Tag Archives: NBA

Multiple People Shot After Thunder Win Series

The Seattle Supersonics were moved to Oklahoma City a few years ago. This was the first time that their team reached the Western Conference Finals…but none of that is important anymore. After the Thunder beat the Lakers, shots were fired and some rioting occurred. So far, many are injured from gunshot wounds, but no fatalities have been announced.

Rioting after WINNING a sporting event is the most moronic thing a fanbase/city could do.

I will keep updating this blog post as more information spills in about this horrible tragedy in OKC.

As many as eight people were wounded by gunfire shortly after the Oklahoma City Thunder game Monday night. NewsOK.com reported that the victims are still being located and turning up at hospitals. Two people are in police custody in connection with the shooting, police said. As of 3:200am EST, no one has been announced as a shooter.

As of this moment, police said that multiple people were shot downtown shortly after the Thunder game let out. Before midnight, another round of shorts were fired near Mickey Mantle Drive. The shooting could have started less than five minutes after the game ended.

The injuries that have been announced have yet to claim a life. One person was shot in the back, another in the upper arm and a third in the hand. There are also reports that a pregnant lady was kicked during the melee. Victims are still turning up to hospitals.

Oklahoma City police Capt. Lisa Camacho said that two suspected shooters are in custody at the Bricktown Harkins Theater.

NewsOK.com have interviewed some eye witnesses and they claim that this was not the first time this has happened. After Game 2, a witness said that traffic was backlogged because of fights breaking out.

I will never understand why cities riot after winning a sporting event. Vancouver’s riot after last year’s Stanley Cup loss was bad, but it would have been worse if they actually won. Let’s end the stupidity and celebrate responsibly and watch out for one another.

This is amateur video of the scene after the Thunder game.

Tyler Maxwell, one of NewsOK.coms’s eyewitnesses, summed everything up perfectly. He said, “The playoffs are (good) for our city but they’re starting to bring violence…I can’t imagine what would happen if this was the NBA Finals.” Let’s hope that the city has extra police force on duty when the Thunder hosts the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

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Could Columbus, Ohio Support an NBA Team?

The mayor of Columbus, Ohio, Michael B. Coleman, thinks that his city is ready for an NBA team. He sent a letter to the NBA Commissioner, David Stern, and wanted him to know that “Columbus should be on the league’s radar.” The city just finalized the public purchase of Nationwide Arena, which is the home of Columbus Blue Jackets, an NHL team. The Columbus Dispatch reported the letter today and adds some strong reasons why the city could support three professional teams, if you count the Columbus Crew, an MLS team.

Do you think Columbus could support an NBA team? Is it even the best option in its own state? We’ll dive deeper and look at teams that are in financial trouble and need to move. Continue reading →

Re-Do – 2008 NBA Draft

I have done a few of these “Draft Re-do” posts and you really can’t judge any professional sports’ drafts until after three years. You always have a few late-bloomers that still makes you look at a draft and wonder “why didn’t my team draft him?”

The 2008 NBA Draft class is full of All-Star selections, an MVP, and a few guys who blossomed during the NBA Playoffs. You also have a few players that didn’t materialize in the NBA. The last time you heard Joe Alexander’s name was when David Stern called his name as the 8th pick. Overall, this draft class is quite deep and much better than the top-heavy 2007 draft class. There are a few guys that we’re still waiting for them to peak, but I’m optimistic that they will come through. Does Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo make it into the Lottery during our re-draft? Continue reading →

Possible White Boys The Pacers Can Sign

It’s a running joke here that the Indiana Pacers love their white guys. Larry Bird seems to have a crush on un-athletic white boys who “hustle” and are “scappy.” If David Eckstein played basketball, Bird would sign him today. There are plenty of eligible candidates out there that are of the pale variety, here are some options that could end up rocking the yellow and navy next season and beyond.

Brian Scalabrine – unrestricted – Scalabrine was close to becoming a member of the Pacers before last season. Indiana and Boston tried to workout a sign & trade with Marquis Daniels, but Indiana refused to take Tony Allen. He had some past run-ins with authorities and the Pacers have been shy to take on players with a record since the Palace Brawl. I think Scalabrine would be a nice option once they trade Jeff Foster or Troy Murphy before the trading deadline this season.

Adam Morrison – unrestricted – I really wouldn’t know what to do if Bird signed Morrison. I think more Adam Morrison jokes have been posted on this site than about any other player. I guess it would be karma showing its ugly head that I would have to see him shoot 29% from the field as a member of the Pacers. Please God…don’t ever let him on the Pacers!

Joe Alexander – unrestricted – As much as I want a guy with the nickname “Vanilla Thunder” on the Pacers, I couldn’t stomach it. We already have a guy that can only hit a shot within 3 feet of the basket (Josh McRoberts) and he barely sniffs the hardwood. They might as well give him an ergonomic chair on the bench, wouldn’t want him to have circulation issues.

Steve Novak – unrestricted – The Pacers already have an older version of Novak and his name is Troy Murphy. Murphy has improved his rebounding over the last few years, but Novak will always be known as the “tall kid that could hit 3-pointers when Dwyane Wade was at Marquette.”

Shavlik Randolph – unrestricted – NO MORE DUKE PLAYERS! The Pacers love Duke players and I can’t stand it. I dislike Duke and somehow I am tricked into liking them because they are on the Pacers. It’s a cruel, cruel trick the world plays on me.

Brian Cardinal – unrestricted – Is it sad that Cardinal is 6’8 and it wouldn’t surprise me if he couldn’t get touch the net? He looks like he should be playing on your father’s recreation league team. I don’t know how he ever managed to make it in the NBA, but he has been paid very well over his career.

