FanHouse ChanningFrye

Will Brinson kicked it at The OC for the Nike Global Training Summit.

Even as his team was booted from the playoffs by the Houston Rockets, Brandon Roy recently received high praise from Ron Artest. Artest decided to give him the highest compliment possible, stating that Roy, not Kobe Bryant, was the toughest player he's ever had to guard.

And you best believe FanHouse (specifically my homie Elie Seckbach) was jumping on that question when Roy made an appearance at the Global Training Summit, sporting his customized B-Roy Trainer 1's. We also discuss his offseason plans, what the Blazers' goals are for next year and what he's doing in the offseason.

NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.

* LeBron James: "I was just fascinated with being that guy that made plays down the field catching the ball man." -- The Starting Five.

* Larry Bird: "I used to love the feeling of running, of running too far. It made my skin tingle. When I used to play, if I was in my room and I was on the road, I'd just go out for a run before games. In the city. Around the parking lot. On the track. I'd run around the top of the arena." -- Esquire, via Cornrows.

* Stephon Marbury: "I would look great in a Celtics uniform." -- Timberwolves.com.

* Channing Frye is the Carlton Banks of the NBA, Julius Hodge is gunning for MVP of the Aussie league, and booing Josh Boone makes the Nets angry.

NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.

* "Former NBA bad boy Bonzi Wells scored 52 points and hauled in 14 rebounds as he continued his spectacular start in Chinese basketball's top league, leading Shanxi Zhongyu to an overtime victory." - AFP, via You Been Blinded.

* "[Channing Frye's] primary World of Warcraft character is Dookiedrawls, a level 76 gnome frost mage -- though he maintains he's not as serious about the game as Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko, who has a 'really nice level 80 paladin.'" -- Williamette Week, via TH.

* Bob Cousy: "This [parade] thing, as I said I had no idea what to expect, I have never seen anything like it. There had to have been a million-and-a-quarter people on a Thursday morning throughout that whole route! There were green people everywhere! They were hanging from the trees and the poles." -- Hoops Addict.

* "Once an energetic spark off New Jersey's bench, [Sean] Williams may need MapQuest to find his way back into head coach Lawrence Frank's good graces." -- Hoopsworld.

* Chris Paul's little things, a new Carnival of the NBA, and Mark Cuban's insane idea to take over sports pages everywhere.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

On Thanksgiving we all give thanks, and the NBA's Channing Frye is no different. In this video the up-and-coming star of the Portland Trail Blazers tells us about his grandfather, a WWII hero and a person who has made history in the United States Army. The reason? Frye's grandfather is one of the original Tuskegee Airmen.

Check out the full video after the jump.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

The MMA is one of fastest growing sports in the world and these days even NBA players are getting into it. In this video we ask players like Luke Walton, Channing Frye, Sasha Vujacic and Jarron Collins which fighters they enjoy watching, and we also find an NBA player who is actually working out with an MMA star to sharpen his basketball skills. When you hear which NBA player that is you will be caught off guard.

Check out the full video after the jump, and find out which NBA player would be a surprisingly tough tussle on the hardwood.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

In this exclusive video, we talk to NBA All-Star Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers about his new and exciting young team. Find out why he thinks he's lucky to be on such a good team. We also catch up with Channing Frye, Greg Oden (before his most recent injury) and the newcomer, Frenchman Nicolas Batum, who shares with us the one thing people want to know about his homeland.

Watch the video after the jump.

Yawn. You know the drill. There's a Blazer. He's having surgery on something in his foot, ankle, or knee. He'll be out a few months. No need to panic. Be well, citizens.

This time it's Channing Frye, who had surgery to remove bone spurs in his foot and will be out what was first reported as 3 to 6 weeks, but is now eight to ten weeks, putting his return squarely in the middle of November, do not make training camp, do not make opening night, do not collect $200 dollars. Okay, you still collect $200 dollars because your contract is guaranteed. It's a figure of speech, Chan man.

This follows in the great Blazer tradition of Greg Oden last year, and Brandon Roy this year.

Again, neither Roy nor Frye's injuries are considered serious, but it does now present a creeping pattern of the injury bug for a team that was supposed to be taking its rightful place as the heir to the Western Conference, at least making a playoff spot this year.

Maybe it's all a coincidence and everything's cool, but if I were LaMarcus Aldridge, I wouldn't leave my house. Good news is this means more time for Channing to blog!

(HT: BlazersEdge, of course.)

Channing Frye is constantly expanding his repertoire (one could say "faster than Kevin Pritchard is picking up new weapons," but I think that's immeasurable). First he becomes a class-A blogger. Then he decides that he is going to be an outside shooter for a Portland team that might have 43 viable starters. Witness. Frye.



Not too shabby, no? And it makes a lot of sense; big men that can shoot the ball from the outside and spread the defense are highly valuable weapons. And that's just what the Blazers need. More weapons.

Back in March, Blazer Channing Frye used his blog to disparage the city of Sacramento and its entertainment opportunities for the discerning NBA player. The backlash was swift, but Frye kept a good spirit about it and offered to keep an open mind on his next visit.

His next visit reaffirmed his beliefs, as he told the Sacramento Bee he was appalled by his excursion into a downtown movieplex.

"For real, there was a rat and a homeless man (in the theater)," Frye said.

Frye will be no doubt pleased to know that Sacramento is addressing its film-buff rat problem, closing two theaters because of rodent infestations. These theaters are not near the area NBA teams usually stay ... which means there are anecdotally three Sactown theaters with rat problems.

Thanks for the heads up, Channing. Anything else we should look into? See any rabid squirrels in the hotel lobby? (Seriously, Channing's doing more politically for the city of Sacramento than Kevin Johnson!)

You would think an NBA "superstar" (I think they all actually qualify by default) wouldn't have a problem planning his birthday party. In fact, if you look at the ridiculousness of everyone on the Wizards, it would seem that other celebrities would plan it for him. Not so for Channing Frye.

In fact, the Portland forward is turning to the people, and the weird city in the Northwest, for help in planning his 25th birthday party.

Me being 24 has been some of the best months of my life: I met my girlfriend; I finally found a nice place to live; I've met some friends I'm gonna have for the rest of my life; and last but not least, I've grown up a lot mentally, physically, and spiritually.

So I need to have a really tight place or some fine things to do on my b-day. [...]

So really guys, please send me your ideas. I want to know what I should do and I will be in Portland. It has to be something that we can do that's not too expensive. I'm a penny pincher, by the way. So send your info my way.

There you have it. Come up with a decent idea for where Channing should throw down in Portland and you could -- for free, no less! -- become the unofficial party planner for an NBA player. Personally, if I was insanely rich, I'd have someone build an adult version of Celebration Station for me, just to throw down in one day. Or maybe I would buy a house and fill it with sand and palm trees and have an indoor beach party.

Oh, and young Frye, feel free to holler at me -- I'm full of good ideas. (Caddyshack themed parties, to name another.) Your ideas for Channing's B-day party in the comments.