Results tagged “basketball” from Robert Littal Presents The Infamous BlackSportsOnline

Kobe Bryant is, at worst, the second-best player in the NBA. In thirteen seasons, he's won three NBA Championships (yes, they're HIS, too), an MVP award, two scoring titles, been an eleven-time All-Star, and owns all kinds of NBA records. He is universally recognized as the best closer in the game, and is three wins away from another NBA Championship (and first Finals MVP, if they win).

Yet, Kobe Bryant is probably the most hated player in the NBA, and has been for some time.

Since he's come into the league, he's been accused of being aloof, arrogant, vain, self-centered, out for dolo, and every other way that a player can be described as "selfish." People say he shoots too much or that he's not a good teammate; people throw in his face that he's not Michael Jordan. And they're right. Michael took way more shots than Kobe did.

Sike.

Only if I'm bleeding from the top of my head would I seriously say something like that. Dwight Howard is better than Andrew Bynum, and if I ever change that statement, you'll know that something has gone terribly, terribly wrong in either Dwight Howard's career or my mental state.

But when I watch Andrew Bynum play, I see him doing some of the things that I want to see from Dwight Howard. No, not pouting or getting shoved out of the way. I'm talking about post moves. For the first six to eight minutes of every Lakers game, Andrew Bynum is one of the top three centers in the league.

The Lakers throw the ball into Bynum, he sets up and he goes to work. Hookshots, drop steps, up-and-unders; he's a "Dream Shake" away from being Hakeem Olajuwon. He follows shots, he rebounds, he changes the shots of opponents...and then after the first eight minutes are up, he's done for the night. If Lakers' games were only one quarter long, the Lakers would have lost about two games all season and Bynum would have been in MVP contention.

So the Lakers DO have the energy of someone younger than 60 years old.

For most of these playoffs, we have watched the Lakers sleepwalk through games like a team that has already won three or four championships. Luke Walton had me thinking he was actually a spy from the other team, and I wasn't sure Lamar Odom was even alive anymore.

Then, the Denver Nuggets smacked LA clean in the mouth during a 120-101 loss in Game 4. They had to stomach watching J.R. Smith tap-dancing, mean-mugging, and generally being a stereotype as they went down in flames in Denver. Not only that, they let a guy who actually answers to "Birdman" shut them down.

Maybe that was enough to finally wake the Lakers up. Lord knows I was tired of seeing them play like they'd automatically be in the Finals just because it's been prophesied by the Kobe/LeBron commercials. I think for most people, escaping Houston like they did would be enough for a team to realize that it's not gonna be a cakewalk.

I remember back in the days of playing ball at the playground and we had that rule in one-on-one where if one guy got up 7-0 over another guy to start a game, the game was over. We called it the "7-0 Skunk." I'm sure everyone is familiar with this rule, and if not, I don't know where you played ball.

The point of the rule was to clear the court for the next guy, because what's the point in watching a guy fail to come back from an 0-7 deficit? Everyone watching knew he wasn't going to back a 10-7 run. If a guy gets up like that on you, the point is made. He's killing you. So let's get to the next game. Do we really need to sit here and watch you keep losing?

It's a rule that the NBA could stand to adopt to help speed things along sometimes. Clear Cleveland's court to make room for the Celtics or Magic.

As I type this, the Cavs and the Hawks are playing Game 4 of their semi-final playoff series. The Cavs are on fire right now, while the Hawks are simply outclassed. The Cavs have won all seven of their playoff games by double digits and are playing on another level than the Hawks. It's not the Hawks' fault, because there isn't much they could have done to stop the beating that they're catching right now.

Since the Michael Jordan era ended, there may not be any more revered man in the sport of basketball than the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James. He's big, strong and athletic like maybe no one else in any sport in history. His half-court heroics are no longer legendary, but commonplace.

All of this is not the beginning of James' ascension into our hearts and minds. No, that was a few years ago, while he was in high school at St. Vincent St. Mary in Akron, OH. Kristopher Belman is the lucky man that documented James' beginning, as well as several of his teammates at SVSM.

