Hi Samson? yeah, meet Delilah...and watch out for the scissors...

Ouch: Former NBA forward Jamal Mashburn is being sued by a man who claims he was blinded by a golf ball hit by Mashburn in 2004…

Interesting: NBA Hall of Famer Dr. J will introduce Dominique Wilkins at his induction into the Hall in September…

Lots of buzz coming out of Storrs these days as Connecticut's 7-foot-3 Tanzanian signee, Hasheem Thabeet begins to play in pickup games…Thabeet is already drawing comparisons to NBA centre Dikembe Mutombo…but more athetic…

I watched a replay (yes I’m pathetic I know, but watching summer league on Raptors TV is something that seems to calm both me and my 3 week old daughter) of a Hawks vs. Jazz summer league game last night and as advertised Hawks PF Marvin Williams was as improved as advertised…however, one play from the 2nd half caught my eye…on a fast break, Jazz PG Deron Williams made a terrific one handed pass that was caught be a streaking Rafael Araujo (yes you read that right, not only was he running with that funny “my hips don’t work” duck run of his but he did indeed catch the pass) and as Araujo rose to dunk (stop laughing) he was clobbered by Marvin Williams with a one handed hack across the face that left Hoffa with a bloody nose…as Hoffa started to fall after the hit he grabbed Williams by the jersey and tossed him like a throw pillow about 8 feet into the stands under the basket…Williams, incensed by Hoffa’s reaction jumped up and had to be restrained by refs and players as he tried in vain to get at Hoffa and fight him…to his credit Hoffa backed off and was laughing…the refs threw Hoffa out of the game and T’d up Williams and that was that…but the best part was the camera showing Jerry Sloan in the crow talking to Jazz owner Larry Miller…you can clearly see Miller say to Sloan: ” They should have let them go…(at it I presume)” top which Sloan replies: “Hoffa would have killed him.”…I agree…

Mike Kahn of Foxsports.com with his terrific “10 things” column:

1) 10 things we learned this week in the NBA

A week later, the stunning sting that came with the ownership group led by Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz sold the Sonics to Clay Bennett and a group of Oklahoma City businessmen for $350 million hasn't lessened in the market. It's just been replaced by the obvious ... what happens next?

1. Item: Essentially, we're sitting here with the Sonics guaranteed to be in Seattle only for the 2006-07 season, while the Hornets will be playing in Oklahoma City, and then returning to New Orleans for the 2007-08 season along with the 2008 NBA All-Star game. What this really means: We've got two NBA franchises and three cities, with the NBA sitting back in earnest watching the machinations unfold. The new Sonics owners, led by Clay Bennett, almost too honestly said there are 12 months to get the arena problems resolved, otherwise ... they're headed for Oklahoma City. Actually, he didn't say the last part, but it won't be 12 months either, since the state legislature that will have to get on board for a new arena, convenes in January. Meanwhile, Hornets owner George Shinn has serious concerns about the long-range market in New Orleans, which was a bad market before Hurricane Katrina's devastation, and isn't going to improve as a NBA city now. That translates into the Seattle market being a strong viability for a franchise swap of sorts, between Shinn and Bennett, who obviously would prefer to have his team in Oklahoma City. To appease the NBA and escape the rigors of a ludicrous lease in Seattle's KeyArena and the intractable city council, there needs to be an immediate grass roots campaign to put a new building on the East Side of Lake Washington across from Seattle. Already, Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman is involved, as are Washington State Ways and Means Committee chair Marguerite Prentice and mayor Kathy Koehlker (both from Renton) in an attempt to get the ball rolling. One other possibility to keep an eye on is whether or not Trail Blazers owners Paul Allen sells his team or just re-purchases the Rose Garden. If he sells, he could become a player on the building in Renton, which would be close to the brand new headquarters of his NFL Seahawks, opening in 2008. The Sonics are, after all, the flagship franchise of professional sports in the Pacific Northwest, entering their 40th season, and 70 percent of their season ticketholders have been from the East Side anyway.

