- A BallHype study dissects the mind of the sports blogger: "For 71%, blogging is more rewarding than they expected, for 28% it's about what they expected, and less than 1% say it's less rewarding than expected. 76% have made new friends, 26% have received job offers, and 9% find that it's been hard on their romantic relationships." And, oh, we're practically all white males, and if our bosses don't know about our blogs we're much more likely to use fake names.
- Australia stuns Turkey as Mehmet Okur notches just two points.
- Sid Hartman in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "Watching the news conference on television and listened to Allen, you could look back to the 1996 draft; had the Wolves kept Allen, the No. 5 pick, and not traded him on draft night to Milwaukee for No. 4 selection Stephon Marbury, Saunders might still be coaching the Wolves, Garnett would still be here and the team might have won a title or two."
- Tyreke Evans continues to impress.
- You've seen this Baron Davis dunk a million times before, but watch it again and answer me these two things: Is that really playoff defense from Deron Williams? And is Baron Davis wearing my UPS guy's back support?
- CNBC's Darren Rovell is in Beijing, and emails that he's shocked at how heavily Steve Nash is promoted there, and how little Yao Ming is in evidence.
- SLAM's Sam Rubenstein wrote this (you should read the whole post): "Several months ago I was talking to SLAM Editorial Assistant Konate Primus about how my sole value to the office softball team is speed. We got into a semi-heated chat about which one of us runs faster. I tried to place myself into the scrappy underdog role, because people tend to think that black skin=fast runner and white skin=no chance against a runner with black skin. Not always the case, but one thing about stereotypes is that you can use them to fool people. There was never an opportunity to determine the truth until this past Friday, when we measured off a track that was really too long for a sprint but we did it anyway. Konate smiled and wished me good luck with a handshake. That was like saying to me Oh mighty king of the jungle, I am fresh meat and you have not yet feasted today. He never had a chance. As I soared past him out of the starting blocks, my only concern was running out of gas before the finish line. Dont look back, dont hear the screaming fans, just take care of business and I can sleep when I die. The race ended, and Konates body lay there in flames, scorched by the vapor trail of my wake. These NBA talking heads like Tim Legler who babble on about how 'Kevin Durant is a competitor who will compete for 48 minutes because he loves to compete and be competitive when he competes and he hates to lose' do not get it. Competition is crushing your enemies skulls underneath your blood stained boots." Now there's video.
- Twin-Cities based Lil Dice runs a blog called "I Keart KG" and writes: "For the last three seasons, the length of my basketball fandom thus far, Ive missed only a handful of 'Wolves games at the Target Center. For each game, I always make sure Im in the arena for my favorite part of the night: the player intros. At forward, 611, from Farragut Academy High School KEVINNNNNNNNNN GARNETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT Hearing the PA announcer call KG's name provides a rush of emotion thats almost incomparable. I've been to many rock shows and, with the exception of Prince, nothing comes close. From that moment until the point where the player finishes his pregame ritual by walking across the court to pound his chest, the teams sub par record is forgotten. It becomes too easy to imagine a team with immense potential if only because the Big Ticket is on the court. Its only after tip-off that you remember that your favorite team is mediocre at best. Draft picks are great. Yes, salary cap flexibility is always a good time. I understand that rebuilding is a solid option after having squandered the talents of a league superstar who could opt out after this season. Im also aware that Im in the minority of Wolves fans (based on messageboards, blogs, mainstream media, and conversations with friends and acquaintances) who couldnt stomach the idea of shipping out the teams franchise player. Still, knowing that the team will probably never again have a player who inspires the feelings that Garnett does makes this trade seem very bitter and not at all sweet. The fact that not only the Celtics faithful, but also basketball fans everywhere are celebrating what they view as the liberation of Kevin Garnett offers no consolation."
- Masai Ujiri, new assistant to Bryan Colangelo, is one of the most universally liked people in the NBA, from what people tell me. I've never met him, but assume I would like him too.
