Former Washington State standout Tony Harris is missing in Brazil. Robert L. Jamieson Jr writes about the case in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "After college, Harris played in Asia and South America. Later, he got a counseling job at Echo Glen, a juvenile rehabilitation facility, but he recently left that job, according to his wife, Lori Harris, a social worker who is pregnant and due in early December. She says her husband decided to return to Brazil, where he once played for a few years, to get a 'financial cushion' before the birth of their child. What happened next is a mystery. Lori Harris said her husband left Seattle for Brasilia in central Brazil on Oct. 31. She last heard from him early Nov. 4, when he spoke to her, fear in his voice, from a Brazilian taxi driver's cell phone. Two days earlier, he called and said 'he didn't feel safe and that if he didn't come home now, he wasn't going to make it home,' she said. Harris said her husband had expressed concerns about people involved with the team, and was hearing upsetting rumors about himself. The basketball team's organization, she said, apparently held his passport, and her husband was trying to get to another city in Brazil where a friend could help." UPDATE: More good information.
Man oh man does stuff attributed to just one anonymous source make me nervous. But Stephon Marbury's alleged threat to blackmail Isiah Thomas into a starting spot ... wow. Frank Isola reports in the New York Daily News: "Upon hearing that he would back up second-year guard Mardy Collins, Marbury marched toward the front of the plane to meet with Thomas. Five minutes later, an enraged Marbury told his teammates that if he wasn't starting he wouldn't suit up for the game. But it was something else Marbury said that stunned his teammates in the back of the luxury plane. 'Isiah has to start me,' Marbury fumed, according to the source. 'I've got so much (stuff) on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can (get) me. But I'll (get) him first. You have no idea what I know.' It is unclear if Marbury made the same threat directly to Thomas ..." Whether that happened or not, this is a sign of an organization that is flailing about.
Speaking of one anonymous source, Steve Adamek of the Bergen Record has quite an addendum to this story, but the source -- an anonymous player, who was not there -- is not exactly rock-solid.
TrueHoop reader Kris on the Knick franchise: "At least when the Blazers were the Jail-Blazers, they were sometimes GOOD. New York is awful, is run by complete idiots, and needs to either get it together, or secede from the Association and form the Confederate Basketball Association of 1 Team Where We're Always the Winners and Stephon is MVP. Ugh, excuse me while I go puke noisily in the restroom."
This is really launching tomorrow, but here's a sneak peek at John Hollinger's new team power rankings. Boston is first followed by New Orleans, San Antonio, Houston, and the Lakers. The best part is that the Blazers are eighth, just behind Dallas and three spots ahead of Phoenix.
TrueHoop reader Michael on last night's Boston vs. Indiana matchup: "There were quite a few fouls and non-calls (at least five) that made you wonder if the referees were helping Boston out. Would it have changed the result? Probably not ... and they definitely weren't game-changing moments. I just thought it was noteworthy. ... You know when you're playing pickup basketball and you're about to play a team that has a bunch of good players, and then you realize you got stuck with four average guys ... and you wish you could pick up some really good players so you can beat that team? I think that's how Jermaine O'Neal felt last night. ... Amazing video of Pierce doing pushups between free throws in the second quarter. Right now I can't find anything. According to Pierce, he was blowing off steam to make himself focus."
Also, a different Michael, who also reads TrueHoop, asks a question I have heard from lots of people: "Is anyone else wondering why each of Boston's Big Three is averaging 40 mpg when they are winning by an average of 16 points? When the team is up by 20 in the fourth quarter, is there any good reason why all three of those guys need to be on the floor together? Is nobody paying any attention to what San Antonio has been doing?"
Mash Toronto's point guards T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon together, and you get "Forderon," a pretty great point guard. Michael Grange of Toronto's Globe and Mail writes: "Nowhere in the league are there two true point guards splitting nearly all 48 minutes -- Ford plays an average of 28.1 a game and Calderon 19.1 -- so effectively. When adjusted for playing time, Forderon's numbers are even more impressive. Calderon leads the NBA in assists for 48 minutes with 16.5; Ford is fifth. Calderon is second in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio among players who average at least four assists a game, producing 5.11 helpers for every fumble. Ford is seventh at 3.8. Their combined number, 4.29, is best among players with seven assists a game and more. Williams in Utah makes one turnover for every 2.67 assists, 45th in the NBA. Paul ranks 24th (3.4); Kidd 25th (3.32). Davis is 49th (2.59); and Nash has 2.14, 68th in the NBA and well off his career average of 3:1. While hot-shooting Nash is hitting 59.2 per cent of his field goals, Forderon is shooting 50.4 per cent combined this season. That's tied with Paul, also shooting 50.4 per cent, as the second most efficient shooting from the point guard spot among the top assist men. In the Raptors' blowout of the Chicago Bulls, Forderon combined for 23 assists against two turnovers. Calderon, who contributed nine assists, never took a shot; Ford made two of his three shots to go with his 14 helpers."
