Basketball Page 906 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Kudos To The NBA Draft Seating Arrangement Planner
"Rick Pitino eventually sat in his seat while John Calipari... avoided his, which meant no awkward photos, and no opportunity for Kentucky fans to create Photoshops of him putting his feet in Pitino's hair." [SI]...

Breaking: North Carolina Natives Prefer Ol' Roy To Coach K
Roy Williams has a higher in-state approval rating than Mike Krzyzewski, but here's the shock statistic: Only 14 percent have an "unfavorable opinion" of K. Must be that we (part-time) North Carolinians put country first. [Under The Dome, PPP]...

Ed O'Bannon Would Like To Be In Basketball After All
After not hearing his name in years, you now have two Ed O'Bannon updates in one week. Why? Because after a lengthy discussion about how he's finally come to terms with life after basketball, basketball is back in his life....

Female Basketball Stars Hate Age Rules, Too
Epiphanny Prince, who briefly made people care about high school girls basketball when she scored 2,493 points in a game, now plans to leave Rutgers early and play abroad, just like the boys. We got next! In Krakow!...

Would You Like To Buy A Car From Ed O'Bannon?
This is an interesting Sunday profile of former UCLA star Ed O'Bannon. Interesting, because you could probably substitute "Ed O'Bannon" for the name of any athlete coming to terms with his fading glory and it's pretty much the same article....

Detroit Just Can't Catch A Break
A Game 7 loss, a series dropped to the Pirates, now Bill Laimbeer—the greatest coach in WNBA history!—is stepping down. He will be replaced by Rick Mahorn, who will eventually be replaced by Chuck Nevitt. [Free Press]...

Pitino Speaks: "If I Can Get Through 9/11, I Can Get Through Anything"
Rick Pitino met with the media today and kinda-sorta addressed the Karen Sypher extortion case. Naturally, talk turned to 9/11....

Bob Huggins Now Sporting Non-Metaphorical Black Eyes
Huggins, the bail bondsman who coaches college basketball games in his spare time, showed up to a fundraiser wearing shiners on either eye. The explanation? He lost a fight with his bathroom door. It happens....

Tim Floyd Sneaks Out Of USC
Tim Floyd had a nice little thing going at USC, until everyone started accusing him of being "corrupt" and "buying players." So he packed his bags and went home to Mississippi leaving that whole mess behind....

Another Reason To Scrap The NBA's Age Rule: It's Probably Illegal
Here, via New York employment lawyer Louis Pechman, is yet another sensible argument against the NBA's minimum-age rule: It violates state discrimination laws....

Even College Basketball's Awards Are A Fraud
Scandal! Darren Collison, winner of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award for players 6 feet and shorter, is actually a quarter-inch too tall to qualify. Jonny Flynn, 5'11¼", climbs down from his booster seat to lodge a protest. [ESPN]...

Deadspin’s Biggest Misses: Part One, Big Lumber
Deadspin made its name by latching onto strange sports ephemera: a Buckeye-supporting masturbator, a lazy dinosaur, Ned. But for every gem this place copies from less-famous sports blogs, there are dozens more its editors are too lazy to steal....

Great Moments In Counterfactual History: Derrick Rose’s SAT Scores
Nobody seems to care all that much that Memphis basketball players Derrick Rose and Robert Dozier allegedly cheated on their SATs. But what might have happened if the news had come out a little sooner?...

Memphis Is Not That Picky About SAT Scores
Memphis spoke up yesterday, saying there's no proof that they or their former players cheated and that kind of honesty should put everything to rest. Until a report today that says a different Memphis player had a shady SAT experience....

The WNBA, Becoming More Like Little League Every Day
In a move to Europeanize America, the Phoenix Mercury will no longer have the team or city name on their jerseys after striking a deal with LifeLock, an identity theft protection firm. Hey, that's ironic! The WNBA President calls it "innovation." More like "doing anything to not go under." [NYT]...

No, We're Suing You!
University of Kentucky is countersuing Billy Gillispie saying that he's a stupid head who can't even write his own name. (Also something about jurisdiction and picking the wrong defendant.) Gillispie's lawyers plan to counter with the popular "takes one to know one" defense. [ESPN]...

Billy Gillispie Isn't Done With Kentucky Either
As if Kentucky didn't have enough to deal with from their current coach, the guy they fired to get him, Billy Gillispie, is now suing the athletic department for the $6 million he says they owe him on the contract that he never actually signed. Legal mumbo jumbo awaits.......

Memphis Accused Of "Major" Recruiting Violation
Hey, John Calapari! I know you were very eager to pack up your stuff and get down to your new, better gig at Kentucky, but I think that in your haste you may have left something behind in Memphis. An NCAA investigation into a fraudulent SAT test!...

John Calipari Wins At Wall Ball
John Wall, the most talked about basketball recruit in the country, will join Calipari at Kentucky. Enjoy what little time you have left with him, Wildcat fans. [Rush The Court]...

USC Athletics Not Entirely Above Board
Are you sitting down for this? It seems that USC—the Trojans!—might not be the most outstanding citizens in the world of college recruiting. Set your faces to stunned....