Exclusive: Villanueva and Shaq Not Only Twits In NBA

By now, you've definitely heard about Charlie Villanueva's little twitting adventure during halftime of a recent Milwaukee Bucks game. 

The mercurial forward snuck away for a moment, and posted a Twit, that read as the following:

In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We're playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.

This drew a range of reaction, from Scott Skiles (who outlaws any and all forms of fun) reprimanding Charlie V, to people questioning how he even had the time, to people just not caring.  Personally, my favorite reaction came from the man himself (who goes by the moniker, @CV31).  Essentially, while he wasn't going to go against his coach's wishes, he didn't get what the difference was between taking a minute to tweet (or, is it, to twat?) or taking time at half to talk to a television reporter. Must say, I see your point Chuck.

Anywho, we here at BERNing decided it's time the rest of the Twittering world outs itself.  Thus far, we have @the_real_shaq and @CV31.  From a source who requested anonymity, we received a list of players, their Twitter names, and twits they've sent recently during practices or games.  Apparently, this epidemic is spreading faster than anyone could imagine.  Without further ado, we present some of this list.  

@the_real_jamal_crawford -- sent 9:15 pm pacific, march 25th 2009 -- coach nelson and i dont like each other.  dont tell no one but im not playing ne more this season.  (expletive) him.

@youngsuperman (dwight howard) -- sent 9:25 pm eastern, march 25th 2009 -- i got away with one there.  no way i didnt foul paul at da end.  def a foul.  wonder if svg will defend me still.

@rajonrondo (apparently, he doesn't have a nickname) -- sent 6:15 pm eastern, march 22nd 2009 -- steph has to go.  dudes gonna tattoo my name on my head in my sleep if i dont watch out.  he tried it on mikki last night, mik(e) slapped him.  

@twolvescoach (kevin mchale) -- sent 7:15 pm central, march 13th 2009 -- why is anyone still watching our games?  they cant still be charging for tickets.  can they?

@stevie_novak -- date and time unknown --  how am i still in the league?

@bdiddy#1 (baron davis) -- sent 10:15 pm eastern, march 18th 2009 -- GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!!  I IMMEDIATELY REGRET MY DECISION.

@truwarrior (ron artest)  -- sent 11:15 pm central, march 24th 2009 -- tooth fell out tonite.  thought about usin it to stab kyle korver.  didnt think coach would like that.  poked abrooks with it instead.

@maskandagun (jerome james) -- sent 12:15 pm central time, march 20th 2009 -- sittin down 4 lunch.  back to da future 2 is on.  some1 has the afternoon off!

@agentzero -- sent 4:15 pm eastern time, march 4th 2009 -- the league needs me.  the nation needs me.  dc needs me.  barack obama needs me. i think im gonna dedicate my first game to him.  hed like that.

Now, legally we can't continue to reproduce any more of the Twits, as the rest seem to get a bit more graphic from here on out. They range from the sexual  (Adonal Foyle's twit about a magical vixen in a poem he's working on) to the crazy (Chris Andersen's decision to have George Karl's face tattooed over his own face) to the metaphysical (Darius Miles questioning the meaning of it all [that one's not all that bad, in retrospect]).  

If we receive any more of these wild Twits, we'll certainly update you as soon as is possible.  Stay tuned.

Stan Van Gundy On Why The Cavs Are 30-1 At Home

After a four point loss in Cleveland, Stan Van Gundy had this to say last night regarding a 3 second call made against Dwight Howard. 

"You won't see that call again. That, I guarantee you," Van Gundy said. "You will not see, with the game on the line, a 3-second call in the last 10 seconds. That's part of the reason they're 30-1 at home. They're a very good team, and when you get calls like that [expletive], you're in pretty good shape."

Let's be honest, a 3 seconds call, with under 10 ticks in the game?  How about a 3 second call at any point in the game?  

ESPN showed the clip, with a little timer in the bottom right.  The sissies that they are proved that he was technically in the lane for 3 seconds.  However, he was on his way out.  And, as SVG would further lament, that happened to be the first 3 second call of the whole game.  

