Monthly Archives: August 2011

by | August 31, 2011 · 8:13 AM

Goodman League vs. Melo League Recap

Durant shined while Paul dimed

With the lockout dragging on and no end in sight, this summer has provided fans a glimpse of their favorite NBA players doing what they love most: playing purely offensive basketball with little care for defense. Yes, that is what all of these urban leagues are and let us be serious, we kind of like it, do we not? The most recent showdown was between the Goodman League of New York City, fresh off of their triumph over the Drew League, against the Melo League from Baltimore. Stars including LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Kevin Durant came out for this one and put on a show. Other participants included Austin Daye, Josh Selby, Jarrett Jack, Gary Neal, Eric Bledsoe, and Juan Dixon. It had been rumored prior to the game that Eddy Curry, yes, that Eddy Curry, would play in the game but he was nowhere to be seen. Jeff Green also played in the game but his contribution was so minimal he might as well not have shown up like Curry.

Durant, who has been a mainstay of the streetball circuit this summer put on another impressive display as he dropped 59 points in the contest, mostly while James was guarding him. Guarding, here, is meant to be read in the loosest of terms. Despite Durant’s scoring output, his Goodman squad fell to the Melo League 149-141. James poured in 32, Anthony finished with 27, and Paul had 16 as well as a bevy of dimes. Daye scored 23 points, Selby had 16, Jack totaled 13, and Neal dropped 17. However, it has been noted that an official score keeper was not present, these numbers are relative. Be sure to check out Beckley Mason’s break down of the game for more insight.

It will not be the last time this summer that NBAers suit up for a friendly exhibition. A league is in the works that will take place over two weeks in Las Vegas that will feature only NBA players and will abide by NBA rules. The details have not been fully hashed out yet but the league is expected to begin the week after labor day. We will have to wait and see with this one but until then enjoy some highlights of the Goodman League vs. Melo League game. The Sports Center sound after every flashy play, there are a lot of sloppy plays too, is priceless. All videos via superball052

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by | August 18, 2011 · 5:48 PM

Georgetown Hoya’s brawl with Chinese Team

Don't ever stomp on a man wearing J's

The world today seems absolutely crackers,
With nuclear bombs to blow us all sky high.
There’s fools and idiots sitting on the trigger.
It’s depressing and it’s senseless, and that’s why…
I like Chinese.
I like Chinese.
They only come up to your knees,
Yet they’re always friendly, and they’re ready to please.

That, of course, is a song from Monty Python which both praises and mocks China. It is also a tune which the Georgetown Hoya’s will probably not be singing for some time, if ever. You see, in the China craze that has persisted during the NBA lockout it seemed to all be fun and games. There was talk of a barnstorming circuit of NBA players touring the country, many players have in fact toured the country on vacation, and a Chinese team joined the ranks of just about every other team on the planet in trying to lure Kobe Bryant to play for them. Everyone was all smiles. Until this incident with Georgetown. Here at the Beef we do not regularly do posts about college programs but this one was just too unbelievable to pass on.

The Hoya’s are currently on an eleven-day tour of China, the brawl happened on the second day of that tour in an exhibition game against the Bayi Rockets in Beijing. It was ugly with the Chinese players throwing chairs and fans throwing bottles. It looked like Nenad Krstic was on the court.With one swift motion China is no longer the gem of the summer. Instead they are now relegated to the ranks of the rest of the world in terms of a lack basketball sportsmanship. Perhaps the Chinese were just mad at the United State’s credit downgrade by S&P. The U.S. is in quite a bit of debt to China. As for the Hoya’s here is hoping that they have Hillary Clinton on speed dial and the next time they travel abroad maybe they should think about hitting the bag more in practice because they got stomped.

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by | August 17, 2011 · 7:13 PM

Kobe Bryant’s Drew League Highlights

By now you have undoubtedly heard that Kobe Bryant dropped 45 points in a Drew League game including the game winning bucket. Unfortunately, the game winner will not help his clutch stats where the NBA is concerned but it will feed into the image of the Mamba. After his Drew League appearance speculation, on Twitter at least, was rampant that Bryant may compete in the Drew League versus Goodman League exhibition game that is on the horizon. Alas, it was all speculation as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! reported earlier today that the Mamba will not play in the game. As the lockout persists this is likely going to be the major narrative: street ball, urban leagues, and playing overseas. Enjoy it. It is a rare thing to see NBA players completing on every level imaginable. We are in a weird and foreign place where the NBA is concerned. Perhaps it is a new beginning, perhaps it is the beginning of the end. Nevertheless, take a look at the highlights of Bryant’s performance.

