Yep, The Lakers Are Still The Lakers

If I needed another reason to hate the Lakers, this is it.

Lakers Get: Dwight Howard, Chris Duhon, Earl Clark
76ers Get: Andrew Bynum, Jason Richardson
Nuggets Get: Andre Iguodala
Magic Get: Crap

Let's break this down a litter farther.

Magic: Amazing to me the Magic held out as long as they did trading Howard and they still got shit back for him. Not even the "protected" draft picks are that great because they're "protected" meaning if the either the Lakers or Philly become bad enough that they fall into the lottery, they keep the picks and the Magic get nothing. The Magic also wanted to get rid of their salary cap space clogging contracts and didn't even get rid of the worst one, Hedo. Add to the fact they didn't get Bynum and the Magic might have pulled off the worst trade in all of sports history.

Nuggets: The Nuggets sneaked into this trade and grabbed Iguodala creating what could be one of the funnier teams to watch next season. Lawson, Faried, Javale, Andre Miller, Gallinari, and Iguodala is going to be great fun to watch. Too bad the Nuggets will still not be able to get out of the first round..........

76ers: There are pros and cons to this trade

Con- Bynum and Doug Collins smells like trouble. Collins, a notorious asshole, teaming up with someone who trolls the shit out of his own coaches has disaster written all over it. I can only imagine Bynum doing this leading Collins to do this. I might buy League Pass just to witness this moment. You know it's going to happen.

Pro- Philly has a history of adopting troublemakers. Broad Street Bullies, Iverson, Lenny Dykstra, etc. Bynum couldn't pick a better city to play for.

Con- Philly fans turn on Bynum the first time he gets hurt or they have enough of his act. Then this will end badly no matter what. (And once Philly fan turns, it's over. See: TO, JD Drew, Lindross)

Pro- Bynum instantly makes this team interesting to watch. Philly made the playoffs last year but they weren't always the funniest or most interesting team to watch. Bynum at least makes them interesting.

Lakers: Like the Sixers there are pros and cons to this deal.

Pro- Lakers receive one of the 5 best players in the league and the best center of the league when there aren't a lot of centers in the NBA at the moment. Lakers also get Howard in his prime, will keep him during his prime, and then can get rid of him when he's no longer useful and trade for Anthony Davis (I'll guarantee Davis somehow ends up with the Lakers in 8 years). I hate the Lakers.

Con- Howard is coming off back surgery. He's a professional athlete and will probably recover from this and not have to worry about it again. (Just my luck Howard will never have a back problem again.) Still though it's back surgery. Bad backs usually don't go away.

Pro- Somehow the Lakers kept Pau Gasol. So not only do the Lakers have someone who can play 5 feet in front of the basket, but they also kept one of the few players who legitimately can play away from the basket because he has low post moves. I hate the Lakers.

Con- Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant are the combined age of my father.

Pro- Nash pick-and-rolling with Howard and Gasol.

Con- Bryant still jacking up 25 shots a night and forgetting about Howard and Gasol. (What am I saying? This is actually a pro!)

It's amazing but the Lakers are still the Lakers. If there's a player they really want, they'll get him somehow unless Stern vetoes the trade. This is a big reason why I've always had a love/hate relationship with the NBA. Love the athleticism and beauty of the NBA, hate the fact there are only a couple of teams each year that are contenders. The Lakers are a contender with this move.

Elbows, Technicals, & More Elbows

While another Boston team is choking a 3-0 games playoff lead, the big story coming out of Orlando last night was the rough play the technicals being thrown around. Kendrick Perkins was given a double technical and thrown out of the game. Luckily for Perkins and the Celtics, one of the T's was rescinded so Perkins won't be suspended for game 5.

The other story coming out of the game was the rough play of Dwight Howard. In the 2nd quarter Howard nailed Big Baby Davis with an elbow giving him a concussion. Was it an inadvertent elbow? You be the guess(Video below). Big Baby has already said he will try to play in game 6. Howard also nailed Paul Pierce in the third quarter going up for a rebound injuring Pierce.



Just a week ago everyone said let's get done with the conference finals and go straight to the NBA Finals with Boston and Los Angeles. Now the Phoenix-Los Angeles series is tied and the Boston-Orlando series has become very interesting. Boston looks old and flat, while Orlando looks rejuvenated. The NBA playoffs have finally become interesting.

Pictures of the Night courtesy of Jose3030.

Can The Magic Win This Series?

(Advertising for Frank Caliendo? That should only be done on TBS. Via Jose3030)

This isn't really hard to believe, but no NBA team has come back from a 0-3 hole in a seven game playoff series in NBA history. Could it happen this year? The Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics last night in overtime to keep themselves from being eliminated. After showing no fight in Game 3, the Magic proved last night they won't go down quietly.

