nbaculture

Gets a DUI.  Barkley was stopped after he ran a stop sign, and failed sobriety tests so he was arrested.  He refused to submit to a breath analysis test, and underwent a blood test.  Just wanted to let you guys know.

Dwyane Wade Celebrated his Olympic buddy’s birthday by upsetting his team, while getting a killer block on Lebron in the process.  Lebron is now 0-3 on birthday games, on this, his 24th birthday.  The Celtics, in the meantime, have been having quite a west coast debacle, after losing two in a row to california teams, beats Sacramento, and then loses in Portland; whom, by the way, are playing without guard Brandon Roy.  This is good news for all those Boston haters, and for anybody who doesn’t want to see the Bulls 72 win record broken.  Other than that, it is just fairly stunning news.  Miami, who have played fantastic ball in spurts, now have beaten the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Now the top three teams are all tied in the loss column, with Cleveland having one more win than the Lakers, and Boston having two more wins than the Cavs.  It was a great night for haters out there, a King being dethroned on his birthday, and the NBA Champs losing 3 out of 4 games on a regrettable west coast trip.  While I’m on the subject of losing, I’d like to congratulate the Detroit Lions: You guys have set the standard on losing, have a great offseason.

Not I, but somebody should give Houston’s strapping old center something, for just signing with them for the rest of the year leaving him still to be the oldest active player at 42 years young.  Second oldest would be Sam Cassell, who is 3 years younger.  Seriously though, the man has got heart and energy, and deserves another year of finger wagging.  A man who was discovered while studying to be a doctor, spends a good chunk of his free time building hospitals, and blocks your shots while on the floor deserves an ovation.  I’m glad to see him still playing with such fervent passion, and is probably sorely needed just in case Yao goes down.  42 years, and I thought Karl Malone was old when he was a Laker…

Oh, and for those of you who don’t understand the title, google it and read the story.  It’s fairly amusing.

Boston just finished its California swing, facing three out of four teams available.  Losing the first game to the Lakers on Christmas day, and then losing the next day to Golden State, they were determined to crush their next opponent, whom turned out to be the unfortunate Sacramento Kings.  Boston cruised to a 108-63 victory, getting a little solace for a rough trip.

Ironically, the two teams that just beat Boston faced off as well, which ended up as a Golden State route and featured some great highlights (as one might expect from this high scoring affair).

While I’m going over games, one last game I’d like to mention is the Cleveland Miami game; a game in which Lebron and crew had to rally back in the fourth to preserve their perfect home record.

Wade, being the giver that he is, gave an unfortunate family a new home before Christmas, after the nephew accidentally burnt the house down to the ground.  Its a pretty heartfelt story, and a testament to Wades dedication to charity.  Here’s the story , its a short read, and if you are tired of selfish players *cough* Marbury *cough*, this might help redeem your faith in humanity a tad.

Boring~… I’m talking about the Miami Chicago game last night, which featured the no. 1 and no. 2 draft picks meeting for the first time.  I didn’t expect much, and the game was decent, but if you were looking to see the rookies in action, I am sorry my friend, you were robbed.  Neither rookie really made their presence even remotely felt, and it turned out to be fellow rookie Mario Chalmers to have the best game (albeit just decent).

If you weren’t hooked up on the whole rookie showdown thing, it was a pretty good game.  It featured some scrappy defense from a Miami team that looks like they are surprisingly playoff bound (albeit in an overall weak eastern conference),  and a disappearing act by Ben Gordon.  Chicago’s silver lining has been rookie Derrick Rose, who is arguably the rookie of the year (although O.J. Mayo might disagree), but Rose was cold all night shooting 3-14.  But then again, the Bulls as a unit shot only 37%.

It was a great Christmas for basketball, and every game was exciting until the end save for the Hornets Magic game.  But the Celtics win streak will end at 19, Merry Christmas Boston.  But its not all bad for them, they were bound to lose eventually, what would get them more fired up that losing their win streak (a franchise record mind you) to their fated rivals on Christmas day?  Boston is now a little more driven, and the rest of the league can thank Los Angeles for that.  The Cavs on the other hand, improve their home record to 15-0, where they are slaughtering their opponents.  This time, however, the Wizards were actually up by 7 but the Cavs stormed back scoring 11 straight with a minute and a half to play to win it late.  There was also a buzzer beater, that lifted San Antonio over the Phoenix Suns.  Watch the replays, you know you’re bored right now.

Merry Christmas everyone, and if you are reading this blog.. please turn off your computer and spend some time with your family… or watch basketball.. the Hornets are playing the Magic as we speak.. which should be one of the 3 best games today (out of 5).  Be sure to catch the Phoenix San Antonio game, as these division rivals started off pretty rocky but are getting better by the moment.  The highlight of the day however, is last years finals rematch Boston and Los Angeles.  This should be one for the ages, because it will either be an intense game until the end, or an epic slaughter.  Either way, it should be entertaining, and I sincerely doubt this game will be normal.  The intensity is still there from last year, both teams have something to prove.  Despite winning the championships, everybody has been talking like it is the Lakers year and Boston will not take kindly to that.  On the other hand, after being embarrased in the finals, they prepared all off season for another chance at gold, and the Lakers are driven.  Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and for god’s sake enjoy yourselves!

Lebron James has reported that he will “consider” signing an extension this summer, and says that the direction of the team has lived up to and surpassed his expectations.  The Cav’s have the second best record right now, and are making a good argument for James to stay either this summer or the fabled 2010 off season.  Heres a few other names that are being thrown around for that off season:

Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire, Tracy McGrady, Carlos Boozer, Michael Redd, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Josh Howard, Manu Ginobili, Jermaine O’Neal, Hedo Turkoglu, Stephen Jackson, Luis Scola, Tyson Chandler, Marcus Camby, pretty much every and their mamas.

Jordan Famar of the Los Angeles Lakers will be needing knee surgery, doctors say.  His energy on both ends of the floor will be sorely missed, and vujacic will have to fill in at pg behind Derrick Fisher.