Le Basketbawl

I may not be the hugest FreeDarko fan on the planet, but it is always cool to see a fellow sports blog become successful enough to actually take a book to print.

FreeDarko is definitely known for writing some of the more creative and thought provoking (hilarious too) material in the NBA world and it has obviously been good enough to take it to that next step.

Their first book is titled FreeDarko presents: The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac and looks to contain tons of their signature art along with some amazing material on their favorite ballers. You can pre-order this now in it’s hard cover form.

Make sure to always support your fellow sports bloggers!

Just wanted to let everyone know that our partner site, The Sports Dollar has just gone forward with a new idea in a sports blogging related job board! This job board’s basic premise is to allow sports sites to post jobs that their site or blog may need and to also give bloggers, freelance writers, graphic designers or whatever else you can think of, a chance to find work in this wonderful world of sports blogging.

Please stop by The Sports Dollar to check it out if you are looking for work! For you needy sports sites out there, you should be able to find promotions going on all over the place to allow cheap postings to get the ball really rolling with this thing. If you head over to our partner, you will find a 75% off coupon code that will allow you to post a job for a whoppin’ $2.50 which is quite the deal.

Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions about this new venture. This is just another step in the growth of the online sports world and we are taking what we think are the correct measures to make everyone realize this.

It’s time for my boy Ray Ray to get out of that damn slump. I may not be the biggest Celtics fan, in fact I can’t stand ‘em, but I do love Ray Allen. So smooth, so silky, and so sexy! Woo! I hate seeing him struggle like this and I thought I could help out with a nice list of ideas to jump him right out of this nasty little slide.

11. Remind him that he was once Jesus which allowed him to sleep with a young and sassy Rosario Dawson.

10. Remind him to read the Celtics Blog!

9. Remind him that he was #4 on our Pretty Boy List, which is a damn honor.

8. Remind him that just 2 years ago, he hit 269 threes! Wow.

7. Remind him that a skinny #32 with a face mask on the other team actually WON a championship with UConn.

6. Remind him that the owner of that shoe company that sponsors him managed to win 3 titles after the age of 33, so age should not be an excuse.

5. Remind him that shooting jumpers before the game with his shirt off will not help. (Did anyone else see that?)

4. Remind him that the “luck of the irish” can happen by rubbing Doc Rivers belly.

3. Remind him of that some people confuse Allen Ray for him. That should irritate the hell out of him.

2. Remind him that 54 points in a game was just a few years ago.

1. Oh lord…and remind him that he made this video for TNT…about the fundamentals of jump shooting.

Let’s get it together Ray! Your boys squeaked one out tonight, but they’ll need you the rest of the way damnit!

• The Jay-z & LeBron talk is everywhere! Jigga/Hova/Sean Carter was even at the NBA Draft Lottery tonight in New York. How awesome is that?

• The Chicago Bulls and their 2% chance of winning the #1 pick in the draft…actually did it! (Blog A Bull too!) You go Bennie the Bull and beat up another cop! Flat out awesome.

• Maurice Cheeks of the Sixers is campaigning for Zach “Z-bo” Randolph? Hah! So awesome. Wait, is this true Dannie?

• Did Charles Barkley actually say that he would quit gambling? Yes he did! Do we believe him? No! Just imagine he and Jordan on the golf course or in a casino. Do you really think MJ is going to let off of Sir Charles? Hah…awesome. Another link. And again. One more.

• Refs that cheat, gamble and get arrested! So awesome that…nevermind. Go away already story.

“We determined that the play that concluded with Chauncey Billups’ three-point field goal at the end of the third quarter took approximately 5.7 seconds. Because there were only 5.1 seconds remaining in the quarter when the play began, the shot would not have counted had the clock continued to run.”

“But under NBA rules, the referees had to make their own decision as to whether or not the shot was launched in time due to the clock malfunction without using video review or another timing device to aid a split-second call. The referees followed proper procedure in addressing the clock malfunction by estimating the elapsed time and using their judgement as to whether the shot was taken in time.”

-Joel Litvin, President of Basketball Operations for the NBA

My response: Estimating elapsed time using judgement? Umm…what? They estimated that the play took place in 4.8 seconds or something when in actuality the play was 5.7 seconds long? Very nice estimation guys.

Referees aren’t paid to tell time. That is why we have a clock and a replay. Change the damn rules NBA.

According to the Miami Herald, Dwyane Wade will start his off season rehab program in Chicago with Michael Jordan’s former trainer, Tim Grover. It sounds like the goal is for Wade to be ready enough to convince Team USA to allow him to play in this summer’s Olympic Games. Wait…what?

The guy has missed almost 2 seasons with an ailing knee and shoulder and just checked out the final 15 or so games of the regular season to prepare for the next. So how does taking time off for a few months and then crash coursing it during the summer for the Olympics make any sense to the Heat? The guy hasn’t finished a season for 2 straight years and you are going to let him tear his body up right before the NBA season starts? Oh, and new coach Erik Spoelstra wants to play an uptempo, slashing, dunking offense? How on Earth does this make sense to anyone?

I’m afraid we’ve seen the best D-Wade will ever be unless Grover works some miracle or unless Wade really does adapt his game like MJ did to prolong his career.

I think it’s pretty clear that we operate on the “feel” test here at Le Basketbawl, so we’re wondering how everyone is “feeling” about the Hornets at this point?

They have definitely put on quite the show this year and even though I wasn’t sure if they were for real, they continue to prove me wrong. I’m still not getting the “feeling” that they can win it all though.

They almost “feel” a little bit like the Mavericks of 2 years ago. You know, the team that surprisingly rolled to the Finals to face the big dog Miami Heat only to fall short somehow with the series in hand. They have this young core group of players that have gotten really hot lately and everything is flowing so nicely, but in the East we have those cagey veteran Celtics that would love to abuse their lack of experience in an NBA Finals setting.

Now, in no way am I comparing Chris Paul to Dirk because I would expect a fat double slap to the face from every one of you, but I do “feel” like something is missing. I think it has to be experience…oh and they’ll have to go through a certain Laker player.

Let me have your thoughts!