2. Item: Sacramento Kings owners Gavin and Joe Maloof apparently will get their new $500 million downtown arena based on a .025 sales tax initiative — ending all sorts of ruminations that this nomadic franchise would be on the move again. What this really means: From Rochester to Cincinnati to Kansas City, Omaha and now Sacramento, finally this franchise appears to have found a permanent home. Contingent on approval of the proposal — which now seems a slamdunk on the November ballot — the Maloofs will pay $122 million over the life of the deal to the project, along with $72 million to settle the debt on Arco Arena. And that puts an end to the rumblings of moving the Kings to Orange County or even more attractive, Las Vegas, where the Maloofs own the Palms Hotel and Casino. It's imperative that situations like this continue in the NBA to prove that the financial system isn't broken, and teams will continue to be sold and moved. Nothing happened from 1985 — when the Kings moved from Kansas City — until 2001 when Michael Heisley, who bought the Grizzlies, moved them from Vancouver to Memphis. Since then, Shinn moved the Hornets from Charlotte to Memphis, and Charlotte got a new franchise because of the ill will caused by Shinn. Now we've got franchises in Seattle, Portland, Milwaukee, Orlando, and Atlanta all in unsettling circumstances (not to mention the Hornets again). Or maybe what we are finding out is in today's economics, stability among NBA franchises will be the exception rather than the rule.

3. Item: While virtually all of the veteran players have committed to return to the NBA champion Miami Heat, still no word from the African safari that has taken coach Pat Riley and his internal warfare over to continue coaching or just continue in the front office as president. What this really means: At 61, Riley finally validated what he began in 1995, by building the Heat into a championship franchise, 18 years after he last won a title as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Perhaps had Riley and the New York Knicks won the 1994 title over the Houston Rockets instead of blowing a 3-2 lead, he wouldn't have been so haunted by it all. Instead of deciding to retire, he opted to — in Neil Young's words — retread by leaving the Knicks to reconstruct and coach the Heat. He bowed out from coaching three years ago, leaving it to Stan Van Gundy until sketchy problems followed last season's conference finals. This season, although erratic, ended in spectacular fashion — with a stunning turnaround. After looking dead in the water — two games and 3 1/2 quarters into the finals against the Dallas Mavericks — Riley's mental toughness and the spectacular talent of Dwyane Wade took over. They pulled out Game 3 and stole the next three games from the Mavs for the title. Did it energize Riley or cap his career? We'll know soon enough, but the guys love him and he further proved he is one of the great coaches of any era. Now we'll see if he's got any juice left for an encore performance, or opts to take a run at one of the few great college coaches who really could make it in the NBA — Florida icon Billy Donovan.

4. Item: It was a stunning blow to the Nike select team that showed up in Vancouver last week to hang out with national team coach Jay Triano and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash. Nash cut his hair. Not just a little, his head was buzzed. What this really means: Nash, unlike Samson, laughed it off. More than anything else, it shocked the 20 players who showed up to play and learn from the Canadian hero. It just further emphasizes what we've sensed all along — Nash is dancing to the beat of his own drum at all times. As he remains humble and incredibly committed to community service in Phoenix with the Suns and all over his Canadian homeland — from British Columbia to Ontario — he will do it his way and in his time. At 32, it's hard to fathom how long he can maintain the incredible pace with which he plays and at such a high level. The hope is that the return of Amare Stoudemire from a year off after microfracture knee surgery will relieve a lot of his offensive pressure. But it will be interesting how close Stoudemire actually will be to his budding superstar form of two years ago. Maybe the signing of Marcus Banks to a five-year, $21 million contract to backup Nash and help Leandro Barbosa will help as well. With clear orders from Robert Sarver to avoid a luxury tax, it will again test the highly-underrated coaching ability of Mike D'Antoni after consecutive trips to the conference finals. You wouldn't think the magic would be lost in Nash's swept away locks, would you?

5. Item: The Detroit Pistons introduced new acquisitions Nazr Mohammed and Flip Murray to the media last week, plus they resigned Lindsey Hunter and Ronald Dupree. What this really means: Before everyone throws up their hands in disbelieve — present company included — over the huge loss of Ben Wallace via free agency, let's consider the comparison of last year's team to this one. Mohammed will in no way bring the energy to the table that Wallace does. But his numbers may not be that significantly different if the team diversifies as much as it appears president Joe Dumars would like to see. Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups were the top five in the NBA in minutes played the past three years and that caught up with them as they nearly failed to get even to the conference finals. With the additions of Mohammed and Murray, plus Flip Saunders committing to utilizing the bench more with Murray, Antonio McDyess, Hunter and Carlos Delfino, it should give them a more diverse look and feel. And the real hope is it will give them consistent bench scoring and strong legs at the end of the season. To be sure, the Pistons proved they are not one of the teams to be considered with greatness over the past 20 years, butt hey were in the NBA finals two years in a row and had the best record of all during the 2005-06 regular season. That should mean they will be one of the top four teams in the East again, but how good they really are may ultimately be decided by whether the intangibles of Ben Wallace can be replaced.

