11 Year Old Hoops Phenomenon

You have to see this video to believe it.

It is not something easily described to another.

Here is an 11 year old who is able to do things with a basketball that defies anything.

His dribbling of two basketballs at the same time and between legs is, for lack of a better word, superb.

Or how about tossing tennis balls back and forth with his dad while dribbling.

And then there is his ouside shot.

No telling where in the NBA this hoopster will play. But, play he will.

Sit back for three minutes and enjoy the vigor and talent of youth.

Over For Now.

Main Street One

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James - NBA Super All Stars

Without a doubt, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are two of the greatest basketball players to ever play the sport.

This is not a discussion of who is better, nor is it a slight to any other major NBA All Stars, past or present. It is simply an observation of two athletes who can, and have done, virtually anything with that ole round ball.

Some Black Mamba highlights:

A bit of King James:

Nice defense by Kobe (re LeBron):

It is always a pleasure to watch these two take the floor.

Over for Now.

Main Street One

Great Alley-Oop: Kobe Bryant to Derrick Rose

In an exhibition weekend in the Phillippines a group of NBA All Stars played the 16-man (one from each team) Fillipino All Star team at Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Manila.

The 2-day event is dubbed Ultimate All Star Weekend. And for good reason.

During one contest there was a play made where one Kobe Bryant put up a sweet underhand alley-oop to Derrick Rose who, of course, took it in stride and slammed it home.

As can be seen in the (short) clip, the crowd absolutely loved it.

In an off-the-backboard play, Kevin Durant grabs a defensive rebound, heads down court and flips the ball off the board feeding teammate James Harden, who takes a bit of an off-balance tumble following the action.

Other NBA All Stars included: Chris Paul, Tyreke Evans, Derek Fisher, and JaVale McGee.

Must have been an ultimate weekend for hoops fans.

Over For Now.

Main Street One

I don't know how to put this, but I'm kind of a big deal.

I attended the Dallas Mavericks championship parade yesterday and thought about what makes that team so beloved nationally. By way of contrast, I think it's related to another question: Why is Lebron James so hated in the world of basketball?

What would motivate the people of Cleveland to root for anyone playing the Heat, even creating "Cavs for Mavs" fan wear? Why would the governor praise the Mavericks for beating James' Heat to the extent of making them honorary Ohioians?

I think there are two issues here, one betrayal and the other arrogance.

Cleveland feels betrayed, but is that valid? People leave teams all the time, right? If they just do it for money, they catch a certain amount of wrath. But, what about if a player does it in order to win championships?

Shouldn't we praise a guy who cares more about winning than about the money?

Well, you have to understand the context. Lebron is from Ohio. He was gifted to Cleveland, a city that hadn't won a championship in anything since ... well, since before I was born. He was their best chance.

But, that might legitimately only explain the disappointment of getting so close (including the NBA Finals), yet not betrayal.

Well, the problem is that he'd given many indications that he was committed to Cleveland and winning there ... not just winning. In fact, as recently as the end of March 2010 in an interview on NBA TV he stated, "I have a goal and its a huge goal and that's to bring an NBA championship to Cleveland and I won't stop until I get it."

But he did stop. He stopped only a few months later.

But, it's not just that he stopped. They broke up. Break ups are rarely easy. But this wasn't just that they broke up, but how they broke up.

Playing coy with a team that fired the head coach in what could be deemed an appeasement to Lebron James, he jilted his former lover by announcing in a media circus of a one-hour "decision" special. He was taking his talents and his affections to South Beach.

Was it, "I don't love you anymore"? Or was it, "I never really loved you anyway"?

Either way, feelings of rage which sparked jersey burnings are understandable.

For those outside of Cleveland, that's all perceived as pretty crummy. Yet, beyond that is a guy who some want to regard as potentially the best of all time, but yet seems to have taken the easy way out.

Instead of sticking with a team and doing whatever it took to get that team a championship, he left for easier waters.

