Taurasi Will Give You Buckets!

Congrats to Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, for winning the the 2009 WNBA MVP award. Taurasi, a former #1 pick out of UCONN back in 2004, led the league in scoring this season (23.8 ppg) and gave buckets to everyone all season to win her first MVP trophy. Taurasi was the overwhelming favorite in the the voting after leading her team to the best record in the league, garnering 27 1st place votes as well as 323 overall points.

The next closest player, runner-up Tamika Catchings who plays for the Mercury’s Finals opponent the Indiana Fever, only got 3 first place votes and 163 total points. Taurasi showed why she deserves the crown after dropping 22 points, 9 rebs and 6 assist the Mercury’s OT victory over the Fever in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.

Taurasi’s season did not go without some controversy, you may remember that back in July she got a little too active and was charged with DUI after registering a .17 BAC, which means that she was getting right. Taurasi handled the situation as best as she could, and after winning the MVP, she should be able to find tons of people willing to be here designated driver.

LeBron Takes Over Hollywood

We have been following LeBron all over the globe this summer as he embarked on a 10 city tour, sponsored by the good folks over at Nike, promoting the release some his various projects including his new documentary “More Than A Game” which premieres in select theaters this Friday, with a wider release scheduled shortly thereafter.

While we all know Los Angeles is Lakers country, When King James came to the city last weekend, he did it big…real big. He might get more love in LA than Kobe does. Check out this video from our dude Elie Seckbach aka The Embedded Reporter, as he gives you an inside look at The King shutting down Hollywood and making it his personal playground.

Sick Kicks: Nike Air Force 1 Holiday Collection

Just in time for the holiday season Nike is releasing a fresh new collection of Air Force 1’s. You might as well pick up at least 2 pair of any of these joints. Select pairs of the shoes are getting released periodically up until Christmas time. Via Sneaker News

Knoblauch Accused Of Choking Out Wife

The former MLB All-Star was arraigned in a Houston court Tuesday and charged with family violence after his common-law wife, Stacey Stelmach, accused him of hitting her in the face and then choking her out, during an altercation at the couple’s home Friday. Knoblauch is no stranger to mood swings, being named in the Mitchell Report back in 2007 as a a juicer like Jack LaLanne. Prosecutors claimed that Big Chuck was all hopped up on liquor and Xanax during this incident.

The triv part is this whole thing started after Knoblauch, who is in the process of getting a divorce from Stelmach, returned to their home after a trip to his goomar’s house:

Assistant District Attorney Kari Allen said in court that Knoblauch returned from his girlfriend’s home and began arguing with his wife. She said Stelmach was trying to take his car keys away from him when the alleged assault occurred. Allen said a family friend saw Knoblauch beat and choke Stelmach.“Because she was fearful of him driving, she kept the keys,” Allen said. “And he assaulted her by striking her and by choking her.” Via Houston Chronicle

Knoblauch might end up serving some time for this outburst, a third-degree felony, which has a sentencing range between 2-10 years as well as up to a $10,000 fine in Texas. We have a feeling that Chuck will try to use some of his star to power to get his punishment drastically reduced, but the judicial system seems to be stomping down on athletes lately. Video of Knoblauch’s court hearing after the jump…

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The Lakers Are Back! Bring On The Media Circus

The Champions opened Training Camp Monday, holding a media day that looked more like a movie premiere. Everybody was there, except for us, trying to holler at one of the many stars on the team. Now the Lake Show already gets some pretty intense media coverage, but with L.O. marrying Khloe last Sunday and the addition of QB’s Finest Ron Artest, Kobe almost seemed more like an afterthought as the largely square media contingent converged on the burgeoning stars.

The Lakers have the squad in place to defend their title, but plenty of teams in the league have upgraded, including the Cavs, so the Show should get more of a challenge this season in terms of quality opponents. Only time will tell if Artest can handle the Los Angeles lifestyle or if he will get turned out and forced to leave the city with shoestrings holding up his pants. More pictures after the jump…

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LOL: Conan O’Brien Falls Racing Teri Hatcher

Damn! you know that hurt. The Late Night legend suffered a concussion last week after this fall during a taping of the Tonight Show. The dude is a trooper though, as even after he fell he tried to finish the segment with some comedic bravado. Conan is back in action now but this one had to hurt.

Gresham Tells Oklahoma To Holler Back

Oklahoma senior tight end Jermaine Gresham, who suffered a knee injury earlier this month that will force him to miss the entire 2009 season, has decided not to use the medical redshirt that his is eligible for and will instead enter his name in the 2010 NFL Draft. Gresham earned All-America honors in 2008 after putting up huge numbers including 14 TD receptions, which is the 2nd-most in school history for a single season.

Gresham was widely regarded as a 1st Round pick in this past year’s draft, but opted to stay in school with Heisman winner Sam Bradford. Right now both might be reconsidering their decisions to return as Bradford suffered a shoulder injury in the season opener against BYU and has yet to return to the field. He has started practicing again and should be able to play in a marquee matchup vs the U this weekend.

The King Is Back!!!

The Cavs opened up their Training Camp Monday, which means that the legend and 2009 MVP King James is back…like Snooky. After a humiliating defeat in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, which included Bron bouncing to the locker room immediately after the game without giving any love to the victorious Magic, the Cavs decided to get their jewelry and toolery right with some solid offseason acquisitions. While the squares have focused their attention on Shaq, the additions of Leon Powe and Jamario Moon will greatly improve the 2nd unit. When Powe is healthy, he is solid and Moon has plenty of potential which the King should be able to utilize.

The bottom line is even though the Cavs didn’t give the people the much anticipated Finals matchup with the Lakers, that would have been beyond legendary, they did have the best record in the league (66-16), with a squad sans LeBron that could be considered one of your wacker in the NBA. But if Shaq can give them a solid 50 games in the regular season and they can avoid any major setbacks, this team on paper should win the championship guaranteed.

We’ll start to find out in less than a month, but for now we can look forward to the Cavs first preseason game Oct. 6, at home against the Bobcats.