Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James Is Your Non-Unanimous 2012-13 MVP, And I'm Fine With That

I am mesmerized by LeBron James. I'll admit, he's converted me. I am a fan. This is coming from someone who wrote four straight posts around the time of "The Decision" in July 2010 about what an asshole LeBron was. This is coming from someone who openly rooted against him every time he was on my ... More >>

After a Successful Season, Big Questions Loom for Young Rockets

It's difficult to believe anyone outside of the most hardcore fans truly believed the Rockets would be a playoff team this year. Most, including myself, assumed they would finish under .500 and back in the lottery. Even with James Harden, an unproven starter, added before the season, it was tough to ... More >>

The Rockets Are Back In The NBA Playoffs! Their Complete Rebuilding Anthology

With four games to go in the 2011-2012 season, the Rockets were coming off a 117-110 loss to Dallas, a loss in which Dirk Nowitzki provided a stark reminder to last season's Rockets team that they were devoid of a superstar caliber player by dropping 21 points on them in the fourth quarter. To call ... More >>

Playoff Chase: Rockets Beat Utah, Warriors Lose to Spurs

Last night, as I mentioned yesterday, was a big night for the Rockets. In their hunt for a playoff spot -- they missed the last two seasons -- they faced Utah at Toyota Center and while the Jazz have not exactly played like world beaters recently, their formidable front line would seem to match up w ... More >>

Lil Wayne Apologizes To LeBron For All-Star Weekend Outburst, Still Hates Chris Bosh

The NBA trade deadline came and went at 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon, and somehow, some way, with everyone fully expecting the Rockets to be one of the passive spectators at deadline time for a change, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey managed to steal the spotlight. Given Morey's seeming addiction ... More >>

Seven ZERO Time NBA All-Stars Who Made More in Career Earnings Than Michael Jordan

I once had a boss who told me "The only thing worse than being underpaid is being overpaid." Looking back, perhaps he was trying to send a message to me personally, but the general message was this -- making too much money makes one utterly expendable. That's a fine notion, and in most walks of li ... More >>

Rocket Roller Coaster Continues with Wins, Losses and a Trip Back to NYC for Lin

Check out pictures form the

Phil Jackson Words Ring True for Underground Houston Rap

Context: That's The Fury God doing one of those radio-station freestyles that radio stations like to ask rappers to do. It happened right before he performed at The Box's recent Los Magnificos Custom Car Show, alongside four other underground acts. Why It's Important: Because it might maybe possib ... More >>

Why the Rockets Have to Suck Before They Can Improve

For quite some time, I have resisted the sentiment that to improve in the NBA, you must first have a substantial downturn. I don't like the idea of losing on purpose. Calling it "tanking" only makes it worse. The entire concept feels like the exact opposite of what players, coaches and fans are taug ... More >>

Jerry "The King" Lawler Piledrives Clipper Fan: Old School WWE Wrestlers for Each NBA Playoff Series (w/ VIDEO)

People laugh dismissively when I say it, but the more they can incorporate WWE performers and the general WWE "way" of entertainment, the more enjoyable other genres of sports will become. No, I'm not talking about the predetermined outcomes of matches (The NBA has already incorporated that aspect o ... More >>

Rap Round Table: Who's Going to Win the NBA Finals?

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: Bun B, Slim Thug, hasHBrown, Chane, Yung Truth, Preemo, Chuckway, Mac, Nosaprise, D-Risha Not Invited: Amar'e Stoudemire's brai ... More >>

Rockets Mediocrity: Blame the Strategy of the Owner

There's something unholy about a team playing out the string of games knowing it won't make the playoffs. It's even weirder when said team felt its season end with a thud after a horrid stretch of games that lasted right up until the second-to-last game of the year. Going one step farther, that game ... More >>

Picking Rockets Team of the 2000s Not an Easy Task

Throughout the course of this frustrating season, the Houston Rockets have been allowing fans to pick their choices for the starting team of the decade beginning with the 1970s and continuing with the '80s, '90s and 2000s. They had all but one of their starting five for the 2000s on had for their wi ... More >>

Five Questions Answered About the Rest of the Rockets' Season

A buddy of mine texted me when news came of the Rockets trade of Johnny Flynn -- the guard with a name like a `40s-era movie star -- and Hasheem Thabeet to Portland for Marcus Camby and a draft pick. "This team was one Marcus Camby from being a championship contender." I responded, "Six years ago." ... More >>

Top 5 Musical NBA Players

The NBA All-Star Game is coming up in a couple of weeks. There may not be any Rockets on the roster - even ex-Rocket/Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin didn't blow up in time to be added as a reserve - but musical names such as Kanye West, Rihanna (the halftime entertainment), Lenny Kravitz, Josh Groban, ... 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 >>

What Google Music Means To The Music Industry

techonzo.com​Google is finally launching its own music service. Google Music is a full-scale music service/store designed to compete with Amazon and Apple. Android boss Andy Rubin says they're very close to launch. About a dozen independent labels are have already joined forces with Google and ... 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.

