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NBA Loud - by Arnold

No, LeBron James wasn’t driving a bus loaded with a bomb. He was just ‘cruising’ in his Mercedes. Well, if you consider driving 101mph (163 km) a leisurely Sunday drive.

The cherry on top for King James, personalised plates “King of AK”, by the way, was that he
LeBron James driving.
LeBron James does some legal driving. (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
was busted on his 23rd birthday. Ohio state police stopped Bron-Bron at 2.43 am, with the officer who pulled James over saying that he was polite and courteous.


James’ lawyer filed a not guilty plea in the municipal court with a scheduled hearing on February 11. If found to have broken the law, LeBron will face a $US150 fine. Ouch. That has got to hurt a guy who signed a $US100 million contract with a ubiquitous shoe company as an 18 year old.

To put LeBron’s actions in perspective 300, 000 people were busted for speeding last year in Ohio, with just 1400 going over 160 mph. Even more sobering was that former Cavs player Bobby Phillis was killed whilst travelling 160km per hour in his Porsche in 2000. So, he shouldn’t believe that he is bullet proof. Kings have been killed in the past.

In other NBA news, Andrew Bynum, the burgeoning Los Angeles Laker star is out of action for two months with a knee injury after landing on teammate, Lamar Odom’s foot, going for a rebound over the weekend.


Bynum’s injury is a huge blow for the Lake Show because his stellar play has helped the team become a Western Conference powerhouse.

The injury suffered by Bynum comes at a time when the Lakers are heading into a very tough schedule, facing some stiff competition.

Although, the injury looked serious initially, it could have been much worse. After MRI tests and an examination, Bynum had temporarily dislocated his knee cap. L.A. will be without Andrew for approximately two months, recovering in time for the Lakers playoff run.

With Bynum missing, Kobe Bryant will take a much larger role. Expect more highlights from the star Laker. For anyone who may have forgotten how talented Kobe is. Check out his top 10 highlights from 2007.


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The New York Knicks beat a Jason Kidd-less, New Jersey Nets outfit today, which is the first of many surprises. Of course the New York Knicks winning an actual contest is always major news, but the biggest story coming out of this game was the missing superstar point guard for the Nets.

Kidd purportedly was absent from the game due to a ‘migraine’. However, franchise sources in and out of the organisation are suggesting that Jason is in fact angling for a trade. According to Yahoo! Sports, Kidd’s intention of missing today’s contest was always going to happen, and didn’t actually inform Nets officials until the afternoon of the game against the Knicks after the negative events of the past few weeks.

One New Jersey official stated that Kidd’s ‘migraine’ was a tad bit suspicious, and that he
LeBron James and Jason Kidd
Basketball orgasm will occur if these two get together. (REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk)
was actually sitting out in protest. (Wojnarowski, Yahoo!, 2007)

Adding to the intrigue is that Kidd and LeBron James had become tight during the previous summer when they both represented the U-S-of-A in Olympic qualifying, and that he is working towards a trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"They've been communicating about the (trade) options that could get them together in Cleveland," one Eastern Conference official said. (Wojnarowski, Yahoo!, 2007)

Make no mistake, Kidd is a winner and has bought respectability to one of the most horrific franchises in recent NBA history. Before, Jason came to the Sopranoland, the only successes the Nets were experiencing were faltering to greater depths of futility. What happened when the Californian Kidd came to town? Championship runs and postseason action.

Jason’s act of defiance corresponds to the fact that his time and chance for a championship is extremely limited at the age of 34. Also, he feels that New Jersey no longer is intent on developing a winning franchise, or surrounding him with the talent that would enable a title run. Even if Richard Jefferson is playing out of his skin.

The one constant with Jason’s time in Jersey is that the man plays hurt – cracked ribs and a bad back weren’t obstacles for him to perform at an intensely high level. However, two factors have contributed to Kidd’s unhappiness, besides the aforementioned reasons that is: 1) New Jersey has so far refused to grant Jason a contract extension and 2) he is increasingly irritated by the dedication of his fellow Nets to the cause by not playing through injuries, most notably Vince Carter.

Player’s in the NBA always make trade demands, and a lot of times they deserve to stay put in their crappy situations, but Jason Kidd deserves his title shot. There rarely have been players that are as selfless as the electrifying point guard for the Nets. Also, who wouldn’t want the chance to see both King James and the Cali Kidd do their thing?

Enjoy the clip of the top 10 plays from today’s games. And, no, none of these plays is going to feature Jason Kidd you smartass readers.



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LeBron James is King in China!

