Must Watch: NBA TV's 'Dream Team' Documentary

There wasn't a definitive documentary about the most important basketball team ever created. HBO was rumored to be working on a documentary about 'The Dream Team', but nothing materialized.

ESPN's '30 for 30' documentary series raised the bar for sports documentaries. Bill Simmons once said in a podcast that he wanted to make a 'Dream Team' documentary, but the rights to the video from the 1992 Olympics were too expensive.

NBA TV stepped up to the plate and is debuting their documentary The Dream Team tonight at 9pm EST. I have viewed parts of the movie which is certain to be an instant classic. It contains never-before-seen video of a scrimmage that you will never believe the outcome. I list a few of the intriguing moments you will see tonight and post a video of the movie trailer.

The most talked about moment in The Dream Team will be the video of the Dream Team losing a scrimmage to a group of college all-stars. The college team consisted of Grant Hill, Chris Webber, Bobby Hurley, and other talent that ended up in the NBA. The 62-54 defeat wasn't an official loss and mostly forgotten about because of the team's complete domination in the 1992 Olympics.

The long-awaited footage of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson going head-to-head in a scrimmage is also one of the film's highlights. The MJ/Magic practice footage was one of the reasons why Bill Simmons wanted to include this topic in his '30 for 30' series. Karl Malone commented on the competitive nature of MJ and Magic when he appeared on 'The Dan Patrick Show' this afternoon. He was asked who were the two most competitive guys on The Dream Team? Malone answered, "Michael and Magic. They were never on the same team during scrimmage and coach (Chuck) Daly didn't have to worry about us playing hard."

The exclusion of Isiah Thomas is explained. Everyone believed that Jordan made sure that Thomas wasn't on the team because of the Detroit Pistons team snubbing the Chicago Bulls after losing in the previous season's Eastern Conference Finals. The call seemed to be made by the commissioner's office. They didn't like the unsportsmanlike conduct that Thomas was a part of in the Finals. It was clear that Scottie Pippen and Jordan didn't care for him, which could have helped the commissioner's office come to their decision.

Other topics include the forgotten fact that Charles Barkley was the team's leading scorer, the opposing teams treating Team USA like The Beatles, and how Larry Bird and Magic officially passed the torch to Jordan during the Olympics.

Here is a trailer for NBA TV's The Dream Team.

The Dream Team is a must watch for any basketball fan. You will feel nostalgic and see the team in a new light. That team did more for the international growth of the sport than any other team. In the last 20 years, European teams have challenged Team USA and have even beaten them in international competition.

I'm Officially Announcing My Candidacy To Be An NBA GM

Charles Barkley has came out recently that he wants a job being a general manager in the NBA. He hasn't been the only person to lobby for this position. Deadspin recently wrote a review for Bill Simmons' book, "The Book of Basketball," and said it was a 700-page resumé to be an NBA GM. I guess since everyone else is doing it, why not me?

Dear NBA Owners,

My name is Bobby Roberts, but I am known around the internet as "Sweetbob." I am writing you to officially announce my candidacy for a general manager position with one of your teams. I know that there are more qualified than me and probably know more about the game than me, but c'mon, it would be a fun gig!

Here is the scenario, remember the movie "Eddie" starring the great Whoopi Goldberg? It would be a real-life version, but hopefully a lot more entertaining. Once I am announced as your new general manager, just imagine all of the press that your team would get. I would be on big news programs like "ESPN's First Take" or "Last Call with Carson Daly."

I'm from Indiana, so I have that going for me. Larry Bird didn't have any executive experience before he got the gig in Indiana and look what he's done! He's been the #9 seed in the East the last few years, what an amazing job he has done. I also went to an Indiana University affiliate, the same college that pumped out great NBA executives like Isiah Thomas and Mark Cuban.

I am throwing my hat in the ring for the same reason why Charles Barkley and Bill Simmons did...why not? It seems like a pretty easy job. I'm currently an accountant, so I can figure out salary cap numbers or if not, I can just try out trade on ESPN's Trade Machine. I think everyone deserves a shot, maybe we should start a lottery system where everyone has a year to turn an NBA team around. Think about it, maybe you can use those ping pong balls that you use for the NBA Draft. Everyone deserves a chance to mess it up, right?

