Late Pass: Kevin Johnson Is The New Mayor of Sacramento.

In the wake and excitement of America's new president, I neglected to mention that Sacramento has their first African-American mayor, Kevin Johnson. Yes, the same Kevin Johnson who ran the point for the Phoenix Suns from the late 80's to the late 90's, and dunked on practically everyone!

However, he wasn't just a little man that was able to dunk as his career averages of 17 points and 9 assists illustrate. Now he has a bigger challenge running the point of his home town, I hope he fares well.

Gilbert Arenas Is A "Changed" Man.

Well Gilbert has a new tattoo, with this one he's paying tribute to President-Elect Barack Obama, and his campaign for change. Interestingly enough, months ago, Gilbert explained his Republican status and his rationale for not voting... to get out of jury duty. So I just found it odd that he decided to get an interpretation of Obama's slogan on his body, when he likely didn't even vote.

Awesome. I must admit, I like it better than his other one.

I believe Dan Hellie of NBC is scouring the streets of Washington looking for a manicurist for Agent Zero.

Chemistry: The Missing Ingredient.

Chemistry is not something that's forged overnight. If you look at the best basketball show on TV, Inside the NBA on TNT, Ernie, Chuck & Kenny work masterfully off one another. The jokes, banter and commentary are all spot on, and down right entertaining. They also aren't scared to ask the questions, or give the real talk, that's necessary for great television.

As I posted previously, I'm pretty excited about the fact there is a true basketball show on Canadian television, (Court Surfing), and the fact that it's hosted by three black men, is pretty groundbreaking. Have to give props to The Score, without question, they've revamped their game a bit and continue to be the Canadian leader in sports, (if you want to view boring, staid, vanilla hoops commentary with questionable insight, watch TSN). As I missed the opening show, I tuned in last night to check it out, and of course watch some games. So here's my take, Court Surfing: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The Good:
I like the 106 & Park/Much On Demand feel for the show, with the set, they have a DJ, and a live audience which is great, they also check out what's happening online. The sports desk isn't fully covered, so I can see what kicks the hosts are rocking. Of course it goes without saying they flip through NBA games, so you're not stuck watching OKC vs. Indiana. The segments are great, The 24 Second Shot Clock where the hosts go head to head on certain topics and have 24 seconds to state their piece, The CrossOver where they did a piece on Lebron James and the new LBJ 6 kicks, was cool as well.

The Bad:
The only guys who should be getting face time on Court Surfing are Sherman Hamilton, Mark Strong and Will Strickland. The Court Surfing bloggers are all over this show, but they really shouldn't be getting any PT. DJ and Randy aren't ready for this shine yet, listen, I am a blogger, I can write, that doesn't mean I turn into George Stroumboulopoulos when you put a camera in front of me.

Sherm and Strong need to work on their rapport, both are good in their own individual right, but they aren't really connecting. With Strong sometimes less is more, there doesn't need to be a joke or one liner out of everything, especially when it's not always funny, and Sherm falls into it as well, and he's supposed to be the straight man.

The Ugly:
They played the new Lebron 6 commercial straight off of the web, it looked like a 1981 porno on VHS. Couldn't someone have just called Wieden & Kennedy, or Nike Canada to get the TV spot? Also, the Top 5 dunks weren't that hot quality either, I'm not watching in HD, but the difference was noticeable.

I'm a hardcore hoops fan and I dissect media, I'm just not super engaged with all of the stuff beyond the game surfing... yet. It's not automatic like Stockton and Malone, or Sid & Tim on The Score Tonight or Inside the NBA. Maybe I'm being overly harsh, as it's only show #2, but it takes time to build that chemistry.

Jordan Farmar 1 - Luke Walton 0.

If you've watched or been around enough interviews, you know players are always pulling pranks, jokes or just clowning with each other. Strolling through the locker room. (presuambly looking for his basketball game), Luke Walton tries to get cute with Jordan Farmar, only to get SONNED.

Iverson & Billups Trade = Raptors 4-0.

If you haven't heard, it looks like The Answer is coming back to the Eastern Conference. In a trade that has been agreed to in principle, the Nuggets will be sending Allen Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb. I will get into trade analysis later, but what this means for the Raptors is that we have a decent shot at 4-0.

Once this deal gets approved, I doubt Iverson will make it to Detroit, or Toronto for that matter in time for our match up on Wednesday. Thereby leaving the Pistons without their starting point guard, big man off the bench or Iverson. Call it what you will, but that's what good teams do, find ways to win. So while I'm not trying to celebrate too early, as long as the Raptors do what they're supposed to. We can keep our undefeated record intact.

From Braids to Fades.

Carmelo Anthony made his NBA debut on Saturday night, going 5-15 from the field, 0-4 from the free throw line, with 5 turnovers. Although he still managed 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists, you can't help but wonder if his shedding of his trademark braids, is the equivalent to Samson losing his locks.

For the uninitiated, Samson & Delilah is a biblical story. Samson was granted tremendous strength to combat his enemies, and perform heroic feats unachievable by ordinary men. He fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who was bribed to find out the secret of his strength, (his hair). Having his hair cut while he slept he was imprisoned by his enemies and had his eyes burnt out... obviously not a love story.

Now in no way am I trying to insinuate that his wife LaLa is why he cut his cornrows, (although I thought it was weird when she reportedly refused, to pick him up from the police station after his arrest). But there's a direct correlation with the lack of hair and performance - albeit one game.

I think Melo chopped the hair as part of an image make-over. He's just coming off a 2 game suspension for a DUI charge in the off season, and the 5 year player has made some questionable decisions in the past. Could winning the gold in Beijing with all of those great players had a positive impact on him, who knows? But he looks like a totally different guy.

Adam Morrison did the same thing too, is Ben Wallace next?

Steve Nash Is Just Like You, But Ten Times Better.

For all they say about the "next generation" of NBA superstars, and how they're selfish, greedy, and don't care about the game. It's also breeding a lot of funny guys who aren't scared to laugh or make fun of themselves, I'd like to think that the digital age has had a hand in that. Our boy Steve Nash, is definitely one of those guys, he's got that deadpan, dry humour down, as you can see below, but he can also get silly with it too.