NBA player Jason Collins recently came out in an exclusive essay published by Sports Illustrated.
“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay,” he wrote.
This was a bold and commendable move by the currently unsigned basketball player. He is the first openly gay athlete from one of the four major North American professional sports leagues.
There has been a recent push to encourage support for LGBTQ athletes. Toronto Maple Leafs player Joffrey Lupul recently threw his support behind the LGBTQ organization You Can Play by teaming up with Walk Off The Earth.
The NFL recently signed an agreement of acceptance and zero tolerance for discrimination of of LGBTQ members. This was a reaction to NFL scouts reportedly prying into the lives of potential players to find out their sexual orientation, including star athlete Manti Te’o (a.k.a the guy who got epically catfished).
As for Collins, he also wrote in Sports Illustrated, ”I’m glad I can stop hiding and refocus on my 13th NBA season.”
Halftime for any sporting event is usually the best time to grab more drinks, booze and food without having to miss any of the action. But it seems like the halftime show at the first playoff game between Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets was one not to miss. A trainer and his incredibly talented dogs stole the show as the dogs cha-cha’d, scooter’ed, and back flipped their way into the audience’s hearts. They’re better than the cheerleaders!
Sometimes, those big cameras at NBA games catch more than the action on the court. But this time, instead of focusing their attention on a fan with a gigantic sign, they turned to this guy who won’t give his girlfriend some of his ice cream.
Luckily for us, his act of relationship injustice wasn’t passed over. Former NBA player and current basketball analyst Chris Webber breaks the moment down for our amusement play by play, including some doodling.
“That there, she’s going, ‘Oh, no you didn’t!’” Webber joked.
Oh yes, he did and now he’ll have to pay for it later.
Remember back in the days when Aaron Carter was the “Justin Bieber” of our generation? Fine, that might be pushing it a little bit but he was still a big enough star to get basketball star Shaquille O’Neal to star in his music video, “How I Beat Shaq.”
HERE’S THE VIDEO IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT:
That must’ve been embarrassing for Shaq on so many levels. Lucky for him, the 7 foot 1 former NBA player finally gets his revenge.
He might’ve been terrible at free throws (and he knows it), but the funniest guy ever to play in the NBA is no match for the minuscule AC. Just watch as Shaq just pushes Aaron around the court while he yells, “I am Kazaam!”
Yes, yes you are.
WATCH SHAQ GET HIS REVENGE HERE:
Thank God these basketball players are already talented in playing sports because their voices probably won’t take them far.
Singing the Holiday classic “I Have a Little Dreidal,” the Houston Rockets have me cringing instead of smiling because their renditions sound completely tone deaf.
(And as for the Dallas Mavericks, I can’t say that I don’t feel the same way. But while embarrassing, both of these videos are very endearing.)
Once Black Friday and Thanksgiving are over it’s FULL STEAM to Christmas, though really, tons of tinsel-filled ads are already circulating. In this one, NBA players promote special Christmas day jerseys by dribbling basketballs to the tune of the classic Christmas song “Carol of the Balls.”
I’m pretty sure the ladies and gents of Stomp would be proud of their resourcefulness, impressive coordination and holiday spirit.
Watch it here
Kim Kardashian’s brother, Rob, has doubts that she will actually marry NBA star Kris Humphries.
The reality TV star and basketball player couple announced their engagement earlier this week, but Rob isn’t convinced the wedding will happen.
He told radio station Kidd Kraddick and Hyla on the Hollywood 5: “I just don’t feel confident because Kim has always been so like, you know, she’s, how old?
“She’s just been through a lot of relationships and she always gets hurt or never finds the right dude, but Kris is a really good dude.”
However, Rob believes the two are great for each other, and wishes them the best.
“They’ve had their own personal, private relationship a long time now and I feel like they are a really good match for each other.”
He also revealed how the family thought Kim and Kris, who have been dating for six months, were joking when they first told everyone about the engagement.
“We were having a family dinner and we didn’t know what it was for, we just thought everyone was in town, we were at my mom’s. She had a ring on and we didn’t know what it was for, and we didn’t believe her and we thought it was a joke, no one really, like, did anything, and it was like, oh wait, then it got crazy and there were ponies, it was really bizarre!”
