Today's warnings : 23 July, 2008

Circum-navigating the world wide web quicker than you can say Sarunas Marciulionis, it's today's warnings:

FROM THE BLOGS

• Truehoop: analysing the potential homophobia in a new Nike advertising campaign.
• Ball Don't Lie: Skeets never stops bringing the bargains at ya! How about some champagne that may have possibly, by chance, speculatively come from the Chicago Bulls 1997 Championship locker room?
• Basketbawful: continuing to bring you some of the worst of the NBA, in a good way...
• Brewhoop: a final wrap up on the Bucks' Summer League activities.
• And One: LeBron's injured his ankle, but it's not serious, or it could be, but it's probably not. Sehr gut.
• Cuzoogle: some great photoshop work on some new NBA movie titles not coming to the an NBA retailer near you.
• John Rillie: addressing probably the hottest topic in Australian NBL basketball right now, regarding the new franchise the Sydney Spirit (or whatever they're to be called after the Bendigo Spirit have had their crack at the name). It's a hard job trying to convince the public that a new franchise has been born when they are essentially in the same location as their forefathers (the Razorbacks) and have mostly the same squad (bar one big name signing). The new OKC team is in a similar situation, albeit they have actually moved to another city. From what I'm hearing on the Ozhoops Boards amongst some of the keener fans, it will be very hard to draw fans across from the old Sydney Kings fold, as it will be difficult to ascertain which Razorbacks fans classify this as a new franchise and which are clinging to the former team's history. Time will tell...
• SportsVideoGames: KG on the cover of NBA 2K9.

FROM THE MAINSTREAM

• OKC: a suggestion on the mascot for the new team.
• Kobe Bryant: trying to follow in Jordan's path.
• China: Yao Ming isn't scared of anyone. "I am very sure we can beat Angola. We lost to them in Hangzhou, but we were not in our best shape last week," he said. "Their players are not very competitive, and I don't think they are able to pose us any real threat at the Games.
  "We are not afraid of Germany either. Yi Jianlian has improved tremendously after playing one season in the NBA and he can limit Nowitzki. And I can take care of Chris Kaman."
• Golden State: Marcus Williams is a Warrior. They're not necessarily looking as good as last year, but certainly younger and with some solid foundations. Out with Baron, Pietrus and Barnes and in with Turiaf, Williams and Maggette. They won't be a playoff team, but we knew that already.
• Matt Geiger: people are being nasty to poor little Matt and not buying his house for the $21m price they promised. Maybe Latrell Sprewell can give him some tips on feeding his kids in the meantime.

Greg Oden is crazy wacky hilarious!

I don't know how, but somehow I missed this video of Greg Oden when it came out. This is the perfect example of how much of a comic genius this guy is. Forget the Big Aristotle/Cactus/Diesel/Fu, in years to come, everyone will be talking about the quotability of All-Interview First Teamer, Greg Oden.

Today's warnings : 21 July, 2008

Summer League action has provided a glimpse at some of the incoming rookies for 2008, Olympic teams are set and the last crumbs of free agency are still being devoured by the few with enough room in their bellies (salary caps) to fit them. Here's a round-up of your warnings for today:

• John Rillie has a great summary of the happenings in the world of Australian and Olympic basketball this week.
• Angola, the one-time punching bags of Charles Barkley (circa 1992), beat Serbia in an Olympic warmup match.
• Red's Army comes up with the worthwhile question: Did the '92 Dream Team ruin the NBA? Believe me, it's more than just a juicy headline and perhaps telling of the current and future state of international basketball.
• Once Were Sonics, now are Thunder...
• The Akron Police are going to be getting around on some King James bicycles!
• Bostjan Nachbar to play in Russia. "Already this summer, Tiago Splitter of Brazil, a first-round pick of the Spurs in 2007, and Goran Dragic of Slovenia, a second-round pick of the Spurs in 2008 whose rights were traded to the Suns, have opted for more lucrative deals in Europe than they'd be eligible for as rookies in the NBA.
  And four international players with NBA experience -- Carlos Delfino, Jorge Garbajosa, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Juan Carlos Navarro -- have accepted offers from European teams that easily trumped the money NBA teams were willing to offer.
  "The NBA had better be careful," Nachbar said. "European teams are offering a lot of money. It's much more, considering there are no taxes, than what I could make signing for the mid-level exception."
• Josh Childress is seriously considering his European options (in Greece), unless someone throws a good contract his way quickly. Of course all of this talk of players going overseas must be of some concern, or at least thought-provoking, for my namesake Mr Stern. However, overall I think that this is nothing but good for world basketball. Sure, the NBA would like to retain as many top players as possible, but until the marquee players start heading overseas (say Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker or Pau Gasol for example), this is not a major problem for the NBA,
• Lakers fans will miss the intensity of Ronny Turiaf, but there simply isn't room in the rotation for him behind Odom, Gasol, Bynum, Radmanovic and Mihm -- at that price anyway.
• Get your feed of Raptors links from Cuzoogle.
• Final Summer League thoughts from the land of the Blazers. "Yes, Bayless tweaked his hand during that breathtaking, game-saving 36-point outburst against the Suns. But three team sources, including Bayless, insist he did not undergo any tests on his hand."
  
  
  
  
  

Oklahoma City : where the team has no name

In Oklahoma City, the wait continues. What will be the name of the team plucked from the grips of the Seattle Sonics fans by Clay Bennett?

From the Canadian Press:

The sports apparel shop where Colby Ousley works was one of the first places to get new NBA T-shirts featuring Oklahoma City on the front.

There's still a big question on the minds of Ousley and others who are eager for the NBA to make its official arrival in the city, though.

"I'm anxious to know what they're finally going to be. The colours, nobody knows anything about that," said Ousley, a 19-year-old who's studying athletic training at the University of Central Oklahoma.

The NBA expects that parts of Oklahoma City's new identity might be announced next month, but the final deadline will be late September - shortly before the start of pre-season games.

The actual names under consideration aren't being revealed, but Bennett has said there are several names being cleared through the league and that the team took in recommendations through letters, naming competitions at schools and a contest run by the local newspaper.

"We've got lots and lots of names, so we feel like we have absorbed much of the flavour of what the citizens have considered and have certainly put that into the equation," Bennett said.

From NewsOK.com:

When it comes to Oklahoma City's yet-to-be-named NBA franchise, a for-sure, can't-miss nickname is difficult to come by. Marketing experts say the easy choices are already taken, long ago gobbled up by the hundreds of professional franchises.

But options remain.

"Now you kind of get down to a name that fits who you are and where you are,” said Vince Orza, dean of the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University.

Good names, Orza said, are terms that are positive, short, easy to spell and easy to pronounce. The best ones also reflect strength and characterize the team's region.

"You kind of want a fun term also,” Orza said. "Four letter names are always the best if you can get them. If you think about it, Ford, Oreo, Coke, the reason those names are so successful is they're easy to say, easy to remember and easy to spell.

"Simple means bigger, and the bigger you can get it on a uniform and cap the easier it is to see the image and the impression of the name.”

Everyone is obsessed with naming the new team:

Nickname fever is sweeping the state, and no one is immune. With the impending arrival of Oklahoma's first major-league sports franchise — one that's leaving its name, colors and history behind — folks from Guymon to Gotebo are talking about what the team should be called.

Who among us hasn't thought about it, talked about it, debated about it?

This has become fodder for the casual observer every bit as much as the hard-core fan. The debate is just as likely to rage in a Sunday school class as at the local watering hole.

Heck, the obsession extends to The Oklahoman. Our fair newspaper conducted a 64-name bracket competition within hours of the relocation vote, and even though we've told all of you that we have no sway in the naming, you still keep calling and writing with your suggestions.

Meanwhile, OKC's (newly) own Kevin Durant will highlight the USA Select roster as one of 10 young players to give Team USA a run for their money in the lead up to the Olympics.

