Category: NBA (Page 387 of 595)

      Spurs nip Lakers in a beauty

      January 15, 2009 /

      The NBA regular season is tedious enough to put even the most ardent basketball fan to sleep, but there are a few matchups that will perk those ears up real fast — and the Lakers/Spurs is one of them.

      The two teams didn’t disappoint tonight. It looked like the Spurs were going to win this one in a walk — they were up 100-89 with 8:05 to play, but the Lakers fought back behind Kobe Bryant (29p, 10r, 7a) and Josh Powell, who hit three clutch shots as part of a 11-2 run. With Pau Gasol guarding him (and Andrew Bynum sent to the bench) Tim Duncan (20p, 10r, 8a) made a pair of shots to give the Spurs a 109-108 lead with 0:28 to play.

      Sixteen seconds later, Kobe made a clutch three-pointer to give the Lakers a two point lead. He even did the Sam Cassell “big balls” dance as the teams went to a timeout…

      But Kobe celebrated too early. On the Spurs’ next possession, Roger Mason hit a clutch two-pointer from the corner and was fouled awkwardly from behind by Derek Fisher. He hit the free throw to give the Spurs a one-point lead. The Spurs double-teamed Kobe on the next play and he gave the ball up to Trevor Ariza near the top of the key. Ariza drove and there was some (no-call) contact with Ginobili, and he was called for traveling. It wasn’t a travel, but the shot didn’t fall and the game was over anyway.

      (Catch the highlights here.)

      It was a nice comeback, but their vulnerability at small forward continues to plague the Lakers. Ariza is a good player, but right now he doesn’t seem comfortable making a play in the clutch. Smart teams are going to double Kobe to get the ball out of his hands. Unless you can force him into a difficult, deep trey, you’re better off taking your chances with Ariza, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom or whoever else is out there. I know I wouldn’t want to take the game-winner knowing that Kobe will be there bitching me out if I happen to miss.

      As for the Spurs, they have to be feeling good about two of their offseason acquisitions — Roger Mason and George Hill. Mason has been clutch all season and he did a pretty nice job making life (somewhat) difficult for Kobe with little or no help. For a rookie, Hill looks confident and is a very capable backup for Tony Parker, who looked oddly out of sorts when the Lakers made their run.

      It was a great game. The Lakers are still the class of the West, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this was a preview of the Conference Finals.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      The World’s 10 Most Valuable Sports Franchises

      January 14, 2009 /

      Forbes.com put together a list of the world’s 10 most valuable sports franchises.

      Real Madrid
      No. 1 Manchester United
      Soccer
      $1.8 billion
      An annual powerhouse with a true global brand, Man-U fetched the highest price ever for a sports franchise when Malcolm Glazier forked over $1.45 billion for it in 2005.

      No. 2 Dallas Cowboys
      Football
      $1.6 billion
      Owner Jerry Jones smartly broke away from the NFL merchandising collaboration several years ago, leaving the Cowboys to run their own league-leading operation. A new state-of-the-art stadium awaits for 2009, with a Personal Seat License (PSL) plan that could bring in upwards of $700 million. The rough economy–a naming rights deal still hasn’t been done–may scale back expectations. But only so much.

      No. 3 Washington Redskins
      Football
      $1.5 billion
      Since taking over in 1999, owner Dan Snyder has had mixed results on the field. But he’s turned the Redskins into the NFL’s leading revenue machine through heavy marketing and by selling the naming rights to Jack Kent Cooke Stadium to FedEx. The stadium has sold out every game during its 12-year history.

      No. 4 New England Patriots
      Football
      $1.32 billion
      New England’s value has roughly tripled since 2000, following three Super Bowl titles and a 97-31 record over the past eight years. Seven-year-old Gillette Stadium includes 6,000 club seats and 87 luxury boxes.

      No. 5 New York Yankees
      Baseball
      $1.3 billion
      Baseball’s only billion dollar club benefits from its own cable network, huge market and storied history. No wonder the Yankees have made the only real noise around the league this winter, throwing more than $400 million at three premium free agents. The tight economy may have the team scrambling to sell the last few luxury boxes at the new Yankee Stadium for 2009, but expect the place to be a revenue machine over the long haul.

      Given soccer’s popularity around the world, I’m a little surprised only one futbol team made the top 5. (Although Real Madrid and Arsenal were No. 6 and 7, respectively.)

      I’m shocked at how much the Washington Redskins are worth, especially considering they’re sandwiched between the Cowboys and Patriots.

      MLB, NBA, NFL, Soccer

      LeBron James…the Cleveland Browns wide receiver?

      January 13, 2009 /

      Check out these photos courtesy of Waiting For Next Year.com:

      That’s enough to make the Brown fan in you think about the possibilities of LeBron lining up wide and enough to make the Cav fan in you want to take a bath with an electrical device.

      I did an “All-Athlete (minus football players) Gridiron Team” one time in which I selected players from sports other than the NFL to fill a football team. I enlisted LeBron as a running back because Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett were my receivers, but I could definitely see King James as a wideout.

      NBA, NFL

      Adande: “There’ll never be another Jordan.”

      January 13, 2009 /

      Today is the 10th anniversary of Michael Jordan’s final retirement (from the Bulls — his stint with the Wizards doesn’t count) and ESPN’s J.A. Adande was there.

      There were more than 800 reporters in the United Center that day. I was part of a two-man team from the Los Angeles Times. Can you imagine more than 800 reporters from around the country converging to cover a retirement news conference today, with a bank of 25 cameras focused on one individual and a fleet of satellite trucks parked outside to beam his words to the world?

      There’ll never be another Jordan the way there’ll never be another Johnny Carson or another Walter Cronkite. Individuals don’t hold our interest that regularly and that long anymore.

      Adande goes on to discuss how the current economy and the age of YouTube will keep the Jordan mystique secure. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James both can capture the public’s attention, though not in the same way as MJ did. Kobe is seen as a prima donna who can’t win a title without Shaq (pending 2009 season). Oh, and the incident in Colorado doesn’t help either. LeBron is criticized for not being focused enough on his game and there are more than a few that wonder if he has the kind of killer instinct required to rack up multiple championships.

      Jordan retired in 1999, when the economy was booming and the newspapers were doing just fine. Publications had the resources to send a reporter or two to Chicago to cover MJ’s retirement. I don’t think we could say the same today.

      NBA, NBA Finals

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