Jameer Nelson outplayed Rajon Rondo with 23 points and nine assists. Dwight Howard added 32 points and 16 rebounds and proved that he has the mental capacity to play in the big games. By avoiding the sweep, Orlando can take this series one game at a time and try to climb back into this series.

Other Notes: Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard got into a skirmish last night after Howard landed an elbow on Garnett.



- Big Baby Glen Davis had some weird tongue action going on during the game. He must be a fan of Lengua.



- Kevin Arnovitz of TrueHoop breaks down the terrible final possession of the game for Boston.



Now some Dwight Howard highlights from the night.

The Links

Amanda Seyfried to start the morning..... An interview with the great Scotty Bowman...... It's never too early for a 2011 NFL Mock Draft...... Alex Rodriguez admires Alex Rodriguez...... Could the NHL return to ESPN?...... And people say the Sharks are chokers...... The WWE held their annual draft last night..... Jesse James is out of rehab..... I don't believe this, R-rated movies start cause early drinking says science...... Police barred from penis enlargement

Nothing new: Larry Brown looking for another job (Yahoo Sports)

I agree with this: ESPN needs to change their NFL draft coverage (SI)

Thoroughbred program gives immates a second chance (Boston Globe)

Marshawn Lynch will stay in Buffalo despite crowded backfield (PFT)

Ice Cube made a documentary about the Raiders (Film Drunk)

Watching Jahvid Best highlights is like watching porn for Detroit's Jim Schwartz (With Leather)

Jameer Nelson is the difference between the Magic this year and last year (Fox Sports)

The greatest goal celebration ever (Outside the Boxscore)

This Matador won't be having kids



Bucks mascot's crazy stunt (SB Nation)

Someone May Want to Box Out Josh Smith

The Orlando Magicians are the best defensive rebounding team in the entire NBA. The Magic outrebounded the Hawks last night 48-37. Then why would the Orlando Magic forget to box out Atlanta Hawks Josh Smith on the very last play of the game? Especially when the game is tied. You know what happens next.



What a way to lose a game. You forget to box out Josh Smith and he dunks the missed Joe Johnson shot at the buzzer to give the Hawks the victory. This victory also clinched a playoff spot for the Hawks.

Here's what Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said after last night's loss: "On the weak side, we just stood and watched. The guys on the court are doing the same thing the guys on the bench are doing: just standing there watching." Yeah, maybe they should box out the next time.

The Links

Hello, Christina Hendricks.... Billy Bob Thornton's daughter was denied bail.... Craig Sager's suit interviews Ricky Rubio.... Indianapolis Cols players on Twitter-Peyton Manning isn't on Twitter.... In defense of the Kings drafting Jon Brockman.... The final days of Michael Jackson

Bill Simmon's annual draft diary (ESPN)

Rickey Rubio isn't feeling Minnesota (Deadspin)

Tyreke Evans will be better than Rickey Rubio (Sac Bee)

Let's just say Jordan Hill wasn't the most popular person at last night's draft (Daily News)

Are the Magic better with Vince Carter instead of Turkoglu (Pro Basketball News)

Are the Houston Rockets cursed? (Houston Chron)

Face tattoo's taken to an extreme (Ugliest Tattoo's)

Tyler Hansbrough fits in with the Pacers (Larry Brown Sports)

Tiger vs. Jimmy Fallon (Online Sports Guy)

Joe Dumars drafted for good character. What Sheed and Iverson aren't good character guys? (Detroit News)

Winners & Losers of the Draft

Lakers vs. Magic Game 1 Running Diary

I did this last year for the NBA finals, and I am going to do it again. It's the running diary. I will be documenting what is happening between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers in game 1 of the NBA finals. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the NBA Finals.

5:55 PM. PT: Just in time for player introductions. Is there anything more useless than player introductions?

The Lakers theme song during introductions is a Who song. Yeah because nothing says NBA quite like the Who.

6:01: We are introduced to the announcers: Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson. I hope Van Gundy talks about his hair and his other quirks.

Of course Breen brings up the fact that Jeff is calling his brother's game in the NBA Finals. I guess you might as well get all the awkwardness out of the way early. Game 1 is about ready to start.

6:07: I forgot the NBA Finals goes Super Bowl on us and shows about five minutes of commercials. I guess you have to pay the bills.

6:09: One foul already on Orlando. I expect about 1,000 fouls's called on Orlando in this series. They must be punished for knocking out LeBrick from the playoffs. I'm just wondering how much money Stern is paying the refs?

