they can run an offense. 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 »

New Jersey will be coming for that NYC crown soon enough, but at least for now, the Knicks are still the big brother. Even if it was preseason, New York gets bragging rights for at least a few more weeks, beating the Nets in Newark 92-83. While we can’t take too much away from a preseason game – c’mon, Renaldo Balkman led everyone with 20 – both teams got some nice contributions from their role players. Rookie Iman Shumpert (16 points) outplayed every other perimeter player for the Knicks, and rookie Marshon Brooks (10 points) and Anthony Morrow (15 points) put in work from the perimeter … At least offensively, Amar’e Stoudemire (10 points) and Carmelo Anthony (17 points in three quarters) looked pretty in-tune for the first preseason game. Read More »

The top tier NBA free agents are signed, sealed and delivered, but there are still a handful of guys that can help impact teams this year. And with the season starting in nine days, it’s time to pull the trigger to get them into camp as soon as possible. With that, here are the Top 5 NBA Free Agents Available. Remember, spend your money wisely. Read More »

As more and more NBA free agents sign with teams, roster spots are becoming fewer by the hour. What normally starts on July 1 and winds down by around mid-August, has been condensed into two weeks – with training camp going on at the same time. As you can imagine, this has made it extremely difficult for teams to find any type of cohesion before the season begins on Christmas Day. And the players who are suffering the most are the restricted free agents. Read More »

It seems like forever ago that the members of this year’s draft class were welcomed to the NBA. After patiently waiting for nearly five months, training camps have opened and these rookies’ lifetime goals are finally coming to fruition. But in a season of constant travel and drastically shortened training camps, which of these youngsters have the capability to break out this year? In perhaps the only top ten list where you can find two members of both the Timberwolves and Cavaliers, we give you the most likely rookies to make a big positive impact on the league this season. Read More »

UPDATE: Chad Ford is reporting that Rodney Stuckey is “balking at the Pistons’ 5-year, $40-$45 million offer.”

As a guard and then a Pistons executive, Joe Dumars is experienced at building Detroit into a winner and what parts such a run require. Not all of those parts are always easy to work with, and Dumars understands that playing with Isiah Thomas. But he’s proven his savvy as a GM in that same regard, turning Chauncey Billups from a journeyman to a building block after his arrival in 2002.

If he wants to turn Detroit, 30-52 during a contentious 2010-11 season, into a contender again for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, he knows a first step would be keeping Rodney Stuckey as his premier guard. But at what cost? Read More »

Now we can talk about the fun stuff – actual basketball. The next few weeks are going to be crazy, with teams racing to get ready for the season while adding a ton of new faces to their rosters at the same time.

We all know about next year’s monster free agents, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. But there are some nice players available now you’d love to have on your squad. Read More »

We lost some interest in these exhibition games a while back, but when Allen Iverson shows up in November for his two-day “Las Vegas Superstar Challenge” (Nov. 12-13) in Las Vegas, it’ll give the game a new meaning. It’ll feel like it means something. None of us have seen Iverson – the real Allen (the dude we put on our very first cover) – in close to three years. We’ve seen a little of the faltering, has-been at the end of his career, and a highlight here and there of a very short overseas term. A wide-open exhibition game should bring out his old tricks. Read More »