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by | August 16, 2011 · 9:05 AM

Ron Artest planking a Toilet in the Middle of the Street

What else is there to say after you read the title? Yes, this is the same Ron Artest that was moved to tweets about a Celine Dion concert not long ago. At least it looks like planking is not dead after its initial onslaught at the start of the lockout. This is just another sign that the lockout needs to end soon.

Going number 1?

Image via @ronartest

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by | August 14, 2011 · 2:58 AM

LeBron James with a Panda

China has garnered a lot of press recently and it is not because they are planning to spend one trillion dollars on infrastructure over the next five years. They have become a destination of travel and business for many NBA players during the lockout. Some want to play there and others want to barnstorm there. Others still just want to sell shoes. While there, however, there is a must on all of their lists (as if having the financial means to vacation in China during a recession was not rubbing it in our noses enough): have a meet-and-greet-and-pet with a Panda. Obviously, Pandas are not just for Carmelo Anthony anymore, take a look at LeBron James. Have a quick get together with Hakeem Olajuwon, get some valuable post knowledge, jet to China, chill with a Panda…that is simply a rough life for someone who is unemployed. Nice to know that James is coping with that Finals defeat in the best way possible.

More endangered than LeBron's clutch stats

Image via @KingJames

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by | August 7, 2011 · 10:12 AM

Michael Beasley’s week in review: Dyckman Park and Goodman League

It was certainly an interesting week for Michael Beasley as he played at Dyckman Park in New York City. Like many other NBAers, Beasley has used the lockout as an opportunity to take his game back to the black-topped courts where the crowd is right up on the action. Unfortunately, the close proximity of the crowd rattled his cage a little and Beasley had an altercation with an observer. Clearly, Garland Quince, the heckler, has never seen the Malice at the Palace. If he had then he would know that NBA players are big and strong and do not care for lip from less talented bystanders. Here is what happened:

Yes, Beasley straight mushed Quince in the face. Beasley has caught some flack from the incident but in all reality what he did was pretty tame and Quince probably deserved it. The most interesting part of the video is how calm Kevin Durant is. However, he was not so calm later on the same night. One one possession, Durant and Beasley were matched up against each other and it became apparent that Beasley had been listening to too much Mobb Deep of late because he became a shook one and Durant blew by him for a slam that made the crowd explode.

Team 914, which Beasley played for, did get the better of Durant and Team NIKE on the night, however, 80-77. Beasley dropped 20 points and collected seven rebounds in the win.  So, his stint playing at Dyckman can be seen as a mixed bag but for Beasley it certainly was not his best week especially since video surfaced of him having his ankles broken or simply slipping (you make the call) at a Goodman League Pro-Am game while guarding Jahmar Young. Too bad no one seemed to focus on the sloppy play at the rim after Beasley went down. That is the most embarrassing aspect of the video.

If the last week has lowered Beasley’s spirits in any way he should look on the bright side. He is still a millionaire, he is still pretty good at basketball despite the recent press, and he is focusing all news concerning the Minnesota Timberwolves on himself right now which is much better for the team than when David Kahn is the main focus.

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by | · 1:35 AM

Ron Artest live tweets a Celine Dion concert

I believe that the heart does go on

Ron Artest AKA Metta World Peace flooded timelines with tweets about the Celine Dion concert he attended last night. Obviously, they were pure gold and because of the lockout and lack of real news here are a few of those tweets:

I’m at Celine dion concert! Backstage!! Wow!!! Me and my boys!! Wow!!! She said she love my Jimmy Kimmel show when I had my beard on!!!!!!!!

Wow!!!!!!!!!!! She bout to sing TITANIC!!!!!! Wow!!!!! Stevie wonder came out!!!

Every night in my dreams I see you I feel u That is why my heart will Go on Help me with the lyrics and I will follow u The whole song!!

Celine made me and all my thug friends cry with the French song!!!! She cried !!! Wow!!!! She hugged me !! I got chills!! My nipples froze!

