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Legendary soul-singer Nappy Brown is not only a basketball aficionado; he’s a bit of a football buff as well. Every week Nappy will make his NFL predictions..

Week Eleven

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(Mike Sweetney arrives in China..)

Sweetney: Oh boy! A whole new country! A brand new chance to start over! A new beginning!

Chinese Guy: Hey fatty!

Sweetney: Oh, c’mon..

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One afternoon, while in his laboratory trying to invent a gun that shoots guns, unemployed backup point guard Jamaal Tinsley discovered time travel. The only problem: He cannot control it. Now he is lost somewhere in the space-time continuum, looking for a way back to our reality and a ten-day contract with the Beşiktaş Cola Turka Kara Kartallar..

Tonight’s adventure: Quảng Trị Province, South Vietnam - 1969.. (more…)

One afternoon, while in his laboratory trying to invent a gun that shoots guns, unemployed backup point guard Jamaal Tinsley discovered time travel. The only problem: He cannot control it. Now he is lost somewhere in the space-time continuum, looking for a way back to our reality and a contract with the New York Knickerbockers..

Tonight’s adventure: Serbia - 1904.. (more…)

One afternoon, while in his laboratory trying to invent a gun that shoots guns, unemployed backup point guard Jamaal Tinsley discovered time travel. The only problem: He cannot control it. Now he is lost somewhere in the space-time continuum, looking for a way back to our reality and a contract with the New York Knickerbockers..

Tonight’s adventure:  New England 1938.. (more…)

One afternoon, while in his laboratory trying to invent a gun that shoots guns, unemployed backup point guard Jamaal Tinsley discovered time travel. The only problem: He cannot control it. Now he is lost somewhere in the space-time continuum, looking for a way back to our reality and a contract with the New York Knickerbockers..

Tonight’s adventure: 19th Century Norway.. (more…)

One afternoon, while in his laboratory trying to invent a gun that shoots guns, unemployed backup point guard Jamaal Tinsley discovered time travel. The only problem: He cannot control it. Now he is lost somewhere in the space-time continuum, looking for a way back to our reality and a ten-day contract with the Phoenix Coyotes..

Tonight’s adventure: 17th Century England.. (more…)

One afternoon, while in his laboratory trying to invent a gun that shoots guns, unemployed backup point guard Jamaal Tinsley discovered time travel. The only problem: He cannot control it. Now he is lost somewhere in the space-time continuum, looking for a way back to our reality and a ten-day contract with the Washington Bullets..

Tonight’s adventure: Miami, Florida circa 1937.. (more…)

One afternoon, while in his laboratory trying to invent a gun that shoots guns, unemployed backup point guard Jamaal Tinsley discovered time travel. The only problem: He cannot control it. Now he is lost somewhere in the space-time continuum, looking for a way back to our reality and a ten-day contract with the Raptors..

Tonight’s adventure:  Eleventh Century Persia.. (more…)

Once the offseason begins in a few months, basketball headlines will be dominated by news of NBA players being lured by big money in Europe.  While it still seems unlikely that superstars in their prime such as LeBron James or Kobe Bryant would seriously consider playing overseas, many key players such as Josh Childress, who averaged 10 points and 5 rebounds in 15 games for Olympiacos this season, have jumped over to the Euroleague.  The common perception has been that even unspectacular and over the hill NBA players would dominate the inferior competition.   Part I will take a look at how a few stars, as well as a couple of busts, have fared in Europe after playing in the NBA.  Part II will focus on European players who’ve come over to the US.

Dominique Wilkins: It was all Greek to ‘Nique when he signed with Panathinaikos in 1995 at the age of 35. He was named the Final Four MVP after putting  up 21 points and 7 rebounds per game and leading the team to its first European Championship.  Wilkins returned to the NBA in 1996 and led San Antonio in scoring, though Spurs fans likely appreciate him more for the 20-62 record that allowed them to draft Tim Duncan.  Wilkins played in Italy in 1997, and at 39, finished his career with one non-Highlight season in Orlando.

Magic Johnson: After Magic retired from the Lakers for a second time in 1996, he bought and played for Magic M7, a team from the Swedish town of Borås (high-five!). Two seasons later, the 42-year-old bought a Denmark team, the Great Danes, and always the modest one, once again renamed it after himself. Johnson suited up for two games on the Magic Great Danes, averaging 9 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists and 9 turnovers.  It doesn’t look like anyone was going for that ball-fake though.

