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He may have escaped punishment on the court, but Kevin Love couldn't hide from the NBA league office. The Timberwolves forward will sit two games (against Sacramento and Memphis) for this face-stomp against the Houston Rockets' Luis Scola. More »
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Kevin Love gave Luis Scola a facial—and not the kind his porn-star epithet might suggest—that somehow eluded detection by referees. The league office, though, might not be so nearsighted. [FS Houston] More »
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Sure, it's a tip-slam, but if you're 7'0" JaVale McGee then the likes of Chandler Parsons should not be dunking on you—under any circumstances. Parsons then rides around with his crotch in McGee's face for a few seconds just added to the degradation, but these sorts of things are how a team like Washington can start the season 1-11. [CSN] More »
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Despite Dell Demps nominally having full authority to make player moves, it was pressure from other owners (and therefore the owners of the Hornets) that killed the Chris Paul deal last night. So this was never a completed trade vetoed by the league—for litigation purposes, this was a trade that one side chose not to make. Obviously that's bullshit, because why would the Hornets still be trying to make the move? But it still means that the Lakers, the Hornets and the Rockets are reportedly not allowed to appeal to the league office. More »
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Everything is happening. David Aldridge reports that the Orlando Magic are considering filing tampering charges against two other teams for having contact with Dwight Howard. SI's Sam Amick says the teams are Houston and New Jersey, and that Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov may have met with Howard yesterday. More »
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NBA owners have reportedly pressured the league to kill the three-way deal. [RealGM.com] More »
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The NBA lockout officially ended this evening, when the players and owners ratified the new CBA in Manhattan, and everything else has already fallen back into place: The Clippers signed Caron Butler to a $24 million deal, the Knicks lost out on an opportunity to sign a great point guard, and the Lakers won everything. Basketball is back! More »
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Ever wonder if the men who run our professional basketball teams are as clueless as the men who were running our professional baseball teams (as depicted by Michael Lewis in his 2003 book Moneyball)? There is no definitive answer to that question, yet, but we do now know that at least one NBA GM does not yet know how to Google. More »
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How long was Yao Ming going to last? That was the question about the seven-foot-six center long before he broke his foot for the first time in the NBA. When Yao joined the league nine summers ago, picked first overall in the 2002 draft by the Houston Rockets, he was the man who would bring the entire Chinese market with him to Texas, a force that would effectively "globalize" a professional sports league. He was on billboards and magazine covers draped in Chinese red and gold. More »
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Yahoo! reports that Yao Ming is retiring after nine seasons with the Houston Rockets. Shaq, as he tends to do, confirmed the report on Twitter and then suggested that they go on vacation together. [Yahoo!, @Shaq] More »
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Your morning roundup for May 29, the day after death told the world that the puffy-faced Grandma Bandit was actually a man. More »
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Your morning roundup for March 24, the day an 8.5-point underdog taps into its inner Jersey Shore, all Socs-versus-Greasers style. More »
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The Joke That Started It All More »
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Eric Snow, Comcast SportsNet's color analyst for the Sixers, seemed to drift off in the middle of the Philadelphia-Houston game last night. 7th & Pattison recorded the moment for our scrutiny: with just a few minutes remaining in the second quarter, Snow seems to bail on his play-by-play man, Marc Zumoff. After a few seconds of silence, Zumoff asks Snow, "You meditating?" Snow stirs, mutters something about "trying to stay awoke," and then attempts to relate his in-game catnap to a player's need for a "burst of energy." The Sixers went on to win, 114-105. More »
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Now's an excellent time to call attention to these photos of Williams (red cap) making it rain (with Ron Artest!) at Perfection Gentlemen's Club. Too bad there aren't women who take their clothes off for money in Houston. [What's Poppin, h/t BSnO] More »
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Midway through last night's Thunder-Rockets game, Kevin Durant swung the ball out to Russell Westbrook who drove straight to the hoop and elevated for a dunk that straight embarrassed alleged defensive maestro Shane Battier. More »
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Welcome back to Incongruous Athlete Mix-Tape Theater. Today's subject: Billy "The Whopper" Paultz, set to some folk music that sounds simultaneously Mexican and Celtic. More »
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Between this and this, Yao Ming is fast becoming one of the most interesting people to watch doing calisthenics. [via @jose3030] More »
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Kevin Martin—who will earn $10.6 million this season—has an unorthodox shooting motion and it appears an unorthodox method of paying his mortgage—not paying it. He's defaulted on the loan for his house in suburban Sacramento. [Sacramento Bee] More »