“Congrats to her, it was pretty shocking in my mind.”
By now, you’ve probably seen the video of Ted Williams circling the web. He was the homeless man on the streets of Columbus who used to ask for change, carrying a sign claiming he had “the god given talent of voice.”
The sign did not lie. Ted’s voice is poignant, resonant, and sophisticated, and soon, after ESPN quickly picked up the video, he was offered a job as a radio announcer for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Magical stuff.
Unfortunately, the magic is on hold for a while so the reality can set in. TMZ is reporting Williams is entering rehab for drug and alcohol abuse. I guess he was homeless for a reason.
We wish Ted all the best in his recovery so he can come back to calling the most boring games in the NBA. The Cavs lost to the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night 112-57. On second thought, take your time, Ted.
Remember last August when LeBron James stuck a knife in the city of Cleveland’s back and announced on a live television special he would be abandoning them for the Miami Heat?
Well this Thursday night LeBron, Wade and the Heat are scheduled to return to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers and the hostile fans at Quicken Loans Arena. Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert has employed literally hundreds of cops to patrol the venue and make sure LeBron and his team-mates’ safety is looked after.
The question on everyones mind is whether this game is a good thing for the NBA. The actual game is proving to be secondary and reporters and media people everywhere keep insisting on how fans will be tuning in to this game to see how the fans react, how crude the signs are, and if anything over the top will actually happen.
This is just sports. If someone in Cleveland is stupid enough to take LeBron’s departure personally and do something irresponsible and dangerous, the city’s reputation will be tarnished forever. Fans should have their fun, be creative, and let LeBron know they’re upset. Anything more than that and I wouldn’t blame LeBron if he stopped travelling to Cleveland to play.
Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski penned a great article yesterday about how Kobe Bryant maintains dedication to his craft. The piece draws on the strange friendship between Kobe and Michael Jackson, and how it was Jackson, not Michael Jordan, that taught Kobe to be great.
I won’t bore you with the details, (even though they aren’t at all boring) because Wojnarowski illustrates the point beautifully, and the article is a must-read for anyone interested in how great minds work and how great human achievement is reached. In essence, it was the King of Pop who taught Kobe the pursuit of perfection and how to keep on course.
Jackson, like Bryant, was relentlessly obsessed with being the best. In an age when LeBron James is busy promoting books, movies, rap songs and TV specials where he announces where he will be playing, Kobe on the other hand is in the gym. Practicing. This is the stuff that makes Kobe what he is, and this is the stuff he learned from MJ. The other MJ.
TMZ.com is reporting that Eva Longoria has filed for divorce from her husband, NBA star Tony Parker.
The couple originally tied the knot in 2007 after Parker had won his 3rd NBA Championship with the San Antonio Spurs and Longoria had become a superstar on ABC’s Desperate Housewives.
Longoria was often seen in the stands at Spurs games and commentators would remark on how rare it was that such a busy TV actress still made time to fly to Texas to see her husband play. This fact perhaps lends itself to the shocking nature of this news. It seems with these two, no one saw the split coming.
Parker’s Spurs are playing well right now, and as a basketball fan, one can only hope this doesn’t affect the team. As a Desperate Housewives fan, well, I think one housewife just got a whole lot more desperate.
Chris Bosh
The wait is over after months of speculation as to where free agents LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade would end up for the 2010-2011 NBA season. Basically, get ready for a dream team. All three of the basketball stars are headed to Florida to play for the Miami Heat.
LeBron made the most of his announcement, holding an entire special titled The Decision on ESPN Thursday night. After he made is choice public on the TV, LeBron put out a brief statement on his website saying, “Next year, I will be playing for The Miami Heat. I would like to thank all of my fans for supporting me and I am looking forward to seeing you guys next season as I chase the NBA Championship.”
LeBron also tweeted this morning after landing in Miami about his decision, saying that “The Road to History starts now!”
