Instant Replay in the NBA!!!

Yup, you heard me right, NBA refs will now use instant replay for altercations and flagrant fouls, starting this season. I didn't know that the NBA was in need of instant reply, but hopefully it stops some of the fishy calls. Here is the full story.


"NEW YORK -- NBA referees will be able to use instant replay to review altercations and some flagrant fouls starting this season.

The NBA Board of Governors voted last week to approve the changes recommended by the league's Competition Committee.

Officials will be allowed to use replay on the more severe type of flagrant foul, known as the penalty 2. Because a flagrant-2 results in an ejection, the committee ruled that reviewing such infractions was appropriate.

Referees also will be able to use replay after an altercation to ensure that no punches or other unsportsmanlike actions are missed in determining penalties. "

NBA player, Eddie Griffin Killed in Car Crash

What a sad story! I remember when Eddie Griffin was drafted and I thought he would be great! He had size, athleticism, and could shoot. But then.... his career went down the tubes and he started getting in trouble with the law. It is very sad that his public life probably contributed to many of his issues.

I remember meeting Eddie last year before a Mavs vs. Twolves game. He didn't smile once. When I asked a question, he just looked down and mumbled. I could tell something wasn't right. I truly hope this incident wasn't due to any drug use, as I always hoped and prayed Eddie would get better! His family are in my prayers.

Here is the story I found about the accident, on ESPN.com:

"HOUSTON, Aug. 21 (AP) -- Former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Eddie Griffin died last week when his sport utility vehicle collided with a freight train in a fiery crash, the Harris County medical examiner's office said Tuesday.

Investigators used dental records to identify Griffin, 25, who began his tumultuous pro career with the Houston Rockets in 2001. He was waived by the Timberwolves in March.

The five-year veteran, who was the No. 7 pick in the 2001 NBA draft, had battled alcohol problems since coming out of Seton Hall. Griffin was suspended by the league for five games in January for violating its anti-drug program.

Houston police said in a report that the driver of the SUV ignored a railroad warning and went through a barrier before striking the moving train about 1:30 a.m. Friday.

The driver's body was badly burned and there was no identification.

"I was able this afternoon to get some dental records from the one dentist he had gone to see in Houston, and they were able to use that apparently to positively identify him,'' said Derek S. Hollingsworth, an attorney who has represented Griffin in criminal cases.

Hollingsworth said he spoke with Griffin's mother, who was devastated by the news.

Griffin had a series of suspensions, court dates and missed practices during his first two years in the NBA with Houston and New Jersey. He spent time in the Betty Ford Center for alcohol treatment in 2003-04.

Hollingsworth said he found Griffin to be kind and gentle - behavior inconsistent with how the player was described in police reports.

"He had a problem with alcohol, and I think that was a medication for him, and I think that led to a lot of issues,'' Hollingsworth said.

Griffin, who played forward and center, signed with the Timberwolves as a free agent before the 2004 season. He showed enough promise as a shot-blocker and rebounder to be signed to an extension, but was waived in March after playing in just 13 games last season with the Wolves.

The Wolves put his locker right next to star Kevin Garnett, hoping the former MVP could help straighten Griffin out.

Griffin put up some big numbers on occasion with the Wolves, but continued to get into trouble off the court. He pleaded guilty last season to inattentive driving after he hit a parked car while out late one night in Minneapolis."

NBA Ref, Tim Donaghy, under investigation for betting on games!

"The FBI is investigating allegations that veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on basketball games over the past two seasons, including ones in which he officiated."

As a die hard NBA fan, I was really upset to see this article on Friday. I know that there are a lot of NBA fans and non-fans that are always criticizing the NBA and saying how they think it is rigged. The first thought that comes into my head is the 2005-2006 NBA Finals and all of the speculation that the calls that D Wade got were planned, to help the Heat win. Now, I am a Mavs fan, but I am not one of the fans that blammed anyone for rigging games! Yes, there were some fishy calls, but I can't bare to think there are actually rigged games...

SO, it really felt like a punch in the gut when I read this news. Not only did he possibly bet on games, he bet on games that he refed in! I don't want to count him guilty, but it is pretty suspicious that he quit the NBA and is already selling his home. There is even speculation that the Mob was involved.

