Ian Thomsen of SI.com reports today that NBA Commissioner David Stern recently said there was a reasonable possibility that a woman could soon play in the NBA:

(Baylor’s Brittney Griner: 1st Woman Who Can Dunk Easily)

On Tuesday in the conference room outside his NBA office in Manhattan, I asked the commissioner whether we’ll see a woman playing in his league someday.

“Sure,” he said matter-of-factly. “I think that’s well within the range of probability.”

He (Stern) knows, I know and now you know there is a good chance it’s going to happen, simply because the most important man in basketball has hereby declared it could and should happen.

When Stern was asked if a woman could join the league in the next ten years, he said, “I think we might. I don’t want to get into all kinds of arguments with players and coaches about the likelihood. But I really think it’s a good possibility.”

Thomsen then proceeded to get reax about the prospect from varying NBA sources, including players, coaches and league executives. Read more…

Here’s a shot of Michael Jordan last night in Miami Beach:

Like Tiger Woods, that’s what happens to your judgement when everyone around you is paid off.  Dude is quiet obviously trapped in an opposite day bubble.

I spent nine years as a major and minor league baseball play-by-play announcer, so I have a unique perspective on what went down with San Diego Padres’ recent Dick Enberg TV hire.

(Padres, Enberg jacked Neely’s gig for no good reason)

Jay Posner of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE reports that despite the fact that the Padres already had a TV announcer under contract for this season, Mark Neely, the club still went out and hired Enberg for the job - kicking Neely to the curb.

The 74-year-old Enberg was well aware of Neely’s situation yet told Posner that, “I don’t feel that I betrayed anyone.”

As you know, Enberg’s been to the top of the sports broadcasting mountain. As you may not know, Mark Neely spent a decade riding buses in the low minor leagues, finally working his way into a full-time major league opportunity.

I knew Mark when I was the Yankees’ AAA announcer in Columbus and he was doing Louisville games. Talented guy who was well-liked by his peers. And someone who worked his way up from the very bottom of the business into his dream job. Amazing accomplishment.

So why on earth would the Padres do such a thing? And Enberg would go along with it?

I’ve got a pretty good idea. Read more…

Rich Rodriguez gave a speech in suburban Detroit last night that included him comparing the woes of Michigan football to Hurricane Katrina:

(Thanks for that)

It’s really kind of ironic that the New Orleans Saints overcame the hurricane a few years back. And we’ve had a few hurricanes of our own. We had a big hurricane in August, and it kind of hit us like a ton of bricks. But you had 120 young men and a bunch of people on the staff that said this is not going to tear our program apart.

Rodriguez also noted that he once lived in Louisiana, which means that if he’s receives any subsequent criticism for such an asinine statement in the coming days, I’m sure he’ll use that as cover. Read more…

Bill Zwecker of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES sources more sordid behavior of Tiger Woods, this time in Las Vegas and Chicago.

Zwecker reports that over the past five years Woods, through his bodyguard, would often pick up women at the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay. Also noted was Woods’ crude, and inappropriate comments to a female server at a Chicago-area Morton’s Steakhouse. And the fact he once lost $100,000 in one night gambling at the MGM Grand.

Zwecker is also the columnist who initially revealed some of the details of Woods’ pre-nuptial agreement re-negotiation with Elin Nordegren, which was followed yesterday by Gerald Posner of THE DAILY BEAST. In other words, I believe what Zwecker is telling us. Read more…

Mark Mangino “resigned” yesterday in disgrace, having been throw out by Kansas officials after players came forward with tales of physical and verbal abuse.

(Hear Kipp talk about Mangino here)

Until this week, players had not provided physical evidence of Mangino’s behavior. That changed two days ago, when the LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD published the story of former Kansas starting nose tackle Cory Kipp. Read more…

UPDATE (10:05pm PT - From Los Angeles): When will the Tiger infidelity story cease to be interesting? This is the first sign the well may be dry and it’s perhaps time to move on to more substantial subjects. At least until I see something worth bringing to your attention.

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Since Tiger Woods has (allegedly) silenced his (alleged) mistress Rachel Uchitel by (allegedly) shaking the infamous (money) tree outside his Isleworth estate, I thought I’d empty my stash of Uchitel snaps.

(Rachel: Don’t go away mad. Just go away.)

Today Uchitel, who had (allegedly) been shopping her Tiger affair story to all the tabloids, decided to cancel a press conference that was (allegedly) to feature her confession of an extramarital affair with Woods.

So why do you suppose she canceled the press conference?

Any ideas?

Here, let me help you. Read more…

ESPN’s Joe Schad reports this afternoon that Kansas football coach Mark Mangino ‘will not return’ as coach next season.

If Mangino was not fired with cause, the school would owe him the balance of his contract, which is $6.6M. More likely, there was some sort of buyout settlement.

On November 20, I reported that Mangino’s reps were already in talks with University of Kansas officials over a possible buyout. At that time, Kansas assistant football coaches were already calling around to other schools asking about possible job opportunities.

Read more…

TMZ.com has the name of the person who booked Rachel Uchitel’s plane ticket to Australia, where she (allegedly) hooked up with Tiger Woods in an extramarital affair. Meet Woods’ “childhood friend” Byron Bell (top left flunky-looking dude):

(If you can keep a secret, Tiger will make it rain!)

The ticket was purchased by Bell using a credit card. He also booked a room for Uchitel at the Crown Towers Hotel in Melbourne.

We’ve learned Bell actually flew with Uchitel to Melbourne and both had rooms at the hotel.

So did Bell know the exact nature of what he was doing? Funny you should ask … Read more…

WLS-TV in Chicago reports this afternoon the FBI has served search warrants at the Northern California offices of Yahoo and Google in connection with the Erin Andrews nude peephole video case.

One of the items they want from Yahoo is a video of another naked woman posted in June to flickr.com. Investigators believe the flickr.com account belongs to 48-year-old Michael Barrett of Westmont.

So the Feds think Michael Barrett was uploading video of another naked woman? Read more…