The entire piece posted below or you can check it on SLAM. 
The mirror of basketball evolution past, present and future
I wanted to somehow chronicle the evolution and origin of the slasher. The slasher has become the most feared offensive force in basketball. The entity alone changed the game and also its unique characteristics by implementing a mid-range jumper, shelving the jumper and banging it on anyone and everyone because of the entertainment value of the ABA, picked it up again to keep defenses honest and now uses the jumper to become deadly and almost unstoppable. The latter is still a work in progress.
One December night in Philly, Kobe is playing the Sixers–who just so happen to be honoring Julius Erving.
Perfect…a dream realized….
Run by the Commission for Old School Friday.
Fallin’ from the roof. Thanks Coach Lynam 
It’s simple. Can the Lakers do this? If not, what’s holding them back?
2007 was quite a year in sports for me. There were several highs and several lows. The highest of highs occurred in Miami and on Miami Beach. The lowest of the lows occurred in Miami and in Buffalo, NY.
I’ll begin with the highs.
ESPN.com
(AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)
Yeah Grant, he got you
Andrew Bynum (11-13 shooting for a career high 28) and Kobe Bryant (38 pts., 8 dimes) went off on the Suns this Christmas day as the Lakers beat Phoenix 122-115.
Nash had a nice game with 24 and 14 but damn, do the Suns ever play D?
Grant, you know you are my man, but Richard Dumas Trevor Ariza banged it on you bruh. I guess you know how Nash felt last year.
*Sent the dunk 12/26 via email. Good lookin’ B.
At least you were nice enough to be a little more judicious with your hands. ‘Sup with that Steve ?
Bynum is fast becoming a star. Do not sleep on the Lakers as this kid continues to grow into his limitless potential.
Posted this video in the second part of Jemele’s first interview.
Doug stop hatin’. Nash got dunked on, so deal with it.
Happy Holidays!
Where’s Magic, Chuck, Kenny and Ernie?
Magic Johnson on Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning’s knee injury that he suffered Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks: “Alonzo (Mourning) has meant so much to the game of basketball, both on the court and off. Off the court he’s done more than anybody in the city of Miami, he is a guy who is relentless with what he wants to do for children in Miami. (On Wednesday night) I told him, ‘Now you start your life after basketball, continue on the path of giving back and you can start being a business man. This (injury) just sped up the process.’”
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
No matter what you think, both are damn good
LeBron James got the best of Kobe Bryant last night 94-90.
Who is better? Is it a fair question? Can we just appreciate both without end game marginalization?
(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
No Duncan? Oh it’s all good.
Old School Friday at The Commission.
Barkley on Senator George Mitchell’s report exposing steroid use in Major League Baseball: “I took a lot of criticism a couple of weeks ago defending Barry Bonds. Barry Bonds is a friend of mine, but I’m not here to defend him or condone (what he did), I just thought it was unfair how they tried to make him the bad guy and that no one else is doing steroids…This is bad for baseball, let’s get past it. This is ‘The Steroids Era,’; Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens deserve to go into the Hall of Fame.”
People my stomach’s been grumbling, but my main man Mookie is here to save the day… -Mr. Senior Love Daddy I’m not Mookie, nor was I in the movie Do The Right Thing, but as the title states…the right thing is exactly what I am trying to do, everyday on the wake up.
My name is Anthony Gilbert, (also referred to as AG or AXG) and I’m a freelance writer. My mentor Scoop Jackson put me on to this site and after sitting back for the past week and a half, I felt it was time to get off the bench and into the game. Michael Tillery gave me the rock and here I am.
Do you really think you know me?
Jemele Hill, columnist for ESPN.com, has caught some flack around these parts. This is an age where some media entities represent Disney eared, Aaron McGruder caricatures adorned with extra teenie glasses whose sole aim is to pander to the disillusioned masses–themselves jackasses. You all know where I personally stand with Jemele. Similar to what we have here with the TSF creative, I wanted to engage you with provocative thoughts of visualizing where she stands in OUR collective hearts. There’s no one in journalism like her and she hears it from everyone. Could you imagine being in the center of a room with your eyes closed and wearing headphones? Opening your eyes, you are bombarded with screaming criticism from any and everyone. The faces are Black. The faces are White…Brown and so on and so forth. There are men. There are women and even youngsters.
You stand up with a sista burned fire ready to snap.. As you remove the headphones, the faces and voices fade to black like rescinding fog in a bizarro world. You wonder to yourself , “What the hell is going on?” Thinking aloud… “Is this my professional existence? Is this what I signed up for? Am I supposed to care what these strangers think? Why are they so passionate about the words I write? Do they scream their loved ones way, like they spew hatred and venom in my comment section every day?
Why do all these people want my writing to just go away?
I tell you what, this my destiny. I do this for the love. I’m here to stay no matter what they say….
Read Jemele’s archived work here.
Lil Stevie swinging like everyone else
Kobe will veto Chicago Bulls trade if Luol Deng is included.
Deng is very much in play in the conversations between Chicago and Los Angeles, ESPN.com has learned.
And it’s mainly because of Bryant’s wishes that Deng is still wearing a Chicago uniform.
A source with knowledge of the trade talks said Deng has been included in proposals swapped between the teams, but Bryant has continually threatened to veto almost any deal in which Deng would be included. Bryant wants to be sure that the team he joins has enough talent remaining to compete for the NBA title.
Simply put, the reason why there is a TSF is because of ESPN.com. There’s no denying such a significant fact. In saying that, we also want an alternative to what has become almost a singular voice in sports. ESPN has a stranglehold on the way sports is packaged and the only way that grip changes is for sites like TSF and others to consistently speak out and offer a substantive check and balance. ESPN has hired numerous minorities as of late and Rob King is most likely ESPN’s most significant addition in quite some time. Just as some of you have questioned ESPN.com’s writers I’m sure some of you will question the hire mainly because of King’s graphic artist background. I had the same question and when contacting ESPN, John Kosner Sr., Vice President and General Manager, ESPN Digital Media responded with this statement via email: “Rob is a true leader. He is uniquely qualified to take ESPN.com to the next level bringing together a talented team to serve sports fans with the best in sports writing and reporting, audio, video and photography. It’s a dream assignment and he was born to do it.” Judge for yourselves what type of impact Rob King will have on MSM. He holds the keys to an organization that shapes the way we visualize and read sports. I must say that Rob King is one of the most intelligent people I have ever come across. The way we view sports is morphing just as fast as the technology that’s readily available. What’s your opinion and where do you see sports heading?
Read very carefully.
The Kobe Bryant/Los Angeles Lakers feud is at the point of no return, it is now possible to believe that Bryant will not begin the season in the Purple and Gold.
