Basketball Players
LeBron James: Greatness Prepackaged for Immediate Consumption -- What must it feel like to be Lebron James? Not that Lebron is the first of his kind, nor will he be the last. But he is the current one, the current poster child for Generation Next. Next as in the next superstar, the next athletic savior, the next baller to define greatness, or even dare I say, the next Michael Jordan. All of this and then some has been heaped upon the shoulders of Lebron James, a high school kid from Akron, Ohio with serious game.
Caron Butler: Fighting Through Adversity -- A friend just recently asked me why no one on the site staff has done an article about the Keyshawn Johnson issue. For those of you who don't know, Keyshawn made remarks saying he didn't like how much he was getting the ball and wanted to leave after this season was over. The Bucs responded by deactivating him for the rest of the season. Anyway, I thought about what he said and I had a great idea.
The Trial and Tribulations of Kobe Bryant -- In the Summer of 2003, high profile athletes have been adept at getting themselves into trouble away from the workplace. About every other week or so, a story breaks about some player who has earned the spotlight’s glare for something other than the sports heroics expected of him.
Men Behind the Logo -- The well-publicized illicit exploits of our star athletes sometimes make fans reluctant to support them wholeheartedly. And while the vast majority of NBA players are respectable human beings, the iniquity of the few creates a reputation for the many. With that in mind, the five players discussed below are presented not as exceptions, but examples, of the men behind the logo.
Patrick Anderson: Wheelchair Basketball Star -- Winning one Paralympic gold medal is challenging enough. Winning two in consecutive Paralympics is even more difficult. But that's exactly what Patrick Anderson and his Canadian Wheelchair Basketball team did, whipping Austrailia, 70-53 in the finals Sept. 28 to capture their second gold in as many Paralympics.
Artest Got Just What He Wanted -- Artest got just what he asked for several weeks earlier when he asked Carlisle for a month off to rest his body and handle some personal business which was probably to promote his upcoming release. It's just that his month off turned into the rest of the season along with being 5.5 million dollars lighter in the wallet.
Hot Rod Hundley: The Man with a Lot to Smile About -- One of the first things you notice about Hot Rod Hundley is his contagious smile. Anyone within eyeshot is quickly drawn to this former NBA All Star.
David Drops Goliath -- The script seemed to have been written before a single game of this past NBA season was played. The two best players in basketball already played together on the same team. When Shaq and Kobe were joined by future Hall of Famers Gary Payton and Karl Malone, there was little room for doubt that this would be the team to beat.
Artest Delivers Knockout Blow -- With just under .46 seconds left on the clock, Pistons forward Ben Wallace took exception to what he thought was a hard foul by Artest shoving the Pacers forward in the throat and in the face inducing altercations both on and off the court.
L.A. Lakers Kobe Bryant: One of the Greatest? -- The Lakers are riding high, feeding off a boisterous crowd that will now be in a Kobe-induced frenzy. I imagine the hottest NBA ticket is in Los Angeles when the Lakers play at home, Tickets are selling like hotcakes these days, as a lot of people are going to want to see what Kobe's doing each night. After scoring 81 points in one game, Kobe Bryant's status as a player is now in the company of Wilt Chamberlain, arguably, the greatest NBA player to ever play the game.
