Archive for April, 2009
Alright folks,
We’re right in the middle of the Playoffs with Lebron and Kobe taking a rest, so I have somethign for you guys to do to kill a little time. Check out this contest from Adidas and win yourself some tickets to the Finals and a crap load of Adidas gear to wear to the game. I want to see you all in your shameless glory. I want to see someone from this blog win that contest, then come back to thank by for telling them about the contest by taking me to the game with them. Alright, that might be asking a bit much. But I truly want to see the craziest shit you can do. My contact over at Adidas has already given me a heads up that she’s seen some wacky and shameless stuff posted. Time to get to work folks. Let’s see what some true hardcore fans can do. Check the rules below:
Calling All Hoops Fans:
Join the Ultimate Fan Contest + Score Trip to NBA Finals
Who’s your team? Who’s your MVP? Who’s gonna take the Title? These are not new questions folks - but now there’s a very sweet reward for sounding off on your favorite topic!
Starting today, adidas is hosting “Rep Your Brotherhood” and we want to see and hear from you. Submit your best photo in NBA team gear with a quick 100 words on why and how you love hoops. The top 20 submissions will then be in the running for an online vote. We’re encouraging fans to go all out here because one winner will land a hefty prize: trip and tickets to Game 3 of the NBA Finals and $500 worth of adidas fan gear.
And because we love to be team players, there are no sloppy seconds here. Every person to vote in the contest is in the running to win a three-stripe gift pack worth $500.
So let’s recap: Take your trash talking online and sound off on why your team is best and you could find yourself sitting pretty at the 2009 NBA Finals. Impossible Is Nothing!
HERE’S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TO WIN BIG:
· WHO: All NBA fans seeking tickets to the 2009 NBA Finals
· WHAT: Enter “REP YOUR BROTHERHOOD” Ultimate Fan Contest
· START: Submit entries April 28th – May 15th
· VOTE: Top 20 submissions go head-to-head in on-line voting May 18th -29th
· WINNERS ANNOUNCED*: June 1st, 2009
· WHERE: http://adidas.promo.eprize.com/brotherhood/?affiliate_id=2h
· GRAND PRIZE: Trip for 2 to Game 3 of NBA Finals and $500 in adidas gear
· SWEEPS PRIZE: $500 in adidas gear
* Fans permitted to vote once a day throughout the online voting time period; Each vote is included in the drawing for the Sweeps Prize of $500 in adidas gear.
For more information on the adidas Brotherhood and the 2009 NBA Playoffs check out: www.adidasbasketball.com
Hilarious snippet from OC Register from an article about Shannon Brown:
Bryant loves Fisher and likes Farmar, and Bryant calls Brown “a much, much better player than anybody ever expected” and “an added bonus.” It wasn’t just coincidence that after answering a stream of questions about Brown on Monday, Bryant brought up someone with whom he used to share the Lakers’ backcourt.
Asked to compare how tough it is now for Utah guard Deron Williams and how tough it was for Bryant two years ago in trying to carry the Lakers with an inadequate supporting cast, Bryant scoffed.
“It’s not even close,” Bryant said. “They don’t even have Smush Parker on their team.”
Parker took a shot at Bryant last summer, saying in an interview: “The problems with that team start with him and end with him.” That didn’t, however, prevent Parker from plummeting from alongside Bryant into total obscurity.
Brown is going the other way – fast.
His swim is the upstream one, yet he’s not headed anywhere he hasn’t been before.
Maybe nobodies (is that really a word?) should keep their mouths shut when talking about arguably the best player in the league right now. Smush, we have guys on the bench that are better than you ever could hope to be. Enjoy your early retirement.
From my source at Adidas:
New York, New York April 22, 2009 - Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls is the recipient of the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy as the 2008-09 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year, the NBA announced today.
Rose received 111 first-place votes (574 points) from a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada . Memphis ‘ O.J. Mayo finished second with 246 points and New Jersey ’s Brook Lopez finished third with 127 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
The official Rookie of the Year Commemorative T-shirt from adidas will be available starting today at the adidas Sport Performance Store in Chicago at 845 North Michigan Ave. Additionally fans can purchase the new Derrick Rose tee at the NBA Store.com, the Chicago Bulls Team Shop, and the Bulls team site. The tee will retail for $19.99.
For more information on the 2009 NBA Playoffs check out http://www.nba.com/playoffs2009/
I’m pretty sure everyone saw this coming. Rose had been tearing it up all year and managed to get last year’s underachieving Bulls into the Playoffs, where they’ve managed to take away Boston’s homecourt advantage. Not surprising is that he got more than double the votes of runner-up, OJ Mayo. The really surprising part to me, is that Brook Lopez came in 3rd and Michael Beasley is no where to be found.
My friend in San Diego has been surprised by Lopez this year, since they used to play on a traveling youth basketball team together a few years back. According to my friend, Brook Lopez was always soft, but apparently not anymore.
