The Kentucky Wildcats Fab Five?

Matt Norlander is a college basketball blogger for CBS. He had the privilege of having access to the University of Kentucky basketball team’s locker room after they had departed the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with the 2012 NCAA National Title. Nothing was left behind in the locker room except for this whiteboard which he posted to his Instagram.

Did Terrence Jones, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Doron Lamb, Anthony Davis and Marquis Teague draw motivation from the consecutive Fab Five championship losses?

Does Anthony Davis see himself as Juwan Howard or Jalen Rose? He’s actually a bizarro improvement on both. He’s got the athleticism and agility of Jalen and the physical gifts of Juwan.

Or, was this just a joke left behind to intentionally stir up a little conversation? Is this a Calipari motivational tool?

I have too many questions and no answers.

The New Nike NFL

Some may say that Nike didn’t bring the heat with the new NFL uniforms. That observation is true only if you look skin-deep.

Many kits went unchanged aesthetically and only received updates to technology and fabrics. Some teams including the Raiders, Eagles, Packers and Panthers opted out of any changes to their uniform technology at all–meaning they will be heavier and less protected than their competitors. The biggest style changes were made to Nike’s closest geographical team–the Seattle Seahawks.

More details and pictures after the jump.

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Delonte West went to the zoo.

This is one of the funniest articles I’ve read about the NBA all year.It starts with the headline, “Delonte West eats with lions at the zoo?” and continues with hysterical quotes like this:

“Well, I think they noticed as soon as I came into the zoo my natural animal instinct, you know what I mean?” Delonte said, speaking of the actual animals. “I got a chance to eat with the lions, you know? They had Lamar playing with the penguins, but they needed me for the more animalistic-type of things, carnivore-type of things. So, I also had a chance to give birth to a baby cheetah today and I’m just overwhelmed with the experience to be amongst my own and my peers.”

and

“It shows you the education system has definitely grown,” West said. “They were right on. Every question that the specialists and professionals were asking they were right on. A couple of them took my answers. The kids were very intelligent and asking intelligent questions. I was very impressed.”

One more.

“I just ran out in the woods, whatever I could find take it home as a pet,” West said, again stretching the boundaries of fact into pure fiction. “I had a pet raccoon once. No, I took my few field trips to the zoo, but like I said, I think we’re getting ready to go see some of the lions and gorillas, my own kind and hopefully we can have a nice bonding experience and they will accept me as the pack leader.”

 

When you’re done, watch KFC Raps and Delonte being interviewed by Paul Pierce.

The Costacos Brothers’ Posters

Two brothers in the late 1980s skipped expensive licenses with professional teams and created some of the best sports posters to ever adorn children’s bedroom walls. If you treated yours with care, pat yourself on the back, because they’re now collector’s items.

I’d love to see someone remake these with modern players. Joakim Noah’s Ark anyone?

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Robb Harskamp AKA Harsky

Harsky’s got some design game. I’d seen his work in a few random places without realizing it was all the same person. His style reminds me slightly of Jacob Weinstein. He’s done uniforms and logos for the Vancouver Canucks, Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Hornet, made illustrations for ESPN’s Page 2 and even did a series of re-thought Jordans for Tinker Hatfield’s 30th anniversary party.

Wouldn’t you like to have his job? He has an AOL keyword at http://www.harsky.com/ 

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In Honor Of The NBA Season: A Christmas Obituary

The NBA won’t be the same this year. A shortened season due to corporate greed. The retirement of Brandon Roy. New faces in new places that have permanently changed the league’s balance include Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler, and Lamar Odom.

One part of my NBA experience that will be sorely missed is Free Darko–otherwise known as, “a collective of like-minded NBA writers and artists whose blog has become a staple of basketball fandom on the Internet.” Continue reading