They called him "Stumpy"

Reality Basketball Re-Post Classic!GAIL GOODRICH SUPERSTAR

After writing about Allen Iverson re-signing with the 76'ers an old friend of mine (Illan) was curious why I haven't written about my all time favorite player Gail Goodrich. I wondered the same thing and it got me thinking about all the great little guys in NBA history. Bob Cousy, Calvin Murphy, Nate Archibald, John Stockton and Isaiah Thomas to name a few. But in my eyes Goodrich is one of the all time great little guys. Most people do not know that he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. He's a five time NBA All-Star, one time NBA Champion, two time NCAA All-American and won two NCAA titles with UCLA

Because I grew up playing basketball in Los Angeles just like Gail did, I might be a little biased, but there is no denying how great he really was. He was one of my two sports idols growing up (the other was Jerry West). Gail was told at every level that he was too short and too skinny to compete-just like me.
He was quick, had great fundamentals and could really shoot the ball-just like me. He went on to an illustrious Hall of Fame NBA career. Just like me...in my head. His dedication and strong work ethic has truly motivated me in basketball and throughout life.

Here are a few clips and other links I found on Gail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ug-ikmg6Fg (NBA)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9bEA4NcBlc (College)

http://www.nba.com/history/players/goodrich_summary.html (NBA.Com)

Greatest missed dunk of all time?

Tue May 18, 2010 10:50 am EDT

REALITY BASKETBALL

VIDEO AND PICTURES OF THE GREATEST MISSED DUNK OF ALLTIME!

Midway through the fourth quarter of an otherwise anticlimactic Game 1 between the Suns and Lakers, Shannon Brown(notes) took off from around the free-throw line and all most dunked over the new posterized Jason Richardson.

During a game. In traffic.

The miss was so good that people immediately started calling it the best missed dunk of all-time. You be the judge. Either way,  this missed dunk provided some of the most amazing pictures in the history of dunking.

For instance, this Nils Wagner screen cap, which somehow is not Photoshopped.

Shannon looks like he just took off of a trampoline.

These two pictographs really let you know how high Shannon Brown was. They kind of make Marv Albert's "I actually thought he was going over the backboard" seem logical.

This is really just an awesome picture. Yeah, you can kinda tell that he's missing the dunk, but that doesn't even matter. The line from the ball to his foot is amazing. It's like the super-leaningest (totally a word) dunk attempt ever and it looks great. Plus, Kobe's face is hilarious.

Too bad Shannon Brown missed. If he hadn't, we'd be talking about one of the best dunks ever.

Reality Basketball - Chris Bavelles

By Trey Kerby

THE NBA MOST INTENSE PLAYOFF RIVALRIES

LAKERS VS CELTICS

The creme de la creme. East Coast vs. West Coast. Blue Collar vs. Laid Back Surfer Dude. Sprinkle in some of the greatest players of all time and you have a rivalry that makes Neilson ratings and general basketball fans excitement go way up!

This rivalry has it all, history, consistency and story-lines galore. It all started in 1959 when the Celtics beat up the Minneapolis Lakers. In the 60's they met six times in the Finals with the Celtics winning each time. Ok, not much of a rivalry yet, I know.

The teams took the 70's off, but renewed their rivalry with vigor in the 80's. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird changed everything. The kid with the winning smile and the stud with the porn-star mustache injected new life into the greatest rivalry in basketball. The teams met three times in that decade with the Lakers winning two of the three.

The 2008 Finals pitted the two most successful franchises in history yet again. Think about it, 50.s, 60's, 80's and today; there is no more enduring and compelling NBA rivalry than the Lakers vs. the Celtics.

BULLS VS KNICKS

This one started in the 80's but didn't get hot until the 90's. Where the Michael Jordan led Bulls had to get over the Pistons to move on to greatness, the Knicks needed to climb Mount Jordan. They were never quite able to make it.

In 1989 the Bull not only beat the Knicks be demoralized them in a six game upset. That win propelled the Bulls to greatness and the Knicks began to falter. In 1991 they met again with the Bulls sweeping the Knicks. That was the series were MJ managed his unreal posterizing of Patrick Ewing.

Its Ewing that actually makes this series stand out for me. All athletics think they are better than their opponent. They don't all say it, but why take the floor if you don't think you're better or can be better? Ewing not only thought he was a better center then Bill Cartwright, he was, but he was convinced his Knicks were better than the Bulls.

Sorry Pat, they weren't. The Knicks could never beat the Bulls!

Well, at least not with Jordan aboard. When MJ skipped out to play baseball the Knicks finally got past the Bulls. It was bittersweet of course, because it took seven games even without His Airness and they would eventually lose in the Finals to the ROckets.

