Gasol will then go to the Houston Rockets per Wojo.

Poor Khloe Kardashian must be devastated!

With the game tied 137-137 last night in the Drew League the ball was in Kobe Bryant’s hands as he used his dribble to set up James Harden for…wait for it…the game winner!

Kobe was then mobbed on the court by fans before he took off his shoes and threw them to two lucky fans.

Remember back in the day when the NBA was in existence and Bryant would play in front of 20,000 people? Yeah, those were the days!

But who needs TNT when you have You Tube pickup game footage?

It’s time for the 2011 Sportscasm NBA Awards.  With any awards list, you will either agree or disagree. This is simply our choices of who we thought the best of the best were in the 2010/11 season.

Runner Up: Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)

Runner Up: John Wall (Washington Wizards)

Runner Up: Tony Allen (Memphis Grizzlies)

Runner Up: J.R. Smith (Denver Nuggets)

Runner Up: Lionel Hollins (Memphis Grizzlies)

Runner Up: Gar Forman (Chicago Bulls)

• Derrick Rose
• Dwyane Wade
• LeBron James
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Dwight Howard

NBA Second Team

• Chris Paul
• Kobe Bryant
• Kevin Durant
• Zach Randolph
• LaMarcus Aldridge

NBA Third Team

• Russell Westbrook
• Carmelo Anthony
• Pau Gasol
• Kevin Love
• Amar’e Stoudemire

Why do celebrities and athletes to cheesy commercials for overseas companies?  Because they pay extremely handsomely for a short day’s work.

Here is Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant in a new commercial for Turkish Airlines.

It was written by a 3-year old.

Bryant and Family outside Grauman's Chinese Theater

Hey, you got me.  For some unexplained reason NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant was honored this week with a traditional hand and footprint ceremony outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater.  Bryant is the very first athlete EVER to be given such an honor.

The basketball pro’s wife Vanessa Bryant and his two daughters, Natalie and Gianna, came out to support the 32-year-old for the honorary ceremony.

Kobe, the first non-actor to receive his own spot, was all smiles as he got his hands and feet a bit wet after imprinting them onto the legendary sidewalk.

Let’s put this in perspective.  They didn’t pick Muhammed Ali, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Magic Johnson, Joe Montana, a former president, or even Bill Gates.  Nope, they chose Kobe Bryant.  It’s not that he’s not exceptional at his craft, but…Well, maybe they chose him for his upstanding character.  Though there was that little matter of rape charges filed against him for an extra-marital incident that occurred while he was on the road.  Perhaps the selection committee heard about Bryant’s stunning acting debut in “Black Mamba”, a five-in-a-half minute shoe commercial by Nike.  At least that was acting…sort of.

Or, more likely, they chose Bryant because he lives in LA and plays basketball there.  That’s the only logical explanation.  They were looking for an athlete, there are all of two professional sports in Los Angeles right now and Bryant is the face of the Lakers.  The fact that he’ll one day be a Hall of Famer didn’t hurt.

But c’mon, really.  Kobe Bryant?  Seriously?

[PhotoSource: bauergriffononline.com]

Since Nike basically funds the entire NBA, it was only natural that the company that makes shoes for kids…by kids…in poverty-stricken third world nations, create a giant advertisement with arguably the NBA’s most popular player.  So enjoy.  And remember, “Product placement gives us a bigger budget.  Bigger budget, more explosions.”

Best line of the entire film:

Mr. Suave: Black Mamba…helluva name.  What, your mom lose a bet or something?

Classic.

It’s a situation that has been getting “curiouser and curiouser” by the hour.  Over the past several days, almost half of the NBA has been involved in trade talks with unhappy Denver Nuggets‘ forward Carmelo Anthony.  Teams appear to be playing one against another.  And according to Howard Beck of the New York Times, the rumours are taking their toll on the entire league:

At least 12 teams — 40 percent of the league — have been snared in the Anthony intrigue at some point in the last six months. It has rained havoc on locker rooms in Newark and Detroit, New York and Chicago and, of course, in Denver. More than 20 players — Nets and Knicks, Pistons, Bobcats and Timberwolves — have seen their names attached to a rumored Anthony deal.

To be eliminated from the chase is to find peace.

“The rumors are over,” Derrick Favors, the Nets’ prized rookie forward, told reporters last week. “I don’t have to worry about them.”

Favors and the Nets’ Devin Harris acknowledged being unnerved by the reports. The Nuggets’ Chauncey Billups, who wants to finish his career in Denver, was also bothered.

The rumors have appeared to take a mental toll on the Knicks’ Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari.

The Pistons are still dealing with the fallout from an aborted three-way trade with the Nets and the Nuggets. At the peak of the talks, Detroit benched its onetime star Richard Hamilton, deepening a rift between them.

This isn’t at all as ridiculous at Lebron James‘ “Decision”.  James’ ego nearly consumed the entire NBA for months.  Anthony is just unhappy with the Nuggets and looking forward to a trade – especially since he has another year on his contract.  But this kind of drama is not what he needs, not if he wants to escape with his reputation intact – unlike “King” James.  Then, again, Anthony is currently doing all the right things. Namely, keeping his mouth shut.

[Source: AM Basketball]

Okay, so we knew the days of measured, well-thought-out responses from sports figures were over.  But lately, the sound bites that have been flying from the mouths of professional athletes seem to lack even the slightest measure of tact.  In the NFL, Hines Ward of the Steelers recently suggested to reporters that the NFL  doesn’t “give a f**k about concussions.”

Another example is Kobe Bryant’s reaction to criticism over the Los Angeles Lakers losing 4 of the last 8 games.  The Huffington Post reports:

“Don’t know, don’t care. People that criticize can kiss my ass. I don’t give a sh*t,” Kobe said in a post-practice interview. “I really don’t. I keep the train moving, we’re going to keep on moving, and in June, they’ll say nothing. But now, it’s good talk.”

It’s nice to know Kobe’s still in control.  But it takes more than one player to move an entire team.  And athletes need to remember that it’s the media’s job to scrutinize.  Criticism comes along with the multi-million dollar contracts.  I’m sure we can hold Kobe to his reference about June, though.  For now, Kobe should probably just keep his mouth shut about what he’s going to do and just do it.  That’s the best sound bite athletes can give their critics.

[Source: Backseat Fan]

After the Los Angeles Lakers blew out the Cleveland Cavaliers 109 – 87 at the Staples Center Tuesday night, Lebron James had this to say on Twitter.

Crazy. Karma is a b****.. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!

Obviously, King James had taken exception to the way he was treated when he and his new team, the Miami Heat, last visited Cleveland.  Knowing his ego, it was probably impossible for James to take the high ground.  And given the time signature, it looks like he sent the tweet before the game even ended.

[Source: Bitten&Bound]

Bumpshack.com is reporting that Los Angeles Lakers wannabe bad-boy Matt Barnes was arrested for domestic violence against his girlfriend on Wednesday in Sacramento, California. The charge is a felony domestic violence charge.

The authorities determine Barnes was the primary aggressor and he was promptly arrested and booked for suspicion of domestic violence and maliciously obstructing the use of a telephone line. Barnes was released on $50,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday (September 13).

Sadly, this comes as no surprise, given the reputation of Barnes, both on and off the court.  Hopefully he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if the charges against him are in fact true.

Barnes idiotically told a TV reporter that he was the victim and tweeted, “DON’T LET YOUR EARS WITNESS, WHAT YOUR EYES DIDN’T SEE!!!”

On a positive note, it looks like Barnes has mastered the mugshot at this point.

Matt Barnes on Twitter