Today's Warnings : 15 October, 2008

There are big changes afoot at ...a stern warning. The site will be unrecognisable shortly and it's going to be Grrrreat like Frosties. In the meantime, there hasn't been a lot of activity here on the surface of things -- but look out.

Great articles are floating around out there in the waters of the NBA pre-season at the moment; here's a taste:

• One of the most comprehensive reviews you will find on the newly released NBA 2K9 video game, can be found at Sports Video Games. Competition has certainly hotted up this year in the NBA video games arena, as both 2K and EA have brought their 'A' games to the table, finally.
• The next baller we all need to look out for is John Wall. See World Hoops Blog for video.
• The Rip City Project speaks to Cleveland's And One about the Blazers vs Cavs. Carolyn wants to steal Oden away -- it ain't gonna happen, C!
• A mention from fellow Fantasy NBA combatant, Give Me The Rock, about our firey tournament which is up and running!
• Meanwhile, JR and his mates have another tournament up and running, which ...a stern warning will be represented at.
• Great video here at NESW Sports of Kevin KJ Johnson bringing in the Round Mound to support his political campaign.
  
  More injury woes for the Townsville Crocs. They just can't get a break in that department.
  
  
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Today's Warnings : 8 October, 2008 (from the blogs)

Whilst other things are taking up time in the world of ...a stern warning, here's what you should be reading up on:

• And One has the news on everyone's favourite Cleveland Cav (no, not LeBron) and the likely starting lineups for the Cavs' first pre-season game versus the Raptors.
• Paulie D at World Hoops Blog tells us that Starbury is still a team player (yes, denote sarcasm whenever Marbury is mentioned).
• NESW Sports has plenty of links and some comic relief.
• JR is deadset "On Fire" in this clip, provided by the Basketball Professor, Dodge Taylor. Meanwhile, Signor Rillie has just released Episode 5 of The "OT" Podcast.
• Happy Birthday for yesterday to DJ Leon Smith.
• Skeets at Ball Don't Lie has a photo of former Adelaide 36er, Julius Hodge, icing it up. He's currently on the NBA Live Europe tour, which I'm excited to say, means I'll be watching him live on Saturday here in London vs Miami Heat.
• Ballerblogger shows Shaq scoring 53 points... do you remember that Shaquille O'Neal?

On a final NBL note, the Tigers host the Wildcats tonight. This should be a real battle of the titans, but I'm Sternly Predicting that the Tigers will be too strong at the SNAHC and will come out 8 point (Isiah) victors, with no Paul Rogers around to stop Mr Anstey.

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Today's Warnings : 2 October, 2008 (NBA Edition)

Media Day for teams around the league seemed like the eruption of news that was needed to wake everyone up from their post-Olympic induced slumber. Here are Today's NBA Warnings:

• Dan Dickau, after parting ways with his Italian club (Air Avellino) this week, has fallen on his feet with the Golden State Warriors. After Monta Ellis' scooter mishap, there was room in Don Nelson's backcourt for a veteran backup point guard. "I think it's a good situation," Dickau said. "Obviously coming in late is going to make it tougher for me. I was in a situation overseas that wasn't working out. Fortunately we were able to make this happen. We're here and looking forward to making the most of it."
• An impressive list of 111 players with D-League experience are on training camp rosters this season, which must make the NBA happy that their feeder system is working well. In addition, 72 CBA alumni are on training camp rosters, including both players and coaching staff.
• Former NBA star, Kermit Washington, who is perhaps best remembered for "the punch" on Rudy Tomjanovich, is doing some fantastic work to highlight the plight of starving people in Africa. He is fasting for five days to bring a spotlight to the cause.
• LeBron is fed up of the rumours that he will move to a team in the New York area upon the completion of his current contract in Cleveland. He came out on Media Day to try and quell the talk.
• The CelticsBlog previews the Boston Celtics for 2008/09, in the first of a series of Blogger Previews coming in your direction.
• Josh Boone wants to make a bigger contribution for the Nets this season. "That's one of the things that's been a downfall for me -- for pretty much five or six years now: my confidence level," he said, essentially repeating what his college coach, Jim Calhoun, had observed when Boone was drafted out of UConn in 2006.
• Hoopsvibe's Oly Sandor thinks that Shawn Kemp should accept that this is the end of his basketball career, after parting ways with his Italian club.
• TheSportingNews: Shoals gets a little emotional about how the New York Knicks and Miami Heat are changing and moving on.
• Carolyn at And One tells us that Cleveland fans may have some problems using the Flash ticketing system from now on after a judge's ruling.
• A great series of Spurs commerical videos over at NESW Sports, including this hilarious Manu Ginobili advert.
• Speaking of the Spurs, Brandon at Ballerblogger remembers David Robinson's amazing 71 point effort (including video).
  
