It's July 1st, which means the free-agent season has officially begun in the NBA. While some teams have made legitimate and official contact with players, there are some others where rumors and speculation continue to be all we have in trying to figure out what may be on their minds.
Not every rumor deserves our attention, but a couple that popped up Wednesday regarding the Lakers' Lamar Odom seem to make so little sense, that they need to be, at the very least, touched upon.
I heard Michael Jackson died at approximately 5:30 PM ET. Hours later, I still don't think it's fully hit me. This was the man I idolized growing up as a kid ... I watched Moonwalker about 80 times on VHS (Joe Pesci was the villain). I once furiously outbid someone $159 for a replica Beat It jacket with 13 zippers. I actually have an 8x10 glossy of Billie Jean Michael taped next to my bedroom door.
Everyone -- from celebrities to sports stars to ordinary people -- had their way of trying to feel connected to the King of Pop. In his mere presence, fans have fainted and needed medical attention. So when news broke that Jackson had passed away, the reverberations on social media sites like Twitter were immense. Outspoken wide receiver Chad Ochocinco even went on to tweet "this is just as sad as 9/11" and then tried to play damage control after his offensive comment.
After the jump, read the emotional reactions from current and former athletes.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
Meet Joe Odom, father of NBA Champion Lamar Odom. In this FanHouse exclusive, we get an inside look at the life of young Lamar. Though Lamar was a huge part of the Lakers' successful championship run, his life has been far from easy. Our talk with Joe will give you a look into's Lamar's inspirational story.
The Lakers' $78 million payroll (5th highest in the league) was justified with a championship, but ye old shoe is fixing to drop in July. For much of the year, the common consensus had L.A. being forced to choose between small forward Trevor Ariza and bench talisman (slash able starter) Lamar Odom. Recently, Phil Jackson told FanHouse's Tim Povtak the team would try to keep both, God Buss willing.
Regardless, there's the matter of what each should get in unrestricted free agency, whether in L.A. or elsewhere. Ariza, of course, is the young tyrant defender with a new-found deep stroke and athleticism up, down and out the wazoo. (Note: I have no idea where on the body the "wazoo" is.) Odom somehow morphed from the embodiment of unactualized potential into a (gasp) crafty veteran with versatility and smooth moves.
Bloggers knee-jerking on the phone + roundtable style = RoundCast.
The Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals on Friday, by eliminating the Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals.
Matt Moore and I welcomed Josh Tucker of Silver Screen and Roll to the RoundCast, to discuss L.A.'s big win, as well as what might lie ahead for the Lakers on their road to redemption in this year's Finals.
Are the Cavs or the Magic the better matchup? Can Lamar Odom continue to play to his potential? Will Derek Fisher ever stop shooting the PUJIT?
We have no idea. But we'll discuss it all, as well as give you our Finals preview, without even knowing who the Lakers will face once the championship round begins. Yes my friends, sometimes, it's that easy.
There's a good chance that at some point during the NBA Finals -- or likely before they even start -- there will be talk of whether or not the Lakers are tough enough to win a championship.
And there should be that kind of talk. But it wasn't even an issue against the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers are going to their second consecutive NBA Finals because their big players were more skilled and more talented than the Nuggets' big players were tough and physical.
All year long, the Lakers had a singular, simple goal: to return to the NBA Finals, and avenge last year's loss in the championship round.
They achieved the first part of that goal on Friday by closing out the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, 119-92.
In a series where the referees were the topic of discussion over the past two games, the Lakers made sure that this one wouldn't be close enough for the officials -- or the Nuggets -- to have any say at all regarding the outcome of this game.
We talked about this a couple of times on the RoundCast, and even though the Nuggets lost in their Game 5 meeting with the Lakers, this is one highlight that surely won't be forgotten. Chris Andersen meets Lamar Odom at the rim, and rejects a slam dunk attempt with nothing more than his fingertips standing in the way of Odom putting down a monster dunk which would have undoubtedly featured the Birdman as the victim in an upcoming poster.
The first couple of views of the play really don't do it justice; make sure you hang in for the slow motion, HD-like replay where you can see Andersen's fingers bend back to thwart the dunk attempt. I'm no Nuggets fan, but this one was spectacular.
Despite suffering their worst loss of the postseason two days earlier in Denver, the Lakers re-asserted themselves as the best team in the West -- if not the entire league -- with a 103-94 win at home over the Nuggets. They now hold a commanding 3-2 lead in the series, needing just one more win over the next two games to return to the NBA Finals.
The Lakers have been maddeningly inconsistent the last several weeks, but Wednesday's win did preserve one positive streak: they've yet to lose consecutive games in the playoffs. Granted, they've yet to win consecutive games against the Nuggets, but the way the schedule works out, they don't need to.
Darn right I want to see the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals. And, yes, some of it has to do with the significant subplot of LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant.
For a few reasons, that's the series I want. And I'm not going to feel guilty about it or apologize for it or pay any attention to the backlash. I know Orlando's Dwight Howard feels disrespected because everyone seems to be pulling for Cavs-Lakers and LeBron-Kobe, but he shouldn't take it personally.
It's July 1st, which means the free-agent season has officially begun in the NBA. While some teams have made legitimate and official contact with players, there are some others where rumors and speculation continue to be all we have in trying to figure out what may be on their minds.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos. 
The Lakers' $78 million payroll (5th highest in the league) was justified with a championship, but ye old shoe is fixing to drop in July. For much of the year, the common consensus had L.A. being forced to choose between small forward Trevor Ariza and bench talisman (slash able starter) Lamar Odom. Recently, Phil Jackson told FanHouse's Tim Povtak the team would try to keep both, 
The Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals on Friday, by eliminating the Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. 
There's a good chance that at some point during the NBA Finals -- or likely before they even start -- there will be talk of whether or not the Lakers are tough enough to win a championship.
All year long, the Lakers had a singular, simple goal: to return to the NBA Finals, and avenge last year's loss in the championship round. 
We talked about this a couple of times on the RoundCast, and even though the Nuggets lost in their Game 5 meeting with the Lakers, this is one highlight that surely won't be forgotten. Chris Andersen meets Lamar Odom at the rim, and rejects a slam dunk attempt with nothing more than his fingertips standing in the way of Odom putting down a monster dunk which would have undoubtedly featured the Birdman as the victim in an upcoming poster. 
Despite suffering their worst loss of the postseason two days earlier in Denver, the Lakers re-asserted themselves as the best team in the West -- if not the entire league -- with a 103-94 win at home over the Nuggets. They now hold a commanding 3-2 lead in the series, needing just one more win over the next two games to return to the NBA Finals. 
Darn right I want to see the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals. And, yes, some of it has to do with the significant subplot of LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant.
