Josh Howard's Protégé's Mentor... Josh Howard

"Wait, So You're Telling Me That No Black People Celebrate The National Anthem?"

As some of you might know, I recently posted an article about how some NBA up-and-comers have been exhibiting some less than model behavior. Well, this should come as no surprise given their role model is Josh Howard. After having a notable career at Wake Forest (and receiving an honorary "Josh Howard Day" in Winston-Salem), Josh Howard was undervalued in the draft and is currently employed as a standout player on the Dallas Mavericks. Unfortunately, he made headlines when he readily admitted to the use of marijuana in the off season.
Of course, I am not expending my 101st post spot to just rehash Howard's past (reHASH, get it?). He made headlines, or at least internet toolbars, again with some comments about the National Anthem he made during Allen Iverson's charity flag football game. During the song, he told a cell phone camera that, "'The Star-Spangled Banner' is going on. I don't celebrate this [expletive]. I'm black.'"

This comment is offensive and wrong on so many levels that I won't even bother to report on them here. I really like Howard as a player and he seems like a nice enough guy, but the media stories he is creating are making me reconsider my opinion of him.
Josh Howard, as you read this (which I'm sure you will be doing), I want to warn you that you are on very thing ice here and if you don't stop all this noise, you will lose your favor with GRG. That should straighten things out.

Josh Howard's Protégés?

Recent NCAA Tournament champions, Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers, were caught with marijuana and asked to leave the mandatory "rookie transition" seminar in a New York-area resort. They have been banned from the entire rookie transition program, will be fined $20,000 and are subject to any punishment that their individual teams decide to implement.
Initially, this is really disappointing from two players who have a very bright future in the NBA, but according to Darrell Arthur, he wasn't involved in any situations involving marijuana. This is a pretty standard claim to make once you've been accused of possession, but the lack of evidence against the two has me questioning if this punishment is too severe.
Security claims that Arthur and Chalmers initially refused them entry into their room, at which point the police became involved. They found women and "evidence of marijuana use" a little bit after 3 a.m. on Wednesday. Officially, they were kicked out for having prohibited visitors, as no actual drugs were found.
It's one thing to kick the players out for having visitors that they knew they couldn't have, but adding a $20,000 fine seems a little excessive given that there's no proof of drug use. I'll admit to being a little biased for Arthur and Chalmers, given that they seem like good guys. If Ron Artest or Chris Anderson were caught in this situation, I would probably assume their were some dead guys in the closet as well.

He Likes The Bartender (Ooh If You're Lookin' For Keon Clark)

"I Really Need To Learn
How To Hydrate Better"

Playing game after game in the NBA can’t be easy on anybody, let alone millionaire athletes, but retired player Keon Clark had an interesting way of dealing with it. "I never played a game sober, unfortunately," he said after being granted another hearing in Illinois. He was charged with possession of an unregistered gun and a controlled substance and was facing a 2 and a half year sentence before the judge’s decision to give him another shot. Apparently Keon was riding the booze monkey so hard that he drank at half time of every game. Despite this, he somehow averaged 8.2 points per game and 5.9 rebounds. Imagine how good this guy would be if he filled his cup with Gatorade. If the sauce helps Keon Clark’s game out, maybe some current players should try it out (I’m looking at you Deron Williams).


Oh, there you go. Wow, doublin’ up so he can be twice as good.

Ballers Behind Bars All-Star Squad

As my “Basketbrawl” post proved, NBA players do what they want when they want. I’m definitely not going to try to stop them, but the boys in blue throughout the country have prevailed time after time, sending ballers behind bars every so often. The obvious question is, if all bad boy players were in the pen at the same time and they were on a team (gridiron gang style), who would start? Okay, so that question isn’t so obvious, but I’m writing about it anyway. Check the roster:

PG- Allen Iverson
SG- Kobe Bryant
SF- Ron Artest
PF- Rasheed Wallace
C- Jermaine O’Neal
Honorable Mentions: Stephen Jackson, Sebastian Telfair and Eddie Griffin.

Let me break it down for you,

Allen Iverson: After allegedly choosing Georgetown because the coach got him out of jail back in ‘93, AI was on a slippery slope with the law. He was sent back to the big house for possession of a gun and marijuana in ’97 and most recently, he was put under house arrest in 2002 for breaking and entering and then threatening two men with a gun. Plus, leaving Philly like that was a crime.

Kobe Bryant: Growing up in Italy and then the suburbs of Philadelphia doesn’t exactly breed a mass murderer and Kobe is no exception. Although never actually sent to jail, I’m still putting him on the squad because he’s definitely a rule breaker and as a basketball felon, it doesn’t get any more talented. His is the most infamous trial in NBA history and he’s avoided conviction by the skin of his teeth.

Ron Artest: This guy might actually be the biggest bad boy of them all. He disobeys rules on and off the court, taking a big part in the most infamous basketbrawl of all time. He’s been charged with domestic violence more than once and he’s more than willing to pick fights with fans.

Rasheed Wallace: Besides leading the league in techs for the last 382 years straight, Sheed is a certified thug. Having been charged for possession of marijuana, driving with a suspended license and he’s been fined thousands upon thousands of dollars by the league, Rasheed plays by his own rules. Although he has matured a little since his Jail Blazers days, Sheed is one of the top ten scariest people in the world.

Jermaine O’Neal: Admittedly, I was desperate for a Center, but this guy did get his hands dirty in that little scuffle with Indiana fans a few years back. After being suspended 15 games, he technically did have to go to court to see if he could play again and I wouldn’t want to meet this guy in a dark alley.

The Bench: Stephen Jackson shoots people. He’s never been caught, but it’s basically a fact. He has actually been charged of assault and he hates refs, but mark my words, he’ll be getting a life sentence one day.
Sebastian Telfair just barely escaped the Jail Blazers without arrest but now the Celtics don’t want anything to do with him since he’s been charged with possession of a firearm. Eddie Griffin was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon (trying to kill someone) and marijuana possession. This guy might be lacking on the court, but off it he’s just nuts enough to ride the bench for this all-star team.

The Bad Boys of Basketball want you to remember, they're rich and they do what they want. To see more outlaws, check this out: http://sports-law.blogspot.com/2005/07/nba-players-that-get-in-trouble-with_20.html