Since NBA All-Star weekend, I have heard a lot of talk about the possibility of a NBA one-on-one competition. It’s a growing segment of the game and Sounds fun to me. Now, it makes a big difference in 1 v. 1 competition if there are unlimited dribbles and/or no shot clock compared to a dribble...
The NBA doesn’t need a face. It needs folklore.
Above the Rim is a season-long series of essays around the NBA that looks at the game far beyond the hardwood and box score. Instead, it’s an examination of the characters, storylines, and conversations that fuel an insatiable appetite for the game and the conversations it spawns. Who’s the face of the NBA? Every season....
Texas Tech’s JT Toppin Lost for Season to ACL Tear
Texas Tech lost more than a game out in Tempe, as its men’s basketball program announced that JT Topping would miss the rest of the campaign. A men’s basketball showdown against the Arizona State Sun Devils proved to be hellish in more ways than one for the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Texas Tech announced that...
Tony Clark scandal sets back Black baseball
Do I remember exactly where I was when I first met Tony Clark? I do not. Do I remember exactly what happened when I did? Certainly. It was either an Opening Day, an All-Star Game or a World Series about a decade ago, when this sportswriter was still trying to feel like I belonged in...
Tony Clark scandal a setback for African Americans in baseball
Do I remember exactly where I was when I first met Tony Clark? I do not. Do I remember exactly what happened when I did? Certainly. It was either an Opening Day, an All-Star Game or a World Series about a decade ago, when this sportswriter was still trying to feel welcome in the world...
NCAA Men’s Basketball Power Rankings: February 17
The last few weeks of college hoops have only complicated the conversation surrounding the best teams in the sport, but that’s why we at Ballislife are here to sort through all of the chaos. Since we last checked in, Arizona is no longer undefeated (or No. 1). Michigan is still out of its mind good,...
NCAA: 5 Dangerous Teams Heading Towards March
They say it is not how you start, but how you finish. In college basketball, we talk about the importance of peaking going into March. Here are five teams that can make a serious run in the tournament, in spite of where they are ranked at the moment. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) FLORIDA Record:...
Donovan Mitchell diary: ‘This team is going to be special’ with James Harden
INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell has an idea what’s on the mind of NBA fans and media when it comes to the new union between him and his future Hall of Fame teammate James Harden. “It’s the question everybody asks: How are we going to coexist? What are we going to do?”...
New York Liberty Have An Unrivaled Opportunity in Brooklyn
Breanna Stewart’s off-floor savvy has granted the New York Liberty a golden opportunity in offseason absentia. It may be three-on-three action, but a golden opportunity—or perhaps a seafoam circumstance?—awaits the New York Liberty sixth woman next month. No matter what happens in the ongoing WNBA labor negotiations, a Breanna Stewart-branded organization will take to the...
At NBA All-Star Game, J.B. Bickerstaff understands special opportunity to coach
LOS ANGELES – Bernie Bickerstaff coached in nearly 1,000 NBA games over 14 seasons and also served as an assistant coach. The only time he coached in the NBA All-Star Game was as an assistant coach back in 1979. So, when Bickerstaff’s son, J.B., finally became an NBA All-Star Game head coach in his fourth...









