0 comments by John Karalis on 7/14/2011
It’s kinda cool to bash the ESPY’s, and I desperately want to be cool and look good in front of my blogging friends. Maybe they won’t pants me again at the next Blogs With Balls. But amongs all the shameless self-promotion, there was actually a funny moment featuring Blake Griffin and Kevin Love, with a […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 7/13/2011
The NBA doesn’t want anyone talking about the lockout. They have threatened $1 million fines for any contact with players or public comments that aren’t filtered through Der Kommissar himself. It has gotten so bad, that the Portland Trailblazers almost got whacked for the word “yeah.“ “There’s a line in the sand that the NBA […]
0 comments by John Karalis
There were no negotiations yesterday, but a huge hurdle fell as the NBA lockout trudges towards week number three. NBA owners released $160 million in escrow money that is withheld every season from NBA salaries. Escrow money withheld from all NBA players’ paychecks each season will be returned to them this off-season for the […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 7/12/2011
Cities love big events like the NBA Finals. The crush of fans, athletes, and their posses bring in some sweet, sweet ducats to the local establishments. Especially if those local establishments feature fixed brass poles from which young ladies can swing while wearing nothing but a smile. “The NBA championship series was positive for our […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 7/8/2011
The minute Kevin Pritchard and the Portland Trailblazers parted ways, he immediately landed on the short list for any open General Manager jobs. He was the guy who turned Portland from the “Jail Blazers” to a respectable and dangerous playoff team. He used the second and sixth picks in the 2006 draft to find […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 7/7/2011
For some players, the current NBA labor situation is a lockout. For others, it’s an amnesty program. When Minnesota Timberwolves’ Michael Beasley got busted for pot possession, I wrote that it could lead to a suspension and screw up Minnesota’s plans to maybe trade him. And while it’s still possible teams might get turned off […]
0 comments by John Karalis
You want to know who really pulls the strings in the NBA? As much as David Stern would like to think its him, it’s not. It’s the TV executives. It’s the people behind the mega-huge TV contracts that line everyone’s pockets in the NBA. And those people will not be happy if the NBA lockout […]
0 comments by John Karalis
Well, folks, we have our first superstar heading overseas to ride out the lockout. New Jersey Nets point guard Deron Williams has reportedly reached an agreement in principle to join Turkish team Beskitas. Williams will sign a contract with Besiktas that will allow him to return to NBA as soon as the lockout ends. Nevertheless […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 7/6/2011
It’s one of the enduring images from the NBA Finals celebration: Dirk Nowitzki hopping over the scorer’s table and running to the back while his teammates mobbed each other on the court. At the time, a lot of us thought “where the hell is he going?” Now, in an interview with German magazine Spiegel […]
0 comments by John Karalis
Michael Beasley was pulled over in Minnesota last week for… oh, you know. Minnetonka Police say Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley was cited for marijuana possession and speeding in Minnetonka last week. Beasley was pulled over on June 26 for speeding around 3 a.m. on Interstate 394 and Carlson Parkway. He was clocked at 84 mph […]
0 comments by John Karalis
The NBA claims 22 of its 30 teams are in the red. With only eight profitable teams, the league is looking at each team’s biggest expenditure, player salaries, as the way turn those 22 teams around. But NBPA Vice President, and New York Knicks shooting guard Roger Mason Jr., disagrees with that. JZ: Do you […]
0 comments by John Karalis on 7/5/2011
The long anticipated move by Indiana Pacers has been made official: Frank Vogel is their new head coach. He took over on an interim basis last season after Jim O’Brien was fired, going 20-18 and winning one game in the Pacers series against the Chicago Bulls. But that series was a decent one for the […]
0 comments by John Karalis
Almost a year ago, the Miami Heat began work on a (at least) four-year plan to bring Miami a title (or more). In year one, the Heat came painfully close to winning one of those titles. But now, with three years left before player options come up, Heat owner Micky Arison could lose a year […]
0 comments by John Karalis
Player salaries have been the central issue so far in the NBA lockout. The NBA has proposed a $2 billion salary guarantee over the 10 year life of a new CBA. It’s a huge number, but it’s also a fixed number. No matter how much revenue the league makers, that $2 billion number doesn’t move. […]
0 comments by John Karalis
Once upon a time, there was little doubt that, along the NFL, MLB and our beloved NBA, the NHL was one of four major North American sports. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were the kind of superstars that transcended the sport and put a face on hockey. But since the 2004-05 owner lockout, many argued […]