Congrats to Rose for having an amazing year, though. This kid has been stellar ever since he stepped foot on the NBA courts. I definitely look forward to him having a long career and somehow miraculously ending up on the Lakers. He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with. Watching him this year has been amazing. He always seems to come up big when he’s called upon.
I know everyone keeps comparing Kobe to Jordan, but can Rose be the next Kobe? Only time will tell.
Trevor Ariza is quickly becoming the player the Lakers hoped he would become when they traded away Brian Cook and Mo Evans for him last year. He’s showing that he’s not just the defensive stopper that they knew he was, but also a deadly threat from the outside.
With Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol garnering constant double teams and occasion triple teams, Ariza can roam the perimeter and setup for wide open triples. The Utah Jazz are learning the hard way that they shouldn’t leave him to double Kobe and Gasol.
After posting a career playoff high 21 in Game 1 on 8 of 10 shooting (including 3 of 4 from behind the arc), Ariza ended Game 2 with 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting, including another 3-3 performance from downtown. He almost posted a double-double with 9 assists as well.
He’s proving to be what the Lakers missed least season in the playoffs, a defensive minded Guard/Forward with apparently deadly accuracy and toughness. A guy that showed off his skills as a defensive player is now shooting at a ridiculous 81% through 2 games in these playoffs. This is a find that even Mitch Kupchak couldn’t have imagined that he found last year. Ariza was supposed to be a salary dump move, but has turned out to be a key part of the rotation.
After jumping from New York to Orlando, and not finding a home in either city, Ariza has found his calling in the City of Angels. Not to mention that Trevor is only 23 and still has a long career ahead of him… hopefully with the Lakers. Ariza will be the guy to pester guys like Lebron and Pierce, depending on who comes out of the East. Ariza will be the X-Factor in these playoffs.
It pains me to post this for several reasons. First, as a life-long Lakers fan, I have a hatred for the Green. From the Celtics to green shirts, I dislike them all. Secondly, it pains me that the Celtics won’t be at full strength if they make it to the Finals. I’ve been waiting almost a year to see a rematch of last year’s Finals. I have been looking forward to the Lakers getting their redemption. I was hoping that Garnett would make it back so that the Celtics could make it past the Cavs, but now it’s starting to look less likely. This is just a little something from my source at Adidas:
BOSTON, MA - On Saturday April 18 th, Kevin Garnett’s presence will still be felt during Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs. Although the Celtics will be without their commander on the court, he will be leading the team and 19,000 fans from the sidelines at TD Banknorth Garden.
Garnett is personally driving the mission to get all Boston fans to unite by covering every seat of the Garden in an exclusive “ Boston is a Brotherhood” green fan tee. Despite his injury, Garnett will still play an instrumental role in the Celtic’s Brotherhood by rallying fans.
Garnett personally got involved with the all-green Garden mission.
Check out Adidas Basketball for more information on Brotherhood and the 2009 NBA Playoffs.
Finally, the Lakers figure out who they play on Sunday. All the talk has been that with Utah mostly healthy, the Lakers wouldn’t want to meet them in the first round. There was a lot of talk that the Lakers might intentionally lose their last game of the season to avoid meeting Utah. There was talk that the Lakers would rather play Dallas on Sunday.
All that talk went away last night when the Lakers handed Utah a 112-125 loss to end the season. Jerry Sloan may have had the best quote of the night, per Yahoo! Sports:
“We didn’t give them much of a battle and knowing that we’re going to have to play them again, it looks pretty bleak,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “Hate to say that, but it’s one of those things.”
I hate hearing coaches saying stuff like that, but it’s music to my ears coming from a Lakers opponent. All the facts about the Lakers being “soft” have finally turned into rumors and misconceptions, especially with big Drew in the middle clogging up the lane, Trevor Ariza manning the wing, and Kobe and Shannon Brown locking down the perimeter.
Little is known about Shannon Brown other than the fact that this kid has amazing athletic ability and is a great (but not lockdown) defender. He’s jumped around between several teams, but seems to have found a home in LA, much like Trevor Ariza did last year. He’s been stellar on defense, and evidenced by his highlight reel blocks, and has been solid on the opposite end of the court. According to Phil Jackson, Brown looks to get more burn in the Playoffs as the Lakers will be facing PGs that are too strong for Jordan Farmar, and too fast for Derek Fisher. Take Ariza and shrink him down, and you have Shannon Brown. He’s the defensive minded PG that the Lakers have been looking for.
These Lakers will prove to be much tougher on the defensive end than last year’s squad. Bynum will be inside manning the painted area and blocking or altering shots. Gasol has incredible length which will be a problem for players like Boozer and Milsap. Ariza will play the passing lanes like he always does. Kobe of course, will be doing his thing. He’ll play his one man zone, and generally leave his guy open for shots but occasionally make an incredible defensive play. Farmar and Fisher may have problems, but Shannon Brown will fill in the gaps.
