Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow…
Allen Iverson: All star weekend is usually about everything but the game and this year was no different. All-Star regular, Iverson showed up in the team locker room rocking a new do. Gone were the braids that had become his trademark, and were replaced by a fresh buzz with a #2 blade. It was a long overdue change but one that had everyone doing a double take.

Random Acts of Shaqness
Shaquille O’Neal: Shaq has a larger than life personality and it took on a whole new form this season with the help of twitter and a group of masked men. During the all-star game, the Big Shaqtus stole the show as he joined dance group Jabbawokeez in a choreographed routine to introduce the players. (Video) It didn’t stop there as Shaq ventured into the Twitterverse and starting connecting with fans, having them go on Shaq hunts around different cities. One of my favorite stories of an Act of Shaqness came from two guys who met him at a diner.

Lights, Camera, Action!
Lebron James & Shaquille O’Neal: They may be teammates now but last season they had a rather unique duel going on. Who can put together the best pre-game intro’s. Pre-Game rituals have been a part of the game for a while – the dancing in a circle & the chest bumps but Lebron and Shaq took it to another level. Family Photos, Bowling pins, I can only imagine the creativity next season as they will star in the same intro.

Revenge on the Rookie
Jason Thompson: Rookie hazing is pretty common in the NBA, and most rookies get subjected to some level of humiliation during the season. Enter Jason Thompson of the Sacramento Kings, who one day forgot to come through on his rookie duties and well he paid for it. (Video) My favorite part – “Well now you have something to snack on while you driving”

Baby Mama Drama
Chris Bosh: This is one guy who worked hard to create an image. He was the geek, who made a video to gain some votes for a popularity contest. He embraced technology and when he went on twitter and sent out some subliminal messages no one blinked. Late last season that image was marred with the news that he was a “deadbeat” dad. While stories of this nature come out all the time in pro sports, it was a shocker to see who was linked to it this time.

Animal Instincts
Kevin Garnett: Kevin Garnett is a beast. When he steps on the floor, its with a take no prisoners attitude. His competitive edge is great attribute to have but at times last season we saw him go out of control. I for one was pretty disgusted…
Kevin Garnett Barks at Bayless (Video)- Kevin Garnett Gorilla Defense on Calderon (Video)

Tattoo-gate
Marcin Gortat: When speaking fo the Orlando Magic, Gortat is a role player who just happens to have given himself one of the coolest nicknames in the NBA. During the playoffs last season, the “Polish Hammer” got a call from the people at Reebok (who happen to provide him with his shoes) asking him to cover up the Jordan tattoo at the back of his leg. Gortat’s response was a classic – “I don’t think they are paying me enough to take it off.” He never did listen and so along with his new contract came a new shoe deal- this time from Nike.

I Salute You
Nate Robinson: With all the talk about young players throwing up signs during games, Nate Robinson threw up one of his own early in January. It was a salute to his online gamer friends to prove that it was really him playing them. (Photo)

Faux-Hawk Phenomenon
A bunch of players: I can’t recall who the pioneer was, but the Mohawk trend began spreading like wildfire through the NBA last season. Who rocked it best? Greg Oden. He had it right while others look like they just ran off the barber’s chair before he could finish up the job (see: Amare Stoudamire) Really though… it’s not a good look. Come next season I hope the trend has gone to die following the path of grown men wearing pantyhose under their shorts.

Hibachi Gone Cold
Gilbert Arenas: While Arenas wasn’t producing much on the court he was still entertaining his fans over at his blog. It became a place where fans went to embrace his persona and bash it at times, but it kept him relevant through his time away from the court. Just as the season kicked off, he told the press he was shutting down- there was talk about blogging being like a double edged sword and so on but it seems he had bigger plans in store. A book! Score Like Agent Zero – by Gilbert Arenas will be hitting bookstores in Feb 2010 (Via Gilbertology)

Here are some of the highlights along with some link love…

D Wade is the “Worst Rapper”?

