Knicks' GM Trades 7th Pick for Ping-Pong Ball
New York Knicks GM Scott Layden took what he believes to be one large step toward making his team more competitive, trading away the Knicks' seventh pick plus future considerations to the Houston Rockets in return for one of the ping-pong balls used in the Draft Lottery.

"It's so pretty," noted Layden, admiring his latest acquisition. He then proceeded to test its integrity by biting on the ball, bouncing it off the floor, and spinning it on his finger tip. "We've found the great white hope," he could be heard whispering to someone on his cell phone.

According to sources close to the GM's thinking, Layden is insane and has never had any basketball knowledge. "Scott's a very instinctive person," noted one member of the team brass. "An idea pops into his head, and he acts immediately, regardless of how stupid it is. We're not allowed to question things – that's how we got 5 point guards and 5 useless small forwards on our team last year. We might as well have a chimp in an Armani suit making the decisions."

Posted by K-Cebo at 10:29:13 PM

For Knicks fans it can get worse
From Marc Stein on ESPN.com:

New York, meanwhile, still seeks a center, and Scott Layden is said to have some interest in yet another Utahn for his collection. That would be Jazz center Greg Ostertag, who's also in the final year of his contract.

From the Archive: Layden Trades 7th Pick for Ping-Pong Ball

Posted by K-Cebo at 6:08:16 PM

Jim Caple's All-underrated list
Here are some excerpts:

Underrated Hall of Famer: Stan Musial

His career average was .331. He hit 475 home runs. He drove in 1,951 runs and scored 1,949. And because he played his entire career in St. Louis instead of New York or Boston, it's as if he never played at all.

Underrated sports wife: Mrs. Kobe Bryant

What was Kobe thinking, anyway?

Posted by K-Cebo at 6:07:36 PM

Sometimes I get annoyed with the Yankees
Trading Brandon Claussen for Aaron Boone is a move they did not need to make. I could understand somewhat if they unloaded Claussen in a move that strengthened their increasingly shaky bullpen. Its not like the Yanks are having offensive woes right now. The future strength of their rotation is uncertain with Roger retiring and Wells getting old. I really don't like the fact they traded away one of their top ptiching prospects. Especially a lefty. I guess they figure they can get whatever pitchers they want through free agency which is basically true. If not it's like the 80's all over again. [NY Post]

Posted by K-Cebo at 6:10:30 PM

Yankees are greatest.
Philippe de Croy is debunking Slate article which posited that the Los Angeles Lakers are the greatest dynasty in professional sports.

Posted by K-Cebo at 10:12:35 PM

firelayden.com
I knew that there must be a firelayden.com site, and there is! start with
these 2 links. And there's a great article in the times too.

Posted by K-Cebo at 9:16:19 PM

Adios Raul
The Yanks now basically have an open spot in Right Field. I doubt one of the guys they will have platooning there will emerge as an everyday player. I wonder if they're making room for someone? Vlad next year perhaps?

Posted by K-Cebo at 6:40:17 AM

Worst Trade Ever?
Spree for KVH! Knicks are stupid.

Four-Team Deal Near Completion A four-team NBA trade has been agreed to, ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher reports. The Knicks would get Keith Van Horn from Philly and ship Latrell Sprewell to the Wolves. Terrell Brandon would go to the Hawks, while Glenn Robinson would land in Philly. The deal may not be finalized until Wednesday.

Q&A&R re the Sprewell Deal
Colossus: You're in NYC, is there anyone there who is actually excited about the Sprewell/Van Horn deal, or who thinks it was a good trade?

K-Cebo: Yeah, some co-workers felt it's teh best they can do considering the albatross that is Houston's current contract.

Colossus: Really? Are they commies or t-wolves fans?

Posted by K-Cebo at 4:55:27 PM

NJ Nets Fan Can't Wait to Boo Jason Kidd if He Leaves Next Year
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -- Mitchell Porcino, a lifelong New Jersey Nets fan, isn't going to hide his feelings as to the issue of superstar Jason Kidd's free agency. "Don't get me wrong, I'm one of the biggest Nets fans in the world," said Porcino, "but I can't wait to boo that son of a bitch if he gets up and leaves next season."

