LIN for the WIN!

Kobe Takes Manila; NBA Not Invited by Rafe Bartholomew

How the Philippines became the first stop on NBA players' lockout tour

Read the article here:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6812753/kobe-takes-manila-nba-not-invited

Hottest ticket ever.

photo from twitter.com/tonyatayde

Oh how I wish I could score just one ticket.

NBA Lockout FAQs

(source: http://sportige.com/the-nba-lockout-draws-nearer-as-owners-and-players-wait-for-tuesday/)

Frequently Asked Questions On NBA Lockout

By Steve Aschburner, NBA.com

Q. What happens in a lockout?

A. All contact between NBA players and the teams ceases. No communication. No use of team facilities. No contracts signed. No free-agent shopping. Players still owed salary for the 2010-11 season will continue to receive payments but other benefits (insurance) are suspended.

Q. What are the most important issues holding up a deal?

A. The NBA owners are seeking changes in both the financial split of league revenues dedicated to player compensation and the structure of the system. In the expiring collective bargaining agreement, players received 57 percent of basketball-related income. The owners - citing combined losses approaching $300 million last year, with 22 of 30 teams in the red - had offered a 50-50 split in their latest proposal. The owners also want to function under a "flex" salary cap that the players interpret as a hard cap similar to those in the NFL and NHL, as opposed to the current "soft" cap.

Q. How far apart are the two sides?

A. A chasm at the moment. Besides the dispute over cap structure, the players - whose latest offer was a 54.3 percent split to 45.7 for the teams - contend the owners' 10-year proposal would lose them about $7 billion over its term (allowing for projected growth in league revenues).

By the way, both sides traditionally take their most recent offers off the table once a work stoppage commences, so the above numbers might not be the starting points the next time the parties talk.

Q. When is the next negotiating session?

A. TBD. When the two sides broke off talks in July 1998, they did not meet again until early August - and then for only 90 minutes, without progress. The owners and the players did not exactly sequester themselves heading toward the June 30 deadline this year, with just three meetings - totaling about 12 hours - in the final two weeks.

Q. What does this mean for 2011-12?

A. There are no dates chiseled in stone by which a deal must be struck for next season to escape unscathed. But if history is a guide, a lockout in 1995 lasted 74 days - into September - without changes in preseason or regular season schedules. In 1998, the NBA cancelled preseason games once the lockout reached Sept. 24. On Oct. 13, the first two weeks of the regular schedule were zapped.

The league kept pushing about a month out in terms of cancellations, until NBA commissioner David Stern issued a Jan. 7 drop-dead date to stage even a 50-game game season. Free agency, training camps and two preseason games were crammed into a period of less than three weeks once the new agreement was ratified.

2011 NBA World Champions

Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks for winning the 2011 NBA Championhip!

To Dirk and J.Kidd, well-deserved!

Source of photo: NBA Facebook Fanpage

How about six rings from now?

After Pippen spoke "ill" of his former teammate MJ, the debate of MJ vs LeBron again spurred the basketball community. All of a sudden, LeBron is once again in the same breath of the GOAT. Some people say that after 2-3 years, LeBron will be at that level. Probably a title and another MVP on his resume. I'd beg to disagree. Why not compare LeBron against Kobe before anything else? LeBron can get all the accolades, awards and whatnot but I'd pick Kobe any day. So why elevate him to MJ's stature to begin with?

There is only one Greatest of All-Time - and that's Michael Jordan. Come back to me after LeBron has surpassed Larry Bird, Magic, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson - EVEN Scottie Pippen.

Better yet, how about six rings from now?

Heck, Darko Milicic has a ring. He doesn't. I'm not necessarily a hater - I just respect MJ.

NBA Playoffs Conference Semis

We are now down to eight teams fighting for the NBA championship and look we have a diverse set of matchups this year. We have a bunch of surprise teams coming into the second round. Who would have thought that Memphis, OKC and Atlanta would actually dominate their first round foes. Dallas, LA, Boston and Miami were technically locked into advancing to the second round this whole time while the Bulls - are still the owners of home-court advantage. Let's quickly break things down and see which of the following teams will make it to the Conference Finals.

