Sports Blog

If the NBA is where amazing happens, the AT&T Center is where extermination happens. In case you haven’t seen the first NBA highlight of the year that has gone completely viral, take a look here. A word of caution, if you are a bat lover you may not want to see what San Antonio Spurs’ guard Manu Ginobli had in store for a bat that somehow made its way into the arena.

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No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. During a home game for the Spurs on Monday night there was an interruption to the game because of a bat that was flying around the court. Ginobli, who apparently is a man who likes to take matters into his own hands, swatted the bat in midair instead of waiting for arena personal to take care of the matter. After he struck the bat he proceeded to pick it up off of the floor and carried it over to the nearest arena attendant.

All good, right?

Wrong!

As a quick look (and common sense) over at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website will tell you, a small percentage of bats carry the rabies virus. And since the bat was not available for testing, Ginobli had to receive four shots on Monday and is scheduled for four more sessions in the next month.

The moral of the story: while it might be fun to play Batman, animal extermination is best left to the pros (not the NBA variety).

This past weekend in sports was one of the most eventful of the year. It was the first weekend of the NBA season, the midway point of the NFL season, the start of the MLS postseason, and the final stretch of the MLB season. Sprinkle in some big games in college football, international soccer, and the NHL and there was really too much to watch on this Halloween weekend.

However, for those that did find the time to take in all the wonderful sports action it will be a weekend they will not soon forget. And for those who were not able to catch all the excitement, here is a quick recap of the weekend’s three biggest stories.

World Series: The New York Yankees inched their way closer to their 27th championship and first since 2000. Joba Chamberlain gave the Yankees a scare Sunday night when he allowed the Philadelphia Phillies to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, but a three run top of the ninth started by an amazing at bat by Johnny Damon propelled the Yankees to a 7-4 victory and 3-1 series lead. A.J. Burnett will take the mound in game five for the Yankees tonight against Cliff Lee and attempt to close out the series in Philadelphia.

NFL: The Denver Broncos entered week eight of the NFL season as one of three undefeated teams in the league. Unfortunately for Broncos fans, the team will not enter week nine with the same status following a 30-7 blowout at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. The Indianapolis Colts remained undefeated after narrowly beating the fading San Francisco 49ers and the league’s other unbeaten team, the New Orleans Saints, is host to Atlanta tonight on Monday Night Football.

Arguably the biggest NFL story of the weekend, though, was Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau Field to face his former team. Although he already beat the Green Bay Packers earlier this year, it was the first time he has played at Lambeau Field as a visitor since leaving the team to play for the New York Jets last season. He was booed heavily in the beginning of the game, despite there being a fair number of purple jerseys in the crowd, but received the last laugh as he led the Minnesota Vikings to a 38-26 victory.

NBA: Finally, the NBA season is here and opening weekend did not disappoint. We saw some of last years playoff teams take care of business (the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic are all undefeated) and others come out of the gate struggling (the Cleveland Cavaliers are 2-2 and the Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Hornets are 1-2). What is more interesting (although we shouldn’t be surprised) is how some of last years bad teams are seemingly worse than they were before.

The New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, and Golden State Warriors are a combined 0-17. It is not as though any NBA analyst was predicting these teams to make it to the NBA finals this season, but their play so far has been less than encouraging for fans hoping they would make a strong push to get into the playoffs and possibly cause some damage.

What do you think was the biggest story of the weekend? Any predictions for next weekend?

Image Source: Guardian.co.uk

Fresh off of fantasy baseball and right in the middle of fantasy football, the start of the fantasy basketball season could not come at a more hectic time. Yet, here we are in week one of the NBA schedule with a few days of games already under our belts.

An NBA season is a grueling, 82 game marathon. And while most fantasy drafts have already been completed, fantasy basketball, perhaps more so than any other fantasy sport, is all about picking up free agents early in the season. During the early parts of a season head coaches are experimenting with different lineups and figuring out how to best utilize new players. As a result, you will see certain players surprise you with great production and others disappoint you with poor production.

The key to winning in fantasy basketball is determining early on which players off to a hot start are for real and which ones are imposters. Conversely, it is just as important to figure out which players off to slow starts are most likely to turn it around. This week we will take a look at players off to a hot start that should continue to make a positive impact on your fantasy team.

As always, the players recommended here are available in a majority of leagues because you do not need me to tell you that Lebron James is going to have a good fantasy season.