  
  
  
  
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Today's Warnings : 30 September, 2008 (from the blogs)

Here are a few more blogs to sink your teeth into in the world of basketball:

• The Basketball Professor, Dodge Taylor, brings us a look back at the under-appreciated Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, aka Chris Jackson. Dodge has a great focus on the pure shooters in basketball -- well worth looking around his blog.
• Glockers reviews the Charles Barkley book, I might be wrong, but I doubt it. Sir Charles definitely is unrivalled as far as player-writers go... perhaps Paul Shirley can claim to have a shot against him in the writing stakes, but is Shirley really a player? Maybe when John Rillie comes out with his autobiography we can open the debate again! In the meantime, I have to commend CB#34, as Glockers does, on his entertaining, thought-provoking words. His previous book, Outrageous was un-put-down-able for me...(yep, that's a word).
• Cuzoogle is all over the place with his coverage. He covers basketball, a lot of American football, a range of other sports that pop up, oh yeah, and girls. Today he had a great list of things that might tick off Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, who has recently vowed not to swear any more.
• Boyd at Thoughts From The Jockstrap takes a look at which NBA players he wouldn't mind meeting in a dark alley and those that he would avoid... I think I'd avoid most of them myself.
  

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Today's Warnings : 30 September, 2008 (NBA edition)

Heading around the NBA, here are Today's Warnings:

• Hoopsworld: Things already aren't sounding very rosy in Denver, where Allen Iverson is doing his best to spin the company line in one breath and in the next is talking about his impending free agency next summer and how he can decide where he wants to go. It's going to be a long season in Nuggetsville, methinks.
• Lamar Odom does not like any talk of him coming off the bench this season in LA. "He must have woke up and bumped his head. He probably hit his head on something -- boom," Odom said about Jackson. "To start off like that, you've got to be out of your . . . mind."
• Ben Gordon's contract status with the Bulls is still up in the air. However, after an off-season of uncertainty and European-innuendo, it appears that he will be staying in Chicago. With few other options, he will take the $6.4m qualifying offer and look at his options again at the end of the season. However, until that contract is signed, he won't be on the Bulls practice court.
• About.com's Dennis Velasco has all of your fantasy NBA rankings ready to go, as it's time to get your draft preparation hat on. Speaking of Dennis V and fantasy basketball, the Battle of the Bloggers fantasy tournament will be taking place this season. We've started putting together a tournament on Yahoo's Fantasy NBA portal and a fine group of nine basketball bloggers have come together for it. We just need one more basketball blogger entrant to tip things off, so if you're interested in showing your fantasy wares, let me know. More on the Battle of the Bloggers will be forthcoming.
• Auctions are almost coming to an end on the NBA's listing of game-worn Olympic gear. So if you have a spare $4k lying around you could wear the sweaty jersey that Kobe beat the Spanish in. Or perhaps Diana Turasi's jersey is more your scene... check it out on here on the NBA's official auction site.
• The Portland Trail Blazers have had plenty going on with Media Day. You can check out chat and video with all of the Blazer players here on the official site. Around the 29 minute mark we get to see Jerryd Bayless, the rookie who dominated Summer League. He strikes me as the hardest to judge character in the league at the moment. He oozes confidence. Is it cockiness, unfounded self-assurance, or does he just know that he can back up that swagger with his game. According to Bayless during the chat session, he is just misunderstood. The Blazersedge had a nice comedy on Bayless addressing the media.

