David Stern Sends Interesting Cake To NBA Lockout Negotiations (Photo)

With the NBA still under lockout mode, it's nice to see that NBA commissioner David Stern has a little bit of a sense of humor about it.

During a recent negotiating session between the players and owners, Stern sent the below cake as chronicled by CBS NBA blogger Ken Berger:

After the dour disposition he exhibited after last week's meeting, Stern was all smiles Tuesday -- but cautioned reporters not to read anything into it. He described the meeting, about three hours shorter than the sessions typically have run, as "quality time."

"When I didn’t smile the last time, I was described as something between dour and surly, so this is my smiling face," Stern said. "And we had a … we’re looking forward to reconvening tomorrow."

Or, maybe it was the cake that I had delivered to the negotiating room (see pic below), which resulted in the requisite laughs on the sidewalk outside the Upper East Side hotel where the bargaining took place.

(Courtesy of BergerSphere) 

By Ben Chew with No comments

Mark Cuban Gets Colbert Repor'd (Video)

 Last night, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban appeared on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" and was grilled pretty throughly by Mr. Colbert.

Everything from the NBA lockout to what it's like being a billionaire is covered here:

(Courtesy of Die Hard Sports)

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Roy Hibbert And Detlef Schrempf Cameo On "Parks and Recreations" (Video)

Last night on NBC's Parks and Recreations, Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert and former Pacer Detlef Schrempf had a special cameo appearance on the show.

So get ready for some laughs!: 



(Courtesy of The Basketball Jones)

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Reasons Why The NBA Lockout Sucks From DJ Fula (Video)

Previously on That NBA Lottery Pick, we featured clips of German disc jockey DJ Fula ranting about the National Basketball Association.

Now, he's back and he has reasons why the NBA lockout still sucks:



(Courtesy of That NBA Lottery Pick)

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Al Harrington Runs Spartan Race Obstacle Course (Video)

Recently, NBA player Al Harrington decided to run what is best known as the Spartan Race in Staten Island, New York.

The Spartan Race itself consists of a rather challenging obstacle course that Al was able to complete:

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Dwayne Wade Faces Jimmy Fallon In Random Object Three Point Shoot Out (Video)

Last night, Jimmy Fallon had Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade on his show to do a rather interesting three point shootout. 

Instead of using the usual basketball, they used random objects:





(Courtesy of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon)

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Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony on "Law and Order: SVU" (Video)

Previously on That NBA Lottery Pick, we featured a story about Knicks star Carmelo Anthony and Miami Heat star Chris Bosh appearing on an upcoming episode of NBC's Law and Order: SVU.

The plot-line for the episode was about a former youth basketball coach who got a little too close to his players and Bosh/Anthony make an appearance at the beginning of the episode to give a speech during his local Hall of Fame induction:



(Courtesy of The Basketball Jones)

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Brandon Jennings Had A Basketball Shoe Cake For His 22nd Birthday (Photo)

Recently, Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings celebrated his 22nd birthday and for his birthday cake, he decided to go with something classy.

Presenting the Under Armour shoe cake:

(Courtesy of Brandon Jennings YFrog Account)

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Derrick Rose Faces Matador In Adidas Commercial (Video)

Recently, Adidas basketball released this teaser trailer for a future commercial staring Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose entering a matador ring for the release of Rose's upcoming new shoe.

To see the full length ad, you have to wait until it airs/reaches the YouTube or try to unlock it on the Adidas Facebook page:




UPDATE: Here is the full sixty second commercial:



(Courtesy of I Am A GM)

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Delonte West Got A Job! (Photos)

Previously on That NBA Lottery Pick, we featured a story about Celtics guard Delonte West trying to get a job at Home Depot.

Well, it turns out that Delonte didn't get the job after all. However, he was recently hired by Regency Furniture in Boston in the store room and he informed us via his Twitter page:

Here is the picture of his first day on the job and his hastily filled out job application:

(Courtesy of Celtics Life)

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The Confusing Lebron James License Plate On A Lakers Fan's Car (Photo)

Just when you thought that you'd seen it all, you see the below photo featuring a Lebron James license plate with a Lakers license plate cover and scratch you head a little bit.

Is he a bandwagon fan? Is he a Lakers fan who likes Lebron? What's the meaning?:

(Courtesy of Hooped Up)

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Kobe Bryant Playing Soccer In Turkey? Kobe Bryant Playing Soccer In Turkey (Video)

Recently, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant made a Istanbul, Turkey and during one his stops, he decided to hang out with some players playing for the Galatasaray futbol team.

Kobe also showed off his penalty skills as well later in the clip: 





UPDATE: Here is another version of the same clip with the entire penalty shootout:



(Courtesy of I Am A GM and Sportress of Blogitude)

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Who's The NBA General Manager That Doesn't Know How To Use Google?