6. Item: With the signing of big men Jackie Butler and Francisco Elson, restricted free agents from the Knicks and Nuggets respectively whose offer sheets were not matched, the San Antonio Spurs now have completed the transformation of their frontcourt. What this really means: Just like how so many went bananas over the failure of the Pistons to return to the NBA finals, the death of the Spurs was greatly overestimated. Unloading Rasho Nesterovic for Matt Bonner and Eric Williams, plus letting Mohammed go, gives the Spurs much more depth and versatility up front than what they had around Tim Duncan last season. Besides, with Bruce Bowen's defensive proficiency on the wing — plus the backcourt of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Michael Finley, Beno Udrih, Brent Barry and newly-signed point guard Jacque Vaughn — they have the deepest roster in the NBA. They can go very big or very small — with championship experience on the floor, the bench and the coaching staff. The only real questions would be the stamina of Parker and Ginobili.

7. Item: After looking so good in summer league, Nets rookie big man Josh Boone tore the labrum in his left shoulder, had surgery last week and will be out 4-6 months. What this really means: After feeling so good about stealing Connecticut stars Boone and Marcus Williams with the 22nd and 23rd picks of the first round, the Nets now are one short up front. Boone had looked superb earlier in the week putting up great Summer League numbers, then obviously hurt himself at some point during one of the later games last week. Has anybody else noticed how much Boone facially and physically looks like noted 7-footer Sam Bowie, who was the infamous No. 2 draft pick of the 1984 draft by the Trail Blazers instead of Michael Jordan. Bowie had missed two seasons with a broken leg at Kentucky and struggled throughout his NBA career, never attaining the greatness expected. But the irony and good news is the best portion of his career happened to be the four years he played with the Nets — averaging 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. If the Nets can get that out of Boone, they'll be thrilled. Let's just see him get back for the second half of this season first.

8. Item: With expectations of a deal for Al Harrington continuing to mount, the Indiana Pacers instead made their second trade of the summer with the Dallas Mavericks — sending backup guard Anthony Johnson to the Mavs in exchange for 38-year-old point guard Darrell Armstrong, along with throw-in youngsters Josh Powell and Rawle Marshall. What this really means: Obviously, the front office feels that Jamaal Tinsley, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Marquis Daniels — plus Armstrong — give them plenty at point guard. It also will help keep contracts away from luxury tax with what appears to be an inevitable deal for Harrington. The latest conversations with the Atlanta Hawks now reportedly have found the Hawks to be appeased by taking the $7.5 million trade exception in exchange for a sign-and-trade for Harrington at that number over six years. Maybe there will be a throw-in, but with the Hawks ownership still in a state of disarray, they don't want any more big contracts. It also means Harrington may be taking less from the Pacers than a sign-and-trade may have brought from Golden State. But he prefers to go back to Indiana, where his parents now live and where his career started with best friend Jermaine O'Neal. Over six seasons, the deal would be worth approximately $56.8 million — an average of just less than $9.5 million.

9. Item: The Pacers also rescinded the rights to guard Fred Jones, who turned around and signed a three-year, $11 million deal with the continuously changing Toronto Raptors. What this really means: Raptors president Bryan Colangelo wasted no time responding to John Salmons changing his mind. Salmons had originally agreed to a $23 million, five-year deal with the Sixers and a trade to the Raptors. Uncertain of his role after the signing of Anthony Parker and Mo Peterson's status, Salmons pulled out. That opened the door for Jones, who is two inches shorter at 6-4 and not as versatile as Salmons with the ball, but has shown far more flashes of an exceptional player. Consider now how much Colangelo changed the landscape from last year's 27-55 team. Beginning with the huge deal that brought point guard T.J. Ford for Charlie Villanueva, the Raptors have added Jones, Parker, Nesterovic, Darrick Martin, Kris Humphries, and rookies Andre Bargnani and P.J. Tucker. That's eight new players to go along with the burgeoning stardom of forward Chris Bosh. This isn't to say they will be in the playoffs, but, injuries aside, they should be one of the teams battling on the bubble for the final spot.

