A T-Shirt Made Just For Me (and this site)

I’m not trying to shill for Cavs products, but they have to be aiming for my exact demographic on this one.

Link here.

“Shaq vs.” Has a Host

from a site I’ve never been to (http://www.mmawaves.com) come the report that Shaq’s super athlete challenge show has wrangled a host (its the shouty guy from the UFC)

“UFC play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg will host the new reality series Shaq Vs. on ABC, which features NBA star Shaquille O’Neal.

In each episode of the show, O’Neal will go head-to-head with athletes in their own sports.

 

“Shaquille O’Neal just turns people into a mush,” Goldberg told UFC.com. “He has such a way about him, he’s such a big kid. He’s playful and people look at him like a big teddy bear. They just want to see and touch him. Plus, he’s so approachable, which is why I think this show will work.”

O’Neal, who is a big mixed martial arts
fan, has been training in MMA with Jonathan Burke for 10 years and has stated that he would like to fight.

“I think if Shaq has his way, it’s only a matter of time before he fights somebody,” Goldberg added. “When I saw Shaq in Pittsburgh, we were talking about UFC 100 and (UFC heavyweight champion) Brock (Lesnar) and could anybody beat him, and then he said ‘I keep telling (UFC President) Dana (White) I want to fight. I want to fight Hong Man Choi. Seriously, I’m coming.’ And one of the episodes planned is for him to work against (former boxing champion) Oscar De La Hoya, so we’re only a step away from it, and if Shaq has his way, because of his love for the sport, that will certainly happen in the future, unless we see him fight for real in the future.”

Shaq Vs. premieres Tuesday, August 18, at 9/8c on ABC.”

 

Cavs take chance on Powe (Associated Press)

Associated Press

CLEVELAND — Leon Powe once thought he was the nation’s top 10th-grade basketball player. Then he saw one of his AAU teammates play: LeBron James.

Powe asked his coach if James was in his graduating class. He was.

“Aww man,” Powe said. “There goes my No. 1 spot.”

He’ll gladly take a backup role to James again, as soon as his repaired left knee allows it. Powe signed a two-year deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers on

Wednesday, even though he isn’t expected back on the court until sometime around the All-Star break. The Cavaliers are paying Powe the league minimum for a three-year veteran.

“The money is not the issue with me,” Powe said. “The issue is I want to get my knee back healthy and go out there and play basketball. The money will come.”

The Celtics let the 6-foot-8 forward leave following a third surgery on his left knee, this time to repair a torn ACL suffered in the playoffs. Powe is strengthening the knee in Los Angeles and should begin running in about a month. He is expected in Cleveland in two weeks to continue his rehab.

“It’s always tough leaving the place you started,” Powe said in a conference call on Thursday. “I gave them every opportunity to have me over there, which didn’t work out. It wasn’t my fault. I had to move on.”

Powe averaged 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in 70 games last season.

He is reuniting with James after the two stormed the country on AAU teams and at summer camps during their high school years. Powe, 25, watched James take over games long before he became an NBA superstar.

After Powe broke into the NBA alongside stars such as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, Powe now joins James and Shaquille O’Neal.

“Shaq is one of the greatest players of all time and ‘Bron is going to be right there in that category,” Powe said. “Those are two great personalities. That’s the fun thing about playing with guys like them. They’re easy to get along with and it’s easy to play with them.”

By remaining in the Eastern Conference, Powe might not have to wait long for a reunion against his old team. The Cavaliers and Celtics are likely to again be two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and Powe admits he’s already dreaming of a postseason meeting.

“If that happens, that’s going to be fun for me,” he said. “I know Boston is a challenge, but our team, the Cavaliers got better and we’ll take on all challengers.”

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

Shaq Throws Out First Pitch for the Cardinals Yesterday

wade through the commercials and the highlights to see it

link here

Cavaliers Sign Leon Powe

via cavs.com

“The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed free agent forward Leon Powe to a contract, Cavaliers General Manager

Danny Ferry announced today. Per team and league policy, terms of the contract were not released.

Powe, 25, played in 70 games (seven starts) this past season for the Boston Celtics and averaged 7.7 points on .524 shooting and a career-best 4.9 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game. In his seven starts, he averaged 14.3 points on .576 shooting, 8.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 25.9 minutes per game. The 6-foot-8 forward recorded career highs in scoring (30), blocks (5) and assists (3) and added 11 rebounds in 41 minutes versus Memphis on March 13th. He scored in double figures on 25 occasions and notched five double-doubles during the season. He experienced a torn ACL and meniscus in his left knee during Game 2 against the Chicago Bulls in the First Round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs and missed the remainder of the playoffs. In 189 games (14 starts) during his three seasons in Boston, he has career averages of 6.6 points on .523 shooting and 4.2 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game.

“Leon is a high quality player and person. His tough, gritty play has already contributed in big playoff games during his young career,” Ferry said. “As he continues to work rehabilitating his injury, we would look to hopefully see him return towards the end of the season.”