I have a feeling it is true, but as an NBA fan, I REALLY hope it isn't!

Here is ESPN's Full Coverage on this breaking story!

BREAKING NEWS: Yi Jianlian will NOT play for the Milwaukee Bucks, says Chinese team!

Just hours after I wrote about my first impressions of Yi Jianlian in a post, I read this story on ESPN.com!

The Beijing, China news reported that Guangdong Tigers chief, Chen Haitao, has said that Yi Jianlian will "definitely not" play for the Milwaukee Bucks! He went on to say that "This is not, as media reports have said, because Milwaukee, as a city with very few Chinese people, is not good for Yi's commercial development. Rather we want to find a team suitable for Yi's growth. That's the root of the problem." Chen later said, "The national team and the Olympic Games are now our key considerations ... If Yi Jianlian goes to a team where he can't compete, that would be being irresponsible to the national team."... haha

What is this guy talking about? I watched the Chinese National team get WHOOPED by a bunch of 3rd and 4th string Summer League players! Does this guy really think keeping him in China will help him? Playing against the Bucks players in practice all season, would be better competition than he will get if the other teams he will play against look as bad as their national team did. Ya Ya, they didn't have Yao, but they got schooled by summer league teams AND our US under 19 years of age team!

They are simply making excuses the have him moved to another team... I say NBA teams just say, "forget about him!"... there are plenty of other good players out there.. I know the Bucks will get screwed, but if I were a team owner, I wouldn't want a guy on my team that will constantly have pressure put on me and my organization!

Yi Jianlian, Milwaukee Bucks number 6 pick, a flop, or a star?

About 2 weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go watch the Dallas Mavericks summer league team play the Chinese National Team. I went to the game in hopes that I might see some of this talent I had heard so much about, before and during the NBA Draft. I definitely got to see a display of offensive output, but it was NOT by Yi Jianlian, but rather by Wang Zhi Zhi, who had 27 points!! (This is where I contemplated switching this post to focus on Wang and ask my readers, "WHERE THE HECK WAS THAT OFFENSE WHEN HE WAS IN THE NBA?"..) While I am NOT saying Yi Jianlian will not turn out to be a very good player, I CAN say that he was not impressive at all, against the Dallas Mavericks summer league team!

We arrived a couple hours early to the game, so we could get some good court side seats, which was well worth it, as we had a great view of all the action. There were Chinese flags everywhere, and they clearly wanted to see this amazing player, YI, as that they had all been hearing about. Well, they all got to see him play, but it was not all it was cracked up to be. My initial impressions of Yi Jianlian are that he is that he did not appear to be nearly as quick as some scouts have led on, and that he is going to have to get much tougher, to play in the NBA.

First impression: HE NEEDS TO GET QUICKER! All of the scouting reports I have read are that he is quick, but he really struggled to get any sort of open shot off the dribble, against the Mavs summer league team. Mind you, he was guarded by Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who is very quick, but I just expected more.

Below, I have added 2 clips, just so you can see exactly what I mean. In the first one you can see Yi Jianlian face Pops up and try to fake him out and do a little fade away... What happens? POPS SWATS THE CRAP OUT OF HIM! In the second video you can see Yi Jianlian try and take it at Pops again, and again can not get around him so he settles for a baseline jumper, only to clang it on the side of the backboard. I know these are only two plays out the entire game, but these were NOT the only plays that Yi Jianlian had like this. In fact, most of his possessions ended up similar to these. I thought this might have just been a "bad game," but it turns out he played much like this during his first summer league camp, with Milwaukee Bucks, as well. One NBA expert pointed out, "he's going to have an adjustment period figuring out how he'll get his shots; he made just 25 percent of them in Vegas."


POPS SWATTING THE CRAP OUT OF YI JIANLIAN IN SUMMER LEAGUE!


YI JIANLIAN TRIES TO USE SOME NIFTY FOOTWORK AND SPIN MOVE, AND EVENTUALLY SETTLES FOR AN UGLY FADE AWAY SHOT THAT HITS NOTHING BUT... THE SIDE OF THE BACKBOARD!