Sincerely,
Bobby Roberts

My (Failed) Attempt To Get Bill Simmons To Write For "America's White Boy"

I read on Deadspin that Bill Simmons would like to start up a website and become the underdog once again. He is currently under contract with ESPN, but this is something that he could possibly do once his contract ends. I am here to offer him a position here at America's White Boy. Why spend the capital to start a new website when you have a fairly okay one right here. I have to admit, he probably has more perks at ESPN, even if he is rarely in Bristol, CT. Here is my failed attempt at luring Bill Simmons to write for us.

"America's White Boy" isn't the biggest sports blog on the internet, it's only has a page rank of 4 on Google, but hey I won't censor you. You can talk about basically anything, I'll allow it. If you want to write a 540,000 word post about how Christina Hendricks' boobs are better than Salma Hayek's boobs, go ahead! You could even invite a porn star in your fantasy basketball league, although considering your possible bad blood with your soon-to-be former employer ESPN, you may have to use Yahoo for your league.

You probably won't be able to land huge interviews for podcasts, I don't have the bandwith for downloads. Although I will give you creative freedom to do some nice "Top 10" posts, I hear they do well on Digg and Reddit. Think about it...

As far as pay goes, you have enough money, right? "The Book Of Basketball" is going sell a few million copies and I'm sure you'll end up as an NBA GM at some point. I know the Milwaukee gig didn't work out, but once the Zombie Sonics GM quits, the job is all yours. Also, please disregard my post on Gunaxin.com about your possible General Manager position with an NBA team. It was meant as tongue-in-cheek, like your constant ribbing of Mike Dunleavy. If you get enough traffic, maybe I can get a pair of Columbus Crew tickets, 'cause I hear that you like soccer.

I have one condition of employment, you would have to move to Columbus, OH. I know, it could be a dealbreaker, but I have to know what my possible employers are doing. I do watch NFL games every weekend, but I doubt my 27-inch Sanyo television compares to Jimmy Kimmel's set-up, but hey, free Raising Cane's chicken fingers and White Castle to eat and all the Old Style that you can drink.

In closing, I am the definition of an underdog. I am an accountant during the day and I write for three websites at night. I would write if only one person would read my posts. Sure, I do get some advertising money, but I've used it to upgrade my laptop, buy my URL, and be able to attend a blogger conference this weekend. I write to explain my point of view and I hope to make a career out of it at some point. If it's either here on this site or somewhere else, I love writing. I have been a sports fan since I was a little boy and my fondess memories were watching Chicago Cubs games with my dad. I know athletes aren't perfect and most are barely role models, but there are times that I forget that and get lost in games that make me feel like a kid again. To modify a quote from "Almost Famous,"What Do I love about sports?....Everything."

Review - Chuck Klosterman "Eating The Dinosaur"

Thanks to the great people over at Scribner, I was able to get a review copy of the much-anticipated new book from Chuck Klosterman. I have been very vocal about my love for his writing on this site and "Walk The Dinosaur" definitely quenched my thirst for some new material from him. Here is my book review for "Eating The Dinosaur" by Chuck Klosterman.

This book is in the vein of "Sex, Drugs, & Cocoa Puffs," more so than any of his previous books. It's all new material, so it's not like Chuck Klosterman IV, which was a collection of mostly previously published material.

In "Eating The Dinosaur," he tries to get a grip on his celebrity. He spends the entire first chapter trying to wrap his head around the fact that he has given more interviews than he has conducted. He is in a new phase in his life. His previous books may have been for a demographic that would span people in their twenties. "Eating The Dinosaur" skews a little higher in age, just because he talks about things in the same time period as his previous books. Where else are you going to find in-depth opinionated banter about Nirvana, Guns N Roses, Ralph Sampson, and even Abba? Chuck Klosterman gives you all that and more in this book.

If a person that has never read anything by Klosterman, if you told them that he can incorporate Garth Brooks, The Beatles, and Third Eye Blind in coherent essay that makes complete sense, they would think that you're an idiot. You have to read his work to really get his thought process. An outsider may think that he is scatter-brained, but he uses intelligent-design to sculpt his thoughts into a well-written piece.

I have read every book that Klosterman has written, even his novel, "Downtown Owl." I believe that "Eating The Dinosaur" is great and I'm not saying that just because I am a fan of his work. No author can reach every demographic, but if you want to read a book about how Abba took over the world, the history of the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry, and a breakdown of the TV show, "Friends," then "Eating the Dinosaur" is for you.