PG Randy Foye, Washington Wizards (Owned in 27.4 percent of ESPN leagues): Foye is technically a combo guard, but he is eligible to start in fantasy at both guard positions. A good sign for Foye is that in the Wizards’ first game of the season — a game in which Foye came off the bench — he logged more minutes (30) than starting shooting guard Mike Miller (22). Although he isn’t quite the three-point threat that Miller is, the fact that he can take over point guard duty for Gilbert Arenas makes me believe that he will continue to log more minutes than Miller this year. Plus, with Arenas’ laundry list of injuries, it is not absurd to assume that Foye will find himself as the starting point guard sometime this season.

SG Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors (Owned in 64.8 percent of ESPN leagues): Yes, I am well aware of head coach Don Nelson’s propensity for switching lineups more often than he does underwear, but Stephen Curry is too good to keep off of the floor. The rookie has a deadly outside shot and is somehow already more dependable than teammates Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson, the latter of which is being actively shopped around the league.

SF Shane Battier, Houston Rockets (Owned in 54 percent of ESPN leagues): The fact that Battier is not owned in all but the shallowest of leagues is mind boggling. The Rockets are without their two biggest scoring threats (Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady), playing with a relatively inexperienced point guard (Aaron Brooks), and an offensively irrelevant center (Chuck Hayes). Someone has to put up fantasy points and they won’t all be coming from new teammate Trevor Ariza.

PF Yi Jianlian, New Jersey Nets (Owned in 5.3 percent of ESPN leagues): I’ll admit that he has been a mild disappointment thus far in his career, but let me remind you that he is only 22 years old and still learning the nuances of the NBA. He opened with a very strong game against the Minnesota Timberwolves (17 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks), and while it may be unrealistic to expect that level of production all season, I see him as a legit fantasy contributor in 12-team fantasy leagues.

C Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies (Owned in 16.3 percent of ESPN leagues): The center position is arguably the toughest to fill in fantasy basketball, and this is especially true for leagues that require you start two of them. Gasol may not be as good of a scorer as Al Horford or the dominant shot blocker that Dwight Howard is, but he his above average in both and also grabs a lot of rebounds. The Grizzlies also have a lot of players that like to jack up a lot of bad shots early in the shot clock (Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, Allen Iverson, Zach Randolph), so if your fantasy league counts offensive rebounds as a category Gasol is even more valuable.

After a nearly five month break in the action, the 2009-10 NBA season is finally upon us as the Boston Celtics head on the road to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first of four games tonight. A lot has happened across the NBA since the Los Angeles Lakers took home the title last season, but one thing remains the same at the start of every season — all 30 teams start with the same record and have aspirations to be world champions.

And what better way to kick off the new season than with some fresh NBA gear and goodies. Whether you are looking to pick up a new jersey from a star that has changed teams (like Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, or Ben Gordon) or want to relive the season through an officially licensed NBA DVD, there are plenty of awesome NBA related items to check out.

Here are a few discounts from the NBA Store to help you get ready for the season:

While today may mark the start of a new season, there are still plenty of reasons to sport a Lakers’ championship t-shirt from last season. This “NBA Exclusive Collection Los Angeles Lakers “Got Rings?” T-Shirt proudly shows off the Lakers 15 championship titles and is currently on sale for $19.99.

Of all players that changed addresses this off-season, Shaq is literally the biggest. Some day he will end up in the hall of fame and be recognized as one of the best big men the game has ever seen, but this season all anybody will care about is whether or not he can help King James bring a title to Cleveland. Whether you are a fan of the Big Aristotle or the Cavs, make sure to grab his jersey while it is still on sale for $44.99.

One of the more memorable NBA stories of the summer was the induction of Michael Jordan into the basketball hall of fame. He is arguably the greatest player in NBA history and provided numerous breathtaking moments for fans throughout the years. Celebrate his greatness with the “NBA Ultimate Jordan: 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition DVD” ( and see how one of the greatest of the past generation stacks up against players from the current one.

Shop for discount NBA gear at Smarter.com.

Today NBA free agents can officially sign with a team.  After a week of being able to shop around, most know where they are going or have agreed to verbal agreements already.  For the most part all the big names have already stated where they are going, but until it’s official, anything can happen.  The NBA has already announced that the salary cap will be lowered for next year.  This will affect effect teams decision to sign a big free agent that will put them over the cap and force them to pay a tax.  With the economy the way it is I think teams will be less willing to go over this year.  We’ll just have to see what happens.  Here is a list of some free agents that have already gave their verbal decision.

Ron Artest, SF - Signed with Lakers

Good signing as both sides have been wanting to join forces for a while.  This gives the Lakers some much needed toughness and allows Kobe to get rest on defense as Artest can shut down the other teams best player.  The only bad thing is they lose fan favorite Trevor Ariza.

