Yardbarker: Tony Battie

The First Class of the Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:21:13 -0500

Meet the inaugural class of the Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame as voted on by you, the readers.

NBA Card-Collecting Madness Engulfs U&M Ever So Briefly

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:22:40 -0500

A little over a week ago I caught Empty the Bench's post on falling in love with NBA card collecting again, and decided to give it a try. Well, not actively; I was at Wal-Mart and happenned to see some cards

The Truth's Route

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:32:03 -0500

Jackie MacMullan, easily the best basketball writer for my money, has a great article on Our Captain (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=macmullan_jackie page=MacMullan-080618) and his path to Finals MVP. He is not a tidy superstar. You cannot neatly wrap the career of Boston Celtics (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=bos) captain Paul Pierce (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3253), the newly minted NBA Finals Most Valuable Player and first-time champion, in a perfectly symmetrical box with a corresponding matching ribbon. His path to greatness has been far too gnarly for that. You're right, he said, still gleefully gripping his championship hat in the wee hours Wednesday morning. Life has so many hurdles. Some of them I've hopped over, and some of them I've tripped over. The key is to get back up and finish the race. Pierce is the first MVP to survive a nightclub stabbing so severe that wounds a half inch closer to his lung would have been fatal. It has been eight years since he lay bleeding in former teammate Tony Battie's car, his friend imploring him to Hang on, man, hang on! as he raced toward a Boston hospital.

'06-'07 Previews: Orlando Magic

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 18:32:36 -0500

This is part of my series of articles previewing all 30 NBA teams and the upcoming season. The Magic finished last season with a flurry and, with maybe a few more games, could have made a serious run into the postseason. Now they're not only expected to be a playoff team, but they are touted by some as the team most likely to breakthrough and have a surprising season. They've got some pieces in place. Jameer Nelson is developing into a good leader, Dwight Howard is the real deal... and don't look now, but Grant Hill is ready to play this season. They've got a team able to battle amongst the middle of the pack in the East. They need another piece or two, maybe a second bonafide scorer, before they can continue to elevate their status as a team.