Looks like Baron Davis has recruited Wade to start up a contest on I Beat You (a business venture of Baron’s) Previously we have seen the likes of Steve Nash and Chris Bosh take part in contests but this one has the potential of being great if they can get Shaq and Ron Ron to enter.

Check out the Flash show of his skills on the mic – Rap 1 Rap 2

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Shaq steps into the ring

Sir Charles in Charge: Shaquille O’Neal On Raw (…)
Talk Hoops: Shaq Fu Part 2
Waiting For Next Year: While We’re Waiting… Shaquille O’Neal on Raw

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Shaq gets “blocked”

D.C. Sports Bog: Shaq Denied Entrance to White House
True Hoop: Shaquille O’Neal vs. the Secret Service
Binary Basketball: Shaq’s White House Marketing 101

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Shaq steps into reality

BDL: Shaq to face Phelps, Pujols and De La Hoya in new reality show
Awful Announcing: Shaq To Take On Various Athletes In New Reality Show
King James Gospel: The Big Diesel vs. Big Ben?

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Dwight Howard – Hey Wooorrrrld!

Right now Dwight Howard has pretty much set himself up to take over the most loveable big man title. He is everywhere – Twitter, Facebook, uSTREAM. His blog is updated on the regular giving his fans access like never before.

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Stephon Marbury has escaped from the BOX

For your enjoyment – Here you can find an MP3 of one of the famous quotes from #marburython and RedsArmy has a t-shirt ready to go

J.A Adande (ESPN): Streaming Steph is a sad, sad show
NBA Musings: When eccentric stops being fun
Empty the Bench: What’s Your Favorite Quote from Steph’s Live Stream?
Hoops Manifesto: He Blew His Mind Out

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The Race to 50K – CB4 v/s CV31

I wrote on the subject earlier in the month on HoH

Bleacher Report: An interview with Charlie Villanueva
Raptors Republic: The #50k Fail
Red’s Army: Villanueva, Bosh race to 50K on Twitter

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Ron Artest pays tribute to Michael Jackson

World Star Hip Hop: click here for the full version (H/T RoShine)
NBA Fanhouse: Ron Artest’s Tribute to Michael Jackson
Lake Show Life:Ron Artest’s Michael Jackson Rap Crap

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Ron Artest – Live in Concert

Sharapova’s Thigh: Ron Artest Rapping in China
The Faster Times: Ron Artest Brings the Hood to China
That NBA Lottery Pick: Ron Artest Rap Tour hits China

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UPDATE: Ron Artest Reflects – THE BRAWL

Had to throw this in. Ron Artest who has been touring China hopped onto twitter and posted the video along with the tweet: @96TruwarierQB Shin Shin wanted to know so I told her

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If I’m missing any stories… put in ‘em in the comments

My twitter feed has been taken over, no work is getting done by me (or anyone I follow on Twitter apparently) and I haven’t left my computer in fear of missing out on some goodness.

Marburython on USTREAM: Have At It
Marburython on Justin TV: Mooncricket

If you late to the party, Michelle over at NBA Musings has a raw transcript with a highlight package of went down.

Russbengtson said it best on Twitter: Picking a favorite quote from the @StarburyMarbury marathon is like picking a favorite Michael Jordan highlight.

Chris Bosh has tried this, Dwight Howard has tried this, Kevin Durant has tried this but nothing comes close to the pure gold Steph has been spitting for almost 7 hours (he plans to do this for 24 hours straight)

THEY TRIED TO PUT ME IN A BOX!!!

(image via @jeskeets)

*Heels on Hardwood – EXCLUSIVE*
“THEY TRIED TO PUT ME IN A BOX!” – Stephon Marbury

Download MP3: The Put Me In A Box

These are the dog days of summer when it comes to the NBA. You are trying to get excited about next season and summer league ball just isn’t cutting it.

