Love & Basketball NBA Blog

2014-15 NBA Season Opening Night Game Schedule

2014-10-26T12:06:00.001-04:00

The 2014-15 NBA season officially tips off on Tuesday, October 26th and there’s three marquee matchups on the slate. The NBA schedule will begin at 8 p.m. EST with TNT providing a doubleheader for fans to enjoy. That will feature the reigning NBA champion Spurs as they get their championship rings and then take on the Mavs. Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers will bring showtime to the nightcap game as they host Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets.

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One other game is not being televised nationally and that features Anthony Davis’ Pelicans as they host the Orlando Magic. Tip off for the game is just after 8 p.m. EST. As of this report, the Spurs are 7 1/2 point favorites to beat the Mavs, the Pelicans are nearly 10-point favorites to defeat the Magic, and the Rockets are 6-point favorites over the Lakers.

2014-15 NBA Opening Night Schedule:

Dallas vs. San Antonio 8:00 p.m. EST (TNT)

Orlando vs. New Orleans 8:00 p.m. EST (FS-Florida)

Houston vs. LA Lakers 10:30 p.m. EST (TNT)

By the way, both opening night TNT games will also be available live online through the TNT Overtime website. This site provides a unique live look at the game with multiple camera feeds. There’s also a player cam which keeps track of one player from each team as voted on by the fans ahead of the game. Dirk Nowitzki leads the way for the Mavs at 38% of the vote while Kawhi Leonard leads the way for the Spurs with 35% of the votes. Tony Parker has 22% of votes for San Antonio as of this post.

Are you ready for NBA basketball to get going? We sure are! Let us know any of your season predictions below!

NBA 2011-12 Season Storylines

2011-11-30T21:45:00.001-05:00

The NBA lockout officially ended the day after Thanksgiving to the delight of hoops fans and of course the players, teams and owners. With the return of the NBA on Christmas day there will be quite a few big stories and stat-chasers heading into the shortened 66-game regular NBA 2011-12 season. All the teams will be in tact for this season, as far as their locations. Personnel may change as the free agency opens December 9th. Also, several top caliber players can move up higher on major stats lists, some surpassing NBA legends and Hall of Famers: * Dwyane Wade is looking to surpass Alonzo Mourning for the all-time "games played" list as a Heat Player. Wade needs fourty-some games out of the 66 this season. * Jason Kidd is closing in on 2nd place on the all-time steals list. He'll be passing a guy nicknamed "Air" Jordan if he can tally just 38 steals in this short season. * Paul Pierce can pass Larry Bird for 2nd all-time on the Boston Celtics scorer's list. * Kobe Bryant is close to passing Shaquille O'Neal at 5th on the NBA's All-time scorer's list. The other storylines will revolve around players and teams. For example, will this be an easier season for the Dallas Mavericks to repeat as champions, or will it benefit the Miami Heat? Also, which big name players will be moved for this season - Dwight Howard, Chris Paul? Those are two of the biggest names on many teams' shopping lists with the Boston Celtics, LA Clippers, New Jersey Nets, and New York Knicks among a few of the potential (rumored) suitors. There was more time spent on labor-negotiations and revenue sharing meetings than there was in training camps for the upcoming season, but many fans are just happy they'll have the sport they love back for another season. Game's start December 26th, 2011..let's ball! What will you be looking forward to the most as the 2011-12 NBA season gets started on Christmas Day?

NBA All-Star Saturday 2011 Results & Winners

2011-02-19T23:37:00.003-05:00

If you bet on Derrick Rose, Ray Allen and Blake Griffin to win tonight's All-Star Saturday contests, you were 1 for 3. As predicted, LA Clippers star Blake Griffin took the trophy for the dunk contest, after he leaped over a parked car in a single bound. That car was a brand new Kia and had his teammate Baron Davis inside, tossing the ball out of it from the sunroof.

The dunk contest capped off the night of events for All-Star Weekend 2011, which started with the Haier Shooting Stars contest. Teams of 3 players competed, made up of a WNBA player, current NBA star and legend from NBA past. The winning team was the Atlanta squad composed of Coco Miller, Steve Smith and Al Horford. Horford hit the big half-court three-point shot to help them win in good time. The defending champs, Team Texas, couldn't put that shot away, even with Kenny Smith and Dirk Nowitski on the floor.

Next up, it was the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. Competing in 2011 were Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, John Wall and Chris Paul. Stephen Curry ran through the course featuring dribbling, passing and shooting drills, in excellent time. Nobody was as fast as the young star and he took the trophy while also earning a young female fan a $30,000 scholarship. Not bad!

The Three-Point Shootout was next in line, with all eyes on the new NBA leader in 3's, Ray Allen. Allen would beat out his Celtics teammate, Paul Pierce, and make it to the finals, against James Jones. Jones was not predicted by many to win it, but he was the real deal tonight. The Heat star scored 20 in the finals, while Allen faltered on his final rack, finishing with 15. Congratulations to Jones, although Ray Allen still reigns supreme all-time.

And then there was the dunk contest...People have been sour on this event in year's past, and it did offer some creativity this time around. There was a questionable score of 50 given to Serge Ibaka on his takeoff from behind the FT line. DeMar DeRozan had some impressive slams, but the finals came down to Javal McGee of the Wizards against Blake Griffin of the Clippers. McGee had some interesting dunks, one of which included two basketballs and two rims next to each other. Another included McGee dunking 3 balls into one basket, in succession.

However, Blake Griffin and his hype man coach, Kenny Smith had a master plan. Griffin's final dunk involved a brand new Kia brought to the floor near the basket. Smith had a Crenshaw Choir singing "I Believe I Can Fly" and then Griffin ran, jumped, caught the pass from Davis from the car, and jumped over the hood of the car to dunk. After the recently added idea of fans voting for the finals by text or internet, Griffin had won the event. In an emotional moment, he dedicated the win to his best friend who recently passed away.

Hat's off to all of the competitors on some great contests tonight. Also, a shout to the hilarious commentary of the TNT team with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller. Now we can all look forward to a fun game on Sunday night when East meets West!

NBA All-Star Weekend 2011 Events Schedule & Participants

2011-02-19T03:31:00.003-05:00

NBA All-Star Weekend 2011 is here, so it's time to get familiar with which NBA stars will be participating. There's a range of events include the Skills Contest, Three-Point Contest and Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. Stars such as Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin and John Wall will all be featured.

