In Memorium: NBA Power Couple Nate Robinson and Shaq Split

Shaq and Nate were Oprah and Gayle close.

Words cannot describe how sad I am right now. I've had a chance to sleep on the news that Nate Robinson and Shaq will no longer be playing together, both on the court and off, and I am still devastated. Nate Robinson and Shaq together was one of my favorite things ever. Ever, you guys.

Bibby's World: Traded

Don't know how we locked this down, but we'd like to introduce you to No Regard's newest blogging sensation... Mike Bibby! He'll be checking in whenever he can, just to remind us: It's Bibby's World, we just live in it!

So last night I'm running my typical 9PM Wednesday routine (playing Ms. PacMan and drinking red wine), when I see something ridiculous on the ESPN ticker: "Mike Bibby traded to Wizards." Now obviously I think it's a joke, because the last time my ESPN ticker said anything about me, it was, 'Mike Bibby traded to Lakers for a stack of Magic Cards', which just turned out to be a prank that Coach Mike was pulling on me. After checking on Twitter, it appeared that the trade was legit. "I'm going to the Wizards," I yell to my wife. "Mike," she says, "there's wine all over your lips." Sure enough, there was.

The White House

Instead of talking about what it means to be on that team, because we all know that's the boring stuff, I'm going to list some of the things that I'm looking forward to doing in our nation's capital:

Bill Murray Presser

Since we'll be seeing a few more introductory press conferences in the next few days (starting with the Nets officially unveiling Deron Williams this afternoon at 3:00 pm), we figured this was the best time to share our favorite NBA press conference ever. Bill Murray, I hope you live forever.

No Regard Previews: A New Show On Broadway

One Game We Will Definitely Watch Tonight:
New York Knicks vs. Milwaukee Bucks

The scene is going to be wild tonight during the first game of the Melo Era in Madison Sqaure Garden. After almost a decade of terrible decisions, and pathetic basketball teams, New York Knick nation has a right to be ridiculously excited. And who better to take over the Big Apple than one of its own, Carmelo Anthony? This evening's game marks the start of something special for both New York City and the NBA. Seriously.

Nets Trade Lands Deron Williams

...and totally redeem yourself! Maybe more thoughts later, but for now we're busy looking for our old Sean Williams jersey.

NBA Middle Names: Chauncey Billups

We at No Regard spend a lot of time in our NBA knitting circles trying to figure out the human side of these players. Whether it's musing about their commutes to work, how much "Call of Duty" they play, or what their favorite snack food is, we like to remind ourselves that NBA players are nothing more than young men with enviable jobs. What better way to humanize our heroes than look up their middle names?

Chauncey Ray Billups

Text Messages and Google: Knicks and Nuggets React to Blockbuster Trade

(Staten Island native, Renaldo Balkman, is back home for a second stint with the Knicks. He's ready to contribute!)

With the Melodrama finally coming to a close late last evening, the reactions have been pouring in. Seems like just about everyone who's ever seen an NBA game has an opinion about this blockbuster trade.
So we figured we'd give you a break over here at No Regard and instead of waxing poetic about whose gonna take the last shot for the new-look Knicks (it will be Chauncey, FYI, not because that's how Mike will draw it up but because Billups thinks he's the man), we've decided to hypothesize the sorts of texts messages and Google searches the different individuals involved with the deal have been firing away in the last 12 hours.

All-Star Weekend: Best Coast, Beast Coast

Let’s open this post by saying that we, the No Regard staff, do not support nor condone violence, unless it is simulated or the result of really cool explosions in a Michael Bay movie. We hate real violence, though, and we were as shocked and saddened as anyone by the slayings of Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace in 1996 and 1997, respectively. So please know that we’re not glorifying any of that.

That said, I mean, come on. Who among our readers has never thought about that fateful mid-90s coastal rap feud when thinking about the NBA All-Star Game? It’s too easy. East vs. West. Shifting allegiances. Players who are largely—and we acknowledge and accept the arguably dicey territory we’re getting into here—hip-hop fans and some of whom even hang out with rappers.

So considering all that, we couldn’t pass up the idea of matching up this year’s All-Star Game starting rosters with some of the key players from the East vs. West hip-hop feud that shook up the pre-millenium years. Most of the rappers here were on the Bad Boy and Death Row rosters, but there is one (or depending on what career era you’re looking at, a few) exception. Our matches are based on similarities in career paths, styles, and, to some extent, gut feelings we couldn’t get over. We’ve also offered sample lyrics for each that we believe speak to the similarities between the rappers and the players.

Here goes something.

