Jennings, who opted to play professionally in Italy last year rather than serve an unpaid internship in Arizona's backcourt, was last seen on Draft day making one of the more memorable sporting entrances not involving a paraglider. A few weeks ago, he lamely tried to play the dozens on Ricky Rubio's head. Many questions remain about him. Foremost among them now is whether he'll get John Hammond or Scott Skiles fired first.

Consider Jennings' exchange with a friend of his, rapper Joe Budden, about whom I know nothing but whom BlackSportsOnline helpfully describes as most famous for "putting his girl's ass on camera." BSO has the video for now. The Baseline's Chris Littmann has the heavily starred transcript:

On next season in Milwaukee ...

Budden: You better worry about Ramon Sessions, diggin' in your a**, pause.
Jennings: He's not going to be here. [inaudible] That money is going to Charlie.
Budden: N****, Ramon Sessions is gonna be there.
Jennings: I doubt it.
Budden: They ain't go no other guards.
Jennings: Ridnour.
Budden: N****, get that bum-a** n**** outta here.
Jennings: He's going to be a backup.
Budden: To who?
Jennings: To who? Who else n****?

On what happened on draft night ...

Budden: Who was hatin' on you?
Jennings: Jay Bilas.
Budden: What happened? You ran in the draft late or some dumb s*** like a loser?
Jennings: No, I was at the hotel. This is what happened right. My agent is like "Well, we ain't hear nothing .We ain't have no guarantee." So we makin' phone calls and s*** and n***** is saying like "The workouts is great and everything and he's the best point guard but we don't know yet, we just don't know."
Budden: They didn't say that about Rick Rubio, number one, and number two they didn't say you the best point guard. They said your jump shot is shaky, you got some potential, but your work ethic is bull****. You averaged 3 points.
Jennings: You're a liar. I know you're lying now.
Budden: I'm just telling you what they said.
Jennings: That ain't nothing but a college person.
Budden: Just tell me what happened. You end up running in the draft? I tunred it off after that.
Jennings: No, n****, I came out there and made my appearance n**** and I had the best appearance out of all them n******. And I was the best dressed, they said, by the way. I was the best dressed.

On whether he'll start next season ...

Budden: You think you gonna start for real though?
Jennings: I don't know, actually, I really don't know.
Budden: I heard that n**** Scott Skiles is an a**h***.
Jennings: That n**** tough, that n**** tough though. There must be a reason he liked me. There must be a reason.

On Ricky Rubio and the Knicks ...

Budden: Let me know when Minnesota get there. So I can watch Rubio light your f****** a** up. I never seen a n**** hate on Rubio so much.
Jennings: [inaudible]
Budden: You know what's funny? You're the only guard in the draft talking s*** about Rubio.
Jennings: The other n***** are scared.
Budden: What are you going to do when Rubio comes to the Knicks?
Jennings: Rubio is not coming, they are not giving up Rubio. You got Jordan Hill, you happy with that?
Budden: I don't really know enough about Jordan Hill to be happy ... I'm happy with Toney Douglas.
Jennings: I know they were booing this n****.
Budden: What does that mean? They boo everybody n****.
Jennings: If it was Stpehen Curry, them n***** would've went crazy in there.
Budden: Shut the f*** up, you don't even know nothing about New York basketball.
Jennings: F*** the Knicks, them n***** skipped out on me.
Budden: Oh man, you feel to the Knicks like I do about Jay-Z? [Laughs] Yo, the Knicks is your Jay-Z?
Jennings: F*** the Knicks, them n***** is always going to be weak.
Budden: This is where I f****** hang up on your f****** ass for talking stupid.
Jennings: Duhon ain't gonna get it done.

I know we're all supposed to be deeply appalled at the immodesty of our basketball youth, but you have to marvel at the sheer ballsiness of a 19-year-old who puts himself in his GM's shoes and non-tenders one player and demotes another, all on his own account. Jennings, I fear, is doomed to spend a long year in Coach Tough N****'s crowded doghouse.

Brandon Jennings & Joe Budden Prove Why They Both Are Potential Busts [BlackSportsOnline]
Social Media Biting Back at Brandon Jennings? [The Baseline]

To truly flourish Jennings will need to be surrounded by some more dynamic offensive weapons. But hey, he can always pass to Salim. Automatic.

