Although LeBron James bricked that left-handed free-throw, believe it or not, he’s actually ambidextrous. Matter of fact, he writes with his left hand, which is very curious in and of itself. At least that’s what Tom Withers of the Associated Press has reported. Here’s an excerpt:

“James can drive, dribble and create with either hand. It’s not widely known that James writes with his left.”

What’s more, when he shot that free throw (with his left), his right arm was actually numb. So, we’ll forgive him for the brick!…

“…James later said he chose to shoot left-handed because his right arm was numb and he felt the Cavs were in control with a four-point lead.”

Do you know any ambidextrous ballers?

I do, but the only ones I know, they write with their right hand and shoot with their left. Never the other way around, as LeBron does it.

The two people I know? Of all people, my dad and Dream League New York’s commish.

Read the whole article at: Ohio.com – LeBron puzzled by elbow injury

If you’re like at least 80% of us, on your rec basketball team you’re probably not the best player, not the go-to guy. Let’s say you just had a playoff game and your team stunk it up. You personally played kinda so-so, maybe even a little subpar, but definitely inconsistently. At the same time, the best guy on your team just exploded for 39 points and 11 rebounds. Then he says this: “I’m not pointing fingers or anything, but I can’t do this by myself, guys.”

Now, let’s turn the tables. Let’s say you are that go-to guy and you’re the one who recorded the 39-and-11, but still lost.

Some of us may have been in those shoes before, despite clearly falling well short of becoming an NBA superstar. Maybe you were the best player on your squad, the only kid who played varsity high school ball on a crappy team in the intramural league. You scored 20 ppg. For the first playoff game, you scored 27 but you guys lost. Maybe your older, veteran point guard couldn’t hit any shots either.
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The first ethnic Chinese player to be drafted in the NFL, in its 91-year history, and at pick number 140 by the Buffalo Bills, Ed Wang is a 6′5″ 314-lb. senior offensive tackle out of Virginia Tech. That means he’s 1-1/2 inches taller than Jeremy Lin, and a whole lot heavier. Wang is a big dude! A freak of nature.

Not to steal the thunder from Wang, but I think that just goes to show you how big Jeremy is, in “real-life” terms.

DraftExpress recently released its Portsmouth measurements, and I’ve heard people grumble about how Jeremy’s height and wingspan aren’t remarkable: 6′3″ and 6′5″, respectively…

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-draft-measurements/?year=2010&sort2=DESC&draft=&pos=&sort=2#

Incidentally, when I asked Jeremy’s older brother just how tall Jeremy is, he told me, “Six-three-and-a-half, six-four with shoes.”

Sure, that’s not as incredible as Dwight Howard being only 6′9″ but having a 7′4″ wingspan…

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/A-Historical-Look-at-the-NBA-Pre-Draft-Measurements-2912/

…but if you happen to play basketball recreationally on a regular basis such as in Dream League’s leagues or tournaments, a person 6′3″ 201 with a 6′5″ wingspan walking in the gym would definitely grab your attention. And he can dribble as good as the little 5′6″ guys.

Yes, I know we’re supposed to be comparing apples to apples. But I tell you what, “wingspan” is the most over-rated “stat” in basketball, especially when it comes to point guards (think Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Tony Parker — the list goes on). Wingspan is a great stat for big men, I’ll give you that, but then again Chris Webber’s 7′6″ wingspan isn’t going to be enough to get him into the Hall Of Fame.

You can read Ed Wang’s NFL Draft diary at: Draft-Diary-Debut-By-Ed-Wang / News – NFLPlayers.com

Here’s a hoops-related nugget from the John Madden daily podcast the other day on KCBS740 radio. He was talking about the NFL Draft and how 33-year old Brandon Crawford, defensive end for Ball State, has no shot at even an NFL camp because of his age (and the fact that he would have to be paid a full salary if he gets injured). The conversation shifted to sportswriter George Plimpton and his “tryout” back in the day with the Detroit Lions, to which Madden said that was “stupid”.

Then Madden brought up one of his many wonderful anecdotes — you can’t find them on Google! — about how Rick Barry wanted to catch a few balls during camp. Here’s an excerpt from about the 6:40 mark of the podcast, which is linked below…

“Rick Barry wanted to get dressed and run some patterns. You know, I took what I was doing pretty serious. So I said, ‘I’ll tell you what, you can come out, but you’re gonna stay out of the whole practice and you’re going to do everything.” I swear, just at that time, Jack Tatum and George Atkinson walk by and I was standing outside the locker room and so I said to Jack and George, ‘If this guy comes out and he catches a pass and comes around the middle, it’s full go. I want you to do to him what you’d do to anyone else.’ You think Rick Barry dressed?”

You can download this podcast here: http://www.kcbs.com/episode_download.php?contentType=36&contentId=4582542&tag=Box_4846023_Outer_Div;Box_4846023_Inner_Div

Golf phenom and undercover asianballer.

Every now and then, an interesting hoops-related article will slip under the radar. But never fear, Poor Man’s Commish is here to make sure nothing falls through the cracks, as I check you with the first of many blindside picks!

Anthony Kim, ’sup mang? Golf phenom. Asian-Amillionaire kickin’ it wit NBA superstars. Closet balla! Who knew? Thanks to PGAtour.com’s recent interview, it is written:
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