As we approach February and the 2014 All Star Weekend, the league will approach a milestone that for the vast majority of NBA players, fans, and executives will represent uncharted waters .. . the great unknown. David Stern will not be the commissioner. As Stern retires after serving a 30-year term as commissioner, the game as we know it today is largely a product of his influence. Stern took over as commissioner when Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuon entered the league and Bird/Magic
The San Antonio Spurs are resting both Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili for Thursday night’s nationally televised road game vs. the Golden State Warriors, initially putting themselves at risk of another six-figure fine from the NBA. A release from Spurs media relations Thursday afternoon – titled an “injury report” – said both players were being held out of the game on TNT due to rest. It made no mention of injuries to either player. The release also said guard Tony Parker would
Many amazing men have walked the earth having had a profound impact on the world with their lives. Men like Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr.. Their deaths were monumental and the cause of grief to many. Former South African President Nelson Mandela died Thursday at the age of 95. Mandela was instrumental in bringing about the end of Apartheid (racial segregation) and ushering in an era of ethnic equality in South African politics. His efforts earned him the Nobel
Want to know what David Stern’s legacy will be? Just take a look at NBA rosters on Opening Night. More than 20 years ago – when he was a relative pup as a commissioner – Stern worked with Russ Granik, USA Basketball and FIBA to clear the way for NBA players to play in the Olympics. That led to the creation of the “Dream Team,” which, among others, featured the holy trinity of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Team USA
NEW YORK — That there is a David Stern bobblehead. Every NBA owner received one last night as part of the farewell tribute to David Stern as he presided over his final Board of Governors meeting. Dan Gilbert joked that the head only moves from side to side. We are taking wagers on which owner puts his up for sale first on eBay. (My money is on Donald Sterling). Wouldn’t be surprised if Mark Cuban has already handed his over to his voodoo
Although I wouldn’t consider myself to be a serious bettor, I do enjoy an occasional trip to Las Vegas, where the betting is legal and sometimes expensive. Vegas is the ultimate venue for those who believe they are blessed with the power of clairvoyance. Think you’re smart enough to predict the outcome of a game, or games? Sports books provide unlimited opportunity for you to prove it. On an ideal day, I would wish for the ability to make three correct
Two significant things will happen this NBA season: David Stern will step down as commissioner, probably five years too late. And for the first time in 20 years, the 76ers, Celtics and Lakers all will be out of the playoffs. We know the first to be true. The second is pure conjecture, but it’s more likely than not that three of the top NBA franchises in terms of tradition, history, titles and outsized personalities will be booking trips to ping-pong festivities
(Readers: This column originally ran during the NBA Finals. It is especially pertinent now that the NBA is switching back to 2-2-1-1-1.-CS) The most important playoff series in NBA scheduling history — the one that changed the NBA Finals from a 2-2-1-1-1 format to the current 2-3-2 — began easily enough. The leisurely pace of the first four games would get lost in the frenzy of the last three, but travel was not an issue the first 11 days of the 1984