6:11: Of course Rafer Alston has to shoot a layup that has no chance. He must stand in front of a mirror and say, "I'm Rafer Alston!".

6:12: Rafer throws up another shot. He didn't even wait for his teammates. If Orlando loses this series, it will be because of Rafer and the twenty shots he takes every night.

6:15: Both teams are making every shot they take. Then Howard is called for a goal tend. And who shots the ball you ask? Of course Kobe. Bryant can drive the lane all game and get that call every time from the refs.

(I'm still pissed about Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Sacramento Kings)

6:21: They have Stan Van Gundy wired. His pregame speech is about how his team has had to face LeBron and Kobe in back-to-back series. He's right though. The media hasn't given them respect at all since the 1st round. By the way, is there anything better than Stan Van wired? "If this doesn't work out, reality T.V." That is what Jeff had to say about his brother. I knew there was a reason why I love the Van Gundy brothers. I wish they were my uncles.

6:22: Tonny Battie sighting! Somewhere Greg Ostertag is rejoicing. So is every big stiff that laced up a pair of sneakers.

6:25: Two fouls on Bynum. He's the Greg Oden of this series, a foul machine. Dwight has definitely improved his FT shooting.

Has Lamar Odom already disappeared? He must be on a candy fix. The Lakers must of had sour patch kids, M&M's, and snickers bars in the locker room.

6:29: Of course ABC has to give us shots of all the celebrities at the game. And of course Jack is attending the game with a twenty year old blonde. Question is, was it his daughter or girlfriend?

6:31: Two fouls on Dwight Howard already. Pau Gasol flopped big time. But then again, he is European and we shouldn't expect anything else. The Magic respond though by bringing in their own seven foot European stiff to flop in the game.

6:33: Pretty evenly called game so far by the refs. I have to say I didn't expect this. After the 1st quarter I am going to going to eat a piece of pizza and drink an ice cold Coors. Dinner for champions right there.

6:36: End of 1st Quarter, 24-22 Magic. Kobe is already 3-for-9 from the field. I'm not a good math student, but I know that is not a good percentage. Pizza and beer time for me :-)

6:39: Doris Burke does the quarter interview with Van Gundy. I am disappointed Lisa Salters isn't' the sideline reporter. I have always thought she was cute and she isn't that bad of an reporter.

Also we have a Jameer Nelson appearance. His first since February. I hope he can contribute in a good way.

6:41: Sasha tries to drive the lane on the Magic. And of course he gets rejected. At least he has dated Paris Hilton. That's something two million people in this country can't say. Also Nelson has already had an impact on this game.

6:43: "There's a definition of an airball."-Mike Breen, talking about Michael Pietres' airball. And yes it was that bad. Then Mark Jackson responds with a wrestling reference. ABC: Where the announcers are awesome.

6:48: "Luke Walton is unbelievable. There isn't a player who is more important to the Lakers than Walton. Even the great Lute Olson admitted that he's the greatest player ever. The Grateful Dead have said Luke is their greatest fan. Luke I am your father." Like my Bill Walton impression?

6:55: I don't know why the Magic are ignoring Howard. While they are doing this, the Lakers are starting to run away from them. And Stan Van keeps burning timeouts. He might need them at the end of this half. 10-0 run for the Lakers.

6:57: Some great Magic defense after the timeout. And then they finally let Howard go straight to the hoop. And in the process, Bynum picks up his third foul. Howard can dominate this series only if Stan Van will let him. Pau and Bynum will foul out trying to guard Howard.

7:00: Howard has drawn three fouls on Bynum and two on Pau. The Lakers might have to put Kurt Rambis on the floor if this keeps up. 16 points for Kobe Bryant. Then Hedo throws up a airball.

7:05: Are second shot of the celebs in the crowd. That lesbo Billie Jean King is there. She must have thought there was an WNBA game going to be played.

7:06: The Lakers are looking great on defense. The Magic are helping them though by living and mostly dieing by the three-pointer. Nelson with four points in 10 minutes. The Magic look uncomfortable with him on the floor.

7:08: An J Peezy sighting! I missed Josh Powell. His presence will definitely be felt by the Lakers. 10-point lead for the Lakers as the Magic look like they are ready for halftime. They will need to make adjustments at the half.

7:10: End of 1st half, 53-43 Lakers. And there is no way in hell I am going to watch the halftime report with Jon-Jon, Tragic, One-Eye, and Wilbon. Be back at the start of the 2nd half.

7:30: Mark Jackson is complementing Kobe. But he has gone 9-of-18 from the field. That's only 50% which is terrible.

