http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith An NBA basketball blog Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:23:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Delonte West didn't say it when he returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers last week after a leave of absence to treat the effects of depression and mood swings. But he, like Vin Baker and Kendall Gill and Dennis Rodman and Brian Williams and Ricky Berry and Chamique Holdsclaw and Jason Caffey ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith/2008/10/19/coming-out-a-hard-thing-to-do/ Bob Whitsitt, now a sports and business consultant, was one of the most successful team sports officials in the 1990's, executive of the year in the NBA and general manager of NBA and NFL teams. He recalls a day talking to various members of his team and staff about the ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith/2008/09/29/league-not-immune-to-crisis/ Three guys show up for their job orientation and who knows what they did, though it seemed to involve drugs and sex. Another guy makes a video apparently demeaning his country and finding enough vile words for an HBO special. I know I'm excited. It means our favorite guys are back. Yes, it's ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith/2008/09/19/take-the-money-ben/ I'm afraid I'm the guy who defined athletes' political activism through the words of Michael Jordan. It was some 20 or so years ago when I was the beat writer covering the Chicago Bulls before their championship run. One of the great charms of Jordan as the guy's guy he really ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith/2008/09/10/players-getting-in-the-game/ Stephon Marbury has been hinting around for a year or so that it would be him, an NBA All-Star, to flee to Europe because it pays better than the NBA. But Marbury no longer is a star, assuming he ever really was. Perhaps Allen Iverson, who is a star, arguably ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith/2008/07/22/the-great-escape/ It was love at first sight, really. The perfect yin and yang, sun and moon coming together, different but making up the whole, complementary forces of basketball nature. Kevin Garnett was the defender but not the finisher. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were the shooters but not defenders or truly ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith/2008/06/17/champs-again/ This NBA Finals has been chased by history. There's Kobe Bryant, and, inevitably, there are the comparisons with Michael Jordan and Bryant's hunt for Jordan's legacy. There's Paul Pierce and the comparisons with the great Boston Celtics legends. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were brought together by the NBA before ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith/2008/06/12/blackballed/ I was reading the report last weekend of Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah being arrested back at the U. of Florida for marijuana possession. And I'm thinking, "Why is this news? Isn't it news if it was reported Noah—have you ever looked at or listened to this guy?—wasn't using marijuana?"   But ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith/2008/05/27/booze-not-pot-the-real-problem/ The 2008 playoffs are about halfway finished, and if there's one thing we've learned it's that the champion is going to come from the Western Conference yet again. Have you been watching this Celtics-Cavaliers series? No, I don't blame you. I have been watching, though I enjoy finger nails scraping across a ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith/2008/05/17/west-will-prevail/ Mark Cuban is a smart guy. I know this because I hear him tell everyone that. I find it difficult to challenge since he knew when to get out of the dot com boom and became a billionaire. I had no idea when to dump my newspaper stock and now ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/smith/2008/05/06/time-to-go/