That's it for the live posting. I'll be back to kick off the live blog and recap the last few picks at the top of the hour.

The first-ever Tweet by a player during a game? PR In Sports says yes. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Villanueva, whose Twitter ID is CV31, wrote this on his Twitter account: "In da locker room, snuck to post with my twitt. We're playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up."

Apparently he did. Villanueva scored 19 points and snared seven rebounds to lead the Bucks to a 86-77 win over the Celtics.

Fanhouse had something on this on Sunday. Here's Villanueva's response to them.

The Bucks are calling this "an isolated incident," but I don't know. In the rush to become the ultimate Twit in the NBA, there's no telling where players will Tweet next. Hospital during childbirth? Houston brothel during sex? On the bench during the game? While playing the game?

"Just stole the ball from T-Mac, pausing coast-to-coast to post with my twitt. Wait'll you see this dunk. Oh shit .. Stern. Gotta go."

Update: It wasn't an NBA player, but we have childbirth Twittering.

Charlie Villnanueva Official Site [CV31.com]
Villanueva 'Tweeted' At Halftime [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]

• NBA: Hairless wonder Charlie Villanueva shocks veteran NBA observers by going off for 26-13 in a loss to the Cavaliers. Also, some dude scored 55.
• LDS: Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller dies of complications from diabetes. He was 64.
• NHL: Ducks Quacked By Wings - Detroit makes it 11 straight wins at home with a 5-2 triumph over Anaheim.

[CBSSports.com]

Astute observers may have noticed that Bango took a bit of a tumble on the play and limped off slowly into the background during the final seconds of the video. A press release we just got breaks the terrible news—it turns out that Bango suffered a right knee injury and will need surgery.

Don't you worry though—Bango is a gamer.

While gazelle-like dunks and agile maneuvers around the court will be impossible for a time, the heart of Bucks game-night entertainment and the emotional leader of Bucks fans of all ages will continue to lead fan enthusiasm at home games. He will miss few – if any – home games, and the Energee! Dance team, Hoop Troop, Rim Rockers, Air Bango, Super Force, and newly formed Bucks Wild! percussion drumline will continue to fill the court in support of Bango."

Hey, Rumble? Put that in your straw and suck it. Just as a side note: would it be possible for the Bucks to squeeze more annoyingly peppy people on to the court during a time out? Is this an NBA game or "America's Got Talent"?

Now Bango is out with an injury [Journal-Sentinel]

P.S. Oh, and Tracy McGrady is out for the season, but he's not an emotional leader like Bango. [AP]

When last we saw them: Finished 26-56, fifth in Central Division and an unlucky number 13 overall in the East.

Newly imprisoned: (Okay...deep breath...) Adrian Griffin, Damon Jones, Francisco Elson, Joe Alexander, Joe Smith Luc Mbah a Moute, Luke Ridnour, Malik Allen, Richard Jefferson, Tyronne Lue

Free at last: Bobby Simmons, Desmond Mason, Mo Williams, Royal Ivey, Yi Jianlian Trade

The Good: New head coach Scott Skiles is sort of a Dr. Frankenstein in the NBA in that he's built imposing monsters (in Phoenix and Chicago) out of a variety of mismatched and slightly decomposed parts. Michael Redd (22.7 PPG last season) and offseason acquisition Richard Jefferson (22.6) can fill it up from the perimeter. And Jefferson - who's an excellent defender, by the way - has actually, you know, experienced some serious playoff action...unlike most of his new teammates. Andrew Bogut is actually a pretty nice center to have around: Last season, he averaged career highs in scoring (14.3), rebounding (9.8) and blocked shots (1.7) and even dished out 2.6 assists a night (doing that on a single night would be a career-high for Eddy Curry, I think). Arbitrary statistic drumroll please: Since 2000, the only players to average 14 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.7 BPG in a season are Shaq, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Elton Brand, Chris Webber, Pau Gasol and Bogut. Charlie Villaneuva is in a contract year, so you know he'll be busting his ass. And, uhm, wow...that's about it.

