Archive for the ‘basketball’ Category
28
If you are a basketball fan, Christmas was our day. there were FIVE GAMES on in one day. And for the most part, we were able to watch basketball from 9:00am until 9:30pm. And the only game that shouldn’t have been played being the Clippers against the Suns. The Clippers??? Who the hell wants to watch the Clippers? But I digress. the featured game of the day was the Los Angeles Lakers against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lebron against Kobe. Shaq back in Los Angeles. The two teams the league has been trying to wish into the finals. But it wasn’t the game that will be remembered by those who saw it. It is the fan revolt. Laker’s fans, used to getting BULLSHIT CALLS, especially at HOME, were mad because the refs let them play. And to show their displeasure, they threw the five-away foam fingers and some water bottles onto the floor . But what seems to have been missed in all of this is the FACT that the picture on the fingers is a GANG SIGN for Los Angeles!
I didn’t really look at the fingers as they were raining down from the stands. I was just GITTY that the Lakers were getting DEALT WITH, at HOME, on CHRISTMAS, for ALL THE WORLD TO SEE. It was a day later, after seeing the picture did I see the Gang Sign on the foam fingers. Here is a picture of the sign. The first picture is the original picture. The second picture turns to foam finger “right side up” so you can see EXACTLY what I am talking about. And here is the proof that this is an OLD SCHOOL gang sign for Los Angeles.
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I don’t know if this was a new promotion or what. What I do know, after working with at-risk gang members for over 5 years, is what the different gang signs mean. And that includes gang signs that are local, statewide, or national. And the the picture on the foam fingers passed out to thousands of fans, was indeed a gang sign!
I’d love to know what the thought process was in deciding to try and pass off a gang sign in a Los Angeles Lakers game promotion. And I would love to know which person, who surely didn’t create the hand sign themselves, decided to promote the Lakers as a gang. Either way, the past can’t be changed. And the fact remains, the Lakers got DEALT WITH on Christmas and the Promotion that had a gang sign on it went terrible wrong!
13
As a basketball junkie and a card carrying David Stern hater, I find all of the hoopla (sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun!) about refs fixing games interesting. ESPECIALLY since it happened on Stern’s watch! But the fact remains, that most fans feel that refs have their favorites and that certain teams “get calls” and other teams don’t. And I do indeed believe that referees have made bets with players during games regardless of how big or small. I’m sure those people reading this blog are either clicking away or shaking their heads wondering if I have lost my mind. But I will show you video proof of this at the bottom of this post!!!!!!
I was a Laker’s fan until BLOBE fucked everything up with his selfishness. Don’t give a damn about him. He a punk BITCH and a RAPIST, who has been able to rehabilitate his reputation like nothing happened. He’s also a SNITCH! But that isn’t my point. The Lakers, Celtics, and recently the Bulls have always gotten calls. Certain players, Jordan, Bird, Magic, and Barkley to a lesser extent, have benefited from getting protected by the refs. And other players, Rasheed Wallace, Ron Artest, and Dennis Rodman, seemed to get calls that only the ref saw. Remember Rasheed getting a technical during the playoffs against the Lakers because he “stared at the ref!” Or what about Tim Duncan getting tossed from a game during the playoffs by Joey Crawford because “Timmy” was laughing! While sitting on the BENCH!!!!! From reports when this event occurred, everyone has said that Joey seemed (s) to have a problem with Tim Duncan.” HUH! How can anyone have a problem with Tim Duncan? He brings it every night and rarely complains. He is the Bjorn Borg of basketball! Crawford was fired for his actions and his refusal to control himself. He was brought back when Donaghy was indicted. That in itself speaks volumes!
Oh yeah, you thought I forgot about the proof huh? Naw, just waiting to the right time. I use to buy the Blooper and Dunk VHS tapes back in the day and watch them all the time. In the Sports Illustrated Dazzling Dunks and Basketball Bloopers tape from 1989, a ref makes this statement to Laker Norm Nixon with Magic Johnson looking on. He says to “Stormin Normin” something about a “steak dinner.” You can infer WHATEVER YOU WANT from this. But the truth remains, this sounds like some kind of BET TO ME! And this was caught on tape! There is no telling what goes on behind closed doors or when the camera isn’t rolling!
You can make you own conclusions as to what this means. But it sure sounds like a bet to me!
