Hebrews 11:1

* The Toronto Raptors, the Raptors Foundation for Kids, Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI) and Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation will unveil a newly refurbished indoor basketball court at the John Innes Community Centre in Regent Park. The refurbishment was funded by the Raptors Foundation and Rogers Communications Inc. and the newly refurbished court will benefit one of Toronto’s 13 priority neighborhoods. The youth of the Moss Park community will join the Raptors players in the unveiling on Saturday between 5:00 and 6:00 pm.

* Rashad’s Recommended Reading for this week is a Washington Post video interview with Reggie Miller and a NY Post feature on Patrick Ewing Jr. that are both “must clicks” for any basketball fan.

* One of my favourite aspects of having media credentials the past few seasons has been witnessing firsthand the Celtics locker room. Honestly, if walking through that locker room doesn’t give you goose bumps then you’re not a basketball fan. A couple weeks ago Holly MacKenzie summarized the mood in the Celtics locker room to perfection.

* Chris Broussard has a great look at what Brandon Jennings is going through in Europe. There’s some great quotes and video clips in this post that anyone who is even mildly interested in his journey should check out.

* If you need a laugh, check out this Captain Compete clip on YouTube featuring Will Ferrell and the USC football team.

* Joe Freeman has an interesting look at what music the Trail Blazers are listening to in their iPods this month.

* I really hope Santa leaves me a Yao Ming Transformer in my stocking.

* Guess which former Toronto Raptor would love to play for the Canadian National Team? The Red Rocket!

* Devin Harris: From getting clowned in England to getting cozy with the Lakers girls.

* Countless Raptors fans have December 15th marked on their calanders. No, it’s not because it’s my birthday. No, it’s not because Vince Carter comes back to town and they have yet another chance to boo him mercilessly. Why then? Check out Petemarasmitch for the answer.

* Meet Allen Iverson, NBA punching bag.

* Happy Anniversary to And One!

* Any Cavs fans worried about LeBron James bolting in 2010 should read this article about how the Spurs treatment of Tim Duncan may help Cleveland keep James.

* Make sure you check out Ben’s Phoenix Suns inspired Christmas tree to help get you into the holiday spirit.

* The Memphis Commerical Appeal has a great article on Marc Gasol.

* Bob Kravitz wrote a must-read called: Long-suffering? Cleveland wrote the book.

* The latest Blogger Power Rankings are up on 3 Shades of Blue.

*  Jaclyn Hafner sent me an email this week letting me know, “Gilbert Arenas helped to unveil his own wax figure at Madame Tussauds Washington D.C., along with 50 children from his Zer0 to Her0 Foundation. Arenas’ figure will remain on permanent display in the attraction’s sports area, alongside other legendary athletes including Tiger Woods, Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali.  His figure dons Arenas’ signature #0 Washington Wizards home uniform, donated by Arenas himself.” You can check out photos from this event by clicking here and here.

* It has to be humbling as a professional basketball player to see a five-year-old girl be better at aspects of the game than you are.

* Anthony Macri has a great look at Derrick Rose’s rookie season. Another great article from the past week is by Kevin Pelton where he traces Coaching Trees. If you don’t read Basketball Prospectus on a daily basis you’re really missing out on some great basketball commentary and insight.

* Jason Quick is one of my favourite beat writers and his recent article “Tired But Not Wasted” is pure genius.

* If you’re planning a sports road trip you have to check out FanFoodie. The site “features contributions from popular sports bloggers across the country in which they tell about the best local places and things to eat in and around major sports venues.” Genius!

* Storm The Floor has a great new feature called “Outside The Coaches Box” you need to check out.

* A big thanks goes out to Zach Crantz for letting me know, “NBA star Charlie Villanueva’s bald head has outshined his competition. Up against some seriously star-studded opposition, Villanueva, with the help of his loyal fan base, was named EAGLE Snacks’ first ever THE BALD AND THE BEAUTIFUL™ Sweepstakes celebrity winner. Tiki Barber, Terry Bradshaw and Chris Daughtry’s fans all put forth a valiant effort by casting their steadfast votes over the last month. Thousands upon thousands of online votes were tallied, but when push came to shove, and buzzed came to bald, Charlie Villanueva claimed the title by a hair, or more appropriately, a lack thereof. ” You can find out more about this competition by clicking here.

