0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/25/2013
Last week, ESPN released its yearly Ultimate Franchise rankings naming the Grizzlies the top sports franchise. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the poll named the Sacramento Kings the worst franchise in American sports. To that the Kings said, "Challenge accepted." Shortly after the full poll was released, the Kings made their own release […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich
One of the stalwarts of 1990s basketball will be making a comeback starting this season with at least one familiar host. Grant Hill will join an Atlanta broadcaster for the rebirth of the wildly popular NBA Inside Stuff beginning Nov. 2 on NBATV. No Ahmad Rashad will not be returning, but the candid off-court features […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/24/2013
The NBA may officially be entering Spaceballs 2 territory. Team jerseys are changing drastically with the introduction of more sleeved jerseys into the NBA with at least five teams in addition to the Warriors opting to showcase this new jerseyware. They might be experimental, but largely the reason is selling the jerseys to consumers and […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/23/2013
Metta World Peace is a big fan of his team. Only it is his former team. The Lakers. And like many fans, World Peace is a bit delusional. The former Lakers forward told Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York that he believes the Lakers will return to the Finals as the West's representative this year. […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich
Kevin Johnson will forever be known to Kings fans as their savior. He was the mayor who fought off the Maloofs and the powers that be to galvanize the NBA, the Sacramento community and the California government to keep the Kings in Northern California. A fan base owes this mayor a debt of gratitude. His […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/22/2013
Hakeem Olajuwon already had the chance to work wtih Dwight Howard on his post game in the summer. The all-time great center and post playguru has been training players for years now, but the Rockets appear close to becoming one of the premier teams in the league (or at least in the top four, if […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/20/2013
The 1980s were a very shady time for the NBA. Drugs ran rampant through the league. There were no major stars and TV was airing the Finals on tape delay. It was tough to watch games unless you really wanted to. If it were not for Magic Johnson and Larry Bird captivating the world, an […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/19/2013
Manti Te'o was never going to be the last. In fact, he appears to have been the follower in the somehwat unbelievable trend of Catfishing athletes. Chris Andersen found himself in the middle of a crazy Internet scheme and it seriously threatened his career. And so the dangers of the Internet rear their ugly head […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/18/2013
There was a time when the Grizzlies were the sorriest franchise in all of sports. Garish green jerseys. Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. An ignomious Playoff losing streak (three straight years getting swept out of the first round). The Allen Iverson disaster. Those days are long behind this franchise. Now, they might very well be the […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/17/2013
When rookies reach the NBA, inevitably the general concern is that they all lack size and need to put on some weight. More specifically muscle weight. College weight training programs simply cannot compare to the strength and conditioning available to NBA players. Not to mention the ample amounts of time freed up without school as […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/16/2013
In Orlando for much of the 2012 season, the focus was on Dwight Howard. He wanted the glitz, glamor and pressure that would come from playing in a big market. One of his hardest working teammates was not someone many paid attention to. Would anyone care if he too wanted to remain on a team […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/15/2013
Kobe Bryant will come back to the Lakers at some point this season. A torn Achilles is not enough to keep Bryant away for too long. Basketball is this man's life, after all. Bryant's shocking injury April 12 against Golden State ended the Lakers' slim hopes to do anything in the Playoffs and took the […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/11/2013
Ping pong diplomacy is a nice footnote in U.S. international relations. It was an example of sports helping thaw relationships and open the door to trade and bring around detente and a cooling (or warming?) of the Cold War. The idea of having exhibition matches between Americans and Chinese was a good one. A simple […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/10/2013
In the mid-2000s, the debate among NBA fans was Kobe Bryant or Tracy McGrady. That is not a type-o. McGrady and Bryant were considered on the same level for a long stretch in the 2000s when McGrady was putting up obscene statistics with the Magic and the Rockets and Bryant was putting up obscene numbers […]
0 comments by Philip Rossman-Reich on 9/9/2013
Andrew Bynum might have some new laundry, but it is still very much the same story for the former Lakers big man. When will he return from the knee injuries that kept him out the entire season with Philadelphia last year? Cleveland wants to know. And Bynum still does not know. Bynum told Mary Schmitt […]
