FanHouse Philadelphia 76ers

You remember Shavlik Randolph, right? The one who's fine with gay teammates as long as they don't bring their "gayness" on him? Apparently unaware of the irony involved, it seems he's also a real big Justin Timberlake fan. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Meanwhile, word of a JT fan who couldn't make it: 76ers forward Shavlik Randolph was in D.C. for the game against the Wizards, so he left behind a No. 42 jersey, autographed: "Justin - I am a big fan - Shavlik Randolph 42." An aide gave it to Timberlake. Randolph, who's 23, says his uncle took him to his first show when he was a Duke freshman: "This summer, I got to know some people in the music industry who work with him, and they've tried to get us to hang out a few times, but so far our schedules haven't permitted."

I don't want to be the one to break it to Randolph, but do you think JT is actually busy or just dodging him? Wherever JT goes there are always really excited young girls (and the occasional NBA fanboy) -- maybe Timberlake just doesn't want to take Randolph out of his "comfort level."

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Chris Webber's tenure ended badly in Philadelphia, and many 76ers fans aren't too happy with him now that he's moved on to the Pistons, where he's helped spur a 22-7 record (including a 21-point win over the Sixers last night) since moving into the starting lineup. But, according to C-Webb, perhaps it's not his fault. From the Philadelphia Daily News:

How, Chris Webber was asked, was he able to go from having a foot injury, being listed as inactive and being generally unhappy with the 76ers to all but reinventing himself with the Detroit Pistons?

People, he was told, would like to know.

"They should ask the coach, the coach that was in charge of me, that didn't allow me to play," Webber said before facing the 76ers last night.

In the next sentence, Webber directly identified Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks, saying, "Like I told you before, Mo came to me and said 'We're going to cut half your minutes, half your time.' I said, 'I just came off a 20 [points] and 10 [rebounds] season.' I don't have an answer for that."

Of course, Webber was also nursing a legitimate injury when he came over, a sore left foot that limited his mobility. But the Pistons also have a secret weapon in long-time trainer Arnie Kander, whom Flip Saunders credited for quickly getting Webber back to full strength:

"We've got the 'Magic Man,' Arnie Kander," Saunders said, referring to strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander. "Arnie's done an amazing thing with a lot of players. We thought Arnie would actually be able to help him a lot, and he has. After 3 days, [Webber's] soreness in his feet was gone."