To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

We're going to impose some restrictions on the types of links you can get so please see below for the full list of links that do NOT count.

To get started simply go to Google and find other websites and blog that are about the sports and teams that you write about. Email the website owner and ask them for a link by explaining that you think your blog would be a good resource for their readers. Or offer to write a guest post for them with your by-line and URL at the bottom of the article. Or offer to exchange links with them by writing a quick write up of their site and a reciprocal link back to them. Some webmasters will be happy to add you to their blog roll even if you don't give them a link back (which is ideal) but some may want you to link back to them - you can easily do this with a quick blog entry on your blog about their website.

To learn more about inbound links and marketing your blog in general check out this post:--b... [read more]

I am glad it was July 11th. Having that free 7.11 oz slurpee was a blessing in the summer heat. Lets go over what has happened on 7/11.

Football: Brett Favre wants his release. This is an interesting story. I never put pen to paper on this, but I always maintained (as did Tony from PTI) that Favre would be back for the season. Favre wants to play, but the Packers want to move on. What to do, what to do? If I am Favre, the first teams I look at are Minnesota and Baltimore.

Minnesota already has a great running game, a line that can watch his back and a defense that is good enough to win. Add an effective QB, and you have a winning team. Baltimore still has the core of the defense that won the title. They have a good young RB, but their WR core and O-Line is not all that special.

Baseball: Roy Halladay dominates Yankees. What else is new? Roy Halladay has a complete game. If your counting at home, that's 7 on the year. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but is that a record? If not, then WOW. Halladay allowed only 3 baserunners (2 hits, 1 walk) to go along with 8 K's on the road to a win. And would you look at that, the Jays are only 3 games back from the Yanks.

On the other side, Joba notched a quality start. 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 9 K. Not a bad line, espically when you are supposed to have the offense the Bronx Bombers should.

On another note, the Nationals could be in trouble. Naughty, naughty Nationals. Supposedly, their GM and Special assistant have been "skimming" money from signing bonuses of Dominican players. If anyone knows what the skimming... [read more]

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/2008-nba-oscars.html

Don’t you just love the Oscars? And wouldn’t you be livid if they cancelled them? Well, we answered with an emphatic “YES!” to both of those questions! The NBA season is half over and there have been some amazing storylines up to this point. As the All-Star break approaches, we will all have time to reflect on the first half and start handing out those mid-season awards. Rather than doing another snooze-able “mid-season review” post, we decided to spice it up a little bit with a tribute to awards season and to the 80th Annual Academy Awards!

And the NBA Oscar goes to…

Best Picture: New Orleans Hornets

The New Orleans Hornets led by Best Actor nominee Chris Paul and Best Directing nominee Byron Scott have had a remarkable season to this point. They may not be the best team in the NBA, but once playoff time rolls around expect to find them as a fixture in our Western Conference top 3. Chris Paul has emerged from “really good” point guard to “almost great” and has possibly bridged the gap with Steve Nash as the best in the game. Coach Byron Scott has proven to be the great motivator we all thought he could be by driving this young team to perform at a level we imagined possible, just not for another 3-4 years.

We’ve seen other great stories with the return to greatness by the Boston Celtics who racked up 5 NBA Oscar nominations, the return of the Portland Trail Blazers who pulled in 2 NBA Oscar nods, and the quick matura... [read more]

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/chinese-super-bowl-dudsort-of.html

So the "Chinese Superbowl" went down last night and proved to be a little bit of a flop with below average play from the two marquee Chinese players. It was just another game to most of us but the fact that 200 million viewers tuned in to watch China's biggest stars can only mean bigger things to come for the NBA .

With the NBA invading China, India and Russia you can expect to see some great things as an NBA fan. 200 million viewers is a number that only real Super Bowls would normally see and we hit that number for a regular season basketball game!

By The Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — China's biggest basketball star scored 12 points and struggled on defense. The country's fresh new face shot 1 for 10 from the field.

Not exactly what the 200 million people tuning in hoped to see.

The second edition of Yao vs. Yi didn't quite live up to its billing as the "Chinese Super Bowl" as Yao Ming's Houston Rockets beat Yi Jianlian and the Milwaukee Bucks 91-83 on Saturday despite relatively quiet nights by both of China's biggest basketball exports.

"Both of us struggled a little bit, but we got the win," Yao said.

Yao did manage a team-high 12 rebounds for Houston after getting into early foul trouble and tweaking his ankle just before halftime.

Yi was banged up as well, scoring six points after hurting his shoulder early in the game. But the Bucks rookie didn't blame his poor shooting on his in... [read more]

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/02/yao-lebron-players-of-month-january.html

Yao and Lebron have been named your basketball players of the month for January! Both players are well deserving of the honor. Lebron James keeps representing his MVP status and Yao has finally emerged this season with the injuries to Tracy McGrady. Congrats to them! Make sure to vote your choice for MVP in our pole.

AFP Google News - New York:

Yao Ming and LeBron James were named the National Basketball Association's top players in the Western and Eastern Conference respectively for the month of January, the league announced Friday.