We sports fans may never know what the real truth is. Is Donaghy a “rogue referee” and a “liar” as NBA officials have stated. But for anyone to think that all refs are fair or don’t or haven’t bet on sports games that they have reffed is hiding their head in the sand! And this video proves that it happened. And Donaghy makes at least two refs that WE KNOW OF, who have placed bets on or during games!!!!!
18
Over the weekend, two of sports greatest athletes were taken to task for their behavior. One, Serena Williams, was penalized twice at the end of a match for yelling at a lines woman for calling a foot fault. The other, Michael Jordan, used his forum at the Hall of Fame ceremony to “get back” at everyone who ever slighted him. While both of them may have acted badly, depending on how you look at it, it only Serena Williams that sports columnist Mike Whitlock chose to chastise. And usually I agree with things that “Whit” has to say. But on this one, you got it wrong Whit!
I’m going to start by saying this. I’m really not a Jordan fan, PERIOD! And while I give him much props for his accomplishments, how can you not, I never “pulled his jock.” I was a Magic Johnson fan. So his first three championships I didn’t really care about. I was pulling for the Lakers and the Suns for two of those rings. I didn’t even watch the final against the Blazers. The second three championships, I DID pull for the Bulls. But that wasn’t because of Mike. It was because of my man, DENNIS RODMAN!!! Yeah, me and “D-Rod” are riding for life. All except when he married Carmen Electra. What The Hell was that about D??? But I digress. The persona that he allowed to be scripted about himself wasn’t real. And I could tell it wasn’t real. He just seemed like a fake and a phony to me. And when the chips began to come out, sexual relations with groupies, gambling issues, and allegedly getting coaches fired – Doug Collins, and teammates cut, Craig Hodges, it just confirmed what I had always felt. That the whole “Air Jordan thing” was a farce. I only came to “like Mike” when he played with the Bullets. Yeah I called them the Bullets and not the Wizards because they are. The Bullets!!! And here’s why I began to “like Mike.”
The BULLETS were playing against the Chicago Bulls in D.C. and the “young guns” were talking mad trash to Mike including Ron Mercer. They went at him the WHOLE GAME. And it was back and forth. And the one play that I think epitomizes Jordan was this. As Mercer took the ball to the hoop, Mike pinned it against the glass, caught it, and turned around to Ron and told him “don’t talk trash.” That was the competitive fire that made Mike the COMPETITOR that he is! But his Hall of Fame speech, let the “REAL JORDAN” come back out!
Continue reading “You got it wrong Whit!” »
15
I’ll admit it. I don’t like Kobe Bryant, henceforth to be called BLOBE. He’s selfish and rarely thinks of anyone but himself. And even when he is doing something “nice“, it always looks like it’s being done for his benefit. Call me a hater, call me whatever makes you justify his bullshit. I don’t like him and never will. And his latest stunt proves my point.
Blobe is charging people $25.00 to visit his website. YUP! He’s charging people to visit his website. And this is the reduced price. It was $50.00. In an economy where for a lot of people, $25.00 much less $50.00 is money that they can’t afford to waste, he is charging a fee to see his site. And what do you get for your money? You get
1. An exclusive KB24 T-Shirt
2. Access to exclusive content including videos, audio and photos
3. Members-only access to exclusive contests.
4. Access to exclusive KB24 events
5. Access to member only message boards, blogs, social network.
6. Exclusive access to KB24 events (chat/blogs/live video/listening party, meet & greets etc).
Continue reading “Real Class Act” »
22
As I wrote in my post on July 1, 2009, “How old are you, anyways“, I spoke about the NBA requirement that players be at least 19 years old and a year out of high school before entering the league. Since most players entering the league are African American, I positioned that the rule was racist and prevents MEN who are old enough to die for their country, from being able to support their families. Recent events have given further proof that racism is alive and well in the NBA!
The next “great white hope” to enter the NBA in a few years is a kid named Ricky Rubio. He is from Spain and is supposed to be Magic, Nash, and Pete Maravich, all rolled into one. At 17, he played for the Spanish National Team and is said to have held his own against the United States team. At 18, just a few months ago, Rubio was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves. And needless to say, he isn’t very happy about it. The wolves have been AWFUL since the “Big Ticket“, Kevin Garnett left a few years ago. And the Wolves are pulling out all of the stops to get Ricky to come to Minnesota. But isn’t he only 18 years old? Wouldn’t that be against the NBA rules?