I don’t think anyone is more excited about this matchup than I am, especially after Deron Williams showed his bonehead side by trying to set a hard screen on Bynum last night and just bouncing off. It’s gonna be like the Showtime days again with Stockton and Malone vs Magic and Kareem. Except this time it’ll be Williams and Boozer against Kobe, Pau, and Bynum… and don’t forget about Odom off the bench. See you Sunday.
If you guys missed last night’s Lakers v. Kings game, you may have missed your only chance to ever see Sasha Vujacic posterize on only one person, but TWO! Found this video on Ball Don’t Lie. All the stars aligned. Mbenga posted up. Sasha made a perfect cut and was rewarded with a perfect pass. THIS is where amazing happens. Especially when Sasha make slamma jamma bing bong. Machine out like trout. (Yup, I ended 2 consecutive posts with the same line. Gotta love it)
I almost have no words for this. This could be the best video ever for Sasha. “Slamma-jamma-bing-bonging” time! Found it at Ball Don’t Lie:
Man, I forgot that this guy actually won a ring with the Celtics last year. Check out the video below. Cherly RIPS into Pollard for missing the pregame. Holy the hell is this guy still even doing anything related to basketball? Once a scrub, always a scrub. This guy needs to learn to just keep his mouth shut. Are you seriously challenging a girl to a basketball game? Even if you are, she’d probably wipe the floor with you, Scot.
My buddy found this on SportsbyBrooks:
Cheryl Miller took offense to co-analyst Scot Pollard missing the pregame and halftime shows due to “mechanical problems” with his flight. When he shows up for the postgame show, and blames the mechanical problems on the weight of his championship ribg, well, Miller pretty much loses her s**t on live TV. See video of why TNT might have found its designated crazy replacement if Barkley relapses, after the jump.
Pollard begins by bragging about his championship, which he TOTALLY EARNED as part of the “big four” on last year’s Celtics team. Then he moves on to his manicure in Cabo. But when Miller finds out that Pollard’s flight was scheduled the day of the broadcast, while she had to fly in two days prior, she is, shall we say, not cool with that. Watch the carnage:
Pollard doesn’t do himself any favors by trying to compare his 16.5 mpg to Miller, a hall of famer. And while a game of 1-on-1 would be a treat to NBA TV’s tens of viewers, Pollard’s vaguely sexist challenge makes for a painfully awkward studio show moment.
But, OK, Pollard was late, and he’s kind of an ass about it. But Miller’s reaction isn’t proportional; clearly there’s something else at play here. Our crack SbB research staff dug up Scot Pollard’s 2005 roast of Reggie Miller. Maybe Cheryl’s still bitter about Pollard’s cracks at her baby bro?
If any of you guys turned on the Nuggets game and began wondering why they looked like the Celtics, the NBA has gone green for the next week. The Nugs, Bobcats, and Bulls will all be wearing green uniforms and socks made from 45% organic cotton during some of their home games this coming week to raise environmental awareness.
This is some of the stuff that will be going on, between April 2nd and April 10th (next Friday):
ADDITIONAL ON-COURT GREEN INITIATIVES:
- Denver Nuggets, Charlotte Bobcats, and the Chicago Bulls will wear green-colored uniforms and socks made from 45 percent organic cotton during select home games throughout the week to raise additional environmental awareness.
- NBA.com will also host an online auction of Spalding basketballs, made from 40 percent recycled materials and autographed by NBA players. The auction will tip off on April 2 and continue through April 16, with all proceeds benefiting the NRDC.
- During Green Week, the entire NBA family will team up to generate awareness and funding to protect the environment through special on-court apparel, auctions to support environmental preservation organizations, hands-on community service projects, and the launch of a public service announcement featuring Hollywood icon, noted environmentalist and NRDC Trustee, Robert Redford.
- In addition, NBA.com will launch a new micro site, www.nba.com/green, featuring everything from greening tips for fans to interviews with NBA players.
Each team will be running different promotions according to my source at Adidas, such as special on-court apparel, auctions to support environmental preservation organizations and hands-on community service projects. Whether the apparel looks good or not, they’re doing their part to raise awareness for environmental preservation. That’s a huge thumbs up in my book.
The coolest thing that heard that’s coming out of this week though? If you’re in the New York area, check this out. It’s all about giving back to those who need it. Give a little, get a little. Donate some old shoes that have been sitting in your garage, help kids in need, and get 20% of your purchase at the store. It’s a win-win.
- Footwear drive to collect gently worn athletic shoes.
- Customers who bring in shoes will receive a 20 % discount on their purchase of new shoes.
- All donated footwear will go to Hoops 4 Hope, a global not-for-profit organization that supports youth development throughout southern Africa
- H4H programs teach life skills through the game of basketball.
Here’s you chance to get off your butts, and help out a great cause. I think this might just be the first promotional event from David Stern that I actually approve of… or maybe it’s jsut not from David Stern at all. That would make way more sense. Either way, help out the environment, and help our kids in need. Good work, NBA.
ABOUT
Just some thoughts on happenings around the league, responses to the media and other bloggers, and just a good place for you to spend time instead of actually working.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |