Kobe Bryant

Jason Friedman's NBA Predictions: Mavs Beat the Jazz, the Suns, the Rockets and the Pistons, Take the Championship in '08

Rockets-Lakers from Press Row: T-Mac Goes Down, Derek Fisher Steps Up

Introducing Troggie: The Burninator Riffs on Texans and Rockets

Batman Forever: Battier Gets His Due

Finally! NBA Finals Begin Tonight

Celtics-Lakers: The Boston Conundrum

Lakers-Celtics: Not with a Bang, Barely with a Whimper

Pipeline to the Pros

One of the straightest paths to the NBA begins on the summer hoops circuit. All the kids have to do in return is wear the right shoes.

Straight-Up DysFunktional

One of the straightest paths to the NBA begins on the summer hoops circuit. All the kids have to do in return is wear the right shoes.

And Now, Some Hoops

All-Star Weekend culminates with an actual game

Second Round Preview: Lakers Defense May Pose Biggest Threat To Rockets

The Rockets finally got the first-round monkey off their backs  last week, so what did the NBA give them as a reward? Only a second-round date with the prohibitive title favorite Lakers, beginning tonight at 9:30 in Los Angeles. It's a terrifying matchup by nearly every quantifiable metho ... More >>

Game 3 Preview: Rockets Need More From Wafer, On And Off Court

Photo by Jeff BalkeThe Rowdies get rowdy for the playoffsVon Wafer was a hero in the first round, scoring 21 points in 27 minutes in Game 2 and sparking the Rockets with an emotional return in the series-clinching Game 6 just two days after suffering a bulging disc in his lower back. He was suppos ... More >>

Michael Jackson Funeral Coverage Coming Tomorrow

Somehow the folks at West Coast Sound, Rocks Off's sister music blog over at L.A. Weekly, have scored the hottest ticket in show business in years: a ticket to Michael Jackson's funeral Tuesday at Los Angeles' Staples Center. So far Stevie Wonder, Jackson's old Motown boss Berry Gordy, Brooke Shiel ... More >>

Michael Jackson, You Will Be Honored...And Twittered

The Most Important Event Ever....Will Be Twittered!!!!Our colleagues at West Coast Sound, the music blog of our sister paper L.A. Weekly, will be in attendance when The Nation Stops at noon tomorrow (Houston time) to give a final send-off to Michael Jackson at Los Angeles' Staples Center. So far St ... More >>

Oh, The Lakers Will Learn All About Ron Artest

On the way to his fourth championship, Kobe Bryant was guarded by Mickael Pietrus, Hedo Turkoglu, Courtney Lee, Dahntay Jones, Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier, and all of the Jazz players whose names Jerry Sloan could remember. None of them had the combination of speed, size, and advanced weaponry ne ... More >>

Michael Jackson Memorial Underway

The Michael Jackson memorial service is underway at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Although Smokey Robinson has already expressed his condolences to the crowd, so far it's been a lot of talking heads; right now ABC News is discussing the market for MJ memorabilia. Here's a few tweets from our fr ... More >>

Ron Artest Wastes No Time Getting Crazy In LA: He Releases A Michael Jackson Tribute Video

You're taking a shower after a hard day at work, fuming over things that went wrong, when suddenly, you hear someone approaching.You turn around and see a large shadow, and realize it's not a friend, family member or even co-worker. Ron Artest has broken in, is evidently staring at you, and says he ... More >>

Game Time: Woke Up This Morning, Got Myself LeBron

​Those of you who listen to my show know that I am fond of placing the "occasional" friendly wager. While handicapping the day-to-day and week-to-week ebb and flow of a football, basketball, or (if you're really sick) baseball season can be enjoyable and, at times, lucrative (especially when betti ... More >>

Game Time: Road Trip Edition

​At some point, there is an age you reach where climbing into an SUV with three of your buddies to drive a ridiculous distance to a backwater town to watch football, drink beer, fart, and pretend you're 22 again becomes old. I don't know what age that is, I just know I haven't reached it yet.Las ... More >>

Game Time: Five NBA Games That Need "Dollar Beer Night"

Back in the day, Arco Arena in Sacramento used to rock pretty good. Even when it was hosting a perennially lottery-bound squad, and the Sacramento brass was drafting the likes of Pervis Ellison first overall in 1989 and Bobby Hurley in the 1993 lottery, fans would still show up and represent.Ultim ... More >>

The T-Mac Question

Stacy McLady or true superstar?

