Car wash magnate and former Knicks forward Charles Oakley is a man of many passions: Las Vegas brawler, Michael Jordan aficionado, and chef. And now, tough guy Oakley wants to cook for you in your home for free. more ›

Less than two months ago, the basketball season seemed lost—but on Sunday, the NBA returns! It's going to be an exciting Christmas day to herald in the condensed 66-game season, with marquee matchups between several title contenders, including the Knicks/Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks/Miami Heat, LA Lakers/Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder/Orlando Magic and LA Clippers/Golden State Warriors. But the real question isn't who to support—everyone who cares already has a team they're loyal to—it's who to hate. And it seems there's a new villain in the league: Kris Humphries. more ›

It figures: mere hours after reports that the Nets were in "serious talks" with the Orlando Magic to trade for superstar Dwight Howard, Orlando has made it clear that they aren't planning on trading the face of their franchise (for now). For what it's worth, according to Yahoo Sports, Howard "is not a happy camper" with that decision. Which means we can all look forward to going through all this again in four months! more ›

The Nets really have the worst luck: first, Dwight Howard reportedly demanded a trade to the team last week, getting everyone excited about the prospect of a truly worthy crosstown basketball rivalry. The Nets understandably put all their other plans and trades in limbo to focus on him. Then the team was accused of tampering. Then the Chris Paul trade blew up, and the Lakers set their sights on Howard. Now, even as Howard has given the Nets hope by listing them as one of the four teams he'll sign a contract extension with, he's reportedly considering staying in Orlando after all. What's next? Is billionaire owner and Russian presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov going to have a mysterious "accident?" more ›

We're well into what Bill Simmons has called "one of the craziest months in NBA history," and things are starting to go bonkers with trade rumors. According to Yahoo, the Knicks are on the verge of signing center Tyson Chandler to a four year/$58 million deal. To free up space for Chandler, who played with the champion Dallas Mavericks last season, the Knicks will have to shed the contracts of Chauncey Billups and Ronny Turiaf. more ›

Confirming what we've all suspected since he made a "Big 3" wedding toast nearly two years ago, Yahoo reports that the agent for New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul informed the team today that he will not sign a contract extension, and wants to be traded to the New York Knicks. Maybe Paul is just really interested in enrolling at Amare Stoudemire's Hebrew school? more ›

A little after 3 a.m. this morning, representatives for NBA players and owners came to a "handshake agreement" to end the 149-day lockout and play a 66-game season, beginning with three already-scheduled games on Christmas Day. Call it a Christmas Miracle, or whatever happens when people realize that sticking to their principles costs billions of dollars. more ›

Earlier this month, the NBA players union rejected a deal from owners that basically put the nail in the coffin of the 2011-2012 season. Perhaps realizing that the public doesn't really care that much, the two sides have been meeting this Thanksgiving week to salvage things and bring back basketball by the end of the year. more ›

Talks between the NBA Players Association and the NBA broke down again today, this time likely for good, as the players rejected the owners' proposed collective bargaining agreement that included at 50-50 split of basketball-related income. The executive director of the Players Association tells ESPN that the owners were "not willing and prepared to negotiate." Barring any surprises, this leaves only professional football, college football, soccer, NASCAR, hockey, and college basketball for sports fans to center their personal lives around. more ›

You know things are bad with the fate of the NBA when Spike Lee is at a Rangers game—as one person observed on Thursday night while the #1 Knicks fan posed for a photo with beloved former Rangers captain Mark Messier, "he must be bored without the Knicks." And now it get worse: The NBA just announced games through November 30 would be cancelled. more ›

Yesterday, Commissioner David Stern reluctantly cancelled the first two weeks of the NBA season as players and owners struggled to come to an agreement over their labor dispute. Knicks star Amar'e Stoudemire is optimistic that the two sides will come to terms and be able to save the season, but he has an alternate plan in case that doesn't work out: “If you don’t go to Europe, then let’s start our own league. That’s how I see it.” more ›

Shortly after he rejected the Knicks, the Cavaliers, and half a dozen other desperate suitors, LeBron James made an ill-thought out prediction for the Miami Heat which helped cement his villain status in the NBA: “We will win not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, but more [NBA championships]." James didn't win a championship in his first season with the Heat, but at least he can smile through the pain by parodying that soundbyte in a new McDonalds Monopoly ad. Those millions of dollars in endorsement deals probably help soothe his aching ego as well. Watch the karmic commercial below. more ›

Lots of grim news for basketball fans today: NBA Players Association chief Billy Hunter said that if he "had to bet on it," he'd wager that the entire 2011-12 regular season will be canceled due to the lockout. So what will the Knicks players and officials do in the interim? Oh sure, Amare might be able to play in China, Carmelo could make a reality show about hanging out with Pandas, and Landry Fields would finally have the time for a collaboration with Spike Lee, but the rest of the team would be utterly adrift. And if that weren't bad enough news, here's Knicks owner James Dolan performing his latest hit single..."Fix The Knicks." Watch/listen below: more ›

Call the NBA and the NFL the Dynamic Dolts, because both leagues are about to be locked out. The NBA will join the lockout party today, as NBA player union representative Billy Hunter stated that the owners will lock out the players tonight, officially putting next season in jeopardy. more ›

If you took any action with your online bookie on the NBA semi-finals, or whether any of the NBA players would use another homophobic slur on national TV, there's a decent chance that it's now in the hands of the law (what was the over-under on getting nabbed?) SI Live reports that the feds arrested 28 people today in Staten Island, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania for their roles in an online gambling ring that was netting $100,000 a week. One of the leaders, Joseph Stentella, claims to have said that "he ran the system so well he should have been in charge of the state's failed OTB." more ›

During a televised sporting event that was watched by literally millions of people last night, Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah was caught on one of the dozens of cameras which are constantly trained on him calling a fan a "f**king faggot." Clearly upset over being called for his second foul in the first quarter of the game, you can hear Joakim shout the slur around 0:19: more ›

The Knicks were the first team eliminated from the playoffs, and now they get to face a horde of questions which are hovering over the franchise: will the team keep Coach Mike D'Antoni and president Donnie Walsh? Who can they get to fill out their roster? Will they ever learn to play defense? Can Walt Clyde Frazier wear his cow suit after Memorial Day?? At least one question mark was resolved today: the team announced hat they will keep point guard Chauncey Billups next year. more ›

Game 3 of the first round playoff series between the Knicks and Boston Celtics, the first playoff game at MSG in seven years, may have left a particularly bad taste in everyone's mouth. But this strange iteration of the Knicks already proved in the first two games of the series that when not bogged down with injuries, they can compete for real. This afternoon, they just want to make sure they don't get swept at home: "The most important thing is just how much pride we got. I don't want to get swept. We don't want to get swept, so we gotta go out there and leave it all out there on the court, see what happens. If we got to make every hustle play, foul some guys, knock somebody out, do whatever we got to do to prevent a sweep. I've been swept before. It's a sad thing," Carmelo Anthony told reporters yesterday. more ›

The Knicks tip off game one of their first round playoff matchup against the Boston Celtics tomorrow night; it's the first time the Knicks have made the playoffs in seven years, since the dreadful Isiah Thomas administration. Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony have been making the talk show rounds this week, promising that "we're looking to do something special." But many questions hover over the series: can the Knicks play defense consistently? Will Shaq be healthy enough to play? And most importantly, what will Walt Clyde Frazier wear? more ›