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Today's Warnings: 28 September, 2008 (from the blogs)

Today's Warnings are coming in a new format. The idea being to give some love to the blogs which keep me going on a daily basis with their great content, provided by even better people. There will just be a few today, but this will be a regular feature to highlight the great work of some of my friends out there in the blogosphere:

• John Rillie just keeps on upping the ante on his blog, as he now is covering a meaty array of NBL and NBA links -- all with that unique perspective of being a pro player himself. As mentioned in his most recent podcast (check it out if you haven't), the Australian basketball landscape has found a way to promote itself, and the majority of that promotion is now coming from fans, players and former players. Whilst Fox hasn't come to the table in the same way as we've seen in previous years, JR has his podcasts going, Hoops TV has some great weekly youtube action going and Andrew Gaze's http://www.gaze.com.au/ is putting together some weekly footage with Drewey and Hoges on camera. Derek Nielsen's Ozhoopsboards.com remains a great forum for the fans, with a massive following, showing that basketball is well and truly alive. Add to that the bloggers out there that are promoting the league and we have the new generation of media content for the NBL. The NBL site itself, http://www.nbl.com.au/ has copped some flak in recent times, however it has improved significantly and must be given credit for that.
• Carolyn at And One has to be the best NBA historian blogger getting around at the moment. She keeps on digging up juicy pieces of basketball history, that in my opinion, should be getting her a call from the NBA's archive department at some point. Check out this post where she finds some old basketball amusement machines from over half a century ago.
• World Hoops Blog has had a facelift recently and is looking a million dollars/euros/pounds/pesos. Paulie D (the man who never sleeps) has the news that Danilo Gallinari will miss more time than first thought for the Knicks -- as if there aren't enough problems with that team.
• As I have said on more than one occasion here, Ethan at NESW Sports brings the best sports videos out there right to your eyes, with a minimum of effort on your part (which is great for people such as myself). Whilst I'm mainly a fan of the basketball videos, he covers all sports and updates frequently, so check out the site for a daily video fix.


That's all for today. But, as I say, the warnings will keep on coming on a daily basis.

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Today's Warnings : 28 September, 2008 (NBA - Early Edition)

It's amazing how much basketball news you miss out on in a few days of AWOLness from the Internets. Today's Warnings will come in a few parts, as there is just so much to catch up on:

• Great video from the SacBee of Kevin Martin working out one-on-one with super-coach David Thorpe. It's always good to get a rare behind-the-scenes look at how players go about their training regimen. In this case, Thorpe explains how he highlights to players like Martin the little things that are missing in their game. "Thorpe, Martin's behind-the-curtain coach since the summer after his freshman season at Western Carolina, estimates 10 to 25 percent of NBA players rely on outside consultants/coaches. Some players spend as little as $10,000 in a summer for detailed offseason workouts. Others employ a full-time individual coach who lives in their adopted home city and travels to away games for what often is a low six-figure salary."
• The Plain Dealer lists the things to look out for as the Cavs open training camp.
• Gilbert Arenas, master of self-worship, has been fined for not showing to a media availability session, to parodoxically take the emphasis off himself and get the focus more on the team.
• By now you've probably heard that White Chocolate has called his career at an end. It does seem somewhat premature -- it will be interesting to hear what his perspective on it is.
• The Bobcats have been looking to cut back costs in a big way, meaning that they had to show the door to about 35 employees, according to ESPN.

More later from ...a stern warning's favourite blogs.



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Doug & Jackie Christie : Charitable People (and Today's Bonus Warnings)

By now everyone knows about the financial crisis going on in the business end of town. You may care about it, you may not, but you've heard about it.

What you may not have heard about, is that Doug and Jackie Christie have been doing everything in their power to avert the crisis. To the tune of $9,000 USD.

Wow, that's a lot of money. If you're not a retired NBA player with a similarly famous wife, it is.

Perhaps I'm being cynical, perhaps it's the self-promoting nature of this couple in the past, but this news didn't leave me immediately with a warm and fuzzy feeling, as perhaps it was meant to.