(1) Bulls vs (5) Hawks

Well hello there Mr. Jameer "See you next round" Nelson. Looks like you'll be seeing D.Rose on TV rather than face-to-face on-court. The young guns from Atlanta just showed how a year makes a difference. Unfortunately, Kirk Hinrich may just miss this series and this means Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford may need to exert as much effort on defending MVP Derrick Rose. Chicago has a lot of weapons and defends so well. Chicago has proven to be more than just an all about DRose but a bonafide team under Thib's system. On the other hand, the Hawks just might figure this out.

This is a bold one. Hawks in 7.

(2) Heat vs (3) Celtics

It's the matchup that every single one of us expected. It's kind of funny how the Big Three of Miami somehow modeled their decision to play together to how the Big Three from Boston ended up in the same team. Now we'll see what they are made of. This is the third time that Lebron will be facing the C's in the playoffs but now he totally upgraded his sidekicks. I expect this series to be a classic one. Once again, Rondo will be expected to be the X-factor that will bring the C's over the top. As for the Heat, they'll need the rest of their team to win this. LeBron-Wade-Bosh can easily win it for the team when they score a large chunk of the points. If one of them bogs down, expect them to lose against these gritty veterans from Boston.

Celtics in 6.

(8) Memphis vs (4) OKC

This perhaps is the most improbably Conference semis matchup in the past decade. We can probably start getting used to this because I feel a lot of potential coming from these two teams. But then again, them meeting in the second round is a clear stamp that they want to be on top now. Memphis just thrashed the Spurs' bigs. OKC's Perkins-Ibaka tandem just might be the best 5-4 combination in the league, second to Bynum-Gasol. The bigs, to me, cancel each other out. We will be left with Durant-Sefolosha-Westbrook vs Young-Allen-Conley. Flat out mismatch. Don't forget, Durant leads the league in scoring.

Thunder in 6.

(2) Lakers vs (3) Mavericks

Both these teams are in very familiar territory. This heavyweight matchup seems like an interesting one but seriously, it's the Mavs who need to make it one. These Lakers have revealed a lot of damages to their armor but they still close things out. In veteran-team matchups like these, execution and heart is the key. I don't want to keep carrying on the fact that the Mavs have been in the playoffs for quite sometime now (say 10-12 years) but never won a chip. And no, they may not use the Caron-Butler-was-injured excuse and say, "we'll be back next year" should they lose. They need to win now or break things up. Unfortunately, it will be the player of the decade playing against them across the court.

Lakers in 5.

My Thoughts on the NBA Playoffs

It's that time of the year again when men start spending a lot of time on the couch in front of the television or the internet, watching, reading, or even listening to the NBA's version of March Madness. Only this time, it takes more than a month. Games are spaced out. Teams face each other at least 4 times. And a whole lot of drama.

It's that time of the year, that after 82 games of the regular season, the league is shrunk to just 16 teams and a moratorium of getting knocked out when you are beaten four times by your playoff rival. Seldom do you hear the words "it's just one game." because in this setting, it may be your last game of the season. Or in this year's case, last game before an improbable league lockout.

And as always, it's the most exciting part of the NBA season.

As with the type of hype it had for the past 5 or so years, this year's edition seems like it won't disappoint. The league has an open race for the championship. The western conference has always been up there as a tough tough division with the guys in purple and yellow labeled as default favorites - even if we all know that anybody can beat anybody. In the east, we have 4-5 LEGIT contenders - not just for the east crown, but for the chip as well - probably the deepest playoff cast in years.

Let's do a quick run down of the matchups:

EAST:

1 vs 8. Bulls vs Pacers

I like the heart and the youth of these Pacers. It's been a while since a team from Indiana made noise in the post-season. But this sub-.500 team who barely made the playoffs will just challenge these Bulls early on but won't even get a glimpse of a showdown with the winner of the Magic-Hawks series. Even if they make things interesting, it will only benefit the D.Rose-led Bulls. Remember the Celtics-Hawks series few years back?

Bulls in 5.

4 vs 5. Magic vs Hawks

This series is actually quite interesting. Remember last year when the Hawks looked primed to make a lot of noise in the second round? They were coming of a 50-win season but got exhausted versus the deers from Milwaukee. They got beaten down by the Magic badly that they didn't even contend! This year could be payback. With the Magic relying too heavily on Dwight, it could basically become a one-man team vs a formidable 5 from Georgia. We all know that superstars can win games for you but bonafide teams have better chances at winning a series.

