Portland Trail Blazers Bloggers: The Search for Sheed
July 31st, 2010 by Busta Bucket No comments »
It has come to this. Bustabucket celebrity and noted shakedown enthusiast Sheed has gone underground, and nobody seems to know why.
Perhaps his reclusiveness is the inevitable result of overexposure. We see it with actors all the time, being too famous for too long is hard on one’s mental health.
Is Sheed enduring a self-imposed exile on some tiny Tahitian atoll, desperately clinging to whatever shred of sanity his mind can capture?
Or is he, as T-Mac’s (the famous bustabucket commentor, not the obscure basketball player) journey implied , locked away in a cabin in northern ? Is Cdub with him?
As of now we have only unsubstantiated rumors picked up from encrypted international e-mail chatter and anonymous internet message boards.
The following is what we know.
April 29, 2010: Sheed’s last post - " Game 6 Preview: Blazers v. Suns "
This entry wasn’t written by the same Sheed that we had come to love; ...
NBA Rumors: 10 Potential Destinations for Blazers’ Rudy Fernandez
July 30th, 2010 by Hayden Kim No comments »
The 2010 NBA Offseason has been one for the history books. LeBron, D-Wade, and Bosh have joined forces in South Beach, Amar'e has moved on to the Big Apple, and NBA veterans Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff have made a new home in the City Of Angels (Los Angeles).
But what's going to be the next big news, you say? Well lets just say this offseason isn't quite done yet, at least not in Portland.
Blazers' sharp shooter Rudy Fernandez may have to leave his rainy Oregon days behind and find a new home somewhere in the east coast.
The Blazers just don't think Rudy's future lies well in Portland, and that it would be best for both sides to part ways in this 2010 NBA Offseason.
In this article I will provide potential candidates/homes for Rudy Fernandez that may become relevant in the near future, if the Blazers decide to let go ...
Sean Avery Needs To Be Sean Avery in 2011
July 30th, 2010 by Matthew Calamia No comments »
If any player personified the 2009-10 New York Rangers, it was Sean Avery. When he brought his game, he and the Blueshirts won games and were entertaining while doing it.
This was all despite Avery being a shadow of the player Rangers fans fell in love with when the winger was acquired from Los Angeles in 2007.
Avery's game changed after being benched for Game Five of the opening round of the playoffs last season against the Washington Capitals. Avery took two penalties that nearly cost the Rangers the game.
Avery was benched for Game Five— a game the Rangers lost— but later said he deserved the benching. Tortorella said that Avery needs to learn where the line is, and not cross it.
It was evident last season, though, that Avery doesn't know where that line is. At times during the season, Avery was barely visible on the ice. He played tamed ...
Washington Capitals Approach Season With Many Questions Remaining
July 30th, 2010 by Ryan Davenport No comments »
As the weeks leading up to training camp go by, the Washington Capitals have many decisions to make in order to be ready for opening night. The most pressing issue at hand seems to be the opening in the middle on the Capitals second line and power play unit.
The Caps elected to try Brendan Morrison out in this spot last season, but had mixed results with the diminutive pivot and decided to go in another direction for the 2010-11 season. Tomas Fleischmann, Eric Belanger, and Brooks Laich also all got their chances, but none were best suited for the position.
One solution appeared to be 2009 first rounder Marcus Johansson, but his performance at the Capitals Development Camp in July suggested that he may need more time before he grows into the North American game.
European-trained centermen usually need more time to adapt to the more physical NHL game, ...
The Bionically Constructed Heat Are the Next Evolution of the NBA
July 30th, 2010 by Paolo Ruiz No comments »
We’ve all speculated about it as kids reading comic books or watching cartoons. What would happen if we combined Spider-Man’s hyper-agility with Wolverine’s indestructibility? Merged Magneto’s metal mastery with Professor X’s telepathy? Or gave Green Lantern’s ring to Superman? That would be a force unlike the world has ever seen.
Enter the Miami Heat. This is the collection of superpowers we all dreamed of, but never imagined possible. This is the stuff of fantasy and science fiction. The Heat are the billion dollar, gene-spliced, mutant bionic team.
They are so good, at least on paper, that they should almost be illegal. And if it were up to Mark Cuban, they would be.