"NBA star Doug Christie and his wife, Jackie, announce that they will purchase 3,000 shares of corporate stock to help with the AIG financial crisis. The Christies, who are no strangers to helping people in need, have graciously used their star appeal to bring awareness to the issue."

"We encourage all our fellow men and woman to buy at least two stocks to help with the global economic crisis," said Jackie Christie. "We want everyone to step up and help in any way that they can. This is a huge crisis we face, but together we can make a difference. Do not just sit by and watch."

As I say, perhaps I'm just being cynical and inherently, this is a good idea. It's more a matter of once bitten twice shy (or the boy who cried wolf) when it comes to some celebrities trying to look wholesome, when meanwhile they have recently released another book which they would like to sell.

Today's Bonus Warnings

* If you haven't already, don't forget to get your submissions in for our OKC Thunder logo: Can you do better? competition. Two days left.

* JR is back in the podcasting booth with Episode 2 of his already successful new gig. Give it a listen.

* New PSP game, NBA 09: The Inside, is reviewed.

* SLAM has Rasheed at No. 34 in their Top 50 Players breakdown.

* Ziller has some great reading essentials over at Fanhouse.

* You may have heard that Gilbert Arenas is getting surgery again. Yep. I loved this quote from the Examiner: "Grunfeld did note Arenas will be put on ice therapy immediately, which sounds like a fancy way of saying NBA Live '09 on a comfortable couch..."

* HoopsWorld examines the possibility that the Utah Jazz may let AK47 walk if indeed he does have an offer on the table from CSKA Moscow.

* WHB looks at the NZ Breakers' comfortable win over the Wollongong Hawks.



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Today's Warnings : 18 September, 2008

Things have been a little crazy around ...a stern warning headquarters in the last few days and they will continue to be for the near future, as non-basketball activities obstruct solid basketball commitment, in much the same way as pretty much the whole of Isaiah Rider's career panned out. You've been warned...

• Hugging Harold Reynolds takes a brief step out of the baseball diamond to point out that behaviour on the basketball court can be somewhat questionable, in a, you know... umm... intimate way.
• Where art and basketball converge (two topics very close to my heart): Aaron Hazel interview with And One.
• Mens Wheelchair Basketball gold goes to Australia over Canada, with legend Troy Sachs contributing 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals in the victory. Great Britain pipped USA for the bronze. In the Womens, USA beat Germany, whilst Australia beat Japan for bronze.
  
• Portland Trail Bloggers with the crazy notion that Sheed should come back to the Blazers. I love Sheed as a player, but I don't think I could even think for a second about him landing back in PDX again...
• Brewhoop has a whole mess of Bucks links to dig into.
• Whilst the final two NBL team previews for season 2008/09 have been a little delayed here, who better to tell you exactly what to expect (from a totally unbiased perspective) from the Townsville Crocs this season than John Rillie.
  
• Thoughts From The Jockstrap comes out with some great NBA lookalikes, Part 1 and Part 2.
• Roger the Dodger weighs in with his views on whether you follow a player or a team.
  

After I took a dig at JR Rider above, let's leave you all warm and fuzzy with this highlight of one of the greatest "shots" ever:



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Today's Warnings : 16 September, 2008

These are the true doldrums of the year for North American basketball fans. Proceedings are under way in Australia's NBL, but the NBA Summer League is over, training camp has not yet started and the Olympics feel like they were months and months ago. Despite all this, the blogosphere is still keeping you entertained. Check out Today's Warnings:

• You want some kicks with bling? Well what is more money than Monopoly? Carolyn at And One dedicated this post to me, as she knew I would love these shoes. You might have to mortgage a couple of your hotels to pay for them though, I'm guessing.
• There has been a lot of speculation flying around Australian basketball circles about the possibility of the Melbourne Tigers (amongst others) exceeding the salary cap. John Rillie has had enough and wants everyone to get on with it and play. As a player, he makes a very good point, that if you start thinking these types of thoughts at this stage, you might as well give away the season.
• Remember the Lil Penny Hardaway ads? They were fantastic. I still don't really understand what Tyra Banks is doing in this one, it's kind of creepy and strange in a way -- or maybe it's just me. Once again, fantastic work by NESW Sports, bringing us the goods from the world of youtubery.
• You may have been following the ...a stern warning NBL Season Previews (which were cut short today by the wonders of technology inhibiting inspiration). Glockers has also been previewing the recently commenced NBL season over at his site.
• Ballerblogger takes us back in the time machine to the 2001 NBA All-Star Game.
  