All-Star Weekend: You Know We Got Skills

The Skills Challenge may be the single most divisive part of NBA All-Star Weekend. Some find it to be a riveting look at the little things that make NBA point guards great. Others think it is incredibly boring, especially when compared to fan favorites like the Dunk Contest and the 3-Point Shootout. We here at No Regard think it's a pretty good watch, but we agree that the NBA could do something to spice it up. Namely, add to the course these non-basketball skills there we're modestly proposing. You know, stuff to break up the tedium that folks who aren't junkies might find in dribbling and passing accuracy and whatnot. Below, we've listed five skills we think should be added to this year's Challenge (aka the Taco Bell All-Star 2011 Skills Challenge) immediately, as well as the NBA players—whether point guards or not—who would really own that skill.

First up: Burritos.

All-Star Weekend: The Dunks of Our Lives

The dunk contest holds a very special place in our hearts over here at No Regard, as it does in the hearts of most NBA fans. While the All-Star game itself is generally a fairly entertaining event, the weekend's pinnacle arguably comes at the end of Saturday night, when we get to watch four of the world's greatest jumpers face off in a battle of athleticism and creativity.

This year's competition seems poised to generate some memorable jams, but DeMar, Serge, Blake, and JaVale will have to step it up if they want to match these staff all-time favorites.

Andrew Abides: Dwight Howard's Superman (2008)



My infatuation with the dunk contest has long bordered on mania. Since I first learned the names Cedric Ceballos and Harold Miner, my love for dunks has resided within 10 feet on either side of the border between obsession and sickness. To put it bluntly: I still have the page I ripped out of Slam Magazine that featured Lil Penny bemoaning that cancelled 1998 dunk contest.

Needless to say, I was deeply affected as I watched the contest become stale in the years leading up to Dwight's ascension.

All-Star Weekend: The Dunks of Our Lives

The dunk contest holds a very special place in our hearts over here at No Regard, as it does in the hearts of most NBA fans. While the All-Star game itself is generally a fairly entertaining event, the weekend's pinnacle arguably comes at the end of Saturday night, when we get to watch four of the world's greatest jumpers face off in a battle of athleticism and creativity.

This year's competition seems poised to generate some memorable jams, but DeMar, Serge, Blake, and JaVale will have to step it up if they want to match these staff all-time favorites.

Peter Brownell: Gerald Green's Birthday Cake (2008)



If you scroll to the top of our website you'll find a remarkable picture. In the foreground is a flying Gerald Green, basketball above his head lifted by both hands, blowing out the candle on a cupcake he had just meticulously placed on the back of the rim. In the background stand LeBron James and Amar'e Stoudemire, wearing brown trench-coats, drinking in the spectacle in front of them, awe-struck.

All-Star Weekend: The Dunks of Our Lives

The dunk contest holds a very special place in our hearts over here at No Regard, as it does in the hearts of most NBA fans. While the All-Star game itself is generally a fairly entertaining event, the weekend's pinnacle arguably comes at the end of Saturday night, when we get to watch four of the world's greatest jumpers face off in a battle of athleticism and creativity.

This year's competition seems poised to generate some memorable jams, but DeMar, Serge, Blake, and JaVale will have to step it up if they want to match these staff all-time favorites.


Adam Ain't: Dee Brown's No See Dee (1991)



If we're going to talk about Dunk Contests that stand out in our minds, I don't know how I can talk about anything but Dee Brown's 1991 performance. It was not only the first Dunk Contest I ever saw, but it was one that my brother, a Celtics fan, would talk about for months to come.

All-Star Weekend: Top Five Musical Performances in ASW History

While the Super Bowl may get all the winter sporting event musical performance headlines, the NBA All-Star Weekend has churned out some pretty great tunage over the years. Here's our list of the top five musical performances from All-Star Weekends past. Oh, and a note: yes, I know Vanilla Ice performed at halftime in 1992. Trust me, he was this close to making the cut.

#5: Mariah Carey Pays Tribute to MJ (2003)



Michael Jordan played his final NBA All-Star game in 2003, and the NBA went all out for his in-game honors. At halftime, Mariah Carey donned two different variants of MJ jerseys--one Bulls, one Wizards--and gave him one high-pitched sendout. Not prime Mariah by any means, but enough to lead Michael to get on stage and cry.

Welcome to All-Star Week!

Hey y'all! All-Star Weekend is merely four days away! Are you excited? We're excited! And we've got some good stuff coming up this week to celebrate the best weekend out of all the weekends! So stay tuned and get ready for dunks, skills, threes, rookies, sophomores, and more stars than there are in heaven. (That's for you, Pete "Mr. Neglects Awesome Bands in Posts About Hoboken" Brownell.)

