Finding Meaning in the Death of Len Bias

Mayo scandal shocks few, and penalties remain slight

(NEWSER) - The NBA can't stop agents from scurrying around high school and college basketball these days, offering illegal gifts to sign young players. Although the players are getting younger—more go pro right out of high school—punishments for players and agents alike remain slight, the New York Times reports. More»

Celtics beaten 83-79 as Lakers claim 16th title

(AP) - The Los Angeles Lakers have won their 16th NBA championship, dramatically rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA finals. Kobe Bryant scored 23 points despite 6-of-24 shooting while winning his fifth title with the Lakers, who repeated as NBA champions for the first time since winning three straight from 2000-02. More»

(NEWSER) - Women get excited over dresses at the Oscars. J.E. Skeets of Yahoo Sports gets excited about suits at the NBA draft. Here are his picks for the best- and worst-dressed players at last night's big event:

• Best Dressed: Brandon Jennings—"What's not to like?"
• Worst Dressed: Hasheem Thabeet wasn’t a disaster, but "shiny light grey on a seven-foot-three-inch frame is not a great look."

(NEWSER) - Power forward Blake Griffin is almost certainly the No. 1 pick in tonight’s NBA draft, and that scares the bejesus out of Griffin fan Gregg Doyel. “Superstars as the No. 1 pick are the exception to the rule,” Doyel writes on CBS Sports.com, conceding the point of LeBron James. In fact, "No. 1 overall draft picks tend to suck." And there’s a ton of data to back that up. More»

NBA's success rate has hovered around 75% for half-century

(NEWSER) - Basketball's free-throw statistics have stayed steady at a rate that amazes academics, the New York Times reports. While most aspects of basketball and other sports have seen records steadily edge up over the years, free-throw shooting hit a plateau of a 75% success rate in the NBA more than 50 years ago and has barely budged since then. More»