• You want world basketball links? Here you go.
• The Hoop Doctors diagnose the fate of Lamar Odom.

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Today's Warnings : 12 September, 2008 -- The Sequel!

There's so much out there at the moment, particularly from the Australian perspective of things, with the NBL season almost upon us, so I had to post some more Warnings today than usual. Also look out later for Part 2 of ...a stern warning's NBL Season Previews.

• Brendan Joyce wants a higher salary cap in the NBL.
• Patty Mills is back to the grind in at St Mary's after his fine Olympics performance.
• They're looking to do big things in New Zealand. Wait til the Breakers read our prediction on their success this season!
• CJ Bruton, NEW New Zealand Breaker.
• Andrej Lemanis on this season's NBL: "It's going to be a tough league," he said.
  "One of the things that's very evident is how deep everybody runs now.
  "Everyone has a really good starting five and they come off the bench and you think, oh, they've still got that guy and, gee, he's pretty good."
• NESW Sports has the list of the nicest bloggers out there. Oh shucks. But Ethan, I think you may have left yourself off that list.
• Torey Thomas wait is on.
  
  
  
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Today's Warnings : 12 September, 2008

There has been a veritable treasure trove of great content flying around out there, which until now, I've not had time to link to. Enjoy Today's Warnings:

• I haven't been this excited about an addition to the blogosphere for some time, but I'm really keen to hear the new podcasts which John Rillie is formulating for his site. The melodic tones of JR will be coming at you with news across the basketball world -- definitely worth looking out for. Podcasting is something I've been interested in doing for sometime myself, but I haven't done for a couple of reasons. The first being that I haven't found someone to bounce off in the studio (two voices are better than one); and the second is that I'm pretty sure noone enjoys listening to my voice as much as I do!
• The World Hoops Blog just keeps on getting better and better. In the time since Paulie Danger started that site it seems to have come on in leaps and bounds. He has now added a guest blogger to his arsenal and his knowledge of world ball just keeps on growing.
• The hidden talents of some NBL players are amazing. JR might want to get in contact with Gold Coast Blaze import, Luke Whitehead, who apparently is a bit of an expert in the field of music and video mixing. You can check out his website here.
• As a former Sydney Kings fan (who am I kidding, I'm still a Kings fan), it's always hard to see Ebi Ere in a new uniform, as he is now for the Melbourne Tigers. I'm pretty sure it's even harder for South Dragons fans right now though.
• If you can find a better NBA video blogger out there than Ethan at NESW Sports right now, well I can only imagine that you are talking about a guy that goes by the moniker of Odenized and who is now under the employ of SLAM magazine. The Ethanator just keeps on coming out with quality content lately... I just don't know where he finds it all!
• It's constantly amazing to find how many extremely active basketball discussion boards exist out there. If you're an Indiana Pacers fan, check out Pacers Digest which has plenty of discussion going on there -- someone on the boards was even nice enough to link to ...a stern warning's article on Wat Misaka.
• NBL stars contributing to a good cause for the Starlight Foundation charity.
• Everything that is wrong with that new OKC Thunder logo (via Upside and Motor).
• The Charlotte Bobcats as Transformers.
• Shaq has announced that he will play out the next two seasons and then move on to the big Shaq Diesel in the basketball sky. Brandon at BallerBlogger says the future is bright for NBA big men with plenty of players taking over the mantle of most dominant (including a Mr Oden).
• Does anyone know the Cleveland White Horses?
  
  
  
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Today's Warnings : 9 September, 2008

As we work our way through the off-season, here are Today's Warnings. Also look out over the coming days for a preview feature on the upcoming NBL season and a review on the Great Britain v Czech Republic game I attended on Saturday. ...a stern warning hasn't been updated as much as I'd like lately, but plane travel and all that will do that to you.