* If you were an NBA GM and had the chance to ink Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade, who would you choose? If I were Bryan Colangelo I’d give Bosh the max contract extension he deserves while using Jermaine O’Neal’s expiring contract to ink Wade as well.

* Mashable has the scoop on Shaquille O’Neal being on Twitter.

* Empty The Bench has a look at “The Most Depressing Playeres of 2008.”

* The Express-News has a great look at Walter Stoops, the lead statistician for the San Antonio Spurs for the past 24 years.

* If you’re looking for a way to waste some time at work next week, check out Foot Locker’s new online game Intergalactic Sneaker Rescue.

* Q-Tip wrote a song for the Knicks called “Go New York.”

* I’m not sure if I should be bummed The Roots retired from touring or stoked because now I can see them on a nightly basis on Late Night.

* There’s been a lot of speculation over why Carmelo Anthony shaved his braids but the truth is it was done as part of a viral marketing campaign for NBA Live ’09. You can check out the YouTube clip by clicking here.

* Huge props to the writers at 2 Dope Boyz for posting an MP3 of the Cavaliers entrance song this season “Swagga’ Like Cavs.”

* Joe Freeman has a great look at what happened when the Blazers met Muhammad Ali earlier this week.

* Wall Street Journal is reporting that most of the 30 head coaches in the NBA have agreed to wear suits, sport coats, dress slacks and ties made by the Joseph Abboud label.

* Bob Kravitz is quickly becoming one of my favourite writers because of articles like this where he sums up the game where Danny Granger lost some teeth by painting a perfect visual with his unique narrative style.

* Fans who skim box scores will look at Jermaine O’Neal’s contributions to the Raptors this season and see his modest stats and inflated salary and will chalk him up as being a bust. However, nothing could be further from the truth. For an explanation of why O’Neal’s been so valuable check out the article by Dave Feschuk called NBA Guys Turn Nasty.

* If anyone needs a reason why bloggers should have media credentials they should read this insightful post on Nicolas Batum that Ben wrote for Blazers Edge. It’s the kind of stuff a daily newspaper can’t dedicate the space to but it’s the kind of informative look Blazers fans love to read. Make sure you also check out the article Rashad wrote about JaVale McGee that provided a great glimpse into the rookie’s first NBA game.

* Speaking of bloggers, Jeff from CelticsBlog did a great job of finding bloggers to preview every NBA team and you can find a link to every team preview by clicking on that link. Also worth checking out are the first Blogger Power Rankings of the season on Lakers Nation.

* Want to know the main reason for the Grizzlies turn around this season? It’s due to a new dedication to playing gritty defense.

* Dime Magazine has an idea to provide a great twist to the All-Star game: instead of voting in two guards, two forwards and a center, they proposed that fans should vote for one point guard, two wings and two big men. Genius!

* Lil Wayne is down with Amare Stoudemire for MVP and wrote about it in one of his recent songs.

* Ball Don’t Lie found some highly entertaing YouTube clips of Steve Nash selling VitaminWater.

* Paul Coro wrote a great feature on Terry Porter that’s a must read for anyone who likes to root for the underdog.

* Don’t talk with Chris Bosh about being a free agent in 2010, all he’s worried about is finding time for his afternoon nap.

* Do you know who Warren LeGarie is? You probably don’t recognize that name but he’s one of the more prominent people involved in the NBA because he started the Las Vegas Summer League and is the agent for Mike D’Antoni. To learn more about LaGarie you should read the informative article about LeGaire which was printed in the New York Post this weekend.

* Matt Watson posted a great interview with James “Buddha” Edwards.

* The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a video of LeBron James and Jay-Z urging people to vote in the election this month.  Players across the NBA are getting involved and adidas is also getting into the mix as Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and other adidas athletes are urging people to vote through messages on their kicks.

* You can check out the first Bloggers Power Rankings of the season on Hornets 24/7.

* While watching a Bulls game this week I joked with my girlfriend about the mess of facial hair that Drew Gooden has this season. Instead of laughing, she did a double take and wanted to know what it’s called. It figures, one of the few times she actually asks a question about basketball and I have no clue what the answer is. I was stumped until Lang gave readers the scoop on Gooden’s new facial hair which he’s calling a Johnny and is inspired from Pirates of the Caribbean.