The rivalry was renewed when MJ came to his senses and laced em up again in 1996. The Bulls with MJ were a lot different than the Bulls without him. Chicago beat New York 4-1.

LAKERS VS KINGS

Sure this one is relatively new, only really becoming a full-fledged rivalry in 2000, but it got intense quick. In 2000 the Kings scared the Lakers but the team from LA prevailed.

In 2001 the Lakers steamrolled the Kings, but in 2002 things were different. The Kings had the Lakers knocked down, but could never deliver the final knock-out punch.

Instead, the punch in 2002 was delivered by the Lakers Robert Horry.

Like the Sixers vs. Celtics series earlier however the Lakers vs. Kings battle was so intense it flowed into meaningless games. The same year that Robery Horry broke the hearts of Northern California basketball fans the two teams met in a pre-season game.

Rick Fox and Doug Christie got into a skirmish. In typical basketball fashion, the two were separated and ejected. Rick Fox however wasn't content to take the rest of the night off. He ran around to the Kings tunnel leading to their locker-room and confronted Christie. A fight broke out that resulted in suspensions for both.

Now, that's a rivalry!

PISTONS VS BULLS

Whats not to love about a Chicago vs. Detroit series? The Bad Boys, the Jordan Rules, the bad blood; this was a classic series between to teams that seemed to genuinely not like each other. The only reason its ranked this low is because we haven't seen the match up in a while.

Back in the day, the Pistons were the Bad Boys. The team of players that didn't believe in giving up an easy layup to their opponent. They were the dominant mountain that the Michael Jordan led Bulls had to climb to reach the top. In 1988 MJ torched the Pistons for 59 points in a Bull victory leaving coach Chuck Daly livid. It was the only game the Bulls would win in that series that year.

The two met up again in 1989 with the Pistons employing the "Jordan Rules" to slow down the Bull superstar. Whether the Rules ever existed or not is debatable, what isn't is that, once again, the Pistons defeated the Bulls this time in six games. The next year, it took the Pistons seven games, the Bulls were gaining.

The rest is history. The Bulls climbed the Piston mountain and went on to greatness.

The 2006-2007 match-up between these two iconic franchises seems like a distant memory, for the Pistons. Hurry back Detroit!

THE JELLO IS JIGGLING, THIS GAME IS IN THE REFRIGERATOR...

ALL TIME LAKER GREAT "CHICK HEARN" GETS A VERY UNIQUE STATUE AT STAPLES CENTER.

Lakers Blog

Prior to L.A.’s Game 2 contest against Oklahoma City on Tuesday afternoon outside of STAPLES Center, a touching ceremony took place to unveil a 16′, 5,000 lb. bronze and steel sculpture of Hall of Fame Broadcaster Chick Hearn, the legendary voice of the Lakers from 1961-2002.

Before the statue, created by renowned sculptor and artist Omri Amrany, was revealed, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak was among those who addressed the assembled crowd.

“People who listened to Chick can walk by, touch the statue and remember Chick and his contributions to the Los Angeles Lakers,” said Kupchak. “It’s also fitting that generations to come can walk by and although they might not know who Chick is, hopefully they’re with somebody - it could be a mother or a father - and they touch the statue and they say, ‘Dad, who was this,’ and the father says, ‘Son sit down, let me tell you about the greatest broadcaster ever.”

Kicking off and closing the ceremony was Hearn’s longtime partner and current Lakers’ analyst Stu Lantz, who shared memories of his time with Chick and honored Hearn’s wife, Marge. And while Marge Hearn was the guest of honor, several Laker legends were in attendance, including Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Byron Scott, Rick Fox and Norm Nixon.

When the drape was dropped, a touching moment occurred as Marge Hearn was the first to sit alongside her husband’s likeness. She then expressed her pleasure at how great the statue looked, while making sure to point out the impact of Lakers Executive Vice President of Business Operations Jeanie Buss.

“She’s not getting enough credit, but Jeanie Buss - at least six or seven years ago when we were having lunch - said, ‘You know we should have a statue of Chick.’,” explained Hearn. “She’s the one who started it, she’s the one who did it with Linda Rambis’s help. They’re a great team.”

While on the podium, Big Game James detailed how much Chick Hearn helped create cohesivness within Los Angeles with his distinct call; now L.A. can collectively celebrate alongside Hearn’s likeness just by heading down to STAPLES Center.

Hope for Allen Iverson?

I really hope that Allen Iverson figures things out. Not only for himself and his NBA legacy but for his family. I think he has been one of the most amazing  and one of the most misunderstood athletes of our times. Reality Basketball wishes him well.
Here is the article that is spreading like wildfire on Iverson.

