You have to give Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman an "A" for persistence. Neither the bad economy, nor the bad publicity from the All-Star Game in 2007 -- or even the stepped-up anti-gambling push after the snake-like Tim Donaghy raised his head -- has deterred Goodman from continuing his push for an NBA franchise.
He does make a lot of sense. Las Vegas really would be NBA heaven.
Goodman at his weekly press conference Thursday brought up the issue again of moving forward with plans for a new downtown arena in hopes of luring an NBA franchise to his city.
On Thursday, a memo from the NBA to all 30 teams was leaked and subsequently reported on by Chris Sheridan of ESPN and tweeted about by Chris Mannix of SI. The purpose of the memo was to reiterate a "no-tipping" policy regarding officials and arena or locker room personnel.
Long story short, backstage personnel have long done favors and personal errands for officials before and after games, and in the latest CBA negotiations, a policy was put in place to end it. The memo clearly states that the league does not feel the pre-existing actions have tampered with games, but a conclusion was reached to eliminate it regardless.
"This is an important change to the CBA," the memo states, as reported by ESPN. "While we do not believe that the pre-existing practice of tipping locker room attendants has affected the integrity of the officiating in any way, it could be perceived in a negative light, and it is therefore best to eliminate this practice."
Much like the players and coaches are expected to do, the gamblers around the country are sure to try and use the replacement referees at NBA games to their advantage.
Although legalized betting on exhibition games -- that begin tonight with replacements -- is expected to be minimal, those in the gambling industry will be scrutinizing the new officials closely in hopes of seeing tendencies and trends that they can use in both wagering and setting point spreads for regular season games.
"The bettors may be a little leery of the new refs at the start, but they'll be out there analyzing, looking for patterns they can use,'' said Richard Gardner, sports book manager for BODOG, the on-line sports betting site. "It's like a chess game (with the gamblers). I'll be looking for trends myself. It's definitely something to keep an eye on.''
On Monday night, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reported on his blog that Allen Iverson had been banned from two of Detroit's three downtown casinos after repeated warnings for "boorish behavior" such as "throwing his chips or cards at the dealer" when he loses.
The only problem? As reported in today's Detroit Free Press, spokesmen for both MGM Grand Detroit and Greektown Casino denied that Iverson was ever banned, or that there's any record that he ever created a disturbance in the first place.
But what's an "injured" professional basketball player to do with all that free time? Gamble, duh. Iverson hit the casinos in Detroit hard; a little too hard, actually, because he's been banned by both the MGM and Greektown casinos. And, amazingly, it doesn't relate to the fight his bodyguard was allegedly involved in recently.
Clipper Darrell is probably the biggest Clippers fan in the world. He attends every Clippers game at Staples Center, has a BMW painted in Clipper colors, and sports Clipper colors on the daily. He also can be found leading cheers at the Staples Center and talking trash to opposing players when they are at the free throw line.
Darrell's passion is wonderful, but this time, it might have led him to a little bit of trouble.
Ten-thousand dollars. That's a lot of money. You don't want to bet that amount either, unless you've got a really, really, really sure thing/stone-cold lock type of bet going. Or you're an NBA superstar who enjoys following the Cowboys. Acie Law IV is the latter. And, based on his Yardbarker blog, he just bet one of his boys 10 large that Dallas is going to the Super Bowl next year.
There's been plenty of talk lately about the possibility of LeBron James signing with the Knicks when he's an unrestricted free agent in 2010. With New York's recent trades that left them with little talent but a lot of salary cap space, it's a logical (albeit annoying) conclusion that the team will do everything they can to lure King James to NYC.
There are some out there though that refuse to believe the hype, and they're the type that make their living off of making these types of predictions.
I'm talking about the odds makers here, and the ones at BetOnline.com don't think that LeBron is going anywhere. In fact, they have lines posted on where LeBron will end up when it's all said and done, and based on the payouts, their guess is that he'll remain in Cleveland.
Perhaps more than any other pro major league, the NBA has flirted with Las Vegas in recent years. The Maloofs, controlling owners of the Kings, are a big part of that. The family's notoriety, fortune and fame come from the Palms Casino. Ever-mindful of the potential or appearance of point shaving or game fixing, the NBA has barred the Palms from offering bets on NBA games in its book. That changed today, when (at the request of the Maloofs) the NBA board of governors voted to allow the league's games on the books at the Palms.
The Maloofs' argument, according to quotes collected by the Associated Press, is that a minority owner of the Celtics runs Harrah's, a casino chain. Harrah's takes bets on all NBA game not involving the C's. There have no problems which game-fixing accusations or whatnot, so the Maloofs feel it's only fair to give the Palms a chance.
Weird timing, yeah? The league is just now burying the Tim Donaghy headlines. The independent Pedowitz report recommended the NBA crack down on player card games on team planes, for crying out loud. I can't imagine even an investigation as amiable as the Pedowitz report would think opening up the book at the Palms to NBA games could possibly be a good idea, given eternal suspicions about the league. And the fairness argument is a non-starter: the Harrah's CEO (Gary Loveman) owns 2.4% of the Celtics, while the Maloofs own something like 80% of the Kings franchise.
David Stern -- who could have stopped this at any point -- really doesn't care about the league's image when it comes to the Donaghy scandal or the gambling issue. This is a particularly egregious reminder of that fact.
Martin also won a $1,000 bet with teammate Mikki Moore on who would be the first to dunk on Oden. "I had to go get my money," Martin said.
Asked if he knew Oden and Aldridge would be there when he crossed over Fernandez, Martin laughed. "Them guys have 7-(foot)-5 wingspans, so even if you don't think they are going to be there, they are going to be there," Martin said. "I'm glad they were there. I got a little richer today."
Is it me, or should more players put a bounty on posterizing the opposition? That's the kind of subplot that will keep fans watching even the most vanilla matchups in the middle of January.
Grizzlies versus Clippers? Yawn. O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay putting five grand on the line to see who can get the most dunks on Chris Kaman? Now we're talking! I'll give this idea for free, Mr. Stern, but the next one will cost you.
You have to give Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman an "A" for persistence. Neither the bad economy, nor the bad publicity from the All-Star Game in 2007 -- or even the stepped-up anti-gambling push after the snake-like Tim Donaghy raised his head -- has deterred Goodman from continuing his push for an NBA franchise.
On Thursday, a memo from the NBA to all 30 teams was leaked and subsequently 
Much like the players and coaches are expected to do, the gamblers around the country are sure to try and use the replacement referees at 
On Monday night, 
Clipper Darrell
There's been plenty of talk lately about the possibility of 
Perhaps more than any other pro major league, the NBA has flirted with Las Vegas in recent years. 
