NBA on Christmas Day

Christmas Day this year, which for most of my friends conisted of spending time with family and hopefully unwrapping some cool gifts, was an absolute sports day for me. I sat in front of the TV for almost 12 hours straight and watched 4 NBA games in their entirety. On top of that, I watched as much of the Titans-Chargers football game I could manage until I had had enough of the Titans getting man-handled. Although most of the basketball games were supposed to have been tight matchups resulting in great games, they all turned out to be a complete bore except for the Portland-Denver game - ya, Boston-Orlando, I'm talking about you.

And since I know you were wondering, my choice for Christmas Day MVP goes to Rajon Rondo who was 2 assists shy of a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists along with 2 steals. The only knock on Rondo was his eight turnovers - which is thoroughly unacceptable. Lucky for him, the Magic played extremely poorly, but he turned on the heat and was the only reason the C's escaped Florida with a win. I've also gotto send props to Brandon Roy, who performed more than admirably by contributing a whopping 41 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the Trail Blazers win; not bad for a guy who was a game-time decision with a shoulder injury. The LVP of the day is a shared award this year. The first recipient is the Denver Nuggets' defence, who slept on Portland's Steve Blake in the fourth quarter, only to watch the sharp shooter torch them for four 3-pointers in the final 12 minutes. They proudly share this award with an immature Lakers' crowd that threw foam fingers onto the court after some frustrating calls that just didn't go L.A.'s way.

So that was the NBA on Christmas Day - a wholly uneventful day and a slightly more eventful evening. But an NBA Christmas Day post would be incomplete without a sneaker display. Thanks to the good people over at SneakerNews and ESPN, I present to you the first collection of "Shoe Drop: the NBA Christmas Day Edition". Even though I'm really feeling Dwyane Wade's Air Jordans, props goes out to Rondo for changing his shoes at halftime. Check some more kicks after the jump.

P.s. I am so happy that L.A. lost to Cleveland at home. Merry Christmas Kobe.

NBA Top 10: Friday

Although I watch the Top 10 NBA plays daily, I wouldn't post this unless it were special. Last night, I had the privilege (yes, privilege) of watching the Toronto Raptors man-handle the New Jersey Nets 118-95. Even though we still won by 23 points, the score is misleading; we played our third-stringers for much of the 4th quarter and the Nets managed to close what was once a 40-point lead. The whole game was a highlight reel. By the 12th alley-oop, the allure was gone and the half-empty ACC let out a feeble cheer. The Top 10 from last night features not one, not two, but three plays from last night's Raptors game, two of which feature my man Demar Derozan, and thus I am posting this for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy ladies and gents.

"Owner Sorry for Michael Jordan - Byron Russell 1-on-1 hoax"

ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME BRANDT ANDERSEN? This guy has to be the biggest weiner that Orem, Utah (wherever the arf that is) has ever seen. The owner of an NBA Development League team decided to impersonate Michael Jordan and send the fake around town to create hype with the hopes that people would come out to watch his lousy team play. And then the owner has the cojones to say the following on his blog:

""This was done in fun," Andersen wrote on his blog after the game. "If you did not see it as fun or you feel we went over the top I am sorry."

Oh ya, I'm sure all 7,500 people who showed up found it real funny as well. Sir, in a real city, like Los Angeles or New York or Washington...or you get the point, your children would have been on the 6 o'clock news trying to fight back tears with a camera in their face and #brendtandersen would be trending on Twitter. You know what, Brandt Andersen, you should thank whoever or whatever it is the heck you believe in that you haven't been shanked and are still in possession of a house (or a lawn for that matter; see Leodis Mckelvin). I think the most unfortunate thing is that after punt-kicking the side of your own face, and instead of sacking up and taking the hit for this one, the fans are supposed to have understood you. No you're right; they shouldn't be mad at having been promised a shot to see the greatest to ever touch an orange ball play right in front of their eyes, but instead were being duped by a bald guy with latex make-up and a fake diamond hanging from his ear.

Alright, Orem are you ready? Time to move to a real city, just come with me. Ya I live a bit up north, but nowhere in the Arctic or anything. Well ya, but it's just as cold in Utah... Oh, you're afraid of polar bears breaking through the igloo while you sleep? You know what, maybe this won't work out as well as I thought. (Rolls eyes and exits left)

Read the rest of the article on the bonehead move of the century here and his blog post here.