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 >>

Ron Artest Splatters a Spurs Fan with Hot Coffee (w/ VIDEO)

I hear that train a-comin'​Why is it that the people who are the most clueless wind up with the best seats to sporting events? In theory, someone sitting courtside at an NBA game should be intelligent enough to (a) afford tickets that go for about a grand a pop, or (b) live in a neighborhood ... More >>

Top Five Athlete-Rapper Team-Ups

​Speak of the devil... Give an NBA player a mike and he'll give you one of the worst performances of all time. Put the same athlete in the company of a decent rapper and the result might surprise you. If you're still haunted by the bitter taste of our worst rapper-athlete collaborations, here ... More >>

One Guy's Thoughts On The Sports Year: 25 Things To Remember

So with the end of the year fast approaching, I thought I would take some time to revisit some of the highlights, and lowlights, of this past sports year. Your list is probably different, but these are the things that caught my attention this year. maxim.com Thanks for everything, Jenn​1. ... More >>

Time Waster Tuesday -- NBA Superstars Videos (via YouTube)

"'Remember when' is the lowest form of conversation." -- Tony Soprano Tony was right, you never want to be "remember when" guy, and I try my best not to be. But the fact of the matter is, for many of us, what happened between the ages of 16 and 28 constitute the "good times." High school, maybe ... More >>

NFL & College Football -- Weekend's Best Bets (with Tales of Deceit, Adultery and Ron Artest)

We see....FAIL in Ron Artest's future​Drayton McLane apparently has plans to sell the Astros. This comes as no surprise, those rumors have been swirling for some time. Now I don't know if he'll get his $800 million asking price, but I did call Drayton and make an offer and we now know that $9 ... 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 >>

Game Time: George Steinbrenner's Death Raises Anxiety of Billionaires

You may be rich, but your heirs may be dangerous come December​If you're one of those people that has tried a thousand different ways to take off weight, somewhere along the way you've probably tried Bill Phillips "Body For Life" program. It's a pretty popular one because (a) it works and (b) it ... More >>

Game Time: NBA DRAFT -- Worst Lottery Picks Of The Last 15 Years

cutline​As "must see" events on the sporting calendar go, the annual NBA Draft is highly underrated. If you ask the average sports fan his or her five most watchable sports nights of the year you'll probably get canned answers like the Super Bowl, a Game 7 in the MLB or NBA playoffs, and any inte ... 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 >>

Happy Hour Scene: Darkhorse Tavern

​ It was sometime during our field sobriety test that we remembered how much we absolutely love Washington Avenue. We were thinking a lot of things when the officer asked us to step out of our vehicle, but chief among them was all the fun that we'd have at jail and who would be calling Tyler F ... More >>

Game Time: For Sale -- NBA Two Guard, 30 Y/O, Excellent Condition, Trades Accepted

​First, I want to thank everyone for their reaction, positive or otherwise, to my post yesterday which chronicled the high points of the era of Tracy McGrady's Expiring Contract I seem to learn something with every new post that I generate here on Hair Balls, and yesterday I learned that there are ... More >>

Game Time: The Five Greatest Moments Of Tracy McGrady's Expiring Contract

When it comes to player transactions and contracts, the NBA is a funny league. The classic contractual life cycle of a depressingly disproportionate number of NBA players goes like this:1.) Play under your rookie contract for a few years2.) Impress enough teams for someone to eventually way overpay ... More >>

The Top Ten Rockets Moments Of The Decade, For Better Or Worse

Photo by Daniel Kramer​For the Rockets, the decade of the 2000s began with Hall of Fame legend Hakeem Olajuwon starting at center. It finished with 6-foot-6 Chuck Hayes, the shortest listed starting center in NBA history.It started with promising rookie sensation and No. 2 pick Steve Francis at po ... 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 >>

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 >>

Rockets Left To Wonder What Could Have Been

Photo by Keith Allison(Note: This was written by Ben DuBose.)The next time someone tells you that early-season games in sports like basketball and baseball don't matter, refer them to the case of the 2008-09 Houston Rockets.The No. 5-seeded Rockets were one game from having a dream path to the Weste ... More >>

Top Ten Sports Moments of 2008

10. Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300 to become the first woman to win a major (NASCAR, Indy, Formula One) auto race. 9. Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine won his 300th game, then retired at the end of the season, to just about cement his selection into the Baseball Hall of Fame in five ye ... More >>

Top Ten Sports Moments of 2008

10. Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300 to become the first woman to win a major (NASCAR, Indy, Formula One) auto race. 9. Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine won his 300th game, then retired at the end of the season, to just about cement his selection into the Baseball Hall of Fame in five ye ... More >>

Houston Rockets: This Needs To Be Yao's Team

Coming off a 2-3 road trip, plus wins over OKC and the Hornets, the Rockets make me feel the same way I did a few weeks back. Good, not great. They convincingly won the games they should have, home or away (Clippers, Thunder, Suns), and lost the games they should have (Lakers and a pretty dece ... More >>

Whole Offense, Hole Defense: The Houston Rockets Preview

Finally! NBA Finals Begin Tonight

Talk about Statutory Rape: Karl Malone and the 13-Year-Old Baby Mama

Burning the Midnight Oil with Daryl Morey

Pro Athlete Musicians

Athletes step off the field and into the studio

Down Is Up

System of a Down is rock's least likely success story

Best Rocket

African Hideaway

Addisaba has an air of foreign intrigue — and awesome kifto and yedoro wot

Money Mark

Change Is Coming (Emperor Norton Records)

,,, And Don't Talk to Barkley

Pinched for fat. Put in their place. The Rockets Power Dancers don't care, just as long as they're given a chance to make their moves.

The Insider