Contrast Lebron with Dirk Nowitski, who had also made a finals appearance and was a free agent. He stuck with his team of alleged spares and won. That story inspires people. Lebron's does not.

I think that contributed to people rooting for Dirk's Mavericks and against Lebron's Heat.

Couple that with James' boasting about winning multiple championships (at least 8) at the Heat's over-the-top pep rally and you can see how folks might like to see the proud humbled. You can see how some might take pleasure in Lebron being the 3rd best scorer on his team in the NBA Finals ... in a losing effort.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure just about everyone would want him on their team. But, whatever transpires from here on out, I don't think you'll ever have any serious arguments in favor of Lebron being among the NBA's best of the best of all time.

He's no Michael Jordan. He's no Magic Johnson. As well, he's no Dirk Nowitski.

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

What a country?! We'll let any weirdo post any kind of doggerel online it seems, present company included.

In pondering Dirk's recent respectability and the question of whether or not he's a "Top 10" player of all time, James Day loses all credibility in a Top 10 all time list that doesn't include Magic Johnson.

To be fair, there are some greats on his list:

• Centers: Kareem, Shaq, Wilt and Russell
• Forwards: Bird and Erving
• Guards: West, Robertson, Jordan and Kobe.

Perhaps he felt it was already too Laker heavy with 5 of his 10, I don't know. But who would honestly prefer to have Kobe over Magic?

All time starting five is another discussion, but to me a top 10 list is like the draft, these are the first ones you pick.

My top 10 of all time:

1. Magic Johnson
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Michael Jordan
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
5. Bill Russell
6. Larry Bird
7. Julius Erving
8. Shaquille O’Neal
9. Jerry West
10. Oscar Robertson

Honorable Mentions: Hakeem Olajuwon, Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, and James Worthy.

Perhaps I'm too hard on those without championships or presently playing, but it's hard to be top top if your team wasn't the best ... EVER.

Don't give that man a statue. Give him heart.

Apparently, Laker legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (aka Lew Alcindor) is upset that he doesn't have a statue of himself outside the Staples Center.

To be fair, Kareem is the NBA's all-time leading scorer, a 6-time champ, and the reason I became a Lakers fan in 1979. I certainly think he's "statue-worthy" and a would also be my choice for statue #3, behind Jerry West & Magic Johnson, whom I've argued is the best of all time.

Kareem's tender he doesn't get the love Magic Johnson does?

"When you look at what (owner Jerry Buss) did for Earvin and what he did for me, big disparity there," Abdul-Jabbar said.

The Lakers have already said the next statue will be of Kareem, but I wouldn't be surprised if it takes longer now. I'd be in favor of adding an extra year just out of principle.

C'mon, man. You can't demand a statue of yourself. That's not the way honor should work.

I know Kareem's not a Christian, but Proverbs 27:2 comes to mind:

"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips."

As a player, I have nothing but the utmost respect for "The Captain," but I lost some respect for him as a human with this, "Where's my statue? Where's the love, man?" bit.

NBA Conference Championship Playoffs 2011

It is definitely NBA Playoff time and as this blog is being written the playoffs are, essentially, midway to having a 2011 Champion.

Some surprises have definitely happened along the way.

The #1 seed in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs, lost in the first round to the #8 seed Memphis Grizzlies in six games.

Perhaps it was meant to be this year, the #2 seed (and defending NBA Champion) Los Angeles Lakers took six games to beat the #7 New Orleans Hornets and then got swept by #3 Dallas Mavericks in four games, completely thwarting their effort for a second three-peat.

In the Eastern Conference, the #1 seed Chicago Bulls, with the league's MVP and best record of all teams, took out the #7 Indiana Pacers in five games in round one and find themselves tied at two games each with #5 seed Atlanta Hawks who took the #4 Orlando Magic out of the picture in six.

