While the NBA has dominated the headlines over the past few summer months, as tradition has it, things have gone stale in August while players take their vacations before training camp begins in the fall. Filling the void the NBA has left has been the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which has swept the nation by storm over the past few weeks, raising an enormous amount of awareness and money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also — and more commonly known — as Lou Gehrig’s
CHICAGO – Usually, there are very few “Wow” moments in exhibitions, be they NBA games or FIBA games. This one bucked that trend. Anthony Davis diving into the stands, knocking over two of the hottest female fans in the building? Yeah, that was a “Wow” moment. Davis finishing a couple of fast breaks with rim-rattling slams while running at full speed? Yeah, that too brought out the ‘W’ word. There were enough “Wow” moments from that young man to leave you saying
The eyes of the basketball world were on Chicago tonight, as Team USA beat Brazil in a friendly that featured Derrick Rose in action in the United Center for the first time in months, and perhaps at his full MVP level for the first time since the 2012 playoffs. Another Chicago native stole the show, however, with Anthony Davis putting up 20 points and anchoring the middle of an American team whose biggest concern was their inside presence. He also got
Other than watching Derrick Rose play in a scrimmage game with fellow USA teammates back in the beginning of August, it has been quite some time since anyone has seen the point guard play in a meaningful contest. After missing much of last season due to a torn medial meniscus in his right knee, Rose has been itching to show the world and his haters that he looks to be back and better than ever. He has also been showing off
CHICAGO – Not a lot of Jay-Z fans here. At least not among the U.S. federation. They aren’t exactly burning his CDs, but they are enumerating the burned bridges as the fallout from Kevin Durant’s abrupt departure from the U.S. national team continues to spread. Team USA is only the latest entity to be left with a sour taste after dealing with Durant and his latest agent. The folks at Nike aren’t exactly happy. The folks at Gatorade already were unhappy. “It’s like
The newest craze to hit social media everywhere — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube — is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. What is the Ice Bucket Challenge? Well, assuming you haven’t heard of it yet, it is a choice, whereby someone either donates $100 to the ALS Association or they accept the challenge and dump a bucket of ice water on their head. Many people are opting to do both, making a donation and taking the proverbial plunge. The purpose of the challenge is
Not much happening. Which leads us to a Sportswriting Etiquette 101 lesson: It is bad form for basketball writers who are covering a tight game to say: “Looks like it’ll go to overtime.” Same thing with baseball writers, who are forbidden in press boxes from mentioning the words “extra innings” prior to the start of the 10th. It s considered a jinx. OK, not forbidden. But it is frowned upon, heavily. Sportwriters like to go home to their families, especially those families with
Hey! No grown-ups! The kids are in charge! Ice cream for dinner! We don’t have to brush our teeth! We get to fall asleep on the couch with the TV on! Go Bucks! What’s happening in Milwaukee these days is a movie script too bizarre to get greenlighted, even by Disney. After years of being stuck in the NBA’s no-man’s land of barely making or just missing the playoffs, the Bucks basically tanked by accident last season. Now, with a new owner with deep