5 best Alonzo Mourning lyrics never rapped
Alonzo Mourning has been rapped about plenty, but too many of the references are the same.
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Kobe Bryant Says He Never Allowed Mom to Sell His Memorabilia in Court Papers
Kobe Bryant‘s torn Achilles tendon means he won’t be on the hardwood anytime soon, but after filing papers to prevent his mother from cashing in on some of his old memorabilia, he’s apparently more than ready to head to court.
According to the Associated Press, Bryant’s attorneys filed an injunction in New Jersey to prevent Pamela Bryant from auctioning off the 15-time All-Star’s old jerseys, sneakers and even championship rings. The Los Angeles Lakers star is claiming that he never gave his mom permission to peddle the various mementos from his early career.
The timing of such an uncomfortable legal battle could hardly have been worse, as it’s only been days since Bryant has been able to stand after undergoing surgery last month:
Still, if there’s a lesson in all of this, it’s that you should probably hang onto your own keepsakes, assuming you have any as valuable as Bryant’s high-school jerseys.
And here’s a question: Why didn’t Bryant have this stuff in his possession if he wanted to keep it safe? According to Business Insider, he’s got three houses worth $18.8 million. Something tells me there’s some spare closet space there somewhere.
It’s always a shame when families clash over money, which is really all this is. The AP report indicated that the disputed items were valuable enough to warrant a $450,000 advance to Mrs. Bryant before anything had even been sold, so there’s clearly some serious cash at stake.
With that kind of money involved, and an apparently icy parent-child relationship, it’s no wonder Bryant is feeling a little bummed over the whole episode:
There’s really nothing good about this dispute—except for the excellent nickname J.E. Skeets of The Basketball Jones came up with:
With his future playing career uncertain and his team at a crossroads, Bryant probably could have done without the added stress of something like this. But based on the decisive action he and his attorneys took to contest the impending sale, it appears his competitive spirit is undiminished.
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Mike D’Antoni Will Never Be the Man for LA Lakers’ Playoff Job
Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak recently confirmed head coach Mike D’Antoni would return to the sidelines for the Lakers next season via ESPN), which all but guarantees that regardless of what happens with player movement the Lakers will probably be outside of the NBA Finals picture again.
Kupchak listed the lack of training camp and the multitude of injuries the Lakers faced throughout the season as possible reasons that D’Antoni had failed to reach the heights of excellence the franchise usually expects.
There is certainly some merit to Kupchak’s logic, but if he took the time to write a list with all of D’Antoni’s positives and negatives which one would be longer?
Kupchak offered two reasons why D’Antoni deserves another season, but I could probably think of a few others that suggest the Lakers should let go of this failed experiment.
The most obvious example is D’Antoni’s lack of any type of consistent defensive strategy, which wouldn’t be so bad if he at least understood the concept.
D’Antoni has always seemed to coach on the principles that a great offense negates the need for a strong defense, but in truth his stubborn nature is revealed by his flawed philosophy.
During stints in Phoenix and New York, D’Antoni has lived by the hype of his “seven seconds or less” offense, and any hopes of being a real Finals contender has died by the lack of substance behind his theory.
Scoring points in bunches will certainly win some games and fans, but eventually you have to prove you can stop someone when it really matters. And none of D’Antoni’s teams ever have.
D’Antoni reached the Western Conference Finals in his first full season in Phoenix in 2005, and he repeated the feat the very next season in 2006.
The Suns won 114 regular season games during that span, and even though they were constructed specifically in D’Antoni’s vision, they only managed to win a combined three games in the conference finals.
Most franchises with a distinct championship history would scoff at the notion of D’Antoni leading their franchise to the promised land, so that explains the Knicks taking a risk on him. But that same reasoning doesn’t work for the Lakers. Especially not with their current roster.
So, Kupchak and Lakers’ team president Jim Buss were left to decide between a coach who led the franchise to five championships or a coach who never managed to make it out of the conference finals.
And the Lakers chose the latter?
Choosing D’Antoni over legendary former Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson was dumb enough in the first place. But failing to see the error in your ways could be even worse.
It would be crazy to think that the Lakers would narrow their coaching search to only those who have had NBA Finals’ experience, but isn’t it equally crazy to complete a trade for the greatest defensive force in the NBA and hire a coach who doesn’t believe in defense?