Sorry for the strong feelings on this one; I'm just not down with owners showing a full-blown lack of responsibility when dealing with their fans. Not classy at all.

The NBA's worst nightmare

Disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy was set to release a book called "Blowing the Whistle" (pun definitely intended) that was going to expose the culture of refereeing in the NBA and how star players are legitimately given preferential treatment. For those of you who don't know Tim Donaghy, he was charged and convicted of betting on basketball games that he himself officiated and spent 15 months in jail for his crimes. The book was cancelled (supposedly the NBA was going to sue) but Deadspin somehow managed to obtain a copy and released excerpts on their website for the viewing public. Granted, it's hard to really know the extent of how much Donaghy says is true but even if half his stories are real, the game's perceptions for fans around the world would be significantly altered.

Here is one excerpt that really bothers me, even though it comes as no surprise. I've always loved big blocked shots and watching superstars miss thanks to some good old defence - which, some people forget, IS half of any sport. So when I read this, I can't help but side with those who think professional sports are becoming more show than showing up to play.

"Relationships between NBA players and referees were generally all over the board — love, hate, and everything in-between. Some players, even very good ones, were targeted by referees and the league because they were too talented for their own good. Raja Bell, formerly of the Phoenix Suns and now a member of the Charlotte Bobcats, was one of those players. A defensive specialist throughout his career, Bell had a reputation for being a "star stopper." His defensive skills were so razor sharp that he could shut down a superstar, or at least make him work for his points. Kobe Bryant was often frustrated by Bell's tenacity on defense. Let's face it, no one completely shuts down a player of Kobe's caliber, but Bell could frustrate Kobe, take him out of his game, and interrupt his rhythm.

You would think that the NBA would love a guy who plays such great defense. Think again! Star stoppers hurt the promotion of marquee players. Fans don't pay high prices to see players like Raja Bell — they pay to see superstars like Kobe Bryant score 40 points. Basketball purists like to see good defense, but the NBA wants the big names to score big points.

If a player of Kobe's stature collides with the likes of Raja Bell, the call will almost always go for Kobe and against Bell. As part of our ongoing training and game preparation, NBA referees regularly receive game-action video tape from the league office. Over the years, I have reviewed many recorded hours of video involving Raja Bell. The footage I analyzed usually illustrated fouls being called against Bell, rarely for him. The message was subtle but clear — call fouls against the star stopper because he's hurting the game."

Check out the rest of the excerpts here

KOBE! - HEDO!

Alright, last night I sat around the home enjoying the Raptors close encounter with Agent Zero, and Kobe Bryant's miraculious - and obviously reaffirming - last second three pointer to trounce D-Wade's Heat. Kobe vs D-Wade is one of those NBA tilts that draws in the fans and both stars took there teams on there back in the fourth quarter, Kobe just had the last possession - even though D-Wade's defense on that last second shot was great, Kobe just Kobe'd him.

I donno how many people out there have seen Spike Lee's documentary on Kobe Bryant, called "Kobe Doin' Work", but its one of the most detailed basketball docs I have ever seen. Spike films pre-game, halftime, and post-game, mic's up Kobe, gets into the Lakers dressing room and has Kobe do voice over work for a regular season tilt against the Spurs. The camera work is just gorgeous, Spike makes Kobe on the court look like Marv in Sin City, and Kobe explains the mental aspects of basketball perfectly and succinctly. Truly eye opening stuff - Stream of Kobe Doin' Work

Anyways to my Raptors, it was nice to see some defense last night boys, gotta carry it over tonight against the Bulls. Also Hedo showed why Colangelo invested significantly in him by doing what he does best - showing up in clutch time.

Some food for thought; Once again Jose Calderon got destroyed on defense - its very difficult for a team to continue to bailout a player who gives away dribble penetration like Calderon is prone too. So Calderon has started playing off guards and last night was a good example of what happens when you do that to highly skilled point guards - Gilbert dropped 34 by just taking open looks off screens (hitting 5 threes). Personally I've wanted Jack to start all season but Calderon's getting paid so much I understand why Triano wants him to get back to how he played two years ago. Calderon wasn't horrible on O last night tho, and he matches better against Derrick Rose, cause Rose isn't going to hit 5 threes in a night, so tonight should be less embarrasing for Jose.

Also Demar Derozan played very good ball last night, attacking at will. But he got a lot less burn in the second half, and no play in the fourth at all. I understand Triano's got a short leash on the young'in but let him play when he is on. I think Demar would have played better D on Gilbert too, in the fourth it would have been nice to see what a Jack, Dero, Hedo, Bosh, Bargs lineup would have looked like (I really wish thats what we'd start with too).