Recently, ESPN TrueHoop's Henry Abbott put together a fantastic article regarding NBA general managers and the MoneyBall movie.

In one of his sections of the article, he details this story of an NBA general manager and his non-knowledge of a thing called Google:

I was asked to get involved in a negotiation with a certain player. I did a little homework on the guy, and then went back into the GM's office, and asked how we should handle the guy's injury history, specifically a torn ACL that had kept him out of the league for a year-and-a-half.

"He tore his ACL?" asked the GM, sounding surprised. "Where'd you learn that?"

I told him I had just googled the guy.

This was in the last couple of years.

He said "ok, you're going to have to show me how to use this google thing."

So I guess the million dollar question is who is the NBA general manager who didn't know how to use Google? Feel free to place your bets.

By Ben Chew with 1 comment

Michael Jordan's Opening Speech At "Michael Jordan Steakhouse" (Video)

For those of you who didn't know, Michael Jordan recently open his brand new steakhouse on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago.

During the grand opening of the restaurant, MJ gave a rather rousing speech to welcomed diners and VIP's:

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Kobe Bryant Gets Punched Out On The Simpsons (Video)

During last week's premiere episode of the Simpsons,  an animated Kobe Bryant wearing his old number made an appearance as he was punched out by a character named Wayne who was voiced by actor Kiefer Sutherland:

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NBA Stars Have Fun At Nickelodeon "World Play Day" Event, Lebron Hugs Michelle Obama (Photos)

Over the weekend, Lebron James/Dwayne Wade/Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul attended Nickelodeon's "World Play Day" event and it appeared that they had a lot of fun:

During the event, Lebron met with first lady Michelle Obama and he was pretty excited when he got to hug her:

(Courtesy of Jocks and Stilleto Jill)

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Kobe Bryant Has His Own Signature Smart Car (Photos)

Previously on That NBA Lottery Pick, we featured a clip of car commercial featuring Kobe Bryant for SMART cars.

Well, SMART recently released the limited-edition "Black Mamba Fortwo" which features a golden facsimile of Kobe's signature on the hood of the car:

If you want to pick up a Kobe edition SMART car, it will run you about $19,412.


(Courtesy of Jocks and Stiletto Jill)

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The First Two Episodes Of Kevin Durant's "35th Hour" (Video)

Recently, NBA All-Star Kevin Durant and his production team decided to put together a series of videos inside the life of Mr. Durant.




Below is the first two episodes and for you Durant fans, it is a definite must view:

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Here's Al Harrington With A Chimpanzee (Photo)

I'm not really sure who's chimpanzee this is but it seems that Al Harrington is enjoying himself in the below photo:

(Courtesy of I Am A GM)

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Philadelphia 76ers Replace Autistic Child's Basketball Hoop (Video)

Recently, an autistic child in Mt. Airy, Pennsylvania had his basketball hoop stolen from outside his house and it was documented by the local CBS affiliate in Philadelphia.

When the Philadelphia 76ers heard about the story, they sprung into by replacing the hoop for the child and giving him a moment that he'll never forget:





(Courtesy of CBS Philly)

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For Your Viewing Pleasure, "Blake Griffin Intern Cam" (Video)

During this week, we've featured Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin's videos on Funny or Die and the longest of those videos is called, "Blake Griffin Intern Cam".

So enjoy this 45 minute clip of Blake Griffin doing some rather interesting things:

Live Blake Griffin Intern Cam from Blake Griffin     

(Courtesy of Funny Or Die)

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Sebastian Telfair Duels With WNBA's Cappie Pondexter, Pondexter Wins (Video)

Currently, some NBA players are in Las Vegas working out at the Impact Basketball Facility and keeping their bodies in tip-top shape.

During a recent pick-up game, NBA player Sebastian Telfair faced off against a team that included WNBA guard Cappie Pondexter. Watch as Pondexter make some nice moves against the former lottery pick:



(Courtesy of Hoop Mixtape)

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Kevin Durant's New Movie Sounds Interesting, Part Space Jam/Part Like Mike

Previously on That NBA Lottery Pick, we featured a story about Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant appearing in a feature film and thanks to a casting company, we know what it's going to be about.

"In a magical twist, Kevin Durant switches all of his basketball-playing skills with an enthusiastic young fan who becomes the star of his high school team… and leaving Durant and the Thunder helpless. With the playoffs approaching, they need to discover what it is that brought them together before the early end to the Thunder’s season."

I know that whole premise of NBA player loses basketball skills to help someone else out seems a little played out but considering the possibility that we might miss the NBA season, this might be the be the only NBA hoops we'll see this season.

