[cnnsi]The wackiest stories of a hard-to-believe season

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/lang_whitaker/04/17/nba.oddities/index.html

NBA antics

Posted: Monday April 17, 2006 2:10PM; Updated: Monday April 17, 2006 4:07PM


As we did last season, it's time for our second annual look at the wild, wacky and bizarre in the NBA -- the stories you might have missed but that should have spawned dozens of blog posts. Let's get right to it.

Carmelo Anthony founded a personal charity foundation with the acronym "HOOD."

We learned that MichaelJordan's Gatorade outtakes might be even better than the commercials.

After signing a $90 million contract, Michael Redd bought his father a church.

Jarron "The Lesser" Collins missed the start of training camp in Utah while suffering from "severe sunburn."

Bobcats center Melvin Ely was robbed for his jewelry late one night after leaving a strip club. Days later, while Ely was visiting a pawn shop to look for said jewelry, the assailant came walking in, saw Ely, then turned and ran.

The night before training camp began, Julius Hodge slept on the floor of the Nuggets' practice gym.

Cuttino Mobley rode a bike back and forth between the Clippers' practice facility and hotel during training camp.

During his NBA debut, Johan Petro accidentally removed his jersey along with his warmups while checking in.

According to the Toronto Star, former Raptors center Keon Clark fired up "a generous helping of his favorite recreational vehicle playing in a charity golf tournament in the same foursome as Glen Grunwald, then the Raptors' general manager."

Before the Kings' home opener against Detroit, a video was shown of Detroit that featured abandoned buildings and burned-out cars. The Pistons won 102-88.

Damon "Basketball" Jones refused to speak to the Cleveland press for several weeks, announcing he was on a "revolt" against the media.

Hornets players Rasual Butler and J.R. Smith appeared as potential suitors in a music video for hardcore female rapper Trina.

Darius Miles was whistled for a defensive three-seconds violation after stopping to tie his shorts while standing underneath the basket.

Larry Bird announced his association with a line of wines called "Legends."

Ron Artest had the name of his record label, "Tru Warier," shaved into his hair. He reported that he received a "homey discount" on the haircut.

Lakers rookie Andrew Bynum spoke to the media but forgot to remove his mouthguard.

Vince Carter paid to have a life-sized bronze statue of himself erected at his former high school.

When asked what it was going to take to get the Heat to play like he envisioned they would, Pat Riley said, "It's 525,600 minutes."

Damon "Basketball" Jones became the first U.S. player to endorseLi Ning shoes, one of the biggest brands in China.

Then-Sonics forward Reggie Evans missed the start of the second half of a game because he was detained after being unable to provide a urine sample for a halftime drug test.

Following an overtime win against the Raptors, Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas admitted he was tired because he was up late the night before playing video games.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said that starting power forward Kwame Brown is "a p***y."

After playing poorly in a win over Washington, Pacers center David Harrison broke a picture of himself hanging in a hallway of Conseco Field House.

Dallas owner Mark Cuban invested in a toilet seat that utilizes "retractable wands."

After getting involved in an altercation in a Utah bar, Jazz point guard Deron Williams told police his name was "Torrey Ellis."

Shaquille O'Neal admitted that two of his aliases when checking into hotels on the road are "Donovan Perot" and "Vladimire Mandingo."

In an NBA.com celebrity fantasy basketball league, TNT analyst Kenny Smith finished 1-21 for the season, eight games behind Pamela Anderson in the loss column.

Tracy McGrady named his second son Laymen Lamar McGrady.

The New York Daily News reported that Jerome James was suspended indefinitely because he was in no shape to practice with the Knicks on the morning of Jan. 1 after spending the night celebrating.

Sonics coach Bob Hill banned players from talking to each other during practice.

After a close loss to the Denver Nuggets, Bulls GM John Paxson chased the referees into their locker room.

Former Cavs lottery pick Dajuan Wagner had his colon removed.

Pistons guard Carlos Delfino announced that he'll wear American pants, but he prefers European shirts.

Jason Williams cut his finger putting a weight on a weight rack.

Cavs guard Ira Newble spent eight days in the hospital with an ingrown hair in his nose.

To help lighten the mood in the Miami Heat locker room, Pat Riley performed a 15-minute dance routine to the DoobieBrothers' Listen to the Music.

Darko Milicic showed up for his first practice with the Orlando Magic with a sunburn, explaining that he had fallen asleep on the beach.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced a program to allow fans to swap guns for tickets.

Hawks forward Al Harrington mentioned that he once sang a duet of Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better with Rosie O'Donnell on her eponymous television show.

Reserve Spurs forward Fabricio Oberto, who just moved to America from Argentina, won the team's NCAA pool after picking teams randomly with no knowledge of any of the teams.

Rasheed Wallace almost missed the start of a recent game after forgetting to set his clock forward one hour for Daylight Savings Time.