Bryant was the 18-year-old wonder for the Los Angeles Lakers, and no one knew what to make of a restlessness borne of a desperate desire for greatness.If some of you remember Kobe spoke during Michael Jackson public funeral ceremony:
“He noticed I was getting a lot of [expletive] for being different,” Bryant said.
They would talk for hours and hours, visiting at Neverland Ranch, and Bryant has long been fortified by the lessons Jackson instilled about the burden of honoring true talent, about the ways to open your mind to be smarter, sharper and insatiable in the chase.
“It sounds weird, I guess, but it’s true: I was really mentored by the preparation of Michael Jackson,” Bryant told Yahoo! Sports.
The holidays are right around the corner. It’s Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States, then next month we’ve got Hannukah, Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve and probably some that I’m missing. Needless to say, you’re going to be taking lots of food over to your relatives’ houses pretty soon.Some of those recipes include Brendan Haywood-smoked bacon, Jason Terryaki Chicken, and my personal favorite, Dirk Nowitzkinned potatoes with Beaubois reduction sauce.
Thankfully, the Dallas Mavericks are now selling a cookbook for the low price of $19.99. It might seem weird that a professional basketball team would have their own cookbook, but when you see the recipes they’ve included, you’ll realize that this is an essential addition to any home’s bookshelf.
In an interview airing later this week on CBSSports.com, Artest revealed that he intends to try out for an NFL team when his contract with the Lakers is up after the 2013-14 season. Artest, who taped the interview at the Lakers’ practice facility on Saturday, his 31st birthday, already has divulged that he’s been training for a second career as a heavyweight boxer when his basketball days are over. Little did we know that there’s another professional sport Artest wants to try.Hey, if Ron Artest wants to try to play in the NFL, more power to him. Hell, we might be looking at another Bo Jackson but I'm pretty sure Bo was a little more sane.
Then again, knowing him, of course there is.
“God willing, after my NBA career, God willing I’m still athletic enough – which I’m trying to take care of my body as best as possible and be prepared for this day, for this tryout of an NFL team,” Artest said. “... It’s a fantasy of mine. It’s an opportunity because I’m athletic. So if that fantasy can be fulfilled, and if it’s something that can really be reached as far as a goal, I’m going for it.”
TBJ exclusive: Like A Bosh from The Basketball Jones on Vimeo.
(Courtesy of The Basketball Jones)
A day after her reps denied reports that Eva Longoria had filed for divorce from Tony Parker in Texas, the actress set the wheels in motion in California to end her marriage.Rumors of this were spreading yesterday acrossTMZand many other gossip websites, I guess Tony P hasn't found his premier love yet.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Superior Court confirmed to CNN that the “Desperate Housewives” star filed a petition for divorce from her NBA player husband on Wednesday.
The pair married three years ago in a ceremony outside of Paris, and Longoria could often be found courtside cheering on her husband, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs. Over the summer, the pair celebrated their anniversary with an Adriatic cruise vacation.
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You may not have heard of Scott Raab, but chances are, if you've ever read an Esquire in airport, you've read some of his work. He's about as good as any writer around, which means he's roughly 1,000 times more competent than 98 percent of sportswriters anywhere.Um, so it took the Heat about four weeks to get his credential removed? I guess that whole three business day thing takes awhile coming from Miami.
Alas, even though he's writing a book about LeBron James and the Miami Heat (and the Cleveland Cavaliers), Raab has been denied credentials by the Miami Heat, a decision apparently supported by the NBA. And sure, it's a completely fair decision, but I'd just like to say that Scott Raab hates LeBron James more than anyone I've ever seen, anywhere, and if criticism gets you banned in the NBA, at least Raab hasn't been shy about it.
He can bring more justice in a night of tweeting than years of Adrian Wojnarowski's screeds at Yahoo! or Bill Simmons' work at ESPN. And no matter what you think of LeBron James, you should take the time to stand back and admire the masterpiece (of hatred). Because while the rest of us slowly soften our stance and move on, it's kind of great to see a native Ohioan stick to his guns like this.
Like when LeBron was tweeting about the Jets-Browns game this past weekend:
But they haven't quit. Look in the mirror, motherf***er. You're a f**king loser and always will be. RT @KingJames Sanchez is wearing them down
I guess Morris Blackmon was right.
Jason Terry finished Monday night's inspired win over the New Orleans Hornets with a flurry. His final stat line read: 9-of-19 from the field, including 3-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.
It was quite a turnaround from his first half: 2-of-11 and 0-of-3.
"He came in at halftime, changed his shoes and look what happened in the second half," guard J.J. Barea said. "So he blamed it on the shoes."
"I'm a shooter. I'm going to keep shooting. Nothing's changed in that respect," Terry said. "If it was tough shots then I would have been concerned. But, they weren't tough shots. I was missing wide-open looks, shots that I practice. I just told myself, change your shoes at halftime, get a new feel and come back firing."
