Sħãlïq™

Go easy on him!

Yeah, I like your rookies! Reminds me of the good ol' times when we had Miles, Q-Rich and Corey...

Will Davis stay? So the question is: Where do you think Anthony Davis will finish up his NBA career? Didn’t mean to make anyone in New Orleans spit out their Sazerac. Not suggesting that there are problems buzzing around the hive of the Hornets. It’s just that when the word came out over the weekend that Kwame Brown was signed by the Sixers, it got us to thinking about overall No. 1 picks in the NBA draft and how many of them went on to be certified stars and played their entire career with the team that picked them. Not many, as it turns out. If we discount the past five top choices — Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, John Wall, Kyrie Irving and Davis — as being too early in their careers to measure, the fact is that only a dozen of the first 61 No. 1 picks in league history played for just one team. That is including Dwight Howard, who has one foot out the door in Orlando and Greg Oden, who has not yet been signed by another team since leaving Portland. http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/07/17/no-1-question-will-davis-stay/ P.S. Didn't wanna start a new thread about it.

Kobe To Call It Quits At 35? HANG TIME HQs – Kobe Bryant has put the world on notice. Two more years of him in purple and gold and that could be it. No more of that hook-jaw look after he drains a big shot. No more. After nearly two decade with him as a fixture in the league, as one of the most recognizable stars in all of sports, is Bryant ready to call it a career at the end of his current contract? That’s exactly what he told Graham Bensinger of the Huffington Post, when he suggested that the 2013-14 season could very well be his last: We’ve seen no signs of slow-down in Kobe the past two years. So there’s no real indication that there will be any more signs of slow-down in him between now and the end of the 2013-14 season. But if he says there is a possibility that he hangs it up after 18 years in the league, no one can be mad at him. We’ll believe it when we see it, though. And that’s mostly because the Lakers have Steve Nash signed up for three years and by the end of the 2013-14 season Andrew Bynum (or Dwight Howard … we’re projecting here folks, it’s all hypothetical) should be in the physical prime of his career. Can you see the most competitive player of his generation and one of the most competitive NBA champions of all-time walking away from the challenge of chasing one last title before he walks away from the game? http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/07/17/kobe-to-call-it-quits-at-35/ Damned, Father Time! Don't take him away yet....

Zaza Pachulia Getting an Education The Hawks’ Zaza Pachulia has long been one of the NBA’s most engaged entrepreneurs outside of his basketball day job. While some athletes sadly end up in dire straits once their careers are over, Pachulia seems determined to set himself up for success once he finally hangs ‘em up. With that in mind, Zaza has spent parts of the last four offseasons taking executive business courses, for example at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business. This summer he stepped it up a notch, joining the future Zuckerbergs of the world at Harvard for a three-day business seminar, as he recently detailed for Hawks.com. Source

Heat's Miller not retiring, hopes to avoid back surgery HIALEAH, Fla. (AP -- Mike Miller believes his balky back can improve without surgery, and he's planning to help the NBA champion Miami Heat defend their crown next season. Miller limped through much of this past season, his back pain so severe at times that he couldn't even sit on the Heat bench during games. He has been consulting with Miami neurosurgeon Dr. Barth Green throughout this offseason, and the expectation now is that a combination of rest and rehabilitation should be enough to get him ready to play again. "No retirement," Miller said Tuesday. Miller made an appearance for about 600 children at a basketball camp he sponsored, walking in to roars from the kids and chants of his last name. And when told that Hialeah, a city just north of Miami, believes it was the epicenter of the biggest party to celebrate the Heat championship, Miller tipped his hand as to his future plans. Full Story

One of my favorite duos!!

Nolan Smith Suffers Concussion LAS VEGAS – Trail Blazers guard Nolan Smith was released from the hospital Tuesday night after suffering a concussion in the final minute of the summer-league game against the Rockets and being taken from Cox Pavilion on a stretcher. “All tests normal,” the team reported via Twitter, after previously saying Smith had a full range of motion. Smith, a second-year Duke product who played in 44 of the 66 games as a rookie, was injured with 42.9 seconds left when he was fouled by Zoran Dragic on a driving layup. Smith’s momentum took him into the basket stanchion. He took a few more steps, then fell to the court a few feet beyond the baseline. The Trail Blazers, quickly seeing something was wrong, rushed to his side. Coaches and players came as well while Smith spent several minutes on his back, barely moving but speaking to medical personnel, as the crowd remained quiet. His head and neck were immobilized before he was placed on a stretcher and wheeled down a sideline and to a waiting ambulance as fans and some players applauded. The final 42.9 seconds of Houston’s 99-88 victory were canceled. Source

