Three NBA championships, one NBA Finals MVP and four NBA All-Star appearances make for a decent shot at Springfield, Massachusetts immortality.
As one very new point guard in New York makes the headlines, another in the Alamo City keeps on running under the radar.

When it comes down to comparing the great players in the NBA today, Kobe Bryant is someone that i've always kept as the gold standard because of his ability to compete, desire to win, and proven track record.
Boston Celtics great Larry Bird saw the Los Angeles Lakers as the enemy during his playing days, but sees Bryant as the one current player he'd like on his side if he were playing today.

Before coming into the league, Dwight Howard built himself up as a very religious man who wanted to make a mark on the league by being a great human. As it turns out, Dwight Howard is a loser.

Even though the Orlando Magic have helped him make it to the NBA Finals, Howard isn't happy in Florida and has instead demanded a trade.

He may not have any role. He may not be asked to participate.
There is, though, a possibility that Bob Costas will have something to say for MLS broadcasts on NBC in 2012.
He'd probably look forward to the challenge.

While everyone now agrees that the 2011-12 NBA season won't feature 82 games, the New York Post is reporting that a 78-game regular season is still possible. Of course, that is assuming that an agreement can be reached before next weekend.

Since all NBA games are canceled until Nov. 30, to squeeze in the needed games, David Stern would have to push back the start of the playoffs and limit the number of off days during the season.

Post from: EveryJoe

The next 'Chosen One', Javier Hernandez (Chicharito)It's a great feeling to be a Soccer fan. It gives the U.S. sports fan that many more options. I'm able to watch an intriguing, unpredictable NBA Finals and check in on Gold Cup matches during time-outs.
As a recent Soccer convert, I haven't been able to watch too many Gold Cups in my life, so there aren't many memories to build on.

The NBA Finals this year has unexpectedly produced quite a few storylines for U.S. sports fans. The general consensus from fans seems to be for them to root against the Miami Heat. The Heat have painted themselves as villains, but not on purpose. They did it unintentionally.
The Heat's main contributors, Lebron James and Dwayne Wade, have all the moves on the basketball court, but apparently, not all the moves off when courting public opinion.

Post from: EveryJoe

Post from: EveryJoe

Fort Lauderdale Strikers #9 Abe Thompson was generous with his time and talked to Miami Ultras Alive on our 9th show. Number 9 on MUA#9, coincidence...?
Abe scored his first Strikers goal this past weekend and celebrated with the fans in the stadium and now on our internet radio show. Abe now has some good mojo coming his way.

Chris Bosh hit the go-ahead jumper with just under 40 seconds left and the Miami Heat went on to take Game 3 of the NBA Finals with an 88-86 victory on Sunday. The Heat now have a 2-1 lead over the Dallas Mavericks.

Dirk Nowitzki scored the final 12 points of the contest for the Mavs, but his shot at the buzzer didn't go in and Miami came away with the victory.

Down by 15 points halfway through the fourth quarter, the Dallas Mavericks looked like they'd be heading home down 2-0 in the NBA Finals. But the game wasn't over yet. In one of the best comebacks of all time, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs rallied for a 95-93 victory over the Miami Heat to even up the series at 1-1.

There's been a littany of problems in so many American sports lately. College football has an annual crisis of players, coaches and boosters scheming the system, Ohio State University being the latest. College basketball has its own share of problems as witnessed earlier in the year when the University of Connecticut got busted for recruiting violations only to bounce back and win the national championship a month later.

Can anyone spare a block of cheddar? We'd like to grate some cheese on these abs. Diego Forlan, his abs and his fiancée Zaira Nara are currently on extended holiday in Miami until Uruguay begins Copa América tournament play in Argentina on the 1st of July. The couple even attended the first game of the NBA finals last night, and we believe Diego had to remain fully clothed while indoors since there's no proof otherwise.

The Oklahoma City Thunder were on the verge of tying the 2011 Western Conference Finals. However, with about five minutes to go in regulation, the Thunder's youth showed ... as did the Dallas Mavericks' veteran mettle. After the game went to overtime, the Mavs continued to dominate on their way to a 112-105 victory.

Chris Bosh has gotten his share of heat this season and not in a good way. The power forward has been in the shadow of Dwyane Wade and LeBron in Miami. However, in Game 3 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals against the Chicago Bulls, Bosh carried the Heat to a 96-85 victory. The Heat now lead the series 2-1.

Dirk Nowitzki is one of the best shooting bigmen of all-time. On Tuesday night, Nowitzki might have cemented himself as the absolute best. In Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Finals, the German superstar poured in 48 points on only 15 field goal attempts as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder by a final score of 121-112.

When the NBA playoffs tipped off, nobody would have imagined that the two teams left standing in the Western Conference would end up being the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Pundits saw the Mavs as too old and too much of a regular season wonder. The Thunder, on the other hand, were viewed as too young and not quite ready.

It's the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. However, even though the playoffs are just beginning, there are some teams that appear to be the cream of the crop. While things my change between now and the NBA Finals, these teams appear to be the top five teams to beat going forward in the postseason:

1.

I've already examined the NFL and NHL, so now it's time for professional basketball.
What if the NBA had implemented a system of promotion and relegation? There was no obvious point to start like with the NFL and NHL, so I settled on the 1967-68 season. That's when the league was expanded to 12 team, the same starting number I used for the NHL, and it also means that all three of these posts started right around the same time.

(I originally wrote this post over two weeks ago. But for whatever reason I sat on it, and then sat on it some more. It may be a little dated the NCAA Championship game was the worst ever but Arsenal's continuing incompetence which gave United the title without even playing brought this back to life.

The Los Angeles Lakers have a way of making the Boston Celtics feeling empty as of late. Last year in the NBA Finals, the Lakers beat the Celtics to win another NBA championship. On Thursday, the Lakers ruined Ray Allen's night by beating Boston by a final score of 92-86.

Early in the game, Ray Allen passed Reggie Miller (video) to become the all-time leader in made three-pointers in the history of the NBA.