Continue reading “How old are you again?” »
01
For a few years now, the NBA has had a rule that says you have to be at least 19 years old to play in the league. That you can go to Iraq or Afghanistan and lose body parts and your LIFE, but not be allowed to run around in some shorts with some other guys in shorts has escaped a lot of people. That the rule is playing games with people’s lives also seems to be forgotten. As yet, there hasn’t been a case of someone losing their life waiting to become old enough to play in the league. But would possibly losing a parent suffice?
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a basketball junkie. I will watch, play, and talk about basketball all day long. While some people watch basketball for the dunks, I’m at home calling out the defensive and offensive sets. And this goes back to the seventies. I can name every championship team, beginning in 1977 to the present. I can tell the difference between a 1-2-1 trap and a 2-3 zone. So the age limit rule kinda pissed me off. Because as a fan, I want to see the best players available. If they are over 18, they should be able to play. And to hear CLUCKS like Charles Barkley, who I like, and Shane BITCHIER who is overrated, agree with it was even more appalling. Because while Bitchier’s family might have been able to pay for his college education, people like Charles wouldn’t have been able to go to college if it weren’t for basketball. I guess Charles forgot about the money he has ADMITTED to receiving while playing at Auburn. And Shane is probably worried about some “young gun” taking his job for half the salary!
Continue reading “How old are you anyways?” »
12
I recently read that Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, made a comment to on opposing players mother. Cuban either called Denver Nugget Kenyon Martin a “thug” or a “punk” to Kenyon’s mother’s face or he agreed with comments made my other Maverick fans. And as fans were calling Martin a “thug”, Mark said “that includes your son!” OH HELL NO!!!!
Let’s start from the beginning. First off, Cuban has been a pompous ass since he came into the league.No owner has been fined as much or as often than he has. And he has literally ran out on the court to “protect” his players. WFT???? That’s like having your mama come up to the school after you have just gotten beaten up! But I digress. He has spent oodles of money making the Mavs locker room a place you never want to leave. And spent just as much money on players to try and “buy a championship.” It hasn’t happened.
The last two seasons, his teams have gotten EMBARRASSED in the playoffs with most fingers pointing AT him for his “hands on” mentality. He has placed his hopes and dreams on a guy, Dirk Notwizki, who is like another Dallas athlete, Cowboys Tony Romo, a STAT STUFFER! Great for fantasy football but you aren’t going to hoist a trophy with either guy being your “number one.” His team has been labeled “soft” with no “heart.” The players staged a MUTINY, and threatened to walk, unless then Coach Avery Johnson, was fired. He has made silly trades, Jason Kidd for Devin Harris?, and wonders why he is no closer to winning a title. Every loss reflects badly on HIM personally. So frustration is setting in.
Continue reading “Ya Mama!” »
21
My first real “job” was at 16 years old. I was a softball umpire in the league that I once played in. And I remember realizing very early, that for sports officials, you NEVER HAVE A HOME GAME! And I also found out at an early age, remember, this was the early 80’s, that adults can be real assholes! Especially when it comes to sports. I was verbally abused, in front of their children, by people who should have known better. But I never let my “position of power” go to my head. I kept a cool head when chaos reigned supreme! And the fact that I was a large size person didn’t hurt any either!
I have always given officials the benefit of the doubt when I watch sports. I guess that is part of the “officiating fraternity” that I belong to. I know that most good officials don’t want to be the deciding factor of any sports event. And when we make a bad call, and I made a few myself, we feel almost as bad as the team that received the bad call. But we are people too. And we make mistakes. But as a fan, I have watched officials let that power go to their heads. And it seems like professional Basketball officials seem to be the worse culprits!
I was watching the Boston Celtic/Chicago Bulls game on Wednesday March 18, 2009, and thought the officiating was awful. Boston was getting served an “old fashion” case of “home cooking.” It seemed like every call went against them. And some calls weren’t even close. Boston coach Doc Rivers got one technical arguing a call. As a former official, and a former basketball and softball player, I know that sometimes coaches get “techs” to try and fire up their teams. But there are also times when they get techs because they feel their guys are getting screwed over by the refs. The first tech was definitely one of those “screwed over” techs. But the second tech, the one that got Doc thrown out of the game was chincy to say the least. Doc says that the ref goaded him into the tech by staring at him. The Doc walked away from the ref, Bill Kennedy, who continued to stare at him. When Doc responded to the stare by saying “what”, he was promptly “t’d up” and thrown out of the game. As I said before, I was watching the game and it seemed like the ref did indeed try and goad Doc into saying or doing something to get tossed from the game.