More after the jump...

You'd think people would have learned their lesson about putting Isiah Thomas in charge of things. His Indiana Pacers teams underachieved, he burned down the Continental Basketball Association, and, well, we all saw what he did to the Knicks. The mentality that it takes to give Jerome James $29 million or trade three draft pick and three players for "Sixth Helping" Eddy Curry, deserves to be questioned at every turn.

But that won't be a problem at Florida International University, where he's already pledged to give his entire first-year salary to the athletic department. It's almost as if he's trying to prove that he can do more for a basketball team than waste its money.

As we all know, college players don't get paid (publicly speaking), so joining the college game makes sense for a guy like Isiah. Legally, all he can offer is a scholarship and maybe a few other small perks. There's no hope of him outbidding Carolina for their third point guard and committing FIU to paying him $8 million dollars for the next four seasons. No, this job frees his mind from having to make decisions like that and allows him to do what he does best: Scout talent.

I really don't think that the free world is an anymore trouble than it already is if Barack Obama takes some time out to fill out a bracket for ESPN. Really, if some real damage was going to go down, it was going to happen regardless of that missing half hour. Hell, I bet he spends more time than that in the bathroom.

Actually, I'm more impressed that this man can find the time to be this knowledgable about college basketball while rebuilding the economy, getting us out of Iraq, curing cancer, walking on water, all the stuff that he does. It's not like he's falling behind on things. If he was turning in his budgets late and missing press conferences because he was copying someone else's notes at the last minute, the complainers might be onto something. But he's getting everything done, so why are we bothering him? If anything, we should be impressed with his time-management skills.

Everyone has that friend who can't take it when someone calls them out. Everyone has that friend who takes it too far after someone dared be critical of them, whether it's good-natured teasing or pointing out a mistake they've made. Usually, this friend gets abandoned at some point, because it's no fun having that person around. Or, one of his friends might pull him to the side and say, "Is your period over yet, sweetie?"

The problem with Shaquille O'Neal is, he's 7'1" and 350 lbs. If he ever had a friend who was that brave, that friend is probably no longer with us. But just because that friend was obliterated by Shaq's gargantuan rage doesn't change the fact that Shaq is as sensitive as most men right after your girlfriend brings on that "special feeling."

When Shaq starts overreacting like he did, it makes me forget that he's a grown-up, because he lalways crosses the line. He can't just do "verbal jousting," or even admit that he had it coming. No, his pride is wounded, so he responds to the criticism of his flop from Stan Van Gundy by essentially saying, "You contribute nothing to conversations and no one will miss you when you die." Couldn't he have just pointed out that he looks like Ron Jeremy like the rest of us do? Was all of that really necessary?

Shaquille O'Neal is about to be 37 years old and in the past two games he's scored about 800 points and grabbed 500 rebounds. Have we seen a resurgence of the Diesel? Of course not, because the man is 37 years old and the last time an elite-level athlete fought off Father Time and returned to a prior level of greatness, the world said he was on steroids.

Pistons 105, Celtics 95. That right there should put the "Iverson experiment" to rest, with the Pistons starting a two game win streak against two of the NBA's best in his absence.

It wasn't Iverson's fault, because he's not coaching the team. I don't know what Michael Curry's reasoning was for benching Richard Hamilton because Larry Brown was the last Pistons coach worth listening to. It could have been because he looked into Iverson's soul and saw angels flying in it. It could have been because he was afraid Iverson would have thrown a chair at him for the demotion. Either way, it didn't do anything to improve chemistry on the floor.

No, his career's not over, but his career in Houston pretty much is. All the Rockets need to know is if he can play well enough to have trade value when he comes back from microfracture surgery. All they need is for him to be able to resemble the old Tracy McGrady is six minute bursts, just long enough to trick some less-intelligent GM into giving up two good players, a draft pick, and an expiring contract. The Rockets have discovered the kind of team they want and it's the team that dismantled LeBron Jesus and the Disciples on Thursday.