Lin's former teammates surprised at Knicks' decision MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- Mike D'Antoni was there for the start of Linsanity, Kobe Bryant on the wrong end of its greatest highlight. Neither imagined next season opening without Jeremy Lin on the New York Knicks. "No. Not when the kicker was they can match. I'm thinking, for sure," said former Knicks coach D'Antoni on Wednesday before the U.S. Olympic team practiced. "Even when I was there, well at least we got him, we don't have to worry about him blowing up and us not being able to afford it." But the Knicks ultimately decided they couldn't or wouldn't. Lin became a Houston Rocket on Tuesday night when the Knicks refused to match a three-year deal worth about $25 million, ending a brief but amazing run as New York's point guard. The Knicks had repeatedly said they planned to keep the restricted free agent, and Olympians Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler both believed they would. "I know the Knicks organization wanted him back, I know his teammates wanted him back, I felt like Jeremy wanted to come back, but can't pass up what Houston threw out there," Chandler said. D'Antoni, who gave Lin a chance to play in February, resigned a month and a half later when the Knicks were struggling. He remains a firm believer in the undrafted point guard from Harvard. Bryant had no choice but to become one after Lin scored a career-high 38 points, outplaying one of the NBA's biggest stars during a nationally televised victory over the Lakers. "The plays that he was making, it didn't seem like he had too much of a difficulty making them. He seemed like he was pretty comfortable in making those plays and he was pretty consistent afterwards," Bryant said. "His numbers weren't 30 and 15 assists or whatever, but they were more than solid numbers. He can play, he's a very good player." Full Read

Mid-day matinee. Winner moves into second place:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCs-68Hb9_k&feature=player_embedded

My thoughts exactly. Still worthy of a +1 rep tho'.

Not bad.

9 Days To Go!!!

Dodgers can win World Series with 'a few moves,' Mark Walter says Team's chairman says, 'I think that if we help them out by adding some here and there, you bet' they could win it all. He says there are no financial restrictions ahead of nonwaiver trade deadline. http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-0718-dodgers-notes-20120718,0,5410603.story

http://i.imgur.com/7hi0B.jpg Where's Devean George (3 rings)???

Nuggets cut Chris "Birdman" Andersen and sign Anthony Randolph The Nuggets cut Chris "Birdman" Andersen and signed in his place free agent Anthony Randolph, a source said Tuesday. The team used the NBA's amnesty clause to waive Andersen, a source said. Randolph, a power forward and center, averaged 7.4 points and 3.6 rebounds in 34 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. He made five starts. Over four NBA seasons, including stops with the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors, he has averaged 17.6 minutes, 8.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Each team is allowed to use its amnesty clause once during this new collective bargaining agreement. The team still has to pay the player the money on the contract — Andersen is due to make around $4.5 million next season and $4.8 million in 2013-14 — but it doesn't affect the team's overall salary cap. http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_21097577/nuggets-cut-chris-birdman-andersen

Clippers Use Amnesty to Waive Ryan Gomes The Los Angeles Clippers have waived forward Ryan Gomes under the amnesty provision outlined in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. In 32 games played last season, Gomes averaged 2.3 points and 13.3 minutes per game. http://www.nba.com/clippers/news/clippers-waive-ryan-gomes.html Yeah!!

Kobe: David Stern's idea 'stupid' http://i.imgur.com/hg7Ek.png MANCHESTER, England -- After saying in Las Vegas that he hopes NBA pros will continue to represent their countries in the Olympics, Kobe Bryant voiced his dismay with the 23-and-under concept floated by NBA commissioner David Stern in even stronger terms Tuesday when Team USA arrived in the United Kingdom ahead of London 2012. Speaking at an appearance at the town hall in Manchester not long after the Americans reached British soil via an overnight flight after Monday night's exhibition victory over Brazil in Washington, D.C., Bryant branded Stern's proposal to restrict the NBA's Olympic involvement to players aged 23 and younger as "stupid." Read More