Posted by K-Cebo at 2:14:13 PM

No Offense as Defense Dictates
"We have definitely set back offensive basketball about 15 years, both teams," Popovich said. The teams are combining to average 84.75 points over the four games and shooting 39.7 percent. NYT

Posted by K-Cebo at 6:55:14 AM

Pride of the Devils By Yogi Berra
When people ask me what I think of the New Jersey Devils, I always say, I think they're pretty darn good. I don't think it matters that they play in a so-so arena near a highway. Or that they don't have big-name stars and get knocked for being in New Jersey. So they can't decide on a good place for a parade — so what? How many teams are raising another Stanley Cup?

I've been a fan of the Devils since they moved to New Jersey more than 20 years ago. I've seen them grow from a rinky-dink team to three-time Stanley Cup champions. Now people are making a fuss over a parade — to have it in the arena's parking lot like before, or somewhere else. I say, no parking lot. Just have the parade down Bloomfield Avenue, starting in Newark and passing through the towns where lots of Devils fans live. It's not Broadway, but you'd still get a lot of people who'd appreciate it.

Maybe a few more people should appreciate the Devils. The team gets criticized just for being good. A former Rangers coach said they're just a bunch of interchangeable parts. Well, I've always been a Rangers fan, too, and I wish they had more interchangeable parts. Good teams always have them — guys who play for the team, not for themselves, and the Devils typify teamwork at its best.

They remind me of the Yankees teams I played on during the late 1940's through the early 60's. We were a team of interchangeable parts. Casey Stengel, our manager, platooned guys all the time. In 1949, his first year, we had seven different first basemen. We had one player, Gil McDougald, who made the All-Star team at three different positions. Casey was known for being funny, but not with us. He could be pretty demanding. If you play, you better produce. If you don't play, tough. The team always came first.

That's how it is with the Devils. All the guys know their roles and don't try to be something they're not. Everyone contributes. It starts with Lou Lamoriello, the general manger. He knows what it takes to build a team and keep it running strong, a lot like the way our old Yankees general manager George Weiss did. They both put a lot into scouting, instruction and the farm system. Weiss got young guys to come up the Yankee way and traded them for older veterans to fit in. The Devils do it the same way.

One last thing about that parade: I don't remember being in one when I played for the Yankees. This is what I told the guys in the Devils practice center in West Orange, where I work out. They don't have big egos, so it's no big deal. The Devils are pretty darn good and that's not too bad.

Posted by K-Cebo at 10:54:56 PM

ESPN.com has an article on NBA Finals apparel counterfeiting. Darren Rovel who writes about the "sports business" for ESPN tells us that this year counterfeiters are choosing quality over quantity. I have a picture of me and my son in our Jason Kidd (wife-beater) jerseys, but I won't post it because he's breaking my heart with his selfish play -- every game it seems like he wants to take over instead of play his game. Jason - settle down and lets win this one for Jersey (and stop worrying about where you're playing next year). K-Mart is one bad mofo though ain't he? Disclaimer: I am from Jersey and once could afford Nets season tickets.

Posted by K-Cebo at 7:53:07 PM

The Trial of Sammy Sosa
by Charles P. Pierce via Slate

Posted by K-Cebo at 5:34:30 PM

Always wanted to be a sportscaster, didn't you
Well, now's your chance. CSTV: College Sports Television will be holding tryouts for sportscasters at New York's Chelsea Piers on July 23 at 9AM, and ultimately one person will win a guest on-air sport on CSTV's upcoming original programming, with a possibility of an ongoing presence on the network. Judge: Bonnie Bernstein and Al Trautwig, among others. To pre-register and guarantee an audition (must pre-register before July 9) and for more info, check out the website: www.cstv.com

Posted by K-Cebo at 4:31:00 PM

Gangs' new gear
As members adopt team uniforms as their own, authorities wonder if makers exploit the trend. The Star Ledger

Posted by K-Cebo at 4:29:33 PM

Bawling like Wade Boggs in '86 - Priceless


Posted by K-Cebo at 6:14:55 AM

Congress cries foul over possible ACC move
WASHINGTON -- Nine U.S. Senators from the home states of the other Big East schools wrote to the leaders of Miami, Boston College and Syracuse on Wednesday in an effort to stop them from bolting to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The senators from West Virginia, Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania said the defection would devastate the Big East, erode the progress its schools have made in women's sports and "send a troubling message to student-athletes across America." [more]

