MVN - Most Valuable Network

Crashing the Party: Carnival of the NBA #48

We have experienced a summer of gate-crashing throughout the NBA.

Just when the Bulls and Cavs were getting ready to turn it up as the dominant powers in the East for the indefinite future, Kevin Garnett showed up to help the Celtics steal the show. As the Jazz prepared to become the perennial rulers of the Northwest Division, some ping-pong balls took a few odd bounces, and suddenly Greg Oden and Kevin Durant were rolling into black and green uniforms respectively. Meanwhile, David Stern spent a few weeks enjoying the summer that would solidify the change in the NBA’s landscape, with the rise of the young likable star (Bron, Flash, Oden, Durant, Hibachi and many more) finally beginning to help revive the NBA’s soiled image. That worked out right up until Tim Donaghy and his band of rogues showed up. Even the old school wants to crash on the new kids on the block, with Penny Hardaway signing in Miami and Allan Houston and Reggie Miller considering comebacks.

And Taking it to the Rack finally hit the Carnival scene. After participating in our first Carnival of the NBA last time around with #47 at Give Me The Rock, we – yes, I espouse the use of the royal ‘we’ – jumped at the opportunity to join the party once more by hosting one ourselves. So with a precursory thanks once more to Matt Bernhardt of Blog-a-Bull for offering us this chance, away we go with Carnival of the NBA #48.

We had planned on starting with the bad news, but somehow, Donaghy and associates failed to crash this party. Not a single submission came in on the Donaghy front, and frankly, I’m not looking for any. Only real scandal-related news we’ve got comes from Darren Heitner at I Want to be a Sports Agent, who informs us that James Gandolfini will be playing renowned shady agent Sonny Vaccaro in an upcoming HBO special. Also, Mark at SportsBiz fills us in on the Cavaliers’ impending bop-dropping on Ticketmaster for some anti-trust tomfoolery of sorts.

Meanwhile, the shake-up in the Eastern Conference seems to have taken the NBA writing community by storm as well. Sonia from I Heart KG is trying to come to grips with the exit of the face of her franchise, a creditable effort with so many Wolves fans not even attempting to do the same. DeROK at TWolvesBlog takes a few minutes to express a similarly heartfelt goodbye, complete with a rundown of KG’s greatest Minny moments and a video tribute. Over at MVN’s own Wolves Watch, Anthony Hall feels the pain of Wolves fans everywhere as he finally lets loose on Kevin McHale and Glen Taylor. It’s always good to get some stress out.

And no one can better attest to that than we Celtics fans who sat through last year’s 24-win season and ensuing lottery disaster. But like every trade, this one has two sides. Despite some dissension in the ranks, there is certainly a large legion of Celts fans (represent, fellas!), who couldn’t be happier with the Big Ticket coming to town. Sam at NBA Glue says this summer has given the Beantown faithful a reason to cheer again, while Jeff from CelticsBlog is practically gushing with delight, and rightfully so. Chris King joins the KG-to-Boston parade at My Thoughts and puts down the final kibosh on the originally planned youth movement in Boston.

Further, many out there are already exploring the potential effects of the deal on the rest of the Celtics’ roster. At Loy’s Place, FLCeltsFan forecasts a break-out season in the making for Kendrick Perkins as well as discussing how rule changes of recent years will influence the Celtics’ defensive philosophy in the seasons to come. TenaciousT aka Thomas Halzack of Celtics 17 keeps his trademark (and much admired, even if we love to tease him for it here) optimism cautious as he ponders the roads ahead for the six most important Celtics this season.

As Reggie Miller contemplates hopping on board the new-look Beantown bandwagon, Chris King isn‚Äôt interested, and Don Landrigan at Epic Carnival brings the pain with a satire involving Bob Cousy. I‚Äôm bummin‚Äô about the lack of enthusiasm for a Reg return, but the doubters’ reading is fun nonetheless. David Friedman of 20 Second Timeout puts all the comeback talk in perspective as he lays down some historical perspective on other greats who made late returns.

But for all the recent old school buzz, the vets can’t steal all the spotlight from the most hyped draft class since 2003. Patrick at Give Me The Rock breaks down the fantasy outlook for Greg Oden and his Portland Trail Blazers, while his colleague Nels does the same for Kevin Durant and the Seattle Sonics.

If a bit of scandalous talk, a blockbuster, some old school and some new school somehow haven’t sated your NBA appetite, fear not, because there is plenty more going on around the league and plenty of quality coverage to go along with it.

At Money from the Parking Lot, Bill Powell puts the smack down on Jermaine O’Neal for the idiotic sound bytes related to his public waffling on his trade demands. Spur of the Moment’s David Southern Hospitality Incarnate Thiessen trumpets a less heralded off-season move (albeit one that, unlike a possible O’Neal deal, actually happened) as he props his beloved boys from the Alamo for the Ime Udoka signing. With no major personnel moves going down in Dallas, Joe Boikess of Showboating is left to consider what the Mavs will have to do to find true supremacy once and for all.