Durant's co-draftee of 2007, Greg Oden is excited about coming back after missing his first NBA season through injury and thinks that the Blazers might have some new fans:

Having Seattle lose its NBA franchise to Oklahoma City, Oden expects to see "a lot more people in Seattle coming down to Portland."

LeBron keeps a sidekick : Daniel Gibson re-signs

The Cavs have re-signed Daniel 'Boobie' Gibson to an undisclosed multi-year deal.

NBA.com : "Daniel has been an important part of our Cavs family the last two seasons. He has worked to grow as a player and we love his passion for winning and the game itself. He's been great off the court as well, and is exactly the kind of person we're proud to have with us," said Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry. "In re-signing Daniel, it helps the Cavs both build continuity and create a young core that will be in Cleveland for many years to come."

Gibson is a vital cog in the Cavaliers' engine as they try to establish a winning team to keep star LeBron James happy and in Cleveland.

NBA : Today's warnings : 16 July, 2008

• Andrew Bogut says that the Australian invasion to the NBA has only just begun.


• Meet Clark Kellogg, the new voice of the NCAA Final Four, courtesy of And One.


• It's Afflalo vs Sessions in Summer League play.


• Clipperblog's take on Marcus Camby falling in the Clippers' collective lap.


• Indystar says, "Bird said he doesn't expect the Pacers to go over the $71.150 million luxury tax."


• The many moods of Jerryd Bayless.


• A great account of Rudy Fernandez's game, from Wally Szercakwekzweiak's dad.


• NBA 2K9 is coming our way -- not with as much fanfare as the recent NBA Live 09 release, but really, it didn't need as much hype this time around, did it?


• Get a fix of Celtics news at Loy's Place.
  
  
  

NBA Live 365 : the news is out!

EA Sports finally made their NBA Live announcement (which you were sternly warned about yesterday) with regard to the new artificial intelligence feature. It's aptly called "NBA 365" as it means you are provided with an updated NBA experience for every day of the year.

Part of this development means that every NBA Live player has a "Dynamic DNA" -- which as the name suggests, brings a constantly changing number of characteristics for that player. If this is as advertised on the carton, we've got a very exciting move in the future of sports gaming right here.

Here's a roundup of the news on the E3 announcement:

• A couple of nice updates from our friends at Sports Video Games, here and then again here.
• Report at the NBA Live Series Center from someone who has tested out the new NBA Live 09 and attended the initial event for the media. He points out that, as you would expect, there may well be a charge in the future for the update service -- but not for the 2009 iteration.
• The official list of new features, direct from EA's site.
• Another great hands-on report, this one from Pasta Padre.
• Oh and by the way, no, Brandon Roy is not on the cover of NBA Live 09 -- not to my knowledge anyway. That cover and other fantasies can be found at the IGN Boards.

One thing which I don't think enough has been made of, is the NBA Rewind feature. According to EA this is:

"NBA Rewind* - Think you can do it better? Rewrite history and replay last night's game with the updated statistical data that recreates identical conditions including injuries, hot/cold streaks, tendencies and player DNA."

I think Pasta Padre said it pretty well in his report:

"This is actually the aspect that I feel may have the most widespread appeal, though the others in attendance seemed to dismiss it going as far as to ask why time was spent on it (apparently very little as it just uses data that was already available). You’ll be able to replay any game from last season or the current one. Games are expected to be available for replay the very next day. Not only will this have every game available but you’ll be playing them with AI specific to that game alone. And if certain players were injured at the time of the game, or trades were made since then, it won’t matter. The players who were on the roster at the time of that game will be available. This mode will present something unique for every game you “rewind”."

That's pretty exciting stuff, to be able to replay any game in the past two seasons with true to life conditions! Now you can make the NBA Finals finish the way they were meant to, Laker fans...

NBA Live 2009 : UPDATE

As previously reported here, NBA Live will have a constantly-updating AI (that's artificial intelligence, not The Answer) feature in the 2009 edition.