(Courtesy of SB Nation)

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Michael Jordan's Golf Bag Has Six Rings On It (Photo)

For those of you that might have forgotten that Michael Jordan won six championships in the National Basketball Association, all you have to do is take a look at his golf bag to remind yourself:

(Courtesy of Terez Owens)

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Lebron James Might Show Up To Your High School Soccer Game (Photo)

Earlier tonight, Lebron James was back in Ohio and took in a high school soccer game featuring the son of one of his former high school coaches. One of the treasured moments for LBJ was the below picture of him hanging out with some of his young fans:

(Courtesy of Lebron James Twitter)

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Oh Man!, Lil' Blake Griffin Is A Murderer (Video)

Previously on That NBA Lottery Pick, we've been featuring Clippers forward Blake Griffin's videos from his internship at Funny or Die.

The latest one is called, "Lil Blake" which features Blake talking to a puppet version of himself who starts murdering people:

Lil' Blake from Blake Griffin     

(Courtesy of Funny or Die and With Leather)

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Pearl Jam's Original Name Was "Mookie Blaylock"

For those of you who were fans of the band Pearl Jam, you might already know the story of the group's original name but for those who don't let Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam tell you the story of the band's original name:

Q: Before you guys were named Pearl Jam, you were called Mookie Blaylock, who was a former guard for the University of Oklahoma and NBA player. What's the story behind that?

A: Well, when we were recording our first record, we had a per diem of about $10. So when we got lunch at the store across the street, we'd always buy a pack of basketball cards. When we turned in our tape, we didn't have a name for the band yet so we put a Mookie Blaylock card in the case. We were about to go on a tour and still didn't have a name and needed one quickly. We were told it didn't need to be the name that we were going to use forever, just something for the tour. Someone saw the Mookie Blaylock card and said, ‘How about Mookie Blaylock?' We decided to go with it and did a 10-show tour with Alice in Chains as Mookie Blaylock. Mookie was cool about it, too—he didn't sue us. I actually got to meet him later on and shoot around a little bit. We also made a Pearl Jam T-shirt with a picture of him on it. I guess we owe Mookie a lot.

So, there you have it, Mookie Blaylock was the first ever name of Pearl Jam but thankfully, he was in the pack instead of Jon Koncak.

(Courtesy of Seattle Threads via Deadspin)

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Carlos Arroyo Got Another Reggaeton Hit (Music Video)

Previously on That NBA Lottery Pick, we mentioned that NBA player Carlos Arroyo has entered the rap/reggaeton world of music.

Recently, Arroyo did a track with Probly Pablo called, "Imaginarme" and it is off the chain:



(Courtesy of I Am A GM)

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Ty Lawson's New European Car Has His Signature On It (Video)

One of the benefits of an NBA player playing overseas is the free swag that you get from the club that you join.

Nuggets guard Ty Lawson signed a deal to play overseas in Lithuania and during a recent event for the team, Lawson got a new Renault which has signature on the side of it:

(Courtesy of Pro Basketball Talk)

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Blake Griffin's "Flight Of The Griffin" (Video)

Earlier today, we posted Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin's first video on the comedy website, FunnyorDie.com

Here is Blake's second offering with a movie trailer sketch directed and imagined by Blake himself called, "Flight of The Griffin":

Flight of the Griffin from Blake Griffin     

(Courtesy of Funny Or Die)

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Lebron James Mocks Self In McDonald's Ad (Video)

It's clear that after Lebron James promised that he and the Miami Heat might six....seven NBA Championships, that line would be ripe for parody.

Recently, he filmed this McDonald's commercial promoting the Monopoly game return and well, just watch the commercial for the punch line:



Here is what the marketing director wanted from this commercial:

With Mr. James, "we thought we'd have a little fun with him, and he was totally fine with teasing and poking a little fun at himself with the notion of the odds of winning seven championships," said Mr. Freeland, referring to Mr. James' grand claims that he'd win seven NBA championships with the Miami Heat, the team he joined after the much-groaned-about "Decision" to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, which aired on ESPN in July 2010.

(Courtesy of Ad Age)

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Amare Stoudemire Hangs Out With Fashion Designer Rachel Roy (Video)

As mentioned previously, many NBA players attended Fashion Week in New York City and one of them happened to be Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire.

In the below video, Stoudemire and fashion icon Rachel Roy do a little bit of talking about a myriad of subjects which includes their upcoming collaborated capsule collection, Paris, and Amare's love of ice cream:



(Courtesy of Pro Basketball Talk)

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Blake Griffin Appears in First Funny Or Die Video, "Blake Griffin 24/7 Intern" (Video)

Previously on That NBA Lottery Pick, we mentioned that Blake Griffin would be working over at FunnyOrDie.com during the NBA lockout.

Here is his first video called, "24/7 Blake Griffin: NBA Star Turned Funny or Die Intern":

24/7 Blake Griffin: NBA Star Turned Intern from Blake Griffin     

(Courtesy of Funny Or Die)

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Ron Artest Eliminated First From Dancing With The Stars

For those of you who expected Ron Artest to make a deep run in this season's Dancing With The Stars, you were sadly mistaken.