Probably one of the most anticipated matchups features #2 Miami Heat and #3 Boston Celtics. The Heat excelled in game 4 to lead the series 3-1.

As it looks right now, the Dallas Mavericks, with time to rest after their sweep, will probably meet #4 Oklahoma City Thunder (providing they get by the Grizzlies, with the series tied at 2 apiece) for the Western Conference Championship while in the Eastern Conference odds are that the Heat will be playing the Bulls to determine who goes for the NBA trophy.

It will be interesting to see.

As the theme of the playoffs is "Win or Go Home," one can see the truth in that short statement.

In the meantime, one of the highlights of every playoff game has been the NBA's own commercials, featuring the "Official Basketball."

This one is absolutely great:

Over For Now.

Main Street One

That was so fetch!

Whoop! A hearty congratulations to Sydney Colson & her fellow Aggies winning the NCAA Women's Championship!

It was an amazing and impressive drive, beating a 1-seeded Baylor team that had handed them 3 of their 5 losses on the season. Then they another 1-seed, Stanford, the only team that had given 2 time defending champs UConn a loss this season. Then they sent the Fightin' Irish home sad.

It's a good day to be an Aggie. Thanks, gals!

(Here's another great Aggie video, though the man wouldn't let me embed.)

You're overcooking my grits, coach.

Although a Lakers fan, I've long thought Pat Riley a better coach than Phil Jackson. While I still like Riley better, Jackson has impressed me the past few years and now I'm not so entrenched. Though he's had some premier players, Phil's been very successful, which may be quite the understatement, even though he's only been NBA's Coach of the Year once measly time (94-95).

Get this ...
Phil Jackson has coach his teams to the NBA Finals 13 of the past 20 years. 13/20?! Regardless of what happens tonight in Game 7 against the hated Celtics, that's VERY impressive. He's 10-2 in the finals, winning more than any NBA coach. In fact, after Tuesday night's win, Phil Jackson has more playoff victories than any other coach in any other sport, eclipsing Scottie Bowman.

Tonight is Phil's first finals Game 7 ever, and as the title hangs in the balance, a 16th for the Lakers or 18th for the Celtics, something gotta give. Phil Jackson is 47-0 in playoff series when his team wins Game 1, which the Lakers did. Kobe & Derek Fisher are 26-0 in a playoff series when they win Game 1. When teams are tied 1-1 in the finals, the winner of Game 3 is 10-0. The Lakers won Game 3.

But, the Lakers have never beaten the Celtics in a Game 7, going 0-4. And the Celtics have never blown 3-2 lead in the finals, going 11- in those series. Something's gotta give.

Despite his resume, Phil has never coached in a Game 7, so he's making history. Whether or not Phil wins a ring for his toe tonight, he's won this fan over. That Phil Jackson's a pretty good coach.

Cf. 50 Greatest Coaches of All Time by Sporting News, with Phil at #4.

Now Milton, don't be greedy. Let's pass it along and make sure everyone gets a piece.

I've already made an impenetrable case as to why he's the best NBA player of all time, so I'll just stop down here to wish Lansing's favorite son a happy 50th birthday.

3 cheers and a big slice of cake for Earvin "Magic" Johnson, born on August 14, 1959. With 9 brothers and sisters, I wouldn't be surprised if there were some birthdays where he never got a piece of cake.

"Few athletes are truly unique, changing the way their sport is played with their singular skills. Earvin "Magic" Johnson was one of them."
(Read more of his NBA.com biography)

Some interesting trivia about Magic:

• Johnson's mother, a devout Christian, thought his nickname was blasphemous.
• Magic was the first overall draft pick in 1979.
• Magic is the youngest player to ever be named the NBA Finals MVP and was the first rookie to win the award.
• Magic was the head coach of the Mighty Lakers for the final 16 games of the 93-94 season.
• Magic holds the NBA record for blocked shots by a point guard (374).