Louis C.K. Is A Funny Dude

I was listening to Bill Simmon's podcast last week, "The B.S. Report," and he had Patton Oswalt on and he was talking about funny comedians. He said that the funniest guy out there was Louis C.K. and I kind of agree. I ran a few posts concerning the best comedians out there and I have mentioned Brian Posehn and Mitch Fatel and I don't know why I haven't posted videos of Louis C.K. Here are some videos and why Louis C.K. is a funny dude.

Mr. C.K. was on the Tonight Show tonight with Megan Fox (wowzers!). He killed it and he is also in the upcoming movie, "The Invention Of Lying," which stars Ricky Gervais. I see big things happening for him in the upcoming year and if you want to hear more of Louis C.K.'s stand-up, go out rent his stand-up special, "Chewed Up." He is working on a new stand-up special, "Hilarious," which may be out sometime this year. Here are some videos of some of Louis C.K.'s best work.

Idolizing - Chuck Klosterman (Again!)

About a year ago, I wrote a post in my "Idolizing" series about Chuck Klosterman. I was in awe of his first effort of writing a novel called "Downtown Owl." I thought the book was great and I even bought an advanced copy on eBay for nearly 30 dollars a few months before it was released. The book didn't sell a lot of copies, but he still feels like he accomplished something that he wanted to do. He has been on record that he had promised his publisher a few more essay books like "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" as a trade off that they would release one of his fiction works.

The reason that I am writing about Chuck Klosterman again in my "Idolizing" section is that he is still an idol of mine. I own all of his books, I try to read every column he writes, and when he's on Bill Simmonss podcast, "The B.S. Report," I pay attention to his every word. I know everyone has idols, but my idols usually have a shelf-life of about two years. I pretty much give them every opportunity to disappoint me. Klosterman has yet to do so and I've been a fan of his for almost 5 years. I don't agree with everything he says, but I can usually understand his point of view. For example, when he was on The B.S. Report, he went on a monologue against Twitter. I am a big fan of Twitter (you can follow me here) and Klosterman believes that his fans would get over-saturated with his work if he is constantly whoring himself out or commenting on things that he would write in a column or book. I can understand his point of view, but I think Twitter has more uses than just social networking.

Chuck Klosterman has a new book coming out in a few months called "Eating The Dinosaur." The book is in the line of "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" and is sure to be a must-read. If I didn't think that an advance copy would appear on eBay soon, I would have already pre-ordered it on Amazon.

To sum everything up, I think Klosterman is a great writer and I hope one day to write as well as him. He is one of the reasons that I write and I hope that his new book will be a great success.

22 Sports People You Must Follow On Twitter

I was apprehensive to join Twitter because I knew that I would become addicted to it. I was out with some friends, about a year ago, and my friend talked me into signing up with her phone. I just posted a few “tweets” and then that turned into multiple “tweets” and now I’m on there all the time. I have around 1700 followers and it fluctuates daily. My Twitter name is @sweetbob and you can follow me by clicking here.

Here are the 22 sports people that you must follow on Twitter.

Bill Simmons - @SportsGuy33 - He’s extremely popular writer on ESPN and I love his writing and podcasts. He is very active on Twitter and sends out a lot of hilarious links. He was also apprehensive about Twitter, but now he seems to be addicted.

Mike Freeman - @realfreemanCBS - He throws in comedy with sports insight. He often RTs his @ replies with a funny remark. He's a must follow for every level of sports fan.

Chris Bosh - @chrisbosh - Chris Bosh is a basketball player for the Toronto Raptors. He has a great sense of humor and often asks for help on his Twitter for things to do in different cities that he travels to.

Eric Stangel - @EricStangel - He's the lead writer on The Late Show with David Letterman, but mostly tweets about sports. He often tweets out pictures of famous New York Yankee mustaches and asks his followers to guess who's mustache it is.

Hasheem Thabeet - @HasheemTheDream - Thabeet was just drafted in the NBA by the Memphis Grizzlies. He is very active and tweets about getting ready for the season.

Sports Bloggers - @sportsbloggers - This is a twitter page that posts anything from sports blogs that tag their tweets with “#sblog.” It’s a nice twitter account to follow for the latest posts on some of the best sports blogs.

Will Leitch - @williamfleitch - Will Leitch was the founder of the sports blog, Deadspin.com. He now works for New York Magazine and is the Emeritus at Deadspin. I needed to add him to this list because I just bought his book, “God Save The Fan,” at Half-Price Books, it’s a good read.

Jon Heyman - @SI_JonHeyman - He is a sports writer at Sports Illustrated. He is very active on Twitter and gives out links and tidbits that are worthy of a follow. I love his writing and sometimes he gives out a little information of what he is working on.

Skip Bayless - @RealSkipBayless - I have made myself clear that I don’t like Skip Bayless. I have even written posts dedicated to his idiotic banter. I follow Skip Bayless for possible material to bash and to see what great player he will decide to bash and belittle.

Chris Mortensen - @mortreport - I know that Jay Glazer can scoop the pants off of Mort, but I still follow him. He gives out some information that is worth reading, even if it pertains to the College Baseball World Series.

Molly Qerim – @MollyQerim_ESPN - I first saw Molly Qerim on a fantasy football program on ESPN. She was playing the “Sage Steele” role with Matthew Berry. She is beautiful and well-spoken. She is now involved in Mixed-Martial Arts programming at ESPN.

Jason McIntyre - @thebiglead - He writes at TheBigLead.com. I read The Big Lead almost daily and it’s a great sports blog. He gives out interesting links and is very active. He also keeps be updated on soccer scores while I’m at work, thanks Jason.

Jamie Mottram - @jamiemottram - Motrram is a sports blogger that is based in the Washington D.C. area. He runs MrIrrelevant.com and SBNation.com and works with Yahoo! I read his blog very often and his tweets are informative and entertaining.

Will Brinson - @willbrinson - He is a sports blogger over at AOL Fanhouse. I have been reading his stuff for awhile now and I think he’s great. He is active on Twitter and gives links out to some of his work and others that he wants people to read.

Amy K. Nelson - @AmyKNelson - I have been a fan of Amy K. Nelson since I saw her on First Take. She knows her stuff! I have read some of her articles and she is making a name for herself at ESPN. She is also a sports crush of mine…Shhhhhh!

Deadspin - @Deadspin - Deadspin.com is in my favorites on my computer at home. I read the site daily and it made a name for itself by having an edge with no access and a little bias. They tweet links to material on their site and most of them are worth a click.

Hugging Harold Reynolds - @HHReynolds - He was the mastermind behind the “Blogs With Balls” conference in NYC last month. I was unable to attend, but I read nearly every post that explained what happened. I am a big fan of his site, HuggingHaroldReynolds.com and go there daily. His tweets are great and he re-tweets a lot of good material.

Jenn Sterger - @jennifersterger - We all love Jenn Sterger, right? She tweets about sports and what she has been doing. She also posts a lot of twitpics of things that she has done like the Indy 500 and photo shoots. Just for that reason alone, she’s worth a follow.

Jimmy Traina - @JimmyTraina - Jimmy works at Sports Illustrated and helps deliver the “Hot Clicks” section over at “Extra Mustard” at SI.com. He has linked to a couple posts of mine, for that I’m thankful. He has a great sense of humor and tweets about the funny videos and the Yankees.

Matthew Berry - @MatthewBerryTMR - Matthew Berry is a fantasy analyst over at ESPN. He helps do the Fantasy Focus podcasts and videocasts on ESPN.com. He gives out a lot of fantasy advice on his Twitter, often responding to questions asked to him via the program.

Gunaxin - @Gunaxin - Gunaxin.com is a great site for sports, beer, babes, and humor. I read it daily and I’m now a contributor to the site. They often tweet links to new material and is very active. They have a staff of contributors that get content up on Gunaxin.com on a regular basis.

Shaquille O’Neal - @Shaq - Shaquille O’Neal is the King of Twitter. His tweets helped put Twitter on the map, even if they are often misspelled. Shaq can be a polarizing figure, but he won a lot of people over with his down-to-earth humor and accessibility. He’s definitely worth a follow.


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Bill Simmons: NBA GM?

I recently wrote an article over at Gunaxin.com about Bill Simmons, "The Sports Guy," possibly becoming an NBA GM. It's more of a "What could happen if he ever landed his supreme gig." It deals with some of his "theories" and his obsession with things like "The Real World" and "Teen Wolf."

If you're interested in reading it, Clck Here for "Bill Simmons: NBA GM?