Toronto Raptors fans may be disappointed about losing the team’s franchise player, but Chris Bosh has had nothing but good things to say about the city. In a statement on his website he said, “I’ve loved every minute here and I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart”.
In a statement released by the Miami Heat, Dwayne Wade said, “there’s magic in the number 3. This is the beginning of new chapter in HEAT history and very exciting for both fans of the Miami HEAT and the NBA.”
With such amazing talent all in one place, there is definitely potential for a championship and it may also sway some bandwagon fans to get behind the Heat.
So, who are you going to be cheering for during the upcoming NBA season?
Exhibit A: a hefty roly-polly fellow in baggy jeans and a t-shirt, a fitted cap flipped backwards, a microphone in hand and a childish 1000 watt smile.
This is the uniform for one of Canada’s leading sports personalities. Hard to believe?
Meet Cabral “Cabbie” Richards, The Score Network’s animated icon, who has sent a loud message out to the media industry: traditional reporting isn’t always successful, and that his new-school style of interviewing can trump those old-school classroom methods.
In his interviews with star athletes on The Score’s Cabbie on the Street, it’s always a challenge to pint-point exactly the recipe for his success. But narrowing it down, there’s one key ingredient that differentiates the 31-year-old from Cambridge, Ontario, from the rest.
Exhibit B: his swagger.
It appears that Entourage is really reaching new heights with it’s cameos of athletes.
First Tom Brady- beyond awesome, then a brief Steve Nash- cool stuff, but now viewers should prep themselves to see one of the biggest global superstars on the planet, the King himself, LeBron James!
Not sure exactly which episode it’ll be, but Jeremy Piven -a huge fan of the NBA and James himself- took a little video of the guy on the set:
Almost like a souped up demo, you can get a taste of NBA 2K10′s all-new gameplay and My Player career mode as an NBA hopeful dealing with the stress and intrigue of the NBA Draft Combine.
This download-only title gives ballers the action of pre-season fun leading up to the launch of NBA 2K10. Coming out this September for Xbox Live Arcade and PSN; NBA 2K10: Draft Combine will allow fans to create their own personal player and begin their career from the ground up going through the Draft Combine at the ATTACK Athletics gym in Chicago. Read more…
2K Sports has announced NBA 2K10: Draft Combine, a download only game for basketball fans to have some fun with the pre-season. The game drops in September for Xbox (400 points) and PS3 ($4.99).
NBA 2K10: Draft Combine will allow fans to create their own custom player with the utmost detail and, for the first time in the NBA 2K series, begin their career by experiencing the on-court life of an NBA hopeful going through the NBA Draft Combine at the world-renowned, ATTACK Athletics gym in Chicago.
We’ve got some screenshots from the game.
[nggallery id=8]
2K Sports has got a new NBA game in the works, and it’s not just the yearly 2K10 entry. The company has announced a partnership to co-develop NBA 2K Online with Tencent Holdings Limited, an internet portal in China. This new team will be dubbed Take-Two Asia, and will also release the game in Taiwan, South Korea and other parts of Southeast Asia. Tencent has plenty of experience in the online world. It represents China’s largest virtual community with 411 million active user accounts. By comparison, Steam has a mere 1 million users. Yikes.
NBA 2K Online will be exclusive to the Asian market. Paul Thornton, a portfolio manger, and founder of www.investorbootcamp.ca says Chinese game companies face a unique challenge. “Online gaming is growing in China versus retail sales because there is a reputation of piracy in everything from music to movies,” he says. ”This way revenues can be controlled.” Tencent is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where its shares are trading 30% higher on a year-over-year basis. With its market cap at a whopping $160.75 billion, Tencent is ten times larger than Activision Blizzard’s market cap of $15.68 billion. To be fair though, it is a holding company with diversified internet interests – Activision is focused on publishing games. Read more…
College sports fans rejoice. It’s college basketball season again and that can only mean one thing. My Syracuse Orangeman jersey is coming out of storage and College Hoops 2K8 from 2k sports is available. Am I excited? Well… Kind of. For me the college basketball games always just seemed a little less fun than all those NBA games out there.
