Former NBA commissioner David Stern is clearly still extremely mad about Real Sports host Bryant Gumbel calling Stern “some kind of modern plantation overseer” in 2011. He appeared on reporter Nunyo Demasio’s podcast this week—a good get for Demasio!—and let fly against Gumbel during the very lengthy episode.
What does a 72-year-old, bored, retired, and obscenely wealthy man in New York City do? Run for mayor, apparently, if his friends can talk him into it.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has already announced his support for Knicks owner James Dolan, who responded to a letter from an angry 72-year-old fan by telling him he should "try sobriety" and start rooting for the Nets. Silver said that was just Dolan being "a consummate New Yorker," which, as a New Yorker, makes me…
This article was first published at Jacobin, a publication offering socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture. Subscriptions start at $19.
[via Nate Cohn]
Jason Whitlock on David Stern's legacy: "Stern was a bully. He convinced everyone, employees and reporters who covered his league, that he was the smartest, most dangerous man in the room. His profanity-laced tantrums were legendary and effective. His ability to make his enemies uncomfortable was real." [ESPN]
It's David Stern's last season as commissioner of the NBA, so the Godfather dropped by The Late Show to make some jokes.
Shoals on David Stern: "And that's why your retirement is both sad and in some sense, a relief. There's nothing quite like the softening of authority figures, like those presidents who voters want to have a beer with, or prize-winning novelists playing Boggle. At the same time, the feeling that I've repeatedly been…
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and NBA commissioner David Stern have a deep, expensive history. Cuban's publicly voiced his criticism of the league and its officials, and in turn, Stern has made him pay. With Stern retiring in a couple of weeks, Cuban's mulling one more pricy splash.
David Stern had a drinking problem last night while in attendance at last night's Clippers-Nets game in Brooklyn. He just so happened to choke while on TNT's camera, meaning we can exploit it for our own artistic/deviant purposes.
After almost 30 years of using the 2-3-2 schedule in the Finals — giving the team with the worse record three straight home games — the NBA voted today to return to a schedule that would alternate venues for the final four games of a seven-game Finals. The 2-2-1-1-1 format is more "fair," according to the fair…
"We're not in the business of antagonizing our partner," the ESPN executive told the New York Times, defending the network's sudden withdrawal of support for a program that made the NFL look bad. This wasn't last week. This was nine years ago.
Last night, the NBA Board of Governors approved the implementation of a handful of rule changes, which include a few tweaks to the league's instant replay policies.
Adios, asswipe.
Soon-to-be-retired commissioner David Stern presided over his final NBA draft last night, and as has been the case throughout his career, he was enthusiastically booed each time he appeared on stage.
Originally published in Bloomberg View.
The owners insisted they had no plans to move the team. That's what the Maloofs swore, raising their right hand as their left hand worked deals with buyers first from Anaheim, then Virginia Beach, then Seattle. And that's what the owners of the Kansas City Kings maintained 30 years ago, even as they did everything in…
Oh, good: Bruce Jenkins took some space in his recent column about the NBA to suggest that David Stern ruined Christmas with basketball because he's Jewish:
The state of New Jersey plans to legalize sports wagering as early as January by defying the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992. Governor Chris Christie and other New Jersey lawmakers support this on the theory that it would cut into the profits of the many illegal and offshore sports betting…
When Gregg Popovich decided to rest four of the Spurs' best players last night—a decision made well in advance of their game against the Heat, if Pop is to be believed—he took all the air out of a hotly anticipated, nationally televised contest. In the kindest light, it was a savvy move by Popovich designed to keep…