Magic Johnson Quotes:

• "Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates." (now you know where Kennedy got that line)
• "When you face a crisis, you know who your true friends are."
• "Standing on that platform, I said a silent prayer. I thanked God for giving me the strength and the opportunity to come back, to play basketball again, and to be part of that whole magnificent Olympic experience. It's a memory I will always cherish."
• "My father is my idol, so I always did everything like him. He used to work two jobs and still come home happy every night. He didn't do drugs or drink, and he wouldn't let anyone smoke in his house. Those are rules I adopted, too."
• "I want to be here for a long time, so I am going to do everything I have to do to be here. And I want to walk my daughter down the aisle and give her away to somebody some day. I want to make sure I am still here to make sure my two young sons become men."
• "My diet is mostly chicken and fish. I make sure I get a lot of vegetables, a lot of fruit. I am a big fruit man, I am a vegetable man anyway. And I also get a lot of rest. That's the key I may be up early, but I'm in bed early too."

There's no 'I' in TEAM ... but there is a 'Me' in MEDIOCRE.

A quote to inspire the Mighty Lakers for tonight's game:

"There's no 'I' in 'TEAM' ... but there is a 'Me' in 'MEDIOCRE.'"
-Kronk, Kronk's New Groove

Kobe, if you have to, get 50 tonight and win Game One against Orlando. If you have to get 20 points and 20 assists, you know what to do: Win Game One.

• In the NBA, roughly 80% of the teams who win Game One with the series.
• The Mighty Lakers have won the past 16 playoff series when winning Game One.
• Phil Jackson's teams have never lost a playoff series when they've won Game One, going 46-0 in such circumstances.

Don't listen to the MJ & LJ comparisons. Don't worry about the box score. Worry only about the "W" column tonight.

Good evening. I'm Ron Burgundy and here's what happening in your world tonight.

The Mighty Lakers vs. The Celtics in the NBA Finals
(schedule)

I'm sure it won't be the same the second time around, but we can always hope, can't we?

For the Lakers, this is their 29th trip to the finals, their 1st since 2004. For the Celtics this is their 20th trip to the finals, their 1st since 1987, when they were beat by Lakers.

The Lakers are 12-3 in the playoffs, while the Celtics are 12-8.

Keep an eye out for some great stuff on ESPN Classic the next few weeks as they try to revive one of the greatest rivalries of all time.

Hey, remember the 80s?

Check out the Top 10 moments in Celtics-Lakers postseason history. (with video clips)

Vote: Celtics vs. Lakers

Look out, Boston, Kobe's on a mission. He'd like to be the 2nd player ever to win the MVP, Finals MVP, and a gold medal all in the same year. You can probably guess the 1st to have done so.

you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall

The Cowboys were humiliated on Sunday, at least the offense was. They were humiliated ... at home ... to the hated Eagles. I'm not sure I'd call that match up a "rivalry," but it got me to thinking about this year's team and what's lacking.

It's not a stretch to think that the Cowboys will make it to the Superbowl this year, but I find myself thinking that there's just a little something missing from a Superbowl run ... a rival.

Winning something is all the more sweet when there's a rival to overcome. Winning in the 90s was great because we got to rub the 49ers noses in it.

I got to thinking about the need for rivals and then to my favorite rivalries. This may be different than "the greatest rivalries" that some sports show may list. Michigan & Notre Dame may be great, but I don't care, so it's not great to me.

--- Be thinking about YOUR favorite rivalries in sports and/or which you think are the greatest. ---

I'll share my favorite rivalries.

Cardinals vs. Cubs - I grew up a Cardinals fan and there's always been great joy in beating the Cubbies. They're the team you love to beat. They're not typically a rival for winning the division, but over the years some great games have been played.


Lakers vs. Celtics (1980s) - After writing a book report about a man named "Lew Alcinder" in 3rd grade, I was forever thereafter a fan of the Mighty Lakers, the new home of "Kareem." How great were those games in the 80s with Lakers (Kareem, Magic, Worthy, Rambis, Scott, Nixon, McAdoo, Cooper, etc.) matching up with the Celtics (Bird, Parrish, McHale, DJ, Ainge, Walton, etc.), particularly in the NBA Finals? That was the Golden Era of the NBA for sure.