The die hard college hoops fans out there are probably thinking how could I possibly even compare NBA and college hoops games. They are two different animals; apples and oranges. In real life maybe, in the virtual realm of video games not so much. Just different arenas, different jerseys and no names, but we’ll get to that later.
The game itself is actually quite good. The graphics are smooth and clean, and are every bit as sharp as next gen gamers have come to expect. I found myself watching the pregame warm-up for a couple minutes, and I immediately appreciated the realism of it all. The digital fans looked more like a real crowd than I have ever seen. Usually the fans are constantly doing the same thing or doing everything in some unnatural looking unison, but not these fans. They really seemed to have a life of their own. Same goes for the players during cut scenes. During the warm-up some players would shoot, others lay up, some would miss, most would score. It did not feel like a preprogrammed act, it looked and felt real.
The game has all the typical features of sports games nowadays: Legacy mode, Coach mode, tournament options as well as some mini games. The in game options are all there as well, with the ability to control everything from substitutions to how hard you want your team to go for rebounds. A nice new feature for 08 is the ability to create your own play, which comes in very handy if you are not satisfied with your teams playbook. The controls are good, new additions like the maximum pass ability let you choose how your player passes the ball: chest, bounce, lob etc. Lock on D is another helpful feature for those of us, like myself, who are defensively challenged. Everything I wanted was there.
The most commonly overlooked aspect of a game is whether or not it is fun to play. Today’s games are so visually stunning that it is easy for designers to forget that they are, first and foremost, supposed to be fun. Case and point, I would rather play Pac Man than Superman Returns for 360. Fortunately, for college hoops fans, 2K’s offering this year is both fun to play and easy on the eyes.
When it comes to Sports titles the experienced gamer knows that there are really only two viable options: 2K or EA. Each company brings different strengths and weaknesses to the table and at the end of the day it is a matter of personal preference as to which game you will enjoy more. I found that the 2K titles are slightly more arcade-like while EA games are generally more life like.
College Hoops 2K8 follows this trend and is definitely a closer relative of NBA jam than EA’s NBA basketball offering. I don’t want to give the impression that this is an arcade game but sometimes it can feel that way. Fast breaks are fast and mastering defense will only take you so far, offense is definitely the priority. The addition of features like the “sixth man meter”, which when filled gives your team a boost, add to the fun but take away from the realism. In the end it is up to you to decide what type of game play you prefer.
My only gripe with this game, and really it is with every college sports game, is the lack of real player names. I understand the NCAA’s position but I don’t understand why the issue cannot be resolved. It is a lot more fun to play as Paul Harris (Syracuse guard) than it is to play as #11 SG. Unless you know virtually every player by number it can be hard to see who has the ball, which after the third failed 3 point attempt with my center thinking he was my point guard, can become quite frustrating. They do allow you to enter the names manually, but to do the entire league would probably take until 09.
All in all, College Hoops 2K8 is a great game that is fun to play. It has deep controls, awesome graphics and cool extras. I had a blast playing with my buddies, but if I was not a serious college basketball fan I would probably pass on this one. However, if you just have to represent your school (GO CUSE!) you can’t go wrong with this title.
Graphics: 4.5 / 5.0
Gameplay 4.5 / 5.0
Sound 4.0 / 5.0
Replay value 4.5 / 5.0
When EA releases a new sports game it’s rarely a surprise. That doesn’t mean, however, that I was any less excited to get my hands on NBA 08 and give it a try. I have found that recently EA, for their 360 titles at least, have tried to create game play which has a much more authentic feel than some of the previous arcade type games. This trend has continued with NBA 08.
All new EA Sports titles have a free roam mode which appears as soon as you pop in the game. I played around for a while as Gilbert Arenas, who appears on the cover, to try and get a handle for the look and feel of the game. The first thing anyone notices is how a game looks; and I am no exception. The game looks awesome. Players can be easily identified by NBA fans simply by their appearance, as virtually every detail was captured.