Trevor Ariza, SF - Signed with Rockets

This is pretty much like a trade for Ron Artest as they will trade places.  I think that Ariza will be kicking himself for years after he tried to hard ball the Lakers for more money, then accepting the same deal in Houston.  He was great for the Lakers but that was only for a year.  He needs to prove he can do it for longer.

Shannon Brown , G - Re-signed with Lakers
In keeping Brown, the Lakers will pretty much have the same team, assuming Lamar Odom signs, as last year and might even be better will Artest.  Brown gives energy off the bench and he is very athletic.  I see a repeat coming!

Rasheed Wallace, C - Signed with Celtics

This signing makes the Celtics the team to beat in the east again.  Although he is older now, teaming him with KG will be deadly in the middle.  I see another Lakers-Celtics Finals.

Jason Kidd, G - Re-signed with Mavs

There was some temptation to join the Knicks, but in the end the Mavs could offer more money and wanted him the most.  Though they still cant compete with the elite teams, this signing will at least keep them competitive for the fans.

Ben Gordon, G - Signed with Pistons

Good signing for the Pistons as Ben is a good player, but it still doesn’t make them better than the big three in the east (Magic, Celtics, Cavs).  The fact is that the Pistons want a shot at Lebron next year and having Ben might help.  We’ll see.

Hedo Turkolgu, F - Signed with Raptors

After having a great playoffs, Hedo wanted to cash in as he’s not getting any younger.  And, that he did getting almost $10 million a year from the Raptors.  I guess winning a championship isn’t that important to him.

Image Source: Getty Images

Since the order for the upcoming NBA draft was announced on Tuesday, there has been a lot of buzz about Blake Griffin and if the Los Angeles Clippers will take him with their first overall pick.

Clippers head coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy has put a lot of minds at ease by telling the Los Angeles Times they will, saying they are extremely excited to add the young talent.  Their marketing department is already taking advantage of the proclamation by using Griffin to sell season tickets, and for anyone who went to a Clippers game last season, it is obvious they really need to sell more tickets.

People are also starting to wonder when they can get their hands on a Griffin jersey, and though they aren’t on the NBA’s web site yet, it is safe to assume they should be on their no later than the moment Griffin officially gets drafted.

In the mean time there are plenty of discount NBA jerseys and NBA clothing available to fans.  If you are looking for a slick jersey to hit the courts with or something to rock while watching the rest of the NBA playoffs, there are a lot of different options and deals out there.  Getting quality apparel can be expensive, but there are some cheap gems out there if you look hard enough.

To help get you on your way, today’s deal of the day is the jersey of Superman, aka Dwight Howard.  His road replica jersey is on sale for only $44.99 at DicksSportingGoods.com and is available in sizes small through XX-large.  It is made up of a breathable mesh material, has the official NBA logo embroidered on it, and ships within 1-2 business days.

If you are curious what everyone else is buying, here is the list of the top selling jerseys of the past season according to NBA figures released last month.  Allen Iverson at number five is a bit of a surprise, but maybe a lot of kids want to emulate an aging star who got benched hurt this year.

1. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
4. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
5. Allen Iverson, Detroit Pistons
6. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
7. Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
8. Nate Robinson, New York Knicks
9. Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers
10. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
11. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
12. Ray Allen, Boston Celtics
13. Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
14. Shaquille O’Neal, Phoenix Suns
15. Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets

Image Sources: The Situationist and Dick’s Sporting Goods

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more NBA jerseys and discount NBA clothing.

While the Los Angeles Lakers were busy beating the Denver Nuggets in game one of the Western Conference finals, the other Los Angeles basketball team was rewarded for yet another year of mediocrity.

The Los Angeles Clippers won the right to the first pick in the upcoming NBA draft despite the Sacramento Kings having the most ping pong balls and the best chance to win the lottery.  This will be the third time the Clippers have selected first overall, the most recent being in 1998 when they selected eventual bust Michael Olowokandi.

It was scary news for fans of Blake Griffin, the Oklahoma Sooners stud who has been widely considered the best player in the draft and the most likely number one pick.  Given the Clippers history of drafting — either selecting complete duds (Olowokandi) or letting solid picks get away (Lamar Odom) — one has to wonder what this does to the teams off-season strategy.

There have been rumblings that the Clips would love to unload Baron Davis back to the Golden State Warriors or shed salary by letting go either Marcus Camby, Zach Randolph or Chris Kaman.  However, with the injection of such a promising young star the Clippers may be able to reload instead of rebuild.  Owner Donald Sterling is notoriously cheap, though, so it is probably safe to assume he would like to shed salary and ride promising youngsters Al Thorton and Eric Gordon.