7:32: Magic have not started the 2nd half like they would have wanted. They had back-to-back shots blocked. And then Howard just throws one off the glass that isn't even close. 11-point lead for the Lakers. And Kobe keeps missing a lot of shots.

7:34: Four fouls on Bynum. He will definitely pick up the Greg Oden award in this game. I bet he will foul out by the start of the 4th quarter. Lamar Odom comes in and he picks up his third foul. Now if Howard can only make more FT's. I am shocked to say this, "the Magic have played better with Rafer, instead of Jameer."

7:38: JVG is now quoting Yogi Bera. Keep em coming. The refs are starting to have a field day now. It feels like there has been more foul calls this quarter, than the entire 1st half.

7:40: I'm Rafer Alston jacks up a three. And it is nowhere near close. But he's Rafer Alston? Then good ole Rafer goes straight to the rim and misses a layup. Keep em coming Rafer. That's why the Magic traded for you. Then he jacks up another three, that isn't close again. The Lakers will run away from them if he keeps this up.

7:42: Now the refs are calling fouls solely on the Magic. Howard gets called for an offensive foul, when Gasol flopped again. 66-50 Lakers mid-way through the third. The Magic look like they are out of gas already. They better prepare for Game 2.

7:44: Stan Van finally calls a timeout as the Lakers take a 18-point lead. Get F&%^ing Rafer Alston out of the game. He is killing them right now.

7:47: Orlando is shooting 31% from the field. Orlando is dieing by the three in this game. They better hope they can shoot better either in the fourth quarter or game 2. Lakers are just dominating this game.

7:50: Kobe abused the Magic defense with a last-second layup. Then the Lakers come back down the floor and actually play defense. The Magic can't buy a basket at this point, while Kobe continues to abuse Orlando. Another turnover by the Magic. They are looking scared in this game.

7:52: We have all seen the Lakers blow leads in the finals before. Can it happen again. Nope, Gasol actually blocked a shot. And the Lakers are receiving every call now.

7:57: Stan Van is killing his team by not double teaming Kobe. Bryant is killing Courtney Lee and Pietres on single coverage. 25-point lead for Los Angeles and the third quarter isn't even over! Dwight Howard only has nine points in the game so far. Just a complete implosion by the Magic on the offensive end of the court.

8:01: End of the third quarter, 82-58 Lakers. Complete domination by the Lakers in this quarter. That is the only way to describe it.

8:05: The Magic start the fourth quarter like they ended the third. With a missed shot. The Lakers probably can play their scrubs with the way the Magic have been playing. JVG wants to end the Finals MVP voting already. He's already throwing dirt on his brother's team.

8:08: LA doesn't even need Kobe on the floor. They can score without him in this game. Hell even Walton threw up an ally-oop to Shannon Brown. At least Brown isn't being sued or anything. 27-point lead for Los Angeles. Mike Breen couldn't get his head up the Lakers ass any further.

8:13: They went to the Stan Van wired. He's trying to motivate them, lets see if it works. Their body language looks like they want to relax by the pool or go to Disneyland. Now Mark Jackson is kissing LA's ass. I hope this doesn't turn into an Los Angeles ass-kissing series for the announcing crew. If that happens, I'm watching the rest of the series on mute.

8:17: J.J. REDDICK SIGHTING! COME ON LA, BRING IN ADAM MORRISON! I WANT TO SEE THAT MATCH UP, LIKE THE REST OF AMERICA. JUST DO IT, PLEASE? GREG PUALUS WOULD COMPLETE THE CRAPPY WHITE PLAYER TRIFECTA.

8:19: Reddick was guarding Kobe Bryant and Kobe actually missed a shot. Funniest thing I HAVE EVER SEEN! I WANT MORE, MORE, MORE!

8:26: Orlando just looks happy to there. That won't work in game 2. Stan Van has to rally the troops. Orlando is just throwing up everything right now and praying it goes in. 23-point lead for Los Angeles as this game is winding down.

8:28: Reddick is just trying to get points on the board. This game can't end fast enough.

8:34: REDDICK JUST ATTEMPTED A UNDERNEATH LAYUP. AND OF COURSE HE MISSES. I KNEW THERE WAS A REASON WHY I CONTINUE TO WATCH THIS GAME.

8:26: Mercifully this game is over. Los Angeles blows out Orlando 100-75. A 25-point blowout.

The curse of the live blog continues. I will not be doing another one of these, because of what happened. So enjoy the rest of your night.

Breaking News: Orlando Will Face Off Against Los Angeles

There will be many executives crying tonight, because they will not be getting their LeBron-Kobe match up. Instead they will be getting a Orlando-Los Angeles match up.