Unless the rest of the Magic helps Dwight, Hawks in 7.

2 vs 7. Heat vs 76ers

The resurgence of the sixers may have been overlooked but Doug Collins may just win the Coach of the Year award. Elton Brand's leadership has been great for them but these boys from Philly are not yet primed for an upset. The Big Three from Florida won't even need to be at full force to beat these guys. This only serves as a warm up drill for Miami.

Heat in 4.

3 vs 6. Celtics vs Knicks

Again, another interesting matchup. It's two of the more popular franchises in the league. One of them, slowly going downhill after reaching it's peak these past few years and the other, yearning to get up there after 10 years of disappointment. The C's are back in the playoffs but are once again, unhealthy. With Perkins traded and Shaq not even on the floor, the C's need to stop making excuses and just will themselves back on top. I don't effin' care if you guys haven't lost a series with your old "starting five". Come on, that was 2 years ago. As for the Knicks, they'll need their own version of the Big Three to click with their not-so-deep team in order to make it seem like a 4 vs 5 series. I say we'll see this series go the distance.

Celtics in 7.

WEST

1 vs 8. Spurs vs Grizzlies

Finally, the Grizzlies are back in the playoffs with new and old faces. At the same time, the Spurs are back on top of the west with both new and old faces. It's kinda funny how these two teams have changed in the past year. Who expected them to be facing each other at 1 and 8? Nevertheless, as in the west, the first and the eight seed have less separation compared to the east. Eight seeds in the west can actually contend in the east. The Grizzlies are legit playoff contenders but aren't the type of guys who can pull off an upset against a championship-caliber team.

Spurs in 6.

4 vs 5. Thunder vs Nuggets

Another surprise matchup. Who would have thought the Nuggets would be in this position late in the season? This is actually a very typical 4 vs 5 matchup. Both young and up and coming teams trying to get over the hump. Both teams are legit teams but the only difference is that the Thunder has also has a legit star. Throw Westbrook in and you have two all-stars on one-side of the matchup. Unless K-Mart gets J.Kidd to play along side him and bring back their glory days, these Nuggets has nobody who can dominate and probably close out games.

Thunder in 6.

2 vs 7. Lakers vs Hornets

They say Lakers got the best draw here. With the Blazers, Hornets and the Grizzlies rounding out the west playoff picture, we all know the Lakers matchup best against the Hornets. But then again, the boys from the Big Easy has CP3 - another quick guard which the Lakers may have a hard time guarding. With DFish manning the point, looks like it will be another tough grind for the defending champions. But then again, the Lakers always adjusted and actually never lost a series against these so-called "quick guards". Westbrook? DWill? Nash? Brooks? - all of their teams were beaten in 7 games or less.

Lakers in 6.

3 vs 6. Mavericks vs Blazers

Some people say that the Blazers actually have a chance against these Mavs. They do but I think they're not deep enough to beat this team from Texas. I still do think these Mavs haven't proven anything. I want to see them make some noise against the Lakers. If not, I think they should start thinking if Dirk really is the guy they want to build their franchise around. I'm getting too used to hearing the Mavs lose in the playoffs.

Mavs in 5.

Javale Mcgeeeee!

This has got to be the block of the year! Waaay better than Lebron's chase down.

Just disrespectful.

Talk about massive hops. Blake Griffin is a BEAST! First Mosgov, then Gortat. Who's next?

Fab Five Documentary

I didn't really grow up watching and being a fan of the fabled "Fab Five" of the University of Michigan but I grew up appreciating what they started. I grew up loving the game of basketball at a phase when black shoes, black socks, long shorts and bald heads were the in thing. It was a phase that the "Fab Five" jumpstarted by being so popular in the NCAA.

I remember playing NBA Live via SEGA and my brother and I used to form teams that represented the alma mater of each NBA player - and thus I discovered the Fab Five. They weren't complete but hey, that was one heck of a line-up.

Here's part 1 of 5 of the Documentary. You can move on to the other parts by clicking on some related videos. Enjoy! :)

Friday NBA Triple Header

NBA

LA Lakers @ Miami - Live on BTV at 8am

New York @ Dallas - Live on BTV at 1030am

Denver @ Phoenix

PBA

Talk n' text Tropang Texters vs Meralco Bolts

Powerade Tigers vs Brgy. Ginebra Kings

Good news. Bad news. NBA Thursday Recap

As if Melo's first game-winning shot wasn't enough, the NBA went up and down with so many headlines for thursday.