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This ad, featuring crudely drawn and out-of-proportion representations of Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, and Yi Jianlian, is for Chinese manufacturing conglomerate GMC and oddly enough appeared in today's Wall Street Journal. Expect the Rockets to run this on in-bounds plays. [Copyranter] More »
]]> http://deadspin.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5576590&view=rss&microfeed=true Hall-of-Famer Calvin Murphy appeared on ESPN Radio in Houston today and as all basketball conversations must do, the topic turned to the rumors about Delonte West's dalliance with LeBron James' mom. Murphy's response: "It ain't no rumor." More »
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Luis Scola, Chase Budinger and Shane Battier take the stage for Battier's karaoke fundraiser. I'd offer something funnier than "people donated money to get them to stop singing," but I'm busy trying to stanch my ear bleeding. [Click2Houston, via Traina] More »
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Mascots are running wild at our sporting events, both home and abroad. Who will put a stop to the madness? And why won't the music coordinators at these arenas use Temple of the Dog in place of Weird Al? More »
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The two highest paid players in their respective sports threw hissy fits and were sent home. One will play today; one might not play again. Want to guess which is which? (Hint: the one who's actually still good will play.) More »
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The early All-Star balloting numbers are in, and it looks like another year of the usual suspects: Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade, T-Mac...*record scratch* More »
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Yao Ming set to star in Chinese animated movie. [ESPN] More »
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Will Kobe take this series back? Will Ron Artest lick his neck? Will Luis Scola's swarthy musk be too much for the Lakers too handle? Find out which of these brave competitors will earn the right to be defeated by the Nuggets. [Yahoo] More »
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Either the Houston Rockets veterans had a little fun with Aaron Brooks this weekend or he forgot to bring his ventriloquist dummy to the post-game press conference. More »
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After losing yet another starter, the Rockets are about to try to prove that they can win without Yao. If Ron Artest can keep himself from getting ejected, they might have a shot. More »
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The Houston Rockets announced yesterday evening that Yao Ming will be out for the rest of the playoffs with a hairline fracture in his left foot. Adjust your bets accordingly. More »
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Some people doubted Ron Artest's table leg stabbing story, but I guess there's this thing called the Internet and some people actually did do the Google to find the truth. More »
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The NBA Playoffs are getting very chippy—even more so—but at least no one has been murdered on court with a broken table leg yet. Because Ron Artest would hate to see that happen....again. More »
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Ron Artest had a nice moment last night when he went into the stands after a loose ball. It was just like the last time he went into the crowd, only not as hysterically funny. More »
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Um so…did I mention I am also recovering from a sinus infection? How about a YouTube clip of children using obscene language? More »
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The Houston Rockets forward suffered a "flesh wound" after a minor fender bender turned into a drive-by. The moral, as always, is never leave your house. [Fox; Fourth and Fifty] More »
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Bryant put up 37 points last night—31 in the second half—while being guarded by two of the better defenders in the league, Shane Battier and Mad Ron Artest. Maybe the shot chart needs updating? [NBA.com] More »
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Tracy McGrady nearly put up a triple double in his return from injury while Boston and Cleveland were both victorious. Again. More »
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It's safe to say that the the Houston Chronicle has about had it with Tracy McGrady. These are tough financial times, the newspaper figures, so why is the Houston Rockets' star being paid so much dough for sitting in the whirlpool? More »
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As you may be aware—if anyone can ever truly be "aware" of Oklahoma City basketball—the Thunder fired head coach P.J. Carlesimo on Friday, because frankly ... the beard has seen better days. More importantly, he has been replaced on an interim basis with a name I thought I might never hear again—Scott Brooks. Maybe I'm revealing my age a bit, but I was appalled to read that news and then see it followed by this statement from a young blogger: More »
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I'm a huge fan of the hidden camera show brand of humor, which, when done well, can be pretty darned hilarious. Following the jump we have a good example, courtesy of the Houston Rockets. It reminds me of the old British show Trigger Happy TV, which was on Comedy Central briefly a while back. Those guys were twisted; notice the shock on the faces of these unsuspecting picnickers when three people in squirrel costumes suddenly beat up a man at a nearby table and drag him into the woods. Almost as funny: A giant Houston Rockets mascot bear comes to life at a mall and scares the crap out of passersby. Enjoy. More »
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