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Teams in the NBA’s Western Conference let out a collective moan earlier this week when small forward Ron Artest was traded to the Houston Rockets.

Artest was already in the Western Conference last season – although on the playoff irrelevant Sacramento Kings – but by pairing him with All-Stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, the mighty west just got a lot more difficult.

The move wasn’t exactly a shocker. Artest had publicly admitted he regretted not opting out of the last year of his contract after watching marquee free agents like Elton Brand and Baron Davis decide their own fate. Rumor mills have been turning all summer, especially at the idea of a trade that would have sent Artest to the Lakers for Lamar Odom.

Kings GM Geoff Petrie settled on Houston though, receiving back up Bobby Jackson, first-round pick Donte Greene and next year’s first-round pick in return. Not quite the coup the Lakers pulled off in getting Pau Gasol, but a nice trade for the annual first-round-exit Rockets.

The question now is whether or not T-Mac and company can finally abandon their perennial above average status and finally join the Lakers, Spurs and recent juggernaut Hornets in the battle atop the west. The answer is … well there isn’t exactly one.

McGrady has never been able to claw his way out of the first round, and both he and Ming have a reputation of being soft. Artest will bring with him a tenacious attitude that should shore up any questions of the Rockets toughness.

Artest is also known as a defensive stopper, which coincidentally, is the one thing that the Rockets can say they are already pretty good at. They ranked second in the NBA last year on defense and also have Shane Battier on their roster – who isn’t exactly a slouch on the perimeter.

The biggest perceived challenge is Artest’s large personality and sometimes volatile emotions. We all remember the brawl at the Palace, but Artest has played for Rockets Head Coach Rick Adelman before and put up some of his best numbers in his career under Adelman’s guidance.

Regardless of how it turns out, you can’t fault the Rockets for trying. They weren’t going to win a title with the roster they had last year, and while I still don’t put them above the Lakers, Spurs, and Hornets, at least they’re taking a risk and shaking things up.

Now, for the Rockets sake, let’s hope Artest doesn’t decide to shake things up again.

I try and I try, but NBA general managers just don’t seem to listen.

The Detroit Pistons pulled off a move of McHalean proportions Monday, signing Kwame Brown to a contract believed to be for two years and eight million dollars.

I have just one question … what in the heck are you thinking Joe Dumars?

First of all, one of the Ten Commandments in basketball operations is to never give money to anyone drafted by Michael Jordan. Secondly, while Brown came into the league as a number one overall draft pick with no ceiling, he is now a journeyman at best.

When did it become a good idea to give a NBA journeyman who will never be one of the seven best players on a championship team four million dollars a year? I know teams usually pay a premium for big men, but let me run down a list of overpaid centers and forwards that teams are currently wishing they didn’t have on their books (salaries rounded off):

Nazr Mohammed, $6 million; Ben Wallace, $14.5 million; Rasho Nesterovic, $8.4 million; Mark Blount, $8.5 million; and I could go on and on.

When the Lakers traded away Brown, it was one of the greatest moments in the life of a Lakers fan. Brown was an underperforming player who all too often played small in big moments. He was allergic to the rim, had poor hands, and left much to be desired.

At the same time I can’t help but feel sorry for him. After all, it isn’t his fault that he was drafted too high and put in a situation where it was nearly impossible to succeed. It’s not his fault that he wasn’t forced to play at least one year of college ball, which may have shown him that he needed more time to develop or at the very least let scouts know he shouldn’t have been a number one pick.

Still, I can’t help but hate the move. The Lakers tried desperately to move Brown and were lucky enough to land Pau Gasol. The Grizzlies, who gave away Gasol to get him, dropped him faster than you can say salary dump.

The Pistons, well, apparently they believe in charity. The only kudos I will give to Brown; apparently he is smart enough to take it.

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While this NBA off-season has lacked household names like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, it has more than made up for its shortage of star power with exciting free agent dramatics.

Baron Davis kicked things off by leaving Golden State to play with his buddy Elton Brand in Los Angeles. Unfortunately for Davis, Brand decided to head to the Eastern Conference and pursue his title dreams with the Philadelphia 76ers.

This left the Clippers with quite a bitter taste in their mouth, but also a lot of cap room. They decided to use part of that cap room Wednesday by trading for veteran big man Marcus Camby. So just how much is the reigning NBA shot block king worth?

As it turns out, he’s not worth a whole lot. Denver traded the defensive guru for what basically amounts to a box of Cracker Jacks. For the rights of Camby’s services, the Clippers only had to give the Nuggets the option of switching second round draft picks in 2010. Go ahead and let that sink in for a moment.

The Nuggets were the eighth seed in the Western Conference last season and atrocious on defense, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense to get rid of their best defensive player. It does provide them with some much needed cap relief, but when that comes at the expense of a playoff berth, I’m not sure it’s worth it.

Although the Camby deal is hard to stomach, it’s not even the worst trade involving a Los Angeles team in recent history. Here are three recent trades that made the Camby-for-a-swap-of-draft-picks look like a genius move by the Nuggets.

3) The Lakers trading Shaquille O’Neal to the Heat for Brian Grant, Lamar Odom and Caron Butler. Although the Lakers decision makers wouldn’t say it, this trade was more about Kobe and Shaq feuding than anything else. The Lakers are now back in title contention, but Miami won an NBA championship while Kobe and company watched from the comfort of their own homes.

2) The Memphis Grizzlies trading Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton and two first-round draft picks. The Lakers received an all-star caliber big man without giving up any of their top-10 players, and the Grizzlies, well, the Grizzlies got nothing. Brown never lived up to potential and Crittenton is destined to be one of the most dynamic players in the Spanish league. The Lakers, on the other hand, are coming off of a trip to the NBA finals and look to make their way there a few more times in the coming years.

