Author: clay

Categories
New York Knicks

You better be able to move like a cat if you wanna rob Eddy Curry’s crib


Eddy Curry was robbed at gunpoint in his Chicago home back in July and he hasn’t been back yet. However, with the Knicks paying a visit to the Windy City for a game against his former squad, Curry has decided to revisit the scene of the scary crime.

It’s not too often that you see a 6-11, 285-pounder with more tattoos than a lifer in the penitentiary tuck tail and run, but nobody is blaming Curry for doing exactly that. Immediately following the holdup, Curry moved everything out of the house with no plans of every returning. But in the months following, his stance has softened and he now plans to keep the house and even has plans to move his family back into the home during the upcoming offseason. Of course, it’s not going to be the exact same home as before.

Curry plans a massive security overhaul when his family moves their stuff back in this offseason.

“We’ll be better prepared with safe rooms, alarms, spotlights,” said Curry, the Chicago native who spent the rest of the offseason in New York. “We’ll go over the top with the security.”

Curry was robbed of money and jewels. Though two perpetrators were arrested, Curry said, “I haven’t got any of my stuff back.” Curry said Burr Ridge is a ritzy neighborhood.

“Not a house over there under $5 million,” Curry said.

Now, we don’t know a whole lot about home security, but if you’ve ever seen Entrapment then we’re guessing his system is going to be somewhere along those lines.

Links:

[NYPost.com]: Curry Plans To Revisit Scene of `Nightmare’

Categories
Boston Red Sox

SlumpBuster: same great taste, but now with extra sexism


Resorting to a “slump buster” isn’t exactly the highpoint of any major leaguer’s career, but, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do in order to get on the winning side of things. Well, Kevin Youkilis is hoping that SlumpBusters becomes the hottest trend in all of sports. Of course, we are talking about Youkilis’ new energy drink cleverly titled “SlumpBuster” and in no way are we referring to the association between baseball players and easy, overweight women. At least, that’s what his agent says.

Unfortunately, like many common sayings, the `slumpbuster’ term can also be twisted to having negative connotations,” said Youk’s agent, Joe Bick of Pro Star Management, in an e-mail. “That would be incorrect in this particular case, and not something Kevin would condone or wish to be associated with. In this particular case, the term should be taken in only the traditional sports sense.”

And that, he contends, is “a commonly used sports expression to describe either a player who does something to break his team’s losing streak, or changing certain routines to break a personal batting slump.

Looks like someone forgot to inform the marketing department about which meaning the drink was utilizing because they seem to have gone with the more unflattering end of the double entendre. Of course, we could be totally misreading the picture of the thick-legged, pantless, large-breasted woman wearing nothing but a jersey that graces the can too.

By the way, has anyone heard about the status of LeBron James’ new energy drink “Hardwood’s Deep Penetration”?

Links:

[AdFreak]: Slump Buster energy drink leaves bad taste
[Bostonist.com]: Youk’s Rep to Track Girls: SlumpBuster’s Clean As A Whistle

Categories
All Other Sports

Beer pong has become an epidemic on campuses across America

The college years are probably the best years of your life. You hear it all the time, but it’s not until after you leave the world of higher learning that you realize just how true it is. So much growing goes on between freshman and senior year that few kids remain unchanged after their experience. We say “few” because while most of America’s best and brightest are deeply entrenched in studies to become world class doctors, lawyers, politicians and businessmen, others are working out the mathematical equations for that illusively perfect beer pong shot.

