Remember when you were about 10 years old, hitting the nearby playground basketball courts for the first time? You saw a few of your friends trying their crossovers but getting the ball caught in their shorts because no one was very tall. You boldly called next on the main court, but your brother and...

For so many players in the past 30-plus years, he was the father to their styles. He brought the improvised creativity from the South Philadelphia playgrounds to the rigidity of the college and pro game. He was part of the “Rolls Royce backcourt” that was known for its flair on the hardwood and...

For close to 15 years now, the April optimism that comes with the arrival of a new Major League Baseball season is tempered a bit by some stark realities. The PED and steroid cloud has never taken a season off, bad owners continue to swindle their markets and the Cubs still attempt to be competent at...

With the much anticipated release of ’42: The Jackie Robinson Story’ and Major League Baseball’s annual celebration of Jackie Robinson next Monday, you have likely noticed the deluge of media that has shined a deserved spotlight on the iconic man and Hall of Famer once again. For those of us born...

It’s coming. You know it, I know it, your family and friends know it, your co-workers and classmates know it, your bookie and fantasy football league manager know it. Even the new Pope knows it, sort of. This week has been an eventful one for those who are attuned to the travails of gay and lesbian...

Above was the NBA’s reminder of the least expected stretch of regular season excellence in its history. In what seems like a league FAR different from the one we see today, the Houston Rockets pulled off an incredible 22-game winning streak from January 29th – March 16th, 2008. Over the course of...

In the fall of 2011, with NBA fans crying in our adidas-emblazoned hoodies, the league’s television arm offered a slight panacea with what is arguably the best sports dialogue shows going, Open Court. NBA TV isn’t a cable juggernaut by any means – no sports network is without games, but that’s...

Watch this. Then watch this. Truth be told, if you played basketball more than once in your life (or still play), something like both of these plays happened to you. Whether it was during your days as an intramural all-star or back on the monkey bars before your growth spurt, you were on the receiving...

The tidal wave of commentary in Michael Jordan /LeBron James discussion may have angered, excited, or at least exhausted fans, but it has appeared to solidify what has been a remarkable shift in views on James’ career. A player once viewed in the vein of Magic Johnson when he was a high school junior...

My late father pledged allegiance to Jim Brown and Johnny Unitas. See, growing up with parents who actually saw them play was enlightening in ways most people could never understand. Whereas most of my friends had parents who were born in the 1960s and early 1970s, my parents were in their twenties...

A year ago, the New York Knicks were the most confusing team in the NBA. Sure, if you haven’t heard by now, Linsanity began in earnest a year ago this past Monday against the former New Jersey Nets. Yet despite the team’s improved fortunes with Jeremy Lin running the point, a few weeks later, Mike...

Ever seen “Bigger, Stronger, Faster*“? The 2008 documentary made waves at the Sundance Film Festival for its revealing look into why the United States has been obsessed with the three adjectives long before Vince McMahon met the federal government or Barry Bonds changed hat sizes. Chris...