Did Dwyane Wade snub Chicago?

Originally Posted by VCURamFan

Yeah. I knew it was a long shot, but anything that can take Kobe down a peg (unabashed hater here, btw), I'm all for!

Oh no you didnt talk about BLACK MAMBA like that!?!! We lost Farmar, but oh well.. Sasha's my main man...

[VCURamFan]

Originally Posted by Miss Foxy

Oh no you didnt talk about BLACK MAMBA like that!?!! We lost Farmar, but oh well.. Sasha's my main man...

Sad thing is that when you said "Black Mamba", I started wondering why you thought I was talking smack about Danelle!

[J.B.]

Roger Mayweather was the real Black Mamba...They used to call him that because he used to beat so many Mexican fighters.

Anyways, I am loving all the basketball talk in July. This season is going to be the most interesting one in quite a while. People are actually starting to become more willing to root for Kobe and the Lakers because they want to see the evil empire in Miami be defeated. It really is good stuff.

Thats so you right now!! lol

Originally Posted by J.B.

Roger Mayweather was the real Black Mamba...They used to call him that because he used to beat so many Mexican fighters.

Anyways, I am loving all the basketball talk in July. This season is going to be the most interesting one in quite a while. People are actually starting to become more willing to root for Kobe and the Lakers because they want to see the evil empire in Miami be defeated. It really is good stuff.

[J.B.]

Originally Posted by Miss Foxy

Thats so you right now!! lol

I'm not making it up...they really did call Roger that

[J.B.]

I just happened to come across this on another forum and I found it interesting.

Going back to Mike's inquisition about popularity of the NBA, these are the number of "Facebook Followers" for different sports...

NBA: 3,180,826
UFC: 2,269,450
Vancouver 2010 Olympics: 1,209,379
WWE: 757,845 (obviously not a real sport, but interesting nonetheless)
NASCAR: 702,701
NHL: 574,112
NFL: 508,906
WNBA: 283,779
Women's Tennis Association: 223,986
Penn State football: 170,737
English Premier League: 156,706
PGA Tour: 137,406
ATP tennis: 136,653
MLB: 105,495
NHRA drag racing: 91,650


I am actually not shocked to see UFC so high on the list, mainly because most of the fans of MMA have to get their content online, but the NBA still is still above them by almost 1 million people.

Also, it's only fair to point out that when talking about the major sports leagues, those are the numbers ONLY for the LEAGUE pages, those numbers do not reflect the number of people following each individual team. Heck, I don't follow the NBA on Facebook, but I do follow the Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns, so it's safe to say the numbers would be higher for NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL.

[VCURamFan]

The seemingly hard-to-picture prospect of Kobe Bryant and old nemesis Raja Bell playing for the same team remains alive.

The longtime rivals will sit down for a face-to-face chat Wednesday in Los Angeles to further discuss the feasibility of the Lakers signing Bell in free agency, sources close to the situation said.


Bell is traveling to Los Angeles this week to watch the ESPYs and has arranged to meet with Bryant to hear the Lakers' face of the franchise make yet another recruiting pitch to the 33-year-old swingman.
Bell acknowledged last week in a phone interview with ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin that he has already fielded several phone calls from Bryant, who was unforgettably clotheslined to the floor by Bell in Game 5 of a testy Suns-Lakers series in 2006 that L.A. ultimately lost in seven games.

NBA front-office sources say that Bell continues to draw interest from a variety of playoff teams, such as Miami, Dallas and San Antonio. One source said signing with the Heat has essentially been ruled out because of Miami's financial constraints after signing LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Mike Miller to flank the re-signed Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem. But the Suns are also weighing the prospect of trying to bring Bell back.

Bryant, though, has not abandoned his pursuit and continues to press Bell to join the Lakers, who have only $1.8 million of their mid-level exception left to offer Bell next season after signing Steve Blake.

One source close to the situation said memories of Bell's takedown, which earned him a suspension for Game 6 of the series -- the Suns, down 3-2, won the game at Staples Center without him -- are actually one reason why Bryant sees Bell as such an ideal teammate. The premise? Anyone with the gumption to hit Bryant that hard is someone he wants on his team.

The sentiments between them weren't so pleasant during the 2006 playoffs. After the hit, which earned Bell the nickname "Kobe Chopper," Bell publicly blasted Bryant as a "pompous, arrogant individual" who gets preferential treatment from the refs.

"It's a personal thing when someone continually hits you in the face," Bell said after Game 5.