Artest was the first to be eliminated this season but Artest seemed very gracious in being the first to go:

“All I want to know is who’s coming with me!” Mr. Peace said with a big smile on his face and a few fist pumps. “(Pro partner) Peta was great. Everybody give a round of applause to Peta! She’s awesome! But not everyone was as thrilled with the first cut. “I just mourn all of the antics that we’re going to miss from this moment on,” lamented host Tom Bergeron.

So, goodbye to Ron Artest, we saved the last dance for you.

UPDATE: Here is the video of the elimination and Ron's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live








(Courtesy of The Clicker) 

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Barney Stinson Disses Cleveland And Does Lebron Powder Toss (Video)

Last night was the season premiere of How I Met Your Mother and everyone's favorite womanizer Barney Stinson (actor Neil Patrick Harris) got a quick shot at Cleveland and Lebron James.

The plot iinvolves Ted Mosby (actor Josh Radnor) going back to Cleveland for his friend's wedding and Barney attempts to try and score with some new ladies. He takes the time to remember the other guy who screwed Cleveland:

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Ron Artest's First Dance on "Dancing With The Stars" (Video)

Last night was the premiere of "Dancing with the Stars" and Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest was the first to show of his dancing skills.

Here is Ron dancing "The Cha Cha Cha" to Pitbull's hit song featuring Lil Jon, "Krazy":

By Ben Chew with No comments

The Rather Awesome Kevin Durant vs. Lebron James Mortal Kombat Highlight Video (Video)

Just in case you ever wondered what a Lebron James/Kevin Durant highlight video set to the premise of the video game Mortal Kombat would look like, fear not.

The below video was made for you:



(Courtesy of Sweater Punch)

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The One Where Charles Barkley Sings Frank Sinatra's "My Way" (Video)

Over the weekend, Charles Barkley was in Riverhead, New York for a charity golf tournament held by Celtics legend Bill Russell.

After the event, Barkley took in the sight and sounds of downtown Riverhead where he posed for pictures and even sung some karaoke at Jerry and the Mermaid:



(Courtesy of The Suffolk Times)

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Kobe Bryant Might Loan Other NBA Players Money If Lockout Continues

As the NBA draws closer to possibly cancelling some of their regular season game, Lakers star Kobe Bryant might be part of a group of players that might give out loans to other NBA players who are in desperate need of some cash.

NBA player's union executive director Billy Hunter recently did an interview with the Los Angeles Times and mentioned that Kobe would be willing to do so if the lockout continues:

I know Kobe is intimately involved in interfacing with colleagues and sharing in a pool of revenue to help the others get through this. Kobe has volunteered to do that in the event others need, he and others are prepared to loan money if necessary.

(Courtesy of Los Angeles Times) 

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Brandon Jennings Organizes And Plays In Flag Football Game (Video)

With the NBA still in lock-out mode, Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings decided to get together a friendly flag football game in Lincoln Park in Wisconsin.

The game pitted Team LA vs. Team Milwaukee and it got pretty heated:



(Courtesy of Slam Online)

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John Starks Wants To Get You In A New Car (Video)

Former New York Knicks guard John Starks has been using his time wisely as he recently appeared in this commercial for Queens "Ford & Lincoln".

Starks does a solid job playing the "Remember Me" card and makes sure if you're buying a card you better be going to "The Boulevard's Best":



(Courtesy of Ball Don't Lie)

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David Stern or Adam Silver Might Say Your Name in NBA 2K12

For those of you that have been eagerly awaiting NBA 2K12, the below details of the revamped "My Player" mode might cause you to want the game even more.

The mode itself was created to allow the user to create a player and play through his career. One of the things that people have clamoring for in the mode previously was the ability to hear David Stern call their name, this year that is a reality:

Through our great partnership with the NBA, I’m extremely proud to announce that were able to get Mr. David Stern into the studio to record all necessary audio required to have him announce the entire 1st round of the draft (Association Spoiler: Our great partnership also allowed us to secure Deputy Commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver.  When the 2nd Round of the draft rolls around, Mr. Silver will walk onto the stage and call out the remainder of the draft.

Some of the features to be included in the mode as well features rookie interviews, a Hall Of Fame speech at the end of your career if you get that far, and even billboards/magazine covers/and "Amazing" commercials featuring your created player.

(Courtesy of Kotaku)

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The J.J. Barea Rap Song That You Have Been Waiting For (Video)

For those of you who wanted to express your love of diminutive Dallas Maverick guard JJ Barea, look no further than the below rap song dedication from Sector Sabana Abajo:



(Courtesy of The Basketball Jones)

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