Did Virginia Tech Really Beat Florida State in ACC Tourney

This snapshot basically indicate differently. The ball is out of Derwin Kitchen according to this picture. Maybe you could say a pinky is on it, but the picture seems clear enough. The ball is gone. And what is that in the corner of the picture. Its a 00.1 on the clock. That shot is good. We don't have a dog in this fight, just pointing out that maybe official review still has some work to do-- in all sports. Final 52-51 Virginia Tech (here) but probably the officials had it right on the floor: 53-52 Florida State.

LeBron James Selects Miami Heat

The truth is that LeBron James already tried the Cleveland one more chance routine starting in 2007 with a 3-year extension. And it didn't work out. And he actually probably regrets that a little bit. And in a way Cleveland fans should understand that he went the extra mile and those 3 years went by without a title (Dwight Howard explains the point of view).
So now, LeBron (bio) is heading to Miami to contend for that title in D-Wade's house with their buddy Chris Bosh.
In his ESPN made-for-TV one hour special @KingJames said that few people knew his decision before the announcement. He said he could probably count on one hand the number of people that knew for sure.
LeBron went to bed last night not entirely decided. But said that when he woke up he knew it was right. He had a long conversation with his mom that confirmed his choice.
His mom told him that you have to decide what's best for you. No one else but LeBron will have to live with the consequences. Basically, trying again in Cleveland wasn't going to be an option.
In closing, LeBron said its not signed and sealed for the Miami Heat (official) quite yet. He knows they still have work to do. "Just three guys" is not enough. Just one superstar is not enough. So now, the next stage starts. Which 9 guys will join the big 3.
The stars are shining on what could become the capital of the Western Hemisphere, The 305, Miami. Full analysis of the move here.

The NBA Summer of 2010

For more than a couple years, this particular summer, 2010, has been talked about regarding NBA free agents. And the grand focus was the King himself, LeBron James. Not to mention other marquee free agents starting with Dwyane Wade and then Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire, and even Dirk Nowitski and more.

Well, July 2010 is here. One of the biggest names came off the board today. Dwyane Wade stayed put with the Miami Heat. And he took another name off the board, his friend Chris Bosh who will join him in The 305, the Magic City. On marketing, D-Wade is already a big winner. Way to turn staying put into a media frenzy. Flash traveled around to Chicago and hyped up the possibilities and in the end doesn't switch teams but gains days of headlining attention.

Next is LeBron's turn. His media machine has ticked off some people for trying to be too much. We don't blame him. And it's been GREAT for the game. It's getting a lot of people fired up-- from Chicago to New York. And it's taking the NBA Title up a notch in the eyes of fans as we all learn how so many players want to maneuver and get positioned to try and get one (from Kobe).

So, Thursday at 9pm Eastern-- kudos to ESPN for turning LeBron's announcement into a 1-hour TV special (surely it must be tough for ESPN to turn away its focus on Tiger Woods' every shot as he wanders some course in 14th place).

Anyway, tomorrow is LeBron's day. He has set up a Twitter account (@KingJames) that is swelling with followers. He is feeding them to his website to set up a new email list. Its bold marketing from the players. And its kind of showing a shift in the balance of power in the NBA in general as the players drive attention for the league in part via technology mediums. P.S. the speculation (from NBA player Chris Dudley) is that LeBron will end up in New York, as a Knick.

Full coverage via CNNSI and CBS Sports.

Lakers-Celtics 2010 NBA Finals

The chants of "Beat L.A." will begin next Tuesday in Boston. In the meantime, Game 1 in Los Angeles is Thursday at 9pm ET. It is the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. It is, basically, the 2 highest paid teams in the NBA. And it is the NBA's top 2 franchises by championship titles (17 for Boston vs 15 for the Lakers). Breaking down the series matchups are SI and ESPN. Below shows this year's starting 5 matchup compared to the 2 previous meetings in 2008 and 1987.

Kobe is ready and his game is "fluid". The matchup here. All games on ABC. NBA.com official coverage.
Our View: No one will want this title more than Kobe. And, as we saw in his final 2 jumpers against the Suns, Kobe is capable of just about anything. And he has a better team compared to the 2008 series vs Boston. Artest is a big improvement, as is Bynum. The problem, as we see it, is PG. The Lakers had trouble with Westbrook. And they will face a LOT of pressure from Rajon. Rondo is improving every single day. He's quick, he can score, penetrate, and pass well. L.A. got past Nash mostly cause he doesn't play so many minutes. Also, Steve Nash doesn't have Garnett, Perkins, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Rasheed Wallace to pass to. Sure the Suns have J.Rich and Amare, but it is definitely not the same. How will Fisher and the Lakers contain Rondo? That is where the series will be decided.