This Rockets team has a record of 12-6 whenever McGrady's out, which is better than the 20-15 record they have when he plays. That's strike one. They've been decent, but struggling to find an identity. They don't know whether they want to be a finesse team or a rough-and-rugged team. Lucky for Houston that Tracy McGrady's knee decided it needed to be cut open, because his fragile leg made all of the tough decisions for them.

With all the NBA hype Tuesday night (Kobe's three, Lebron's triple double, etc.), just wanted to highlight something you rarely see on the NCAA side of things. Kentucky guard, Jodie Meeks had a remarkable game against Tennessee Tuesday night.

Homeboy dropped 54 points on TWENTY-TWO shots. He had 10 threes, and went 14/14 from the free-throw line. Breaking former Kentucky player, Dan Issel's record of 53 points 39 years ago. Meeks hot night was the highest individual scoring display since 1989.

I just watched the game again, and Meeks is practically unstoppable against Tennessee, and you can see the frustration all over the faces of the Volunteers. Earlier this season, Meeks scored 46 points against Appalachian State. He's the 4th leading scorer in the nation, and Meeks is clearly raising his draft stock with high-voltage games like this.

I really don't know what to say about this except that I laughed and felt absolutely disgusted at the same time.

Enjoy...and thanks CLUB TRILLION...

Now that we've said goodbye to the end of an era of mediocrity known as the Bush era and ushered in the new, you can't help but look back at the some of the greatest sports moments of 2008. Here's some that made you laugh, cry or just stare dumbfounded in disbelief. Yea Litall touched on this but as usual, but after much debating, here are MY top picks for best sports stories. Let the arguments begin............

TOP 8 SPORTS MOMENTS OF 2008

8.) Nadal Ends Federer's Reign At Wimbledon

Ok so I'll bite. Now that I've seen video clips, I've decided to kick off my second annual Top Sports Moments list with the history in the making match up between men's tennis
greats Rafeal Nadal and Roger Federer. The grueling five match showdown complete with rain delays was a testament to Nadal's toughness and tenacity and marked the end of Federer's five year reign, as Nadal was crowned Wimbledon champion.

7.)Rays Almost Sting Phillies In World Series

To the victor goes the spoils they say and while the Phillies have been named as the 2008 World Series Champions, the Rays fairytale journey into the World Series contention should definitely NOT go without notice. Just thinking about a team with a 200-1 shot at appearing in the World Series go from worst to first, beating out heavyweights New York and Boston is enough to place this moment in the Top 8 Sports Moments of 2008.

6.) Old Time Rivalry Renewed:Celtics vs Lakers

There's something about reliving the glory days when the NBA Finals was a clash of the Titans between two juggernauts, one from the East and one from the West. Ask anyone about the Celtics vs Lakers rivalry and the names Magic vs Bird, Russell vs come to mind. During the 2008 Finals, David Stern, the media and old school fans got their wish as Kobe led Lakers faced off against the Big 3 of the Celtics composed of K.G., Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Despite the victory being favored to go to the Lakers, the defensive prowess of the Celtics proved to be too much for the Lakers and the Celtics went on to win the series in 6 games.

When NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing was a freshman at Georgetown, the Hoyas worked out with members of the Washington Bullets (now known as the Wizards). Ewing will always remember one question he got from one of the Bullets.

It was Mitch Kupchak, saying to me, 'Why are you in college? You should be in the NBA. You're ready to play right now," Ewing said. "In his mind I was ready, but my college experience was something I've always treasured."

Times sure have changed since Ewing was a freshman in 1981. During that summer's draft the first three picks were underclassmen, but the rest of the first round picks were all seniors. In the 2007 draft, only six of the 30 first round picks were seniors.

As of June 12th, 13 freshmen have already declared for the 2008 NBA Draft. All of those 13 freshmen are expected to be taken in the draft with the probability of the first five picks all being freshmen. Also, for the second year in a row, the top pick is considered to be a choice between two freshmen. Unlike Ewing, who will always treasure his college moments, the kids of today cannot wait for their opportunity in the NBA.
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Coverage will be continually updated with videos, insights and player profiles so check in everyday.

