Archive for September, 2011

You can put the World Peace in Ron but you can’t take the street Artest out of Metta. Dude might be all love off the court but he’s still all business on it. Just check his claim that nobody on the planet can touch his touch his streetball squad. To prove his mettle Metta called out DC native Kevin Durant on the eve of a streetball contest between NYC natives and ballers born in the Nation’s Capital. “Truwarier’s verses Kevin Durants team. I got 200k or 300k on it!! Winner take all. For now I’m in LA!! Email my management [...]

According to reports Kobe Bryant has made a verbal agreement with Italian club Virtus Bologna. If true the news is no real surprise as the flirtations between Bryant and Bologna have been ongoing for over a week now. The real news is of the bad sort. As in how bad a sign is this for the NBA? First things first with this supposed deal. We’ve been here before with Besiktas though this situation feels much different. On one side you’ve got the Italian club reporting the deal is 95% done. On the other you’ve got the major hurdle of the [...]

If there isn’t an NBA season in 2011 it will be because the players and the owners didn’t want one. After David Stern pulled out the big guns by tossing the cancelation card on the table a timer was set on the season. Too bad the ones with the most at stake could care less. As far as responding to emergencies go the players and owners have reacted to the lockout like a 911 caller that yawns upon hearing the Mayan apocalypse is coming to fruition. For a second let’s forget about all of the propaganda spewed claiming the fans [...]

If there is no “significant progress made” between NBA players and owners come next Monday then there is a chance the entire 2011-12 NBA could be called off. According to reports, David Stern is prepared to pull the plug on the season should talks between the two sides fail to make progress in the coming days. Some view Stern’s proclamation as ploy. Others believe it to be more than idle threat. Whatever the case, the NBA season hangs in the balance as negotiations continue this week. If this is a power play by Stern then it comes at a point [...]

With the NBA in lockout limbo its getting more and more difficult to know what is a real story and what is a piece of sheer boredom. Take all of the rumors of Kobe Bryant entertaining overseas offers for example. With each passing week and new rumor bubbles to the surface only to later be swept under the rug. Initially it was assumed that Mamba was mulling over a move to join Deron Williams in Turkey. That was until Kobe crushed that rumor like LeBron did to the spirit of Cleveland.  Not only did Bryant blow those contract talks out [...]

It took long enough but finally Derek Fisher is making his presidential presence felt. Last week D-Fish issued his union president manifesto via email. Today Fisher again sent out a letter to his comrades this time demanding all NBA players get on the same page for the final push before the clock strikes midnight on the season. Fisher’s letter called for unity among the players but also spelled out some dysfunction amongst the owners. This same assertion was made in Fisher’s previous email so it’s pretty clear what he’s trying to preach. The message, in short, is that a united [...]

When first hearing the news of a China-only Black Mamba limited edition Smart Car I couldn’t help but wonder if Kobe Bryant has jumped the shark. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for Bryant branching out in as many ways as possible. I could be wrong but off hand I can’t recall there ever being a Jordan edition LeSabre or a Ewing limited Explorer. So it’s nothing to hate on when learning of the limited number of 500 Mamba edition smart cars to be sold in China. Still, it does feel a little like the end is very much nigh [...]

He might have a new name but his goals remain the same. Back when folks were still referring to him as Ron Artest he made headlines by auctioning off his championship ring to raise money for mental health awareness. Now that he’s Metta World Peace he’s already living up to his name by following through on a promise made over a year ago. Metta was on the front page for his fast exit from Dancing With The Stars but it’s on the back page where you’ll find the real reason to sing his praises. This week World Peace donated close [...]

We had heard the word that Italian club Virtus Bologna was hot on the trail of one Kobe Bryant. There was tale of the team ponying up close to $800k per home contest. Now we’ve got some concrete numbers on the amount of cash that could be coming Kobe’s way. According to reports, Virtus is prepared to pay Mamba close to $7-million for his services should he opt to take a European pay-cation. Irony is not without a flare for the dramatic and as fate would have it Kobe is scheduled to be in Rome next week for a Nike [...]

The NBA is running out of time and David Stern is running out of answers. Today marked yet another uneventful session between the players and owners. Despite the rumors of progress being made just over a week ago the reality is that the 2011-12 NBA season is in real jeopardy. As if the lockout itself wasn’t enough of a sign of impending doom we got word today that the league is prepared to announce training camps being delayed as soon as tomorrow. That would mean the preseason would be pushed back as well with the regular season being next on [...]