• The fundamental of basketball, the ball, has been a bit of an issue in the NBA in the last couple of years. Many players were not happy with being sprung with a new ball at the commencement of the 2006-07 season and the NBA responded by replacing the ball with the old one, mid-season. Then the D-League became a guinea-pig arena, not just for players, but for game balls. The NBA tested three different composite balls last year in the D-League, with a view to finding the right one for the big boys. Now, the NBA has decided to stick with the leather ball and let the D-Leaguers use what their big brothers play with. Experiment over. For now.
• Apparently the odds-makers are warming a little more to the Toronto Raptors' chances this season.
• Paul at WHB gives his ideas on how to blog to your audience. Based on my experience in this game, he's got some very solid opinions there; worth reading.
• The other day John Rillie was dishing the dirt on his teammates (Homicide copped it for his driving) and now it appears not even his ex-teammates are safe as JR tells us that Greg Vanderjagt's hands are like feet. Well I hope he has toes that are capable of catching caroms off all of those Pero Cameron and Shane Heal three-pointers he's walked into at the Gold Coast.
• You may have read articles in the past about NBA ballers who rap/sing/howl. Well this one is the best one you will ever read. DJ Leon Smith, the former editor of my favourite all-time (now defunct) basketball newspaper in PBT, breaks down all of the NBA ballers of the past, complete with clips of their work. How many DJs do you know who are also NBA aficionados? Exactly.
• Some nice semi-old school Dallas Mavs jerseys here at Upside & Motor.
• Video of 1995 NBA bloopers from the Ethanator.
• Kobe has decided to get his hand operated on before the NBA season tips off. You always have to wonder how these things take so long to be spotted and acted on. Then again, Bryant was involved in a little tournament called the Olympics this Summer.
• Meanwhile, I've been trying to avoid talking about the fact that ANOTHER Portland Trail Blazer is undergoing surgery this off-season, as bone spurs are removed from Channing Frye's ankle. I mean, is that it? Can we relax now?
  
  
  
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Today's Warnings : 6 September, 2008

Pretty much everyone not named Ben Gordon has got a team to report to now and players are starting to filter into their practice facilities for the lead up to training camp. Here are Today's Warnings, from Brisbane to Boston:

• The bigger they are, the harder they fall. The current recessionary climate we're in has hit house prices everywhere. NBA stars with multi-million dollar houses are not immune to this either, with both AI and Sheed having to cut the asking prices on their former residences which are for sale in Philly and Oregon, respectively.
• The bad boys from Kansas, who apparently have never touched weed in their lives, were fined $20k and will still potentially face suspensions.
• The World Hoops Blog is celebrating and has created the inaugural All World (Hoops Blog) Team. I don't think JR is happy sitting on that bench behind Kobe. I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't mess with Lauren Jackson though - I know Lisa Leslie wouldn't.
• Brandon at Ballerblogger is questioning all of the Rudy Fernandez love and wonders if Nate McMillan is gushing a little too much about the wiry Spaniard. I think it was Henry Abbott that pointed out a week ago or so, that Nate Dogg had the same praise for Taurean Green at the start of his rookie season, the same rookie season that saw Green get splinters in his rear before getting traded, never having experienced much more than the D-League.
• Anniversary celebrations are going on like crazy everywhere. JR, On Fire is getting over the hangover from the first birthday celebrations at his blog... and he's got a lot of stuff for you to read, including an exclusive video interview with Homicide, street baller extraordinaire.
• Chicago Bulls fans, watch this space. I'll report tomorrow on the Great Britain v Czech Republic basketball match that I will be attending today at London's O2 Arena. The British fans will be thrilled to see Luol Deng in the Team GB colours.
• Hall of Fame inductee, Adrian Dantley. A quiet achiever and a helluva scorer.
• Kevin Johnson always seemed to be one of the genuine nice guys of the NBA and by most accounts was a very honest reliable guy. I remember reports that referees would look to KJ to decide which way to make a call sometimes when they were unsure. On that basis, I sincerely hope that these reports are false about wrongdoing at a camp he conducted.
  