Of course any potential move may prove to be futile because Sterling refuses to give head coach Mike Dunleavy the pink slip even though his players did everything but submit letters of resignation last season.  The Clippers are one of the most disappointing and perpetually losing franchises in all of sports, so even the good fortune of leap frogging into a top pick leaves the basketball world waiting to see how they will mess this one up.

Sacramento, who dropped all the way to fifth, couldn’t have been too surprised by their bad luck as the team with the best chance to land the number one pick hasn’t actually walked away with the selection since the Orlando Magic took Dwight Howard in 2004.  The Washington Wizards also had a bit of bad luck, dropping from second to fifth.

With the NBA salary cap looking to go down for the first year since its inception, look for draft day (June 25) to be a busy day that could feature a swap of high picks and talented stars in their final years of their contracts.

And if you are a Clippers fan, well, it is never too late to become a Lakers fan.

Image Source: Sports Illustrated

It’s official:  Mark Cuban and Kenyon Martin are two enormous babies who are starting to look more like cast members of The Hills than members of the NBA.

Their childish behavior made me think for a second I was dealing with a couple of kids in high school.  Certainly this couldn’t be the behavior of two well to do adults.  Sadly, it is.  Right down to the reports of back and forth banter, insincere apologies and no actual face to face communication.

What should have ended with a simple apology has turned into a gigantic pissing contest and appears to have no end in sight.  In case you haven’t heard, after game three of the Denver/Dallas series, Cuban made some disparaging comments to Martin’s mother while exiting his seat in the arena.  He later apologized via his blog, which led Martin to call Cuban a coward, according to HoopsHype.com.

The entire ordeal is ridiculous and is only getting worse with each passing day.  With that in mind, here are five reasons why Cuban and Martin need to quit their bickering.

1] I hate to sound like a NBA spokesperson, but their online feud is distracting people from a really good NBA playoffs.  The Eastern and Western Conference finals should be electric and the more time they fight the less attention there will be on the actual games.

2] Cuban made a mistake and needs to own up to it appropriately.  It shouldn’t need to be said, but for Cuban apparently it does — when you heckle someones mom an apology in a blog isn’t enough.  People shouldn’t be yelling at mothers in the first place, but if you do say sorry in person and squash it.

3] Martin is only making the situation worse.  There was a lot of sympathy for him at first, but each word he utters takes some of that away.  Calling Cuban a coward is only adding fuel to the fire.  It is natural to stick up for your mom, yet the best course of action for Martin is to just shut up.

4] If there is one thing I know about the NBA it’s this — you don’t want David Stern to get involved.  Stern has been patient in letting the situation resolve itself but at some point he is going to start dishing out fines.  If Cuban and Martin don’t want to get hit in their pockets they need to end this.

5] Listening to the two of them is funny.  Cuban, who acts awfully tough, isn’t exactly an imposing figure.  And while I wouldn’t say it to his face, it is impossible to take anyone with a pair of lips tattooed on their neck seriously.

Image Source: BlogFinds.com

Some people are a little down on this years NBA playoffs and I can’t for the life of me figure out why.

I realize people are busy with school, work and American Idol, but this years playoff race has been absolutely amazing and the very definition of must see TV.  With so many different things competing for our precious attention, though, I have compiled a list of the top ten reasons why you should be catching the rest of the NBA playoffs:

1] If you grew up watching basketball in the ’80s and ’90s there is a good chance you have found yourself reminiscing while watching recent games.  The amount of hard fouls and seemingly genuine distaste between players has brought old school basketball back.  If only the NBA would stop fining/suspending the hell out everyone!

2] Jumping on the NBA bandwagon is the perfect excuse to go drinking with friends after work on a Tuesday night without feeling like an alcoholic.  Down a few Jäger bombs on an ordinary weeknight and you apparently have drinking problems.  Doing the same in conjunction with your team winning and you’re just celebrating like any good fan would.

3] There are a few bona fide superstars still alive in the playoffs and one of them is Kobe Bryant.  A staple of excellent play for the last decade, the still elite Bryant can’t last forever so you better get your fill while you can.  Plus, for you casual fans, there is always a lot of drama and intrigue surrounding the Lakers, so making the transition from day-time soap watcher to Lakers aficionado is a breeze.

4] Long time NBA watchers have had a lot to enjoy in this years playoffs.  For instance, anyone who watched Boston hoist up another banner last year has had two questions on their mind since the playoffs started this year: can the Celtics repeat and will Kevin Garnett go all Willis Reed on us if Boston goes deep into the playoffs?