BELOW IS THE ARTICLE FROM PHILLY.COM & STEPHEN A. SMITH


His closest confidant asked the basketball world to pray for Allen Iverson, as if no one has all these years while seeing this train wreck coming.
He acted as if the former 76ers star hadn't needed a significant dose of prayer, luck, and divine intervention until now.

MATT SLOCUM / Associated Press

And as the rest of us are forced to bear witness to a disintegration, the rapid decline of a career clearly lacking nurturing, the time has arrived for Iverson's inner circle to stand up and be counted, to provide some semblance of tough love - by any means necessary.
Unless those people are willing to write his epitaph instead.
Just listening to Gary Moore, Iverson's business manager and the person he trusts most, they may be doing so very soon.
Allen Iverson is in trouble, folks, deep trouble. The combination of alcohol and gambling - and a once-promising career in tatters because of the first two - won't culminate in anything short of disaster if help does not arrive in short order.
If numerous NBA sources are telling the truth - and there's no reason to believe they'd do otherwise in a situation of this magnitude - Iverson will either drink himself into oblivion or gamble his life away.
Moore, ever the protector, would never admit as much, of course. But that's part of the problem, isn't it?

Iverson's wife, Tawanna, having hired some high-powered Atlanta attorney and filed for a divorce last week, does not help matters. Nor does it help that she's already separated from her husband, with custody of their five kids and seeking both alimony and child support.
When you consider Iverson's well-known penchant for alcohol and his banishment from casinos in Detroit and Atlantic City, if disgust and sadness don't come to mind, at least one question does:
Where is Pat Croce when you need him? Or Iverson's coach at Georgetown, John Thompson?
Where is the person with the ideal combination of compassion and toughness who would shelter Iverson at the same time he's holding his feet to the flames? Someone whose vested interest is in Iverson's well-being, someone who doesn't need his money or cachet?
In other words, someone he does not have in his camp right now. Or someone who has an impact, and needs to utilize it.
"I think there's one guy, and his name is John Thompson," said former Temple basketball coachJohn Chaney, noted for saving souls as much as winning basketball games throughout his illustrious career. "John is the one guy who'll have a chance of slowing this train wreck down, who could wrap his arms around Iverson and have an impact, because clearly it has not been done. But there's still this one question: Will [Iverson] listen?
"See, too many of our athletes give lip service when someone is trying to help them. And as soon as you leave them, they find themselves dealing with self-preservation and denial. It's an athlete's biggest problem to overcome.
"When you were young and vital, there were a lot of hit songs on that side of the record," Chaney said. "With Iverson, there are no more hit songs on that side of the record. You've got to accept the fact that you've danced and boogied. Now that they've flipped it over and ain't nobody dancing anymore, it's over!
"The ball is deflated. So now you have to find another life for yourself."
Iverson's NBA life may be over, but he and the folks he keeps close to him don't seem to realize it.
Take the more than $200 million he has earned in his career, subtract Uncle Sam's take, alimony, child support for five kids, and no millions forthcoming, then ask yourself what the 6-foot guard has left.
With his lifestyle, his mistakes, his lack of preparation for a life beyond the glory.
Talk to anyone remotely associated with Iverson and they can't deny that he is ill-prepared for a post-basketball career. His cohorts still look to him as that mercurial box-office star who won four scoring titles and a league MVP award, not as someone who simply dreams about those days right now.
The one advantage Iverson acknowledged having all of these years was a wife about whom he publicly said, "I'd die for her. . . . I'd die without her." Now, she essentially has said, "Go right ahead."
No wonder Moore said, "Pray."
This is Iverson we're talking about. What else is there to do? Especially if he is forced to stand alone?





www.chrisbavelles.com

Another Buzzer Beater for Kobe

Kobe Bryant hits another game winner!

Found video of all of Kobe Bryant's game winning shots this year. Kobe has hit 5 game winners this year alone. What is interesting to me is that Kobe does it different ways. At times he hits a straight up jumper just as time runs out the way Jerry West used to do. Other times he hits a spectacular buzzer beater the way Michael Jordan used to do. Kobe is so mentally strong and so well prepared that these last second shots are routine for him.

Enjoy these KOBE BRYANT MOMENTS

KOBE BUZZER BEATERS 2010: 

The White House turns "Purple & Gold" as Lakers visit Obama.

Lakers visit the White House and meet President Obama.
Clips from NBA TV of Lakers at White House

Today, the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers visit the White House to meet the President of the United States. Renowned as a huge basketball fan, you have to be sure that this one visit that the President has been looking forward to in quite a while. President Obama must have been even more elated to be presented a Lakers jersey by the player he considers the best in the NBA - Kobe Bryant.