Chinese 2.16m superstar center Yao sparked the Houston Rockets to a 10-4 record in the first month of 2008, averaging 22.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the season to carry the load after an injury slowed Tracy McGrady. Yao matched his season highs in scoring and rebounds with 36 points and 19 boards in a 111-107 victory over Golden State last Tuesday, a triumph that saw him sink a season-best 14 free throws.

Asia's first NBA star pounded New York for 36 points in a 101-92 triumph on January 9 and scored 30 points in victories over both New York and Seattle as well as contributing 21 points and 14 rebounds in an 83-81 victory over reigning NBA champion San Antonio.

James, the NBA scoring leader with 32.8 points a game, also has 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 assists a game for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they went 11-3 in January as they try to make a return trip to the NBA Finals.

"King James" had 31 poi... [read more]

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/01/nba-season-half-over-top-5-stories.html

It has been a fantastic first half to this NBA season and you can feel that buzz starting to creep in as the All-Star break approaches. Critics have moved on from their hatred of the NBA and young stars and feel-good stories are taking over. As a basketball fan, you cannot help but love what you are seeing and will most likely continue to see in the second half and on into the playoffs.

We're giving you our top 5 story lines of the first half of the season. Tell us what you think!

5. The Knicks.

One of the most historic franchises in all of sports has turned into a complete joke. The New York Knicks have us all shaking our heads in disgust, but also laughing in shock. The downfall of the Knicks began last year with the contract extension of Isiah Thomas as coach when he had his team in position to possibly make the playoffs. James Dolan forgot however, that the season is longer than 40 games and of course the Knicks weren't close to a playoff bid as the season wound down.

The off-season gave us some great insight as to how much of an idiot Isiah Thomas truly is. We listened in to the updates of the Anucha Brown-Sanders trial and the eventual embarrassment sustained by the Knicks once the juicy details slipped on out. We realized how crazy Stephon Marbury is through his whack-o interviews and love of limousine sex. We envisioned the termination of Thomas, but then decided that was never going to happen and that he most likely has some great ... [read more]

http://lebasketbawl.blogspot.com/2008/01/martin-luther-king-jr-daygreat-day-for.html

It has been a day chalked full of great NBA match-ups. How about a quick mid-day recap?
New York attempted to hang with Boston, and then got romped. 109-93 Boston.

Washington sweeps their season series with the Mavs in convincing fashion! 102-84 Wizards.

San Antonio ends its slide, taking out the not-so-Jordanesque Bobcats. 95-86 Spurs.

Portland does it again on the road, this time in OT over the Hawks. 111-109 Blazers.

Indiana looked great without Jermaine O'Neal today against the Sixers. Time to move on I think. 110-103 Pacers.

Seattle loses its franchise-record 11th straight game; Houston need this win. 96-89 Rockets.

New Orleans is just pouring it on everyone! The Bucks' struggles continue. 106-92 Hornets.

Utah seems to be back on track after a lousy December; are the Clippers the Knicks of the west? 109-93 Jazz.

Minnestoa wins! What the hell Golden State? 109-108 Timberwolves.

Chicago & Memphis are battling it out right now and we still have 3 more games after that! Fantastic day in the NBA!

... [read more]

I know it's more traditional to do this kind of report after the first twenty games. I, however, am a very non-traditional fellow. So here is your twenty-six game report.

Let's start with what we know about the Dallas Mavericks: nothing. Okay, we know a couple of things. However, if you take everything we know and shine a light on it, what you end up looking at is, well, nothing. At least nothing of any significance. But let’s try anyway.

First, they are playing poorly against the East. After finishing last season a blistering 27-3 versus the Eastern Conference, the Mavs are a lackluster 6-5 so far. If nothing else in basketball universe is knowable, it is certain that the best way to pad your record is by playing teams in the East. How else could the Toronto Raptors make the playoffs? To be considered an elite team, the Mavericks must put away Eastern Conference opponents.

Second, they are playing well against division rivals (6-2). This includes a perfect 3-0 against Houston so far and a thirteen-point victory over defending champs, San Antonio. Unfortunately, they also suffered a two-point loss to the Spurs who were without Tim Duncan. The Mavs currently own the best in-division record in the Western Conference. What does that mean? Nothing, right now. But down the road in an admittedly very low probability tie-break situation, it could be the difference between winning and losing the Southwest Division which could easily be the difference between being seeded first or second come playoff time.

Finally, coach Avery Johnson is struggli... [read more]

Rockets sign Brent Barry to 2-year deal (AP)

The Houston Rockets signed free agent Brent Barry to a two-year contract on Thursday, making him the third member of the family to join the franchise. The 6-foot-7 Barry played 31 games with San Antonio last season and shot 43 percent (48-for-112) from 3-point range. A 13-year veteran, Barry will play for his sixth NBA team after stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls,... [read full article]

Posted Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:10:56 PDT - via Yahoo! Sports