Perhaps no team has ever been constructed quite like the Heat, with two of the game’s three best players consciously joining forces while still in their prime. Even the Boston Celtics trio, who became champions in their first year together, were ...
Expanding NBA’s 50 Greatest Players To 65
July 30th, 2010 by Patrick Laird No comments »
At the 1997 NBA All-Star weekend, the league introduced its 50 greatest players in commemoration of its 50th anniversary. The selection process had actually been completed several months earlier by media personnel, former players and coaches, and former and current general managers and team owners.
As its web site boasts at NBA.com , the list – at the time of its release – consisted of “one hundred and seven NBA championship rings. More than 400 hundred NBA All-Star Game selections. Nearly one million points scored.”
Some of its members reach back to the late 1940s such as George Mikan and Dolph Schayes. Others were more recent retirees such as Larry Bird and Isaiah Thomas. The list also included active players at that time such as Karl Malone and Patrick Ewing. Even Shaquille O’Neal, though only playing in his fifth NBA season, found a place amongst the 50 greatest.
The list rightfully spans both ...
LeBron James, The Other Side of The Argument: Why His Decision Was Okay
July 30th, 2010 by Ethan McVansen No comments »
It's all been said and done, and LeBron James is going to play for the Miami Heat. Except people have been saying things for way to long about his decision. Here's my take:
It wasn't a bad decision.
A lot of people who don't like LeBron's decision are unhappy because of "The Decision." That's understandable. That was pretty stupid on James' part. But the decision itself may not have been so stupid for a number of reasons.
First of all, this completely takes LeBron out of the contest with MJ. We all know that. It affects his "legacy." However, maybe what LeBron wanted was a different legacy.
It's a bit much to be named the greatest player of all time. LeBron was doing all of the things to get him to that point in his career. However, if he didn't want that title, all the experts were saying it day in and day out ...
Shaquille O’Neal Serenades Justin Bieber
July 30th, 2010 by Colin Means No comments »
Now that Terrell Owens has been claimed, Shaquille O''Neal is undisputedly the biggest name remaining on the free-agent market of washed-up future hall-of-famers in any professional sport.
So, with some time on his hands, the Big Aristotle made his way down to one of his old team's cities, Phoenix, where a certain teen pop sensation was performing a concert.
Not being one to back away from a once in a lifetime opportunity, Shaq made his way to the soundcheck before the concert and got a chance to show Justin Bieber his vocal skills.
Watch Shaq sing on TheSportingRave.com.
I won't be the one to judge the big fella's talent, but I was able to surmise the following from the minute-long video: Shaq loves Justin Bieber just as much as any pre-teen girl in America.Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Phoenix Suns: Why They Should and Will Re-Sign Jason Richardson
July 30th, 2010 by Tim Case No comments »
The recent playoff run provided by the Phoenix Suns was one of the most memorable in the teams forty-two year history. One of the main reasons for their playoff success rested in the hands of the 6'6", 29-year-old shooting guard, Jason Richardson.
Known for most of his career as one of the best dunkers in the NBA, JRich has started to transition himself into an all-around shooting guard.
When traded to the Phoenix Suns in December of 2008, the team didn't know if they were getting the player who took the Warriors to their memorable playoff run or if the chance they took would haunt them for many years to come. So far, there has been mixed feelings.
There were many fans ready to move JRich at last season's All-Star break, for he wasn't playing with the consistency he could have played with. The only thing holding the team back was his ...
Penguins: Seven Possible Targets To Seal Up the Opening Night Roster
July 30th, 2010 by Don Andrascik No comments »
There have been many stories written over the past few weeks that have cited the Pens need to acquire at least one bigger name forward for the top 6. I think we can all agree on that. They definitely need to address the lack of secondary scoring on the roster.
The problem they run into, along with many other teams, comes down to being strapped for cash. Being pushed to the limit in regards to the cap ceiling, teams will tend to sit back and play the waiting game from now through the start of training camp.
Some of this year’s free agent class may only get an offer to tryout for a team, rather than be signed before training camp starts. There is a strong possibility that Penguins GM Ray Shero will decide to grab a forward after camps begins and that’s when ...