What to look forward to is going to be a segment that features sporting events happening the day of the post, the week after the post and something in the future.

What to look forward to, today: After spending all of last season behind bars, Michael Vick is to finally appear in an NFL game tonight against the Jacksonville Jaguars. ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio has reported that Eagles head coach Andy Reid plans to play Vick as early as the first quarter at the quarterback position, and later in at some position in the Wildcat formation.

The return to the field will undoubtedly be the most anticipated return of any player to the NFL in my lifetime. Vick, with his ability to change the game in more ways than one became a folk hero for inner city kids who loved his knack for beating defenses with, not only his arm, but with his legs as well. No one is expecting him to return to his old form right away, if ever, but his return to the NFL, playing in Philly with myriad playmakers surrounding him, will be exciting nonetheless.

What to look forward to, next week: The U.S. Open starts on Monday, August 31 and for the first time, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal can meet up in a U.S. Open Final as they are placed on opposite sides of the bracket. Because of injury, my boy Nadal lost his top spot in the world’s rankings and is now ranked third in the world, behind Federer and Andy Murray, respectively.

However, before another Federer-Nadal classic, Nadal would have to get through Murray in the Semis, pending neither loses before hand, who beat him in the semis in 2008. On Federer’s half, he would have to get through Andy Roddick, who played him as well as anyone at Wimbledon this year in one of the greatest tennis matches I’ve ever witnessed. Also, the ever dangerous Novak Djokovic will pose a problem for Federer. Either way, prepare yourself for some great tennis.

What to look forward to, in the future: It looks like the Charlotte Bobcats and Allen Iverson are close to reaching, what will probably be, a one year agreement with a mid-level exception. The Answer will likely be playing for Larry Brown for the second time, the coach who he was most successful in his career (you know, when they were rocking the Liberty Bell loud enough for us to hear in Los Angeles – well, at least for one game). Although I would have loved to see Iverson play along side Dwyane Wade, Derrek Rose, or Baron Davis (oh, imagine the possibilities!) I think Iverson moving to North Carolina will be an interesting, if nothing else, story to follow next season.

Charlotte only finished four games behind Detroit for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, and adding one of the 20 greatest players and the greatest scoring little man of all time should help bolster them to that eighth spot. He’ll be teamed back up with Raja Bell from their old Philly days, along with D.J. Augustin, the “Lakers’ Stopper” Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler. He’ll also have a shooter in Vladimir Radmanovic. We could be feasting on another Iverson playoff push made of the best of 2006’s Thanksgiving scraps. I’m down right giddy about it all (sans Raja Bell of course).

Before I head out, I just wanted to pay my respects to Dominick Dunne, who died of bladder cancer this morning in his home. He was an amazing writer who covered celebrity trials, such as O. J. Simpson, for Vanity Fair Magazine. His stories were always interesting and brilliantly written.

Rest in peace, Dominick Dunne

-Stay Hideous
 

Comments

	i think AI will shine in NC again like he should. 08/28/2009 12:07 PM
MONSTAH

They're all a part of the new My Touch 3G T-Mobile commercial. Who would have thought the Zen Master himself would have been doing cell phone commercials. Does he even get reception on those motorcycle rides from Hollywood to Montana? He looks about as happy in this commercial as he was as Kobe's assistant coach in the Finals.

Comments

	he is the best assistant coach in NBA history ^5 08/26/2009 10:29 PM
MONSTAH

For all of my Southern California sports fans, the Dodgers loss last night to the Rockies was devistating considering they've been playing .500 baseball the last week and a half and the Rockes just took 3 of 4 from the Giants to inch closer to the division lead.

However, as a Giants fan, I was pulling for the Dodgers for the first time in a while to help us creep back into this wild card race, and the Dodgers spurned my Giants once again to keep them five games back. I know they did it on purpose just to spite me.

I hope giving up the division lead is worth keep the Giants in third in this NL West race, Dodgers.

I've often been asked how I can be an affective objective journalist when I'm so open about my favorite teams (by the way, I almost punched a hole in the wall after that damn walk-off grand slam in Colorado last night, the Giants are determined to hand the wild card to the Rockies). Well, for the NBA, it's a lot easier to write about other teams because there are so many likeable players, and my current favorite point guard is Baron Davis (and I'm a HUGE USC fan), as he has been for quite some time.

I've always been a fan of explosive point guards and Baron Davis is among the league's elite following that catagory. He handles the ball like Mario Andretti handled Formula-1 cars, he explodes off the ground the same way Sputnik did in '57 and he excites crowds more frequently than Megan Fox excites pubescent boys watching transformers in HD. He's hilarious, has one of the NBA's best beards and completed what I feel is the greatest completed contested dunk of all time (on AK47 in the 2007 playoffs, fiind me a dunk that got a larger eruption out of a crowd, stopped a playoff game or made Adonal Foyle show off his best renditioin of the Bay Area's "Thizz Face").

The following is a link from the Los Angeles Times about B. Diddy's time overseas. Davis went to China and India to help spread the NBA's brand. Let's just hope he picked up some meditation or zen tips to help him deal with Mike Dunleavy for next season and get back to being the B. Diddy of old.