Categories
Portland Trailblazers

Around the Rim: Portland pride shines


1. Still going
The Portland Trail Blazers hit a little bump in the road after winning 13 consecutive games when the Utah Jazz snapped the streak with a 111-101 victory in Salt Lake City on New Year’s Eve. But the Blazers took the loss in stride and bounced back with two victories in two days, the most recent being a double-overtime affair against Chicago. The Bulls owned a seven-point advantage at the half, but Portland got big plays from Brandon Roy (25 pts, 11 ast), Jarrett Jack (17 pts) and Travis Outlaw (21 pts) down the stretch, winning by six, 115-109, after ten extra minutes of play. Ben Gordon put up 32 points off the bench for Chicago and Joe Smith put up a season-high 31 points, but it wasn’t enough for the hapless Bulls. Next up for the Blazers are those pesky Jazz. Saturday night’s contest will be the fourth and final game between the Northwest Division rivals with each of the previous three being decided by 10 points or less.

2. Best in the West

Amare Stoudemire had another gigantic game for Phoenix, scoring 34 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the Suns 104-96 victory over Seattle. The byproduct of Stoudemire’s All-Star caliber performances is Phoenix now owns the top record in the Western Conference (23-9). Surprisingly, the game against one of the West’s worst wasn’t an easy one for the conference’s new kings of the court; at least, not at first. Phoenix fell down by 20 points to start the game, trailing 33-13 after the first quarter, but rallied to outscore the Sonics 91-63 over the final 36 minutes for the victory. In addition to Stoudemire’s nasty numbers, Shawn Marion had 11 points and 14 rebounds while Steve Nash finished with 17 points and 10 assists. On the bright side for Seattle, rookie Kevin Durant took the reigns offensively, finishing with a team-high 28 points on 11-of-24 shooting to go with seven rebounds, after missing most of the previous two games with an injured finger.

3. K-Mart’s Blue Light Special: blocks
The Nuggets are a completely different team when Kenyon Martin is healthy and it showed on Thursday when Denver defeated San Antonio 80-77. K-Mart finished with just four points and seven rebounds, but took over the game defensively by swatting a career-high seven shots in the contest. Marcus Camby had four blocks to go with 18 rebounds as the Nuggets won the battles on the glass (48-35) and in blocks (14-3). Allen Iverson led the way offensively, scoring 29 points while Carmelo Anthony finished with 17 and nine rebounds. San Antonio got solid numbers from Tim Duncan (20 pts, 14 reb), Tony Parker (20 pts, 9 ast) and Michael Finley (18 pts, 8 reb), but lost their fourth consecutive road game since winning at Minnesota on November 30.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Brandon Roy @ Chicago 49 min, 25 pts (FG: 7-15, 3FG: 1-2, FT: 10-11), 6 reb, 11 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk

Friday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (25-7) @ Toronto (17-15)
Say what you will about the Celtics or the Trail Blazers, but our vote for hottest team in the league goes to the Pistons who have won 10 in a row and 17 of their last 19 games. In that span, 15 victories were by at least 10 points. The Raptors are playing their first game of the new year after wrapping up 2007 with a seven-game road trip, producing just three victories. The good news for Toronto is that Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon are playing outta their minds right now. Over the previous five contests, Bosh is averaging 25.2 points and 10.8 rebounds while Calderon is filling in for the injured T.J. Ford quite nicely with 14.4 points, 4.8 boards and 9.4 assists per game.

Buzzer Beater: The third installment of returns for the NBA All-Star voting was released on Thursday and Chris Bosh is not going to be a happy camper. Luckily for “W.”, voting continues through Jan. 13 for paper balloting and up until Jan. 20 for ballots cast on NBA.com.

2008 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Kevin Garnett (Bos) 1,527,963; LeBron James (Clev) 1,294,019; Chris Bosh (Tor) 411,313; Paul Pierce (Bos) 352,243; Yi Jianlian (Mil) 291,447; Caron Butler (Was) 187,396; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 172,720; Tayshaun Prince (Det) 155,502; Josh Smith (Atl) 143,518; Rashard Lewis (Orl) 143,118.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 1,019,582; Jason Kidd (NJ) 743,683; Ray Allen (Bos) 617,123; Vince Carter (NJ) 612,543; Gilbert Arenas (Was) 511,763; Chauncey Billups (Det) 331,872; Michael Redd (Mil) 221,777; Richard Hamilton (Det) 163,250; Joe Johnson (Atl) 149,367; Andre Iguodala (Phi) 140, 292.

Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 1,260,987; Shaquille O’Neal (Mia) 609,597; Rasheed Wallace (Det) 162,792; Ben Wallace (Chi) 146,332; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 132,469; Jermaine O’Neal (Ind) 120,690; Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Clev) 77,350; Emeka Okafor (Cha) 74,269; Zaza Pachulia (Atl) 58,430; Eddy Curry (NY) 53,084.

2008 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Tim Duncan (SA) 1,049,641; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 1,029,335; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 830,970; Carlos Boozer (Utah) 347,899; Shane Battier (Hou) 297,672; Shawn Marion (Pho) 296,917; Josh Howard (Dal) 285,580; Luis Scola (Hou) 279,970; Kevin Durant (Sea) 242,953; Grant Hill (Pho) 209,057.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,234,111; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 809,395; Allen Iverson (Den) 694,611; Steve Nash (Pho) 684,813; Manu Ginobili (SA) 360,408; Tony Parker (SA) 316,541; Chris Paul (NO) 261,169; Baron Davis (GS) 247,187; Jason Terry (Dal) 218,052; Jerry Stackhouse (Dal) 192,017.

Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 1,077,244; Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 583,249; Marcus Camby (Den) 221,527; Erick Dampier (Dal) 184,689; Pau Gasol (Mem) 139,254; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 112,434; Tyson Chandler (NO) 98,424; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 93,043; Chris Kaman (LAC) 83,516; Andris Biedrins (GS) 81,611.

Categories
College Football

Ryan Mallett’s mom says don’t believe the hype


Now that Lloyd Carr is retired and the excitement surrounding his final bowl game has died, the Michigan football program can finally return to normal. Well, maybe not. After all, now it’s time to talk transition, as in transitioning into the Rich Rodriguez era; an era Ryan Mallett probably wishes wouldn’t have started.

Mallett is now at the center of a quarterback controversy nine months before the 2008 season gets underway. Rodriguez is expected to bring his mobile QB system that helped make Pat White a Heisman hopeful to the blue and maize and is reportedly actively recruiting Terrelle Pryor, who many consider to be the next Vince Young. The uncertainty has many speculating that Mallet is contemplating jumping ship, heading for greener pastures where he can be the undisputed starter. Of course, if you really want to know what is going on in Mallett’s head then you can’t trust a stinkin’ newspaper or website. You gotta ask Mallett himself, or at least his mom.

No decision has been made,” Debbie Mallett said Thursday night of her son, the freshman quarterback — currently — at Michigan.

“Everybody thinks they know what Ryan’s doing. But Ryan has not made a decision yet. All these sources? They never came from anyone here.”

“He could be at UCLA, he could be somewhere else, he could be at Michigan,” she said. “But when I talked to him (Wednesday) night, he hadn’t made any decisions.”

While she continues to field phone calls from every interested party — her daughter even called Thursday — she’s amazed at the interest.

“He’s not a cure for cancer,” she said of the thousands of fans across the country discussing her son.

Debbie also expects she’ll hear before a reporter or a message board poster — at least she hopes.

“Ryan is my baby,” she said. “I can’t believe he’d call all those people before he tells me. If he does …

We gotta give it to Mark Snyder for having the nuts to write a story about a quarterback and his mom. After all, we all remember what happened the last time someone wrote about a mother and her son, right? Does “Come after me, I’m a man!” ring a bell with anyone?

