My first job out of college was as a baseball dictationist at the AP. Being a know-it-all twentysomething, I would invariably do something stupid about once a week. And when I did, an old salt of a newsman named Dick Joyce – who called everyone “Mersh” – would turn to me and say, “Uh, Mersh, where you workin’ next week?” It might be time to ask Mike D’Antoni the same question. The embattled coach of the New York Knicks watched his team lose
NEW YORK — Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been fined $75,000 for his criticism of NBA officiating, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, the NBA’s Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. Cuban made his comments on Feb. 1 following Dallas’ 95-86 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at American Airlines Center. “Look, I haven’t said a whole lot about the officiating in a long, long time, but I haven’t seen it this bad in a long, long time,” Cuban told ESPNDallas.com in the Mavericks’ weight
Who deserves the props today? The Clippers? Or the Sixers? It’s a toss-up. Sort of like that lob pass Chris Paul threw to Blake Griffin for a dunk seven seconds into their latest quality win, 107-105 on the road against Utah, where they hadn’t won since Saddam Hussein was running Iraq. And sort of like that scoop pass Andre Iguodala tossed out to Jrue Holiday after going around his back, one of several highlight-reel plays Iguodala made before exiting to a standing
Remember the old NBA slogan “I love this game!?” (It pre-dates “Where Amazing Happens”). If you are in your early 20s, you may not. But that’s OK. Lots of people in their early 20s seem to believe the world began 10 years ago, and have no recollection of crappy cell phone reception, dial-up Internet or the fax machine. But those who are a bit older certainly remember that ad campaign, and Sunday was one of those days when love for the game
// After the Orlando Magic’s shameful performance Thursday night vs. Boston, in which they blew a 27-point lead, scored 25 points in the second half and lost to a severely shorthanded team, Jason Richardson said the team was developing a soft reputation. After Friday night’s debacle in New Orleans, coach Stan Van Gundy said it all. From Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: “If this isn’t rock bottom, what is? The Orlando Magic completed a forgettable week Friday night, falling to the
On Jan. 31, Derrick Favors will have an extra deduction from his paycheck. Late in the third quarter of Thursday’s loss to Dallas, the forward of the Utah Jazz threw a ball into the stands in disagreement with an offensive foul call. His immediate punishment was ejection from referee Matt Boland. On Saturday, the NBA decided Favors needed further discipline and fined him $25,000. The fine came from NBA VP of Violence Stu Jackson, who has been remarkably inactive this season. Gotta love
If Jeffrey Loria (owner of the Miami Marlins baseball team) comes down with a nasty cough and cold, we’ll know who to blame. None other than LeBron James, who took a sick day in the morning but was well enough in the evening to break the 30-point barrier for the eighth time this season, dropping 31 along with eight rebounds and eight assists in the Miami Heat’s 98-87 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Heat were the aggressors throughout the first
I feel you, Stan Van Gundy. Whenever I type “Dwight Howard,” I can feel it getting relayed to you in the form of endless questions about the “distractions” facing Dwight and his teammates. I can see you doing a full eye-roll complete with backward head tilt. I can hear you from here: “Would it be possible for us squeeze in our season between rumors about something that may not happen and if it does, won’t happen for months?” I’ve been on the beat. I understand