Charles Barkley arrested on suspicion of DUI

NBA Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley was arrested Wednesday morning for suspicion of driving while intoxicated, according to Scottsdale, Arizona police.

The 45-year-old was taken into custody when a member of a Scottsdale task force put in place to crack down and catch drunk drivers saw the TNT employee run a stop sign around 1:30 a.m. Barkley then refused a breathalyzer (which lawyers say everyone should do), but a blood-alcohol test was administered. As is the case with blood-alcohol tests, Barkley’s results were not immediately available.

The funny/strange thing is that after Barkley was cited and processed for suspicion of a DUI, he was allowed to catch a cab and drive home.

After reading the AP’s report, it seems that Barkley was a likely target. Not because of his celebrity or the vehicle he was driving, but because of where he was driving. He was pulled over and arrested in the Old Town area of Scottsdale, which the AP says is a trendy spot in Scottsdale. For those of you who don’t know, trendy=lots of alcohol sold and consumed. A trendy place is also a location police view as a perfect place to catch people drinking while driving.

Looking at the facts, I don’t know if Barkley’s to blame here. Obviously, we’ll learn in a few days if he was truly driving while intoxicated, but I think that running a stop sign is something that all drivers do. And since police know this, it provides a perfect way for them to pull someone over and ask if they were driving while intoxicated.

Stay tuned, though. This story could blow up and possibly cost Barkley his job at TNT.

D-Wade & Mario Chalmbers Defecate all over LeBron’s Party

LeBron James, as you’ve likely heard, turned 24 yesterday.

Whether the NBA purposely scheduled for LeBron’s Cavs to pay the Heat and Dwyane Wade on Dec. 30 or if it’s just coincidence is up for debate. What isn’t is that the Heat dominated Cleveland down in Miami, and basically crapped all over LeBron’s party.  Mario Chalmers was the biggest reason the Heat won – scoring 21 points on 6-7 from downtown.  He also dished out eight assists and committed no turnovers.  (It’s funny. Chalmers has been their best rookie by far.  Much better than B-Easy and his ugly tattoos.)

After all, this is just one game. LeBron probably had the thousands of hangers-on he has call him before the game, so I’ll say that the game’s result is a wash.  The Cavs are still very good.

Oh, and LeBron has played three times on his birthday and has lost all three.

What’s important with all of this though is that NBA TV looks really stupid when the best player in league’s team goes out and lays an egg after they run a “24 hours of LeBron” promotion leading up to the game.

Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Heat used that NBA TV promotion as “bulletin board material.”

Here’s a pic from LeBron’s 23rd birthday bash.

Funny thing is that Beyonce showed up to my party too.  And she was wearing less clothes.

Carlos Boozer To Undergo Knee Surgery

Before we get to the games tonight, the AP is reporting that Carlos Boozer will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

This is pretty significant news for the Jazz, because they’ve been without the All-Star for 21 consecutive games. Paul Millsap has admirably stepped into the Utah starting five and provided the Jazz with numbers comparable to Boozer’s, but the Jazz lack depth with Millsap starting.  They also miss Boozer’s leadership.

On top of that, Millsap is currently sidelined for 7-10 days with injury problems of his own. Injuries to the Jazz’ two best frontcourt players (and two-of-three overall) means that they will likely be hurt against an opposing frontcourt player with any kind of skill, which is very significant out West based on the competitive nature of the conference.

The facts of Boozer’s surgery are still a bit sketchy. The AP says that it won’t happen until Jan. 9, which, for the life of me, I can’t understand why. Can you?

While you’re pondering, know that the Jazz face the Lakers Friday.

Good luck Mr. Koufus.

Clippers Sign Fred Jones

Pic via Dimemag

The Clippers are currently 8-21, and have no chance in making the playoffs.  So, I guess that Mike Dunleavy figures that he should sign Fred Jones to keep Eric Gordon from developing.

I don’t get the signing.  And I don’t get how Dunleavy still has a coach/GM job when the team he has assembled is terrible.

Maybe he’s doing it to sabatoge the team because he knows he’s done as coach/GM after this season.

What I do know is that I love this picture of Jones, and I know someone who draws wood when seeing this many shoe boxes together.

Joe Alexander Announces His Candidacy For Dunk Contest

Here’s a pretty great video from BNN where Joe Alexander announces his candidacy for the 2009 dunk contest.

It will be interesting to see if Alexander gets some support from China because he speaks Mandarin, or because Yi played on Milwaukee.

Elliott says it will be Rudy Fernandez, and I agree.  But I think the NBA should bring a D-League guy up to do his business.  How cool would that be?

James White slays Dwight Howard > Dwight Howard squashing Nate Robinson once again.

Rockets Bring Back Dikembe Mutumbo

The Houston Rockets brought back the ageless Dikembe Mutumbo and his BA knee bads and huge shoes in preparation for the inevitable Yao Ming injury today.

I say the injury is 5 weeks away because I have a stiff pain in my PCLs, but since it’s so far off, that’s just a rough estimate.

Right ACL stiffness is when we’ll know that the injury is upon us.  I’ll let you know when that’s here.

In the meantime, enjoy the Yao-Dikembe bonding experience that befuddles the entire world (and we truly mean the entire world).

Capt. Jack Longs for Baron Davis

As we’ve seen this year, the Clippers and Warriors are two of the worst teams out West.  In recent weeks, the Clipshow has gotten better because of Marcus Camby’s strong play, but they’re both bad.  Plain and simple.

Stephen Jackson knows how to remedy the situation, though. He wants Baron Davis back, according to insidebayarea.com.

“That’s all we talked about,” Jackson said. “I went to his house, spent some time with his mom and his grandmother. He wants to come back. And if he wants to come back, I want him back.”

Jackson has even started a “Bring B.D. Back” club to get the Warriors to re-acquire Davis from the Clippers.  Don Nelson has said that Davis is the perfect point guard for their system, which is something that’s not the case for the Warriors’ system.

“I think that would be great for us,” Jackson said. “Coach loves him. Him and (guard) Monta (Ellis) have good chemistry. If they could work that out, that would be great for the organization.”

I agree, and I think Elliott does too.

(Update: Davis denies that he’s seeking a trade from LA)

NBA Creames for LeBron

It’s LeBron’s birthday today.  How exciting, we know.  Tiger was born on Dec. 30 too, so cheers to Nike.

Anyway, NBA TV launched a 24-hours of LeBron special last night, which is leading up to tonight’s Cavs-Heat game.  The game itself will be a beat down because the Heat lack the defensive prowess to shut down Big Z, LeBron and Mo Williams.

Dwyane Wade could be the equalizing factor, but expect a beat down from the Cavs.

The story with LeBron’s birthday and the coinciding 24-hours of LeBron is a bit crazy.  Does the NBA plan on doing 24 hours of Al Jefferson when he turns 24 – after all, Jefferson put up 38 points last night.

What I take this whole 24-hours of LeBron as is basically a cross promotion of LeBron James’ brand and the NBA.  That’s all, and I think it’s actually quite stupid.

This is Reggie Evans Slapping Kyle Korver’s Ass

After grabbing Chris Kaman’s package two years ago, and now slapping Kyle Korver’s ass a couple nights ago, I think we must start talking about the terms “Reggie Evans” and “homosexual” in the same sentence.  Here’s the latest incident.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5YHNw6zEfI&eurl=http://neswsports.com/2008/12/30/reggie–evans-gets-a-tech-for-spanking-kyle-korver-video/]

Evans does have two kids, so I guess he’s in the “sexually confused” part of his life.

I think I’m going to start a blog titled “Reggie Evan’s Bi-Sexual Tendencies.”