HoopsAddict continues its excellent work, as Eric G. Satterwhite interviews WNBA guard Lindsey Harding, and Austin Kent keeps it real at the Steve Nash Charity Classic. Meanwhile, TexSUN at Bright Side Of The Sun checks in with predecessor Dan Hilton, who has moved on to work at Suns.com. Tex follows this up with a column on the NBA’s alleged Superman figures, one of the more unique and intriguing reads I have come across in a while. Props, good sir.

College Wolf at TWolvesBlog breaks down the futures lines on the 2008 NBA title, and neither he nor I can come up with a suitable explanation for why the Sacramento Kings – my dark horse pick for worst record in basketball this season – aren’t right down there with the rest of the scrubs at the very bottom of the barrel.

Ice at Basketball Life provides us with some pump-up music selections with which to ring in the new season. We’ll have to chat about how he managed to snub such classics as AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” and Bush’s “Machinehead,” but it’s definitely a solid list. And kudos to Ice for showing the love to Nelly’s pseudo-remake of John Tesh’s old “Roundball Rock” theme from NBC.

At Passion and Pride, MVN Basketball Director Jon Burkett puts the capper on his relationship with the Broad Street Beefcakes, the all-male dance team no longer employed by the Sixers. While Jon may not have been the group’s biggest fan, he’ll certainly be pining for any diversion possible as he sits through another debacle of a season of Billy King’s handiwork. Sorry, man.

Finally, a fun note to end on: Maybe the Starbury interview happened more than a month ago, but it remains too classic to get old. It is the gift that keeps on giving, and over at We Rite Goode, Taking it to the Rack pal Doctor Dribbles provides one more piece of well thought-out analysis. And his willingness to pimp this very site doesn’t hurt either.

So there you have it, folks. Carnival of the NBA #48 is in the books. Thanks go out again to all those who submitted pieces as well as to all those who make our words matter by taking the time to read them. We’re back tomorrow with our usual Taking it to the Rack nuttiness, and we’re already looking forward to crashing the next Carnival party. But until then, in the words of Paul Farash…

…later.

Update: The idea of going through this entire Carnival endeavor and hitting every link I meant to on the first try and not saying anything wholly asinine would simply have made too much sense.¬† That said, apologies to Don Landrigan of With Malice, Michael of Aids Has Yet to Find Me and TexSUN of Bright Side Of The Sun.¬† Michael has put together a uniquely written tribute to Kevin Garnett, and Don’s letter from an anonymous NBA player is hilarious for most of readers and straight-up painful for Lakers fans.¬† As for TexSUN, well, as she informed me via e-mail this morning, “Props, sir” might not have been the best compliment I could have offered for her column.¬† Gotta love the Internet.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 21st, 2007 at 12:17 am and is filed under Ticketmaster, DeROK, SportsBiz, HBO Special, James Gandolfini, Sonny Vaccaro, TWolvesBlog, NBA Glue, FLCeltsFan, NBA Rule Changes, Loy's Place, My Thoughts, Chris King, Northwest Division, Doctor Dribbles, NBA Point-Shaving Scandal, NBC, 2007-08 NBA Season, Wolves Watch, YouTube, Mike'd Up, Penny Hardaway, Matt Bernhardt, We Rite Goode, Blog-a-Bull, Carnival of the NBA #47, Carnival of the NBA #48, TenaciousT, 2008 NBA Championship, Bush, AC/DC, Basketball Life, Ice, Suns.com, College Wolf, Hells Bells, Machine Head, Aids Has Yet to Find Me, Michael Moller, Nelly, Roundball Rock, John Tesh, Dan Hilton, TexSUN, Bob Cousy, David Friedman, Epic Carnival, Don Landrigan, NBA Futures, 20 Second Timeout, Joe Boikess, Steve Nash Charity Classic, Lindsey Harding, Austin Kent, Eric G. Satterwhite, Showboating, Most Valuable Network, Tim Donaghy, Greg Oden, Spur of the Moment, Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Sonics, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett, David Stern, Kevin Durant, David Thiessen, 2007 NBA Draft, 2003 NBA Draft, Reggie Miller, Bill Powell, LeBron James, Gilbert Arenas, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Stephon Marbury, General NBA, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings, Eastern Conference, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Allan Houston, Taking It to the Rack, Anthony Hall, NBA Draft Lottery, 2007 NBA Off-Season, Kendrick Perkins, Celtics 17, Billy King, NBA Free Agency, Carnival of the NBA, NBA Police Blotter, Darren Heitner, I Want to be a Sports Agent, Ime Udoka, Thomas Halzack, Passion and Pride, Kevin McHale, Glen Taylor, Money from the Parking Lot, Jermaine O'Neal, NBA Off-Season Moves, HoopsAddict, CelticsBlog, Bright Side Of The Sun, Jon Burkett, With Malice, Give me the Rock, I Heart KG, Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.