1) The biggest coup in LA history has to be the Hornets giving up Kobe Bryant in exchange for Vlade Divac. Divac was a popular player and solid big man, but Bryant has turned into one of the best players in the history of basketball. Divac will be remembered for teaching American basketball players how to flop while Bryant will be remembered for bringing three (and counting) championships to LA.

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Who said reporters can’t be cool and get the girls.

They can be hip. They can be cool. So cool, that they are hanging out with porn stars and Playmates.

After the Lakers game the other night, Pardon the Interuption’s Michael Wilbon, ESPN.com and LA Times writer J.A. Adande and analyst Jon Barry were all out at the Los Angeles club Les Deux. The trio was enjoying a night on the town when they ran into an unlikely crowd that I never thought they’d ever socialize with. It’s like the band geeks hanging out with the jocks. It just seems so weird.

Anyways, Wilborn took a picture with none other than Carly Parker and The Girls Next Door’s Kendra, whereas Adande looks way too happy next to Lisa Lipps.

I wonder if they’re big fans of the ladies’ work.

Source: Deadspin via

Down with one finals and onto another.

Last night the Detroit Red Wings took home the Stanley Cup, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games with a final score of 3-2. Coming two nights after a marathon Game 5 where the Red Wings and Penguins and battled it out through three overtimes, the Penguins couldn’t rally for another win. Despite Pittsburgh riding the momentum from Game 5, the Red Wings weren’t going to let this one get away in the final seconds again, holding on and winning their fourth straight series on the road this postseason.

The Stanley Cup win marks Detroits fourth Cup in 11 seasons, placing them third all-time in Cup wins.

Now with hockey over, we can now focus on a much anticipated NBA Finals showdown between the the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. As much as I like to see Kevin Garnett get a ring, I have a gut feeling the LakeShow is going to bring another championship to Tinseltown.

To pick up some Detroit Red Wings fan gear, click here.

For Pittsburgh Penguins gear, click here.

Source: Fox Sports

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I had completely forgot about the Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant feud that happened four years ago, but with the NBA Finals just over the horizon between their two teams, of course it has to resurface. We need some juicy gossip to stir up the pot a little.

Remember four years ago when the Los Angeles Lakers had traded away Shaquille O’Neal, everyone said Kobe couldn’t win a championship without the big man. Including Mr. Allen himself. Here, let me jar your memory with what Allen said:

“If Kobe doesn’t see he needs two good players to be a legitimate playoff contender or win a championship in about a year or two, he’ll be calling out to (Lakers owner) Jerry Buss that, ‘We need some help in here,’ or, ‘Trade me.’ And we’ll all be saying, ‘I told you so,’ when he says that.”

Trade me? We need some help in here? How could Allen have predicted those very words that had come out of Kobe’s mouth last summer when he demanded a trade?

Is there something supernatural going on in that bald, Yoda like head of Ray Allen? If so, then I think he’ll have a great career after the NBA as a fortune teller at the state fair.

The force is strong in this one.

Source: Boston Herald

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This week in news and sports blogs around the Net:

• Randy Johnson ties Rogers Clemens for second on all-time strikeouts list - SI
• Kristen Bell likes her some Chris Osgood - Deadspin
• The stressful job of numbering baseball cards - Joe Sports Fan
• Saluting the handsome ones - Larry Brown Sports
• Top 100 Valuable Sports Blogs - Juiced Sports Blogs
  
• Red Auerbach and the practice of flopping - Sports by Brooks
• Get your weekly Yankees news from the Yankees Chick
• Mariah Carey can’t throw a pitch - YouTube

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And in the Smarter Sports Blog we talked about:

• “Peekaboo!”
• NFL Rumors: Terrell Owens to the Raiders in 2009?
• Kobe Video: Kobe Bryant Jumps Over a Pool of Snakes
• NFL Gossip: Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson Back On?
• NBA Gossip: Kobe’s Alleged Other Woman, Vanessa Curry

When the rumor broke that Kobe Bryant had another affair with another woman, I took it with a grain of salt and couldn’t possibly think it’s true after all the stuff he dealt with in Colorado. And after a week of rumors, I still don’t. But what I wanted to do was find out who this Vanessa Curry was and what exactly did she look like. After all, Vanessa was a Laker girl, so it couldn’t be that hard to find a picture right?

Well, it wasn’t that easy seeing how Vanessa’s photos are no longer on the Lakers’ site and her profile has been taken down, so I had to do a little searching. I finally found a good picture of Ms. Curry on Message Dance in her Laker outfit. They must have grabbed it before the Lakers took down her profile.

Whether or not this so-called affair ever took place between Kobe and Vanessa, the truth has yet to come to life, despite rumors circulating that there is evidence. If it didn’t happen, then it’s a shame those who started the rumor had to drag Kobe’s name through the dirt again. If it did take place, then lets hope Mr. Bryant will learn THIS TIME.

I really hope the evidence that is floating out there isn’t some “blue dress.” Maybe a purple and gold one?

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So I’m a little behind on Kobe Bryant’s latest daredevil stunt due to the long weekend, but here you go. And this time, it looks like he recruited the gang from Jackass to help him out.

This time around, instead of jumping over a fast moving Ashton Martin, Kobe jumping over a pool of snakes. Now, I’ve watched the video and I’ll have to say, although it is entertaining, it in now way looks real. Kobe looks like the kid on the bike in E.T. who just keeps climbing in the air. But like I said, for entertainment purposes , it’s always fun to watch guys dive head first into a pool a snakes, then jump out screaming like little girls.

And what’s with Wee-Man’s laugh at the very end? That little chuckle is going to give me nightmares for at least a week.

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