Mid-Summer Chatter

What's good my peoples?

Sorry for the neglect, this past week. There hasn't been much to write about in mid-summer.

I'm gonna switch it up a bit and get to some relevant hoop topics, not worrying so much about my writing style.

First topic of the day: Tim Donaghy. Stern's worst nightmare seems to have come true. He's apparently gonna rat out the other officials who may have been involved in gambling at one time or another. ESPN reported that there may be up to 20 league officials that may have been involved in gambling, which is against the collective bargaining agreement between the league and its officials.

There can't possibly be a worse look for the NBA than this. It takes away from the integrity of the game, and that's a problem. We'll just have to listen to the developments as they come.

Second topic: Team USA heading into the FIBA Olympic qualifying matches. A top 2 finish will secure a spot in the '08 Olympics. They should be able to easily finish on top with the amount of proven talent and competitive spirit that this team has, something that was lacking in recent outings for the US of A. You can bet I'll be watching. Full report to come!

Third topic: A more equal balance of powers in the league? To some degree, with Boston's pickups. But let's be real. The Spurs, Mavericks, and Suns are still the West's top dogs, and are still the teams to beat in the league.

Fourth topic: Former And1 players become part owners in new Streetball organization, Ball 4 Real. Many of the original ballers that paved the way for streetball popularity, such as A.O, Main Event, 1/2 Man, 50, Mr. 720 (formerly Air up There), and others have jumped ship from AND1. From what I've read and watched on old ESPN Streetball episodes, there's been numerous times when players were expressing their discontent with management, pay, and overall climate of basketball. I wouldn't blame them. The OGs were being dismissed while the new cats were turning AND1 as the authority on street ball to more of a circus act. AND1 has taken their game outdoors once again, (as a move to re-establish street credibility?) and this was essentially the straw that broke the camel's back for the real ballers, who were confused and disgruntled as to a seemingly regressive move.

Ball4Real is having a nationwide tour in arenas. This is basically in line with what AND1 was doing until this year. As far as popularity goes, AND1 may still be popular, and the one with their ESPN documentary show, but Ball 4 Real definitely has the potential to overtake them in the long-run. As far as street credibility, those cats have more of, than the new breed AND1 players who are mostly about show. And that's ultimately what will reel in exciting talent.


Alright, so that was a brief rundown of hoops-related topics. What yall think about this format of writing? Leave me some comments if you wish.