April 6th

• Going away from the Final Four if you haven't seen this dunk from Patrick Ewing Jr in the college dunk contest you definitely need to take a look.

April 5th

• I am changing my Final Four Pick immediately to Memphis. My goodness they were impressive in beating UCLA.

• It was if someone forgot to tell UNC they were in the Final Four until halftime.

March 30th

• I guaranteed you that Memphis wouldn't make it to the Final Four. Well I was wrong about that.

• Stephen Curry is still a serial killer, but he just ran out of magic.

• Four #1s I can't wait.

March 29th

• I want Tyler Hansborough on my team. It is as simple as that. He will never be Kevin Garnett but he is everything you would want in a player.

• Finally UCLA played like I knew they could.

March 28th
• If you don't know by now that Stephen Curry is a beast, I don't know what to tell you. Here is a little background on Del Curry's kid. Check out the video.

• Just when I started to believe in the Lopez twins, they play like the Olsen twins.

Thursday March 27th

• Xavier is a very resilient team. After they blew that 18 point lead to West Va there were so many times that I thought to myself the Mountaineers got this game in hand. Every time Xavier came back and finally West Va just wilted under the pressure. Xavier is a legit threat to be in the Final Four.

• UNC showed why they are UNC

• Lets just be honest. Tennessee was never as good as their ranking suggested.

Sunday March 23rd

• North Carolina looks scary good.

• Mark the tape. Memphis won't make it to the Final Four.

• I am sure Roy Hibbert wished he would have entered the NBA Draft last year.

• Once again all I can say is Stephen Curry is a beast.

Saturday March 22nd

• Duke lost so it is a good day.

• Great game between Marquette and Stanford. Here is the game winner.

• If you liked defense UCLA vs. Texas A&M was the game for you. Kevin Love is a beast. Here is the game winner from that game.

Friday March 21st

• I told you I will have videos of any game winning shots. 1st up Western Kentucky beating Drake.

• Next San Diego upsetting Uconn

• Stephen Curry=Serial Killer

Thursday March 20th

• You don't know how great I would have felt if Duke had lost, but alas Belmont blew it.

• UCLA is my pick to win it all and they just embarrassed Miss Valley State holding them to 29 points. I don't care if it is a 1 vs. 16 matchup that is just sick.

• I was 100% sure USC would beat Kansas State, tells you how much I know.

• Was that UNLV 1991 or 2008? Because they simply crushed Kent St who I thought had a good chance to win that game.

• My upset special was Georgia and for a half they looked like world beaters but after halftime Xavier woke up and Georgia remembered they were just an average team.

• My two sleeper teams Michigan State and Stanford both looked excellent.

Quick, name one memorable play from the College Bowl season. Can't do it can you? The reason why no one cares about College Football in December and January ia because their championship is not decided on the field, but by a bunch of computers, school presidents and mostly incompetent voters.

On the flip side, the NCAA Men's basketball tournament hasn't even started yet and there have already been 4 or 5 moments that have been etched in our memories. Once again let me repeat: the tournament hasn't even started. These are just the conference tournaments.

Yesterday I was glued to my TV while watching both major and mid-major schools fight it out just for the right to be in the tournament. I loved that Duke lost; I jumped out of my seat when Psycho Ty won the game for North Carolina. I couldn't believe my eyes when Georgia guard Zac Swansey hit a three pointer that looked like it could only be made in a video game to send their game against Kentucky to overtime. I was even more amazed when Georgia won that game and then another game within an eleven hour time frame. I could go on and one, but I think I have made my point.

Just imagine if we were coming down to the last week of the college football season with teams trying to fight their way into a tournament. It would be the best Saturday of the year and the tournament would make these old, school-presidents more money that they could ever imagine. I maybe dreaming, but hopefully soon NCAA College-Football leaders will get their heads out of their asses and give us what we want.