More difficult to achieve than accurate looks is accurate movements and it is here that NBA 08 really shines. Virtually every player has their own unique movements in the game. Shawn Marion shoots like Shawn Marion, Arenas fades away like Arenas and Lebron dunks like Lebron. Little things that had always been a little dodgy in previous versions of NBA, like quick break passes, have mostly been taken care of as well. If you watch the NBA than you will be sure to appreciate the depth of visual detail in the game.
The next thing you notice when picking up any new game is the game play. A game can look great but if it isn’t fun to play it will soon be gathering dust on the shelf. Fortunately for all of us I don’t think NBA 08 will be collecting dust bunnies anytime soon, or at least not until NBA 09 comes out.
The game play is really good, not great, not amazing, but really good. Before all the new movement options are mastered, like the complete dribble control and signature move ability, the game play can be a little choppy. After spending a few hours playing the game though the choppiness I had noticed earlier seemed to be disappearing with my increasing skill level. In the end, NBA 08 provides a very realistic feel, while still managing to provide smooth, fun game play.
NBA 08 offers the gamer a choice between quite a few game modes including a Franchise, Dynasty, Online, All-Star Weekend and the FIBA league.
I love playing games in Dynasty mode. Dynasties start with your choice of taking over an existing franchise, with their current rosters, or truly start from scratch and complete a fantasy draft. I really appreciate games that allow you to draft your own team. I find that I have a much stronger emotional attachment to created teams, and therefore enjoy the long 82 game season that much more.
The only thing more satisfying than sinking a buzzer beater against the computer is doing it against a real person online. In my opinion, the most fun can be had playing online and if thats all the game came with I’d probably still buy it. It’s that good.
As for the other modes, they are fun the first couple times around but they lose their appeal and grow repetitive quite quickly. But nobody really cares about the International League or the dunk competition, do they? I sure don’t. While it is nice to have the option, I don’t foresee too many 3 point contests in my future.
One of the few complaints I have with the game is that the cross over rating system must be changed. Every point guard who is good enough to play in the NBA is capable of performing a crossover. EA apparently does not agree. Bottom tier point guards, like Jose Calderon on the Raptors, frequently, too frequently, loses the ball while trying to perform a simple crossover. I am not saying those players should never lose the ball but they are clearly under rated. EA allows you to remedy the situation, however, by allowing you to edit anyone’s ratings. The obvious problem being that the newly rated Jose Calderon is now as good as Jason Terry at doing crossovers so it kind of throws everything out of whack, but to a very minimal degree.
Another minor annoyance that should be mentioned is the in-game play calling and substitution interface. It requires the use of the D-pad, which in turn forces your thumb off the main joystick. In time, I am sure that I will be able to efficiently call a play on the fly, but for the novice gamer play calling can be a handful.
The last negative aspect that is worth mentioning manifests itself in the form of the new Hot/Cold feature which, when a button is pushed, reveals where the current ball handler is either hot or cold shooting the ball. In theory this is a great feature, but beyond the marquee players the hot/cold zones seem to be arbitrarily selected. Only die hard NBA fans will notice this though.
I must say, however, the good definitely outweighs the bad. All in all, whether playing a season against the computer, a game against someone online or simply having a dunk competition with friends, NBA 08 is a must have for all basketball fans.
Graphics: 4.5
Gameplay: 4.5
Sound: 4.0
Replay Value:5.0
Phoenix Suns forward Amare Stoudemire will grace the cover of NBA 08 exclusively for the Playstation 3, Playstation 2 and PSP consoles. Stoudemire has already been the cover athlete for NBA 06.
“Amare Stoudemire is one of the most dynamic players in the NBA, showcasing a range of power and finesse that makes him a favorite among the fans and a respected competitor among his peers,” said Scott Rohde, director, sports product development, SCEA. “We are elated that he has renewed his partnership with us and believe that with Amare back on our team, NBA ’08 will once again raise the bar for the franchise.”
The Playstation 3 version includes an all new progression system players can earn rewards that can be used to customize players and gameplay. Moreover, new controls allow gamers to become even more involved in the actual game. Finally, updated player rosters, animations and textures continue to increase upon the already realistic gameplay.
NBA ’08 will ship in October 2007.