- Wizznutzz is fantastic.
- Troy Hudson, not part of Minnesota's future.
- A well thought out argument that Sacramento should offer Kevin Martin a five-year, $52 million (or so) extension. My concern would be: why would Kevin Martin sign it? The direction of the Kings as a team is 100% bizarro at this point. Sure, an injury could cost him a fortune, but you get a big insurance policy and hope for the best. Kevin Martin is the kind of player who might really enjoy free agency.
- Jamaal Magloire, still breaking hearts.
- Daniel Ewing's NBA dream is on hold for a moment, and he heads to Russia to play for a team the Clippers played against in pre-season last year.
- Mark Madsen remembers Kevin Garnett, teammate. One of his defining qualities was that he would not tolerate anyone wearing any gear with any other team logos on it. If caught, Garnett made it his business to humiliate the wearer. Then, this: "I never thought Kevin Garnett would be apprehended by our own locker room fashion police. But it did happen a few months ago. It all started after practice one day when a few of us got into the locker room to shower and get ready to go home. KG was still down in the weight room lifting weights. Rashad McCants went over to Kevins locker and pulled out his shoes and put them out for everyone to see. 'What the heck are these?' Rashad said as he pointed to Kevins shoes. As everyone looked down to Kevins locker we were shocked to see that his shoes had the words 'Portland Trailblazers' alongside the Trailblazers logo! All of this was of course in Trailblazer red and black colors! Ive never seen so many guys so excited to bust Kevins chops. When Kevin finally got up to the locker room
he walked in and saw his shoes out for everyone to see. Kevin busted out smiling and yelled out, 'Who was in my locker! I dont know who was in my locker!' Rashad stood up and called out, 'I peeped it out when you walked in here this morning!' Trenton Hassell was having a field day. 'Throw those shoes in the trash' he yelled out. It was my job to take the shoes and stomp on them and then take them to the garbage can. Kevin was laughing so hard. I guess Adidas had sent out a bunch of walking shoes to Kevin and the shoes all had logos of different NBA teams. Kevin told us how he had gotten up that morning and tried on the Portland shoes and that they had looked good. So he asked his wife 'What do you think? Can I wear these in to practice?' 'Well Kevin, I dont think so. I mean, the Trailblazers are in your conference and you play against them, right?' she said. Kevin decided to wear the shoes in anyway and explained how he 'had pushed his jeans down over the Trailblazers logo and walked into the locker room really quickly.' He even showed us how he had pushed his shoes way to the back of his locker area under his chair so that none of us would see the shoes. Well, nothing gets past Rashad fashion wise. We had a good laugh that day." - Agent Jason Levien is called "Levan" throughout this article, but nevertheless is delivering the news that he is optimistic Kyrylo Fesenko will be signing with the Jazz soon.
- If you want to follow the bouncing ball of the Tim Donaghy investigation, and get to know some of the characters who allegedly profited from Donaghy's actions, this article is a must-read.
- Joe Crawford, the referee suspended after ejecting Tim Duncan, meets with the league.
- High-schoolers learn from Hakeem Olajuwon.
- Grainy footage and a fun description of what I believe to be Gilbert Arenas' first public basketball game since his injury.
- UPDATE: Gilbert Arenas has a new blog post, which is fantastic. Everyone will talk about his claim that there is no such thing as a shark attack (humans in the water, he says, are trespassing -- to which I say what about, like, Americans in France? The French get to make freebie mouth attacks on them? Is there no tourism in the animal kingdom?) but I'm interested in this little glimpse of the NBA world: "When you’re dealing with a wife, a girlfriend, a fiancée, your biggest problems are going to be the simplest problems. You’re going to be on the road for six-seven days a week sometimes and you’re eating room service, you’re eating out every night while she’s on the other hand staying home, eating home cooking. So when you come into town, she’s going to want to go out, go to the movies, go hang out, go eat dinner and you’re going to want to stay home. That’s where you guys will clash."
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