Archive for August, 2011

It won’t be easy for the Spanish national team to win the 2011 EuroBasket Championship even though they’re loaded with NBA talent. Pau Gasol knows that and said as much prior to Spain’s opening day victory over Poland. According to reports the Spanish needed all 29 of Gasol’s points plus another 23 from Juan Carlos Navarro who also dropped a clutch-three late. Poland, without any NBA talent to speak of as Marcin Gortat isn’t playing, kept it close losing by just five. Spain’s 83-78 victory might just be an aberration as they’re the favorites to ascend to European supremacy. In [...]

Just because he’s been living in SoCal for the better part of 15 years and working in Downtown L.A. for a good portion of that time doesn’t make Kobe Bryant L.A. according to Brandon Jennings. Compton’s finest took offense to Bryant being allowed to participate in the Drew League. Seems Jennings wants to keep the league closed to natives only. “He wasn’t born and raised in LA. You gotta be from LA to play for Drew. Show me a birth certificate.” Now I do feel where Jennings is coming from on this. In basketball where you’re from is as much [...]

Javaris Crittenton was in Los Angeles while Atlanta PD scoured the city looking for the prime suspect in a shooting that resulted in the death of a 22-year-old mother of four. Notice the past tense of that previous statement as the former Laker is now heading back to Atlanta. But that’s what you’d expect once the FBI gets involved. Javaris was picked up in the O.C. by the Feds at John Wayne Airport on Monday night. He was detained without incident and is being returned to his native Atlanta where the details of the tragedy will be sorted out in [...]

If the photo of a man hiding his face, standing 6’7” and holding a pair of Purple and Gold kicks over his shoulder while entering a ‘Dancing with the Stars’ rehearsal weren’t enough of a clue, we have official confirmation of Ron Artest joining the cast of ABC’s hit show. Now before we delve into the whole issue of whether or not this is a good idea for the man destined to be Metta World Peace once he settles a few parking tickets, let’s look at the facts. Either Ron Ron is making a quick transition to his post-hoops career [...]

By now you’ve read all the headlines of former Laker Javaris Crittenton being sought after by Atlanta PD on a murder rap. You’re also well aware of the ominous precursor to this entire tragedy when he and former Grant High alum Gilbert Arenas brought guns into the locker room in DC. Lost in all of this is how important Crittenton was in helping the Lakers to keep Kobe Bryant and raise two more banners by acquiring Pau Gasol. The Atlanta native played on the same high school team as Dwight Howard before becoming a McDonald’s All-American and taking his talents [...]

Only in the world of Ron Artest could a moving violation involving an Indy Car on surface streets prevent him changing his name to Metta World Peace. Today was supposed to be the day the world welcomed the arrival of Metta. Instead an L.A. Superior Court judge postponed Ron Ron’s hearing until September giving him time to sort out his outstanding traffic warrants. To be fair, the L.A. Times reports the expired tags on Ron’s Indy car were not thought to be among the culprits. Still you can’t help but chuckle at the spectacle. According to the court, Artest has [...]

Those of you that have been waiting for the right moment to bust out your Laker jerseys with “World Peace” on the back are just hours away from celebrating. In less than 24-hours, Ron Artest could be no more. Tomorrow marks the day the baller formerly known as Ron Artest becomes Metta World Peace. L.A. Superior Court is scheduled to determine the fate of Ron Ron’s legal name tomorrow at 9am. Oh…just don’t expect Artest himself to be in attendance.  He’s got bigger fish to fry. Like starting the Metta World Peace comedy tour or maybe even having a night [...]

There was once a time when Kobe Bryant was lauded as the best player on the planet. Those who argued any differently were usually reminded of his ring count and countless exploits. Funny thing is that wasn’t all that long ago. However in a what have you done for me lately society we tend to only remember the last image witnessed. When KB24 requested to be traded the Lakers did him one better and traded for Pau Gasol. Two new banners hanging in Staples later and Kobe’s angst was settled. Still you get the feeling that Jim Buss must have [...]

Maybe the NBA learned a valuable lesson from the recent NFL Lockout. Instead of engaging in pointless bargaining sessions in August why not just wait until the 11th hour? By the looks of things that’s exactly what is happening with pro basketball’s labor strife. The NFL made little headway until it came down to crunch time. At the drop dead hour, when potential revenue loss became a reality, suddenly a deal was hammered out and the NFL season began. David Stern might not intend to take a similar approach but that’s about the only acceptable excuse for why the two [...]

Some NBA players are planning on taking their talents overseas during the NBA work stoppage. Others are finding creative ways to make the most of their time off. Then there’s Luke Walton who is taking this forced time out to get his coaching career under way. Walton is reported to be headed to Memphis where he’ll assist former Arizona alum Josh Pastner. The hiring is still pending approval by the university and of course is only good as long as the NBA is mired in the lockout. Over his career Walton has gone from promising to problematic as in injuries [...]