Posted by K-Cebo at 8:06:59 AM

Tyson: 'I Really Do Want to Rape Her'
Mike Tyson hasn't lost his penchant for saying the outrageous. In a television interview scheduled for broadcast Thursday, Tyson again denied he raped Washington in 1991. But he said the burden of being labeled a convicted rapist makes him want to do it now. "I just hate her guts. She put me in that state, where I don't know," Tyson said. "I really wish I did now. But now I really do want to rape her."

See also In Defense of Iron Mike: What is it that fascinates us about Mike Tyson? The man is obviously in need of psychological help of some kind. Most people needing that kind of help arouse our pity, or, if they’re prone to violence, our contempt. So then what is it that keeps some of us rooting for Mike Tyson?

Posted by K-Cebo at 7:14:56 AM

Idiot Sports Writers
Why Kidd Should be MVP: K-Cebo Satashi lashes out at those that would select Tim Duncan over Jason Kidd for league MVP and explains why Kidd is more deserving.

Posted by K-Cebo at 12:28:08 AM

Always wanted to be a sportscaster, didn't you
Well, now's your chance. CSTV: College Sports Television will be holding tryouts for sportscasters at New York's Chelsea Piers on July 23 at 9AM, and ultimately one person will win a guest on-air sport on CSTV's upcoming original programming, with a possibility of an ongoing presence on the network. Judge: Bonnie Bernstein and Al Trautwig, among others. To pre-register and guarantee an audition (must pre-register before July 9) and for more info, check out the website: www.cstv.com.

Posted by K-Cebo at 12:02:05 AM

Press Clippings
I guess since I haven't checked the referrer logs since August 2002, I never noticed this article by Tom Hoffarth in the L.A. Daily News, published January 26, 2003 Who's in your Internet rolodex?.

Twisted Fans: Lots of stuff that could be funny but sometimes misses the mark. Includes the opportunity to purchase a thong with the phrase "The World's Funniest Athletic Supporters" for $9.99.

Posted by K-Cebo at 10:17:54 PM

Is the NBA in favor of whiteys from overseas?
Dan McGraw analyzes the league's international and corporate comfort levels. Euro: New Currency of the NBA

Posted by K-Cebo at 4:57:19 PM

Meadowlands Could Make History
No, they haven't unearthed Hoffa's body yet. Rarely in the history of sports has an arena hosted both the NBA finals and Stanley Cup in the same year. The last time it happened was in 1994 when MSG hosted the Rangers (winners) and the Knicks (lost to Houston Rockets in 7) and again in 1980 Philly had both losers. Now guess when an arena had teams that won both championships in the same year? Never. Could the Meadowlands Arena be the new sports mecca? [thanks to damhor for doing the research]

Posted by K-Cebo at 7:17:12 AM

JVG on the Spurs Championship Banner
"Every time I come in this arena I want to climb up the rafters and tear that thing down."

Posted by K-Cebo at 6:18:24 AM

Iraqi Hoopsters Recall Glory Days
In the postwar scramble for power in Iraq, Munther Ali Shnawa has an unusual agenda. He's fighting to restore the nation's basketball team, once a powerhouse of hoop talent in the Middle East. [wsj]

Posted by K-Cebo at 5:58:09 AM

You can't fcuk with Phil Jackson
The effects of moving Shaq into the high post in the triangle offense have been obvious. Return of the living dead in L.A. Hold on, there's more: "Why were there so many offensive fouls called on Shaq down in San Antonio?" the coach asks. "Because the NBA is not going to let Shaq kick Tim Duncan's butt. No sir, the NBA absolutely has a stake in their double-MVP outplaying Shaq. If Shaq destroys Duncan, then the MVP award doesn't count for diddly." And it still doesn't. Kidd deserved it last year (I don't remember Timmy in the finals) and KG deserved it this year (Timmy ain't making it past Shaqfu either).

Posted by K-Cebo at 6:09:25 AM