Locker Page 1287 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Danilo Gallinari, Hero Of The South Bronx
Somehow, a little part of us wonders, had Knicks fans known his nickname and true self, if they might have cut him a little more slack. Instead, as we sadly predicted, Gallinari got the royal New York treatment last night....

NBA Draft Live Blog: Free Darko Is Here
Well, after all THAT, Bethlehem Shoals has the enviable job of writing about actual sports right now. Well, not ACTUAL sports; the NBA Draft, anyway. After the jump, enjoy Shoals' life blog of the entire first round, or at least most of the first round, of this year's NBA Draft. Follow along, won...

It's NBA Draft Night! Check Out The Suits!
The NFL Draft might be for the obsessives, but the NBA Draft is for fans who just want to watch a good show. We've mentioned this before, but we think the NBA Draft, with the recognizable names, outstanding outfit and vague sense of looming David Stern menace, is infinitely more entertaining than t...

2008 NBA Draft Rankings: 1-15
I'm not going to bother trying to figure out who's taking whom. I mean, it would be easy if teams used common sense and drafted based on need ... but who does that anymore? So instead, I'm going to rank the available players based solely on talent, potential, and whether the coin I'm flipping lands...

Belisimo, Big Cock Gallinari
SimonOnSports points us to this interesting revelation about potential NBA lottery pick Danillo Gallinari. The 19-year-old Italian small forward has impressed some draftniks with his outside shot and his shnoz for the basket, and he's pledged that he'll only play in the NBA if he's drafted by New Yo...

The Best Bronze Medal Money Can Buy?
The U.S. Olympic basketball roster was announced on Monday, and looking it over I think that we've finally engineered a lineup that can beat Angora. USA! USA! Getting by Argentina and Lithuania may be more problematic. Anyway, you've got your Kobe Bryant, your LeBron James, your Dwyane Wade, your Ca...

The 2008 NBA Playoff Recap: What We Learned
The 2008 NBA playoffs did more than just entertain us for the last seven or eight months. It taught us stuff. Some stuff we only suspected, and some other stuff we never even knew before. Here is that stuff....

Charles Barkley Doing His Best To Ignore His Gambling Problem
"It's for charity!" That's Charles Barkley's excuse as to why, only a little more than a month removed from his on-air vow to not gamble for a "year or two", will be back at the poker tables July 2nd in the "Ante Up For Africa" tournament. ("It's for charity!")...

The Nets Are Pulling Out All The Promotional Stops
Well, we suppose this was inevitable. Now that the Nets have lost Jason Kidd and look like they're not going to be particularly compelling until they get to Brooklyn — just a mile or so from our apartment! — they've breaking out the big promotional guns: cheap gas!...

Congratulations, 2008 NBA Champions Boston Celtics
We spent last evening at Professor Thom's , the Boston sports bar here in New York City. (Apparently, it used to be Riviera's, but then some bartenders got fired, or something; it's difficult to keep track of such matters.) We were engulfed in a swarm of New Englanders, the people who, over the las...

There's No Stopping The Green Monster
The NBA Closer is written by Matt McHale, who plans to spend the day celebrating the Boston's long-awaited 17th title. This almost makes up for Larry Bird transforming into a fat gremlin. When he's not doing green and white shots, he can be found trying not to toss his cookies at Basketbawful. Enjo...

Respect Thy NBA Champion, The Boston Celtics
It was only a year ago that the Boston Celtics were the de facto punch line for "bad team." Going 24-58 will do that. But now they're the definitive basketball champions of the continent. Paul Pierce should just retire now, because his basketball stock can't possibly rise....

NBA Finals Preview: Celtics-Lakers Game 6
Basketbawful has broken out the highest quality Wiccan spell components - mutant worms, baby poo, a lock of Fabio's back hair, a ninja's shin bone, and Britney Spears' first training bra - to uncover the darkest mysteries of tonight's NBA Finals game....

Doug Christie Is Full Of Aggrievement
Wait, people still pay attention to Doug Christie? Really? The man still has some sort of forum, and humans react to his words? Crazy....

Sasha Vujacic's New Best Pal
So here's a reason to enjoy the "intimacy" of NBA basketball: Guys like Irv Bauman here can, right in the middle of the action, just start talking to one of the players. Can you fathom what he might be saying to Sasha Vujacic here?...

The Finals Are Goin' Back To Beantown
The NBA Closer is written by Matt McHale, who can't decide whether he likes the fact that ginormous leads are not safe when these teams play. When he's not silently wondering what's going to happen in Game 6, he can be found staring into space with a contemplative look at Basketbawful. Enjoy!...

NBA Finals Game 5 Second Half Live Blog
Either Pau Gasol is fired up or is auditioning for the role of General Zod in the upcoming feature, Superman IX: Invasion Of the Cassell Clones. But despite a three-point lead for LA, it doesn't look good for them. Hell, even David Spade is pissed. Will the series end tonight? Or will I be tempted t...

NBA Finals Game 5 First Half Live Blog
Whoa, sensei. The NBA Finals Game 5 gets to follow that. Much like when Tiger Woods was on the ropes, so are the LA Lakers, down 3-1 in the series. Kobe Bryant says the series is far from over. Boston would like very much to finish this series right now. The referees were instructed by their superio...

Paul Pierce Is One DUI Away From Becoming Carmelo Anthony
Come on. It's the NBA Finals. Only two teams should be relevant at this point. And since you can't walk three steps without sniffing the history of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, you'd hope that someone would talk a little jive toward the other. It probably wouldn't be sportsmanlike, but it's definitel...

The Anecdotal Evidence Does Not Look Good For Dick Bavetta
You just knew after those Tim Donaghy accusations this week, that people were gonna go back into any previous playoff game, scrutinize the calls, and document them. And lo, The World Of Isaac digs up the first of what should be several tinfoily arguments about how NBA referees swung the money line ...