Rockets forward Chandler Parsons is called for a charge as Memphis' Marreese Speights and Marc Gasol go flying like bowling pins. (Nick de la Torre/Chronicle) Poll Loading ... Of all the skills it takes to excel in basketball, acting is not supposed to be among them. But don’t blame the actors. David Stern once again voiced his distaste for flopping, even calling out the competition committee for failing to act upon his previous saber-rattling on the topic. He often gets accused of trying to spin everything that goes on in his league as somehow wonderful, but with so many players so often acting like stunt men in a Hollywood western, he was strongly critical of the tactic during ESPN during Sunday’s broadcast. (Stern was not ... Continue reading →
Former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming fields questions from the media. When Yao Ming brought down the curtain on his larger-than-life career in the NBA last year, he said, “But one door is closing and another one is opening.” Little did we realize at the time that basketball’s 7-foot-6-inch ambassador would be opening so many doors in such a short time. The former All-Star just completed his first year of study at Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University. He also joined the city’s top political advisory body, launched a winery in Napa Valley, while overseeing his hometown Shanghai Sharks basketball team and ramping up his charitable projects to support underprivileged children. His latest venture announced on Saturday is a partnership between his Yao Foundation and Rare, a ... Continue reading →
Highs and lows of Rockets' season The NBA announced today that the draft lottery May 30 will be in New York at the Disney/ABC Studios at Times Square. Assuming that the lottery teams have suffered enough, the NBA will not ask them to spend spring in Secaucus, N.J. This minor announcement, like the lottery itself, offers something to look forward to for most of the teams and their fans excluded from the postseason, and to distract the Jazz, who would get the Warriors’ pick if it falls from the top seven, from feeling too bad about getting smacked around for two games in San Antonio. It also offers an invitation to fix the lottery. In reality, if you are a fan of a team such ... Continue reading →