The Bad: Let's not mince words here: In 2007-08, the Bucks were to defense what George W. Bush is to the English language. They were dead last in opponents' field goal percentage (.480) and fourth-worst in opponents' three-point percentage (.384). It's called a hand in the face, people. You should really try it some time. But hey, that's why they brought in defensive swami Scott Skiles, right? But it remains to be seen whether he can transmute the marshmallowy softness of Redd and Bogut. Plus, can he get Vilanueva to, like, pay attention and stuff? And who the hell's Luke Ridnour going to guard? He'd get abused by most teams' ball boys. On the subject of Skiles, there's the another point to be made regarding that Dr. Frankenstein analogy: He has a history of wearing out his welcome rather quickly and then getting run out of town by mobs with torches. (Even on Christmas eve!) Outside of Bogut, their "best" frontcourt players - Dan Gadzuric, Francisco Elson, Malik Allen and Villanueva - would be a great group of guys to have around if all you wanted was help retrieving things off of shelves that are too high for you to reach. Their one-two punch at point guard (Ridnour and Ramon Sessions) is more like a weak slap. Oh, and did you notice they have 10 new players? Unless you added guys like, oh I don't know, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, that kind of turnover rarely leads to a dramatic turnaround.

Fun Facts: During last year's campaign of horrible, the Bucks made only 54.9 percent of their inside shots (from six feet and closer). That was second worst in the NBA behind the Bulls' 53.6 percent. The Bucks have won 52.6 percent of their games in their 40-year franchise history. That's a winning record! They won a coin flip against Phoenix to get the first pick in the 1969 NBA Draft, but they wasted it on some guy named Lew Alcindor. He must have been a total bust, because I can't find his name in any of the record books. The Bucks had the first overall pick three other times, and they used them on Kent Benson (1977), Glenn Robinson (1994) and Bogut (2005). Former first round pick fight! On Oct 18, 1977 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (the alter ego of that Lew Alcindor dude) punched Kent Benson during a game and broke his hand. FAIL. Finally, no expansion team in professional sports history earned a championship faster than the Bucks: They won the 1971 NBA title in their third season of existence.

Videotastic extra: And, once again, I give you the classic Andrew Bogut one-man high-five. I love this video so much, I want to sex it up and raise little YouTube children with it.

Tonight will bring the first NBA meeting of Houston's Yao Ming and the player expected to be the next Chinese NBA star, Milwaukee's Yi Jianlian, an occasion that could draw the largest global audience to see an NBA game.

The game will be on 19 networks in China, including CCTV-5, Guangdong TV, Guangzhou TV, and ESPN Star Sports in Hong Kong and Taiwan. It also will be available live through two Webcasters. Though ratings estimates in China are difficult and vary widely, today's game is said to be certain to draw 150 million viewers and could reach 250 million. CCTV-5 alone is available in 210 million households.

Fun fact: It will also be the first NBA game to include players from six continents. Sorry, Antarctica!

But as AA wonders, will anyone in the U.S. care? (it's not even being shown nationally here). Is David Stern's globalization of the NBA really becoming the soccerization of the NBA? Not for me. I haven't been this excited about a matchup since Bruce Lee vs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game of Death.

Yikes! Yao Vs. Yi Is Huge [Houston Chronicle]
Is Anyone Aware That The Largest Television Audience Ever For A Sporting Event Could Take Place Tonight? [Awful Announcing]

We cannot fathom the mindset behind such a choice — he is now officially the last cool No. 1 draft pick since, well, Tim Duncan, but we support him in his quest to looking like an extra from Kill Bill.

Andrew Bogut: Worst Haircut Ever [The Fanhouse]

• Bucks Elbow Past Lakers. With Kobe Bryant serving a one-game suspension for Elbowing a Serb (in Yugoslavia that can get you prison time), the Bucks beat the Lakers 110-90, leading to our early frontrunner for Dumbest Post-Game Interview Question of the Year. It's unclear who is responsible for this, but some reporter actually asked LA's Kwame Brown: "Do you think Kobe would have made a difference tonight?" Um, followup? Was New Orleans affected at all by that flooding? Charlie Villanueva scored a season-high 26 points and Charlie Bell had 20 points for the Bucks. The Lakers were also missing Lamar Odom and Luke Walton and backup forwards Vladimir Radmanovic and Ronny Turiaf, all with injuries.

• Could Have Been Worse. Could Have Been Birth Control Pills. LeBron James has announced his candidacy for president of the Central Division, but more about that in a minute. First, Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter was suspended for 10 games by the NBA after testing positive for phentermine. Hunter said it was his wife's pill, which leads us to this fun Hunter quote: "We do that at our house — if I've got a head cold, I might grab one of her pills. It was just a bonehead mistake on my part." James scored a season-high 41 points as the Cavaliers beat the Pistons 101-97 in overtime victory, pulling to within two games of first-place Detroit in the Central.