Enter twitter…

I joined twitter about a year ago (@Nat77) and used it primarily to connect with other sports bloggers and fans. It was different from facebook because it lends itself to discussions. Slowly it began replacing my RSS reader and before I knew it I was addicted. Twitter has become a primary platform for athletes to connect with their fans and several athletes on twitter have echoed my sentiment, admitting the addiction.

Sometime last week, Charlie V(@cv31) challenged Chris Bosh(@chrisbosh) to see who could amass 50 thousand followers first. It’s not uncommon to see athletes conversing over twitter and this was a chance for fans to take part. The wager was that the loser would have to star in the winners video on Youtube. CV wanted Bosh to do the Shane Mercado and Bosh left it up to his “twitter army” to decide CV’s fate if he came out on the losing end of this. Bosh started off the challenge behind Charlie by about 2k followers but with the help of some major twitter spam, live chats and a entire country backing him – he managed to take the lead. The two started pulling out all the stops. Bosh pulled out the free stuff card and CV raised using the charity card.

This was all meant to be in good fun but at some point along the way it started to annoy the diehards. These guys were straight up begging – Charlie V even offered up $3100 worth of diamonds if he won! At any given time my entire twitter feed was taken over by the two, lost in the mix were tweets from people that were actually offering up intelligent material to ponder over. It came to a point I just wanted one of them to win quickly so my twitter could return back to normal. I found it amusing at times to see these athletes showing how bad they wanted to win even though this duel wasn’t going to be settled on a basketball court. No one likes to lose, especially two guys who play a sport for a living – winning is everything.

Late Tuesday night,  Bosh was down about 500 followers with under 1000 to go. It was the 4th quarter, it was go time and for a change Bosh came through in the clutch. He thanked his fans, CV gave him a virtual pat on the back and the world was spinning again.

In other news…

Lets NBA! – Trading away Jawai and Humphries suddenly left the Raptors lacking depth at the 5 spot. It has been widely rumored that the team is interested in bringing back Rasho Nesterovic using their bi-annual exception ($1.9M) Rasho has openly stated that he has always loved the city and the feeling is the team would welcome him back with open arms. The reunion will happen, the only question remains is – when?

Jacked Up – We are at the halfway point regarding the waiting period to see if the Pacers are going to match the offer sheet signed by Jarrett Jack to join the Raptors next season. Multiple sources have mentioned they don’t believe that Indiana is in a position to match but as we have seen this summer (See: Marcin Gortat) it ain’t over till the clock strikes 12. For what its worth, Bosh did have Jack as a guest on one of his live chats where the two spoke about Jack coming up to Toronto soon to find a place to stay – that is if bosh doesn’t plan to set up the bunk beds in his home. The two were roommates in college and from listening in on the chat, they seem to have maintained a solid friendship. I wanted the team to draft this guy in place of Joey Graham in 2005 and getting him now with the experience under his belt would be so much sweeter.

D Squared – The heir apparent in Toronto coming through “As Advertised” at NBA summer league. In 4 games, he has averaged 16.3PPG and 4.5RB (DD stats) He has been aggressive in all the games, his jump shot has been falling and aside from the production at the FT line, DeMar DeRozan is already proving to be just what this team needs. He has not shied away from having the ball in his hands in late game situations and the coaching staff have trusted him to make the correct decisions on the floor. With just 1 game left to go, he knows what he has to work on for the rest of the summer. There has been nothing but praise about this guy from the day he got drafted – check out this interview by Holly MacKenzie from the score – and we are still a few months from seeing him take the court in Toronto, but I believe this rookie will be in ROY conversations by mid January.

Delfino – $5 million? Apparently that’s what its going to take to get the former Raptor to return to the ACC. News came out yesterday that he was offered $4million a season and he was none to thrilled by that number. Personally, $4 million is still too much for a guy who didn’t show us enough the first time around and I would be hesitant to bet the bank on him. Sure he fills in some of the leaky spots in the rotation but I would much rather have Jack split time at the 1 and 2 and sign a Matt Barnes or Linus Klieza to fill the holes at the backup 3 spot. Either way we probably wont see any movement on this issue until the Jarrett Jack deal is finalized.