By the way, the Rookies defeated the Sophomores 148-140 on Friday evening, with John Wall capturing the MVP award. DeMarcus Cousins contributed mightily with 33pts and 15rbds, while Wall had 12 points and an amazing 22 assists. Blake Griffin added 14pts, while DeJuan Blair was a standout for the Sophomores with 28pts.

All-Star Saturday kicks off after 8PM EST on TNT.

Haier Shooting Stars 2011:

Team Atlanta: Al Horford (Hawks), Coco Miller (WNBA's Atlanta Dream), Steve Smith (Legend)

Team Chicago: Taj Gibson (Bulls), Cathrine Kraayveld (WNBA's Chicago Sky), Steve Kerr (Legend)

Team Los Angeles: Pau Gasol (Lakers), Tina Thompson (WNBA's L.A. Sparks), Rick Fox (Legend)

Team Texas: Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks), Roneeka Hodges (WNBA's S.A. Silver Stars), Kenny Smith (Legend)

Taco Bell Skills Challenge 2011:

Chris Paul (NO)
Stephen Curry (GS)
Derrick Rose (CHI)
John Wall (WAS)
Russell Westbrook (OKC)

2011 Foot Locker Three-Point Contest:

Ray Allen Boston
Kevin Durant Okla. City
Daniel Gibson Cleveland
James Jones Miami
Paul Pierce Boston
Dorell Wright Golden State

2011 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest:

DeMar DeRozan (Tor)
Blake Griffin (LAC)
Serge Ibaka (OKC)
JaVale McGee (WAS)

This will all be a precursor to the big game Sunday night when East meets West. TNT will air the All-Star game starting at 8PM EST!

Brandon Jennings Dream Team forming?

2010-08-29T18:50:00.000-04:00

Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings wants to build his own "Dream Team". No not to compete at the FIBA tournament or Olympics, but instead to compete with the likes of other NBA teams. Jennings' rationale is that "Everybody's trying to team up now to try to beat Kobe." Ok, so he's got a point there.

According to TMZ.com, Jennings calls out Boston and Miami. The Milwaukee star adds "So I guess me and Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry should all call each other in the next two years and try to hook up and play on the same team."

Obviously the biggest examples of this are the Old Big 3 and New Big 3. The Boston Celtics brought in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen along with superstar foundation Paul Pierce. Obviously they needed more players than that, and rookie PG Rajon Rondo blossomed. The Celtics went on to win another title and the first rings for those three stars.

Now we have Miami, who thanks to Lebron James and Chris Bosh, have set themselves up nicely for a championship run. Again, it won't be just three guys winning that title, but more personnel are attracted to a team with three major superstars.

There's been examples of trying to load a team with top notch talent and it not working. For example, the Lakers of years ago were big on talent including Gary Payton, Karl Malone and of course Shaq and Kobe. They were defeated in the NBA Finals but the impressive Pistons team. In 1996-97 NBA Season, the Rockets had a "Big Three" of their own with Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley. The team went on to a 57-25 record but lost to the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Finals.

So does Brandon Jennings really believe aligning himself with Evans and Curry will bring a title to whichever city they join forces in? It takes more than those three, and those three are not near the level of either of the other Big 3's. Give em' five years maybe?

Either way, Jennings "calling out" any team for making big moves is ridiculous. The celtics have reached the Finals twice in three years since their Big 3 was put together, and only once have they won a title. The Miami Heat have yet to go on to a 82-0 season or win the NBA title. Apparently, Brandon Jennings thought his Bucks team had a shot at defeating a team with Lebron James or Kobe Bryant as the major star on it.

Does Jennings have a legitimate gripe, or should he let the season unfold first? Are teams becoming too talent heavy, or has it always been this way?

Wizards' Gilbert Arenas receives sentence for gun incident

2010-03-26T20:57:00.003-04:00

On Friday, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas received his sentencing for December 2009's gun incident in the locker room. According to the sentence handed out by DC Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin, Arenas will serve one month in a halfway house, perform 400 hours of community service and pay a $5,000 fine.

The gun incident occurred in the Verizon Center locker room back on December 21. A dispute had arisen between Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton over a gambling debt worth just a few hundred dollars. Arenas brought several handguns into the team's locker room, laid them out near Javaris' locker along with a sign that said "PICK 1".

Due to the incident, Arenas was suspended by the league for the entire season to set a strong precedent for this situation. At his sentencing, Arenas apologized and said he wakes up daily wishing this never happened. In another recent pro sports gun incident, NFL star Plaxico Burress of the New York Giants was carrying an illegal firearm in his pants, when the gun went off and shot him in the leg. The NFL wide receiver was sentenced to 2 years in prison due to NY's gun laws. Some people, including the prosecutors in the Arenas case feel he got off lightly, avoiding any major jail time.

Read more about Arenas' sentencing here at ESPN.com

Amare Stoudamire dunk on Dante Cunningham of Blazers

2010-03-25T23:17:00.004-04:00

The debate is on after the latest Amare Stoudamire vicious dunk just a few nights ago. Was that the dunk of the year, and possibly the dunk of Amare's career? Here's yet another Amare Stoudamire throwdown from this season. The Amare Stoudamire dunk on Dante Cunningham of the Trailblazers is pretty fierce in and of itself, but personally, I think his dunk on Anthony Tolliver of the Warriors several nights ago takes the prize. You decide based on the video below and here!

Recently, the Phoenix Suns website put up a poll asking fans to vote on their favorite WWE wrestler - NBA player nickname. They call him Amare "The Giant" Stoudamire. We've always known Stoudamire to be one powerhouse of a player but these recent throwdowns and vicious jams make you wonder if he's channeling some negative energy after not being traded to a different team this season? As fans of basketball, we sure don't mind seeing Amare posterize opponent after opponent!

Which do you like better the Amare Stoudamire dunk on Dante Cunningham or Amare's dunk on Anthony Tolliver?

Knicks make moves, score T-Mac & cap room

2010-02-18T15:02:00.005-05:00

In a blockbuster 3-team deal, the New York Knicks have not only landed Houston Rocket Tracy McGrady, but also have cleared cap room for the upcoming 2010 free agent wars. It was reported earlier on Thursday that the Rockets and Kings were working out a deal to trade Kevin Martin and several players in exchange for McGrady and other players. Right before the NBA trade deadline struck, the Knicks managed to acquire Tracy McGrady and Sergio Rodriguez (Kings).

