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VH1 Basketball Wives Los Angeles

If you enjoy seeing the stars of VH1 Basketball Wives yell and scream at each other while attending parties and navigating through their lives, InsideHoops.com has good news for you.

VH1 is expanding their “Basketball Wives” franchise with a new series set in Los Angeles featuring the wives and girlfriends of players both the Lakers and their cross-town rivals, the Clippers. VH1 has also given the greenlight to a new dating series, “Siggy Flicker” (working title) featuring the dynamic matchmaker Siggy Flicker and her match-making service in New York teaching the lovelorn to be dating powerhouses.

VH1 Basketball Wives Los Angeles premieres on Monday, August 29 at 8pm ET/PT.

Elbow throwing, trash talking and in-your-face action: forget the NBA, we’re talking about their wives! (Or ex-wives. Or girlfriends. Or ex-girlfriends. Or something!)

The VH1 Basketball Wives L.A. cast includes: Kimsha Artest (wife of Ron Artest, Los Angeles Lakers), Gloria Govan (fiancée of Matt Barnes, Los Angeles Lakers), Laura Govan (sister of Gloria Govan) and Jackie Christie (wife of Doug Christie, former player for the Los Angeles Clippers) and Imani Showalter (fiancée of Stephen Jackson, Charlotte Bobcats) as well as others.

This 10 episode, hour-long series will dive into the real-life locker room of these leading ladies, giving viewers a never-before-seen look at what it takes to live in La La Land and be connected to a famous professional athlete. For the most part, these women live the life with the best cars, biggest mansions and hottest bling but living the high life is not all glamour and often there is a price to pay. Cameras will follow these women as they attempt to juggle their relationships, infidelity issues, children and friendships while trying to find the perfect balance between supporting their families and realizing their own career ambitions. “Basketball Wives LA” brings a full court press to VH1 Monday, August 29 at 8 PM ET/PT. InsideHoops.com will keep you updated if there are changes to the premiere episode.

Shed Media is producing the series. Executive producing for Shed Media are Nick Emmerson, Jennifer O’Connell, Sean Rankine and Alex Demyanenko. Tom Huffman is a consulting producer. Shaunie O’Neal is an executive producer. Executive producing for VH1 are Jeff Olde, Jill Holmes and Noah Pollack.

VH1 Basketball Wives Los Angeles Video Clip Intro

Pau Gasol wants to stay with Lakers

AFP reports:

Spanish forward Pau Gasol, who has been linked to a move to the Minnesota Timberwolves, said Monday he wants to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers for “as many years as I can”.

The Timberwolves have reportedly been strongly pursuing Gasol to pair with Barcelona guard Ricky Rubio, who will play for the NBA side next season.

“My desire is to stay with the Lakers. I don’t have control over it but I want to stay with the Lakers for as many years as I can to be able to remain eligible for the maximum possible championships,” Gasol told reporters in the northeastern city of Alicante.

Shaq reportedly in middle of kidnapping, robbery, sex tape case

TMZ reports:

Shaquille O’Neal is embroiled in a criminal case in which 7 gang members allegedly kidnapped, beat up and robbed a man who claimed to have a tape showing Shaq having sex with other women while he was married to Shaunie.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ … Ladell Rowles — a member of the Main Street Mafia Crip Gang in L.A. who is friends with Shaq — along with 6 other members went on a search and destroy mission in L.A. on February 11, 2008. They believed a man named Robert Ross had the sex tape and they tried getting it back with the help of a gun or two.

According to the police report, the 7 gang members met up with Ross at a convenience store — Pink Dot — on the Sunset Strip. The men allegedly surrounded Ross’ Rolls Royce Phantom with guns drawn, jumped into Ross’ car and ordered him to drive to Rowles’ house in South Central L.A.

Once there, Rowles allegedly pistol whipped Ross and demanded that he turn over the sex tape. Ross said he would get the tape and bring it back to them. The 7 men then allegedly took Ross’ Rolex, diamond chain and earrings, along with $15,000 in cash — then let Ross go.

The 7 men have been arrested and charged with robbery, kidnapping and other crimes.

