Hooped Up

Spurs point guard Tony Parker says the sprained ankle that knocked him from Friday night’s 96-84 loss against the Trail Blazers isn’t as severe as others he’s suffered in his career. Parker missed nine games early last season after spraining the same ankle, and missed a month with the French national team during the summer with a similar injury to his right ankle.

X-rays taken at the Rose Garden were negative, and Parker left the arena after the game under his own power. He is expected to be re-evaluated Saturday after the Spurs return to San Antonio.

San Antonio Express-News

The New Jersey Nets haven’t won a game this season so far but that doesn’t mean watching Andre Iguodala thunder down a jam on them isn’t fun to watch. Terrence Williams, welcome to the NBA.

Chicago Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas broke his left forearm during a weight training session at practice Friday and will have surgery Saturday. He could miss four to six weeks.

In four games this season, the fourth-year player from LSU is averaging eight points and five rebounds in 21 minutes. Thomas, who had been battling the flu, played only 12 minutes in Chicago’s victory at Cleveland on Thursday.

X-rays confirmed the injury Friday. Team physicians Dr. Brian Cole and Dr. John Fernandez, assisted by Dr. Mark Cohen, will perform the surgery. With Thomas out, rookie Taj Gibson is expected to take over as a starter.

Press Release

King James was King Clown back in his high school days and this footage of LeBron messing around with everybody before the NBA came calling shows that. Just watch out for your cell phone when LBJ is around doing his phone check.

The owner of the New Orleans Hornets has announced that he has cancer.

George Shinn made the announcement in a news release Friday that he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Shinn says he remains healthy and is optimistic that he will conquer the disease.

Shin, who moved the Hornets from Charlotte to New Orleans in 2002, says he and his wife, Denise, “remain strong in our faith and will maintain a positive attitude as I battle this with intense fervor and drive.”

Press Release

According to the Wall Street Journal, former Yankees World Series champion and multiple time all-star Bernie Williams will be performing the national anthem at the Knicks vs.Cavs game tonight at Madison Square Garden.

If you’re expecting a Carl Lewis like performance, think again. Williams is a very accomplished guitarist who yesterday was nominated for a Latin Grammy for his single “Go For It” , which was No.1 on the Billboard Jazz charts in August. Several Yankees from this years World Series squad will also be in attendance so it looks like LeBron James will be able to partake in the Yankee festivities after all.

Anthony Parker finds a driving Anderson Varejao who finishes with the one-handed slam on the world of Taj Gibson, to give a kid in Brazil a sweet poster to hang on his wall. Pick-n-roll defense kids, pick-n-roll defense.

Available to sneaker heads everywhere this December. The low cut Kobe V Chaos colorway features a super lightweight white and chameleon upper, a white midsole with red speckles and a bright lime green Swoosh and outsole. Since Kobe Bryant can score 45 points with cardboard boxes on his feet, this means nothing to him. For you, this means a strong addition to your shoe collection and you should still work on your fade away jumper.

Check them out in detail after the jump.

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You know the NBA season is starting to careen out of control when a team wonders how it can get by without Yi Jianlian.

But the winless Nets were hit by yet another thunderbolt Tuesday when an MRI revealed a grade 1 sprain in the right knee of their starting power forward, which significantly shortens an already weak power rotation.

The team is not discussing any timetable for the third-year player, but a typical recovery period for such an injury is two to four weeks, and it has been known to last as long as six.

NJ.com

Ron Artest threw a BBQ for 30 of his lucky Twitter followers at Dockweiler Beach and some dude named Coach Hill was absolutely jazzed to give Artest advice way beyond his normal140 character threshold.  I mean, this guy probably gives dolphins advice on how to swim just to hear himself talk. Ron-Ron seemed so thrill to get advice from a coach on his off day he doesn’t play for. He couldn’t wait to splurt in his Speed Racer inspired ride.

Update, Coach Hill is still talking.