* Zoner Sports talks about yet another way daily newspapers are being phased out due to the Internet.

* I’ve been a big fan of The Basketball Jones’ podcasts for the past few years so I was stoked to see Skeets and Tas were returning this week with a new twist: vidcasts! If you haven’t watched one yet make sure you take 15 minutes this weekend to watch one; I guarantee you’ll make it one of your daily stops on the ‘net.

* Jimmy Smith from The Times-Picuyane has a great look at the close relationship Chris Paul and LeBron James share.

* 3 Shades of Blue hosted a great Grizzlies roundtable with with local media personalities Chris Herrington (the Memphis Flyer and writer of Beyond the Arc), Eli Savoie (radio personality at WHBQ Sports Talk radio), Chris Vernon (730am Fox Sports radio personality) and Geoff Calkins (Memphis Commercial Appeal Sports Columnist).

* Some recommended reading this weekend from Rashad Mobley includes A Macrophenomenal Look at Gilbert Arenas and Easterbrook: No Coaching Experience Necessary.

* Patrick Ewing is upset his son was cut by the Knicks.

* Huge props to The Score for adding two of my favourite writers – Scott Carefoot and Holly MacKenzie – to their Court Surfing roster.

* Carolyn from And One has a great find in Sports Hair.

* Here’s a look at an extended version of “Twister” that ESPN is running to promote the new NBA season. Why did ESPN release an extended clip? Because they want you to get an even greater appreciation for Shaq’s giant-sized sense of humour:

* The guys over at Elevation Mag are stepping up in a huge way. Far too often people get stuck on what happens on the court, meanwhile the guys at Elevation are looking at the big picture in life and are doing what they can do help kids in Africa. Check out what Mark told me in an email this week: “The crew at ElevationMag is adopting the young basketball players from Tomasina, Madagascar and we need your help. We have sixty kids from age 10 to 18 hoop’n it up in the sun off the coast of Tanzania. Many play barefoot, hardly anyone has sneakers, and no one has a real jersey. We need balls, shoes, socks and practice jerseys to make the season for these young people. They don’t have much in the way of recreation, just a dirt soccer field and a basketball court. Every kid deserves a chance to be a kid, so help us help them and contact ElevationMag at ElevationMag.com and let us know if you can help.” If you want to help you can contact Mark at mark.slane@elevationmag.com or visit ElevationMag.com for more details.

* Huge props to Tom “Ghostface” Ziller from AOL FanHouse for posting a highly entertaining YouTube clip of Sacramento’s rookies going through some rookie taking part in a dance contest. Houston also made their rookies go through a similar hazing.

* There’s a new Guitar Hero commercial with Kobe Bryant that’s worth checking out.

* Another hat tip to Kristen Wise at adidas for sending me some more multimedia on the Command and Conquer campaign adidas is running this season. This week I have screen shots of the new kicks Chauncey Billups, Gilbert Arenas, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady will be wearing this season.

* Two of my favourite blogs, Celtics Blog and The Dream Shake, have joined SB Nation.

* If you need a good laugh, check out the interview Mike James conducted with himself.

* I was bummed to hear Allan Houston’s latest comeback attempt came to an end this week.

* Raptors Fans needs to check out a new blog called Raptors Republic. I also wanted to remind Raps fans that if the Phillies are playing on Wednesday evening then the start time for the Raptors season opener will change to 6 pm.

* Ball Don’t Lie has a great video clip that shows what a day in the life of Andrew Bynum is like.

* Matt Watson had a great post on FanHouse this week with some ideas on how to improve preseason basketball.

* One of my guilty pleasures is playing fantasy basketball so a nice surprise this week was seeing the video George Stroumboulopos made a video for the league I’m taking part in this season. With some MSM guys like Eric Smith and Tim Chisholm taking part it looks to be a challenge to win it the crown this season.

* I had a conference call with a rep from DirectTV this week and I’m stoked to announce that I’ll be running a promotion for them starting next week. If you’re looking to order NBA League Pass this season click on this link or call the special phone number for Hoops Addict readers (866-770-7641) and you’ll be able to get $20 off the package. I’ll also be running a similar promotion for ESPN Full Court in early November.

* A huge thanks to Dan and Brent over at Athleon Sports for hooking Hoops Addict up with their Exportable Playbook Maker. It’s a great tool that I’ll be using in my Game Notes this season to explain different plays NBA teams are running as well as with the elementary school basketball team I coach.

