Carnival Of The NBA, #10

Welcome to Carnival of the NBA #10. First off, I'd like to thank Matt from Bulls Blog for letting me borrow his baby for a week, it's a real honor, and I feel lucky to have the chance to meet so many new friends inside of Hoops Blogdom.

And Matt, I know things look dark right now, but take a deep breath and count to ten, ok?

Next, it's important to know that the only qualification for inclusion in the Carnival is that you write about the NBA. Many of the links here will lead you to some fine mutli-sport blogs that deserve your time and attention.

With that, let's get it started, so to speak:

It looks like Larry Brown is getting restless again, but before Game Four of the series with the Heat, my old pal Rob Visconti reminded everyone that we should have known better when it came to the NBA's most famous nomad:

Do me a favor, if you will. Raise your hand if, two years ago, when you heard that Joe Dumars had hired Larry Brown to become the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, you honestly believed that Brown would occupy the coach’s office at the Palace of Auburn Hills for the full five-year term of his contract.

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?

I didn’t think so.

Don't forget that the multi-talented Mr. Visconti is also podcasting (feed subscription).

And speaking of Larry Brown, he'll never get anywhere in life with his Cavalier Attitude. And the Pistons Blog is sitting out the Brown situation, though he does think Marc Stein is an idiot.

What will the Knicks need in the offseason? Knickerblogger has got it covered. Click here for the froncourt, and here for the backcourt.

If the city isn't too your liking, why not slide over to the Pacific Northwest, and check out the draft preview at Supersonicssoul (Part I, II, III)? Better still, I've been promised there's more to come.

And if you're not in the mood for Soul, check out Booth52, where the numbers are being crunched to solve the enigma of Manu Ginobli. Still not enough? Then re-visit the pain at Sports and Bremertonians.

And while you're in town, stop by the Pyramid Ale House. You'll be glad you did.

My old friend Tim Kraus might have taken a powder, but the new sheriff in town at End of the Bench is awfully prolific.

CelticsBlog is contemplating the salary cap situation in Boston. And he's got some issues with Mark Blount too.

I'm worried about Spurs fan Give Me The Rock:

And I have to say, it felt good to watch them lose. It’s reminded me of why I chose them as My Team in first place. Sometimes you have to give in to the Dark Side.

Having to endure the first season in recent memory out of the playoffs, Forum Blue and Gold is wondering whether or not the Heat should re-sign Shaq:

The bottom line, I think O'Neal will get overpaid for what he produces on the court, but for what he makes the Heat (or any second-tier team) off the court I would do it.

The taste of defeat is bitter my friends.

A few weeks back, I wondered out loud why in the world Orlando Magic GM John Weisbrod would jump ship just when things were turning around in Central Florida.

Turns out TJ Sylvester at Orlando Magic Fan (known to his friends as Sly) has an idea:

So, why did John Weisbrod quit? Plain and simple. The man worked his ass off making moves to better this team. When the tough came knocking, the pocket book closed up. Some of his decisions were popular, some were not. The team as a whole, and the Magic as a franchise, are better today than they were last summer. In all honesty, they are better now than they have been in 2-3 years. Weisbrod asked for the coach he thought could do the job and the Magic would not pay.

And out the door he went -- perhaps to the NHL (head shaking).

Wizznutzz, that bastion of Bullets pride and Wizards worship, has a brief phrenological study (as in whether the shape of a human head and skull can tell us every thing we need to know about a man’s personality and intelligence) of Michael Ruffin, Steve Blake and John Peter Ramos. And don’t forget to pick up your Jahidi White thong while you’re there.

Over on SportsFanMagazine.com, columnist Greg Wyshynski (no, it's not a blog, but I'm the one running this here Carnival, and you know better than to mess with a Carny!) feels TNT’s NBA studio show is America’s own hoops version of Hockey Night in Canada: A must-see part of the fan viewing ritual that’s frequently more entertaining than the games it’s featured on. In particular, he’s impressed with how brilliantly the show is staged:

One of the things I love about this show is the way it's shot. The set seems larger than most studio shows, and the mise-en-scene creates an interesting dynamic: Bitter old baller Barkley to the right, slightly less bitter Smith to the right center, the decidedly non-partisan Johnson in the middle and the decidedly sunny and pro-player Magic on the left. It's like "Crossfire," with Charles Barkley as Pat Buchanan. (I hope I just gave someone a heart attack.)

Bill Laimbeer -- ex-player, WNBA head coach, part-time Sleestak?

Raised in the Chicago suburb of Clarendon Hills, Illinois, Laimbeer attended the University of Notre Dame, and in 1974 he played one of the Sleestak during the first season of the television series Land of the Lost.

Props to Bob Sturm for the crazy no-look.

After a late February trade for Baron Davis, the Warriors were hot down the stretch with an 20-10 streak to finish the season. The MVN Golden State blog "the City" highlights the top 10 Warriors moments for 2004-05. From Mike Dunleavy's shirtless ejection against Dallas, to Jason Richardson dropping 40 on Sacramento, to the 126-99 drubbing of the once mighty Lakers, Dave Issacs counts them down Dave Letterman style.

With Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, Derek Fisher, and Mike Dunleavy, the Golden State Warriors have a young crop of players who can run the floor with shades of Run TMC. Chris Mullin is now the Warriors GM, Mitch Richmond is a Warriors assistant, Tim Hardaway is part-owner of the ABA Florida Pit Bulls, Tom Tolbert is the King of all Basketball media, could it be only a matter of time before Manute Bol re-enters the NBA scene? Commissioner Bol?

And here is a shout out to the two new Bay Area ABA franchises, the ABA San Francisco Pilots, and the ABA San Jose Skyrockets.

Ok, ok, who's hiding the link to the video of this:

The NBA premieres a TV ad that got an assist from TNT analyst Doug Collins. In it, Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria is in bed with, and kissing, the NBA championship trophy as she wears San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker's jersey.

The only thing better would have to be if she was wearing my hockey jersey. A man can dream can't he?

One last note: If you have any other posts that are worth my time, send them along, and I'll include them in an update.

Once again, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you come back tomorrow for the inaugural Carnival of the NHL, where we'll be taking a look at a league that only exists on paper, and in the minds of its dwindling fan base. Until then, later.

UPDATE: Larry Fleisher remembers Patrick Ewing. And take a second look at True Hoop from sportswriter Henry Abbot.

ANOTHER UPDATE: From Can't Stop The Bleeding comes news that NBA great George Mikan has died. My condolences to his family and friends.

Eric 12:01 AM

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