The Knicks have now traded away Nate Robinson, Darko Milicic and Jared Jeffries, freeing up plenty of cap space to sign two max free agents. That could mean their #1 choice Lebron James will suit up as a Knick starting in 2010-11, and that another player such as Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade will join him in the lineup. The Knicks may have upped their status as potential title contenders for that next season with these moves, which at first appeared odd with them simply trading away Nate Robinson to the Celtics for bench player Eddie House.

The Houston Rockets now acquire Jared Jeffries (Knicks) along with Kevin Martin from the Kings. Also, Sacramento picks up Larry Hughes (Knicks), Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey both from the Kings. Tracy McGrady will be a member of the Knicks but has an expiring contract as well, and has mentioned a desire to play for a playoff contender like the Lakers or Cavaliers. However, the Cavaliers wouldn't exactly be a contender if King James is long gone.

Confused yet? The important things to note are that Kevin Martin is now a Rocket, and Tracy McGrady is now a New York Knick. Oh and that the Knicks just might be able to woo King James with enough money to have him switching from a red-maroon Cavs jersey to Knicks blue and orange for 2010-11.

Read more about today's trade here at NY Daily News.

Cavs get Jamison & Celts Knicks Nate Robinson trade

2010-02-17T19:43:00.001-05:00

Two teams who made moves on Wednesday were the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston's move which was rumored earlier Wednesday afternoon has the Celtics sending Eddie House to the New York Knicks in exchange for the 2010 Slam Dunk champion Nate Robinson. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers didn't get Ama're Stoudemire as they'd initially hoped, but most likely got the second best option available in terms of a versatile power forward, with Antawn Jamison. The Jamison trade is a 3-team affair which involves the LA Clippers in addition to the Cavs and Wizards.

For the Antawn Jamison deal, Cleveland will also pick up guard Sebastian Telfair. The Clippers get Drew Gooden, while the Wizards receive Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Al Thornton, Brian Skinner and a Cavs first-round pick.

The Celtics trade is a bit peculiar as Boston is looking to be a serious competitor in the 2010 Playoffs and return to their glory of two years ago with a trip to the Finals. Eddie House was an integral part in their championship team providing scoring ability from off the bench. It's possible the trade for Robinson could be part of a multi-team deal which also involves Ray Allen or other members of the team. The Wizards appear to be in complete rebuild mode now after trading away Caron Butler to the Dallas Mavericks and now Antawn Jamison. Their only legit superstar remaining is Gilbert Arenas who is currently suspended for the remainder of the season due to the gunplay incident involving teammate Javaris Crittendon. It's questionable if the Wizards will hold onto Arenas following his suspensions or seek to free up more salary space.

With the NBA trade deadline looming for Thursday, Ama're Stoudemire is still the big name out there that several teams are looking to acquire. Stay tuned!

Fixing the NBA Slam Dunk Contest

2010-02-15T11:16:00.003-05:00

(Gerald Wallace almost can't bear to watch..)

This weekend's 2010 All-Star events and activities made one glaring statement: the Slam Dunk contest needs serious revision. This year's contest was simply lackluster and the looks on the faces of other players and celebs witnessing it had to make David Stern just a bit uneasy about his product. You really have to wonder what former dunk champions Dominique Wilkins and Spudd Webb were thinking as they judged the young guys out there failing to do dunks that everyone's seen before. Even Spike Lee had trouble hiding the frown on his face as he was up close to witness a whole lot of nothing this year. TNT's Charles Barkley said it best before the winner was announced "Maybe no one will win". Spectators surely lost their time.

We all know now that the Knicks Nate Robinson was crowned the winner, via the fan vote, and wisely has announced he will retire from the competition now as its first 3-time winner. Robinson's gimmick was just like Spudd Webb's: he's a small dunker who has the crowd behind him due to his size. Nate didn't exactly bring anything groundbreaking beyond that. In year's past he used more creativity, but faltered in 2010. Now that his gimmick is over with, it's time to overhaul this annual favorite and bring back the prestige of the dunk contest.

1) Guys need to get serious - Several of the competitors looked like they just showed up to show up, but didn't bring it. Gerald Wallace did some powerhouse dunks but nothing new and seemed like he was bored to be there. DeMarcus DeRozan had the only 50 of the bunch, and even his dunk had been seen before. Shannon Brown showed up to the delight of Lakers fans, but then generated the most excitement when Kobe Bryant stood near the basket to toss the ball for an ally-oop. It seems that the use of props is the way to go, and Nate Robinson sort of did that, but it could have been better. Dunkers, bring your A game dunk material. Put a 10 scorecard over the basket, jump up pull the card off and jam. Study up on the previous legendary contest winners and put a new spin on their classic dunks. Much like Hollywood is rebooting and remaking various movie franchises, the NBA guys may need to look deep to generate interest in the contest.

2) Change format a bit- Over the years the format of the dunk contest has seen all sorts of changes, from having them spin a wheel to determine the dunk they had to do, to making them use a teammate, or making them dunk to music. The current time and rounds format aren't so bad, but adding two more dunkers could make it interesting. It's unknown why they've made it just four players, when in the past there were more dunkers to watch do their thing. Also, they had a "Dunk-in" this year to add the fourth guy, but those two guys are relatively unknown to the mainstream. It worked out this year, since DeRozen made the finals, but why not just have a list of ten prospective dunkers, and the fans vote on NBA.com. The six with the highest vote totals are in the contest. And having the fans vote on the finals is ok, but when it's an unknown player versus a major market former dunk winner, who has the advantage there?

3) Add in some non-NBA dunkers? It was recently suggested that they should maybe add in a guy out of the D-League who can do a 720 dunk, or even a street baller, a random fan who has some incredible dunking ability. Good ideas. Let them compete in a dunk-off, and make the prize money worthy. In relation to point #1, if a non-NBA guy is in there and showing his stuff, with prize money and pride on the line an NBA player will want to get serious to represent. Last thing the NBA dunkers want is to lose to "mere mortals" from outside their league. Maybe even add a legend who still has some hops (no not Shawn Kemp).

