The Silna brothers, Ozzie and Dan, learned that they'll be paid some $ 136 million over the next eight years. The checks will be coming from the Denver Nuggets, the San Antonio Spurs, the New Jersey Nets and the Indiana Pacers.

CNBC's Darren Rovell wasn't able to get the Silna brothers to talk — they're busy eating $100 bill sandwiches — but he's still got a compendium of outstanding stories. These guys are geniuses, and David Stern surely can't wait for them to die.

Silna Family "Fortune" And The Draft [CNBC]
Nice Work If You Can Get It [Deadspin]

We love the Dodge City Legends' motion offense; the one in which their center sets picks at the top of the key. Because it's important to keep the tallest player in the history of organized basketball as far away from the basket as you can at all times. You've probably heard of Sun Ming Ming, a native of China who, at 7-foot-9, makes Yao Ming look like Porky from the Our Gang comedies. Sun has been in the U.S. for a couple of years now and was just signed by the Maryland Nighthawks of the American Basketball Association. He isn't very athletic and has only been playing the game for five years (hello, New York Knicks!), but he's recovering quickly from recent health problems and hopes to one day play in the NBA.

Nighthawks coach William Rankin expects Sun to be able to play about 28-30 minutes a game; his debut comes Saturday. That will also be Rankin's debut with the Nighthawks — he was hired about a week ago from a junior college team. "When I interviewed for the job, I asked, 'Do we have a 7-footer?"' Rankin recounted. "And (Doyle) laughed and said, 'We have someone who's almost an 8-footer."'

We love watching the video above because it reminds us of Nerf basketball in our room on rainy afternoons, and of course this. Oh, and if Sun is looking for a little female companionship, the Connecticut WNBA team has possible dating material.

7-Foot-9 Chinese Player Joins ABA Team [MSNBC]

IMDB lists the plot outline was, "Jackie Moon (Ferrell), the owner-coach-player of the American Baketball Association's Flint Michigan Tropics, rallies his teammates to make their NBA dreams come true."

Will Ferrell may have been born for the sole purpose of playing an ABA player/coach. I don't know that I've ever seen Andre Benjamin act, but that's of secondary importance. Woody Harrelson has been cast, too, though I don't know in what role. He's got a pretty decent track record with basketball movies.

It's described as being in "pre-production," and I don't know exactly what that means, but I think it means the movie is a long, long way away from being in a theatre. There's another reason to keep on living if you were running short.

Andre 3000 becomes basketball pro [Monsters and Critics]

If you're not familiar with Ann Iverson, you probably haven't watched a Sixers game in a while. This ABA franchise will not lack for enthusiasm from the front office. At Sixers games, she's the one in the front row, wearing an Iverson jersey and carrying some glitter-encrusted sign that indicates the joy that her baby brings her. She doesn't make herself difficult to notice.

Which raises an interesting question. If Ann attends a Richmond Iversons game, does she wear an Iverson jersey, or does she wear a Richmond jersey? If she opts for the ABA year, it might be the first time she's been seen in public in anything other than an Iverson jersey. I wonder if she'll petition the league to let every player wear the #3. Other Ann Iverson tidbits:

- Had another son recently, and named him "Mister Allen Iverson."
- Claims that she did not have sex on the night Allen Iverson was conceived.
- Is rumored to have bought a new SUV when she couldn't find hers in an airport parking lot

Momma Iverson Is Talkin' About Owning Teams [YAY! Sports]
Iverson's mom has own ABA team [MSNBC]

I had been hearing rumors for a couple weeks that Gheorghe Muresan had been playing in a local JCC league, and then I read on Deadspin that Muresan would be playing in an ABA game vs. the Maryland Nighthawks on Sunday night. With that news, I decided to attend. It was not a very exciting game, as the Nighthawks eked out a 126-120 win thanks to a barrage of three pointers, some of which were worth four points thanks to the league's 3D rule that rewards you for backcourt steals by giving you an extra point on the ensuing basket. And, yes, the rumors turned out to be true; Muresan showed up as warmups ended.

On the court, he looked like Carl from "Big Fish" trying to play at the local rec center. In total, he scored zero points in about four minutes of play. He did, however, sign a kajillion autographs and posed for dozens of pictures. All this while promoting his summer camps where they teach children mainly how to swing your elbows. I did get to shake his hand after halftime, too, when his hand completely cupped mine and didn't allow me even to grip back.

And here is a picture of my friend — who is six-foot-four — standing beside Muresan. This picture is worth about one word: Wow.

We remain proud to be your Internet source on all matters Gheorghe Muresan.

Anyway, the league is launching its All-Star game in two weeks, and it's a beauty. First off, it's taking place in that noted tourist hotbed Sunrise, Fla., the weekend of February 9-11. Currently, there are two players on the roster, including former NBAer Tim Hardaway (we're pretty sure there will be room for Dennis Rodman, if he's back from the Big Brother house by then).

Our favorite part of the Web site, however, is the official ABA All-Star Game rap, by artists named "Pat & Rip." We'd say the odds are excellent that they're still waiting on their check.

ABA All-Star Game [ABA]

Deadspin Dennis Rodman Archive [Deadspin]
I Should Be Dead By Now [Amazon]
American Basketball Association [Official Site]

(Update: It appears Rodman and his "agent" says nobody told them about the book signing. We present you that fact without comment.)

(Second Update: Rodman uber-manager Steve Simon writes us: "In all honestly, there never was a book signing scheduled. Rather, it was an ill-conceived attempt by the owner of the SF team to create more promotion and, in the long run, he didn t have enough time or brains to order the books and unfortunately wound up making everyone look foolish." So you know.)

We were playing around the official Tijuana Dragons Web site and couldn't make heads or tails of much of anything ... until we realized, hey, that's in Spanish! El Equipo! El Calendario De Juegos! Rimrockers de Arkansas Campe n! We don't know what any of that means! Wee!

Not that it'll matter for Rodman, who has a small-press book to promote and all kinds of ex-wives to support. Which means, of course, an ABA career was the only real choice he had, since Double Team didn't catch on the way we were hoping it would, since it included one of our favorite bad-movie lines: "There's nothing wrong with stepping on a mine. It's stepping off that counts." Totally!

PBN Shootaround [Pro Basketball News] (via Ben Maller)
Tijuana Dragons [Official Site]
I Should Be Dead By Now [Amazon]

But one group that did? The brand-spanking-new — and pretty great — hoops blog YAYsports! rose to the occasion, accepting the challenge. And ABA commissioner Joe Newman is even considering taking them up on it:

Thanks for the email and the offer. We haven't heard from the NBA but we did hear from the national jockey's association, the Lawrence Welk Foundation and you about playing the exhibition game if the NBA didn't do it. All three are under consideration. We've been offered the gym at St. Monica's Church, seating capacity 11, for the game. We'll let you know.

Again: We love the ABA.

Joe Newman Says Maybe [YAYsports!]
ABA [Official Site]