Cowboys vs. Redskins - As long as I can remember I've been a Cowboys fan, even while living in Kentucky and Alabama and other parts of the globe that my dad's Army career took us. This rivalry tends to work best when at least one of the teams is good, which is probably why the rivalry has been its weakest the past five years.

Back in the day those 2 teams really hated each other. I remember the recent game where the Cowboys were up by 13 with less than 2 minutes left and the Redskins smoked us with 2 big touchdown passes. I was so mad. But, there were our "paycheck players" yucking it up afterward, smokin' & jokin' with the Redskins as though they were teenagers hanging out at the mall.


Aggies vs. Longhorns - I'm an Aggie, so this one needs little explanation. However, I will point out that the Ags have smoked the t-sips like a cheap cigar the past 2 years in a row. Who's your daddy?


Cowboys vs. 49ers (1990s) - I still rejoice to see the 49ers watching the playoffs on their television screens, but the rivalry has dissipated. With Michael Irvin & Steve Young all friendly-like, you know it's over. I appreciate T.O. trying to resurrect it a few years back when his celebrations on "The Star," but all that did was show us that Emmitt still cared and that George Teague should be in the "Ring of Honor."

Still, in the 90s we had a great rivalry. Remember Kenny Norton, Jr. turning traitor on us by going to San Fran? Remember really turning up the hate meter when Deion left Atlanta for San Fran? Remember how you felt being down 21-3 in the NFC Championship game in '94 inside like the first 3 minutes of the game? I refused to watch the Superbowl that year, knowing that the Cowboys should have been the ones whipping up on the Lightning Bolts to the tune of 55-10.
November 12th 1995 (PM) was the 2nd time ever for me to preach and it was hard dragging my badself up to church to share our obligation to "Serve the Living God" after losing that game, a turning point in the rivalry. Honestly, we were fortunate that SF lost to Green Bay in the '95-96 playoffs so we could play them in the NFC Championship Game instead.

I was not a Barry hater, but I'm thinking that if Jimmy had stayed in Dallas, 5 Superbowls in a row, without a doubt. This rivalry also taught me that the chief characteristic of a fan is rooting for the laundry, a uniform. I loathed nobody more than Deion ... until he became a Cowboy. Then I was a big fan all of the sudden. I'm even warming up to T.O. this year.


Stars vs. Red Wings - This one really kicked in for me in '98 when the Stars were bounced by Wing in the Western Conference Finals. I never had any particular players who bear my ire, but the uniform in general. In both our trips to the Stanley Cup Finals ('99 & 2000) we were fortunate that Lanche knocked off Wing, because I don't think we could have taken Wing in a 7-game series either year. This rivalry died some, but not for me. I got particularly tender (even with the Stars) when Brett Hull AND Derrian Hatcher (my favorite Star) wound up wearing the hated red & white.

Though we've not had any good encounters in the playoffs lately, I still root for the Red Wings to eat it ... Reno-style.


Cardinals vs. disAstros - This one rivals the Longhorns for personal intensity and animosity. In fact, when Rachel was 2 I got in trouble from Mom for teaching Rachel to answer the question, "What do you think of the disAstros?" with "We hate 'em."

During baseball season I check the scores of 2 teams, the Cardinals and the disAstros, and a "W" for the former is just as good as a "L" for the latter. Since the wacky creation of the present divisions, the DisAstros have been the chief competition for the division title.


Honorable Mention: Mavericks vs. Spurs, Rocky vs. Apollo, and the Von Erichs vs. the Fabulous Freebirds.


What are your favorite rivalries in sports? OR What do you think are the greatest rivalries in sports? OR What teams do you love to "hate"?