InsideHoops.com says: Well, this all sounds like anyone’s typical morning. But seriously, of course being a fan of Shaq like everyone else, I certainly hope the report isn’t accurate.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

NBA heads to 2011 offseason of uncertainty

The AP reports:

“It’s an odd position, when the game is the best it’s ever been, when the ratings are the highest they’ve ever been, when the excitement is the greatest it’s ever (been),” Players Association attorney Jeffrey Kessler said last week. “It’s sort of odd to see the owners say we’re going to destroy this game unless you change this whole system. Players just want to play.”

Nobody can predict when they’ll get that chance again. When the Dallas Mavericks finished off the Miami Heat on Sunday night in Game 6, it sent the NBA into a most uncertain offseason.

Owners and players are nowhere close on a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expires June 30. Without a new deal, players say they have been told by the owners they will be locked out.

The NBA was reduced to a 50-game season by a work stoppage in 1998-99, and the loss of games is a threat now. Citing leaguewide losses of about $300 million this season, the league hasn’t budged on its desire for significant changes to the financial structure, ranging from reductions in the length of contracts and the amount of guarantees, to an overhaul of the salary cap system that would prevent teams from being able to exceed it, as they can now under certain exceptions.

And Stern said the record TV ratings and all the other positive attention the league has received doesn’t make him any more motivated to get this settled, since he’d want to do it anyway.

“I don’t need any external prod to want to be able to make a deal,” he said…

The sides are scheduled to meet twice this week and say they hope for frequent discussions before the end of the month. Should those fail, the NBA could follow the NFL’s labor situation right into the court system, which both sides say they want to avoid. So although a work stoppage in July wouldn’t seem to have much effect since games aren’t going on, Stern insists “we very much feel the weight of the deadline.”

NBA Finals Game 6 earns its best TV rating in 11 years

The AP reports:

The Dallas Mavericks’ clinching victory in the NBA finals earned the highest preliminary television rating for a Game 6 in 11 years.

The Mavericks’ 105-95 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday on ABC drew a 15.0 overnight rating. That’s the best for a Game 6 since 2000, when the Lakers clinched a title over the Pacers. There had been five series since that went at least six games.

The rating was up 35 percent from Game 6 of the 2006 finals between the same teams, when the Heat clinched a championship. It was up 22 percent from last year’s Game 6, when the Lakers routed the Celtics to force Game 7.

Mike Dunleavy awarded $13 million in court case vs Clippers

Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times reports (via blog):

An arbitrator has awarded former Clippers general manager and coach Mike Dunleavy slightly more than $13 million in compensation.

The Clippers had quit paying Dunleavy immediately after firing him last year, on March 8, and he was forced to take the organization to binding arbitration. He had been owed $6.75 million on the contract, $1.35 million for the remainder of the 2009-10 season and $5.4 million for the season just completed.

His case was finally heard almost two months ago before the Arbitration and Mediation Services in Santa Monica. Additional briefs were filed by both sides afterward.

D-Fenders D-League team, owned by Lakers, will resume play in 2011-12

The Los Angeles D-Fenders announced today that the team will return to operation in the NBA Development League, the NBA’s official minor league, for the 2011-2012 season after a one-season hiatus. The D-Fenders, owned and operated by the Los Angeles Lakers, will resume their single affiliation with the 2009-10 NBA Champions, and will play their home games at Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, Calif.

“We are excited to continue our investment in the NBA Development League as it continues to evolve into a basketball and business asset for NBA teams,” said D-Fenders Chief Executive Joey Buss.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the Los Angeles D-Fenders back to the NBA Development League,” said NBA D-League President Dan Reed. “The Lakers have been an outstanding partner with the NBA D-League for years, and their return further reinforces our growing significance to the NBA – especially considering they are now one of seven NBA teams with a ‘one-to-one’ affiliation. We’re excited about the terrific fan experience they plan to provide at Toyota Sports Center.”

With the D-Fenders’ return, the NBA Development League now features seven teams with lone NBA affiliates. Both the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs also fully own and operate their affiliates, the Tulsa 66ers and Austin Toros, respectively. The Houston Rockets, New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks have ‘hybrid affiliations’ with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Springfield Armor and Erie BayHawks, respectively, controlling the basketball operations of their NBA D-League affiliates, while the Dallas Mavericks are singly affiliated with the Texas Legends.

