OC All-Star Football Game

The 50th OC North-South All-Star Football Game concluded with the South & Coach Brian Barnes breaking the two-year losing streak to the North & Coach John Barnes. The Offensive Player of the Game Scotty Williams is interviewed.

A near sell-out crowd packed the Orange Coast College's LeBard Stadium. It was an impressive showing, seeing as how the OC Fair kicked things off on Friday. This wasn't a typical Pro-Bowl football game with phantom tackles, and dancing on the sidelines. I was surprised (and dismayed) to see how many timeouts were taken, as well as trick plays. The North just couldn't keep up with the South though, and this game was over at the end of the 1st quarter.

Brian Barnes gets one over on his father yet again, but his former player, Tesoro's Preston King was seen in crutches after the game. He went down hard on tackle in the 2nd half, and hopefully this injury isn't too serious for the future San Diego State Aztec.

Defensively, the Southern team was outstanding. They were led by the defensive player of the game, Tesoro's Tanner Hodgdon. Irvine's Nik Abele, UCLA-bound, played very well along with Tustin's Chris Robinson (Washington).

I would've liked to see more running plays, as the North had Ronnie Hillman for goodness sakes! He scored twice, but it seemed like Coach Barnes was too busy trying to make his Los Alamitos connection work with Clark Evans (Colorado) and Darryl Jenkins. The North dropped a lot of passes too, so in some cases, they have no one to blame but themselves.

It was a great showing by the talent rich South, and depending on where that imaginary border is that divides Orange County, Southern football proved to be superior over the North.

Ron Artest Press Conference

The controversial Ron Artest is the newest member of the Los Angeles Lakers. He will wear the number 37, in honor of Michael Jackson's Thriller album which spent 37 weeks in a row in the Top 10. Also, see Ron Artest wear his Lakers uniform for the first time! Interviews with Artest & Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak.

Shannon Brown Signs With Lakers

The Lakers have reportedly agreed to terms with free agent guard Shannon Brown. The contract is worth $4.2 million over two years, with a player option on second year.

Apparently his agent told the LA Times that Brown turned down more money from the Indiana Pacers to come back to Los Angeles.

Brown was a self-described "throw-in" in the February trade that sent space-cadet Vladimir Radmanovich to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Adam "cry baby" Morrison and the unknown Shannon Brown.

At the time, this was a deal that was strictly financial, as Adam Morrison had battled injuries all year and wasn't very ineffective in his role with the Bobcats. No one really knew that Shannon Brown would soon become a favorite among the Lakers fans.

In his first game donning the purple and gold, Shannon Brown amazed fans with his hops on this play...



The play resulted in a horrendous personal foul call, but people took notice of his athleticism. Mitch Kupchak actually saw something in Shannon Brown almost a month before the transaction as he put up 14 pts in 22 minutes against the Lakers, while with the Bobcats.

Brown would only put up 3.2 ppg in limited play but he shot 52% and shot very well from the three-point line, after it was thought he was only a slasher/athletic type who couldn't shoot. He also scored nearly 5 ppg in 13 minutes of play in the playoffs.

After all, Shannon was forced to shoot after his first Lakers practice. According to the OCRegister's Kevin Ding, Kobe found a wide open Brown in the corner, but he elected not to shoot. Immediately after Kobe told him to "Shoot the ****ng ball!"

For a great article on Shannon by K Ding, click here:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/brown-bryant-lakers-2370495-james-nba

This deal is a win-win situation for both parties. The Lakers get to see if Shannon Brown can become the point guard of the future, while Brown can decide to test the market out again after one year.

It's clear how much Phil Jackson liked Brown. He gave him a chance to guard the bigger point guards in the West in Deron Williams and Chauncey Billups, and Brown held his own. He's a good defensive guard, who can jump out of the gym, and does whatever is asked of him.

The real question is whether Mitch Kupchak can find a taker for Jordan Farmar. He's been a guy that Phil has clashed with on numerous occasions, and his absence would mean more playing time for Shannon Brown.

Are you excited to see Shannon Brown come back and deliver more highlight reel dunks and blocks?! Sound off below.

Ariza and Artest Trading Spaces

Wow what a day. Just yesterday, I thought that Ariza and his agent were buttering up other teams in an effort to have the Lakers overpay him.

Nah-uh. The Lakers and Rockets have essentially traded small forwards. Ron Artest is coming to the Lakers. Trevor Ariza is going to the Rockets.

Artest will be paid $18 million over three years. Ariza receives a 5-year deal worth $33 million.

The Lakers are receiving the better player, but not the younger one. Artest will be 30 in November, while Ariza just turned 24.

Offensively, the two aren't even close. Artest has had a very good NBA career and is coming off a year where he averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 steals. He also shot 40% from three, and is a very good wide-open shooter, unlike Mr. Vujacic.

Ariza only shot 31% from three, but did have quite a post-season, as he lit it up at an 48% clip.

