nba Page 719 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Are There Any Photos Of Michael Beasley That Aren't Potential Crime Scenes?
Even after rehab, Beasley can't stay away from the personal demon that has caused him the most trouble: cameras....

Corporate Layoffs Hit NBA Rosters?
Nearly half of NBA teams will start the season with fewer than the league-maximum 15 players, because many of them can't afford to pay the extra dead weight. Have they considered outsourcing the towel-waving to India ?[AP/ESPN]...

Magic And Isiah's Friendship Is Not So Friendly Anymore
Magic Johnson and Larry Bird have "co-written" a new book about their lives in the NBA that, among other things, paints a not very flattering portrait of their sometime rival Isiah Thomas. With friends like these, who needs Bill Simmons?...

Jerry Buss Throws One Heck Of A Birthday Party
Lakers owner Jerry Buss seems like a fun guy. He loves poker, has at least one DUI, and has no problems with his daughter posing in Playboy and dating a much older man. Also, he's a frequent brothel customer....

David Stern Peels His Scabs
The referees you've always hated will probably be back for Tuesday's NBA opener, replacing the replacement referees you were going to hate even more. And so ends a monthlong referee lockout that really had nothing to do with the referees....

Buy Your Very Own New Jersey Net!
Ok, really it's rent to own. But if you need a large man with questionable basketball skills to come to your birthday party, bar mitzvah—or you just need some boxes moved—the New Jersey Nets can arrange that....

To Sell Nets, NBA Might Have To Look The Other Way On The Soviet Stuff
Running a financial and criminal background check on a Russian oligarch is not as easy as it sounds. "Information can be had, but you have to be prepared to accept the grayness." Wait, that's exactly how it sounds. [NYTimes]...

We're Not Going To Have Stephon Marbury To Kick Around This Season
Marbury reports that he has 'shut everything down,' taking the season off to work on his businesses..." I wonder if he's referring to his shoe company or finally working on his comedy pilot, Tokin' With Jesus. [New York Post]...

Scab Refs Won't Blow So Hard During The Regular Season, Statheads Assure Us
Basketball Prospectus' Kevin Pelton takes a look at the 1995 ref lockout and finds that replacements "increased the foul rate by .005—one call, that is, per 200 possessions, which is a little more than one game." [Basketball Prospectus]...

LeBron James Is Sick In The Original Sense Of The Word
LeBron and two teammates have tested positive for Influenza A, and the Cavs are treating them like H1N1 cases. Worse, King James just gave more fuel to the anti-vaccine crazies: He thinks he got sick from his flu shot. [ESPN]...

Stephen Jackson Ain't Leading Nobody Nowhere
Stephen Jackson doesn't want to be the captain of the Warriors anymore because all you do is "talk to the refs." That and he hates his coach and is demanding a trade. How will they survive without that leadership? [SFChronicle]...

Forget All Other Tributes: Presenting The Favre Firebird
Got an image you'd like to see in here first thing in the morning? Send it to [email protected]. Subject: Morning crap....

NBA Locker Rooms Terrorized By Giant Rubber Balls
The Sacramento Kings have sent an urgent directive to all NBA teams warning them to be on the lookout for the large exercise ball that brutally attacked and maimed forward Francisco Garcia. It is considered round, squishy and extremely dangerous....

Documentary Won't Bring Back Sonics, But It Might Make Seattle Cry
Three NBA fans from Seattle have created a documentary about the theft of their beloved Supersonics and put it online for free, because even though you know it accomplishes nothing, sometimes you just have to wail at the sky....

Kevin Durant Not A Fan Of Mildly Abstruse Basketball Metrics
Durant responds, via Twitter, to criticism of his oddly atrocious plus-minus rating: "love all the REAL basketball fans who appreciate hardwork, passion and love for the game..and not jus 'plus and minuses'...wateva dat is!" Somewhere, Joe Morgan nods. [Twitter, TrueHoop]...

The Bitter Tears Of The Best Fans In Baseball
In the wake of Matt Holliday's fateful decision to play James Loney's soft liner off his testicles, Cardinals Nation expressed several sentiments unbecoming the best fans in baseball but at least cleared all five stages of grief....

Philly Fans Aren't The Only Ones Who Get Stabby
Lost and forlorn over Monday night's lost to the rival Vikings, one Packer fan took it upon himself to show one loudmouth he couldn't take the heckling anymore. So he stabbed him in the stomach. [StarTribune]...

So, How Are Those Replacement Refs Working Out?
Scab refs called 75 fouls during last night's Celtics-Rockets preseason game. The teams combined to shoot 102 free throws. The NBA: Where play stoppage happens. [Chron.com, via TrueHoop]...

George Lopez Is This Year's Frank Caliendo
Because no one reads the newspaper, and SportsCenter's anchors are too perky for this early in the morning, Deadspin combs the best of the broadsheets and the blogosphere to bring you everything you need to know to start your day....