The California native played 23 of his 25 career postseason games during the Celtics’ run to the 2008 NBA Championship. He averaged 5.0 points on .493 shooting and 2.7 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game in the 2008 postseason, including a 21-point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.“

LeBron in Chi Promoting More than a Game

Also talked about Derrick Rose and taxi fightin’ Blackhawk Patrick Kane

via the Chicago-Sun-Times:

“Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James was in town Tuesday for a youth basketball event, so it’s no surprise he was asked about the recent arrest of Blackhawks star Patrick Kane.

After all, few understand what it’s like to be the face of a franchise at 20 better than James.

”I wish him the best,” he said of Kane. ”I wish him and his family the best, and hopefully they can get through this tough time.”

When asked if it was difficult to live such a public life at such a young age, James said: ”It’s not difficult at all. You have a responsibility as a professional to be professional all the time, on the court or off the court.”

He also was asked to comment on Chicago’s other 20-year-old star, the Bulls’ Derrick Rose.

”He’s really good, really talented,” James said. ”He will be one of the better point guards we have in our league in the near future. They have a good one. They picked the right player.”

For someone who has lived a very public life since his junior year of high school, James has remarkably few blemishes on his resume. The closest thing he has had to a brush with the law is a speeding ticket for reaching triple digits a couple of years ago, and he was criticized this spring for walking off the court and blowing off the interview session after the Cavs were eliminated by the Orlando Magic in the NBA playoffs.

”I apologized for not talking to the media because I should have done that; that’s a responsibility of mine,” he said. ”But shaking hands, it’s not done in the NBA.”

No one ever has accused James of being a bad teammate. He was in Chicago for a youth event at Seward Park in River North as the first stop on a tour to promote the movie ”More Than a Game,” a documentary on the relationship between James and his high school teammates at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s in Akron, Ohio.

”Sometimes a movie makes you feel like you’ve been out of high school that much longer, but we graduated in ’03,” he said. ”Not a long time, but to see it makes it feel like a long time ago.

”To see what I’ve been able to do and what some of my friends have been able to do since we graduated high school, it’s remarkable. The fact that we’re still together and we still talk on a day-to-day basis, that’s even more moving to me.”

About his current team, which added Shaquille O’Neal this summer, James said: ”Our expectations are to compete for a championship. That’s the only expectation I have going into the season. I’m at a point in my career where if I’m not competing for a championship, it’s a failure.”

Non Story of the Day: “People Still on LeBron for Not Shaking Hands”

OK, here’s what ACTUALLY happened.  He was pissed off and wanted to get off the court.  That’s it.  He hated

losing and wanted out of there.  LeBron is the super star of the league and hasn’t made any mistakes and I agree with him, he hasn’t had a “black eye” yet. The media is really stretching to try and get something juicy to write about him (free agency, handshake-gate, dunk-gate, T-Shirt-gate, etc…).  Tell you what, if the worst thing LBJ does in his career is wear a funny T-Shirt or not shake hands, it’ll be fine by me.

here’s the story from realgm.com:

“LeBron James defended his decision not to shake hands with the Magic after his Cavaliers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs this past season.

James was asked by a reporter if not shaking hands following the loss put the first blemish on his reputation on Tuesday while promoting his upcoming movie, “More Than a Game.”

“I still haven’t had a black eye, for one. Two, I don’t regret anything that I do. The only thing I apologize for that night is not doing the media [session, after the game].

“The media, your … job don’t start until ours’ finish. You guys can’t report and write you guys’ story until we take a shower, until we come out and sit on the podium. That’s the only thing I apologize for. As far as shaking hands, it’s something that is not done in the NBA. If it was something like tennis, after tennis, you play, you win, you lose, you go to the center and shake hands, it happens every game in tennis.”

Cavs Looking at Rob Kurz (who is that exactly?)

Not a whole lot about him out there, but the Cavs are looking to fill the early season gaps left early by JJ and Powe being out.  From his picture on NBA.com he looks like a pleasant fellow.

A Bulls Blogger Thinks Bosh/LeBron is Plausable

From blog.bulls.com here

“…The consensus among NBA executives is James will remain in Cleveland, mostly because there may not be

anywhere better to go. The big threat was the Knicks. But the declining salary cap likely won’t allow the Knicks enough salary cap space to sign two free agents. The Knicks roster is awful, and it likely would be a major step back competitively for James to join a team like that. With Kobe Bryant back with a championship, it is now James—before it was Bryant when James made the Finals in 2007—who is most likely to be anxious to be with a team that has the best chance to win a championship.

The belief is the Cavs will be a better option, and, of course, can provide him the biggest contract. Toronto’s Bosh has been the other big name. But there are increasing indications he will remain in Toronto given an aggressive summer of acquisitions, including Hedo Turkoglu.

Should Bosh still look to leave, the consensus is it will be a race between the Cavs with James and the Heat with Wade to try to sign Bosh and combine two All Stars and Olympic teammates. The free agents who played on the 2008 gold medal team supposedly have talked about eventually playing together…“

“

Wally on the Nuggets Radar

via Denver Post here:

“Of the final three roster spots, Warkentien said he was “hopeful” Carter would take up one spot and the Nuggets “will go and get another wing player” to replace Kleiza. One name floating around is that of veteran guard Wally Szczerbiak, who last played with Cleveland. He is an unrestricted free agent and would fill the need for a perimeter scorer off the bench.

“Of our remaining roster spots, etch this in stone,” Warkentien said. “One of them will be a wing.“