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.