lakers

Phil Jackson's strange first tweet is an AOL ad

Sleep has possibly eluded you since you saw Phil Jackson's first tweet.

You wondered whether the former Lakers and Bulls coach was having severe trouble typing or whether he'd perhaps lost his senses.

You must now decide which of these is fact. For the tweet that read: "11 champ;ipnsikp[ ringhs" is actually, intake of breath, an ad for AOL.

Indeed, that very same AOL that you have always loved and respected, never more than now.

I am grateful to Deadspin for bringing me this painful information and making me believe that all humans have aspects … Read more

Phil Jackson's first tweet is a work of art

When you join Twitter, the elation of suddenly experiencing free access to self-expression can be Zen-like.

You become at one with it. It becomes at one with you. Until the point where you're not sure which is you and which is it.

I feel sure that such feelings overcame Phil Jackson -- the NBA coaching great -- when he joined Twitter and 55,000 people immediately genuflected in the face of his Zen.

His account, @PhilJackson11, has been verified. It describes him as "coach and author." I have not read one of his books, but I suspect they don't necessarily include the character sequences that appear in his first tweet.

For it reads: "11 champ;ipnsikp[ ringhs."… Read more

Boom Shakalaka!

NBA Jam is an updated and faithful recreation of probably the most popular standup arcade basketball game of all time. For those who never went through several dollars in quarters at the local arcade playing this fun classic many years ago, NBA Jam is not your standard five-on-five simulation you see on consoles. This game is all about two-vs.-two high-flying dunk basketball, where just about every play is worthy of a highlight reel.

The control system for NBA Jam on offense includes a directional pad on the lower left part of the screen, and pass, shoot, and speed boost … Read more

Faulty iPhone alarms cause Lakers to lose?

Playing in the NBA is a high-pressure, neurotic experience.

You are so tall that the public glares at you even when you're not on the court. This apparently means you must get the appropriate amount of sleep--not too much, not too little--in order to perform your best.

It seems that three members of the Los Angeles Lakers relied on their iPhone alarms on Sunday to wake them at the perfect moment. And their iPhones let them down so badly that the Lakers then let their fans down by performing like sleepwalking oddities against the Memphis Grizzlies.

According to ESPN.com, … Read more

The 404 605: Where we pull the yellow card (podcast)

Today's episode of The 404 Podcast is all about techy gift recommendations for Father's Day, OpenBook exposing more Facebook privacy issues, and an amazing video of a Japanese beatboxer performing the Super Mario theme song.

We begin the show by pulling our own version of a yellow card in response to the questionable officiating in this morning's World Cup match between USA and Slovenia, but you'll have to tune in to hear our twist on the penalty.

Father's Day is this weekend, and if you still don't know what to get for your Dad, … Read more

Lakers tickets? Celtics? Trust the math

I cannot predict (though I can dream it) Kobe Bryant being sunk by Los Suns de Phoenix in the NBA playoffs. Can the alleged Superman Dwight Howard defeat those hardy assailants from Boston? My heart says probably not. My brain says absolutely, positively no way in this lifetime or any other.

But these are mere emotions. They fail us. And the more our emotions fail us, the more money the left-brainers make. (Look at Google, having invaded our laptops, now marching its armies toward our TVs.)

Yet what is lovely about some left-brainers, especially mathematicians beyond Wall Street, is that … Read more