Sasha, Not Happy In Hoboken

Sighted by Andrew Abides from the Wall Street Journal:


"Renting an apartment in Hoboken, N.J., Mr. Vujacic longs for the companionship of his fiance, the Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, who travels throughout the year. He devotes much of his time to reading and studying basketball videos and he misses the familiarity and comfort of his Manhattan Beach home.

'I've been waiting five days to have the heater in my apartment fixed,' he said."

When Mr. Abides brought this to my attention this morning, I felt terribly for Sasha. How could anyone be so sad living in a city chock full pizza parlors, Irish pubs, young, white, investement bankers, and Eli Manning?

Frank Sinatra is from Hoboken. Baseball was invented in Hoboken. Some of the most glorious Manhattan views can be seen from Hoboken.

Also, if it's so bad he should consider Weehawken. Which is where Vince Carter lived, and witnessed the Hudson River plane crash in person, when he was a Net.

So cheer up Sasha! Turn off the basketball videos for awhile, grab yourself a burger from Five Guys, and embrace wonderful Hoboken.

Jerry Sloan Resigns

After 22 1/2 years of coaching the Utah Jazz, Jerry Sloan's tenure has ended. We look forward to reading all the "Here's a list of what's happened since Jerry Sloan started coaching the Jazz" blog posts. Good luck to assistant coach Tyrone Corbin, who will take over for Sloan, in running the Jazz's insanely complex "flex offense."

And most of all: Mr. Sloan, enjoy retirement!



"What A Sensible Man He Was. What A Marvelous Man He Was."

NBA Middle Names: Ray Allen

We at No Regard spend a lot of time in our NBA knitting circles trying to figure out the human side of these players. Whether it's musing about their commutes to work, how much "Call of Duty" they play, or what their favorite snack food is, we like to remind ourselves that NBA players are nothing more than young men with enviable jobs. What better way to humanize our heroes than look up their middle names?

Walter Ray Allen

The Beauty of a Curt Response

Kelly Dwyer appropriately waxes poetic about the amazing @NBA Twitter reply to last night's premature @MLB tweet:

Not much more to say here. Well played, sirs.

Monday Morning Dance Therapy: Dontcha Know? Edition

Monday mornings are tough. As the work week starts, we often need something to pick us up and remind us that things are going to be okay. That something is NBA players and other hoops figures dancing. This weekly column celebrates one of the finest things in life and gives you the kickstart you need to get the week started on the right foot.

Everything's coming up Wisco!

Portland Trail Blazers Fans, I Don't Know

That screengrab above is from underachieving Net Travis Outlaw's page on endless resource Basketball-Reference.com. As you may know, B-R.com offers cheap ad space on each and every player page. In this case, Blazer fan Whit Perkins apparently thought prudent to spend some cash to let former Blazer Outlaw (or rather those who read Outlaw's page) know how much he appreciates the late-game services Outlaw provided while in Portland. If you click on Perkins' name, you'll be directed to this YouTube video of an overtime game winner from Outlaw, then the explanation (at 1:14) of said play, which Perkins thoughtfully (and phonetically) transcribed in his "advertisement."

I guess all I'm getting at here is that the world in 2011 is goofy.

Is that Shirt Felton? Unfortunately, Now It Is

Mike Kurylo over at Knickerblogger has been totally spot-on the entire season with his assertions that the Knicks team performance is highly dependent upon Raymond Felton's level of performance. This may seem like it could apply to any team and its point guard, but there is something particularly relevant when the point guard is playing under Mike D'Antoni.

In a post from today, Kurylo takes a depressing, chart-heavy, and insightful look at Felton's recent slump, one that has left a lot of fans feeling just as uneasy as they (read: we) did for the first couple weeks of the season.

I would specifically like to point you to the comment from Owen, who wisely notes:

I just wonder if there is a pattern here with point guards wearing down in the 7SOL offense. Both Duhon and Felton came in and shot the lights out and generally played the best ball of their lives for two months. Then something happened: defenses adjusted, they wore down, regression to the mean, and suddenly the magic was gone.

It’s not easy to play 38 minutes a game at the fastest pace in the league while trying to be a plus defender. There’s probably a reason Nash has never tried. While Felton played great for a pretty long stretch it’s pretty clear that Mike is on to something. And for all that people talk about systems and player interactions, the greatest predictor of what a player will do going forward is what he has done in the past. Playing next to Amare under the tutelage of D’Antoni isn’t alchemy…

This is a very good point, and one that does not bring me much comfort. Here's hoping Ray has a very relaxing and rejuvenating All-Star break.