4) Hold an All-Star caliber dunk contest - Once again, it's time to get serious. As we all see in the All-Star game, that tends to be the real dunk contest on display as Lebron, Wade, Kobe and others woo the crowd with their skills. Over the past several years, the Skills Challenge has featured guys who have those skills and are all-star caliber players. This year's finals came down to Nash and Williams, and past winners have included Derrick Rose and D-Wade. The dunk contest should feature the game's best dunkers. Jason Richardson, Dwyane Wade, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant are just five names that come to mind. Vince Carter is another, but has aged beyond the contest. I'm not sure if they need to prove it, but it would be great for the fans. These are the elite dunkers of the league and they probably feel they have nothing to prove to the rest of the league, outside of winning games and rings. However, the fans are antsy and the dunk contest needs to be re-born. NBA, dunkers, and commish Stern, let's get serious!

Feel free to leave your own ideas on how to fix the slam dunk contest, or comments on whether it even needs fixin'!

NBA All-Star game 2010 results: East outlasts West 141-139

2010-02-14T23:48:00.005-05:00

(MVP D-Wade's 28 points gives East the 2 point win)

On Sunday night, the largest crowd ever to witness a basketball game, let alone the All-Star game was on hand in Dallas. The Dallas Cowboy Stadium held 90,000 plus as they watched the 2010 NBA All-Star game. The previous record for a basketball game was back in 2003 with over 78,000 watching Michigan St. battle Kentucky at Ford Field. For an NBA All-Star game, 44,735 packed into the Houston Astrodome in 1989. And to further illustrate the large scale nature of the stadium, an 11,000-plus foot HDTV Jumbotron hung over the court to show the action. The court was set around the 50-yard line and raised up about 30 inches so the coaches and bench players could sit below it on the sides.

Intros were flashy, but nothing like Shaq dancing with the Jabberwockeez at a previous All-star affair. This time around, pop R*B star Usher did a mini-concert on a stage behind the court, then lowered into the set with his dance crew, before each squad was introduced. As guessed, the Mavs Jason Kidd and then Dirk Nowitski received the biggest applause of the bunch, although Kobe and Lebron didn't do so bad.

In the first quarter, the East shot 53% from the floor and closed out with a 37-34 lead. There weren't any particular flashy plays for a surprise start to the game, with both squads seeming to play some tight defense early on. It almost seemed like the absence of AI and Kobe may have made things a bit dry in the earlygoing, as the 90,000 plus crowd didn't seem to wake up much.

In the second half there were plenty more dunks and "ahhh" moments from the crowd, including some fancy passes and breakaways. At halftime, the East had jumped out in front by a score of 76-69 behind double digit scoring from Lebron (11), Howard (11), Wade and Bosh (10 each). Meanwhile, the Western squad was lead by Carmelo Anthony's 17 points with 8 rebounds, as well as 10 points from Kevin Durant off the bench. Hometown favorite Dirk Nowitski had 8 points despite some flat shooting early on. Steve Nash provided his own leadership in the form of 7 assists for the West.

Halftime performances made the Who's Superbowl 44 gig pale in comparison as a sexy Shakira opened with her She Wolf hit in a cage. Kenny Smith called it "sensory overload". Her performance was followed by Miss Alicia Keys who did a medley of hits including a version of "Empire State of Mind" using All-Star in place of "New York".

Dwight Howard's rebound followed by taking it all the way down the court for a one-handed jam, highlighted the third quarter as the East continued with their double digit lead. Lebron had two impressive reverse slams to get the crowd oohing and ahhing heading into a commercial break. At the 7 minute mark, the East was up by 11, after Amare Stoudemire's tip-in. Carmelo Anthony continued his hot-scoring streak to get up to 25 points in the third. TNT's Craig Sager spoke to Kobe Bryant on the sidelines who was out due to his ankle injury. Kobe mentioned it was disappointing to be just watching, and Craig Sager joked how a woman said to Kobe she had payed 8g's for his seat at the All-Star game, then was thrown out. It's unknown exactly what that incident was about. Kevin Durant's 3-point shot as time expired brought the West to within 10. The East lead 118-109.

The West closed the gap significantly in the fourth, as it was as close as 1 point. Down just two points at the final minute, "Mr Big Shot" Chauncey Billups tied it at 137 a piece with his fallaway jumpshot. Lebron lost the ball on the next possession but it went off Melo as Stan Van Gundy called a time out to draw up a play. James missed a catch-and-shoot opportunity, and his possible new teammate Amare Stoudemire fielded the rebound. Thinking the West was down by 2, Derron Williams made a big mistake fouling Dwyane Wade, putting the Heat star at the line with 12.7 to go. Wade hit both to put the East back ahead by 2. Howard fouled Nowitski on the West's play out of a timeout, putting the hometown hero at the line. The 90% shooter tied things up with 7.7 left, making for an exciting potential finish to the game.

In the closing seconds, Chris Bosh was tripped up on the inbounds play, sending him to the line. The Raptors star hit both, and once again the East was up 2. With 5 seconds left, the West gave the ball to Carmelo Anthony for an attempted 3 at the buzzer. Guarded by D-Wade, Melo's shot drew iron and bounced off the rim. The Eastern Conference takes the game 141-139, with the MVP trophy handed out by Commissioner David Stern to Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat. Wade's 28 points and 11 rebounds helped the East win the game, and gave the star his first ever All-Star MVP award.

A massive crowd of over 108,000 witnessed tonight's close game in Dallas to set a new attendance record for a basketball game. David Stern noted it was a new Guiness Book of World Records record. They really did it BIG in Dallas, TX for All-Star Sunday night...

See more 2010 NBA All-Star game coverage at NBA.com

Charles Barkley Taco Bell commercial - it rocks?

2010-02-14T12:48:00.007-05:00

"The five buck box, it rocks it rocks, it rocks with a meal for lots and lots. That is lots and lots in just one box..." Annoyed yet? If you've watched any amount of TV since the Superbowl, you've likely been constantly bombarded by the Charles Barkley Taco Bell commercial. "It rocks, it rocks" Barkley rhymes and half-raps as he walks around with his Taco Bell meal. Lamar Odom even makes a cameo, but it's clear Odom isn't eating those $5 Taco Bell meals, while Barkley may have done 100 takes to get the ad right. Somewhere the Taco Bell Chihuahua is rolling over in its doggy grave (RIP).

The Barkley Taco Bell commercial aired ad nauseum during the 2010 All-Star Saturday night events. Unfortunately, unlike Barkley's commentary on TNT, the ad is not funny at all. In fact, it's rather Dr. Seuss in its style and could have been done a lot better. That's just one humble opinion though.