Ron Artest can spin circles around Trevor Ariza offensively. He can do multiple things that Ariza can't, such as breaking an opponent off the dribble, and creating his own shot. The problem is that sometimes Artest is his own worst enemy. Instead of facilitating and initiating the offense, he can become a black hole. At times, he will run down the shot clock and force a horrendous shot.

I don't see that happening with this core group though. Artest would often do that when he was the best player on the court on some real bad teams, like he was in Sacramento. This year, he can even be the fourth option to Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and even Andrew Bynum.

The Lakers really only need him to play staunch defense, and hit the open three. Everything else is gravy. We'll see how quickly he can pick up the triangle offense though.

Ron Artest's talent on the basketball court has never been questioned. It's the off the court stuff that has been the real issue.

Five years ago, "The Malice at the Palace," took place when Ron-Ron got into it with the paying customers in Detroit...



He was suspended for nearly the entire season, but he's cleaned up his act. He was a model citizen last year. I believe that the old Ron Artest is dead and buried.

As far as defense is concerned...He's still a good defender, but he's lost a step. Is he a better defender then Trevor Ariza? Well, that remains to be seen over the long haul, but Artest did make the All-NBA defensive second team this past season, and has a reputation in the league as being one of the toughest players around.

Trevor Ariza on the other hand feels that he didn't get any love from L.A. He felt unwanted and was disrespected that the Lakers never even presented him an offer, and would not pay him more than the mid-level exception.

The Lakers brass liked Ariza, but they just love Ron Artest. They've been flirting with the volatile forward for years now. Kobe begged the Lakers to trade for him years ago when the Lakers were a .500 team, and he's always loved Los Angeles. It was inevitable that the stars would align one day to allow him to stroll the red carpet onto the Staples Center parquet court.

Yes, the things Trevor Ariza did for the Lakers were invaluable, but they can be duplicated by a better player in Ron Artest.

I also find it hilarious that apparently Mitch Kupchak had nothing to do with getting Artest, this according to Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times:

"The courtship of Artest began with a phone call from Magic Johnson, continued over the phone with Jackson (Phil) and ended during a seal-the-deal lunch Thursday with Lakers owner Jerry Buss."

Now the real drama unfolds...will the Lakers have enough money to sign Artest's New York homeboy Lamar Odom? The Candy Man has said numerous times this year that he would take less money to stay. Odom must be feeling great that his boy just got signed by the Lakers, so I imagine the two will come together in a nice purple and gold package, just like Gary Payton and Karl Malone did in 2004.

If the Lakers bring back Lamar Odom, and to a lesser extent Shannon Brown, they will have definitely upgraded their chances to repeat.

Peace!

Don't Be Fooled! Ariza Is Playing Hard Ball

Trevor Ariza isn't going to the Cavaliers. Unless it turns out that he is one petty individual.

It's been reported that Trevor Ariza feels disrespected at the Lakers first offer of $5.5 million over an unspecified number of years. In fact, sources close to Ariza say that he is so distraught over the offer, that he could very well sign with another team, but still only offer him the same amount of money.

Hmmm, that doesn't sound like Ariza to me. That sounds a lot like his agent David Lee (no, not the overrated player for the Knicks).

"All we're looking for is little appreciation for what Trevor has done," Lee told the LA Times. "I don't think they believe Trevor is serious about leaving, and that's too bad. I didn't think we'd be in this situation. I am disappointed and surprised by what I thought would be some feelings for the people who have given you everything they've got."

Ariza's agent went on to tell the Press-Enterprise:

"I had a long conversation with Mitch, and I don't think it's going anywhere," agent David Lee said. "I think I'm being optimistic when I say it's not going anywhere."

I take all these quotes with a grain of salt. This is what agents do. They use the media as an outlet to gain leverage for their client. This is a practice as old as the game itself.

It doesn't matter what Cleveland Cavaliers lackey Chris Broussard has to say on ESPN. He has everybody going to the Cavs, but there are two reasons this is not going to happen:

1. Why would Ariza go to the Cavs if they can't offer more money than the Lakers?
2. Their two best players are going to be free agents next year, and let's face it Shaq has a zero percent chance of coming back when the Cavs could lure Chris Bosh to Cleveland next year.

I don't see him going to Portland because even though they have enough money to throw at him, they already have a gluttony of forwards. They start Nicolas Batum and Travis Outlaw (the better player) actually comes off the bench.

The only place that can give him the contract that he covets is Toronto. The Raptors are losing Shawn Marion and Anthony Parker. This would be the perfect destination for him, while their draft pick former USC legend DeMar DeRozan comes off the bench.

Finally the Press-Enterprise cites Lakers sources that say that the team is willing to match offers that Ariza receives, but they aren't going to overpay just because he plays for them.

The Lakers are playing hard ball with Ariza, just like the Dodgers did with Manny Ramirez. At the end of the day I see Ariza signing with the purple and gold, unless Toronto gives him an offer he just can't refuse.