The Night in Numbers:

6 players from both teams scored in double digits, as the thunder won the Assist, Rebound and FT categories but still managed to lose by 18 to the Lakers
2 Blocks for Thabo Sefolosha on Kobe Bryant – Thabo has a story to tell his grandchildren while Kobe will have forgotten his name by tomorrow (or maybe he never knew it at all)
1 point shy of free Big Mac’s for the fans @ the United Center as they booed the Bulls in a 99-91 win over the Pistons who played without Sheed, RIP and AI
20 Points for Will Bynum as he scored a couple of first’s tonight – a career high and an interview on TNT to boot
26 Seconds on the clock when Roger Mason Jr. (24pts) drained the game winning shot as the Spurs squeaked out the win against the Warriors
27 points for Monta Ellis, 1 of 5 Warrior players in double figures – Don Nelson continues to play mind games as Jamal Crawford rode pine in dress clothes
13 straight home wins for the Jazz as they kept rolling, getting big games from D Will and Millsap along with 3 other players in double figures
14 FT’s attempted by the Rockets in a loss to the Jazz- Unacceptable when Yao Ming is on your team and the tallest player on the other team is a 3pt shooter!

Bracketology – NBA Style: Having March Madness withdrawals? Fear not there is some NBA action you can get in on and there is something for everyone
For the NBA Fan – BDL Bedlam Tournament “Where amazing happens” and “I love this game” are slogans for the NBA, this tournament is an entertaining take on the going on’s of the season.
For the Fellas – NBA Dance Brackets You don’t need courtside seats to get close to the cheerleaders but like march madness there is the risk of heart attacks. Ladies: You can always get in on the fun and use a different criteria to make your picks… Next team to have a cheerleader knocked up by a player?
For the Ladies – Hot Baller Tournament The NBA is full of eye candy and Sarah over at Hornets Hype has the breakdown… Really, I could always use some more visuals of Shirtless Rashard Lewis in my life!! Fellas: Don’t hesitate to take part this, it’s the internets and no one is judging

The Night in Numbers:

32 Assists on 44 made field goals for the Bobcats as they got back on track and blew out the Raptors
24 Turnovers for the Raptors on a night when they shot a dismal 38% from the field – recipe for disaster
3 “Finger Wags” from Mount Mutombo in 25 minutes, as he got the start with Yao out with the flu
0-11 from the field to start the game, Ron Artest went on to score 18pts on 23 shots in a win over the Hornets
15 Minutes of floor time for Sean Marks as he was the first big of the bench for the Hornets – WHAT!!
13 Rb’s to go along with 13 Pts and 4 Blk’s for Pryzbilla as he holds down the fort while Oden is still in a suit on the sidelines.
2 Points for Rudy Fernandez as he shakes of the hurt that was laid on him by Ariza last week
54% 3 PT shooting for the Grizz the only category they beat the Blazers in en route to increasing their chances at the #1 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft
25 Points for Kevin Durant in his 2nd game back – He led the Thunder in scoring as they came up with the W against the Spurs.
1 Air ball thrown up by Tony Parker who had a chance to give the Spurs the win or take the game to overtime.
35 FG% was all the Thunder needed against a Spurs team who got little offense outside of their big 2 and shot 15% from distance.
45 3 pt shots taken in the game between the Nuggets and Nets – 47% from 3 for the Nuggets was good enough for the win
2 Players not dressed from the Nets – One due to a shoulder injury, the other was behind bars *SMH*
25 Point margin of victory was a slight redemption for the 44 point loss the Nuggets took from the Nets in their last meeting.

Bracketology – It was a rather uneventful night in the NBA so rather go with the usual seen and heard, I figured I would offer up some of the March Madness brackets you may be interested in joining

Ball Don’t Lie – Password: balldontlie
Slam – No password needed
On The DL – Password: podcast
Raptors Republic – No password needed
Raptorblog/The Score – Password:mensahbonzai