Links:

[Freep.com]: INDECISION ’08: Ryan Mallett’s mom nixes reports about son’s transfer to UCLA

Categories
New York Knicks

Sing along as Isiah Thomas is loathed in song

Humongous props to Ryan Parker Songs for putting together this awesome ditty about Isiah Thomas’ ineptitude. If you ask us, this song has everything necessary to become the next big sensation to sweep the nation, taking over radio stations from coast to coast. Now, we’re no music critics, but we have to admit we have an ear for these types of things. After all, we were listening to “Who Let The Dogs Out?” and “Mambo No. 5” for months before they became favorites in the hearts of all Americans. So, without further ado, we give to you “The Isiah Thomas 25 Year Rebuilding Plan”:

I used to think Isiah was just lazy,
Or just a guy who’s had some rotten luck,
But now it’s clear he’s clinically crazy,
So I can say it’s obvious he sucks,

Cause he says the Knicks are going to win a title,
And he’s going to leave a lasting legacy,
But he’s missing some components that are vital,
Like players who will play for more than me,

Isiah must be suffering from some form of dyslexia,
That’s causing him to read the scoreboard wrong,
He must think New York is winning while they’re always getting crushed,
And his championship plan is going strong,
Spike Lee and Chris Rock can afford to waste their money,
But what about the average New York fan,
Everybody but James Dolan seems to think it isn’t funny,
While they’re watching the Isiah Thomas 25 year rebuilding plan,

Isiah says he wants to leave a blueprint,
To show teams in the future how to play,
But one day our kids will ask us where the Knicks went,
And we’ll say Isiah took the team away,

Now I won’t question who is on the court or starting,
Cause I’m quite sure I’ve already said enough,
To merit an ejection from the Garden,
Where free speech is all that’s getting stuffed,

Isiah must be suffering from some form of dyslexia,
That’s causing him to read the scoreboard wrong,
He must think New York is winning while they’re always getting crushed,
And his championship plan is going strong,
Spike Lee and Chris Rock can afford to waste their money,
But what about the average New York fan,
Everybody but James Dolan seems to think it isn’t funny,
While they’re watching the Isiah Thomas 25 year rebuilding plan …

Links:

[Ryan Parker Songs]: The Isiah Thomas 25 Year Rebuilding Plan

Categories
All Other Sports

12-year-old boy has one helluva whale shark of a tale


When man and wild animals cross paths, the results can often be tragic for the humans. However, sometimes the odds are simply stacked against the beasts and that’s when amazing things can happen for man, or should we say boy.

On New Year’s Day, 12-year-old Aidan Murray Medley was fishing off the coast of Florida with his family when he snagged a 551-pound bull shark. After a 45-minute battle with the nine-foot-long behemoth, Medley finally reeled in the monster that weighed a full 431 pounds more than he did.

When you have a shark on the line, it’s completely painful,” said Aidan, who said he lost feeling in his body after about 20 minutes of having the shark on his line.

The shark’s size set a new state record for the largest fish ever caught in Florida with the old record being set by a 517-pound shark that was hauled in back in 1981.

So what’s a 12-year-old to do with a shark that weighs 300 pounds more than him? Medley says he plans on having the shark stuffed and mounted on the wall of his boarding school in Greenwich.

Links:

[WCBSTV.com]: Conn. Boy, 12, Catches 551-Pound Bull Shark
[SPTimes.com]: Boy’s shark tale weighs 551 pounds

Categories
Fantasy Football

Do you know the terms of your fantasy football loan?

Anybody who has ever played fantasy football knows that being a virtual GM can be downright expensive. Rookie owners often think they just have to throw in their share of the pot and that’s that, but the grizzled veterans of the game know there is a ton of overhead associated with being a competitive fantasy franchise. Thankfully there are the good people at Frist National Bank.

Categories
NFL General

Touchdown celebrations just aren’t what they used to be

2007 was definitely a down year for clever touchdown celebrations in the National Football League, we mean the No Fun League. Chad Johnson tried his best to get the year off to a good start, but, unfortunately, donning a “Future Hall of Famer” jacket was both the highlight and lowlight of end zone elation this season. So, we’re going to go fire up the `way back’ machine and bring you a classic football celebration to make up for this year’s lack of luster. It’s not Johnson’s Irish jig, Steve Smith’s boat ride or pole slide, Terrell Owens’ Sharpie or even Gus Frerotte’s head-butt. Nope, this celebration is much nuttier than any of those.