Chris Quinn – unrestricted – I actually wouldn’t mind if the Pacers signed Quinn. He reminds me of Travis Diener and he did a decent job with the team. They need depth at point guard and I don’t know if transforming Lance Stephenson into a point guard is the correct move.

Jason Williams – unrestricted – Speaking of decent point guard options, Williams would probably be the leading candidate in this bunch. I doubt he would want to play in Indiana, but I think he still has some tread on his tires. Plus, imagine if Indiana signed Joe Alexander and Williams, you would have a “Vanilla Thunder” and “White Chocolate” combo, sounds like a Blizzard at Dairy Queen.

Louis Amundson – unrestricted – Out of all these candidates, I believe Admundson could receive a Brian Cardinal-like contract from a team that fell in love with his play the last few weeks of the season. He had a productive portion of the season when Robin Lopez was banged up. The Pacers probably won’t be able to afford him and I think Phoenix should probably lock him up.

Travis Diener – unrestricted – He already had his shot with the Pacers. He filled in as a nice option at the time, but clearly he wasn’t in their long-term plans. Maybe he can be a minimum contract option for the Heat. He did play with Wade and Novak at Marquette with success.

Well, I know the Pacers don’t have much room under the salary cap and signing a player this off-season could be a long-shot. Once they trade their expiring contracts before the deadline, they could be in need to sign cheap replacements, so these guys could end up on the team if they don’t land with another team this off-season.

I can’t say this enough, please, please don’t sign Adam Morrison. I mean look at the guy!

Re-Do: 1999 NBA Draft

The 1999 NBA Draft is considered one of the deepest drafts in in history. There are nine All-Stars from this draft and players like Lamar Odom and James Posey who were cornerstones in helping their teams win an NBA Championship. Who goes #1 if this draft was redone today? Who would pick the same players if everyone is reshuffled? Here is the 1999 NBA Draft redone if it happened today.

1. Richard Hamilton – Chicago Bulls – I think Hamilton gets the edge over the rest of the class because he is a winner and has been very productive for years. Elton Brand was originally picked here, which was a decent pick. (Hamilton was picked #8 to Washington) Continue reading →

Re-Do – 2006 NBA Draft

You can’t really grade a draft in any league until 3 years later. I did a “re-do” post a year ago with the 2005 NBA Draft, you can see that HERE.

The NBA just had their draft last week and it will take a few seasons to see if they work out. The 2006 NBA Draft has had only one all-star so far, but a few stars are starting to emerge. The teams didn’t seem to know who they wanted during the draft, 5 out of top 10 picks were traded. Toronto had the first pick in that draft, would they still pick Andrea Bargnani? Here is what the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery would look like if it were held today. Continue reading →

What If: NBA Team In Columbus, OH

The rumors of many NBA teams having financial problems have been floating around for the last few months. The NBA borrowed tons of money to try and keep the league afloat during the economic depression that we are facing. I personally think that they could rid themselves of the WNBA and get companies to sponsor NBA jerseys and the league would be as stable as the NFL. Many of the teams that could be moving look towards cities with a new NHL stadium as an easy fix. Columbus, Ohio has a great NHL stadium and was even in the conversation when the Sonics were moved to Oklahoma City (sorry Bill Simmons). What would happen if a team would move to Columbus, Ohio?

First I wonder what they would name the team. I think when the city of Columbus was given an NHL team, they had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get “Blue Jackets.” I can’t think of a logical team name right away. I would think that the term “Buckeyes” would work, but The Ohio State would like that very much. Here are a few names that I would like, but probably never get past the first brainstorming meeting.

– Columbus Hop (named after the Gallery Hop)
– Columbus Not Buckeyes
– Columbus Construction (see High Street)
– Columbus Twitter (first ever NBA team named after a company)
– Columbus Capitols

There are really no great names for a team here, but I do think that they should have a company buy the team’s name. Unfortunately for Columbus, Nationwide Insurance, Ohio Health, and Huntington Bank are three major players in town and none of them sound like a good team name.

I can’t see an NBA team flourishing here in Columbus. It has taken the city 10 years to really get behind the Blue Jackets. It took one season of making the playoffs for it to happen, but this city loves a winner. They kind of turn their backs on teams that don’t win, the people here are used to Ohio State winning football games.

Columbus is too close to Cleveland and with Lebron still there, I don’t see the Cleveland fanbase in Columbus jumping ship. Columbus would have to get a phenom in the first 2 or 3 drafts in order to stay here.

I do agree that Columbus is a great short-term fix for an NBA team that is struggling (New Orleans, Memphis, Milwaukee), but Kansas City would be more of a longer-term city to maintain an NBA franchise. I went to KC last month and walked by the new Sprint Center. It looks like a mix between a UFO and a diamond. I would like to throw out a name for a Kansas City….The KC Masterpieces. You like?

A Sports & Entertainment blog that focuses on absurdity in sports, snarky banter, updates on Tim Tebow’s virginity, and decent sports gambling advice.

RE-DO – 2005 NBA Draft

After any major sports draft, every team and their fans usually feel great about the future. The NBA many teams draft based on potential and not on the basis of past performance. 2005 was one of the last drafts that high school talent could bypass the college game and enter in the draft. Teams will still draft on potential, even a year in college doesn’t show enough to make an educated determination on what player is better than the other. Here is a re-do of the 2005 NBA Draft if it happened today.

1. Chris Paul – Milwaukee Bucks – The Bucks would be a much improved team with Paul at the point. Andrew Bogut was a decent pick, but the draft class was presumed to be very thin in 2005 and they couldn’t pass up on a big man with International flavor. Chris Paul is hands-down, head above shoulders, the filet mignon of this draft. (Paul went #3 to New Orleans) Continue reading →