NBA

The NBA seems committed to completely destroying what is already a meaningless event in its All-Star Game. Like the other three big leagues, the NBA tries to make it into a big party and surround it with a bunch of nonsense. The latest is a game of H-O-R-S-E that will be played between Kevin Durant, […]

I was at the Wachovia-soon-to-be-Wells-Fargo Center for the 76ers-Knicks game tonight, as was Jimmy Rollins of the 2008 World Series Champion Phillies. (No, not together — he sat courtside while I was, well, not.) With so many people in the sports complex for the finish of the Phillies' parade, the 76ers came up with a […]

It's now official: the Seattle SuperSonics will move to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 NBA season. A settlement between team owner Clay Bennett and the city was reached, which ends the city's lawsuit attempting to keep the team in Seattle until the team's lease with KeyArena ran out after the 2009-10 season. A judge was […]

The New York Knicks, in the first round of the NBA Draft, selected Italian star forward Danilo Gallinari. Of course, being in New York, he was promptly booed when his name was called Thursday. What’s amusing is that Gallinari’s nickname is “Il Gallo,”or the cock (rooster, not what you were thinking), which has prompted the […]

I did not watch a second of Game 6 of the NBA Finals, but recorded it. After seeing that the Boston Celtics crushed the Los Angeles Lakers, 131-92, I figured I just saved myself two-plus hours. The Celtics won the series, 4-2, and the 39-point margin is the largest ever in a series-clinching NBA Finals […]

As the NBA Finals continue, it’s a good time to remember the 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers, the last pro team from the sports-crazy city to win a title (Joe Guckin did a great job chronicling the city’s sports woes the past 25 years). A whole generation of Philly sports fans have grown up without ever having […]

Twenty-one years after the last time Bird and Magic met in the NBA Finals, the green and yellow will meet in the Finals. It’s been talked about since mid-season when the Lakers got Gasol and they started streaking. One of the things I find nice is that, because these two teams haven’t been there against […]

The San Antonio Spurs beat the New Orleans Hornets, 81-72, to win on the road in Game 7 of their NBA playoff series. It was only the third win by a road win in 25 conference semifinal games. The star of the game was the uber-hot Manu Ginobli (right), who had 26 points for the […]

This year’s NBA playoffs have lacked the drama of the past few years. It’s not that bad basketball is being played (LeBron James’ dunk against the Celtics on Monday was major highlight material). Rather, one need only look at what team is wearing white and you can figure out who will win. Through 16 games […]

The Detroit Pistons finished off their NBA first-round playoff series with a 100-77 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers tonight. The Pistons won the series in 6 games, but it was really two series in one. Most observers expected the Pistons to win in no more than 5 games. However, the Sixers shocked everyone by not […]

It never gets tiring watching Al Horford play basketball. And these day, it’s pretty exciting to watch him and the Atlanta Hawks on the court. The team that most everyone thought would be swept by the Boston Celtics in this first round series upset the Green Machine on Monday, amazingly sending the series back north […]

I got to watch three NBA Playoff games tonight, and I have to agree with something Jim said a few days back: The NBA Playoffs, for some reason, are so good. Watching the Sixers dismantle the Pistons was fun, but not nearly as fun as meeting up with Joe in Philly and Canmark right afterward […]

The Los Angeles Lakers began the regular season with Kobe Bryant demanding a trade and ended it with the best record in the Western Conference and top seed in the playoffs that start Friday. The Lakers’ resurgence was steady all season but went into overdrive when they traded for (stole?) center Pau Gasol from Memphis; […]

In a way, it was business as usual for Allen Iverson. In his first game in Philadelphia since being traded to Denver in late 2006, the Wachovia Center was full, Iverson was greeted with a long, loud standing ovation in the pregame introductions, and he led all scorers with 32 points. Oh, and his team […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are 18-28. They're a game and a half (two games in the loss column) out of the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. It's amazing that the East is so competitive the East really, really sucks — worse than even the most horrendous American Idol contestants. — Joe Guckin […]

Last month the Atlanta Hawks edged the Miami Heat in overtime, 117-111. However, the victory now doesn't count thanks to a screwup by the official scorer in Atlanta. With 3:42 left in the 4th quarter a foul was called on Miami's Udonis Haslem. However, the scorer recorded it as a foul on Shaquille O'Neal. So, […]

For most of us, losing our jobs around the holidays would be particularly difficult. It seems to be a trend in the world of professional sports, though. The NHL's Washington Capitals fired head coach Glen Hanlon on Thanksgiving. Just a month later, on Christmas Eve, the NBA's Chicago Bulls lowered the boom on coach Scott […]

Since I've been picking on the New Jersey Devils, it seems only fair to pick on my hometown as well. The announced attendance for tonight's Philadelphia 76ers home game against Charlotte was just 9,317, which is bad enough. The Associated Press game summary put the actual crowd at about 6,000. Without the drawing card of […]