The H-Town Countdown: We Interrupt This Countdown to Bring You Some Basketball/Rap Metaphors

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com.​You know how at the end of each American Idol season they drag the fin ... More >>

Game Time: 2009 Bear Bryant Award, Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

​I'm not sure if any of you have noticed, but the last few weeks have not been all that kind to the perception of the college football coaching profession. If it's not Jim Leavitt getting fired from South Florida for allegedly slapping around a special teams player at halftime of a game, then it's ... More >>

The H-Town Countdown, No. 2: UGK's Ridin' Dirty

Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We're counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. UGK Ridin' Dirty (Jive, 1996) ​When UGK first came into focus with th ... More >>

Summerfest Short Cuts: Mix Master Mike, Kid Sister, Miniature Tigers, Etc.

Marc BrubakerSpain Colored Orange​Spain Colored Orange: Although technical difficulties with one ticket scanner caused an enormous line of hot and restless festival-goers outside one gate, Spain Colored Orange started its set at 2:05 p.m. on the dot - before the gates had even opened. SCO informed ... More >>

Commiserating The Lakers Win With Five Predictions About Bun's Forthcoming LP, Trill OG

​Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we'll examine a recent bit of music news and, albeit sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. We'll incorporate the number five in there somewhere. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Ack. The Lakers won the NBA Championship las ... More >>

Game Time: Kobe Bryant: One Down, One To Go (And Neither of Them Are You, LeBron)

You, Senator, are no Michael Jordan​ "I've got one more than Shaq." -- Kobe BryantThe accolades would seem to indicate that respect has not been an issue for Kobe Bryant -- the respect of fans, the respect of his peers, the respect of the media.In his career, Kobe Bryant has been selected to the A ... More >>

Game Time: NBA Free Agency -- So Is Dwyane Wade Gonna Hold It For You While You Pee Too, LeBron?

A Vogue cover, but no ring​Nothing worth chasing in life comes easy, so to say that by pooling their collective talents together to try and chase an NBA title in Miami that LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade are taking the "easy way out" isn't entirely fair.Actually, to be fair, with a ring ... More >>

Game Time: LeBron James: The Decision -- You Suck, ESPN

LeBron is Cleveland's new "Cuyahoga River on fire"​"It's been a real humbling experience to be in this position." -- LeBron James on his self-requested, one hour made-for-LeBron TV special on ESPNIf you lived in Houston at the time, you remember September 13, 2008. That was the morning after Hurr ... More >>

Game Time: LeBron is Making Me A Texas Longhorn Fan

Kevin Durant -- the anti-LeBron​It's July, it's the All-Star break, the Astros have reached the "what P.R. grab can we make?" part of the season about six weeks earlier than usual, and if I may say, hiring Jeff Bagwell as hitting coach should have far-reaching ramifications on the ball club that w ... More >>

The 7 Basic WWE Metaphors For Real Life Situations (w/ video)

Let's get ready to....examine life!!!​I'm working on my 2009-2010 NBA Preview which should be done by tomorrow. I hope that some of you will cut me slack given that a whopping three games will be in the books by the time it gets posted here on Hair Balls, including the Rockets opener against the L ... More >>

NBA 2010-2011 Preview -- Reconstructing LeBron

Please, no more operations on Yao Ming​"What should I do?" -- LeBron James, over and over and over again his new Nike spot The fact that LeBron James is posing the question in his new Nike spot perhaps tells us that he is not completely devoid of self-awareness, as he appeared to be last summer. ... More >>

Thanksgiving 2010: The Post Where We Get All "Thanky"

Thank you. Thank you very much.​As we prepare to gorge ourselves today on turkey (Cajun fried is the choice here), stuffing, pumpkin bread, and perhaps something green (maaaaybe, but probably not), I want to first thank all of you who stop in and read the stuff on the blog here, not just my st ... More >>

Top Five Hip-Hop Foes Turned Friends

Marco Torres​Some rivalries are beyond repair. You'll never catch Kobe and Shaq trading smiles at a joint family picnic. 50 Cent and The Game will still be mugging at each other at the 2021 VH1 Hip-Hop Honors. Batman will always despise that sonamabitch The Joker. Truth be told, hip-hop is a ... More >>

Five NBA Love Stories (For Valentine's Day)

The NBA: Love is in the air​Let me be the millionth to say that I hate Valentine's Day. It's a sham. It's a farce. It's a fabrication designed to stimulate the economy and jump-start jewelry, flower, restaurant and sex toy business for a random day in the dead period of February. And yet, as ... More >>