Good news: Chicago beat Charlotte - closing in on the Celtics' hold of the Eastern Conference top seed.

Bad news: Carlos Boozer went down with an injury because of a meaningless flagrant foul by the ultimate black sheep of the NBA - Kwame Brown.

Bad news: The Celtics lost at home against a sub-.500 team.

Good news: They lost against an up-and-coming team: the LA Clippers.

Good news: Kevin Love passed Moses Malone for the double-double streak record with his 52nd.

Bad news: The Timberwolves still suck.

Bad news: Chris Paul is still out and didn't play against the Mavs today.

Good news: Jarrett Jack won the game for them.

REALLY GOOD NEWS: Heat vs Lakers March 11! :)

All that and more: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba

Ballgame!

Hope to see more of this from the Knicks!

Loaded NBA Thursday - March 10

NBA

Golden State @ New Jersey

Utah @ Toronto

Chicago @ Charlotte

Oklahoma City @ Philadelphia - Live on BTV at 8am

LA Clippers @ Boston

Indiana @ Minnesota

Cleveland @ Milwaukee

New York @ Memphis

Dallas @ New Orleans

Detroit @ San Antonio

Orlando @ Sacramento - Live on BTV at 10am

March 9 Highlights

The NBA had a total of six games today but all eyes were on either the Heat or the Lakers. No surprise there. These two teams have been getting a lot of attention all season long. Unfortunately, at this point, the Heat and the Lakers are at way different ends of a string.

The Miami Heat just lost their fifth straight game, six of eight since the all-star game, thanks to the Portland Trailblazers. It was a close game and Miami looks like they're having a hard time closing out games like these. It's been really tough for Miami's big three to carry the load these past few games. Imagine facing the Knicks, Magic, Spurs, Chicago and the Blazers consecutively. The sad thing about these losses? All except for the Spurs game were decided by less than 10 points (three of them by less than 5). Against the Spurs, they were blown out by 30 - which all the more makes this losing streak so disappointing. There were even news that players were in tears after that game against D.Rose and the Bulls. I wouldn't be surprised if they got all emotional after that tough loss. Heck, expectations were really high. But they cried? I don't want to go down that road. Hah!

The worse thing? The Lakers are coming over.

The Lakeshow's been unstoppable since the All-Star break - winning eight games in a row. Just when we thought that the Lakers may have lost it before the All-Star break, when they lost three disappointing games in a row (which happens to the Lakers once in a blue moon), the big boys from L.A. have really stuck it into high gear. As Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant would say it, they're all in the same page right now. Well I think the key this recent surge has been Andrew Bynum's presence - especially on defense. And as they say, defense wins championships.

In other news, the PBA featured two games today and one of them involved the Philippine National team - Smart Gilas Pilipinas being pitted against the Air 21 Express. Since the news broke out that Gilas will be playing in the PBA, there's been a lot of buzz about the national team - the most since it's inception two years ago. This marked the first time Gilas playing regularly on national television. And after three games, Gilas has definitely lived up to the hype, coming out still unbeaten. Yes, Gilas has a naturalized 6'10 Marcus Douthit - which some people claim as an unfair advantage. But hey, we have a number of locals too who are 6'9 or 6'10 in Asi Taulava, Sonny Thoss, Mick Pennisi, and a few more. Besides, the imports from other teams have a 6'4 height limit. This means, imports are expected to play wing positions rather than play as bigs.

I hear that Gilas has been playing so smooth that the two-year old program has been reaping fruits. I'm a big fan and I really follow their games. I hope they win a lot of games so they can get great support and following when they take on teams from other countries.

I read from Noli Eala's tweets that Gilas has definitely gained a following from Pinoy fans and PBA has benefited from this as well. Well said.

March 9 games

NBA

LA Lakers @ Atlanta

Golden State @ Cleveland

Philadelphia @ Indiana

Milwaukee @ Washington

Portland @ Miami (BTV - live at 8:30am)

Houston @ Phoenix

PBA

Smart-Gilas Pilipinas vs Air 21 Express (BTV - delayed telecast 11pm)

Alaska Aces vs San Miguel Beermen