October 19th 2007 07:15
LeBron James
LeBron is everywhere in China! (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)


You’d think that Yao Ming would be the most popular player in China, and indeed he is well liked, but he isn’t as beloved as LeBron James. Yes, it’s good to be the king and LeBron rules the Middle Kingdom in the manner that would make Yao blush.

The NBA is intent on making huge inroads in the burgeoning Chinese market and are doing so on the backs of players such as Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, and, yes, LeBron James, who are all more popular in China than, Ming!

Bron-Bron and his Cav teammates are currently in China for some preseason exhibition games and the Chinese have gone gaga for James, who is the centrepiece for Nike and the NBA in their expansion out east.

In fact so big is the cult of King James, Nike established a LeBron James museum that has all things related to the man for the duration of his time in China. The museum offers 3-on-3 games, childhood photos, jerseys and of course, the ubiquitous LBJ range of Nike shoes. It is one whole big, LeBron love-fest!

So, why on earth have Nike initiated the LBJ Museum? Allow, Nike spokesperson, Alan Marks
LeBron James
You'd be laughing too if you had a $US90 million contract from Nike. (AFP/File/Mark Ralston)
to address that question: “The idea is to help Chinese youth understand who he is, his career, his history and his personality…” (Wade, AP, 2007)

Addressing the popularity of King James over Yao, Huang Risheng, a reporter for the Chinese-language Titan sports newspaper has this to say: “The Chinese are looking for individual heroes…We are not open enough, not extroverted enough. We like the individual effort, just one man saving the whole team like James…I think those three are more popular than Yao Ming. It's a contradiction. Maybe I should say we like their style of play better.” (Wade, AP, 2007)

Here we have the irony that Yao is probably more popular in the U.S. than in China, whilst, LeBron gets more love in China.

Young Chinese fans have gone LeBron crazy, with 17-year-old, Guo Youtian calling Bron-Bron “unbelievably stylish” (Rui, China Daily, 2007)

LeBron’s kicks are the most popular shoes amongst the young of China, while his high school replica jersey is one of the most desirable pieces of clothing of the Chinese youth. Want to know how much his high school jersey is worth on the black market? Try a cool, 3000 Yuan, or $US405.

Think LeBron looms large right now in China? Just wait till next year during the Olympics!

Today’s video is of King James in China. Enjoy.




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Has LeBron James Jumped the Shark?

February 28th 2007 13:05
It seems blasphemous to even utter the following statement: LeBron James isn’t that good. Let this NBA writer clarify, Bron-Bron was good, but seems to be sleepwalking through this season. Sure, if you base his performances on his stats than LeBron is still a dominant player. This view only changes when you actually watch a Cleveland game.

Anyone who watched King James during the All-Star weekend can see a man that seems to be disengaged from the sport and playing with about as much enthusiasm as this writer has for university study at the moment. Translation: our interest in our chosen pursuits is about next to zilch at this current juncture.

Comparing me to LeBron James brings us to a second point that often gets overlooked when Bron-Bron is written about – his ego. Reports through the NBA media-sphere suggest a man whose ego and sense of self importance is rather large as of this moment as evidenced by his proclamation that his number one goal is to become a global icon.

However, this isn’t strictly a hatchet piece on LeBron because his teammates shoulder a lot of the blame as to why James is playing like he is part of the living dead. First and foremost his
LeBron rocking the rim. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
support cast is next to non-existent and the ones that are on court with James frustrate the hell out of the man. Here we have a player with unbelievable all-court abilities and his passing vision is phenomenal to say the least. The sticking point comes when the ball is out of James’ hands and his teammates have control of the rock. What we and LeBron are witnessing are blown lay-ups, dunks and good looks. Think you want to give up the ball after you come to the realisation that your teammates can’t score a basket to save their lives? Didn’t think so.

LeBron had a playoff performance to behold last season and was a legit MVP candidate. Hell, he probably should have been anointed the best player in the league and should have built on his progress from last season. LeBron gets banged up more than most players in the NBA and he is probably extremely tired and disinterested right now. Maybe he is saving himself for the postseason when he can strut his stuff in a woeful Eastern Conference.

Whatever transpires LeBron has had a dream run on and off the court. He is surrounded in a bubble where he cannot be touched and the media have laid off him and the only articles about the man are puff pieces. Recall any articles ever critical of LeBron?

We should end with this sentiment about LeBron: NBALOUD loves you man, despite your seemingly misguided comments about gays in the NBA because this writer appreciates real basketball talent. Just play ball the way we know you can.

Oh, and congrats on becoming a father for the second time with your partner expecting.

Finally, here is a clip of LeBron doing his thing on the basketball court. The man does have sick basketball talent.


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Moderated by Arnold
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