Top Five Worst Rapper-Athlete Collaborations

​Ever since Shaq flung the doors wide for athletes to satisfy their microphone dreams, many have tried to follow in his steps. The athlete-rapper experiment usually works, as long as the athlete leaves all the rapping to the rapper. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with these five songs. I ... More >>

2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Video Recap

Justin Bieber, your All-Star MVP​Travel day today back from Phoenix, so I'm submitting the ultimate Cliffs Notes version of dominant performances during the NBA All Star weekend. (I'll be back at full blog strength tomorrow.) Here goes: - Justin Bieber was named most valuable player of the c ... More >>

Delo's Hood Politics Vol. 2 Best Local Mixtape Of 2011

​On his first tape, Hood Politics Vol. 1, Missouri City product Delo did one great thing ("Ghetto Boy"), one excessively beautiful thing ("Ain't My Style"), six good things ("Dream On," "Tell Me Mamma," "16 David," "Can I Live," "Hold On," "Money & Blood"), two bad things ("I Got Wings," "Hwy ... More >>

The NBA's Top-Selling Jerseys List (And Seven Things It Tells Us)

NBA jerseys: We CAN just all get along!!​I'll admit, I don't own any sports jerseys. I'm not a jersey-wearing guy, partially because the fit and feel of an authentic professional sports shirt are not optimal, but mostly because I'm over the age of 14. Full disclosure, I don't buy many jersey ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Born This Way, But Not *That* Way

L-R: Not Madonna, Madonna​Sounds like somebody is getting a little tired of all those Material Girl comparisons: When NME asked the 25-year-old star whether she thought "Born This Way" was a knock-off of Madonna's "Express Yourself," the singer (real name: Stefani Germanotta) was outraged. " ... More >>

Remember Doughbeezy's Reggie Bush and Kool-Aid?

Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. ​Doughbeezy Reggie Bush and Kool-Aid (Self-released, 2010) Doughbeezy is, at the moment, one ... More >>

NBA Playoffs Schedule Maker, a Mother's Day FAIL

Could have been the best Mother's Day match-up of all time.​It's not easy for a sport's postseason that lasts practically as long as the entire college football regular season to be compelling from beginning to end, but so far this NBA postseason is doing as good a job of just that as it's eve ... More >>

Happiness Through Hustle

Cordial but guarded promoter H-Kane has become one of the local hip-hop scene's most important movers and shakers.

Rappers: Which NBA Player Would You Be And Why?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't the day after a gigantic local music festival, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: Bun B, Zavey, Kyle Hub ... More >>

The NBA Lockout X-Factor: Turkey (The Country, Not The Meat)

I mean listen, we're sitting here talking about Turkey​On the surface, the NFL and NBA lockouts are the same thing -- owners are closing the doors on their own leagues so they can negotiate a more beneficial collective bargaining agreement with the respective players unions. However, as most ... More >>

Remember SYDTHEMAN's Singin' Rappin' & Cussin'?

Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. ​SYDTHEMAN Singin' Rappin' & Cussin' (2011, Self-released) Reigning Artist of the Week SYDTHE ... More >>

NBA Season Win Totals and My Rockets Prediction

Bet the over on wins​Last add on my post from yesterday about Kris Kardashian Humphries re-signing with the Nets: For those of you who think I was a little too hard on Big Humph (and by my count, there were exactly none of you who felt that way), just know that according to results of a rece ... More >>

Houston Rockets 1993 vs. Houston Rockets 2012, the Hard Truth

Photo by Jeff BalkeRockets need more than Rowdies this year.​It's been a tough start for the hapless Rockets. With early injury problems, a trade that didn't happen in the lockout-shortened offseason and a new unproven coach, it's no wonder the first few weeks of the season have been somewhere ... More >>

Rap Round Table: If You Could Only Listen To One Musician For All Of Time, Who Would It Be?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Killa Kyleon, Zavey, kyle Hubbard, Brad Gilmore, Mac, Doughbeezy, A.D.D., Medicine Girl, more. Not Invited: The guy at our sons' ... More >>

Shhhhh, Don't Tell Anyone, but the Rockets Are Playing Really Well

Photo by groovehouse​While everyone was cheering on the Texans and fretting about whether or not Jim Crane would go completely nuts and change the Astros to the Craniums, a funny thing was happening at Toyota Center. The Rockets were winning. They have won their last seven games and are 8-2 i ... More >>