Scottie Pippen: When Pippen failed to land with an NBA team in 2007 after a three-year retirement, he took his game to Finland at the age of 42. He averaged 11 points and 8 rebounds in two games for ToPo, going a Starks-esque two for 16 from behind the arc, and then put up 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists in his final game for the Sundsvall Dragons. Pippen said his motivation was to “inspire young Scandinavians.”  I’m sure it had nothing to do with trying to avoid bankrupcy.

Bob McAdoo: A three-time scoring champ in his early years, McAdoo averaged less than 12 points per game over his final six injury-plagued NBA seasons. At the age of 35, he signed with Tracer Milan and went on to average over 25 points and 8 rebounds per game, winning two league titles in six seasons.  When he retired in 1992 at the age of 41, McAdoo worked as the basketball technical adviser (whatever that means) for the classic Kevin Bacon movie, “The Air Up There” (seriously).

Trajan Langdon: The most famous Alaskan athlete of all-time (sounds like an oxymoron), Langdon was drafted by the Cavs in 1999 and averaged five points per game on 41% shooting over three seasons . He’s since played in Italy, Turkey, and Russia, where he was named Euroleague Finals MVP in 2008. Langdon was cut by the Clippers in training camp in 2004, which pretty much sums up his chances of making an NBA comeback at the age of 31.

Anthony Parker: Parker was out of the NBA by 2000 after averaging just two points per game in three seasons with the 76ers and Magic. He signed with the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he led the team to numerous titles, including two Euroleague championships,and won two MVPs. He returned to the NBA in 2006 after a six-year absence, and has become one of the league’s best shooters with the Raptors. However, he’ll always have to live with the shame of not being able to beat his little sister in a game of one-on-one.

Bonzi Wells: Wells put up 12 points per game in 10 NBA seasons before signing a $40-thousand contract (you read that correctly) with a team in China. The 32-year-old quickly became a Chinese Basketball Association legend, averaging over 34 points in 14 games. However, ‘Banzai’ became an unfortunate victim of the Chinese Sports Illustrated cover jinx (yes, that’s a real magazine) when he failed to return to the team after the Chinese New Year and lost his roster spot to Tim Pickett.

Dennis Rodman: Where hasn’t the Worm been? And we’re just talking about basketball here. Rodman played three games for the UK Brighton Bears in 2006, one game for Pippen’s Finland team the following year, and two exhibition games in the Philippines in 2006. Not to mention, that since appearing in 12 games with the Mavericks in 2000, he’s had brief stints with three different ABA teams and was negotiating with another club as recently as last season at age 46 (!). In a completely unrelated story, he’s broke.

Quick Hits:

*Roy Tarpley: was twice banned from the NBA for cocaine and alcohol abuse, and put up solid numbers over seven years in Greece and Cyprus. He again filed for reinstatement in 2003, but was denied reentry. In hindsight, it was probably a bad idea to list Vin Baker as his sponsor.

*Reggie Theus: spent one year in Italy in between 13 years in the NBA and four with the Deering Tornadoes.

*Kenny Anderson: was released by the Clippers and then the Zalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania) in successive seasons. I’m not sure which is the bigger insult.

*Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf: played in Russia, Italy, and Greece, and is currently in the Saudi Arabian league. Apparently none of those countries’ flags are symbols of oppression and tyranny.

*Eddie Johnson:  led Olympiakos to the Greek Championship in 1994/95, before playing four more years in the NBA and debating a name change, .

*Tom Chambers: played for Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 1995/96 season before returning to the NBA for two more years, and is um, currently planning a comeback at the age of 49.

*Byron Scott:  led Panathinaikos to a Euroleague title and won the Finals MVP award in 1997 after his final season in the NBA with the Lakers.  Then again, just about anything would’ve be better than playing with Kobe Bryant again.

*Darryl Dawkins: Chocolate Thunder barely drizzled in Italy for five years after retiring from the NBA in 1989. He later attempted two unsuccessful comebacks with the Nuggets in 1994 and the Celtics in 1995.

*Rolondo Blackman: won the Italian Champion with Stefanel Milano in 1996 after a short stint in Greece. Contrary to popular belief, he and Renaldo Balkman are two different people.