  
  
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Today's Warnings : 3 September, 2008

Things at ...a stern warning have been a little quiet lately. The aim here is not to flood you with content for the sake of it, but to write articles that have some meaning. Since there hasn't been any particularly striking issue in the last couple of days, there hasn't been any particularly striking prose either. That's not to say that there isn't a barrage of other great stuff going on around the net, so here are Today's Warnings:

• Grant Hill is doing great work to help stop the spread of MRSA, an infection that he himself has had to battle in the past.
• Today is Oklahoma City Thunder... or whatever... unveilling day.
• Yuta Tabuse, legend of NBA Summer League, has decided to play in Japan rather than follow the NBA fringes in the D League, this year.
• Sad news of another knife killing in London, United Kingdom. This has been a massive problem in the last few years. This time a boy, aged 14, by the name of Shaquille Smith was killed. I can't help but think that he was named after the Big Aristotle, Shaq Diesel, given his age and the popularity of the NBA star at that time. Here is hoping that the violence can be stopped and lives can be saved.
• This Friday, the Basketball Hall of Fame will enshrine seven new members: Adrian Dantley, William Davidson, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Pat Riley, Cathy Rush and Dick Vitale. David Friedman's always stellar analysis of the NBA gives us a great breakdown here of the history of the Dream Shake himself, Hakeem Olajuwon.
• As mentioned here previously, Give Me The Rock are churning out some Fantasy NBA wisdom. If you want to get yourself a free guide to the upcoming season, check them out here.
• Now there is a LeBron movie!
• Rudy Fernandez, finally, in Blazers red... (via the Oregonian Blazers Blog).
• Where are Amaré and the Suns going? Will they soon fall out of the playoffs? Without moves, and an aging roster, the obvious answer is yes.

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Today's Warnings : 1 September, 2008

A pinch and a punch for the first of the month. Is it already September?

• Word on the street is that Ebi Ere did a "CJ Bruton" and didn't leave the South Dragons for the NBA as he originally said, but instead will become a Melbourne Tiger very soon. Perhaps he got lost flying out of Melbourne Airport, went across town for a drink and was seduced by the beauty and majesty of Seamus McPeake? Time will tell how this all fits under the NBL's *cough* famously strict *cough* points cap. The Tigers certainly have a super team on their hands once again.
• World Hoops Blog is serving up the links once again, fresh and hot.
• There are a lot of athlete bloggers out there these days, as blogged about quite a bit by our friend JR recently. Gone are the days of the inarticulate sports star stereotype (well, they're not gone entirely -- don't worry). See if you can link each of these items of fabulous thought-provoking prose with its sports star writer.
• I don't know how really, well I do actually (it was due to Carolyn at And One blog I think), but I got to playing this Court Rivals basketball simulation game lately. It might be worth a try if you've got time you want to waste.
• Fantasy NBA season is fast approaching and Give Me The Rock has been doing plenty of analysis on what you should, shouldn't and did do in FNBA.
• The Ethanator just keeps coming at you with great vintage Michael Jordan videos -- he practically invented Michael Jordan. Sort of.
• TWolves Blog has one of the prettiest sites out there -- now they've even got pretty new uniforms to match in Minny. They've also got one on of my biggest man-crushes (in a purely basketball way) ever in Mike Miller on board. The site is worth a look.
• As a Blazers fan, I think I like this attitude from Travis Outlaw. He's not content to stay as the Blazers' 6th man and wants to work his way up to being a star. That's got to be a good thing for the team, with plenty of competition coming at Martell Webster and Rudy Fernandez. However I guess it means that surely within the next two-three seasons one of those guys will be shipped out.

