(Okay, so maybe this is not as awesome as the original NBA Jam, but just go with it.)

While I was in Reno for my bowling tournament the other week, Chris drove up from Sactown to hang out, take some pictures from the tournament, and play some bubble hockey. Chris stayed at the Circus Circus hotel and casino. For those not familiar with it, it's the "family-friendly" casino hotel that has a giant arcade area complete with midway games, etc. It also ends up being a nice diversion from gambling for the grownups. While wandering around the midway area near the bubble hockey table, we discovered it:

Yes.
An officially NBA-licensed arcade basketball game? Sweet. Featuring the Warriors and the Kings?? Hell freaking yes.

Sadly, the Warriors side was not for sale.

The Kings side was broken. How appropriate.
Obviously we had to play it. At only 50 cents per game, it's a downright steal. Because, hey, unlike the tiny little Pop-a-Shot I have in my basement, the electronics actually work and it actually keeps score! Well, one side did at least. Since the Kings side was down, only one of us could play at a time. Fortunately, this gave Chris plenty of opportunity to take pictures!

Here's something the Warriors normally see on the other side of the court more often -- the net swishing after a made basket

I am so white. Shouldn't I be playing a Pacers Pop-a-Shot game?
(I also have no idea why those white spots are showing up on my face -- it's probably some kind of chromatic abberation from the camera and lighting. That, or I unknowingly got jizzed on when the dealers at the blackjack tables were screwing me and nobody told me to clean myself up. Either or.)

I nearly ate a Wilsonburger from a long rebound. The ball took a funny bounce off the back of the rim and flew at me with tremendous force. Somehow this seemed appropriate.

When Chris and I informed Bawful of our discovery, he replied "I can only hope you chucked up as many ill-advised shots as possible, in true spirit of the Warriors."

Oh yes, I was a SWAC. I totally chucked up ill-advised shots all the time.
(Don't worry, I gave my tickets away to some random little kid so he could redeem them for cheaply made junk valuable prizes)

Labels: arcade game, Boomshakalaka, Golden State Warriors, Reno, Sacramento Kings

The Big WTF via Andy Gray's SI Vault
I hate to start off BAD with, ahem, bad news, but this is decidedly not AWESOME, BABY!!! Dick Vitale is going to call another NBA game. (h/t JE Skeets)

ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale will call the January 20 Jazz/Spurs game for ESPN, alongside play-by-play voice Dan Shulman. This will be the second NBA game Vitale has called for ESPN since the network regained rights to the league in '02.

Why can't they actually do something people want? Get the announcer from NBA Jam, for example. It'd be a perfect tie-in for when they bring out the new NBA Jam game. (Thanks to AnacondaHL for sharing that news -- he's on fire! Boomshakala!)

In other news, Scottie Pippen got his ass whupped by some midgets. And issued a press release about it.

Wait, what?



Skeets posted the rundown and the UNBELIEVABLE press release on Ball Don't Lie today. Go check it out. Now. (Also, Gary Coleman is in the movie, and there's inadvertente nude footage of him. There isn't enough eye bleach in the world...)

Worst of the Night in Pictures:

David Lee got confused by all the snow throughout the USAand thought he could do a snow angel on the hardwood

INVISBLE BREASTS


Alright, enough of that man-woman love crap. Back to regular ol' NBA man love

Nationally Televised Friday Games:
Celtics at Hawks: Rondo and Pierce are expected to play. The Hawks tend to match up well with the Celtics. AND it's on ESPN so I can see it. I am absolutely excited for this game.

Crabs at Nuggets: Holy crap, the Nuggets have a lot of people listed day-to-day: Lawson, Andersen, Billups, Carmelo, and Nene. Did they steal the Frail Blazers' training staff?

All The Other Friday Games:
Raptors at 76ers: Holy crap, the Raptors are at .500 now. Who knew? Another fun fact: only four players are left from the Raptors' roster as of the last game of '08-'09. I wonder if those two are somehow connected...

Magic at Wizards Generals Bullets: The Magic are trying to avoid their worst losing streak in three years. The good news for them? The Bullets were awful even with Agent Zero, and they're absolutely bawful without him.

Nyets at Hornets: The Nyets are 1-17 on the road. Get ready to make that 1-18.

Pacers at Timberpoops: As far as I can tell, this game isn't televised anywhere. And for that, we applaud you, NBA and television programmers.

Jazz Jekyll & Hydes at Grizzlies: Utah has won 11 straight against the Grizzlies. They own the Grizzlies more than any other team in the NBA. And yet I have no freaking clue which Utah team will show up for this game.

Bulls at Bucks: Chicago had been on a hot streak, but now they've dropped two straight, and they've only won once in their last 10 road games. Is VDN still feeling the heat?

Mavericks at Spurs: Per the Stats LLC preview, "Dallas is concerned about how it will defend Duncan, particularly if center Erick Dampier misses a third straight game with a knee injury." Ruh roh. Mark up the Spurs win right now.

Heat at Suns: In one game, we have Heat AND Suns (not just one sun, multiple suns!). All in one arena. Holy crap, I hope their air conditioning works pretty well. It's going to be super duper hot in that building!

Lakers at Frail Blazers: The Lakers have lost the last eight times they played in Portland. That is impressive. Keep it up, Blazers!

Kings Paupers at Warriors: Poor Sacramento. They've dropped six of seven after being one of the early season surprises. So, uh, how's Kevin Martin feeling?


All The Saturday Games:
Hawks at Magic: I don't care if the Magic are slumping. It's still not very fun for the Hawks to play the Celtics AND the Magic back to back.

Grizzlies at Bobcats: It's the battle of the southern market expansion teams! (Faaaaaaaantastic!)

76ers at Pistons: Eek. Ooph. Insert other onomatopoeia here.

Timberpoops at Bulls: Well, nice of the schedule makers to give the Bulls a free win in a super-sloppy game full of tired players.

Pacers at Thunder: Attempting to give a damn... nah, just not happening unless Durant goes off for 50 points. (Likelyhood: higher than you'd think)

Jekyll & Hydes at Mavericks: If you can predict the outcome of this game, you are a better man than me.

Knicks at Rockets: Give me good reason to preview this game. Go ahead. (waiting) That's what I thought. Moving on...

Nuggets at Paupers: Yeah, things just aren't looking good for Sactown right now.


Natonally Televised Sunday Games:
Crabs at Frail Blazers: A rarely seen Sunday night ESPN game! And a legitimately good game at that! Solid week for ESPN broadcasts.

All The Other Sunday Games:
Hornets at Bullets: You know, I'm surprised that Agent Zero didn't quote the "Don't disturb my friend, he's dead tired" line from Commando on the plane at some point while he was running his mouth.

Celtics at Raptors: I know the Celtics went through a rough patch and lost to some bad teams recently, but they don't lose to the Raptors here, do they?

Heat at Clippers: I'm just going to say it. The Heat aren't all that great. But the Clippers are who we thought they were. So this game could go either way, but honestly, shouldn't the Heat win?

Nyets at Spurs: We all know how good the Spurs are at beating up on bad teams. And good God is this a bad team.

Bucks at Lakers: What a nice, boring, bland way to cap off the night and help you go to sleep.

Labels: Bawful After Dark, Boomshakalaka, Dick Vitale is an evil human being, Scottie Pippen, unnecessary Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes