JASON WILLIAMS

It's hard to believe that it's already been 10 years since Randy Moss' high school buddy Jason Williams entered the NBA. Williams, who was in camp with the LA Clippers, has officially announced his retirement at the age of 32.

Williams was an erratic and at times controversial point guard but he did manage to win an NBA championship a couple of years ago with the Miami Heat. Not only is it amazing that it's been 10 years since Jason Williams entered the league, but here's an even more amazing stat: during his NBA career Wiliams has earned $51,217,572.

Thirty two is a really early age to retire when many athletes are playing productively into their late 30's and even 40's. But, Williams represents an entire generation. What 32-year-old today WOULDN'T retire and spend all day playing PlayStation and listening to hip-hop (Williams' listed hobbies) if they has $52 million in the bank?

A los norteamericanos les encantan este tipo de cosas, y Scola no pudo zafar de la competición de baile que propuso Tracy McGrady en una de las primeras prácticas de los Rockets, con la presencia de aficionados en el estadio.
TMac condujo la ceremonia, que consistió en un pequeño concurso de baile entre los novatos del año pasado y de este, como Scola, Joey Dorsey, Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks y algunos más.

"He pasado un poco de vergüenza. No voy a mentir. Sabía que no me iba a librar, pero ha estado bien, ha sido gracioso". Luis Scola, de 28 años, ha aterrizado este año en la NBA con más confianza, más seguro de sí mismo tras un año de experiencia en la mejor liga del mundo. Su entrenador, Rick Adelman se ha dado cuenta de entrada: "Es totalmente diferente. Tiene más confianza en lo que hace y nuestro equipo se da cuenta de que es más efectivo. El fáctor experiencia, por sí solo, le ha dado más confianza".

Una vez vistas sus habilidades con los pies, en el concurso de baile y sobre todo bajo los aros, la prensa de Houston se pregunta si será porque en Argentina todo el mundo está loco por el fútbol. Pero no. Lusito, con 7 años, dejó el fútbol porque un entrenador le pasó de portero a defensa, y entonces se decidió por el deporte que había hecho grande a su padre: "En Argentina siempre jugaba con chicos mayores que yo, a veces hasta 10 ó 20 años mayores... Yo no soy muy atlético, así que me tengo que buscar otras formas de conseguir canastas".

Scola acabó su año rookie con sólidos promedios para un novato: 10 puntos y 6 rebotes. Esta temporada, Adelman piensa hacerle jugar de 4, su posición natural en la NBA, y también de 5, cuando Yao Ming no esté en cancha. ¿Se sentirá cómodo el de Buenos Aires? "Depende de contra qué equipo juguemos. Cuando el rival sea Shaq o Dwight Howard, debería tener pequeños problemas... (risas)". Un grande, Luisito.

Fuente: Houston Rockets - Web oficial

• Chris Mihm just left for the bench. The commentators said he was running very well, like he did three years ago. That would be big for LA.
• Jordan Farmer had a lovely steal in the backcourt when Ronnie Price wasn't paying attention to the passer, layup for Farmer
• Mbenga fails to box out his man, Fesenko sneaks in by the baseline, hits the glass, layup, nope fouled. Bad play by Mbenga. Fesenko made one of two.
• Lakers lead 38-36 with 3 plus minutes to play in the half
• Ariza unleashes a three from the elft wing, side iron, Powell active, gets to ball, offensive rebound. Lakers reset, Mbenga turns it over, fastbreak Jazz, layup, off the glass about to fall, Mbenga goaltends. Mbenga needs to calm down and stop screwing up the simple stuff.

Halftime

• Brandon Heath looked solid. Some good defense, ran the break well and set up his teammate. Good start.
• Lakers lead 42-40
• Andrew Bynum came off the bench, with Ariza replacing him at starting small forward. Gasol and Odom have only played 5 and 7 minutes, but the rest of the starters are low double digits.
• Harpring is out injured, and Boozer did not play today although I'm not sure why. Millsap started in his place. Utah are sharing around the minutes fairly equally, about 10 minutes each for most of their players.
• Lakers kicking Utah's ass 24-14 on the backboards, with Bynum and Powell leading the way with 9 rebounds off the bench. Utah miss Boozer [edit: day-to-day sore hamstring], and don't have Millsap/Harpring around on that second unit to help their bench.
• The halftime show is showing some Bynum highlights now. First possession, Bynum runs the floor and pins his man low in the paint, gets the pass, fakes left, turnaround J right, hits it. Nice shot .... second possession, Bynum again gets good position, this time right block, Kobe brings it up right wing, passes down to Bynum, fakes the baseline cut, comes back the other side and cuts through the middle, loses the defender, defense collapses to look after Kobe's cut, Farmer left open from three top of the key, Bynum hits him, Farmer nails it. Bynum leads the Lakers with 9 points, and is second with 4 rebounds.
• Pau was effective when he was on the floor, Gasol had 6 points in on 3-3 shooting in 5 minutes.

Second Half

• Gasol will sit for the rest of the game
• Kobe left elbow extended, high post, faces up, gives a shimmy, rises a nd hits the J in Brewer's face. Brewer isn't close enough to bother that jump shot.
• Okur drives on Bynum, jumps into his chest to stop Bynum from jumping, and hits the rolling hook. Nice slow move from Okur.
• Lovely give and go from Ariza left wing to Bynum low post, hand off, layup. Boston ran that so well last season with KG and Posey. Ariza is the best cutter LA have, he could be deadly on those entry passes. Next possession, Kobe drives left along the baseline, Utah's D collapses, Ariza right wing moves to the top of the key at the start of the move, cuts down the middle of the paint as Utah collapse, Kobe finds him, layup, nope fouled, hits two FTs. Lovely cut by Ariza. Ariza is a deadly weapon in this Lakers offense.
• Brewer with two nice cuts along the left baseline of his own early in the third quarter. One a short shot, the other a loud dunk. More importantly he did well defending Kobe on a similar situation as the one a few moments ago, left elbow extended, he stopped the penetration and forced Kobe outside for a longer fallaway jumper which missed. Next possession of course Kobe wants revenge, and leaves Brewer standing in cement as he flies to the rim off the right wing. Nice quick move by Bryant. I like to repeat myself .... Ronnie's defense looks like it'll be the deciding factor on whether Utah have a legit championship aspirations this season or not.
• Ariza knocking down a 22 footer top of the key
• Ariza on the break, doesn't like the drive, back out to Kobe, lovely pass by Kobe Bryant, great patience to wait for the trailing man and great vision to get him as he floats between a few Utah bodies, Powell misses the layup. On the other end the Jazz get four quick points as Deron steals the entry pass and makes an easy two.
• Utah lead 66-60 bringing a timeout out of ... Kurt Rambis .... I don't see Phil Jackson there. [edit: Phil didn't attend the game]
• Jazz pressure the ballhandler, another turnover, easy dunk for Okur off the steal from Kirilenko
• Turnover Jazz, fastbreak Lakers, nice behind the back pass from Kobe to Ariza outside the FT line, Ariza takes a bounce and jumps over the last Jazz defender and lays it in over him
• Deron Williams bringing it up the floor, Kobe meets him, he takes Kobe to the top of the key 20 feet out, nice shake to create some space, step back J, swish.
• Ariza closes out on Korver, head fake Korver, one dribble right, jumper, Ariza gets back in it and blocks the shot out of bounds
• Deron Williams looks fantastic out there. Much more comfortable attacking Derek Fisher.
• Mihm with the 22 footer right wing, nails it .... jeez thought that was Radmanovic at first. Mihm far out from the rim on that play.
• Kobe posts up Korver, spins middle, loses Korver, goes up for the slam, fouled before he dunks it on two Jazz big men. Kobe has those "MVP" chants raining down already.
• 14.6 seconds to play in the third, Deron has it, brings it up, high screen and roll with Millsap, Millsap pops out, Deron finds him, Kobe streaks out for the steal, doesn't get it, Almond left open right wing, Millsap finds him, three pointer from the corner, good. His foot was on the line, make that a long two.

Fourth quarter

• Jazz lead 74-67
• Brevin Knight enters the game, gets a rebound, passes ahead, trails, spots up from 21 feet, hits it, quick impact
• Farmer responds with a three pointer. Interesting to see how hard both teams go for the win from here. Looks like the second units will see this game out. Lamar Odom is leading the Lakers lineup alongside Mihm, Ariza, Karl, Farmer. The Jazz have Knight, Korver, Almond, Millsap and one of their big man invites - Lyde. Almond looks small, very thin. Somebody is going to beat him up.
• Coby Karl with back to back buckets (well bucket and FTs). He beat both Korver and Almond easily.
• Korver 18 footer right elbow extended, hits it
• Mihm is down inside, turnaround J, blocked by Lyde, no wait that was a slap on the wrist, foul.
• Lamar Odom has played point guard, small forward and power forward tonight. Defensively he's defended four positions.
• Farmer short armed his 19 footer
• CJ Giles skies over Mihm and Lyde to get that rebound, he's long and athletic. Giles posts up Korver, no hesitation, turns around and shoots over the top of him
• Morris Almond loses Odom on the screen off the ball, open jumper left wing, misses, Utah offensive rebound, Odom slacking and not paying attention to Almond, Morris has about four feet of space, makes himself available at the left elbow, drives into Odom's chest, smacks off him, flies backward, throws it up there, gets the foul. That did not look planned. This lad looks like he needs to bulk up.
• Lamar drives on Millsap from the right wing, stop and pop and at the elbow, Millsap with him all the way, Lamar air balls it. Other end of the floor, great offensive rebound from Millsap, great hustle to get that long board, reset the offense, Millsap calls for it left baseline, he's 18 feet out, faces up Odom, jab step, creates some space, takes the J, hits the J
• Timeout with 6 minutes left in the game. Utah lead 88-82
• Lakers post Bynum in the middle of the paint, turning jump hook, good
• Lovely quick pass by Karl to Farmer left wing, air ball
• Bynum right block, turns middle, Price from the weakside picks his pocket ... Price nailed a jumper from the corner over Bynum the possession before. Good work from Ronnie.
• Radmanovic with a typical sloppy loose ball foul. Four minutes to play, Jazz now ahead by 9 after two FTs by Lyde. Lyde is 300lbs, wow, some useless trivia here for you, Kevin Lyde is the all-time leader in D-League games. Next possession, Lakers miss another jumper, Radmanovic with another stupid foul after the rebound. Brevin Knight hits two, puts Utah up 11 with three twenty to play.
• Bynum posts up, quick spin to the middle, little off balance, picks up his dribble, head fakes while he gains his balance, Lyde goes for it, Bynum sees the opportunity draws the foul, makes two of two.
• Millsap with a very athletic move spinng and avoiding the long Lakers arms, then jumping, double pumping in the air, waiting for his man to fall to floor, then letting the shot leave his finger tips ... air ball. Ah well. Looked good making that air ball and we all know that's what really matters.

Alright I'm going to call it. Some good action in this game, but very much the first preseason game of the season for both sides.

ELGIN BAYLOR

I love the NBA. It's probably the only business (let alone sport) where wholly and completely unqualified African-Americans can keep their six and seven figure jobs for decades. Other sports have abysmal records when it comes to minority hirings. Not the NBA. It's a league where Isiah Thomas can get multiple job opportunities. Did you know that all 30 NBA franchises have employed an African-American head coach?

Not only that, but NBA teams and the league also keep nice-guy, unproductive African-American executives of limited ability like Wes Unseld and Stu Jackson on the payroll for decades. Of course, there are also many talented and brilliant African-Americans in the NBA as well. And the NBA has provided a job for a guy like Wayne Embry for 50 years.

Even an utterly incompetant African-American executive like Elgin Baylor of the Los Angeles  Clippers has been able to keep his job for years. Good for him! In other sports brilliant and talented people of color can't even GET a job. Baylor, on the other hand, has no abilities or intelligence yet has somehow managed to suck a paycheck from the Clippers since 1986. Despite his decades of complete ineptness, Baylor has been able to keep his Clippers job for 22 years. Well, no longer.

Facing tough economic times, the Clippers have finally decided to downsize and eliminate Baylor's position. The team fired him this week. Baylor was making $ 1 million a year with the Clippers.

While Dunleavy said Baylor had decided to resign after spending 22 years as an executive with the team, Baylor painted a little different picture when reached by The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.

"There is a dispute, and on the advice of my attorney they did not want me to discuss it," Baylor said, according to the newspaper. "That's all I can say."

Elgin Baylor is one of the greatest players in NBA history.  It doesn't seem like he "resigned", but wouldn't you want to leave the Clippers organization after 22 years?

NEW YORK- On Wednesday, former New York Knicks All-Star Patrick Ewing filed for a restraining order against famed anthropologist and primatologist Jane Goodall. Ewing reported that Goodall has been stalking him for the past 6 weeks. Ewing said that he caught Goodall hiding in the bushes of his Connecticut home on Sunday, and that was the last straw. “I ran out back, waving my arms in the air and yelling” reported Ewing, “but she just averted eye contact and remained motionless”.

Attempts to contact Goodall have been unsuccessful. Assistants at the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research stated that Dr. Goodall was away on a field study and wasn’t expected to return for a couple of weeks.

Just for those who have found the Dino Nation Blog over the Summer here is a little explanation as to what the Raptor Rewind is. It is the Dino Nation Blog's recap of every Raptor Game(Hopeful with in about an hour of games being finished). I do a complete re-cap as I watch the game. In addition I will 95% of the time have a podcast with my thoughts on the game and what is to come. It is my way to give you a unique take on the Toronto Raptors from the Dino Nation Bloggers prospective. My laptop is just in front of a T.V rather than being at the A.C.C. But who knows maybe someday. I now invite everyone back to the second season of the Raptors Rewind.

So the Cleveland Cavs and Toronto Raptors are two teams that have a lot of expectations for the 08/09 season. It is going to be interesting to see what happens for both in the season. But on this night it will not be looking so hot. After all this is the first game for both teams and the Raptors will only have 12 players healthy and as such the minutes for starters are likely going to be very limited. But the eyes of the Raptors fans( Oh wait make that the ears ) on Andrea Bargnani and Roko Ukic the pre-season for both should be very important for them more than anyone else on this roster. Cleveland meanwhile thinks they have found their point guard in Mo Williams. He will need to build a chemistry with Lebron James and that if both play will start tonight. So here we go Raptor fans basketball is back. Almost like the real thing but not really.

The Cavs started the game scoring the first four points until Antony Parker got the Raptors on the board followed by a Bosh score were tied a 4-4 our you excited yet? Parker would get a basket plus a foul to give Raptors their first lead 7-4. Raptors started the game with what most feel will be there starting line-up on opening night of Calderon, Parker, Moon, Bosh and O'Neal. Anothny Parker was having a good start as he had an early 7 points and Raptors had a 13-11 lead a little over 4 minutes into the first. Andrea Bargnani came into the game about mid way through the first quarter of play. He came in for O'Neal who was scoreless with a couple of rebounds in about six minutes of floor time. Mo Williams would score on a drive to re-take the lead for the Cavs 16-15. Hassan Adams, Solmon, Kapono and Humphries checked into the ball game. Normally you wouldn't mention this stuff but being pre-season I felt I should make note of it. Lebron James makes pass to Anderson Varejao who completed an old school 3 point play to give the Cavs a 20-15 lead. The next offensive chance for Raptors ended on an Andrea Bargnani charging call his first of the game. Sam Mitchell would call a time out with the Cavs taking advantage of Raptor reserves taking a 24-17 lead late in the first quarter of play. Cleveland was shooting 50% (10-20) from the field to start while Raptors were 8 of 18 (44.4%) so far. Bargnani gets on the board scoring from 20 feet for the Raptors. But the Cavs quickly came back to score going up 28-19. But Andrea would come back and drive and draw a blocking foul in which Bargnani would split a pair at the line. The Cavs would end up with a 28-20 lead after one quarter of play.

By the way Cleveland has an arena football team(I did not know that) and tickets are aviliable now. But let's get back to basketball shall we? Solomon remains in at the point he starts the second hitting his first 2 points in a Raptor jersey on a jumper. Kris Humphries was doing his usual bull in a china shop best as he got a basket followed up by a foul in which he had a couple at least at this point. Raptors had cut the Cavs lead in half to 30-26 with just over 10 minutes left in the half. Samson had checked in and the replacement late addition to the Raptors had a bucket to cut the lead down to just 1 at 31-30. Andrea Bargnani was seeing a lot of time and he had 5 point and a couple fouls to this point. He had two chances to score until Hassan Adams would clean up the mess. But lets look at the positive Andrea got a rebound out of it. Jermaine O'Neal returned to line-up and scored as Raptors were still down one. Cleveland would push the lead out to 5 points at 40-35. Will Solomon would get nailed for a charge and the turnover he had another earlier on a double dribble. Chris Bosh and Anthony Parker would replace Bargnani and Hassan Adams upon their return J.O would get his second bucket on the night. Cleveland would respond with a Daniel Gibson 3-ball. Cavs had a 45-39 lead with 2:18 to go in the half. Chris Bosh made a couple free throws to give him 6 points on the night to this point in limited minutes. O'Neal matched Bosh with 6 points but it was the Cavs who would have the lead by 8 with the score 51-43.

Toronto missed 7 free throws but shot 46% from the field and the Raptors had 6 steals in first half of ball for 08/09. Anthony Parker lead the Raptors with his 7 points that came early on. With that info provided it is time for the second half. The starting five for the Raptors would return for the start of the second half. Anthony Parker would again start off well hitting a 3-ball and adding another basket to get to 12 on the night. Jermaine O'Neal would add to his totals and then Bosh would hit a 3 pointer of his own and The Raptors pulled back to 3 points off the lead with score 57-54 with 8:24 on the clock. O'Neal went to the line to pull the Raptor back to just 1 point down. The teams would started trading baskets. Calderon would score and then a Jamario Moon 3-ball to tie and another score and Raptors were back in the lead. The starters had done well in their time on the floor to this point as a unit. The Raptors were now leading 65-61 thanks to a couple free throws from AP. Raptors were hanging on to the lead but Cavs were pushing hard to take it back. Jason Kapono who had checked in nailed another 3-ball to put the lead back to 4 points once more. Bargnani would hit a 20 footer and Raptors had their largest lead of the night of 8 with the score 72-64. Cavs would run off 7 staright points to cut the lead to just one before Andrea Bragnani would finally respond for Toronto. The Raptors would hang on to the lead and extend it to 5 points 78-73 after three.

Raptors would look to get a win on the road to start the pre-season on a winning note. Andrea Bargnani was helping the cause early nailing a 3-ball early in the 4th to give him 12 on the night so far. Raptors would extend the lead to 9 points on a Will Solomon score to make the score 84-75. A shot block for Andrea Bargnani would help keep the lead at 9. Andrea was having a decent night after a bit of a slow beginning for him. He was getting a lot of floor time and I would imagine when we check the boxscore after this one he will lead Raptors in minutes. Raptors would extend the lead to 11 thanks to Will Solomon that would be enough to see Roko Ukic enter the game who the Cleveland announcer had said was not in uniform for this game. I guess he was mis-informed. Solomon would remain on the floor with Ukic giving the Raptors two point guards on the floor. Solomon is considered a combo guard so this may be a way for Sam Mitchell to guard against the inexperience of Roko early on.  Raptors lead 93-83 with 5:25 left to play in this one.  Will Solomon had quietly put together a 16 point night so far a nice debut. Most important though it was looking like it would be in a win for the Raptors. They lead 99-83 with just 2:53 left on the clock and no Lebron James in sight for this one after all it is the pre-season. After trailing by as many as 9 point the Raptors responded with a great second half that saw many people contributing to the cause. It would make for a nice flight back to Toronto as the Raptors would be on the floor at the ACC vs the Knicks this time tomorrow. Raptors would have gave the fans pizza if this was a home game and if they do that in the pre-season. Point is Raptors had over 100 points which is impressive considering this is just the basics at this point. This one was over and for old time sake get out the salami and cheese this game is over. The Raptors would get the win 104-84.

A great start for the Toronto Raptors. Yes it was only pre-season but a good overall team win. A lot of good performances to build on for tomorrow night at the ACC. I must give a sorry as I did not make it to the chat room prior to thig game had some computer issues but I will be there tomorrow prior to the Knicks and Raps and your welcome to join me.

Boxscore (There was an issue with this hopefully it gets corrected)

Podcast of Dino Blogger It is the first time in awhile that I share my thoughts on a Raptor Game and it felt good to be back in the saddle so to speak.

That is all till tomorrow, Bring on the Knicks!!!

My show is dedicated to everything NBA + Metal but of course, since it's my show it's only the type of music that I like to play.  Favorite kind hands down is Prog Metal but that in and of itself is a mystery because there are sooo many different kinds.  Check out my Metal page for more on what I mean and what I like.  I'll post new stuff that I just bought/downloaded there as well to letchu know what's up and what's good in the world of Metal. 

Okay, recap of my first couple of shows, since it's still the off-season and not too much is going on what I do leading up to the new season is break each team down by their division and give ya the scoop on roster changes, player contract extensions, coaching changes as well as injuries etc.  If you're an avid fan of the league it's good to listen in because you may have missed something and if you're new to the NBA I can help to break you into the league like no other.  In the first two shows I covered the following teams: Celtics, Nets, Raptors, Pacers, Cavaliers, Knicks, Bobcats, Pistons, Bucks, 76ers, Bulls, Hawks which means I'll cover 6 teams each week until tip off night on Oct. 28th.

Inquietante el artículo que leía ayer sobre la fan que ha estado acosando a Luke Walton durante casi un año, situación que culminó con la detención de una tal Stacy Beshear, de 34 años, hace un par de semanas. La verdad es que a la vista de la historia al completo, es para echarse a temblar. Podéis leer el artículo original en el que se habla del caso aquí, pero a continuación hago un resumen bastante aproximado de los hechos tal y como los narró Luke "Usa la Fuerza" en su entrevista al Orange Register.

Resulta curioso, pero lo único en lo que, según dicen, Luke aventaja a su padre Bill, el atractivo, se ha convertido en un motivo de trauma para el alero de los Lakers. Y es que parece que Luke Walton ha tenido que soportar un auténtico infierno durante el último año, en el cual la tal Stacy aparcaba delante de su casa y se quedaba allí horas seguidas. A veces Luke se marchaba por la mañana y la veía allí, o volvía por la noche y la seguía viendo allí. “Era una locura. Me iba a dormir por la noche y miraba por la ventana, sólo por si acaso. Por si pasaba algo. Estaba allí a las 12:30, a la 1:30 de la mañana.Tenía el coche aparcado junto a mi casa durante horas y horas. (...) Cuando me iba por la mañana, la veía allí, atisbando. Era un fastidio porque sabía que me iba de casa, y no sabía qué iba a pasar. ¿Iba a entrar en mi casa? ¿Volvería un día a casa y me la encontraría en la cama? ¿Me robaría el perro?”

Stacy también seguía a Luke en el coche, y cuando este la intentaba dejar atrás pisando el acelerador, la cosa era todavía peor y ella se convertía en un auténtico diablo sobre ruedas. En palabras del pobre Luke: "Intento no pensar mucho en ello, pero ahora cada vez que veo un Honda negro, pienso si será ella. Bajo la velocidad y miro, cada uno de los días. Y hay un montón de esos coches. Es algo que he descubierto desde que empezó esto. Me estoy volviendo paranoico, como un personaje de película".

Pero Stacy no paraba ahí, ni mucho menos. Iba a ver a Luke entrenar, quedándose en las gradas  durante horas mientras los Lakers estaban practicando. Un día, cuando le pidió un autógrafo al jugador y él estaba demasiado ocupado para hacerle caso, le rayó el coche con un rotulador. Incluso llegó a abordar a la novia del propio Luke.

Walton avisó a la policía cuando la cosa empezó a ponerse preocupante. Al salir de su casa el policía que le tomó declaración, se fijó en que allí cerca estaba el susodicho Honda. Cuando Luke salió poco más tarde, se encontró con Stacy esposada y llorando. Él le dijo que no quería que la cosa acabara así, y ella reconoció que no seguiría haciéndolo. “Simplemente, le dije que no quería volver a verla más”, dice Luke. “Y desapareció durante un mes... pero luego volvió”.

La chica, ciertamente, era de armas tomar. Un día, siguió a Luke cuando éste quedó con su compañero de los Lakers, Jordan Farmar. Cuando Farmar se hubo marchado, Stacy abordó a Luke afirmando que iba a liarse con Farmar, porque él sí que la consideraba guapa y estaba dispuesto a salir con ella. Lo paradójico de todo era que Farmar al parecer ya tenía novia en aquellos momentos... así que la chica daba muestras de estar seriamente desequilibrada.

La cosa llegó a su punto culminante hará unos diez días cuando, tras seguir a Walton hasta casa de Farmar tras el entrenamiento matutino de los Lakers, Stacy sacó el brazo por la ventana, hizo la forma de una pistola con los dedos y fingió disparar a Walton mientras él volvía a casa. Aquello fue la gota que colmó el vaso, claro. “Después de fingir que me disparaba, vino hasta mi casa y se puso a gritarme. Yo no pude más y también le grité. ¡Estaba en la entrada de mi casa! Pero por las cosas que decía, me di cuenta de que tenía algún problema, y sentí lástima por ella. Claro que la gente que comete masacres también suele ser gente con problemas. (...) Me dijo que estábamos hechos el uno para el otro, y entonces empezó a desvariar diciendo que quería mudarse a San Diego pero la gente no le dejaba. Yo le pregunté a qué gente se refería y ella me dijo que a toda la gente del universo”. Menuda paranoica... En fin, que poco después, Stacy era detenida y se le imponía una orden de alejamiento sobre Walton. El 6 de noviembre tendrá que presentarse ante el juez, y si se la considera culpable, la orden de alejamiento tendrá carácter permanente.

Como ya he dicho, el pobre Luke tiene la “desgracia” de ser uno de los jugadores más populares de la NBA entre la población femenina (el año pasado tuvo incluso que desmentir un rumor que le relacionaba con Britney Spears), y jugando en los Lakers, en el fondo uno no se extraña demasiado de que haya pasado algo así. Demonios, incluso no me extrañaría que la situación fuera una de las causas de su  bajo rendimiento el año pasado sobre el parquet (recordemos que la temporada de Luke fue tirando a discretita...). Por suerte, Luke dice que no piensa permitir que le afecte el incidente. Como tantos otros jugadores de la NBA, el alero de los Lakers tiene una vida social muy accesible para los fans. Seguirá hablando con ellos en los restaurantes de los que es copropietario, los Joey Smokin' BBQ de Manhattan Beach y Tustin. También seguirá hablando de sus vivencias en el blog que tiene dentro de la página de la NBA. Y en un gesto que le honra, seguirá sin tener reja ni cámaras de seguridad instaladas en su casa. "Mi padre siempre se comportó igual. Siempre participó activamente en la comunidad. Y así es como me gustaría vivr. Me gusta conocer a mis vecinos. Me gusta salir, involucrarme con los fans, pasar tiempo con ellos. No creo que esto cambie mucho las cosas... sólo espero que algo así no se vuelva a repetir".

Y yo también lo espero, la verdad... estas cosas a veces ponen un poco los pelos de punta.

P.D. Después de escribir este pedazo de entrada, veo que Marca ya habló de la noticia aquí, por si alguien quiere más información. Y ya puestos, aquí hay algunas inquietantes citas más del propio Walton. Todo muy inquietante, la verdad.

Brandon Jennings did not go to the NBA after he graduated high school this past Spring. That's because the NBA does not allow players to come out of high school anymore. They are required to play one year of college basketball... Or go to Europe and get paid. Which would you pick?

You may have heard of other NBA players like Josh Childress who gave up NBA contracts for multi-million dollar contracts in Europe. Jennings is not the first player to decide to make the trip overseas, but he is the first player to do so straight out of high school. Jennings was unsure he could meet the academic standards set for him at the University of Arizona where he signed a letter of intenet to play. Instead he decided to sign a $1.2 million contract with Lottomatica Virtus Roma, a top team in the Euro League, as well as a shoe contract with Under Armour. (Under Armour?! That's worse than Converse!!!)

Many people believe that this will ruin college basketball. I disagree. There will always be players who have dreamed of playing for Duke or North Carolina since they were a kid. College basketball won't die because of a few money hungry players going to Europe. Some players value a college education and don't mind developing their game for a year or two while in college. I think this is great for basketball. Giving different players different options can only help the game. March Madness will continue to be one of the most exciting spectacles in sports for years to come.

Thanks to Mark for the heads up.

Cleveland Cavaliers

2007-08 Standings 45 - 37, 4^th Eastern Conference

2008-09 Predicted Record 52 - 30, 1^st Central Division, 2^nd Eastern Conference

Projected Starting Five:  Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace, LeBron James, Wally Szczerbiak, Mo Williams

Sixth Man:  Delonte West

The Cleveland Cavaliers must be anxiety proof. How else can they deal with the ongoing expectation that superstar LeBron James is going to bolt Cleveland for the New Jersey Nets in 2010? The best thing they can do is get on with playing the game and surrounding LeBron with classy players.

The Cavs attempted to do just that this past offseason by acquiring Maurice Williams from the Milwaukee Bucks. Williams is an upgrade at the point guard position and gives the Cavs another legitimate scorer. However he has missed 54 games in the past 3 seasons and that kind of absence will hurt the Cavs. Luckily in Delonte West they have a more than adequate backup and it wouldn't surprise to see West and Williams sharing time in the backcourt.

Ultimately this team is all about LeBron. King James is the best player in the NBA with the potential to be the greatest of all time. He is unstoppable on offence, big and strong and he is coming off the high of an Olympic Gold Medal. His defence has improved each season and if he can continue developing his outside shot he will win the MVP trophy for the first time.

Upfront the Cav's are seemingly well served. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a giant handful for most teams, bigger than most players with a reliable midrange jumper while off the bench Anderson Varejao is a bustling and bruising forward/centre. The starting power forward is the ghost of Ben Wallace. Once upon a time Wallace was the best post defender in the NBA. Those days are long gone. He is capable of a big game every two weeks but any more than that is a stretch.

With the addition of Williams the Cavs will be better this season and if LeBron can continue to develop his game the Cavs should finish second in the East. However there is a feeling that LeBron still doesn't have a true sidekick like Michael Jordan had with Scottie Pippen. To start the season they have Wally Szczerbiak plugged in at starting shooting guard but it wouldn't surprise anyone to see Wally and his expiring contract moved for another player.

Coach:

Mike Brown is the Cleveland Cavalier coach and for the most part he has done an admirable job. The Cavaliers are an above average defensive team and have advanced well into the playoffs the past two years. However there is a suggestion that Brown needs to be more creative in maximising LeBron's talents. 

Bench:

The Cavs have a very solid bench. They have energy players such as Varejao and Aleksander Pavlovic as well as solid Delonte West. Daniel Gibson provides some sharp shooting off the pine as well. They will also be hoping that draft pick JJ Hickson develops into a solid player. The Cavs starting front court (LeBron aside) is positively geriatric and they will need Hickson sooner rather than later.

Star Player:

Kobe Bryant might, might, be a bigger star than LeBron James but it's only by a sliver. LeBron is the present and the future of not only the Cavs but also the NBA. He will win an MVP trophy sooner rather than later but whether he wins an NBA title in Cleveland or New Jersey remains a big question. The best the Cavs can do is convince LeBron he has a legitimate chance to win in Cleveland.

Team MVP:

We all know about the sustained brilliance of LeBron James but how Maurice Williams develops as his primary sidekick will dictate how far the Cavs go.

Final Prognosis:

The Cleveland Cavaliers are blessed with the best player in the game. If LeBron stays healthy they should finish second in the East and have a legitimate shot at challenging the Celtics and whoever comes out of the West but if the unthinkable happens and LeBron gets injured they will seriously struggle. Will 2008/09 mark the beginning of King James reign?

You can find an index of past Previews here.

Well, yes, considering he didn’t play all of last year.

Fresh of microfracture surgery, Oden, who dominated everyone but Florida when he was at Ohio State (and that was, for most of the season, was with only ONE HAND!), will be in the lineup for the Blazers this season, already getting limited playing time in the first couple of preseason games.

Why should Oden get consideration? Two reasons:

1. Had he not been injured last season, he would have went toe-to-toe with Kevin Durant…and won. Face it, Portland with Oden would have been a lot further along than the late Sonics were, and with the help of a great supporting cast, not to mention coach Nate McMillan, Oden would have been the hands-on winner for RoY.

2. Oden’s current competition – Not to take anything away from the Class of 2008, but when you have the top pick from last year’s draft finally healthy and already touted as an instant NBA star, you’re already fighting an uphill battle. Derrick Rose will likely be splitting time with Kirk Hinrich, Michael Beasley will be splitting touches with Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo will be too busy not competing.

True, Oden will be platooning early in the season with journeyman Joel Przybilla. But once he gets the hang of the professional grind, he’s going to be very hard to stop.

And for those who don’t think that Oden is eligible for Rookie of the Year, remember this situation has happened before with a top draft pick not playing the year he was selected. It was 1987, and that player was a big man that Oden has been consistently been compare to – David Robinson.

Also news: Luke Walton HAS a stalker. Unbelievable.

The Los Angeles Lakers forward recently reported that he had a stalker, and today the women has been charged. Her name: Stacy Elizabeth Beshear.

Update: Thanks to Deadspin, we have a photo. About what I expected, just as ugly as the Waltons.

His accusation:

Walton said Beshear has been harassing him since late last year. He told the Orange County Register she waited outside his Manhattan Beach home numerous times and wrote on his car with a marker after he refused to sign an autograph.

"When she pulled up to my house and started yelling at me after she fired a fake gun at me, I couldn't help but to start yelling back at her," Walton said. "She was in my driveway. But when we were interacting, I could tell by the stuff she was saying that she's not all there in the head -- which makes me feel bad for her.

"At the same time, most people who go on killing sprees are people who aren't all there in the head."

Some people who aren't all there in the head also play in the NBA, but that's a completely different discussion.

Sadly, not photo of Stacy Elizabeth Beshear can be located, but you can be sure I'll diligently continue my internet stalking of her.

Woman charged with stalking Lakers forward Walton [ESPN]

Today, the Portland Trailblazer single game tickets went on sale at noon. I've had the page up since 10:00Am. At Noon, I went to buy a pair of tix for the Blazers vs Beantown. I'm still "in que" fifteen minutes later.

12:40: Went over to Fred Meyer to get some pretzels Cassava chips, and when I got back--I was in.

12:55: At this point, I had tried four different games, and four different price levels--yes, the pipeline and friends can only afford the bottom four levels--and nothing but FAIL.

1:00 I had to stop searching because the system was timing me out of the only tickets I was able to get. Two TAN!! (Blarggggg!) tickets to the Blazers vs. Suns. I hope Shaq is big enough to see from up there.

If you happen to have some sweet tickets and want to take me along...Pipeline posts can be bribed. :)

• More Daily Stank Image Bank photos here
• If you would like your picture to appear in the “Daily Stank Image Bank“, add it to the Pdx Pipeline Flickr Group.

The Jazz play their first pre-season game tonight against Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz lost to the Lakers in the playoffs last season and are looking for redemption.

This year the Jazz have bright future with some new add on's to the team but as usual the Jazz have to play defense to win on the road. Jerry Saloan is not worried about his team being able to make baskets but the ability to stop teams on defense.

Here is the 2008-2009 roster (this music brings back so many memories for me).

Was there anything to the rumor that you were considering playing in Russia?
West: Well I read that on the Internet just like you did. The Internet’s real interesting. I call the Internet “The Devil.” The Internet and cable television are the Devil. They’re just a way to influence others with color schemes and all kinds of stuff.

That’s said jokingly, but honestly, I read it just like you did. My agent never told me anything about Russia. That might have been a 14-year-old basketball fanatic who wrote that. He might have wrote that in his basement and next thing you now, (the media)’s running with it. I actually didn’t pay much attention to it.

Could you see yourself playing in Russia?
West: Not with all these tattoos I got. I’d be the first one to go. I know some Russians be shooting at me. I got a Chinese symbol over here, I got a Muslim symbol right here. So I’d look like a terrorist over there.

I don’t think I’m going nowhere overseas looking like this.

What did you do with your off-season off the court?
West: I got back to my roots, man. I stayed in my mom’s basement – in my old room – with a 19” TV.

No cable?
West: Like I just said, cable TV is the Devil. So I watched Sponge Bob tapes over and over again. I went to the same courts I used to work out at. I just got back to my roots, man. I didn’t do too much “live” basketball, for obvious reasons.