Nike has released a new video with the LeBron James and Kobe Bryant puppets just in time for Christmas. In this video, we learn three very important things that make it easier to live life, now that we know:
1. Reindeer play basketball
2. Reindeer, much like white men, can’t jump.
3. Santa Claus is black.
This is our favorite piece of Nike marketing in a long time. Perfectly priceless.
LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in puppet form, driving down the highway, discussing the power of a Black Mamba.
James: I got two words for you: King of the Jungle.
And some players are being fined for Tweeting at halftime? That’s nothing compared to what Ron Artest admitted to doing at halftime when he played for the Chicago Bulls (1999-2002).
Ron Artest told Sporting News he used to drink Hennessy at the halftime of NBA games. He kept the cognac in his locker.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is called alcoholism.
Thank goodness he wasn’t drinking and Tweeting. Whoa, Nelly!
The Los Angeles Lakers received their 2009 national championship rings last night, and damn are they blingy.
Some key notes about the rings, from NBA.com:
Laker gold — Most rings are 14-karat gold but the Lakers’ high-profile jeweler, Jason of Beverly Hills, created a special batch of 15-karat Laker gold to commemorate their 15th NBA championship. The ring is made of both white and yellow gold and was built from seven different parts that had to be assembled. Most rings are built as one unit.
Bling that’ll blind — The ring is comprised of 15 diamonds weighing in at 2.85 carats.
Home court advantage — The Lakers’ rings mirror the shape of the exterior of their home arena, the Staples Center. When viewed from the side, you can see the “roof” and “sides” of the Lakers’ home court.
Personalization — In the past every player has had their name and number on the side of their ring. The Lakers went a step above that and laser engraved the image of each player’s face on his ring.
Lock-down defense — Each ring boasts a hand-selected, diamond-engraved “L”. The “L” is placed in a different position on each player’s ring and is only viewable with a high-powered microscope. This helps authenticate each players piece. For further security and authentification, every ring has a serial number which is stored in a database that only the Lakers themselves and the jeweler can access.
Hollywood packaging, too — Each ring will be presented in an oversized box roughly the size of a watch box. When opened, each box has two built-in LED spotlights that shine on the ring. Even the ring itself gets royal treatment: it is mounted on a rotating mechanical platform.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom decided to get married after dating for what seemed to be just the blink of an eye. They haven’t even gone on a honeymoon yet and they’re already boasting each other’s initials on their hands: LO and KO.
Khloe wrote about it on her Web site:
Saturday night Lamar and I were eating at Sunset Plaza and I just said, “Let’s go to Tattoo Mania! I want a tattoo!” I think the best tattoo experiences are the spontaneous ones, because that way you are not only left with the tattoo, but an amazing memory to go along with it!
The truth was exposed about Manny Ramirez’s steroid use this summer, and he paid for it in the form of a 50-game suspension. But, just days after the Dodgers were knocked out of contention for a World Series berth, we’ve found out the ugliest secret about Manny’s juicing habits.