Categories
Boston Celtics

Around the Rim: Kevin Garnett carries his club into the record books


1. Big Three hit the big two-seven

Kevin Garnett needed four stitches to close a gash over his right eye sustained against the Lakers on Sunday, but the cut wasn’t enough to stop the Big Ticket from punching Boston’s ticket into history. Scoring 11 of his 26 points in the final seven minutes, Garnett lifted Boston to their 27th win of the season in just 30 games with a 97-93 victory over Houston. The 27-3 mark matches five other squads, including the 1995-96 Bulls that went 72-10, as the only teams to accomplish the feat. The Rockets sorely missed their leading scorer down the stretch as Tracy McGrady missed his fourth consecutive game with an injury to his left a knee. Unfortunately, McGrady is expected to miss about three weeks with a “deep bone bruise,” leaving Houston rapidly sliding down the standings out West.

2. On again, off again

The Orlando Magic looked poised to join Boston, Detroit and Cleveland as one of the Eastern Conference’s elite teams after they rushed out to a 14-3 start. But as quickly as they rose to contender status, they quickly rejoined the mass of mediocrity by dropping eight of their next 12, and just when the Magic men looked to be climbing back to their feet, putting together a four-game winning streak, the Nets come to town and demoralize Orlando with a fourth quarter knockout. New Jersey trailed by 10 points after 36 minutes, but outscored Orlando 30-18 in the final period and squeaked out a 96-95 victory. Dwight Howard scored 13 points in the loss, marking the fourth time in five games that the superstar has failed to reach 20 points.

3. LeBron-ckets red glare
LeBron James welcomed in the New Year by giving the Cleveland crowd of 20,562 in attendance his own version of a fireworks celebration. James went out of the first half against Atlanta like a lamb, scoring just four points, but he came roaring out of the locker room like a lion, guiding his cubs to a 98-94 win. LBJ continued to improve as the game went on, scoring 32 of his 36 points in the second half with 19 coming in the fourth quarter and 12 coming in the last 1:50. The Cavs are still sitting two games under .500 (15-17) and are a full 10 games behind Detroit in the Central Division standings after the Pistons won their 10th consecutive game by dismantling the Wizards in D.C. by 13, 106-93. Detroit (25-7) has now won 17 of their last 19 games, climbing to within three games of Boston (27-3) for the league’s top record.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: John Salmons @ New York 43 min, 32 pts (FG: 13-18, 3FG: 1-2, FT: 5-5), 11 reb, 6 ast, 6 stl, 1 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: San Antonio (21-8) @ Denver (18-12)
Despite their recent struggles (5-5 in their last 10 games) and injuries, San Antonio is still sitting atop the Western Conference standings thanks to a rejuvenated Tim Duncan. Known for sacrificing his numbers in exchange for teammate’s productivity, Duncan has been single-handedly taking over games for the Spurs lately, averaging 19.6 points, 14.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game over his last five games. However, the Spurs are surprisingly soft on the road this year with a 5-6 record. The Nuggets are 12-5 at home where Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson both average 26.0 points per game. Marcus Camby (14.2 rpg, 3.66 bpg) draws the unappealing assignment of defending Duncan, but perhaps nobody is more prepared for the challenge than the league’s defending Mr. Defense.

Buzzer Beater: The game between the Timberwolves and the Trail Blazers was delayed for over half an hour on Wednesday night when a pair of gaps developed in the Target Center court. So, while the entire arena waited for a couple dollops of putty to harden in the floor, players and fans alike had plenty of time to complain about the delay.

Timberwolves forward Al Jefferson, for one, couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. He walked over to Blazers swingman Travis Outlaw, a fellow native of Mississippi, and said, “We’re from Mississippi man, we play on glass.

Eventually Portland would run all over Minnesota, winning 90-79 for their 14th victory in 15 contests.