NBA reaches far and wide to build fan base - Los Angeles Times

Comments

	well said.. but : 3 better dunks Doc over thats OOOOver Coop 83 Finals.. Starks over MIKE ... KJ over The Dream.. ^5 my new freind 08/26/2009 10:46 PM
MONSTAH

		It seems like some of the most ridiculous plays in history were against the Lakers. Doc's dunk over Cooper is definitely one that I love even as a Lakers fan. Dude started gathering himself around the three point line with a rock the cradle dunk that rocked the house. Starks over MJ was crazy because of how high he got (I have no idea why Jordan even jumped, he had to shot at blocking that one). KJ over Hakeem is my second favorite dunk of all time. I have a thing for baseline dunks, and it makes it even better just because it was a point guard over one of the top five greatest centers of all time, and maybe the greatest of my lifetime. ...View More...View Less 08/27/2009 12:46 PM
	pbarnett

Before I get into the actual blog, I'm going to introduce you to "Built Only For Cuban Linx," which will be a regualr occuring theme for this blog. "Built Only For Cuban Linx" was Wu-Tang member Raekwon's first solo album, and is often regarded as one of the best solo efforts from any member of Wu-Tang and it happens to be one of my favorite albums. Song titles from this album (and "Built Only For Cuban Linx 2") will be the actual themes for the Cuban Linx blogs.

Today, I bring you links from blogger reactions to the Michael Beasley story, hence the Knuckleheadz in the parantheses. Enjoy.

J.A. Adande - ESPN.com
"Given that the NBA chose to overlook LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett and numerous other straight-from-high-school success stories when it instituted its age requirement, we should use the same selective logic to say this sad Michael Beasley case demonstrates that a forced year of college isn't the magical solution to the league's youthful problems.

That season spent at Kansas State didn't make Beasley mature enough to be a professional basketball player, didn't provide enough guidance to help his decision-making and couldn't prevent him from -- according to sources -- checking into a Houston area rehabilitation center.

"I think people either decide to change or not," an NBA general manager said. "It's a very personal process. I don't think school helps or hinders that."

College improves you, but it doesn't eliminate your problems. And it can actually create problems for the school, as we've seen from Memphis' asterisked run to the 2008 Final Four led by Derrick Rose, he of the voided SAT score. Ultimately, the NBA's wait-a-year rule doesn't do much good for anybody except the NBA scouts who don't have to spend as much time driving to high school gyms."

Henry Abbot - Truehoop
"We have to consider the idea that Michael Beasley is a seriously troubled young man. In the aftermath of the photograph incident, his Gorillabeas Twitter account (which has been taken down) reportedly had posts saying things like "Feelin' like it's not worth livin', "I'm done" and "I feel like the whole world is against me."

Wow.

This is where the whole incident become entirely unfunny, and indicative of something much longer term. He had that itinerant childhood of five high schools. There have been whispers or even newspaper articles about off-court trouble at nearly every stop.

Knowing that now he has, reportedly, checked into a facility in Houston for psychological and substance-abuse help ... maybe he never should have been the butt of all those jokes. Maybe he never should have been trotted out there as a gladiator to entertain us. Maybe before all that, he should had some serious treatment, and we all just did a miserable job interpreting the many signs."

Ira Winderman - Sun Sentinal
"In the wake of Beasley's NBA censure for his behavior and ensuing cover-up at last summer's rookie orientation, this mostly had set up as a quiet summer for the talented forward taken out of Kansas State with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

And let's not overstate the innocuous Twitter activity.

But this also is a player whose maturity has stood as an issue with teammate Dwyane Wade, the same Dwyane Wade who can opt out of his contract after this season.
This can't help.

What ultimately will matter most is what happens starting Sept. 28 when training camp opens at AmericanAirlines Arena. If Michael makes the game easier for Dwyane, then no one will give a tweet about August hijinks."

Dime Magazine
"… So far nobody outside of a select few know whether Beasley’s current problems are more psychological or drug-related, or if they’re equally in need of attention. It could be that he simply needs a leader in his life, and somebody like Lucas can get him on the right path before he turns into another J.R. Rider or Chris Washburn. This is reality, though: It shouldn’t came as that much of a shock. Everybody has somebody in their family or has a friend who’s dealt with drugs or mental health issues; we just hardly see it from such high-profile athletes, especially in this generation where we all came up on the cautionary tales of Len Bias and Michael Ray Richardson …"

p.s. Follow me on twitter
www.twitter.com/imsohideous

-Stay Hideous

Comments

	Interesting concept. I'll be looking foward to "Knowledge God" "Incarcerated Scarfaces" "Verbal Intercourse" and "Heaven & Hell" ha. 08/26/2009 9:37 AM
Ospinion

	Thanks for checking out the blog Kenny. Dude has just been placed in a bad situation. I'm really hoping he recovers. 08/25/2009 2:48 PM
pbarnett

	Henry Abbott speaks truth. I know the knee-jerk reaction is to make fun of Beasley, but man...this is sad. Multiple high schools, which no kid should have to do. One year of college, where noone gave a damn about his well-being, and THEN he gets drafted to a team, right on South Beach?!? What seems like a dream scenario got even more toxic, because he's still in an element that doesn't help him grow. I don't know, mane; hate to say some people saw this coming, especially if they've been following him since high school, but the only hope now is John Lucas and them can help get this man on track, before he pisses it all away. ...View More...View Less 08/25/2009 12:50 PM
soulonice