Oct 24, 2008 | 5:00 PM | NBA Skip Pass

by: Paul Miles

:: Dime: Shaun Livingston is back after 20 months on the comeback - A lot of players have gone down with injuries this preseason, but Shaun Livingston's put almost two full years of work into rehabing his blown-out knee. Moral victories, son. Moral victories.

:: NBA: Commissioner Stern: Top players will stay here - David Stern basically calls Olympiacos fiscally irresponsible. Stern:

I guess if they want to induce NBA players at salaries that exceed the budget of the team to play in games that 1,000 to 5,000 people will go to, they're free to do that and there will be one or two players that will benefit greatly from it.

:: Sac Bee: Maloofs' Palms allowed to accept NBA bets - The Maloof Brothers, who own the Kings, the Palms Casino and sort of look like the Geico cavemen (if they shaved, and wore fancy threads) will be allowed to take bets on NBA games in their casino. They will not be alloewd to take bets on Kings games, or use mafia muscle to points shave. Calling referees for some information is probably also not allowed. The league would probably also not be pleased if one of the brothers ran onto the floor and hit Yao Ming in the leg with a lead pipe, though I hear Jeff Gilooly is out of work.

:: China Daily: Star vacuum fails to excite hoop fans - The Golden State/Bucks games in China didn't set the world on fire. Chinese basketball fans are looking for "star power".

According to a public poll by leading Internet portal Sina.com, 34 percent of respondents paid no attention to the games. For those who bought tickets or watched on TV, 26 percent described the games as "boring", 23 percent bemoaned the lack of Chinese players and only 17 percent commented positively on the experience.

:: Raptors Republic - A half dozen Dinobot blogs have converged at the center of the Toronto basketball universe. Rugby fans in Fiji are unimpressed.

:: And One: No One Seems to Know This Song - Cranberries "Ode to My Family". I know my mid/late 90's college rock.

:: Sixers 4 Guidos: Shocking: old Sixers bums are still around - Hey T'Wolves fans, rep your squad, yo. Italian Sixers fans are coming directly at your throat talking mad trash about you guys picking up three (count'em THREE) of our former scrubs. Protect ya neck.

Labels: china, david stern, europe, golden state warriors, maloof brothers, milwaukee bucks, raptors, sacramento kings, shaun livingston, sixers, timberwolves

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