I'd say that's a bit ridiculous to make that kind of call at the end of the game.  Far as I see it, Howard would have to be in there for six or seven seconds at least to make that call.  When it's that close to the end of the game, and that call hasn't already been established prior in the contest, the violation needs to be egregious.

That's just me, though.  

And, I got a kick out of Van Gundy's use of the word expletive.

Kobe Bryant or LeBron James? Or, Other?

Like it or not NBA haters, there are some serious stars in the game today.  While none of them carry the weight of the NBA on their shoulders like Jordan, Bird or Magic, they're pretty damn good in their own right.  But, you know that.

Not that anyone needed any reminding whatsoever, but Kobe Bryant went out last night in New York and lit up the Knickerbockers.  20 of 20 from the line, 61 points in just over 36 minutes.  Here's a look at all of those points.  

OK, so again, you knew all this.  Kobe Bryant is good at basketball.  However, around spectacular events such as the one documented in moving pictures above, there seems to always be debate generated about "Who is the best?"  Is it LeBron James?  Is it Kobe?  Is it another guy, maybe Dwyane Wade, or Chris Paul or Dwight Howard?  

Sometimes, I must say, I don't get this debate.  Who is to say which player is better?  In what category?  I'd probably rather have Kobe on my team with the game on the line, but as far as a fantasy team, I'd likely take Bron Bron.  Kobe's won championships, sure, but never on his own or without some serious help.  LeBron took his team to a championship without any serious assistance from the other 11 active Cavaliers at the time, and simply ran into a better Spurs team.  You could go over stats and awards doled out to the two players til you were blue in the face.  So, to save that likely dangerous situation, I'm changing the terms of the debate.  My question is, with all these players still in their prime, which would you take to start a team?

Right off, I'm crossing Wade off my list.  He's a phenomenal talent, has played big on the biggest of stages, and can do just about everything.  Problem with him though is two-fold.  First, he's been too injury prone in his career.  Second, dude hasn't been able to do much in the way of winning on his own.  

Next to go is Dwight Howard.  I love Superman, truly.  And, while I'm a big proponent of centering your team around your big man, especially one that can block shots and lock down the paint, I just don't think I'd take Howard over these other guys.  His game just has too many holes in it right now.  He isn't a great passer yet, can't hit free throws, and doesn't have a great offensive game (outside of putbacks and dunks).

Now for the most intriguing debate: LeBron or Kobe next? (Ooops...I think I just blew who I would take.  Damn it!).  People that don't watch a ton of LeBron think it's "in the know" to say that he doesn't really have a jumpshot.  That just isn't true.  He's worked big time on it over the past few seasons, and while it's not at Kobe's level (and likely won't ever be) it's certainly better.  He's got the great all-around statistical game that Kobe doesn't have, but there's something about Kobe's determination to simply dominate and destroy that would have me scratching off LeBron first.  Not to say Bron doesn't care, he does, no doubt.  But, Kobe seems like the kind of guy that would kill his brother if it meant guaranteeing a win. That instinct has to count for something.  Truly though, toss up between the two based on personal preference. 

The guy I'd take is Chris Paul.  I know he got hurt last night, but, assuming he's fine (word is mild groin strain) he's my choice.  Paul is that rare, once-in-a-lifetime combination of player that can be both the best scorer and best distributor in a given game, at any time.  Granted, he's far better as a distributor, but he's shown (on many occasions) that he can take a game over offensively if need.  Defensively, he's as quick with his hands and into the passing lanes as anyone in the league.  He shoots a better percentage from the line than everyone mentioned above not named Bryant (only by .2%, by the way).  He can do everything (he, not LeBron or Kobe, leads the league in triple-doubles and is third in the league in double-doubles).  

To me, the league has changed from being dominated by bigs to being dominated by guards.  Paul can anchor a team for years to come, while allowing a secondary star to blossom as well.  When your best player doesn't need to score much to be the best player in the game (think Brevin Knight, but amazing), that's a good thing.

And now, of course, your turn.  Who would you take, starting a team, tomorrow.  And no, Sam Dalembert isn't an acceptable answer.