Very unsurprisingly, Lebron is currently 24th out of the 25 nominees and currently only above former BP executive Tony Hayward.
Well, that was unexpected. TIME Magazine just released its list of 25 nominees for its annual “Person of the Year” award, and Heat forward and Controversial Person LeBron James is one of them. After “the decision,” the 25-year old James has never been less popular, but he’s also never been more in the news. Since the TIME “Person of the Year” poll is based on “influence,” LeBron’s nomination does make a measure of sense.
Here’s what TIME’s Sean Gregory had to say about James’ nomination:
Yes, The Decision, which followed a year of intense speculation about where James would land, decidedly stunk. But we watched it. And talked about it. And debated whether coddled professional athletes like James owe their hometown fans anything more than years of success, even if falling short of winning a championship. As James teams up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, all eyes are still on LeBron.
On Sunday, Shaquille O'Neal shopped the aisles of Toys 'R' Us in Framingham to donate gifts to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.Below is the video of some of the lucky kids who got to shop with Shaq-A-Claus:
"This is what I do," he told CSNNE.com as he piled toys into one of his many shopping carts. "I've been doing this Toys for Tots since '95. I just partnered up with Toys 'R' Us about five years ago. I'd always go, whenever I had a day off, and get four or five U-Haul trucks and just fill them up."
O'Neal donned a red Santa Claus hat and shopped around with members of the Marines. He also stopped to talk to fans along the way. Once he made his purchase, he helped load the toys into a military vehicle in the parking lot.
O'Neal stresses the importance of donating in the community and in his own family. His rule of thumb -- before his children buy new toys, they must donate ten toys of their own.
"We took a few of their old toys down to a homeless shelter," he recalled. "This little kid had a broken doll and she was crying. When she got her new gift she was running around happy. It actually made my daughter cry."
Steve Nash has announced that he and wife Alejandra are in the process of a divorce.It seems a little odd that he would announce a divorce after his wife gives birth to the couples first son but that's not for me to question at this point.
The Phoenix Suns' point guard and two-time NBA most valuable player revealed the situation in a statement Saturday, a day after the birth of the couple's son, Matteo.
He said in the statement to Life & Style Magazine that he and his wife have lived separately for several months but remain firmly committed to raising their children "in the most positive, nurturing way possible."
The couple, together for nine years and married since 2005, also has 6-year-old twin daughters, Lola and Bella.
Above is a recent issue of Sports Illustrated for Kids featuring an artist rendering of Miami Thrice as the Three Musketeers.The cover image features the Cavs former star, LeBron James, and his teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. And Miami’s “Big Three” are dressed in Cavalier garb--likely a Three Musketeers reference--with Miami Heat jerseys that have a wine-and-gold tint.I'm just at a loss for words here, I can't even make a joking reference at this point.
The words “All for One” are followed with “And Wins for All?”
After the departure of James, the Cavs shifted to a new image and model, which is highlighted by the team’s slogan, “All for One. One for All.” The slogan has been used in commercials, apparel and on the team’s website.
The one thing that I learned from the business of basketball is that nothing is safe from sponsorship and the New Jersey Nets have taken it to another level.The Nivea for Men brand, through its sports marketing firm Leverage Agency, struck a deal with the New Jersey Nets.I guess you can say that the New Jersey Nets will definitely have the cleanest and smoothest skin in the NBA.
Its logo adorns everything from locker room rugs to plush towels to products in each of the player’s lockers. In cased you missed any of that, the locker room itself is called the Nivea for Men Locker Room.
“Having a partnership with a team makes a lot of sense for us,” said Magnus Johnson, vice president of marketing for Beiersdorf Inc., the American subsidiary of the parent company that owns the Nivea brand. “Athletes go from jerseys to suits and ties and they’re always looking for something to make them look good.
For some reason, the Shake Weight has gained popularity for women who want to tone their upper arms and well, practice on the finer things in life.You see, NBA players are just like us, we're afraid that our parents are getting a work-out from the Shake Weight as well.
Paul tweeted the following message Tuesday evening regarding his own personal nightmare scenario, which included a dinner table demonstration courtesy of his old man of the incredibly awkward “You jackin’ it?” Shake Weight routine:
I’m at dinner wit the fam and my mama is talkin about her “Shake Weight” and my dad demonstrated…#TMI #Uncomfortable#NotTryinToHearThat
A luxury car repair shop in Chicago’s South Loop alleges in the suit that Curry — who now plays for the New York Knick — racked up more than $73,000 in repair bills on vehicles including a Cadillac Escalade, Mercedes Benz, Range Rover, and Rolls-Royce Phantom. But several checks he issued to the shop were “returned by the bank for non-sufficient funds,’’ the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court alleges.I guess you can say for once that Curry can bounce something on the hardwood and off of it.