Mike Bianchi in the Orlando Sentinel: "'You feel for all those fans who have built up allegiances and who have been following the franchise since they were kids,' Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy says. 'It's sad,' says Magic forward Rashard Lewis, who spent nine years playing in Seattle. 'It's hard for me to imagine Seattle without the Sonics.'"
Rick Morrissey in the Chicago Tribune on the magical long-term marketing ability of Michael Jordan: "He's still safe, he's still magnetic, he's still bulletproof. It's why companies such as Nike, McDonald's, Hanes and Gatorade have ignored some of Jordan's peccadilloes over the years. It's why he reportedly still pulls in $20 million annually from Nike. Forbes recently reported that Elvis Presley's estate churned out $49 million in the past 12 months. That's where Jordan is headed-no, not toward spangled jumpsuits and a bloated, drug-addled existence but toward a legacy that will keep earning and earning and earning. It's hard to picture a time when he will fade away. For that to happen, it would take a complete collapse of the NBA or a humongous meteor hitting Earth. Ah, but you tell me to remember the past. Wasn't Wilt Chamberlain every bit the talent Jordan was? And wasn't Bill Russell every bit the winner Jordan was? And yet, you say, their names aren't quite as prominent as they once were. And so you ask: Why will Jordan be different? Why won't he be pulled back into the shadows as he grows older, the way all stars are? Here's why: Nobody has been the package of talent, accomplishment and marketing that Jordan is."
Yi Jianlian, we want to say your name correctly. On draft night, I learned it from Sau Ching Cheong, the NBA's senior director of communications for Asia, who is based in Beijing, who assured me it was (this is my version of her spoken words) EE jee-uhn lee-uhn. Then today I hear from Chendaddy, a Chinese-American blogger (PG-13), who writes: "Stop. At this time, I'd like to pause for this important public service announcement from all the people of China: YEE JIN LIN. That's how you pronounce his goddamn name. YEE JIN LIN. Not YEE JONG LEE-ONG." Oh man. I have heard so many different pronounciations that for the time being I just don't want to say his name at all. Dan Smyczek is head of PR for the Bucks, and works with Yi Jianlian every day. He says: "I asked Yi after hearing and seeing a number of pronounciations. We've been told it is: ee gee-en lee-en." He clarifies that the "gee" is pronounced like the "gee" in "gee whiz." You know what would be fantastic? The Bucks should put video on their site showing Yi teaching us how to say his name, nice and slowly and several times over. That would end the debate forever.
Did you watch Miami bomb against the Bobcats last night? I almost can't describe how terrible that was for the Heat. (And Pat Riley looked insane with rage on the sidelines. Isn't it about time for him to need to take a health-related leave of absence until Dwyane Wade comes back?) Basketbawful: "Just when you think they've finally hit rock bottom, the Heat find new and inventive ways to suck. Last night, they got blown out by the Bobcats, 91-76 -- and Miami had to outscore Charlotte 29-20 in the fourth quarter just to get that close. Did these guys really win the 2006 NBA title? There were plenty of culprits: Penny Hardaway scored zero points in 19 minutes of action, Ricky Davis and Jason Williams combined to shoot 5-21, and Smush Parker was just there. Shaq, on the other hand, had one of his best games of the season: 17 points (7-14), 6 rebounds, zero assists. Oh how the mighty have fallen." Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel: "Shot-clock violation on the first possession. Nice offense."
Funny moment from the Grizzlies' big win over Houston, as told by Chris Herrington of Beyond the Arc: "Tracy McGrady gets tripped-up driving the lane, with Tarence Kinsey and Rudy Gay both in the vicinity. Rudy had two fouls and the refs hesitated on who to call the foul on. Marc Iavaroni called from the sideline: 'TK! Raise your hand!' Kinsey, looking confused at first, raises his hand. 'Wonderful,' Iavaroni responds. Kinsey got tagged with the foul, though there may not have been a causal relationship there."
Sam Mitchell talks to Michael Grange of the Toronto Globe and Mail about hockey: "If hockey players go in the stands, it's hockey. Right? Seriously. Basketball players go in the stands? Ohhhhh, the sport is out of control. Hockey players fight up in the stands! Basketball has one incident and all of a sudden&.oooooohhhhhhh. It was a major thing. How long in history have hockey players been going up in the stands? Since time began. Why don't you all write about it like you when it happened one time at a basketball game? One time. I have my theories why, but I'm not going to comment."
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