Heading into the playoffs, Bill Simmons decided to break out his iPhone and film in between takes during NBA Countdown tapings. The first batch of results taught us a few things about the Countdown crew: Magic has a penchant for smuggling large quantities of coveted Chicago popcorn for the crew; Wilbon refuses to fill out his own NBA awards ballot because he doesn't like to use computers; Bill has his own crazy theory about why Magic became friends with Larry Bird (and Magic doesn't deny it); and Magic hates it when Lakers starters attend boxing matches right before a big playoff game. Oh, and the room they hang out in on tape days is weirdly dark and a little bit creepy. Keep an eye on our YouTube channel for more "NBA Countdown: Behind the Scenes" videos during the 2013 playoffs. Check out the videos after the jump.
After LeBron James dominated the Lakers on February 10, the NBA Countdown crew — Magic Johnson, Jalen Rose, Bill Simmons, and Michael Wilbon — broke down his historic five-game run.
The NBA Countdown crew, Magic Johnson, Jalen Rose, Bill Simmons, and Michael Wilbon reflect on Michael Jordan's legacy as he approaches his 50th birthday.
In the wake of Rajon Rondo's season-ending injury, Magic Johnson, Bill Simmons, Jalen Rose, and Michael Wilbon contemplate whether it's time to blow up the Celtics' roster and rebuild.
Magic Johnson, Jalen Rose, and Bill Simmons detail how the Celtics are now Rajon Rondo's team and how Rondo has to adjust his game in order for the Celtics to succeed.
Magic Johnson, Bill Simmons, Jalen Rose, and Michael Wilbon discuss Kobe Bryant's career and legacy on the evening he scored his 30,000th point in the NBA.
BREAKING NEWS FROM CRAIGSLIST: Hard times have hit Newport Beach, where a famous Polish artist, who also happens to be famous in Eastern Europe (non-Poland parts) and Russia (non-Polish parts) has been forced to sell off a $2 million collection of “sport art.” For $100,000 each (not including a $3,000 frame), prospective buyers can take home one of three Shaquille O’Neal paintings, a Magic Johnson painting, or any one of three Michael Schumachers.
The paintings have been appraised for their life-sizeness. Because a near-life-size painting of Ali and Liston by another artist — not famous in Poland — once sold for $100,000, it stands to reason that a life-size painting of Shaq, who is roughly 18–20 percent taller and about 80 percent heavier, should sell for somewhere around $190,000–$220,000. But because the market for fine art has fallen so precipitously in recent years, this famous Polish artist has been forced to liquidate his collection.
Click here for the Craigslist ad. All purchases come with a coffee-table book dedicated to Shaq. (Check out the ad after the jump).
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Wednesday.
Bill Parcells said he would be a "hypocrite" if he didn't consider the Saints' offer to coach for a year in Sean Payton's absence. He never really explained what he meant by "hypocrite," but most experts agree that it has something to do with his hilarious yet poignant blog IllCoachAnywhere.joomla.com.
A group headed by financial services mogul Mark Walter, former MLB and NBA executive Stan Kasten, and Magic Johnson struck a deal to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers from Frank McCourt for $2 billion, handing a monumental payoff to one of the most-crooked owners in sports history.
Walter, chief executive office of financial services firm Guggenheim Partners, takes over as the team's new controlling owner. The group, which also includes minority partners Peter Guber, Bobby Patton and Todd Boehly, shattered the mark for most expensive franchise sale in the history of baseball or any other sport. The previous record for an MLB team was when the Ricketts family bought the Chicago Cubs in August 2009 for $845 million.
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been sold for a record $2 billion to a group that includes NBA legend Magic Johnson. "The clock just struck midnight for Frank McCourt," Johnson said. "And now it's time for The Magic Hour!" A PR rep quickly hurried to his side and whispered in his hear, after which Johnson boomed, "And now it's time for what we're calling anything but The Magic Hour!"
As part of a collaboration with ESPN Films, Bill Simmons sat down with Magic Johnson for a two-part podcast that aired as a special program after The Announcement, a documentary that chronicled Johnson's life and career after the disclosure that he was HIV-positive.
In Part 2 of the podcast, Johnson discusses the discovery and revelation of his diagnosis, and his regrets about retiring after testing positive. He also tries to sell Simmons on the Lakers, explains how he almost became a Knick, and reviews his brief stint as a coach.
In advance of the debut of The Announcement, Bill Simmons and Magic Johnson sat down in the Grantland Studios to record a two-part podcast, which will air this weekend as a special program immediately after the ESPN Films documentary. (You can watch The Announcement at 9 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN.) In Part 1 of the pod, Simmons and Magic discuss LeBron James's fourth-quarter woes, spar over the '80s-era Lakers and Celtics, and debate who would win in a matchup of Dream Teams: the 1992 squad, or the one we'll watch in the Summer Games this year.
Plus, Magic details the greatest basketball game ever played — a scrappy scrimmage between the Eastern Conference representatives on the '92 Dream Team and their Western Conference counterparts.
I came close to breaking a personal record on the BS Report today — nearly two straight hours of podcast conversation without a bathroom break, water break, liquor break or anything else that I usually do as I'm recording these things. Radio hosts like Colin Cowherd and Doug Gottlieb who talk for nine minutes and then need a four-minute commercial break are total sissies. Let's see you guys go for two hours straight and get back to me. And by the way, you think Mike Francesa could go for a half hour straight without passing out into a puddle of Diet Coke? please.
Anyway, in Part 1, Cousin Sal stopped by to lament our typically terrible football gambling, rehash Week 9, discuss the NFL's stretch run, guess the Week 10 lines and also give producer Joe Mead a heart attack (his weekly phone call contained a bit that was so inappropriate that we cut it out but left in our horrified reactions).
In Part 2, we brought BS Report Mount Rushmore head Chris Connelly on to discuss the 20-year anniversary of Magic Johnson's HIV announcement, how America's attitude toward that disease collectively changed over the years and how that process would have played out if Magic had never tested positive. We also talked about my Eddie Murphy column from Friday and Chris gave his thoughts about Eddie's career over the years. From there, Grantland's Dave Jacoby came on (47-minute mark) to defend The Walking Dead from all the snarky Internet parasites who pick apart the show like it's a dead zombie's car on an abandoned freeway. Spoiler alert: We enjoy this show and everyone else can go to hell.
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Tuesday.
NBA players and owners met with a federal mediator for over 10 hours Tuesday in an attempt to make progress on resolving the lockout dispute. Unfortunately, because they dealt with the federal government, China now owns the NBA.