Here's the transcript from today's visit courtesy of the SunTimes.com:

President Obama: Hello, hello! How are you? Thank you, everybody. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you so much, everybody. Please have a seat. Welcome to the White House. And congratulations, a little belatedly, to the Los Angeles Lakers for winning your 15th -- 15th -- NBA title, and fourth in the past 10 years.

Before I say a few things about the Lakers, I just want to acknowledge some wonderful members of Congress and big Lakers fans who are here: Congresswoman Jane Harman, Congresswoman Laura Richardson, Congressman Adam Schiff, Congressman Brad Sherman, and Lucille Roybal-Allard. Please, everybody, give them a big round of applause. (Applause.)

Now, as folks here will tell you, the only thing that is better than playing basketball -- the only thing that's better than watching basketball is playing basketball -- but I'm 48, and soon to be 49, and it's a little harder these days to move around on the court, especially when you're playing against kids who are half your age. But I still get enormous, enormous pleasure from watching great athletes on the court. And nobody exemplifies excellence in basketball better than the Los Angeles Lakers last year. (Applause.)

I want to congratulate everybody who helped make this team what it is -- from the assistants to the front office staff, to the trainers and the ticket-takers, all the fans back in L.A. who bleed purple and gold. You all should be very proud. That's you. (Laughter.)

I want to congratulate Jeanie Buss and the rest of the Buss family for guiding this team so well for the last 30 years. (Applause.)

I'm especially excited to meet Coach Phil Jackson, the Zen Master. (Laughter.) I've been a fan of Coach Jackson's ever since his days running the triangle offense in Chicago. I want to congratulate him on his tenth NBA championship -- the most in history. I do want to point out that six of them came with the Bulls. (Laughter.) I just want to point that out.

President Obama: You remember that, Magic?

Magic Johnson: Yes, sir. (Laughter.)

President Obama: -- '90-'91? Remember when -- (applause.) You know, they won the first game and they were feeling cocky. (Laughter.) And Paxson was hitting all those shots. Anyway, we're not -- that's not why we're here. (Laughter.)

I was hoping that, Coach, you were going to bring some books for Republicans and Democrats in Congress maybe to get them to start playing like a team together. (Laughter.) Coach is famous for passing out books and helping people get the job done.

We are obviously honored to have one of the all-time greats in NBA history, Magic Johnson. (Applause.) Magic did pretty well during his time with the Lakers. He wasn't bad. (Laughter.) And now a new generation is continuing his legacy. But obviously part of what makes Magic special wasn't just how he played on the court, but also just the infectious enthusiasm about life and what he's now doing with businesses and minority communities. He's just been an outstanding leader in our country for a long time.

Of course, I've got to recognize Kobe Bryant -- one of the most competitive players I've ever seen -- (applause) -- for being named Finals MVP last year, obviously already MVPs under his belt, the youngest player ever to reach 25,000 points in his career. And he's playing with a broken finger. Now, if I was -- if I had a broken finger I would have trouble getting out of bed. (Laughter.) And he's still leading the team day in and day out.

This is a team that never lost its focus last season -- from the first tip-off to the final buzzer. I know that the Lakers have a tradition of ending each team gathering -- whether it's a practice, or a game, or a team meeting -- by with the chant, "1,2,3, Rings." As Lamar Odom said, "We kind of always saw that light." Everyone was willing to do what it took to get a little stronger, to play a little harder, and to bring home that title.

But I think it's important to note that this team also knows that being a champ is about more than trophies and rings. It's about being a winner off the court as well as on it -- and giving back to those who are less fortunate. The Lakers and the NBA have always been about serving others -- at home and around the world. And that tradition continued last week, when the NBA and the Players Association, led by Derek Fisher, pledged to donate $1 million to support relief efforts in Haiti. (Applause.) Jordan Farmar and Pau Gasol are also donating their money to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. Pau pledged $1,000 for every point he scored against the Knicks -- and I'm glad he dropped 20 -- (laughter) -- helping the Lakers to beat New York and changing the lives of Haitians thousands of miles away.

And earlier today, the team joined with our United We Serve initiative to hold a fitness clinic for kids from Stanton Elementary School right here in Washington, D.C. -- teaching them about a few moves, but also how to live healthy and active lives.

So I just want to again thank the entire Lakers organization for your service, for the great joy that you have given the city of Los Angeles, but also the incredible competition you're your organization has graced the basketball court with for decades now. If this season is anything like the last one -- I know that you guys have your sights on the NBA finals -- so we might see you here before long. But we are very grateful for your presence here today.

Give them a big round of applause. (Applause.)

Now, one last thing. I was also told that Mr. Brown here intends to win the dunk contest -- (laughter) -- so we'll see how that goes.

(From: Laker Nation)