• Where Is Mini Ditka When You Need Him? The Curse of the Bulls is over; you may all return to your homes. After three embarrassing losses earlier this season, Miami finally beat Chicago, 103-70, as Shaquille O'Neal had 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Heat.

• Rockabye McGrady, With A Dixie Melody. Tracy McGrady is still the big man on campus, even though Yao Ming is back for the Rockets. McGrady had 25 points and nine assists as Houston beat Boston 111-80, breaking the Celtics' four-game winning streak. We can't wait, by the way, to see Yao in one of those new Nike uniforms.

• 1. Ute? What's a Ute? The University of Utah became the first school to have athletes drafted No. 1 overall in both the NBA and the NFL in the same year, when Andrew Bogut and Alex Smith were both taken in 2005. Bogut is the son of Croatian immigrants to Australia.

• 2. 2001, A Ruben Patterson Odyssey. Ruben Patterson must register himself as a sex offender in the state where he lives after pleading guilty in 2001 to attempted rape of his child's nanny in Bellevue, Wash. Also in 2001, Patterson was convicted of misdemeanor assault for attacking a man who scratched his car outside a Cleveland night club. Patterson was arrested in 2002 for felony domestic abuse charges on his wife. His wife dropped the charges, and they later divorced.

• 3. No Makeup Date Scheduled. South Korea native Ha Seung-Jin's older sister, Ha Eun-Joo, who is 6-foot-8, is also a professional basketball player. She signed with the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks in February 2006 and was later waived for failing to arrive in LA due to a conflicting contract with Chanson Cosmetics of the Japanese league.

• 4. The Buck Stops Here. In a name the team contest in 1968, R.D. Trebilcox of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, was one of 45 persons who suggested the name "Bucks." His reasoning: "Bucks are spirited, good jumpers, fast and agile." Mr. Trebilcox won a new car for his efforts in picking the name. — (Thanks to Bucks fan Sam McClone).

• 5. Deliverance. As soon as he signed his first NBA contract, Michael Redd, a devout Christian, bought his father a church. The church, in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, is named the Philadelphia Deliverance Church of Christ.

Tomorrow: The San Antonio Spurs.

Big thanks to J.E. Skeets (who also takes a deeper look at the T.J. Ford/Charlie Villanueva trade) and the Basketball Jones for the heads-up.

Death By Basketball [The Basketball Jones]
T.J. 4 CV3 [The Basketball Jones]

This could be one of those deals that works out for both sides. Milwaukee gets a hairless 6'11" rookie who averaged 13 points a game last year. Those do not grow on trees. And the old maxim says that you don't trade big for small, but that was before the Phoenix Suns existed, and before the Raptors wanted to rip them off. TJ Ford could kinda be like Steve Nash, if Steve Nash wasn't as good as he is. Ford, like Nash, is small, lightning fast, distributes the ball, and can drive the lane. He's got the back problems, too. It's almost uncanny.

I feel for T.J. Ford here. He spends his entire pro career in Milwaukee, wearing purple. They finally drop the purple, and then they send him to Toronto. Where the mascot is a goddamn purple dinosaur.

And the poll pictured there is something I spotted on the Raptor website. Just because it amused me.

Numbers Game: Ford-for-Williams [TSN.ca]

As one would probably expect from this season, the Eastern Conference NBA playoff matchups are less compelling than the Western Conference, and we're not just saying that because we're in Los Angeles right now. Personally, we're kind of sad David Stern didn't extend a sort of courtesy invite to the Knicks; it would have been fun to watch them combust for four more games. Larry Brown would have never survived.

Anyway, here's a look at views from around the Web on the four Eastern Conference matchups.

Pistons vs. Bucks
• Bill Simmons: Pistons in five.
• Daily Quickie: Pistons in four.
• YAYSports!: Pistons in four
• J.E. Skeets: Pistons in four.
• Gilbert's Arena: Pistons in four.
• Complete Sports: Pistons in five.
• Chris Sheridan: Pistons in four.
• Deadspin: Pistons in five.

