Breaking News: Kevin Durant Will Play Basketball Anywhere (Video)

Recently, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant has been playing basketball at an alarming rate from the Drew League to dropping 66 at Rucker Park.

Last night, Durant played at Nike Pro City in New York and dropped 41 points in the affair:



(Courtesy of The Basketball Jones)

What If Other “Superfriends” Joined Forces Past And Present In Sports?

Now that South Beach has formed a new delegation with “King James” (Lebron James), “The Flash” (Dwayne Wade) and “CB4” (Chris Bosh), the NBA will see just what can be accomplished by Miami Heat’s “Superfriends” in Miami.

But, what other creation of super powers would have been interesting to watch in basketball in the past? Or better yet, what about in regards to other sports and their superstar athletes both past and present?

Here are some possible ideas of what other superstar formations would have been interesting to see in their sport and time period:


Football: Present Day


Quarterback: Peyton Manning; Running Back: Chris Johnson; Wide Receiver: Larry Fitzgerald


Having these three on a team would make any Defensive Coordinator be a no-show on Sunday.

Manning is the best quarterback at dissecting a defense and analyzing what they are going to do. If any defense decides to sit back and cover the pass, Manning can hand it off to last season’s 2,000 yard running back Johnson. If any team decides to load the box and try to keep Johnson in check, Manning can just put up in the air and have Fitzgerald win one-on-one battles all game long.

The solution against this offense is simple, pick your poison and hope that the other option doesn’t kill you.


Baseball: Present Day


Hitting: Ichiro Suzuki, Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols
Pitching: Ubaldo Jimenez, David Price, Tim Lincecum


Any manager would love to have these six players at their disposal.

Ichiro is the best lead off hitter and, probably, the best defense outfielder in baseball. He can hit and run while throwing out any player who decides to try and advance a base on him. Cabrera is the most dangerous hitter in the league right now and might have a shot at winning the Triple Crown. In each of his nine seasons in the big leagues, Pujols has at least 30 HRs, 100 RBIs, and a batting average over .300. He’s on pace to do the same this season.

Add a rotation with Jimenez (who has been virtually unhittable this season with only one loss at this point), Price (who appears to be the best pitcher in the American league this year) and Lincecum (back-to-back CY Young awards in 2008 and 2009), and no one will be able to score on this team.

Basketball: Past

Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson


There’s been the talked about trio of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird already, so they will be excused (despite those three being probably the best trio that could ever team up in basketball).

But spin time backwards even farther in time when there was no three point line and post players dominated the league. Russell alone won eleven titles in thirteen seasons, while Chamberlain won two in his fourteen year career. Having both players on the same team would simply be unfair.

Add in the mix “The Big O”, who was the only player ever to average a triple double in a season and quite possibly the best combo guard of all time, and each team they face would forfeit every game.


Football: Past


Quarterback: Dan Marino; Wide Receiver: Jerry Rice; Running Back: Barry Sanders


All three players are arguably the best at their position and would form the greatest football team if they played together.

Marino’s claim to the title of best quarterback can be seen in his career statistics. If not for “Mr. Iron Man”, Brett Favre, Marino would be the all-time leader in passing yards, completions and touchdowns. On the other hand, Rice owns all receiver categories with the most receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. Sanders was a human blur on the field and could have led any statistical running category he wanted if he didn’t retire after 10 NFL seasons.

Having all three on the same side would have been a nightmare for any opponent.


Baseball: Past


Hitting: Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson
Pitching: Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, Sandy Koufax


The idea of having these players on the same team would be a dream come true for any baseball squad.

Aaron was regarded as the home run king for many decades and could hit the ball out of any ballpark. Mays was one of the greatest all around players who could hit for power, hit for average, run, throw and catch. Robinson was a great hitter as well and that was shown when he won the Triple Crown in 1966.

On the other side, having this rotation would be even more dominant. Gibson had an overbearing look on his face whenever he stepped on the mound and won over 250 games with over 3,000 strikeouts. Marichal was just as good with more wins than any pitcher during the 1960s (that includes Gibson and Koufax). Koufax had outstanding numbers (165 wins and 2,396 strikeouts) and would have had even better numbers if his career wasn’t cut short due to arthritis.

Award For Best Floppers – NBA Basketball Players Or World Cup Soccer Players?

While Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock won Oscars for best actor and actress in 2010, the Academy has forgotten to include another category for some of the best acting performed in other categories:

The best acting for flopping in sports.

One of the biggest issues in sports has been players trying to lead on an official into making a call that can hinder a game. These calls often require more emphasis by the person who is being fouled in order for the referee to blow his whistle. This concept of over-emphasizing a foul on another player is called flopping and has become a consistent occurrence in many sports.

While flopping is non-existent in most sports because of the inability to emphasize a foul or infraction (such as non-team sports like golf or tennis), there are a few sports where the concept of flopping is a big issue. Although most team sports like football and baseball rarely deal with this issue, the two most notorious sports that have this problem are basketball and soccer.

The 2010 World Cup was a sensational tournament that showcased some of the greatest soccer talent from around the world. Despite its great ratings and high level of skill, the tournament has also been a display of some great acting as players flop to receive calls or to run the clock. Almost every game that has been played has had a player going to the ground with a look of being in agonizing pain in hopes of receiving a free kick, a penalty kick, or for referees to flash yellow or red cards to their opponents.

A big example of flopping for an advantage was in the match-up between USA vs Ghana in the first stage of the knockout round. After Asamoah Gyan kicked in the goal to give Ghana a 2-1 lead in the first overtime, players from the team began “getting hurt” on numerous moments in both overtime periods. Along with the countless times they flopped, they would remain down with a look of agonizing pain for as long as possible so that the clock would continue to run. The end result of the game: Ghana holds on to a 2-1 win over USA. Winning the best acting performance for flopping injuries to advance in the tournament: priceless.

(Click here to watch video content of a Ghana player faking an injury during the Ghana vs USA match)

The award for best flopping isn’t instantly given to the soccer world as the sport with the best acting. The NBA is equally infamous for a number of players who try to use their acting ability to get calls against players as well. Although there are fouls called due to players running over opposing competitors to score, sometimes the whistle for a call is blown because certain players make a dramatic scene. Some players would qualify that as being smart and forcing other players to the bench for foul trouble, but others would deem their actions as a negative portrayal on the sport of basketball.

A number of key players in the NBA are directly affected by others flopping in games. Stars like Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal have had to deal with opposing players acting as if they were hit hard in order to persuade the referees to blow their whistle on them. Both players are two of the biggest and most ferocious players in the game and make it difficult to differentiate if they foul their opponent or if they are acting like they are fouled.

Along with the two biggest targets of flopping in the NBA, Manu Ginobili is usually regarded as one of the most renowned floppers in the league. Throughout his eight year career in the NBA, Ginobili can be seen with his arms flailing in the air and his body flying around from the slightest contact of whoever he is guarding or being guarded by.

In a list of the top 10 all-time floppers created by ESPN writer Thomas Neumann, Ginobili was rated sixth all-time and was the highest rated active player on the list as well.



Although both basketball and soccer have issues with players flopping, both sports still have a strong appeal and competitiveness that keep the sport fair and genuine. They will always have an issue of players pretending to be fouled in order to be rewarded or put the other team at a disadvantage. Acting is just a part of both sports since they first began and will be for many years to come.

Maybe the academy will realize that and create an award for best acting in a sport. If they do, soccer and basketball players will be receiving most of those nominations.