5] While there has certainly been a number of blowouts thus far, there have also been some legendary overtime thrillers.  The Boston/Chicago series featured many nail-biting games and will be talked about amongst hoop-heads for years to come.  With a little luck both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals will do the same.

6] Remember back in 2005 when the San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons?  Not many people do because both teams were excellent on defense and struggled to score a lot of points.  This year is much more casual fan friendly because there have been a lot of fast paced, high scoring games.  Three teams still in the playoffs average at least 100 points per game, and all teams that have a chance to go to the conference finals average at least 94.

7] People who love to hear some solid trash talking are basking in the playoffs back and forth banter. Technical fouls have been dished out by the bushel as players try to get in each others heads. When an owner (Mark Cuban) gets into it with a player’s (Kenyon Martin) mom, you know the trash talking is top notch.

8] If the last decade belonged in part to Kobe Bryant, the next one will have its lion’s share held by Lebron James.  Voted this years regular season MVP, James somehow continues to get better despite already being one of the best players in the league.  In other words, he is reason enough to watch this years playoffs.

9] Most TV series are coming to an end, and while we will all miss our favorite shows (go Scrubs!), the playoffs can certainly help fill the void. There is plenty of action, drama, suspense and comedy (both intentional and unintentional) to help hold you over until fall.

10] The last reason is by far the most obvious: basketball is awesome.  Seeing some of the best athletes in the world go at it in one of the best sports to watch on TV is a real treat.  I defy you to not get excited when James throws down a monster dunk or when Dwight Howard swats a ball into the third row.

Take it from someone who watches a lot of basketball — it’s not possible.

Image Source: therundown.tv

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for the NBA apparel and memorabilia you need to support your favorite team.

For the first time since Tim Duncan did it in the 2001-02 NBA season, a former rookie of the year took down NBA Most Valuable Players honors. That former ROY is Lebron James and he accepted the award yesterday from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, his alma mater.

Unlike the MVP race of the past few years, this years award went through little scrutiny.  Sure there were a few dissenters who favored Dwayne Wade (who received seven first place votes and finished third in voting) or Kobe Bryant (who finished second in voting and received two first place votes), but the most deserving player was clearly King James.

Here are ten reasons why James deserved to win this years MVP trophy:

1) The Cleveland Cavaliers 66-16 record was good for the number one seed in the east and home court advantage in the NBA finals should they get that far.  MVP voters put a lot of weight into team success and no team had greater regular season success than the Cavs.

2) At 39-2 the Cavs finished just one game short of the ‘86 Celtics all time best home court record (Cavs final lost was in the last game of season and they rested their starters).  Another team accomplishment, but James deserves the lion’s share of the kudos.

3) Unlike other top scorers in the league (Joe Johnson I’m looking at you) James is a two-way player.  While defense is hard to quantify in statistics, James did finish second in defensive player of the year honors.  He can guard nearly any player on the court and frequently slowed down opposing teams best weapons.

4) James finished second in the league in points per game with 28.4 and did it shooting a very respectable .489 from the field.  His mid-range game continues to improve and no one is better at finishing around the basket than Lebron.

5) Any player that knows how to drive is going to get his share of free throws.  James did just that finishing second in the league in free throws made per game with an impressive 7.3.  Add in his improved free throw percentage (78% this year, 71% last year) and James helped his team with a lot of easy points from the charity stripe.

6) James is also very proficient around the glass.  His 7.8 rebounds per game is good for second in the NBA among non power forwards and centers and is yet another testament to his versatility.

7) As if the shooting, rebounding and defense weren’t enough James also finished ninth in the NBA in assists and second among non point guards with 7.2 a game.  While it would be nearly impossible for him to average a triple double for a season, James is definitely the player most capable of accomplishing it.

Although he isn’t among the league leaders in blocks, he is responsible for popularizing the term come from behind blocks.  Anyone who saw him break up Jason Richardson’s 360 dunk attempt can certainly attest to that, and nothing jacks up a team like a monster block.

9) Another aspect of the game that is hard to quantify is team chemistry.  You could argue all day about how important it is to winning (very), but there is no question the Cavs have it in spades.  From their unique hand shakes to scripted celebrations, they genuinely seem to like each other and James is largely responsible.

10) According to stats from 82games.com, James has a better shooting percentage in the clutch (4th quarter or overtime, less than 5 minutes left, neither team ahead by more than 5 points) than either Wade or Bryant, and it’s not even that close: James, .556; Wade, .470; Bryant, .457.

Image Source: edeporte.com

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for Lebron James memorabilia.