If the Twittersphere has taught us one thing, it's that athletes can be completely absurd individuals. The NBA lockout was a prime opportunity to observe how millionaires spend their non-basketball time, and while every day of these NBA playoffs is thrilling, once this seemingly endless process of crowning a champion is complete, it will, once again, be "recess" for the majority of the NBA players. While some potential offseason recess legends are still playing (James Harden, Evan Turner), the rest of the league is already gearing up for a summer that one can only hope is full of shenanigans.
Chief official White House photographer Pete Souza is very good at his job, and has been for a very long time. Whether it was covering President Ronald Reagan's second term in office, Obama's road to the White House, the iconic Situation Room shot, or simply a spread of Wrigley Field, the man knows how to use a camera.
This skill was proved yet again when he spent time at the G8 summit at Camp David this past weekend. But instead of the image of the weekend being intense talks between heads of state, it was this:
So much amazing is happening, and the Shootaround crew is here to help you keep track of it all. You'll find takes on moments you might've missed from the previous night, along with ones you will remember forever.
'Rondo Was Extremely Serious'
That was Doc Rivers’s assessment of his point guard’s demeanor going into Game 3 in Philadelphia. It ended with Rajon Rondo scoring 23 points (13 in the first quarter), doling out 14 assists, and losing just one turnover. So, yeah, you could say Rondo was serious. After Game 1 — in which he messed around and got a triple-double — the Celtics point guard complained of not getting his nap before the game and how it negatively affected his performance. Rondo looked … well-rested Wednesday night.
On the JaVale McGee front, news broke today that a bill has been filed in the Philippine House of Representatives to naturalize McGee as a citizen. Among other things, this would make him eligible to play for that country's team in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Fascinating story, one that I'm very excited to see play out.
But believe it or not, that's the second-most important JaVale McGee–related news of the week. The other piece of news is more important, because it involves me, you, JaVale.
One of the most talented tennis players of all time, Serena Williams, loves not playing tennis. She also loves rappers. Because of these two facts, it should come as no surprise that she's using her non-tennis time to rap. (Spoiler alert: It's not as bad as you think it is going to be, but know that I'm never listening to it again.)
In January, I wrote a blog post attempting to stand up for Atlanta sports fans. While I'm still pleased with how it turned out, there was a glaring flaw in the entire premise: I'm an Atlanta expat living in New York, so I was writing from afar about what it means to be an Atlanta sports fan. Sure, I love my hometown and its sports teams, but my perceptions were based off of what I remember in the early-to-mid-2000s, not recent events.
After the Clippers' win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, Chris Paul asked Nick Young and Nick Young's shirt to accompany him to the postgame press conference and hang until Blake Griffin was done primping. Swaggy P listened, sat in Blake's seat, and proceeded to let the star of this show, his shirt, provide laughs for Chris, the reporters, and anyone with an Internet connection.
ESPN NBA Insider Ric Bucher joins Bill Simmons to talk about the NBA playoffs, his personal interactions with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and the best-case scenario when interviewing NBA coaches. Plus, Grantland's Rembert Browne discusses Atlanta's playoff collapse.
Welcome to the second episode of the Triangle Podcast. This week, with the NBA playoffs in full swing, I thought I'd catch up with some of my Shootaround partners and talk basketball. Robert Mays stopped by the studio to discuss Zach Randolph's dominance over Blake Griffin in the Clippers-Grizzlies series, the Bulls and life after Derrick Rose, plus what we expected from Game 3 of the Knicks-Heat series.
Rembert Browne called in to lament Paul Pierce Tebowing on … the city of Atlanta, and the caliber of celebrity sitting courtside at Hawks games. I also talked to Katie Baker about the Stanley Cup playoffs (specifically Wednesday night's heart-stopping triple-overtime Rangers-Caps game) and Jonah Keri about Bryce Harper, the Rangers, the Rays, and an exciting few nights in Major League Baseball.
I will always look back on May 1, 2012, as the day 90 percent of my brain power was spent thinking about Kate Upton. First, there was the sequel to her Dougie performance, the "Cat Daddy." [Ed. note: Google it yourself, guys.] And then, thinking nothing could top that until Christmas, she decided to do a commercial with James Harden and Kevin Durant. Can't make that up.
So much amazing is happening here, and the Shootaround crew is here to help you keep track of it all. You'll find takes on moments you might've missed from the previous night, along with ones you will remember forever.
Who Do We Blame for Derrick Rose?
Blame me for what happened to Derrick Rose.
About five minutes before the Bulls’ title hopes crumpled onto the United Center floor, I’d just said how I was glad Rose was still playing against Philly, how after missing nearly 30 games he could use all the game-speed minutes to be had. Then I screamed “Noooooo!” for a good 30 seconds while pressing the rewind button over and over.
Publicly, this Web site prides itself in being an intersection of sports and pop culture. Behind closed doors, though, the real goal has always been to eventually establish itself as the Web site people think of for stories concerning the intersection of leisurely jogging and financial investing.
Today, those privately acknowledged dreams finally come true.
Ivan Johnson and Nick Young. Two of the most interesting players in our beloved National Basketball Association, less because of their abilities and skills and more because it's fun to imagine what goes on in their heads while they do puzzling things.
I've long been thinking that these two men needed to have a formal meeting. Thank goodness for Tuesday night.
Someone who has gotten so angry playing sports that he's concussed another large person
Someone who has been concussed by a volatile, large person
Metta World Peace
Ron Artest
Knowing all of these things about myself, I can still confidently claim to understand one thing about Sunday's incident involving Metta's elbow and the side of James Harden's head. That sole thing:
No one knows why it happened. Not you, not me, and if I had to guess, not even Ron-Ron.
Before post-Linsanity and Linsanity, there was pre-Linsanity, also known as The Ivan Johnson Chronicles. During this roughly three-week period of time earlier this year, this interesting character known as Ivan Johnson took the league by semi-storm with his tendency to play like he was oblivious of being televised and talk to reporters like he oblivious to their pens and recorders. There was also evidence that suggested he couldn't name five other players in the NBA, Atlanta Hawks included. What a legend.
But, as with many an important fad, the excitement rapidly began to die down. After declining minutes, a few pretty miserable games, and increasingly fewer reasons to get interviewed, it seemed as if Ivan's time in the spotlight had come and gone. What a shame.