Celtics 9-2 vs Lakers in NBA Finals

The NBA championship series has been played every year since 1950 (for 3 years before that it was the BAA title). Until 1986 it was deemed the World Championship. It still is, but "The Finals" is the now more politically correct term. Kobe Bryant is looking for "one for the thumb". For the 2nd team in 3 years L.A. is playing Boston. Game 1 tonight at 9 ET. The series schedule/matchup is here.
Celtics-Lakers is an epic rivalry, sewn in the 1960's, and solidified in the 1980's when Bird battled Magic. To date, after 11 meetings in the Finals, the Celtics are 9-2 vs the Lakers in the Finals. And while L.A. has won 2 of the last 3 (see history of Celtics-Lakers here, Boston beat Kobe in 2008. This year's Lakers team is quite different though.

Is LeBron Worthy of New York?

The NY Daily News photo caption (here) in Mike Lupica's LeBron James piece is the typical knee jerk reaction devoid of facts. LeBron James has played 7 full seasons in the NBA and been to the NBA Finals one time. 25 now, he turns just 26 next season (career here).

Michael Jordan's first world championship title came in 1991 at the age of 27 (career stats here, Chicago franchise history here. The Bulls lost in the first round his first 3 years as a pro. They didn't make it to the finals until his 7th season-- MJ's first title.
So, there really isn't a need for panic by LeBron, or for doubters to rush to judgement.

Is his career in Cleveland over? Probably. But Cleveland fans should also consider the numbers above and perhaps not give up so quickly. Is LeBron heading to New York? As a Knick or a Net? Jay-Z is talking LeBron, but isn't the rapper tighter with D-Wade? But if he can't pry Flash outta south Florida, the case could be made that it is the Nets that have the better supporting cast highlighted by Lopez, Harris, Lee, and the up-and-comer, Terrence Williams. Jay-Z has already been actively (story) recruiting James. But is he worthy of coming to NYC? Ouch.

NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions 2010

March Madness is here and you have a bracket to fill out. Follow us by the numbers with our statistical model picking all the games of the tournanment at Game by Game 2010 NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions. And our PDF bracket with some added insights at PDF March Madness Bracket 2010. Good luck. Enjoy the games!

NCAA Final Rankings

We have posted the final total rankings for the NCAA men's basketball 2009-2010 season at Final Total Rankings NCAA Basketball, including win-loss record and rank by formula using Sagarin, Pomeroy, RPI, and RPI Strength of Schedule (SOS).

NBA Rookie Throws In 55!

Who is Brandon Jennings? Well, if you don't follow high school hoops, or basketball in Italy, you could be excused for not knowing. Heck, 9 NBA teams passed on him in the 2009 NBA Draft! The Milwaukee Bucks picked up the 6-1, 20-year old (born 9/23/89) point guard with the 10th pick. So, tonight, Jennings finished with 55 points in a 129-125 home win (recap here) over the Golden State Warriors. The last time any NBA rookie scored this many points was 1968. And the NBA record is 58 (twice) by Wilt Chamberlin in 1960. Jennings was too young to enter the 2008 NBA Draft right out of high school so he played last year in Rome. Full bio here.

Allen Iverson: Frustrated? Or is it just the media?

Here is Allen Iverson, in his own words, about his situation in Memphis and his dealings with the media. It's actually quite a well done piece. By Marc J Spears at Yahoo! Sports.

New book co-authored by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird

There are only a few rare cases when two people are able to appropriately title a book "When the Game Was Ours" (Amazon link here just as an fyi as we don't have a pay agreement with them). Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are without question two of those players. In the mid-1980's, the NBA was theirs. And to get the two of them together for a book might make for one of the most interesting sports books in quite some time-- perhaps ever, especially for basketball. Let's not forget that the Michigan State vs Indiana State college basketball national championship in 1979 remains the highest watched nielson rated NCAA title game. Ever. By 1984, just 5 years later, they reinvented the NBA Finals for TV. Must watch games, recounted here. And beyond all that, the book has drama as Magic Johnson details the true break in his friendship toward Isiah Thomas, which went so far that Magic lobbied to keep Isiah off the 1992 Olympics basketball "Dream Team". Wow. And after you have read the book, next March, right around the time of 2010 March Madness, HBO will begin airing a documentary about Larry Bird and Magic Johnson (press release).

