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The NEW YORK POST’S PAGE SIX delivers news that Jason Kidd is expecting another kid:
A year after telling wife Joumana to hit the road (instead of hitting him), the New Jersey Nets star has successfully planted his seed in girlfriend Hope Dworaczyk. The announcement came during a Sunday night dinner with Hope, Jason and the grandparents-to-be.
But who is this Ms. Dworaczyk?
Jason Kidd finally found a way to stir up some buzz about his forever .500 New Jersey Nets, by growing whatever this is under his nose:
ESPN, to its credit, finally broke something first, by hammering Kidd immediately for his follicular folly. We ourselves really don’t know how to describe the mustache, but if the Lawry’s seasoned salt company was ever to cast a pencil-thin mustachioed chef in a commercial, we think you could throw a poofy lid on Kidd and you’d be in business.
While plenty of other media outlets have since mentioned Kidd’s questionable grooming habits, the AMERICAN MUSTACHE INSTITUTE has the last word on the subject, by *angrily lashing out* at the press this week over the coverage.
We don’t spend much time on CBSSports.com. We adored that goofy old Sportsline logo (love the flourish!), and if you click on the CBS Sports logo on the current site to go to the home page, it redirects to Sportsline.com. But no more mention of Sportsline anywhere on the site we can find. Sad, very sad.
We’re happy to report though that the site does have one of our bookmarks - the “Dunk-O-Meter” page:
We can’t decide if the dunk stat tells you the player is a supreme athlete (Dwight Howard), or piles up throw-downs because he has no offensive game whatsoever (Shaq). One thing we always look for in the standings is how many guards are creeping into the Top 50.
Read more…
DC SPORTS BOG tallies up which pro athletes & team executives showed monetary support to this year’s presidential candidates.
Iowa caucus winner Barack Obama scored with the NBA crowd, getting contributions from Stephon Marbury, Grant Hill & Josh Childress, among others. Must be in acknowledgment of his own mad b-ball skills.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton appears to be a favorite of execs, receiving funds from David Stern, WNBA president Donna Orender, Eagles team president Joe Banner, and other office types from the NBA, MLB, and NFL Players Association. Must be the sexy suits she fashions.
Now that we know which sports types are dealing with Democrats, who’s rooting for Republicans?
The low point of the NBA season was probably Tuesday night, as the teams with the worst records in the league, Miami and Minnesota, squared off in Minneapolis.
The 8-27 Heat, playing without Shaquille O’Neal and with a still-injured Dwyane Wade lost to the 5-29 TWolves 101-91. Miami, just two years removed from an NBA title, has now lost eight straight games.
But as Tom D’Angelo of the PALM BEACH POST reports, “As bad as the night was for the Heat, it could have been worse.” And believe us, D’Angelo is spot-on. Literally.
Ira Winderman of the SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL reports today that Pat Riley “is leaning toward stepping aside after this season” as coach of the Miami Heat.
This is the same Riley who said on Aug. 18, “I’m going to coach another three years, the terms of my contract. … I don’t want to be a one-and-done guy every year. I have three years left on my contract and I will coach those out.”
Riley has apparently had a change of heart *shock*. We’re sure the Heat’s 8-27 record has nothing to do with that. At least that’s what Riley would have you believe in his comments to Winderman.
Pat Riley appeared on WAXY-AM in Miami today to say that Shaquille O’Neal is flying to Los Angeles today to have his injured hip examined. The Heat have been an unmitigated disaster this season, and O’Neal’s drop in production is probably most to blame for the club’s appalling performance.
So O’Neal, who has suffered a major injury every season for nearly a decade, is back on the shelf. Riley though somehow found a way to defend The Big Ingrate: “You know how proud he is? The man? The is absolutely killing him that he’s not out on the court and his team’s not winning. He can’t perform and he’s being second-guessed by everybody at this stage of his career. … He’s one of our great assets. He’s down to 321 pounds … he’s doing everything he can do to get healthy.“
It’s understandable that Riley is still trying to pretend that Shaq has some value left in his blubber-ravaged body. He’d love to dump The Big Crispy off on a contending team, unloading the $40M the Heat still owe O’Neal and clearing cap space to start rebuilding. But his claim that O’Neal is doing whatever he can to get healthy is truly a whopper, even for Riley. Witness the juicy, sex-charged item about Shaq in today’s PAGE SIX.
Gilbert Arenas has a new blog entry at NBA.com this week, and writes, “I’d rather have an Olympic gold medal than an NBA ring, to be honest. I’m one of the only American basketball players that feel that way.”
One of the only? Or the only?
The last three Olympics for the United States have been a complete debacle expressly because of the non-participation of the best NBA players. So Arenas’ admission is refreshing to say the least. Too bad you can’t count on a single NBA All-Star to share his sentiment.
Arenas also claims he knows why Scott Skiles was fired.
For anyone who still has doubts about Ron Artest’s sanity, this should answer any questions: He would have no problem playing for the Knicks:
The NEW YORK POST catches up with the Sacramento star, who’s in the Big Apple for the Kings’ sole season appearance at Madison Square Garden. However, Artest won’t have the chance to entertain his hometown crowd, as he’s scheduled to have elbow surgery.
Once he gets healthy again, Artest said he wouldn’t mind playing for New York, believing he cam help clean up a messy situation: “Anywhere I go, I can turn things around, given the opportunity. I definitely would not be opposed to it if that is my calling.”
The BANGOR DAILY NEWS has the story of a Maine high school basketball player who’s back on the court after surviving the loss of his hand:
Sean Daniels was a key member of the Easton Bears varsity squad. But in October, the junior’s left hand & forearm were crushed in a farming accident. Although doctors tried to save his arm, an infection had set in, and there was no choice but to amputate.
Daniels was hospitalized for 12 days, going through six surgeries. He eventually returned to school, but was not given medical clearance to return to the varsity team.
Instead of letting the injury end his basketball career, Daniels joined the junior varsity squad, finally getting back on the court on December 15. In his first two games, Sean was the team’s leading scorer both times. And in Easton JV’s last contest, Daniels nailed a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation, allowing the Bears to eventually win in double OT.
Sean is eyeing a return to the varsity roster, hopefully by mid-January. And he’ll have plenty of support in the stands when he comes back. Not too soon after his accident, the Easton community organized a benefit dinner that raised over $7,000 to help pay for Sean’s medical expenses.
Most of all, he’s just happy to be on the court again: “Basketball is one of the biggest things in my life. I was afraid I was going to lose it this year, so I’m pretty glad that I got it back.”