I think Celine show will entertain anyone! blacks to Russians From skinny tight Jean denim leggin wearing guys to old peoPle with no teeth

Clearly, if you are not following Artest on Twitter you are missing out. Do yourself a favor and star following the man. Here is the link to his account: @ronartest

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by | August 6, 2011 · 7:40 PM

Brandon Jennings serves it up cold at Dyckman

NBA players have a lot of time on their hands with the lockout keeping them away from team facilities and other NBA functions so they have to choose how they want to fill their time. Some have taken to looking overseas for a chance to play while others have taken to the streets and played in pick-up games. Brandon Jennings is the latest player to have taken his talents to the blacktop. He was playing at the famed Dyckman Park in New York City when he caught some clown napping on defense. Jennings promptly put him in his place with one cold streetball diss. Basically, this defender got “mushed.”

Video via Jamel Torrence

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by | August 3, 2011 · 1:38 PM

Stan Van Gundy has Skills

Stan Van Gundy is many things: NBA Head Coach, brother of Jeff, reliant on the three-pointer, preacher of defense, and oh so thrilled to have the best center in the league at his disposal. Who could have imagined that he had a few more tricks of his sleeve? At an Orlando Magic summer basketball camp for kids, Van Gundy demonstrated dribbling drills and let’s just say we could have used him on our intramural team in college. He certainly has handles and respect has to be given where it is due. Now, can he replicate those moves in a mock turtleneck? That has to be the question on everyone’s mind.

Original post via Orlando Sentinel, video conversion via TBJ

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by | · 8:36 AM

David Stern will not collect Salary during Lockout

Sympathy, please. Stern isn't making any money.

Emperor Palpatine, err…David Stern, will not receive any portion of his eight-figure salary, according to Marc Stein, for as long as the NBA Lockout persists. Recently, player have begun to question the commissioner for his high salary, which has been estimated as high as $23 million annually (now here is a candidate for those higher taxes on the wealthy that the Republicans keep torpedoing and left out of the debt limit bill). Only Kobe Bryant makes that much money per season.

However, Stern’s actual earnings are a mystery and have been speculated all across the board in the eight-figure range from the teens to low twenties. Stein cites a source saying that:

…according to information [the source] received from one team in the Eastern Conference and one team in the West, that the commissioner earns $500,000 per franchise annually. That would compute to $15 million per season before bonuses are added.

Yet, no one really knows. This is but another financial transparency issue for a league that claims to be hemorrhaging money but has not released any solid numbers supporting that stance. Perhaps a pay cut is in order for the commissioner? Some players think it is only fair.

Spencer Hawes of the Philadelphia 76ers and Anthony Tolliver of the Minnesota Timberwolves both tweeted (Hawes’ tweet, Tolliver’s tweet) their displeasure with Stern’s salary not being on the table of cuts when he and the owners are asking the players to greatly slash their own earnings. Maybe the two of them will sleep a little better at night now knowing that he is also not collecting his paycheck during the lockout. That seems doubtful.

All of this commotion about Stern’s salary comes on the heels of the legal suit that the NBA filed against the NBPA on Tuesday. The suit is an attempt to prevent the Player’s Union from filing an antitrust lawsuit against the league. Also on Tuesday, the NBA filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the Union.

Both charges claim that the NBPA has  been uncooperative and has not shown good faith towards the slow, rarely occurring labor negotiations. Neither side has shown much good faith during the lockout, which is now 34 days old. Essentially, the Stern and the owners are afraid that the Union will decertify itself, like the NFLPA did, to give it better leverage in negotiations. When the league is asking its players to make most, if not all, of the sacrifices to get the league back in the black instead of looking at the problems of owners over paying sub par players as an issue that caused the league and teams to lose money in the first place it is quite understandable that the players would want more leverage at the bargaining table. The NBA does not see it that way.

Of course, the Player’s Union, headed by Billy Hunter, release a statement shortly after the lawsuit was filed stating that they will seek to have it dismissed and that the NBA are the ones not practicing good faith in the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations. (Does anyone else feel like they are watching tennis? Back-and-forth.)

This tit-for-tat between the two sides seems to have no end in sight. It will be pretty hard for the NBA to make any money if there is not a season come late October. What is certain is that when the new CBA is finally hammered out everyone from the players to the commissioner needs to take less money in order for the NBA to be solvent. Billionaires and millionaires squabbling over money is no way win over fans who may or may not be unemployed in this economy and the longer the lockout continues the more damage will be done. Fans are the main revenue source of the NBA and they are about as pleased with what they are seeing from the NBA and NBPA as they are with Congress right now.

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