I’m happy to report that I’m back in Los Angeles for the summer, after five delightful days driving from Miami. First day back, I was at Game 5 of the NBA Finals, which extended the inevitable Boston series triumph by at least one more 48-minute epoch (has a team ever looked worse in a win [...]

• WITH LEATHER isn’t so high on Kevin Faulk, as the Pats RB got busted for being buzzed on the Bayou.

• You know LL Cool J? (Emmitt Smith doesn’t.) Well, ODENIZED says hello to SYOLL Cool J: Sixty-Year-Old Ladies Love Cool Joakim.
• PRO FOOTBALL TALK wonders if kicker Olindo Mare was cut by the Saints [...]

• WITH LEATHER, via AOL FANOUSE, uploads video of Shaq calling out Bill Walton for breaking the “Big Man Code”:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcHQexCFJWM]
• RANDBALL asks that we all hail Wally Szczerbiak’s new son, Maximus.
• THE 700 LEVEL finally found a reason to show up for a Sixers game – a Mr. Potatohead giveaway!

An NBA referee comes out with a new book detailing his past adventures working undercover with the mafia:

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED chats with Bob Delaney, a 20-year court veteran and former New Jersey state trooper, who writes about his experiences with Tony Sparano…er, Tony Soprano types in “Covert: My Years Infiltrating The Mob.”
The book, targeted for a [...]

FRANK CALIENDO’S BARKLEY IMPRESSION GETS CHUCKLES: We earlier wrote how “Frank TV”, the show promoted non-stop during TBS’s baseball playoff coverage, would only air for four episodes.
Now it turns out they might be worth watching, after all:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEJG06qEwLA]
YOU BEEN BLINDED alerts us to a clip of Frank Caliendo impersonating Charles Barkley. And it’s not just [...]

• TROJAN WIRE gets a leg up on the world’s luckiest trainer:

• GHOSTS OF WAYNE FONTES wants to know what’s in it for them, as they sign up for incentive-based sports contracts.
• JEN’S FREE THROWS is all wet, as Greg Oden hits the pool for his rehab.
• SONS OF SAM MALONE checks the calendar, as [...]

WE, HOWEVER, DESPISE DUCKS, TIM LEGLER, AND CAMRYS:

ROME BLOWS LOAD ON BROADCASTING AMOEBA WYNALDA: Jim Rome responds to TOM HOFFARTH about Eric Wynalda calling him “Kim“ and saying he has an affinity for gandering at guys in Speedos: “I will say this, the guy came on my show, apologized to me personally, in front of a few million people and then issued [...]

LUKE FEEDING BRITNEY BOUNCE PASS FOURS YEARS LATE? BANG Showbiz is reporting that “Britney Spears is dating a 6-foot 8-inch basketball star. The 25-year-old singer has reportedly fallen for Los Angeles Lakers player Luke Walton and has been showing her support courtside.

“Britney screamed Luke’s name with the rest of his fans during the game against [...]

DIME BAG BILL SEEING DOUBLE: ESPN.com recently had the good sense to smoke out Bill Walton’s All-Star picks – and the former Blazer didn’t disappoint.

The bong watered-beanstalk rolled out his picks in predictable fashion, selecting Dallas Maverick forward Josh Howard for both squads.

I guess the buck-toothed redhead was so enamored by Howard’s performance last night [...]