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Today's Warnings : 27 August, 2008

Without further ado, here are your warnings for today:

• Move over Boom Dizzle, the Spanish Fly is in the house, say the Hoop Doctors. Some great videos there comparing Baron Davis with Ricky Rubio, though I think some may have issue with that nickname... is Rudy Fernandez known as the Spanish Fly?
• A great roundup of Aussie basketball news and some Spanish Fly-swatting (or grabbing) imagery from JR.
• The greatest athlete Phil Jackson has ever coached? MJ? Kobe? No, Dennis Rodman. I really can't argue with that. The guy was amazing.
• Well-known Chicago reporter Jay Mariotti has left the Sun-Times. Where he goes, nobody knows.
• Jeff Foster, Indiana Pacers' "glue guy."
• And One has been going Lego Crazy lately. I have to admit, I have an Antoine Walker lego man and he's much more flexible and much more reliable from long-range than the real one.
• Suggestions on how the new OKC NBA entry can build a rapport with the local fans, including bringing former NBA power forward and renowned jazz musician, Wayman Tisdale in. Sadly, Tisdale lost a leg yesterday during his fight with cancer. He has been very positive about the whole experience, voiced on his website.
• Preparing for your fantasy NBA draft already? Well don't put these guys too high on your list.
• Celtics Blog is happy with the future. The children are our future.

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Today's Warnings : 26 August, 2008

Coming at you like a Rudy Fernandez dunk, here are Today's Warnings (with a distinctly Aussie flavour):

• We've already mentioned the Rod Benson article on how his blogging may be affecting his shot at making an NBA roster. Australian pro player John Rillie weighs in with his thoughts on being a blogger-player and how the NBL could embrace this to promote the game. Any basketball fan in Australia knows that the NBL needs as much promotion as it can get. It's the biggest identified problem in the league according to most fans.
• Speaking of improving the league, if you're an Aussie basketball fan, complete this survey that a research student at RMIT is completing on fixing the NBL and ball in Oz.
• Patrick Mills squarely in the sights of the NBA's radar.
• Following on from yesterday's 5 top Latino dunks, here are the 5 worst dunks in NBA dunk comp history.
• I don't think Charles Barkley should be commenting on anyone's golf game, but he does here with MJ.
• Stories about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from Basketbawful, including the fact that the legend may be a bit short on cash.
• Hardwood Paroxysm discusses the "what were you thinking??" type decision that the Suns made in dealing the very promising DJ Strawberry.

Late Update: very sad news has come to light, with the passing of Kevin Duckworth, aged 44. Big KD was an underrated player for a two-time all-star and part of the Blazers at my favourite ever time to be an NBA fan. Rest in peace big fella.



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Today's Warnings : 22 August, 2008

A few foil-wrapped randomly inserted in 1:10,000 packs of news today, from different parts of this roundball we call Earth:

• NBL: Ebi Ere of the South Dragons has given coach Brian Goorjian his second piece of bad news for the week (after the Boomers lost to Team USA), with his apparent non-return to the NBL next season. Ere has impressed with the Memphis Grizzlies and appears to have stuck on their roster for training camp, after previous stints on the fringes of the NBA. One of the most unstoppable scorers the NBL has ever seen, he will be sorely missed by the Dragons. He put up one of the most electrifying performances I have had the good fortune to see in person, when he took the 2004 title from the clutches of the West Sydney Razorbacks in Game 5 and set the Sydney Kings fans alight (see below). John Rillie I'm sure still shudders when watching this one. Footage of Ere's replacement here.
• NBA: Skeets at BDL enjoyed our Eddy Curry gymnast story and has a great little related photoshop competition going -- get involved!
• Olympics: Highly anticipated match USA v Argentina is in progress right now -- get involved in the always-fun live blog. Truehoop also has some great pre-game points.
• Olympics: There are some female athletes that even straight men don't want to see stripping off.
• Olympics: Spain is off to the Men's Gold Medal game vs _______ after beating Lithuania in a tough one.

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Today's Warnings : 19 August, 2008

Here's what's happening around the scorched nets:

• Absolutely fantastic analysis of the Australian Boomers' offence here. Well worth the read.
• Want to win yourself a pair of Chuck Taylor originals? Go to the Hoop Doctors and be witty. You won't beat me.
• The Ethanator has a bit of time on his hands, so he's handing out fresh sports links; left, right and centre.
• Theo Ratliff finds himself back in Philly for a year.
• WHB continues his look around the pro leagues of the world, with the BBL.
• Charles Barkley is bad... says Basketbawful.
• Have the Suns got themselves the next Steve Nash? (Truehoop)
• Ballerblogger looks back at the Human Highlight Film.

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