Fantasy Basketball 2009-2010 Season

Time to rank the players and sniff out the sleepers. The best site/reads are HoopsHype rumors, HoopsWorld Headlines, and RotoWorld player news. Of course visit CBS NBA and ESPN NBA... from here. Dime has the smack and check out FanHouse too.

Here at Fanbay.net Sports our NBA Fantasy Basketball page includes links to several rankings, depth charts, and statistics. And, we have our own NBA Fantasy "Draft Big" Board (PDF) ranking over 100 players with comments.

As for sleepers, try these links: Top 15 sleeper slideshow, RotoSynthesis, and FanHouse Sleepers.

Where in the world is Quentin Richardson

The 29-year old 6-6 G-F has been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves-- his 4th team in just the last month. He was traded by the Knicks to Memphis; then from Memphis to the L.A. Clippers. And now from L.A. to Minnesota. Story.

NBA Draft 2009

Will the Clippers ever catch a break? Honestly, not sure if Blake Griffin is the best year to have the #1 draft pick. Yeah, he can dunk a lot in college. On the plus side he does have an NBA frame. So, we shall see. This draft likely to be more about the diamonds in the rough. Live chat coverage at Sporting News here. ESPN DraftCast coverage here, plus analysis. Official NBA Draft 2009 here.

Grandpa Phil gets #10

Like it or not, Phil Jackson has the most coaching world championship titles in the history of the NBA. Read up at NBA.com here. His 10 championships (6 with the Chicago Bulls and 4 with the L.A. Lakers) could stand for all-time. By luck, or zen forces, Phil managed to have Michael Jordan around for all 6 in Chicago, then Kobe and Shaq together for 3 of them in L.A., and finally a focused and determined Kobe this year. The talent is definitely a key reason for Phil's ten titles. However, his unique triangle offense and zen coaching style work well for execution on offense and keeping his players level-headed and in line toward the prize. And for that, Phil Jackson is a legend.

Superman: the road to the Finals

Thinking about Dwight Howard and his journey to the NBA Finals, two things come to mind: the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk contest and the 2007 and 2008 playoffs. Both of Howard's only other trips to the playoffs ended against Detroit. However, in 2008, Orlando actually won one of the games. And the Magic had a 15-point lead in Game 4 which would have evened the series. They ended up losing that game by 1 and went down in the series 4-1 (background here). But the point was made in our opinion: Dwight could compete. And a couple months before that, Dwight arrived on the scene as an entertainment force. There was Michael Jordan vs Dominique Wilkins in 1988 (watch it here). And there was Vince Carter in 2000 (video here). The 2008 Slam Dunk Contest can be thrown in that category. Dwight Howard stole the show from the opening bell, throwing down a dunk from behind the basket after tossing the ball against the backside of the board. That got the crowd behind him. It didn't matter that Gerald Green blew out a candle on a cupcake while dunking, because Dwight came back with a Superman cape to, literally, throw the ball threw the hoop.

Patrick Ewing and the Finals

Patrick Ewing won an NCAA Championship with the Georgetown Hoyas back in 1984. However, his 17-year NBA career (stats here) ended after the 2001-2002 without a world championship ring. Though his Knicks did play in the NBA Finals. Twice (1994, lost to Houston, and 1999, lost to the Spurs). Now on the bench as an assistant coach for the Orlando Magic, Ewing says "Hopefully, I'll get a ring this time" (story). Besides being an 11 time all-star, Ewing played over 80 games in 6 straight seasons, and played in over 76 games for 4 straight seasons after that. His work ethic is a sign of his determination. It is in part because of his work ethic that we shouldn't count out his influence on the bench for the Orlando Magic. The New York City media is all over the story tracking Ewing's elusive quest for a ring. The NY Post here. If you don't think it matters, they asked Ewing. Straight away he says, "It means a lot. A player, coach, winning a championship means a lot. That will shut everybody up. Everyone who says I don't have one, it will shut them up when I do have one."

Patrick Ewing and Coaching

Ewing never thought he would be coaching. He (career) was brought in the same year the Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy, prior to the 2007-2008 season. Now that he is an assistant (and the evidence would say, a successful one at that) his vision of the future has changed, "I enjoy it" he told the NY Daily News recently. And now, Ewing even envisions one day he will be a head coach. Story.