As evidence of Barkley's true off-the-cusp and blatant humor, a few of his quips from 2010 NBA All-Star Saturday night stand out:

"Ever notice how Gatorade doesn't work on guys who suck?" ...after Nate Robinson took a swig of Gatorade during the dunk contest.

..in reference to four Dallas Cowgirls standing behind a seated Nate Robinson, waving their pom-poms...Kenny Smith "Looks like he's gonna use them" Barkley "for what, to cool himself off?"

...in reference to the dunk contest winner about to be announced by Cheryl Miller Dean: "maybe no one will win"

Barkley's T-Mobile ads with Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard were much funnier and better done. Please Taco Bell do us a favor and take this ad off the air or at least limit it to late night viewings! If not, re-write it after referring to some of the best NBA basketball commercials of all-time!

All-Star Saturday Night 2010 winners

2010-02-13T22:57:00.006-05:00

(Nash, Pierce, Robinson shine on All-Star Saturday)

Dunkers, sharpshooters and skilled ballers all arrived in Dallas for Saturday night. That's when the NBA stars of the past, present and future make their way onto the courts for NBA All-Star Saturday. The annual events include the All-Star Skills Challenge, 3 Point Shootout and the crowning of a new Slam Dunk champion.

Haier Shooting Stars contest

The Haier Shooting Stars contest kicked off the events, where teams of three players from different cities competed in a timed shooting event which required shots from different spots on the court. The teams consisted of a current WNBA player from that city, an NBA player from the city and then a former player as well. This year's teams included Los Angeles (Marie Ferdinand-Harris, Brent Barry & Pau Gasol), Atlanta (Angel McCoughtry, Steve Smith & Joe Johnson), Sacramento (Nicole Powell, Chris Webber & Tyreke Evans) and the hometown Texas squad (Becky Hammon, Kenny Smith & Dirk Nowitski). In the early going of the contest, two former players hit half court shots for their teams (Brent Barry, Steve Smith). LA had the time to beat of 1:00 minute flat in the early round. Team Sacramento had to beat a time of 1:47 and just did so by 1 second on Nicole Powell's half court shot. Kenny Smith's half court shot made the third by a former player/TNT analyst in the opening round. LA & Texas advanced to the finals where the Texas team finished in an impressive 34 seconds behind some sharpshooting including a Dirk Nowitski half court shot. The Dallas fans were definitely pleased with the win.

Taco Bell Skills Challenge

(Nash's pinpoint passing comes in handy for Skills challenge)

In the Taco Bell skills challenge, last year's champion Derrick Rose sat out this year's contest due to a nagging injury. Taking his place was Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Also competing were Phoenix Suns star Steve Nash, the 2005 winner, and Derron Williams, the 2008 winner, which is just the way things worked out for the finals of the challenge. Steve Nash put up a time to beat of 29.9 to open the finals, putting the heat on 2008 champion Derron Williams. Williams messed up one of the final 2 passes that went in and out. It took him several more tries after that to get the pass through the hoop, giving Steve Nash the 2010 Skills Challenge victory.

After an intro from Alonzo Mourning and Dwyane Wade, as well as a video message from former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton it was a special halftime performance. Grammy Award-winning recording artist and Dallas native Erykah Badu performed her rendition of the James Taylor classic "You've Got a Friend" at halftime to represent the spirit of the NBA cares program.

Foot Locker Three-Point contest

(Pierce leaves the Dallas arena as 3-Point Champion)

This year's 3-Point contest competitors featured the likes of Paul Pierce, Channing Frye, Danilo Gallinari of the Knicks, Chauncey Billups, rookie Stephan Curry, and the defending-champ Daequan Cook of the Miami Heat. Defending champion Daquean Cook was eliminated early as Stephan Curry put up a score of 18, while Chauncey Billups and Pierce both had 17's. Pierce and Billups had a mini-shootout between the two to determine Curry's opponent for the finals, with Pierce getting a score of 20 to make the it. Curry and Pierce faced off for the crown, with Pierce's scoring of 20 besting Curry's score of 17. The commentators were surprised by Pierce's victory, despite him being the top scorer for Boston as they said he's not generally known for 3-point shooting. Pierce said he feels he's one of the better shooters in NBA history.

2010 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest

(Robinson makes 2010 dunk history, 3-time winner)

The main event most years is the Slam Dunk contest. This year the defending champion Nate Robinson looked for a repeate as he battled Gerald Wallace, Shannon Brown of the Lakers, and the first-ever "Dunk-in" winner DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors. The "Dunk-in" was a contest held at halftime of the Rookies vs. Sophomores game between DeRozan and the Clippers Eric Gordon. Each did a variety of dunks and fans were able to text in their votes for whose dunks they preferred with DeRozan getting the nod.

In the dunk contest, each contestant got two minutes for each of their 2 dunks in the first round, with the top two scorers advancing. Dunks were judged by a panel of five judges consisting of former NBA players, several of whom won the dunk contest before. Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, Derek Harper, Dominique Wilkins and Spudd Webb were the judges for the 2010 dunk contest. In the final round, fans were able to vote via text message or NBA.com

DeMar Rozan's windmill dunk from his teammate Sonny Weems' bounce pass off the side of the backboard wowed the judges enough to get the first perfect 50 score of the night to move him forward into the next round with a 92. The defending champion and crowd favorite Nate Robinson also advanced with a two round score of 89.

The 2010 dunk contest may not have held too many thrills, but thanks to the fans, Nate Robinson repeated as Slam Dunk champion with 51% of the vote going in his favor. Robinson may have won it with his use of props including the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. After his finals dunk, which was a double clutch reverse dunk, he grabbed a set of pom poms to celebrate, getting the Dallas crowd revved up. Nate posed with his trophy in front of the Cowgirls to celebrate his victory.

See Nate Robinson's winning dunk here

Wizards Mavs 7-player trade swaps Howard & Butler

2010-02-13T22:35:00.000-05:00

The city of Dallas is looking ahead to the 2010 All-Star game to be played Sunday, but meanwhile the Mavericks swung a trade Saturday while not many were looking. It was speculated that Caron Butler would be dealt from the Wizards and he was on Saturday. Dallas traded away Dwight Gooden and Josh Howard as well as two other players in exchange for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, DeShawn Stevenson and cash. The Mavs are looking to build up momentum for their 2010 playoff run by bringing in Butler, who president of operations Donnie Nelson calls a good fit for their team. He also admitted it was a tough decision to give up Howard, but said you've got to "give quality to get quality".