So, you want to know why I think Yi Jianlian is soft? There were many plays where Yi got pushed around... Not only under the hoop, but even on the perimeter. I am not going to spend much time on this topic, as it is not that surprising that he is going to need to bulk up and most of all, toughen up. I have added 1 play in particular that REALLY shows his softness. If you watch closely, you can see Mo Ager's left hand come around Yi's stomach area, but for him to have gotten hurt on this play really shows he needs to toughen up!


YI JIANLIAN BARELY GETS TOUCHED AND HAS THE WIND KNOCKED OUT OF HIM!

I was honestly hoping that we would all be treated to a show by Yi, but that didn't happen. He will need to get much tougher, gain quickness, and learn the NBA game. I am not one that likes to see guys get drafted and then flop, so I truly hope to see him improve and prove that all of these initial impressions wrong!

Alonzo Mourning will be back for 1 more year with Miami Heat, then Retire

I know, as a Dallas Mavericks fan, I have very little room to talk about choking in this years playoffs.. HOWEVER, I don't think the Miami Heats situation and the Dallas Mavericks situation is the same.. I could argue all day about Dallas exiting in the first round, but I want to touch on Mourning's decision to return for 1 final year, and try to leave the Mavs out of this one..



I haven't quite decided if I think this is a good decision for Mourning or not. I mean, he is still good, but the fact that he has said this will FOR SURE be his last year, just makes this a strange decision, in my opinion. Mourning was quoted as saying,

"I want to redeem myself and try to help this team redeem ourselves as an organization and try to get back on track," Mourning said. "That wasn't the Miami team you saw in the playoffs last year. ... I was embarrassed. I was truly embarrassed by that outcome. I know for a fact we're a better team. It left a sour taste in my mouth and it's time to really end it all on the right note."

I don't really know what he has to redeem himself from? He has a title, his reputation was not ruined by exiting in the first round, and the Miami Heat will NOT be back in the finals any time soon! Him coming back will not help them get back to the finals. Sure, they have Wade, but other than that you have an aging Shaq, Walker, Williams, and now Mourning... Not to mention they are now without key backups in Posey (most likely), Kapono, and Payton.

In my opinion, if Alonzo Mourning is ONLY coming back to try to make up for this years playoff exit, he SHOULDN'T!!! It will likely only get worse unless they get younger players around Wade! Walk away before it gets worse next season!

Mark Cuban interested in owning Chicago Cubs baseball team

AWESOME!!! So, as many of you know, I am a HUGE Dallas Mavericks fan and Mark Cuban fan, as can be seen by the below picture of me and my good friend Mark...haha.. ok, so he probably doesn't even remember taking that picture with me, but I thought I would try to act like we are best of friends..lol



Anyways, you can say all the bad things you want about him, but you can't deny how much he has done for the Dallas Mavericks! If you are sitting out there, and are a Cubs fan, you better be VERY excited about Mark Cuban wanting to buy your team! He will be a winner, no doubt! Watch out George and the Yankees! Mark Cuban will do whatever he has to win, so watch out!!!

Read the whole story from espn.com about Mark Cuban buying the cubs!

Michael Jeffrey Jordan contimplating NBA Basketball Come back?

haha, ok ok, so he isn't contimplating coming back AGAIN, but that would be a great story, wouldn't it? I was just looking over some of the NBA news and for some reason it made me want to google Michael Jeffrey Jordan's name and read about the best player of all time. I still remember watching in amazement every time i got to see him play!



Does anyone else remember this dunk in the dunk contest? I personally think it was WAY better than the free throw line dunk because everyone does that dunk now adays. Anyways, if you want to find some awesome information on THE Michael Jeffrey Jordan, just take a moment to google his name, and sit back and relax while you read up on the best player of all time!

Derek Fisher of the Utah Jazz leaves team to take care of daughter, Tatum, with cancer

This just rips my heart out when I read this:( If anyone watched the playoffs and saw Derek Fisher show up late to one of the games, due to being with his daughter Tatum in the hospital with cancer, and then came to the game and won it for the Jazz, you know what I mean. This guy has his priorities straight! And I commend the Utah Jazz for letting him out of his contract! Many professional teams would require him to finish his contract, or something stupid like that. It is nice to see someone that is in the spotlight put their family first!

Read the full story here!