NBA Rookie Arrested for Domestic Abuse

(NEWSER) - College basketball Hall of Famer Wayman Tisdale died today at 44, ESPN reports. Tisdale was diagnosed with bone cancer last year, and his right leg was amputated. The 6-foot-9 forward was an All-American all 3 years at Oklahoma, and went on to spend 12 years in the NBA. He was also a talented jazz bassist who toured with notable musicians and released eight albums. More»

Retired Indiana Pacer Clark Kellogg of CBS lets down his guard

(NEWSER) - CBS basketball analyst Clark Kellogg knows pressure—he played for Ohio State and the Indiana Pacers before moving to the TV studio—but he appears to have let his guard down on the White House court. In a game of H-O-R-S-E—renamed P-O-T-U-S, a common abbreviation of "president of the United States"—President Obama falls behind early. "I'm not going to be humiliated on national television," he says lightly. Then things take a turn. More»

Jayhawks snag overall No. 1 seed

(NEWSER) - Overall No. 1 seed Kansas leads the field of 65 NCAA tournament teams, with Kentucky, Duke, and Syracuse—late-season slump and all—topping their respective brackets. The 32-2 Jayhawks, who won the 2008 title, captured this season's Big 12 tournament and will tangle with Syracuse in one semifinal if the seedings hold up. The Orangemen (28-4) won the regular-season Big East title but fell to Georgetown in the opening round of the conference tournament. More»

Volatile star says he kept Hennessy in locker while with Bulls

(NEWSER) - Ron Artest drank cognac during games in his first few NBA seasons with the Chicago Bulls, the volatile forward tells the Sporting News . “I used to drink Hennessy … at halftime,” Artest, now 30 and with the Los Angeles Lakers, says. “I (kept it) in my locker. I’d just walk to the liquor store (near the stadium) and get it.” More nuggets from the conversation: More»

Cynical 2005 move by pro basketball was all about the bottom line

(NEWSER) - The NBA’s minimum draft age of 19, with one year of college—and a new proposal to make it 20—is nothing but a cynical ploy by pro basketball and the NCAA that “hasn’t helped players in any way,” Buzz Bissinger writes. Players can easily sail through a year of college without accruing any educational benefits whatsoever. But that doesn’t matter to the collegiate and pro coaches—for them it’s a moneymaker, and a moneysaver. More»