Heat vs. Bulls
• Bill Simmons: Heat in six.
• Daily Quickie: Heat in five.
• YAYSports!: Heat in seven.
• J.E. Skeets: Heat in five.
• Gilbert's Arena: Heat in five.
• Complete Sports: Heat in five.
• Chris Sheridan: Heat in five.
• Deadspin: Heat in six.

Nets vs. Pacers
• Bill Simmons: Nets in four.
• Daily Quickie: Nets in five.
• YAYSports!: Nets in four.
• J.E. Skeets: Nets in seven.
• Gilbert's Arena: Nets in six.
• Complete Sports: Nets in seven.
• Chris Sheridan: Nets in seven.
• Deadspin: Pacers in six.

Cavaliers vs. Wizards
• Bill Simmons: Cavaliers in seven.
• Daily Quickie: Wizards in seven.
• YAYSports!: Cavaliers in seven.
• J.E. Skeets: Cavaliers in seven.
• Gilbert's Arena: Wizards in six.
• Complete Sports: Cavaliers in seven.
• Chris Sheridan: Cavaliers in seven.
• Deadspin: Wizards in six.

Let's hear your funky predictions in the comments.

HowEVA (© Stephen A. Smith)... right behind them, we have the Orlando Darkos, probably the best team of the group. They're mathematically alive, but barely. At the moment, they're three games out of a spot with three to play, despite their current 7-game winning streak that includes wins against maybe the best five teams in the NBA, the Spurs, Pistons, Mavericks, Suns, and Heat. The Darko trade has been great for them (no, seriously), and they've got a bright young line-up with Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, and of course, Darko. This is probably the last time in a while that they're not going to be in the playoffs.

Key games remaining:

Sixers @ Magic, Tonight.
Bucks @ Wizards, Tuesday.
Magic @ Pacers, Wednesday.
Bulls @ Magic, Monday.

We know what you're probably thinking: the Mikwaukee Bucks — Lenny and Squiggy's favorite NBA team. But you'd be wrong, of course. The Bucks were not created until 1968, and as we know from our Laverne and Shirley lore, the main characters in that TV show had left Stotz Brewery and moved to Los Angeles by then. But we love the Bucks, mainly because they're still in Milwaukee. Herb Kohl, who purchased the team in 1985, even decided against selling the team to Michael Jordan in order to keep it in Wisconsin. We think that's very cool. As for their great players — how about Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar), Oscar Robertson, and Julius Erving, the latter who was drafted by the Bucks? For the rest of the story, let's check the blogs.

3. Bucks Diary. Or, perhaps, call it Diary of a Mad Bucks Fan. Wait until you see what he has to say about Charles Barkley.
2. Bucks View. Someone who lives in San Francisco and blogs daily about the Bucks is a person to be admired.
1. Five Point Bucks. "I really really want to write a very long piece on how Michael Redd got shafted for the All-Star game, but I have to think about other things, namely, my making my first ever trip up to Lambeau Field this weekend to watch an outdoor Badgers hockey game." That graph is so great on so many levels.

Your friends spring into action. Everybody grab a side! Take him down, simmer him a bit, get him some water, lots of water. Anybody got any weed? Just gotta settle the big fella ... it's OK, Andy, it's just drugs, man ... you're just on drugs. Anybody got a wet towel?!

Bogut Sinks Big One For Bucks [Brats And Beer]

Former Clippers/now Bucks forward Bobby Simmons, most famously smooched by Bill in a "Simmons On Simmons" profile, was arrested yesterday after a woman accused him of fondling a woman in his car outside a club at 2 a.m. and then punching her in the face. The police report the incident involving Bobby Simmons, whom Bill called "the guy everyone wants to play with" and his "favorite player on the [Clippers]," happened outside The Jungle club Saturday night/Sunday morning, and the woman reported it a few hours later.

In incidents like this, one has to realize that Bobby Simmons has been convicted of nothing, one has to hope the woman — if actually assaulted — is OK and one has to not jump to conclusions. But needless to say, Bill is being reminded this morning of the dangers of getting too close to the players he "covers." He's hardly the first journalist to have been potentially schnookered by a source looking for good PR, but as of this second, he's certainly the most high-profile.

Simmons Arrested Following Incident [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel] (via Sports Hooligan)
Simmons On Simmons [Sports Guy's World]
Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers: Simmons No. 17 [NY Times]