Continue reading “He stared at me!” »
07
First let me say this. I’ve been a Charles Barkley fan since his days at Auburn University. Having been overweight and playing basketball myself, I saw a lot of myself in how his game and weight played into how people treated him. And while I don’t always agree with everything he says, at least he is willing to say something. Far too many African American athletes “take the money and run” only to come back to the community when they get in trouble. And I guess his protestations about “not being a role model” is correct. Because I don’t want a role model who drives drunk putting innocent lives in jeopardy. That shit ain’t cool at all!!
On December 31, 2008 or January 1st, 2009, Barkley was arrested for Driving Under the Influence in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona. In the arrest photo, he is sweating so much it looks like he just got finished playing a basketball game. I’d hate to try and read his mind but it looks like he is either laughing, smirking, or seriously amused, at this situation. And his reason for running the stop sign that got him stopped in the first place? He was going to pick up, and did pick up, a women who was going to give him oral sex. According to Charles, this was a repeat performance that was the “best oral sex he has ever had!” Considering his alleged affair with Madonna, that is saying something!
Continue reading “Charles, Charles, Charles” »
01
Earlier this week, there was a sports media frenzy for an event that is two years away. Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lebron James, faced a sports media horde that waited with baited breath for every word uttered by him. That he is currently under contract with his current team didn’t seem to matter. All everyone wanted to talk about was “when is Lebron coming to New York?”
Let me say this first. Since Mr. James has come onto the scene, I haven’t been impressed with anything he has done off of the court at all. He seems selfish and shallow to me. Nothing he has said or done has any substance to it. He laughed and joked about Stephon Marbury’s reasonably priced shoe line while he is charging people $150.00 and up for his shoes. I guess he forgot when his broke ass couldn’t afford to pay that kind of money for some shoes. Or was it that he didn’t have to pay for the shoes he wore at all! That they were “given” to him! Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. He has done Public Service Announcements about the tragedy in Dafur Sudan, going so far as to say that he would speak about China’s role in the situation at the Olympics. But when the time came for him to speak up, he got “lock jaw.” Or should I say “BITCH JAW!” He has also publicly stated that he wants to be a billionaire. Again, “Me“, “Me“, “Me“, “I“, “I“, “I.” Now he is feeding a media that is waiting for him to come to New York. Did I forget to mention that he is still under contract with the Cavaliers??? For two more years!!
Sports commentator Charles Barkley come out after the New York game and said it was wrong for James to continue feeding the media monster at the expense of the city of Cleveland, his coaches and teammates, and the Cavalier fans. That it is disrecpectful to everyone involved. With which I agree As did fellow commentator, Kenny Smith. And according to an MSN Fox Sports poll, of the 94,003 votes taken as of this writing, the question “Who is wrong, Lebron or Charles”, by a 71% to 29% margin, LEBRON is said to be in the WRONG! There is nothing the media can do to fix that. While the media likes to “pick and choose” who is right and who is wrong, the fans know the difference. And Lebron’s response to Barkley’s comments. Are you ready? James said that Charles was “stupid.” Wow, what a thoughtful, INTELLIGENT, response that was. Lebron must have sat up all night coming up with that one! And he is supposed to be a role model! I wonder what was his SAT score, a seven! Stupid. That was the best he could come up with. Stupid. My god, what the hell has the world come to that a simpleton can command the sports world media stage and all he can come up with is “stupid!” Notice that he did EXPLAIN or JUSTIFY what was going on. He just said Charles was “stupid.” I guess 66,742 other people must be “stupid” also. Because we all agreed with Barkley.
I am old enough to remember the “Ted Stepien years” where the Cavaliers were the butt of every National Bitches Association joke. To the Cavaliers credit, they have tried to surround James with players to help him win a ring. But because the Cavs don’t fit into the ”I’m going to be a billionaire” plans of James, they are probably going to lose him to free agency in 2010. Because by listening to him last week, he is already telling the Cavs management, the city of Cleveland, his coaches and teammates, and the Cavs fans, “I’m leaving BITCHES … in two years, so get ready!!! WOW, what a CLASSY guy he is!