Sports Rubbish » NBA

Samaki Walker gets pulled over, tries to eat weed

Jonathan Sacks — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:45:17 +0000

In case you were wondering what happened to Samaki Walker (you weren’t), the Arizona Department of Public Safety found him in Kingman, AZ.

The police pulled Walker over for a routine traffic stop on Thursday. Officials allege that as they approached the 2002 Mercedes-Benz, Walker tried to eat the stash of marijuana that he had with him. Or he could have just refused to allow the police to search his car. That would have also worked, provided he didn’t have an Easy Bake oven and brownie mix sitting on the passenger seat.

Walker was also charged with possession of steroids, which he claimed he uses because they are legal in Syria, where he plays professionally. Also apparently legal in Syria: the violent oppression of protesters, so Samaki might not want to use their laws as his legal defense.

Ex-NBA player arrested on drug charges in Arizona [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

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Amare Stoudemire dunks on Anthony Tolliver (video)

Jonathan Sacks — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:45:56 +0000

The title of this sick dunk on YouTube says it best: AMARE STOUDEMIRE KILLS ANTHONY TOLLIVER

Amare threw that down on Tolliver so hard that he will be picking pieces of the ball out of his children’s teeth.

The Suns came to life after Amare’s dunk & held on to beat the Warriors 133-131 despite missing several free throws in the final minutes.

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Rudy Gay’s non-buzzer beater (video)

Jonathan Sacks — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:54:09 +0000

At the end of the first quarter of tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Rudy Gay of the Memphis Grizzlies launched a shot from past half court in an attempt to beat the buzzer.

Gay successfully got the shot off in time. So much time that there was still a full seven seconds left on the clock.

After the shot bricked off the backboard, the Lakers took the ball to the other end of the court, where Kobe Bryant naturally drained a 3 pointer at the buzzer.

Now we’ve all hit the wrong button in a basketball video game at some point. I myself am the king of launching full-court shots by accident in NBA Jam. But firing off a wild half-court shot with that much time left on the clock in real life? That takes some serious skill. The Grizzlies won though, so maybe it’s somehow the secret to winning.

Video: Rudy Gay’s internal clock malfunction [Ball Don't Lie]

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Ron Artest trips over a box, falls down stairs (Happy Boxing Day?)

Jonathan Sacks — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:03:38 +0000

Everyone who had Christmas Day in the “When is Ron Artest going to do something bizarrely newsworthy with the Los Angeles Lakers” pool, you win!

According to the Lakers P.R. team, Artest was “injured last night at his home when he tripped over a box and fell down a flight of stairs, suffering an injury to his head and left elbow.”

He received a CT scan at UCLA Medical Center, as well as stitches on his head and elbow. Artest is expected to miss tonight’s game in Sacramento against the Kings.

Whether or not he fell down a flight of stairs or “fell down a flight of stairs” remains to be seen.

On this Boxing Day, please don’t let those boxes get you like they got Ron Artest. Make sure they are nowhere near your stairs, and you and your family will have a safe celebration this holiday season.

Artest Suffers Injury At Home [Lakers.com]

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Dirk Nowitzki’s elbow 5, Carl Landry’s teeth 1: Video

Jonathan Sacks — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:45:41 +0000

Initially, last night’s collision between Carl Landry and Dirk Nowitzki looked pretty normal, at least until both players immediately signaled for trainers.

Landry had unintentionally gone arm zombie on Dirk, getting a few teeth knocked out in the process, only to have those teeth get embedded in Nowitzki’s arm.

While Nowitzki was in pain on the ground with teeth in his elbow, Landry simply walked to the bench for help as if all he had was a small cut. Instead, he had a mouth injury that required an ER trip. As for Dirk, it took 30 minutes to have Landry’s teeth removed from his arm. That sucks, but not as much as losing teeth.

All of this is an important lesson to Carl Landry. If you’re going to end up accidentally biting someone, make sure it’s not a wiry guy. Go for someone like Glen Davis instead. That meat just falls right off the bone.

Video: Carl Landry’s Teeth End Up in Dirk Nowitzki’s Arm [Fanhouse]

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Greg Oden hurts his knee… again: Video

Jonathan Sacks — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:05:16 +0000

In the first quarter of tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets, Greg Oden jumped in the air, only to crumple to the ground in immense pain.

Portland fans at the Rose Garden went silent as Oden grabbed as his knee on the floor. He was eventually carried off on a stretcher. The diagnosis: A fractured left patella (kneecap). He will be out for the season.

This is just the latest knee injury for Oden, who missed all of ’07-08 following microfracture surgery and broke a kneecap last year.

