Flight Time: Gerald Green

TJ thinks this is better than Blake Griffin ending any chance anyone will ever respect Kendrick Perkins' game ever again...I obviously disagree. This is a sick throwdown by Green, but without a helpless victim on the receiving end, it just isn't as awe-inspiring as Griffin's dunk.

Grown Little Man

Kev Hart watched the end of the NBA All-Star Celebrity game from the bench. But if you've gotta go, go with style.

D Rose with the Steal?

Interesting rumor floating around that Derrick Rose laughed in a hooker's face instead of paying her for her...services.

From Nurize (via Boxden):

Reigning NBA MVP Derrick Rose just got put on blast by a popular ESCORT hooker named Bee. According to BEE via Twitter, DRose stiffed one of her friends… And when it was over, she asked Derrick for payment and allegedly Rose “laughed” in the prostitute’s face and told her that he wasn’t paying

TJ is, of course, playing the "good wife" on this one and defending his man-crush to the end. Personally, I think this story has a little bit of merit. True, Rose isn't known for being the type of guy to hire hookers, let alone skip out on the bill. But I see little reason for "BEE" to lie on this, since there wouldn't be much she could gain aside from some minor publicity (which isn't all that great of a thing when you consider that her livelihood depends on law enforcement people not knowing what her livelihood is).

And, really, is it such a stretch of the imagination that Rose could have been at a club, casino, hotel, etc., and pulled a ridiculously hot chick; then, after they did the damn thing, she piped up and said "That'll be $3000"? We've certainly seen it happen in TV and movies enough times to make it all the more likely that some female of subpar intelligence would actually try pulling off this Looney-Tunes-for-adults-worthy ploy. And if you were D Rose in this (albeit hypothetical) situation, what would be your response? Would you pay her? Hell no. You'd probably just get dressed, laugh at the broad, and walk out the door.

Whether he legitimately stole from this chickenhead or not, at least Rose is finding a way to keep himself in shape during the lockout.

My boy Iso with the assist.

The Fix was In

And along with the "shocking" news that Kim K. has filed for divorce comes this interesting story from Wetpaint.

A source tells Wetpaint Entertainment that last fall, a representative of E!, the network that airs the many Kardashian reality shows, approached the New York Knicks to find out if Danilo Gallinari, the studly Italian who was then a forward on the team, would be interested in dating Kim. According to our source, both E! and Kim were interested in having her date a big New York athlete for the debut season of Kourtney & Kim Take New York, and the Knicks were their first choice. (The show, which first aired in January 2011, begins its second season next month.) Gallinari — then 22 to Kim’s 30 — was told that such a move would be good for his career and that he would garner lots of media exposure. Gallinari declined, saying he would be happy to meet Kim but wasn't interested in dating or being a reality-show star. E! had “no comment” when we called them.

Before you could say, “The Knicks aren’t the only game in the New York metro area!” Kim was dating Kris Humphries of the New Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn) Nets. Did E! approach the Nets, too? The Nets declined to comment. (Actually, no team will comment on players these days, due to the NBA lockout.)

I'm a little surprised by this story. It seems a little extreme to orchestrate a relationship and marriage all for a second-tier reality show's ratings. And it's incredibly sloppy, since there's almost no way you could keep the whole thing from becoming public knowledge eventually. But, that being said, I can't say I'm shocked by anything the Kardashian clan does these days.

This does make sense out of Humphries bagging Kim, though. I'm sure she loves charity and all (or at least that's what her family and producers would want you to think she loves), but actually dating and marrying a mentally challenged person just seemed a little outside the bounds of reality (even a Kardashian "reality").

Shaq Retires

Shaquille O'Neal just announced his retirement via this video, which he posted on Twitter.

Congrats, Diesel. You're one of the few real "good guys" in sports. My generation grew up watching you play, and I know very few who can say they never cheered for you. Best of luck in all of your future endeavors