The Basketball Jones: Leandro Barbosa does Andres Nocioni like Tony Skinn did James Harden and some dude did Deron Williams. Remember those “NBA Street Series” DVDs from back when AND1 was running sh!t? Yeah, well, by the time these Olympic Games wrap up we’ll have been provided with enough footage to compile another volume and kick start the old fad.
Huffington Post: Nicolas Batum basically punched Juan Carlos Navarro in the nuts yesterday. He claims to have done it because he “wanted to give Spain a reason to flop.” Watch this video of Rudy Fernandez (it’s a shame that it doesn’t include the telling replay angle, but you can just know what an act it was based on his history) and you’ll probably want to go punch someone in the nuts, too. While I don’t condone what Batum did, I was more disgusted by Fernandez.
USA Today: Tone can be tough to detect when quotes are put into writing. Scroll about halfway down. If you hate Kobe, hate him some more. If you love Kobe, fawn over his confidence. If you don’t really care, assume he said it all with a sarcastic grin on his face and continue on with your day.
Ball Don’t Lie: You’re a kid who thinks he’s won a pair of autographed Dwyane Wade sneakers at Michael Jordan’s Flight School camp. You take a photo and post it on Twitter, then you get a mention from D-Wade himself. Pretty much your best day ever… until you realize why Wade has contacted you: to inform that the signature is fake. Unless this kid bought a pair of Wade’s sneakers, forged the signature himself, and made up a story to impress his friends (which is entirely possible), then I feel pretty bad for him. In the case that the camp actually gave him the sneakers, well… then MJ is as big a douche as we already know he is.
SLAM: Speaking of basketball camps, for just $375 you can “receive basketball instruction” from Terrell Harris, “develop life skills” with Dennis Rodman, and “spend quality time” with Tim Hardaway. Sign me up!
Commercial Appeal: This story of Zach Randolph donating $10,000 to rescue/rehabilitate an injured pit bull has warmed the collective heart of the internet over the past few days. Not to be that guy… but conduct a google search of “Zach Randolph dog fighting.” While you’re at it, search “Qyntel Woods dog fighting,” and realize that he and Randolph still maintain a friendship from their days of Jail Blazing. As much as I’ve enjoyed Z-Bo’s tenure with the Grizz, I still can’t say I’m sold on his new-and-improved degree of character.
Charlotte Observer: Michael Jordan has rich friends, such as Tiger Woods. Naturally, he offers them minority interest in his professional basketball team, the Charlotte Bobcats. Obviously, they decline (scroll to the bottom).
DIME: “So, what did you do today?” “Uh, not much, man… went to the store, hit up the gym, dunked on an NBA player…” “HOLD UP, you did WHAT?!“ “Yeah, man… Jerry Stackhouse!” “oh.”
Twitter: Team USA poses with Ludacris. A moment prior to taking the photo, Luda told Kevin Durant to “move, bitch” so that everyone would be in the frame. Durant didn’t take kindly to the rapper’s demand, muttering “munchkin” as LeBron James dragged him into the picture.
IAMAGM: If Carmelo Anthony ever lost a game of one on one, he doesn’t remember.