The Wizards meanwhile are hurting with a record of 17-33 and low expectations since losing Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for the season following their gun incident in the locker room. The team president expressed their needs in the current season:

"We're all disappointed in how our season has gone. We need some freshness and we're getting proven players who will help us, and it gives us some flexibility down the road," Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said. "We want to remain competitive and maybe this group can provide a spark. The group had gotten stale, and we needed a change." (NBA.com)

Also involved in the deal were James Singleton and Quinton Ross who the Wizards acquired. This marks the 8th new team for Drew Gooden who is becoming a journeyman of sorts, while Howard has spent all his career since 2003 in Dallas. The Mavs will now acquire the additional skills of Butler who is averaging about 17 points and 7 rebounds per game, while Haywood was averaging around 10 rebounds a game.

There may be more moves in the days ahead, as the NBA Trade deadline officially hits on February 18, 2010.

Read more about today's trade at NBA.com

All-Star game 2010 roster changes

2010-02-13T16:57:00.003-05:00

Kobe's out. So is AI. Chris Paul's on crutches. So who exactly is playing in Sunday's game? Starting for the Eastern Conference will be Dwyane Wade, Lebron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard and recent addition, Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks. On the Westside of the equation, Dirk Nowitski gets the start in place of the injured Kobe Bryant (sprained ankle). He'll be the hometown hero since the game is to be played in Dallas, Texas. Joining Dirk will be the familiar All-Star faces: Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire and Tim Duncan.

As for reserves we've got Derrick Rose, Chris Bosh, Al Horford, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Gerald Wallace and yes last minute replacement, David Lee of the New York Knicks. Lee received a call earlier this past week that he had just 20 minutes to go catch the NBA charter flight to Dallas so he could play in his first ever All-Star game on Sunday.

On the Western bench will be MVP candidate Kevin Durant of the OKC Thunder, Pau Gasol from the Lakers, and the Clippers Chris Kaman replacing the injured Kobe. Other reserves include Derron Williams of the Jazz, Zach Randolph (Memphis), and Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups (replacing Paul).

The big stories are the fact that Kobe and Iverson won't be part of the game. Kobe's got a legitimate injury he's been sitting out with from regular games. Iverson has been missing games recently due to an undisclosed family matter. Some are starting to speculate that Iverson will officially retire soon due to the fact he was a no-show for the big game after the fans voted him to start.

Other news is that Derrick Rose will battle through injury to play because this is a dream of his. There's been some contentions that Jason Kidd doesn't deserve a spot on the reserves with his current stats, while maybe rookie star Tyreke Evans does. The best reasoning for the Kidd inclusion is the fact the game's in Dallas where the fans will root for Kidd, and he's been amongst the All-Stars for several years, with league-leading assist numbers. Also, the Kings aren't exactly getting it done record-wise, while the Mavs are among the playoff contenders in the West. The best case for Tyreke Evans may be the fact he picked up the MVP award in today's Rookie's vs Sophomores game to prove just how good he is as the Rookies actually won.

Could this be the year Dirk picks up the All-Star MVP award? Or will a newcomer like Kevin Durant or Brandon Roy snag the honor? Don't count out the East either with Lebron and the rest of the crew.

Feel free to leave your comments about the new additions to the All-star game lineups, and your predictions on who will win the game and MVP award below.

E! True Hollywood Story Basketball Wives

2010-02-13T08:18:00.001-05:00

A recently broadcast episode of E!'s True Hollywood Story "Basketball Wives" showcased what it's like to be the wife of a NBA star these days. Various NBA players and basketball wives were featured in the inside look at professional basketball relationships. Included on the show were Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, Dwyane Wade, Charlie Bell, Jason Maxiell and Kiki Vandeweghe among others.

Milwaukee Bucks star Charlie Bell and his wife Kenya were just one of the couples spotlighted on the show. The couple first met in college, when a shy Charlie Bell kept calling Kenya and finally got his first date with her. The two stuck together since then. They discussed the ups and downs of Charlie getting signed one minute, then cut or traded the next. It went from the good life right back to not knowing how they were going to pay for life. They talked about having a nice apartment fully furnished and then before they knew it having to use food stamps to get food. Bell was traded between the Suns and Dallas Mavs, and eventually signed with a team over in Italy. His wife discussed how she had made the decision to marry Charlie for better or worse so she decided to make the move to Europe with him.

The E! Hollywood Story "Basketball Wives" also offers an in-depth look at the Siohvaughn Funches Dwyane Wade story and has insight on other relationships including those of Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson. The show is next scheduled to air at 12 AM EST on E! right after All-Star Saturday should be wrapping up.

Siohvaughn Funches Dwyane Wade & Gabrielle Union + E! story

2010-02-12T22:40:00.002-05:00

Dwyane Wade & Siouvaughn Funches

A recent E! Hollywood Story show called "Basketball Wives" discusses NBA couples and has brought the spotlight onto the Siohvaughn Funches Dwyane Wade marriage-deterioration. They were among one of the several NBA Player wives pairings on our Love & Basketball wives list published a while back. However, things in their marriage took a turn for the worse as Wade filed for divorce from his high school sweetheart. In fact the divorce came about in late 2007 after the birth of their second child. During the grueling divorce proceedings, Wade's estranged wife has even gone as far as to accuse D-Wade of giving her herpes and abandoning their two children Zaire Blessing Dwyane Wade and Zion Malachi Airamis Wade. This prompted a huge lawsuit with Wade suing his former wife and two of her lawyers over the accusations he claimed were false.

BREAKING: Siohvaugn Funches-Wade arrested!

View latest available Miami Heat NBA tickets

E! ran one of its inside look shows about what it's like to be married to an NBA superstar, with Siouvaughn Wade and her mother both appearing on the show. Siouvaughn said she started to lose her identity and became more like "Dwyane's wife". She even said it felt like she & Dwyane forgot God and their marriage vows. Their marriage remained rocky into 2007 when they had Zion, their second son. That's about when the divorce proceedings started up in November 2007. Siouvaughn Funches headed back to Illinois with her two children. A friend of Funches said that she would receive calls from one of the children crying for his father. The E! report says that Wade says he wants to do what's best for his children in this situation.

