Source: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2011/07/orlando-magic-and-nba-news-friday-july-29.html
At this point, seemingly half the NBA is on Twitter. It's a wild world of training updates, questions as to which movies they should go see, and explanations of their Call of Duty prowess. Every so often, though, you also get a picture into the more interesting aspects of NBA life. This feature is your window into that world.
Jared Dudley: Put my Benz in the shop today before I drive to Vegas this weekend. They swap me with a Ford Focus!!! Lol. I don't care but it made me laugh
Baron Davis: Already got a A in my class so I don't have to take the final!! #lookatmenowimgettingstr8As
Martell Webster: In the studio. I'm getting the hang of being pretty good as a producer
Tyrus Thomas: People should support the WNBA more! Especially us professional athletes!! NBA specifically!!!
Hassan Whiteside: I'm a olive garden junky
You can also follow Eric Freeman on Twitter at @freemaneric.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheBasketballJones/~3/pF58f_ymrj8/
Cleveland Cavaliers Miami Heat Shaquille ONeal Kevin Garnett
Perhaps no current NBA player has taken in more criticism over the last few years than LeBron James, and for good reason. He's set a high standard for his output, promising championships, aligning himself with two of the best players in the NBA along the way.
But he still has a long way to go, in terms of career-long kvetching, to catch Kobe Bryant. Both in terms of team-based glories (Bryant has been a major part of five championship teams), and individual accolades (Kobe Bryant is freakin' awesome). And Bryant, to his credit, is asking all of us to leave James alone.
From the Sun-Sentinel:
"I think people need to lay off that kid, that's what I think," Bryant said of James. "I've gotten to know him pretty well, playing with the Olympic team, and I think they just need to back off him and just let him play and let him live his life and let him make his decisions and let him mature as a player."
[...]
"It's tough to be under the microscope like that all the time," Bryant said. "So, I would like everybody to just back off of him and just let him play."
So, yeah ... that's incredibly cool of you, Kobe.
Bryant could have pointed toward James' shortcomings in the fourth quarter during June's NBA Finals. Sure, LeBron was the driving fourth quarter difference in his team's defeat of the defending Eastern Conference champs from Boston and the NBA's best regular season team from Chicago, but he appeared to have no clue in the fourth quarter once the Finals rolled around. Blame matchups, his Magic Johnson-isms, whatever -- I do. The guy saw a streak of light and followed it while he dragged an otherwise 20-win Cleveland team to the Finals in 2007. He can pull great things off. He disappointed though, terribly, in 2011.
Bryant knows the sting, though. On and off court. He remembers 1997, and he remembers 2006. He knows promise, he knows living up to mediocre expectation (as it was when his team was 20-win quality), and he knows how tough it is to lose in the Finals (as Kobe has done, twice).
And for him to call off the dogs on what should be his biggest rival? It's incredibly cool of Mr. Bryant.
Now, just lose the soccer thing. We need those legs in top kit whenever the next season starts, Kobe.
If Dennis Rodman celebrated his 50th birthday in any other way, we'd be disappointed. The fact that he showed up to his litany of parties some�2 1/2�months after his actual birthday denotes either careful planning and attention to product placement, or the fact that he couldn't be roused out of bed from another party the night before long enough to celebrate his actual birthday party.
Either way, on Tuesday, D-Rod celebrated his 50th. And don't you worry, there was enough product placement for everyone.
From the Las Vegas Sun (via TBJ, PBT, SBN, and ELO):
Rodman and his group took over Chateau's Strip-side terrace and enjoyed Grey Goose and Red Bull in their private cabana overlooking the Bellagio Fountains. Rodman changed into a black-and-white houndstooth sport coat before jumping up on a banquette to dance with go-go dancers and make it rain dollar bills.
Rodman passed out cigars to partygoers and got on the mic, saying, "We're in Las Vegas! The only city in the world where you can do whatever you want." Before settling into his VIP cabana for the evening, he signed autographs and posed for photographs with fans.
His birthday meal of shrimp cocktails, chicken skewers, sliders, macaroni and cheese pops, New York strip steak, Black Angus filet and pan-roasted Pacific salmon was washed down with Sugar Factory's signature cocktail Berry Bliss and topped with a giant King Kong Sundae. Rodman signed a stack of Sugar Factory's dinner plates to give to fans.
Nicely done, Dennis.
My birthday is two days after yours, and my wife took me to an Elvis Costello concert that we couldn't afford, and I also missed the Chicago Bulls' best win of the season, but it was a fun time out. I also enjoyed two eight-dollar vodka gimlets.
What we now have to figure out next is the total caloric count fight between Dennis' birthday shindig and Khloe Kardashian's birthday from last month.
Toss out the vodka, all the sugar from those Red Bulls, the "Berry Bliss," and whatever the heck the (apparently, we're guessing, awesome) "macaroni and cheese pops" are. No, we need visual evidence for this. Dennis' "King Kong Sundae" is pictured above, but look at what Lamar Odom, Kris Humphries, and several Kardashians are working through:
Strawberries, no doubt dipped in something sweet at some point. Some sort of -- we're guessing -- alcoholic confection that looks like it was mixed with Ecto Cooler, with giant lollipop swizzlers dipped inside of it. A pinkish hue to whatever's in the champagne glass, which suggests that it is not just regular champagne, but STRAWBERRY MANGO CHAMPAGNE COOLIES WITH EXTRA TAURINE (or whatever the label on the giant can yells back in the service bar). Also, a smattering of sugar and saccharine packets. Just in case.
You make the call, America. No other country could.
(Top image courtesy of WireImage.)
It's always fun when our buddy Dave McMenamin swings by. Among the talking points: | PODCAST |
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| Andy and Brian talk with ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin about CBA matters, Kobe's knee and whether the Players Association is weakened by superstars going overseas. Podcast  |
Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan Dallas Mavericks Cleveland Cavaliers