I don’t think there is a single NBA fan who hasn’t been rooting for Oden to stay healthy and make his mark on the NBA. But the more these knee injuries stack up, you have to wonder if he is ever going to live up to the potential the Trail Blazers saw when they drafted him.

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Gambler claims 13 NBA referees are part of betting scandal

Jonathan Sacks — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:04:57 +0000

Here we go again.

According to a 7Sports source, Jimmy “The Sheep” Battista, the gambler who pled guilty to conspiracy to transmit wagering information to disgraced former NBA ref Tim Donaghy, is claiming that thirteen NBA referees have also been involved in the betting scandal.

Battista apparently has phone records to prove his contact with these referees, though so far the only information on this is through an unnamed source.

Since professional gamblers are always to be trusted, we can take this to the bank. Did I mention that Battista is trying to secure a tell-all book deal? That seems like it might be important.

Is Donaghy just a “rogue, isolated criminal” like David Stern claimed? Or is Battista telling the truth and not just trying to get money for a book?

If he indeed has those phone records, that’s going to be hugely damaging for the league and will give them no choice but to investigate further, or else risk the government getting involved. While records would not prove what was said on any calls, why would so many referees be in contact with a gambler?

The questions just keep coming. Sooner or later, David Stern will have to answer.

Source: Gambler claims 13 referees involved in NBA betting scandal [WHDH]

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Popeye Jones gets a DUI, forgets to eat spinach before taking on police

Jonathan Sacks — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:58:15 +0000

Former NBA player and current Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Popeye Jones got nabbed for a DUI over the weekend, plus received a bonus beatdown by resisting arrest, according to the Richardson (Texas) Police Department.

Police noticed Popeye driving erratically at 9:30pm Sunday night. He failed a field sobriety test, then was arrested after refusing a breath test.

“When the officers went to place the handcuffs on Mr. Jones he did resist by moving his hand forward instead of behind his back. They were forced to take him to the ground to get better control of him and he did sustain some injuries to his face,” police spokesman Jonathan Wakefield said.

Somehow, despite suffering pop cheek and pop forehead when he fell, Jones did not suffer from Popeye. So at least he’s got that going for him.

Jones was charged with driving while intoxicated, but will not be charged with resisting arrest. Losing that battle with the ground will serve as punishment enough, as will having that mugshot posted all over the Internet.

Popeye Jones Arrested, Gets Free Makeover From Police [Deadspin]
Popeye Jones Charged with DWI [Fox 4]

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Manu Ginobili kills a bat on Halloween: Video

Jonathan Sacks — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:15:26 +0000

On Halloween night, the Spurs/Kings game was delayed by a bat. The bat either lived in the arena, or it was part of the Spurs’ annual bat day giveaway.

Manu Ginobili wasn’t not amused by the bat’s antics and just wanted to get on with the game. With a mighty wallop, Manu smacked the bat out of midair with his bare hand, prompting this injury report from the Spurs:

Even rarer than the sight of a bat at an NBA game was Manu Ginobili coming in contact with another being on the basketball court without dropping to the ground as if he had been hit by a sniper.

Bats Everywhere Quiver in Fear of Manu [Fanhouse]

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Kevin Johnson Robbed In San Francisco

Jonathan Sacks — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:22:32 +0000

Former Phoenix Suns star (and current Sacramento Mayor) Kevin Johnson was robbed over the weekend in San Francisco while trying to do a good deed.

KJ was helping an elderly man get to his destination, but made the mistake of putting his own bag down on the sidewalk while aiding the gentleman into a taxi. Johnson had ridden with the man on the BART over from Richmond, where he had arrived on a train from Sacramento.

Once the man was safely in the taxi, KJ realized his bag was gone. Given that this all happened in San Francisco’s Union Square, which is packed with tourists and people trying to scam tourists, it’s not surprising that a bag could quickly go missing like that. And given the recent public transportation safety issues in San Francisco, Kevin Johnson was also lucky that he wasn’t punched or stabbed by anyone on his journey.

KJ shrugged off the incident on his blog, giving readers a reminder to “Pay better attention. Don’t let anything out of sight. Always be on guard.”

According to Kevin, he lost “a nice suit, a nice pair of shoes and overnight toiletries.” It would serve the thief right if he was 5’5″ and wore size 4 shoes.

Update: Kevin has his stuff back! Two good samaritans found his bag and turned it over to the police. His suit and shoes were inside. The suit was the one he was wearing when he met Bill Clinton 10 years ago, so it held special sentimental value to Johnson, not to mention great durability. A pessimist would say that the “good samaritans” were hoping to get a reward since they couldn’t easily sell the contents, but KJ is just happy to have everything back.

The crime of vulnerability [Kevin Johnson]
Sacramento Mayor Robbed In SF [KCRA]

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