Roundball rock.

TrueHoop: Explaining just what TrueHoop is to the uninitiated.

“Jeff: “TrueHoop is my basketball information personal assistant … It offers the credibility of a traditional news outlet, but the timeliness, flexibility and accessibility of a blog.”

Carrie: “You’re just an average joe (who happens to have connections and great inside information, but still acts like an average joe) who gathers with strangers and buddies at a sports bar (we will pretend TrueHoop is an imaginary sports bar) at the end of the night, and talks about sports in all its glory and horror.”

Anonymous: “How do I say this with respect…. your more personal articles tend to have a moralistic approach that I find irritating.”

Nino: “A gentleman’s blog. Something with a cup of Earl Grey.“

TrueHoop: How is this for ironic: thanks to TrueHoop’s move, Kelly Dwyer’s January 25 piece lambasting the NBA on ABC (an article that included links to my posts criticizing the network’s coverage) is now on ESPN.com.

Jones on the NBA: An interesting take on the NBA’s problems and how to solve them, including one very good point that isn’t talked about often enough:

“The NBA obviously has an image problem these days. But what network is the catalyst for blowing up the off the court issues that plague the NBA more than anything today? That?s right, ESPN. Although the NBA probably thought there was some sort of synergy there between ESPN and their product, there really isn’t. Think about it, ESPN is the first to jump on suspension and off the court issues and blow them out of proportion. They’re in bed with the network that’s the catalyst for blowing up a lot of their bad PR. ESPN makes things so much worse by covering every single off the court issue. NBC never had one drop of fluff or any sort of tabloid aspect in their coverage, yet ESPN is full of it. In fact the ABC/ESPN conglomerate probably puts more effort into covering the off the court tabloid non-sense than they do marketing the games they’re broadcasting. … as a broadcast partner of the NBA, they have a responsibility to aid the NBA with the marketing of the league. NBC surely understood this, why doesn?t ESPN?“

The Brushback: Yao Ming tries to prove his toughness to Van Gundy. The piece is obviously satirical, though Van Gundy’s reaction does seem plausible.

“Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, seeking to dispel the notion that he lacks ?killer instinct,? stabbed a man to death in the parking lot of a gas station on the outskirts on the city last night. Yao, who is being held on $2.5 million bond at the Harris Country jail facility, is expected to miss the rest of the season and the playoffs.

Upon hearing the news, coach Jeff Van Gundy said he was impressed with Yao?s newfound mean streak.

?He killed somebody, huh? Not bad,? said Van Gundy, who has criticized Yao in the past for being too soft. ?I mean it?s wrong to kill a man, but on the other hand, you have to admire the fact that he?s developing a mean streak. Bill Russell had one. Wilt Chamberlain had one. Shaq has one. And now Yao has one. How many times did he stab the guy, anyway? 72? Wow. That?s going overboard. That?s gilding the lily, so to speak. I would have been happy with a flagrant foul, or at the very most, a non-lethal bludgeoning.?