(image source: NY Times)

Rumors have been ongoing that since divorcing Siohvaugh Funches Dwyane Wade started dating Hollywood actress Gabrielle Union. Gabrielle appeared in a recent issue of Jet magazine and discussed dating a younger man. The couple was seen in the spotlight heading to Miami beach for a stroll back in December of 2009, and has been seen together on several other occasions during which Union's publicist tried to block out camera shots.

See NBA action live in person...Check out Miami Heat NBA tickets listings!

Kobe Bryant is Lakers new All-Time Scorer

2010-02-02T22:03:00.002-05:00

LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant further added to his legend on Monday night when he became the franchise's all-time leading scorer. Bryant surpassed legendary Lakers star Jerry West, albeit in a losing effort to the Memphis Grizzlies. Bryant finished the game with 44, but oddly wasn't the one taking the final shot for his team. Instead he kicked the ball out to Ron Artest for a missed three as time expired. Rudy Gay had 25 points including a 3-pointer with 29.5 seconds remaining. New All-Star, Zach Randolph, had 22 points and 17 rebounds to lead Memphis to the victory, 95-93 over Los Angeles.

Bryant set the new Lakers scoring record against the former Vancouver team now playing in Memphis. Ironically, Bryant's all-time scoring record in a game, 81 points, was set against another Canadian NBA franchise, the Toronto Raptors. Bryant's record-breaking basket was a light dunk late in the third quarter.

Kobe was gracious towards the former Lakers all-time scorer:

"It's a great honor to say the least," said Bryant, who broke the record of the man who later drafted him as the Lakers' general manager. "[West] taught me so much when I was 17 years old. He showed me a lot about the game, the jump shot and spin moves and all the others." - ESPN.com

Pau Gasol's younger brother, Marc had a kickout pass to Rudy Gay for the 3 that helped the Grizzlies under 30 seconds. The Grizz continue the hunt for a possible playoff spot this season, while the Lakers look to bounce back from the loss. And despite a Lakers loss, a few important points were made. Kobe's now got 25,193 for his career.

NBA All-Star 2010 Reserves announced

2010-01-28T21:07:00.002-05:00

Reserves for the 2010 NBA All-Star game in Dallas, Texas were announced earlier, with seven first-time players making the cut. These will include Chicago Bull Derrick Rose, Boston's Rajon Rondo, Atlanta's Al Horford, Gerald Wallace of the Bobcats, Kevin Durant of the Thunder, Zach Randolph of Memphis and Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz. Each of these players has earned their first ever spot on the All-Star team, serving as reserve players. All-star reserves are selected by the coaches from the respective Conference, while the starters are voted in by the fans. Here's a look at each conference's full All-star lineups.

Eastern Conference All-Stars

Starters:
Allen Iverson G
Dwyane Wade G
Lebron James F
Kevin Garnett F
Dwight Howard C

Reserves:
Derrick Rose G
Rajon Rondo G
Joe Johnson G
Chris Bosh F
Al Horford F
Gerald Wallace F
Paul Pierce F

Western Conference All-Stars

Starters:
Steve Nash G
Kobe Bryant G
Carmelo Anthony F
Tim Duncan F
Amare Stoudamire C

Reserves:
Kevin Durant F
Pau Gasol F
Dirk Nowitski F
Chris Paul G
Zach Randolph F
Brandon Roy G
Deron Williams G

This will mark Kevin Garnett's 13th appearance in the All-Star game, with Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan each having 12 appearances. Allen Iverson will have his 11th appearance on an All-star team, Dirk Nowitski his 9th, and Paul Pierce will make his 8th appearance on the team. If any player is unfortunately unable to play in the game, NBA Commissioner David Stern selects his choice as replacement.

The 2010 NBA All-Star game goes down on Sunday, February 14, 2010, Valentine's Day, in Dallas, Texas before an expected crowd of more than 80,000 fans.

2010 NBA All-Star starting lineups revealed

2010-01-21T22:50:00.004-05:00

According to NBA.com, the Eastern and Western starters have been announced as voted on by the fans for the NBA All Star game 2010 edition. Both teams will feature some familiar faces who have been commonplace on the squads over the past several years, including the return of AI in the East.

This year's Eastern Conference squad will feature a starting lineup which includes guards Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade, forwards Lebron James and Kevin Garnett, and center Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic. Many have questioned the selection of Iverson during his worst campaign of his career, as he's returned to play for the Philadelphia 76ers. However, the fans have spoken and Iverson will be amongst the competitors.

For the West, two Phoenix Suns have been voted onto the starting team, with guard Steve Nash and forward/center Amare Stoudamire. Joining them will be Kobe Bryant of the Lakers, Tim Duncan of the Spurs and Carmelo Anthony of the Nuggets. Anthony struggled in year's past to get onto the team, but now seems to have become a fan favorite.

Last year's game went down in Phoenix with a reunion of former teammates, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal sharing the MVP honors, despite their recent feud. The West crushed the East by a score of 146-119, so the East will be looking for some possible revenge out in Dallas.

They're doing it up big for this year's 2010 NBA All-Star game too. The game is to be held in Texas at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Estimates have put the crowd at near 100,000 fans. The game will be played the night of Sunday, February 14, 2010, and most likely with the game in Dallas, Mavs GM Mark Cuban will make sure the night is full of entertainment for all.

See ticket information for NBA All-Star 2010 here.

For more on this year's All-star game visit NBA.com

Blake Griffin out for season for surgery

2010-01-13T22:07:00.002-05:00

The chosen one for 2009-10 in Los Angeles reportedly has seen his season end, before it even began. According to the latest reports, the LA Clippers' #1 Draft pick, Blake Griffin, will be out for the remainder of the season for surgery. Griffin was injured in the final game of the NBA preseason when he broke his kneecap. Griffin's left kneecap hasn't healed as quickly as intended, so he'll be sidelined with surgery, rest and rehab.

This makes for the second straight year that the NBA's #1 draft pick was sidelined for the majority of their rookie campaign. Previously it was Greg Oden who had microfracture surgery on his right knee, causing him to miss the entire 2007-08 season. He returned in 2008-09 and was classified a rookie, but played sporadically, never quite materializing. In this current campaign, Oden hurt his left knee on December 5, 2009 and is out for the entire season.