* I’m looking forward to meeting Brian McCormick this Tuesday at the Raptors game. After a couple years of talking through emails and a few phone calls it will be nice to finally talk face-to-face with one of my favourite basketball writers and trainers. He’s in town to talk with some members of the Toronto Raptors brain trust so I’ll be sure to share the links to his work once he has it online.

* For all the stat heads out there is a new site called Basketball Statistics that’s worth checking out. Jon Nichols dropped me an email telling me about his site and I’ll be using his Composite Score Stats in my Game Notes this season.

* The Big Lead continued their long standing tradition of classic interviews by posting a gem with Gene Wojciechowski.

* J.E. Skeets wrote a highly entertaining Toronto Raptors Season Preview for Ball Don’t Lie. Speaking of Skeets, I’ve heard through the grapevine that The Basketball Jones Podcast will be shifting to a new format this season that I can’t wait to see.

* FanHouse has an entertaining video clip of Chris Bosh dancing to the new Busta Rhymes song.

* I received an interesting email from an Aneheim Arsenal rep informing me that the NBA Development League’s 14 teams will be featured in this years version of NBA 09 The Inside. Here’s a brief explanation from the press release I was sent explained the game, “Will give fans the chance to experience the journeys of players who seek to transition from the NBA D-League to the biggest stage of the NBA. As part of NBA 09 The Inside’s new PS3 feature, “The Life,” fans will have an unprecedented experience to actually control the on- and off-the-court journeys of three players in their quest to go from the NBA D-League to the NBA. Game players can also take part in the annual NBA D-League Showcase, All-Star Game, and Playoffs and Finals.”

* A big thanks to Kristen from adidas for sending me some screen grabs for Team Signature Commander and Creater shoes that Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard will be wearing this season.

* I also want to thank All Balls Don’t Bounce for posting a picture of me during my D-League tryout Rest assured that once I’m back to full strength I’m taking him up on his offer to a Battle of the Bloggers on the court.

.* Sac Town Royalty has a hilarious Photoshop picture of Mikki Moore.

* If you want a way to waste some time at work next week check out wRECK Sports.

* If you want a good laugh, you can see me in a couple video clips from the Toronto Raptors media day. During City TV’s clip you can clearly see me during the last 30-40 seconds of the clip while in TSN’s you have to look close to see me walking next to Sam Mitchell. In case you haven’t seen pictures of me before, I’m the pre-maturely balding guy in the bright green American Eagle shirt.

* I’m not going to lie, it’s great to know NBA players and front office people check out Hoops Addict.

* Sports Business Radio has a link to an interesting article about how new Miami HEAT coach Erik Spoelstra is giving players his playbook to read on their iPods.

* RBK is taking trash talking on the court to a whole new level with their new ATR “Talkin’ Crazy” basketball shoes; RBK’s new kicks have a dry erase section where you can write messages to your opponents before each game. Can you imagine what a player like Gary Payton would have done with these kicks? It’s a shame Gilbert Arenas is signed to adidas and can’t rep these kicks this season.

* Matt Moore has a great interview with Al Horford up on NBA FanHouse.

* DC Sports Bog has a great look at Dee Brown’s rap career. My favourite part of the article was when Dee told Dan Steinberg, “You don’t know who play golf, do you? They have a bad game, they go golfing. I know dudes who [at practice were] like, ‘Man, I’m gonna almost miss my tee time.’ So what’s the difference? I can put a mic right here and do my music, you know what I’m saying? And most of the music is coming from stress, coming from pain, coming from experience, so I can be talking about why am I having a bad week, why am I not shooting well….Music is so stress-free, it don’t take nothing but talking, and I talk all day.”

* Waiting For Next Year has the scoop on why Brian Windhorst switched from the Akron Beacon Journal to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

* Michael Beasley figured out a brilliant way to learn Miami’s playbook.

* An interesting new site, The Sports Count, has a great post called The Anatomy of Tracy McGrady.

* Deadspin is reporting that Lil Wayne is quickly becoming one of the more popular bloggers on ESPN.

* If you’re looking for a way to kill some time at work on Monday, check out Total Sports Videos Net or Fan Dome.  Or, you can read an excerpt from Alonzo Mourning’s new book.