Anyways Chicago is one of those teams Toronto can usually take, so hopefully the Raps can take two on the road this weekend. Good luck boys, I'll be watchin.

Aww yeeeee

Lebron and Kobe puppets are back for the first of what should be many new commercials from Nike

And watch Kobe's ridiculous in-Dwyane Wade's face-game-winning shot from last night here

My goodness...

The dismal Cleveland Browns have openly said they would give Lebron James a shot at playing football. Originally the opinion was that Lebron could play any of "tight end, wide receiver or even outside linebacker". After this, I think they deserve to give him a shot at quarterback especially considering their options of Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson are weak (at best).

Check out the article here

The little things that make athletics so entertaining

I cannot deny that I am a sports addict. I love competition, winners and losers, and the best athletes doing what they do best. But obviously the nature of sports is pretty messed up. For instance, today the LA Lakers' Ron Artest, famous for punching Detroit fans in 2004's Pistons-Pacers brawl (Artest fights fans) admitted to the media that he use to drink at halftime.

"I used to drink Hennessy ... at halftime, I [kept it] in my locker. I'd just walk to the liquor store and get it," says Artest in an ESPN interview (ESPN).

I obviously do not condone what Artest did, but here is an individual who clearly has a troubled past (he is known for being a little crazy) and he is just being honest and forthright about some of his prior idiotic actions.

Sports is not a natural existence. It takes young individuals and thrusts them into multi-million dollar, media crazed settings i.e. just look at the Tiger Woods media frenzy.

Here's a guy admitting his vices; good for him.

Poster goes on sale Monday

Jeff Green takes Dan Gadzuric (who??) to school. Oh, and he got fouled.

Give me a break is right

Kobe Bryant, I hate everything about you. You are unreal and not in the cool way. This shot doesn't even make sense.

Skullcandy NBA Series Headphones

How the Deron Williams and Andre Iguodala headphones ever received such an overwhelming response that Skullcandy decided to re-up their distribution, including 6 new designs players with the promise of more to come, is beyond me. Evidently, releasing them right around Christmas time was a great move but I don't know, I could never imagine myself wearing them - even considering that the headphones combine two of my favourite things (music and basketball). I find they look straight up stupid; I don't need to rep a player and their team on my ears, regardless of how much I like them.
Am I on my own on this? What do you think? Feel free to leave your comments in the (aptly-titled) "Comment" section below this post - and for that matter, if you ever have anything to say us, get at us in the "comment" sections.
Via Hypebeast

Hi Joey (followed by vigorous hand waving)

Tonight the Raps are in Denver to take on the Nuggets. Should be an interesting game after their game the other night in Phoenix (a team playing very well right now) went down to the buzzer. Also, the Raps will see a familiar face on the other side of the court. Joey Graham, the Raptors 1st-round pick in the 2005 Draft, is now a member of the Nuggets, primarily coming off the bench. The thing about Joey is when he's on, he's on. Too bad that's not too often...o well, he's still fun to watch (sorry for the poor quality).

B-Ball news aplenty today

AI is a free agent once again, as all of those rumours that he won't accept his new role as a 6th man came to the forefront today. He was officially released by the Memphis Grizzlies.

It is really unfortunate that Iverson has to go through this poor press. I wish he would have played through the situation because he really is better than Mike Conley. I also thought the Grizz were a good fit for him roster wise, I liked the threesome of Gay, Mayo and AI. But oh well i guess now the only question is will AI retire? My guess is he jumps on board with a good team for a playoff push, maybe on a good team he could deal with being 6th man...

While the Stephen Jackson rumours came to an end as well - he was shipped from Golden State to the Bobcats. The trade involved Jackson and underachieving point guard Acie Law being sent to Charlotte in return for shut down defender Raja Bell and Vladimir (this dude still plays in the league) Radmanovic.

Interesting occurrences - but all these teams are pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. The Bobcats could really use a Jackson type of player - someone who can actually put the ball in the hoop and Golden State just acquired a defender...WHAT? But as I mentioned these transactions just end some meddling rumours that have been floating around.

Dunk of the Night

Ah our first Raptors post. Expect any and all things Raptors to be posted on this blog (we're both obsessed - it's slightly unhealthy) And especially anything like this from my boy DeMar Derozan