A lawsuit has been filed against former Chicago Bull Eddy Curry for allegedly racking up more than $73,000 in repair bills on vehicles serviced at a luxury car repair shop in Chicago’s South Loop.
Lee’s Foreign Car Service, at 727 South Jefferson, filed the breach-of-contract lawsuit and demanded payment for work done in 2007 and 2008.
When interviewed on live television following Memphis' 109-99 win over Phoenix, Randolph was proud of the way his team played.To be fair to Zach, most of the his time in the league has been spent in Portland and Memphis where those 48 minutes could have felt like 42 minutes.
"We just finished the whole game," he said. "We played the whole 42 minutes."
In case you're not familiar with the National Basketball Association, its games last 48 minutes.
You would think that if you were wanted for murder that you wouldn't go to an event as public as a Charlotte Bobcats basketball game but I guess you can say that even criminals cannot stay away from the allure of a 1-5 NBA team.
Members of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team arrested 24-year-old Earl Barranco during the game, according to WCNC-TV, the Observer’s news partner.
Undercover officers took down Barranco in one of the VIP areas of the arena before 8 p.m., but police didn’t have more details on the arrest Sunday morning.
Barranco was apparently in the VIP section for the game, and was arrested before 8 p.m.. The game started at 7 p.m.
(Courtesy of Larry Brown Sports)
The Phoenix New Times is currently running a story claiming that Stevie Nash is leaving the Suns as of November 15th to pursue a political career in CanadaSo, I guess this psuedo-story is a non-story? Geez, this is why I leave the comedy to the Onion.
Yup, the Phoenix New Times has done it again. I'm not sure what "it" was supposed to be though -- was this supposed to be an Onion-like joke or prank? Maybe at the end of the story they identify it as such -- I wouldn't know because New Times stories are so doggone long I can never get to the end of them (but the story's author Barry Friedman is apparently known for hoaxes).
Hey, I'm all for jokes, but if your "newspaper" has a history of egregiously poor research, reporting, and fact-checking, perhaps you should shy away from them. In 2009 the paper ran a story by Niki D'Andrea about a ridiculous NBA tattoo cap, saying that NBA teams would be limited to 61% arm and neck tattoo coverage per team. The article was based on "research" that happened to be an obviously satirical blog post by a comic writer. By the way, this completely false story ran on the cover of the paper... during All Star Weekend... when the All Star Game was in Phoenix. Smarten up, New Times.
Man, it would have been awesome to see Shawn Bradley walk into the House of Representatives only to get dunked on by Tracy McGrady.
Former Portland Trail Blazer Chris Dudley is still waiting for the final tally of the gubernatorial vote in Oregon (as of this writing it was still too close to call). He entered the race with an uphill battle — he was the Republican candidate in about the bluest state in the nation.
Dudley has 49 percent of the vote, which is much better than his career 41 percent shooing percentage in the NBA.
Dudley fared a lot better than Shawn Bradley, the 7’6” former Maverick player who ran for a House of Representatives seat in Utah. Bradley lost that race. Bradley is a Republican who lost to a Democrat in Utah.
Geez, what kind of world do we live in where Shawn Marion has to go to Twitter to get his dates.
Shawn Marion is giving tech Savvy ladies a chance to sweep him off his feet! The Dallas Maverick forward is having a contest via Facebook and Twitter where the prize is an evening in his company. All you have to do is record a 30 second youtube video explaining why YOU are the ONE.
THIS is the dating concept OchoCinco should have rolled with. He had submissions coming in via twitter anyway! Social networking has upped the dating pool for EVERYONE but for professional athletes… We’re talking next level options!
After falling to 0-4 on Tuesday, it's clear that the Pistons are stinging from more than just the team's losses. Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva posted a message to his Twitter account on Wednesday morning that he was bothered by Celtics forward Kevin Garnett calling him a "cancer patient."Uh Oh, Twitter Served! Seriously though, Villanueva suffers from alopecia universalis which results in hair loss on the scalp and/or elsewhere on the body. I'm all for some good trash talk but that crosses a line that even we can't joke about.
"KG called me a cancer patient, I'm pissed because, u know how many people died from cancer, and he's tossing it like it's a joke," Villanueva wrote. "I wouldn't even trip about that, but a cancer patient, I know way 2 many people who passed away from it, and I have a special place 4 those."
Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose is known for his playmaking ability on the court but he'll have to use his acting ability in an upcoming episode of a popular CBS drama.The Bulls' Derrick Rose will make a special appearance on a future episode of the CBS political drama, "The Good Wife," according to a source close to the situation. The episode will likely air some time next year.It appears that Rose will be playing himself in the episode. However, this story does explain why he keeps hanging out with Ken Jeong.
"The Good Wife," which stars Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth, takes place in Chicago but is filmed in New York. Other notable names who have made an appearance on the show include Michael J. Fox, 'iCarly" star Miranda Cosgrove and former Clinton adviser Vernon Jordan.
