Fuck Yea[h] NBA

The battle for LA that took place last night had lots of enduring images and clips for bloggers to salivate over the increased page views and $$$$$. The highlight of the night was probably Pau Gasol’s head rub on Chris Paul, which did not sit well with the, possibly, Napoleon complex stricken Paul. According to Adrian Wojnarowski’s Yahoo! Sports piece on the two teams’ rivalry derby:

”’Don’t touch the top of my head like I’m one of your kids,’ Paul seethed later.”

The orgy of west coast writers looking to jump on this “derby” isn’t limited to a specific outlet. People have wanted a Staples Center showdown since Paul’s deal to LA was nixed by the league. It begs the question: Is David Stern a genius? Because sending Paul to the Clippers instead of the Lakers has augmented West Coast basketball…for the better. At least it has from a marketing stand point. Hey, small and mid-markets, this is your commissioner!

In other news, Eric Gordon still hasn’t signed a contract extension to stay with the Hornets in New Orleans. Stern is leading the negotiations in place of eunuch GM, Dell Demps.

[Metta World Peace Ron Artest art courtesy of Sam Hoh of Sydney Australia via Hooped Up Online]