Bryant then answered with a memorable rant during which he repeatedly referred to Bell, who is two years older, as some "kid."

"Does he know me?" Bryant said. "Do I know this guy? I don't know this guy. I might have said one word to this guy. I don't know this kid. I think he overreacts to stuff. ... I don't know this kid. I don't need to know this kid. I don't want to. We go out there, we play the game and leave it at that. Maybe he wasn't hugged enough as a kid. I look at him a little bit, he gets a little insecure or something. I don't know."

Four years later, Bryant and Bell know each other much better and have buried the animosity.

And the two-time defending champions still have an opening in their backcourt after signing Blake and Monday's re-signing of Derek Fisher, although sources say Shannon Brown has not abandoned his interest in returning to the Lakers for next season's chase of a three-peat.

Bell played only six games last season because of a wrist injury. He began the season with the Charlotte Bobcats, then was dealt to the Golden State Warriors in November as part of the Stephen Jackson trade. The Warriors released him in March, but Bell has been pursued by several playoff teams since free agency began July 1 now that he's recovered from December surgery.

Originally Posted by VCURamFan

The seemingly hard-to-picture prospect of Kobe Bryant and old nemesis Raja Bell playing for the same team remains alive.

The longtime rivals will sit down for a face-to-face chat Wednesday in Los Angeles to further discuss the feasibility of the Lakers signing Bell in free agency, sources close to the situation said.


Bell is traveling to Los Angeles this week to watch the ESPYs and has arranged to meet with Bryant to hear the Lakers' face of the franchise make yet another recruiting pitch to the 33-year-old swingman.
Bell acknowledged last week in a phone interview with ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin that he has already fielded several phone calls from Bryant, who was unforgettably clotheslined to the floor by Bell in Game 5 of a testy Suns-Lakers series in 2006 that L.A. ultimately lost in seven games.

NBA front-office sources say that Bell continues to draw interest from a variety of playoff teams, such as Miami, Dallas and San Antonio. One source said signing with the Heat has essentially been ruled out because of Miami's financial constraints after signing LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Mike Miller to flank the re-signed Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem. But the Suns are also weighing the prospect of trying to bring Bell back.

Bryant, though, has not abandoned his pursuit and continues to press Bell to join the Lakers, who have only $1.8 million of their mid-level exception left to offer Bell next season after signing Steve Blake.

One source close to the situation said memories of Bell's takedown, which earned him a suspension for Game 6 of the series -- the Suns, down 3-2, won the game at Staples Center without him -- are actually one reason why Bryant sees Bell as such an ideal teammate. The premise? Anyone with the gumption to hit Bryant that hard is someone he wants on his team.

The sentiments between them weren't so pleasant during the 2006 playoffs. After the hit, which earned Bell the nickname "Kobe Chopper," Bell publicly blasted Bryant as a "pompous, arrogant individual" who gets preferential treatment from the refs.

"It's a personal thing when someone continually hits you in the face," Bell said after Game 5.

Bryant then answered with a memorable rant during which he repeatedly referred to Bell, who is two years older, as some "kid."

"Does he know me?" Bryant said. "Do I know this guy? I don't know this guy. I might have said one word to this guy. I don't know this kid. I think he overreacts to stuff. ... I don't know this kid. I don't need to know this kid. I don't want to. We go out there, we play the game and leave it at that. Maybe he wasn't hugged enough as a kid. I look at him a little bit, he gets a little insecure or something. I don't know."

Four years later, Bryant and Bell know each other much better and have buried the animosity.

And the two-time defending champions still have an opening in their backcourt after signing Blake and Monday's re-signing of Derek Fisher, although sources say Shannon Brown has not abandoned his interest in returning to the Lakers for next season's chase of a three-peat.

Bell played only six games last season because of a wrist injury. He began the season with the Charlotte Bobcats, then was dealt to the Golden State Warriors in November as part of the Stephen Jackson trade. The Warriors released him in March, but Bell has been pursued by several playoff teams since free agency began July 1 now that he's recovered from December surgery.

Miss Foxy loves her some Shannon Brown!! I wear his jersey!!

Originally Posted by Miss Foxy

Miss Foxy loves her some Shannon Brown!! I wear his jersey!!

So you're more than just a Matt Hughes stalker? Wild!

Originally Posted by County Mike

So you're more than just a Matt Hughes stalker? Wild!

I stalk....Bj PENN, Amir Sadollah, Shannon Brown, Sasha Vujacic, Gina Carano, Russell Martin, AROD... and many more in the world of sports.. lol..