Lakers center Dwight Howard might talk about how he wants to be the focus of the Lakers’ offense, but deep down in his soul Howard understands his legacy will be built on his ability to change the game on the other end of the court.
Is there anyone who believes that D’Antoni can coach or coax Howard into the defensive force he was with Orlando?
Unfortunately the future of the Lakers’ franchise may be tied to Howard’s decision this summer, and considering that D’Antoni seems to disdain offensive post play and ignore defense, would you be surprised if Howard bolts in the offseason?
Hopefully it won’t take the Lakers losing the cornerstone of their franchise to realize that hiring D’Antoni was a monumental mistake, but based on Kupchak’s recent endorsement it’s a little difficult to see it in a different light.
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Jason Collins’ ex-fiancee Carolyn Moos: I never suspected he was gay
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Jason Collins story is that he has had girlfriends throughout his entire life and was once engaged to be married. Former Stanford and WNBA star Carolyn Moos, who dated Collins for eight years and eventually became his fiancee, found out just last weekend that the NBA veteran is gay. She was shocked.
Collins was engaged to Moos until 2009, when he decided to call off their wedding. Moos told TMZ on Tuesday that she never was suspected he was gay, but he told her last weekend that his homosexuality was the reason he called off their relationship.
“It’s very emotional for me as a woman to have invested 8 years in my dream to have a husband, soul mate, and best friend in him,” Moos explained. “So this is all hard to understand. I care about [Jason] tremendously and only want the best for him. I want Jason to be happy for a lifetime and stay true to who he really is, inside and out.”
Moos added that Collins gave her a bunch of “BS reasons” for why he decide
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Does it matter if Jason Collins never plays in the NBA again?
For the free agent center to be the NBA’s first active gay player, he’ll need to sign a new contract first.
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Video: Serge Ibaka on the never say die fast break
The Oklahoma City Thunder dismissed the Houston Rockets in short order in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 43 points Sunday as OKC dismantled Houston 120-91.
It was Serge Ibaka that came through with the play of the evening. Ibaka put 17 points and seven rebounds into the Thunder’s collection plate.
Check out how he set the tone with this never-say-die jam.
The post Video: Serge Ibaka on the never say die fast break appeared first on Players View.
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Michigan’s Beilein ‘born’ to be head coach, never an assistant
In 1987, Beilein applied for a job at the place that had made the Nilands famous: Canisius.
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Mark Cuban Says He’ll Consider Drafting Brittney Griner, Saying ‘You Never Know Unless You Give Somebody a Chance’
LOS ANGELES — Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says he would consider drafting Baylor All-American Brittney Griner.
Cuban told reporters before Tuesday night’s game between the Mavericks and the Lakers that if Griner is the best player available, “I will take her.”
The 6-foot-8 Griner finished her college career as the NCAA leader in blocked shots and the second-leading scorer in women’s college basketball history.
Cuban says he has already thought about it and “Right now, I’d lean towards yes, just to see if she can do it. You never know unless you give somebody a chance.”
Cuban said Griner would have to make the team, and he isn’t “opposed to giving her the opportunity.”
He adds: “That’d sell out a few games.”
Griner responded with a tweet: “I would hold my own! Lets do it.”
Ann Meyers Drysdale was the first woman to get a tryout with an NBA team. The former UCLA and U.S. women’s Olympic team star signed a contract with the Indiana Pacers in 1979 but didn’t make the team
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Final Four Performances We’ll Never Forget
We could ramble into infinity debating the top 10 performances in NCAA Final Four history—a category that spans 74 seasons of broad-ranging triumph.
We could argue individual achievement over team excellence. We could agitate about where single-frame moments like Lorenzo Charles’ 1983 putback slam belong alongside 40-minute showstoppers like Carmelo Anthony’s 2003. We could dissect the word “performance” until it’s lost all lucid meaning.
But it’s best not to think too deeply on matters like this.
The performances you never forget are just that—the ones that materialize without labored contemplation; the ones that carry such a deep and untold connection to the phrase “Final Four” that you helplessly summon them subconsciously.
If you’ve watched even a minute of tournament basketball in your life, you have those memories. Perhaps they’re colored by your partisanship or your age, but make no apologies. They’re your memories. They matter to you.
Here, for your reading and commenting pleasure, are ours.
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Kevin Ware never wants to ‘watch replay’ of gruesome injury
Louisville sophomore Kevin Ware spoke on his basketball-playing future.
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