http://thestartingfive.net Bangin’ and Scorin’ Every Trip Down the Floor Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:18:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en All kinds of stellar moves are going down and the biggest IMO is Artest going to LA. There is also the possibility Sheed goes to Boston in another move that decides the NBA Championship. Shaq in Cleveland, Vince in Orlando? Jefferson in San Antonio? Damn...David Stern has to be loving ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/07/03/friday-fire-right-now-who-wins-the-2009-2010-nba-champioship/ Talked to Ron Artest's people last night after the rumors began to swirl and the key word was "official". So I waited and waited, went to work, fielded all kinds of calls, came home and turned on SportsCenter. The first image I saw was Ron Artest being interviewed by Stan ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/07/03/ron-artest-signs-with-the-lakers-kobe-has-an-enforcer-now/ Classic. Pam Shriver and Darren Cahill are calling this match one of the best they've ever seen. Serena Williams is going for her 11th Grand Slam title and Elena Dementieva gave her everything she had and more before ultimately succumbing 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6 . I'm not a huge tennis ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/07/02/serena-williams-defeats-elena-dementieva-in-what-is-being-hailed-as-the-best-womens-match-ever/ Joe Dumars has had what should be considered a typical week for an NBA exec. He fired his head coach and former teammate Michael Curry minutes away from the free agency signing period...sending shockwaves through the organization...and has no coach in place before summer league begins, but being one of ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/07/02/ben-gordon-and-charlie-villanueva-say-yes-to-the-detroit-pistons-doug-collins-does-not/ As evidenced in the recent passings of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and Alexis Arguello, we never know when our number will be called. I know we all have wished we were at a certain sporting event no matter how historic, you may even be makng plans for the next big ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/07/01/my-sports-bucket-list-past-present-and-future-lord-willing/ 82-8 with 65 of his wins coming by knockout. Alexis Arguello was a beast. He was everything that was great about boxing during his career. A career that saw him win 3 world titles in 3 different weight classes--the sixth fighter to do so. He was a smooth yet classic ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/07/01/hall-of-fame-boxer-alexis-arguello-found-dead-at-57/ The NBA Free Agency period kicked off this morning - one of the biggest potential signings has Rasheed Wallace headed to Boston (Great! Now they may have a center shooting from behind the arc). My concern is with the 76ers who need to take the next step before all of this young talent becomes stagnant. I don't ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/07/01/look-at-all-these-76ers-rumors/ When the Flyers signed  former Ottawa Senators goalie Ray Emery earlier this month, two questions came to mind - what took them so long and how long will the marriage last? Ray Emery at the age of 26 stands alone on an island - hockey's goal crease. He is the last line of defense ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/30/have-the-flyers-found-the-razors-edge/ Soap box time. Just like sports, everything is not simply about the here and now just to stroke the insecure egos of man and woman. Check yourself. Call me ideological, but I can care less. Is something wrong with me? Am I one of the few that listened to my Mom and Pop ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/29/even-when-michael-jackson-dies-hate-becomes-the-new-love/ Because of Michael Jackson's death, the 2009 NBA Draft was surreal. I didn't watch as attentively as I have for almost 30 years. Blake Griffith obviously went one. Will he be as good as Boozer or end up like Marcus Fizer? Being from here, I wanted Tyreke Evans, but Jrue ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/26/2009-nba-draft-how-will-point-guards-pan-out/ I can't even get into the draft. I had a post I've been working on all day, passed out from a lack of sleep the last week and woke up to 100 text messages. Most were friends, associates, co-workers, questioning if Mike had died or not. There was a period ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/25/friday-fire-what-was-your-favorite-michael-jackson-track/ http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/25/michael-jackson-dies-at-50/ I think it was Jemele (via Stephen A.)who alerted the twitterspere about Shaq's trade around 11 or 12 last night and for the next 3 hours the entire sports world was abuzz with reactions, rumors, and predictions for next season. I was debating Bomani Jones about what was the better ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/25/thursday-morning-starting-five-the-shaq-trade-to-cleveland-shook-up-the-world-edition/ Elaborating on the intro in Part I, one has to understand that my view of life is grounded in my view of history as it relates to sports. I went hard on Ricky Rubio (Dr. Boyd and I elaborate on Rubio and also Kobe Bryant in the next part) because ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/24/the-dr-todd-boyd-interview-history-pop-culture-race-and-sports-part-ii/ Looks like Rubio is sending shock waves through the league as big trades are going down with minor NBA team players. This is always a very interesting time leading up to the draft as we wait and see how teams will jockey for position before during and after Thursday's draft. ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/24/wednesday-morning-starting-five-the-how-many-trades-will-be-made-today-edition/ As I was finishing up another segment with Dr. Boyd that mainly dealt with Kobe Bryant and to a lesser extent Ricky Rubio, I had a feeling a trade went down. I'd heard earlier about a Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen to the Pistons for Rip, Tayshaun and Stuckey, but ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/23/the-milwaukee-bucks-deal-richard-jefferson-to-the-san-antonio-spurs-for-bruce-bowen-kurt-thomas-and-fabricio-oberto/ The second part of Dr. Todd Boyd's interview should be posted tomorrow. Where will Lance Stephenson end up in school? (NY Daily News) Gloria and Emilio Estefan to become minority owners in Mami. (Miami Herald) Woman puts man in sleeperhold and stops robbery. (SFGate) Gwen Knapp writes why Donald Fehr didn't do his job ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/23/tuesday-morning-starting-five-the-do-you-care-about-congress-apologizing-for-slavery-edition/ Hasheem Thabeet changed last year's tournament by his damn self. Now there are whispers he won't amount to much in the NBA despite his above average height and shot blocking ability. I get Blake Griffith going one, but why isn't Thabeet a consensus number 2 pick? We live blogged the ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/22/i-challenge-any-nba-writer-to-a-debate-about-why-ricky-rubio-is-a-number-two-pick/ I've wanted to interview Dr. Todd Boyd for many years now and I'm honored to finally get the chance. I caught up with him yesterday and we kicked it for about an hour and twenty minutes. With this interview, I decided to highlight another perspective of what we talk about ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/19/the-dr-todd-boyd-interview-history-pop-culture-race-and-sports-part-1/ Don't misconstrue this fellas. Deal with this on a real rap level (I was there) and don't see this as running barefoot...wild flowers in tow...with a tight ass mesh shirt and skipping with your girl in the park singing Tip Toe Through the Tulips alright? This ain't about that. This is about ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/19/friday-fire-what-is-most-important-love-loyalty-or-security/ Allow me to open up by saying that I missed you guys terribly. TSF Family is as near and dear to me as my writing. The toughest time was during the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl, it was hard to even go to the site. I felt like I had ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/18/pardon-the-interruption/ Brandon Marshall has some off field issues, granted, but even in his NFL youth is one of the most talented receivers in the league. He's put his name on the block...which really doesn't mean anything in today's professional sports...and let's for the sake of the discussion say he gets traded. ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/18/thursday-morning-starting-five-the-would-you-trade-for-brandon-marshall-edition/ In my first interview with Chuck D on Michaeltillery.com (only a shell is still up on the server...won't be there long.), Chuck said he thought Hov was the GOAT. I was surprised by the admission but understood his explanation. It touched off a huge debate across the web on various ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/17/wednesday-morning-starting-five-the-mos-def-challenges-jay-z-to-a-rap-battle-edition/ Barry Bonds' timing mechanism. Reggie Jackson's swagger. Tiger Woods' precision. Michael Jordan's desire. Tim Duncan's consistency. Derek Jeter's professionalism. After last night, now we can add Kobe Bryant's level of commitment. Kobe Bryant is without question the best player we have in the game today and proved it the way it should ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/15/the-lakers-are-2008-2009-nba-champions-kobe-bryant-a-distinction-in-commitment/ It hasn't quite been a muggin', but it sure looks like it huh? What do you think? Do the Lakers win it all tonight on Orlando's floor...sending pre-teen Magic fans on a tearful lifelong journey of what if regret? That was me when Magic went 42, 15 and 7 to go ... http://thestartingfive.net/2009/06/14/nba-finals-game-5-preview-with-the-lakers-on-the-brink-will-the-magic-show-up-or-fold-up/