Warriors hire Mike Malone as assistant coach

The Golden State Warriors have hired Michael Malone as an assistant coach, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced. Malone will serve as the lead assistant to newly hired Head Coach Mark Jackson.

Malone brings 10 years of NBA coaching experience to the Warriors, having most recently served as the lead assistant coach for the New Orleans Hornets this past season. In New Orleans, under Head Coach Monty Williams, Malone helped lead the Hornets to a 46-36 record and a trip to the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The Hornets were the most improved defensive team in the NBA last season, allowing a league-best 8.7 fewer points per game than in the previous campaign (94.0 points per contest, after giving up 102.7 in 2009-10.) Additionally, the Hornets limited their opponents to 45.7% shooting from the field in 2010-11 compared to 48.3% the previous season.

Prior to joining the Hornets, Malone served as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers for the previous five seasons. During his time in Cleveland, the Cavs posted a 272-138 (.663) record, which was the third-best mark in the NBA over that span. The Cavaliers made five consecutive playoff appearances during Malone’s time on the bench, reaching the NBA Finals in 2007 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. In 2008-09, the Cavs notched a franchise record and NBA-best 66 wins.

“We are thrilled to be in a position to add Michael Malone to our coaching staff,” said Warriors General Manager/Executive VP of Basketball Operations Larry Riley. “He is a youthful coach with great experience and knowledge of the game. This is a very positive addition to our organization.”

“I am really pleased that Michael has chosen to join our staff as we try to build something special with the Warriors,” said Jackson. “I have known Michael for a long time and think he is one of the bright young minds in the sport. He’s a tireless worker and has a tremendous understanding of the game, which is a potent combination for any coach. Obviously, he is very well-respected in this business and will be a great asset to our staff and someone whose opinion I will value greatly. I think he will be a perfect complement.”

“I am very grateful for this opportunity to join the Golden State Warriors organization,” said Malone. “It’s hard to express how excited I am about working with Mark Jackson and helping build something here with the Warriors. I’d like to thank Joe Lacob, Larry Riley and Mark for this opportunity and cannot wait to get started.”

Malone’s NBA coaching career began with a four-season stint with the New York Knicks, where he originally joined the team as a coaching associate in the summer of 2001, and was promoted to assistant coach in May 2003. Prior to joining the Knicks, Malone spent seven years coaching in the college ranks.

Maya Moore makes WNBA debut

The AP reports:

Candace Parker showed the Los Angeles Sparks just what they were missing during her long injury absence.

In her first game in nearly a year, Parker had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Sparks beat the Minnesota Lynx 82-74 on Friday night in the opener of the WNBA’s 15th season…

The nationally televised game marked the debut of highly touted WNBA rookie Maya Moore, who led the Lynx with 21 points and
added four rebounds and four assists.

Moore led Connecticut to consecutive NCAA championships (2009-10), became the seventh women’s player to score over 3,000 career points, and was the No. 1 pick in this year’s WNBA draft.

She had six points in the final five minutes, including three free throws that tied the game at 73, and scored her team’s first basket with a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer on the right wing.

“I was a little anxious, but I was excited to play,” Moore said. “It was just exciting when the game started and you start making the first couple of shots, get into a rhythm, and you realize this is still basketball.”

Shaq announces retirement

The AP reports:

Shaquille O’Neal, who struggled to get on the court for the Boston Celtics because of leg injuries, said on Twitter on Wednesday that he is going to retire after a 19-year career in which he won four NBA titles and the 2000 league Most Valuable Player award.

O’Neal sent a tweet shortly before 2:45 p.m. saying, “im retiring.” It included a link to a 16-second video in which he says, “We did it; 19 years, baby. Thank you very much. That’s why I’m telling you first: I’m about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon.”

An inveterate prankster who gave himself a new nickname — or several — in each of his six NBA cities, the 15-time all-star did not notify his latest team of his plans. He played just 37 games this year, the first of a two-year deal at the veteran’s minimum salary, making just three brief appearances after Feb. 1.

“To my knowledge, he has not informed any of us that he’s retiring,” Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said.

If he goes, O’Neal retires fifth all-time with 28,596 points, 12th with 13,099 rebounds and second only to Artis Gilmore among players with more than 2,000 baskets with a .582 field goal percentage.

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