As for the Clippers, they'll continue to rely on Marcus Camby at starting power forward, with Craig Smith backing him up. They're near a .500 record, and have Chris Kaman, Baron Davis and Eric Gordon all playing great, but obviously having the talents of Griffin would have propelled them higher. With the draft of Griffin at #1, there were high hopes for the "other team in LA" this season, but now they've been sidelined just like their rookie star. 2010-11 will begin the rookie year for Blake Griffin, and Clippers fans hope this isn't some eery deja vu, shades of Greg Oden just a year ago.

More about the Greg Oden injury at NBA.com

Christmas Day 2009 NBA Schedule

2009-12-23T11:23:00.003-05:00

Christmas day 2009 offers NBA fans a nice selection of basketball games featuring the top teams and superstars in the league. This year Santa delivers us Kobe versus Lebron in an always hot matchup, as well as the Boston Celtics battling the Orlando Magic in a rematch of last year's playoff series. These are the last two teams to make the NBA Finals from the East, and both have added new personnel to compete at that higher level.

Earlier in the day, Dwayne Wade will take his high-flying scoring act into MSG to take on the New York Knicks. No word yet on whether Spike Lee will be watching from the front row on Christmas day.

In the nightcap games we'll get to see several more top superstars in action, as the LA Clippers visit Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire and the Phoenix Suns at 8PM, while Melo and the Nuggets take on Portland in the late game at 10:30 PM. Unfortunately, the two young superstars in those games are both out of action (Greg Oden, Blazers; #1 draft pick, Blake Griffin, Clippers).

Here's a look at the full NBA schedule for Christmas Day 2009:

Miami Heat at New York Knicks 12PM EST on ESPN
Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic 2:30PM EST on ABC
Cleveland Cavs at LA Lakers 5PM EST on ABC
LA Clippers at Phoenix Suns 8PM EST on ESPN
Denver Nuggets at Portland Trailblazers 10:30PM EST on ESPN

Looking forward to any of these games in particular? Who do you think will win? Feel free to comment below!

Greg Oden out for Season, again...

2009-12-06T08:07:00.000-05:00

It's another unfortunate injury for Greg Oden and the Trailblazers. This time it was a left knee cap injury that will have Oden likely to miss the rest of the 2009-10 season. Although the Blazers won the game, they definitely lost a lot in terms of size and power.

The injury occurred Saturday night in the Blazers-Rocks game when Oden fractured his left knee cap. He was down on the floor clutching at his left knee. The incident happened after the big man collided with the Rockets Aaron Brooks. Trainers and physicians immediately huddled around the Portland center to attend to his injury. He was down for at least 7 minutes, and fans at the Rose Garden let out a "Oden!" chant in support.

Eventually, they moved Oden to a stretcher and wheeled him off court to get have an MRI performed. The report already says Oden will need surgery for this latest setback.

"I'm obviously disappointed having worked so hard to get to where I was. This is a setback but I'll be back. It's in God's hands now," Oden said in a statement released by the team. "I want to thank the fans, my teammates and everyone in the Blazers family for all of their good thoughts."

The early knock on Oden was he might be the #1 pick, but he may mirror the path of another Portland big man, Bill Walton. Walton is still heralded as one of the greats, but found himself plagued by injuries to his legs as well. Similarly, another big man, Yao Ming from the Houston Rockets, has been out this season due to foot problems. It might be true, the bigger they are, they harder they fall...

Story Source: The Associated Press

NJ Nets start 0-18, Can they buy a win?

2009-12-04T10:50:00.001-05:00

Devin Harris must have been jumping for joy when he learned he was heading to the New Jersey Nets. Not only was he being traded for one of the all-time greatest point guards in the game, Jason Kidd, but he was at least going to have an alley-oop wingman in Vince Carter. Harris who's been known to score in bunches probably felt like he could at least garner some attention for future free agency. However, he soon inherited a team minus Vince Carter, full of newbies and guys who skipped the D-League. And now, Devin Harris and the Nets have officially sank to a new low, as the team has began the 2009-10 campaign at 0-18. The loss is a new record for worst start to an NBA season, with 23 games the longest losing streak in NBA history during a season. Ironically that 18th loss came to Harris' former team, the Dallas Mavs.

It's a dismal record and beats out previous awful starts by the LA Clippers and expansion Miami Heat. New Jersey is playing like an expansion team right now, with no real identity, young players, a new coach - GM Kiki Vandeweghe (Lawrence Frank was fired last week), and lack of offense or defense. The interesting stat to see would be how many games part owner Jay-Z has sat courtside for this season. It's likely Jigga man preferred slapping hands with VC, Kidd and Richard Jefferson, but isn't exactly in a rush to give a fist bump to Yi or Josh Boone after a score. For several years now, the talk of Jay-Z and Nets officials has been discussion of moving this team to Brooklyn, but would the city really want this team?

Perhaps the answer is for Jay-Z to do something about this. The mogul could arrange a who's who of rap artists for a "Rappers Unite for New Jersey" campaign. Then the Nets could buy a win, or some players to help stop the bleeding. New Jersey's upcoming games against the Charlotte Bobcats, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, andIndiana Pacers offer the team a glimmer of holiday hope for that first W. Right now, they're in contention for next year's #1 draft pick, but surviving the 82 game season will be quite a ride for Nets fans, players and personnel.

Read more about the NJ Nets at NY Daily News

Allen Iverson retiring after 14 seasons

2009-11-25T20:49:00.002-05:00

Former MVP, scoring champ and 10-time All-Star Allen Iverson is reportedly retiring from the game he loves. He initially played 3 games with the Memphis Grizzlies this season before taking a leave of absence for personal matters. Soon after he and the team agreed to part ways. Now today according to Stephen A. Smith Iverson is hanging up the high tops.

For last season, Iverson was part of a Detroit Pistons team considered to be NBA title contenders. Iverson was upset at the role he was given as a reserve for the team. The Knicks considered signing the guard after he was waived this season, but decided against it because they felt Iverson would take time away from younger players they wanted to develop.

According to a statement that Stephen A. Smith published on his website, Iverson said "I feel strongly that I can still compete at the highest level." and that he still has tremendous love for the game. Iverson's former coach George Karl of the Denver Nuggets was shocked at the news, offering the following:

"I think he still has something left to give some team out there. If that's his decision, he'll go down in history, I think, as the greatest little guard ever to play the game of basketball," Karl said.

"I was happy to have him for a couple years and hopefully our paths will cross. But I have a sneaky feeling that somewhere along the way an injury or a circumstance with a team will open that window back up."

(Story Source: The Associated Press)