Dwight Howard outplayed LeBron James scoring 40 points in the game. I guess we have to Rip off the Master of Panic label off of Stan Van Gundy.

I will break down the Finals match up coming up in the week. Have a good night.

A Blowout with Excitement!

The Boston Celtics might have blown away the Orlando Magic in their game 2 meeting, but their was at least some excitement in the air.

First there was this dunk by Rajon Rondo and another great call by Marv Albert.



But when things really got interesting when Rafer Alston slapped Eddie House in the back of the head.



Stay classy, Rafer.

In the postgame interview, you can really tell David Aldridge is a pro. When talking to Eddie House about the little slap moment, Eddie dropped this line, "bust somebody' ass." Aldridge didn't even ask him to follow up that little comment and kept moving.



This series and the whole NBA playoffs has pretty much been a dud. But the Boston Celtics have at least provided the viewing audience with some drama. First they play an epic 1St round series with Chicago. Then in their game 1 meeting with Orlando, they come back from a 28-point deficit to almost beat the Magic. Now this little moment between House and Alston provides a little bit of drama.

Ah hell, what am I talking about? David Stern will suspend Rafer and we won't get to see a showdown between House and Alston.

THE NBA: WHERE FIGHTS HAPPEN.
THE NBA: WHERE PLAYOFF SUSPENSIONS HAPPEN.

Media Fight: Orlando Sentinal's Mike Bianchi vs. Mike Thomas

Usually I leave media fights to Awful Announcing, but this one is too good. The Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi called out one of his own co-workers in a blog post today.

The post is regarding the Orlando Magic's new arena deal. And Bianchi blasts his co-worker for a blog post he wrote:

"I know I commended my Sentinel colleague Mike Thomas about a column he wrote recently regarding the crumbling financial model of the NBA, but then he goes and writes something really stupid and ruins everything.

Like his recent blog in which he criticized the Magic for -- are you ready for this? -- giving preferential treatment in the new arena to the people who actually pay the most money?

I kid you not. Thomas is actually complaining because the pricier luxury seating and suites are closer to the court than the less expensive seats for the "average" fans.

"In pushing for a new arena, the Magic didn't mention this," Thomas wrote. "But by gearing the arena toward luxury seating and suites, the team has sacrificed the view of those average fans in the upper bowl. The suites are being put in closer to the floor to give corporate customers a better view, while pushing the seats above them back and up."

The reason the Magic didn't mention this is because it's understood, you big dummy. Earth to Mike, earth to Mike: The more money you spend, the more privileges you get.

It's called capitalism.

Geez, you wonder sometimes when was the last time Mike Thomas actually attented a sporting event? I can just envision Thomas writing about a football game, circa 2009: "And then the fans stood up and started doing this new thing called 'The Wave.' It was really cool!"

Seriously, is Thomas actually surprised that the more expensive seats are nearer the floor and the less expensive seats are away from the floor?"

I agree with Bianchi on this one. Has Mike Thomas ever heard of capitalism.

I realize we elected a president who wants to punish the rich, but this isn't a communist country. You pay more money for seats, you get a better view. Sponsors that spend big money for seats deserve better seats.

Good job, Mike Bianchi.

The Links

Head on over to Fire Andy Reid Now! there is a live blog of the entire day of hoops from the Big East...... Katie Price rollerblading

- Questions about Andre Smith reflect upon his agent (AL.com)

- Pacman continues to make it rain (PFT)

- Robert Morris and Portland St. are going dancing (Deadspin)

- How are the Patriots spending the Matt Cassel money (Mass Hysteria)

- Mike Singletary went off last night. But not the Singletary you are thinking of (With Leather)

- The 'Watchmen' and the NFL (Kissing Suzy Kolber)

- Georgetown and Norte Dame are the biggest disappointments in college basketball (The Big Picture)

- Tempers flare in the Seton Hall, Syracuse game (NJ.com)

- SEC teams don't view their league as mediocre, but competitive (Tampa Tribune)

- Utah Jazz finally lose a game (Salt Lake Tribune)

- The Orlando Magic have clinched a playoff birth (Orlando Sentinel)

- Tubby Smith is breathing new life into the Minnesota basketball program (Star-Tribune)

- Oklahoma St., Oklahoma face off for a third time today in the Big 12 tournament (The Oklahoman)

- Oregon and Oregon St. had bad nights in the Pac-10 tournament (The Oregonian)

- Indiana has some big dreams for the Big Ten tournament (Indianapolis Star)

Picture of the Day

Superman was not enough for the Knicks Nate Robinson.