Further confirmation of this rumour comes from HoopsWorld, who elaborated on this feature with the exciting news that it will draw upon the Synergy Sports database:

"The new game is truly revolutionary as it incorporates daily updates from the Synergy Sports database, making the game more of a true to life simulator, with ultra-accurate rosters and starting lineups, and more accurate game play. Synergy powers some of the best basketball analysis tools, which are used by 20 NBA teams to review and break down players. The Synergy system will make NBA Live 09 so accurate in its depiction of players and tendencies, its impressive to think that the game will evolve throughout the season taking into account real-life streaks, injuries, roster moves and lineup changes. The system literally pulls data daily, based on the results from the last game. As a player gets better during the season, his game-play character will mirror it."

This is very exciting, as from what I've heard of this Synergy tool (mostly from Henry Abott's ravings on Truehoop) it breaks down every single play in an NBA game and assigns keywords/phrases to that play. This database gives a coach (and now NBA Live) the ability to draw up how many times say Kobe Bryant went to the basket with his left hand and missed the shot, or how many times Dwight Howard blocked Emeka Okafor's shot in a game. If this data is used correctly, it would truly bring realism to NBA Live's AI -- one of the biggest areas of complaint gamers have had historically. More to come after the official announcement (3pm Los Angeles time, today).

NBA Live 2009 : Groundbreaking feature

There has been talk for sometime that a groundbreaking new feature was to be announced for NBA Live 2009 by EA Sports at today's E3 Media & Business Summit.

Games reviewers who were given a sneak-peak were asked not to leak information on the new development until the official announcement was made at E3 by EA. However, as with anything, there is always one...

Word has started to filter out that this is indeed a very exciting development for the franchise, which may finally bring it back above 2K Sports' NBA franchise -- regaining lost ground in a market that EA used to dominate.

As yet I have only seen one report on this, from the San Jose Mercury News:

"Companies such as EA aren't just reacting to Nintendo's innovations but touting their own, even in the most traditional of games.

EA plans to announce today that the latest version of its "NBA Live" game will include a constantly updated artificial intelligence.

Whenever users log on to the game, the title will connect to the Internet to download data from the latest NBA games, including such details as whether a player like Kobe Bryant is taking more shots from the left or the right side of the floor and his relative success from each spot. The game will use such information to affect how the virtual Kobe Bryant plays in "NBA Live" and how he is guarded."

Even the most cynical critic of EA's recent performance (such as this writer) would have to say that this is a pretty tasty revelation. As always, I take this with a pinch of salt, as EA has disappointed so many times in the last few years. However, if this development pans out as it says it will, this is a massive development in gaming. This is almost the link between Fantasy Sports and console gaming. To think that you can watch a game and then be inspired to jump onto your PS3 or X360 and play the game, with what you watched having an effect on the game, is amazing.

I remember back in 1994 being inspired by the play of undrafted Clippers rookie, Harold Ellis, as he torched the Celtics in a national television appearance. It was only his fourth game ever in the league and he racked up 29 points and 5 steals. I wanted to jump onto my Sega Megadrive and use him on NBA Showdown (the great-uncle of the NBA Live series and son of Bulls vs Blazers. Of course, in those days there was no way for an unheralded guy like him to be in the game, as he was only picked up mid-season. Even if he was in the game, he would have had low ratings in all categories. Perhaps with this development from EA, that sort of scenario will change a little bit and an updated roster with real-time attributes will be available. Harold Ellis -- yeeha.

There will be full developments on this when it gets officially announced. So check back for more details. NBA 2K9, who will be promoting their game at E3 as well, better have something up their collective sleeve.

UPDATE: more details have come to hand.

NBA Suspensions: Miller and Curry

The NBA has suspended Sacramento Kings centre Brad Miller without pay for five games as a result of violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. As per terms of the program, details of the drug violation were not disclosed in the release, but given what we know, we can determine that this suspension was either for Miller's third positive marijuana test or his first use of steroids.

Meanwhile, Bulls rookie JamesOn Curry has been suspended for one game. "Curry, a 6-foot-3, 190-pounder, pleaded guilty to resisting or obstructing an officer and public urination while in Boise, Idaho." Curry was on the Bulls squad last season but failed to appear in an NBA game and spent most of his time in the D-League.