10. Item: The first week of coach Mike Krzyzewski as coach of the U.S. Senior National Team was spent getting to know the players and emphasizing team chemistry. Along with assistants Mike D'Antoni from the Suns, the Blazers' Nate McMillan, and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, there appears to be none of the unrest that was so apparent with Larry Brown and his staff the last time around. What this really means: The staff has the right idea, as do the players. Carmelo Anthony, no doubt buffeted by having his college coach Boeheim around, has been the standout along with Chris Paul. But, obviously, this is a star-studded cast and there might be some major surprises left home. Keep in mind, we're talking about LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Gilbert Arenas, Amare Stoudemire, Elton Brand, Shawn Marion, Dwight Howard and versatile Joe Johnson, too. That's 11. Add role players with a defensive edge such as Bruce Bowen and Shane Battier, you've got 13. Add on Brad Miller, Antawn Jamison, and rookie Adam Morrison, and then consider point guards Luke Ridnour and Kirk Hinrich. They're off this week, and return to Las Vegas for another week, capped off with an exhibition game against Puerto Rico on Aug. 3. They then head to Asia with 15 players to play China and Korea in exhibition games for two weeks before going to Sapporo, Japan with the final 12 for the World Championships from Aug. 19-Sept. 3. The biggest concern appears to be redundant skills, so there could be some surprise cuts just to enhance the chemistry with role players. On the other hand, Colangelo and company have to be careful not to damage egos in this process. Otherwise, what appeared to be a well-conceived, and comfortable process for many, could be a problem. It's imperative for the perception of both USA Basketball and the NBA that the whining and lack of success that has permeated the process the past half dozen years or so is gone at least through the 2008 Olympics.

2) Marc Stein of ESPN.com thinks the Pacers are close to getting Harrington:

Pacers close to acquiring Harrington from Hawks

The biggest name still available on the NBA free-agent market is Al Harrington. Except that you'd struggle to find a team out there that considers Harrington available. Harrington's return to the Indiana Pacers via sign-and-trade with the Atlanta Hawks, according to various NBA front-office sources, is widely seen as a done deal. Perhaps the strongest indication that a formal announcement is forthcoming from Indianapolis is the fact that the Pacers' main competition for Harrington is no longer courting the versatile forward. The Golden State Warriors, sources said, have conceded defeat in the Harrington chase, fully expecting the 26-year-old to join the Pacers in a swap with Atlanta that would net Harrington a six-year contract worth a tad less than $57 million. It remains unclear who or what Atlanta would receive in the sign-and-trade arrangement, but the deal can be completed with the Hawks taking back recent or future draft picks -- or perhaps a moderately priced youngster, such as center David Harrison -- as opposed to significant salary. That's because of a $7.5 million trade exception Indiana created earlier this month by striking a sign-and-trade deal with the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets involving Peja Stojakovic … after Stojakovic already had committed to sign a five-year, $60-plus million free-agent contract with the Hornets. With a modest cash payment believed to be in the $250,000 range, Indiana persuaded the Hornets to participate in a sign-and-trade swap for Stojakovic instead of signing him outright. The Pacers signed Stojakovic to the terms he and the Hornets negotiated and shipped the sharpshooter (plus cash) to New Orleans/Oklahoma City for the rights to 1998 second-round draft pick Andy Betts, who likely will never play for Indiana. Without the $7.5 million trade exception resulting from that maneuver, Indiana wouldn't be able to complete a sign-and-trade for Harrington unless the Hawks were willing to take back contracts in the same monetary range as Harrington's new first-year salary. Harrington's apparent willingness to start that new contract in the $7.5 million range, meanwhile, is expected to return him to the team that drafted the 6-9, 245-pounder in 1998 -- and has turned that trade exception into one of the most valuable assets of this NBA offseason. Harrington, sources said, initially told interested suitors he was expecting a six-year deal worth at least $66 million. For the Pacers to pay that much, Atlanta almost certainly would have to be willing to accept a package built around Indiana center Jeff Foster. But Foster, by all indications, is not part of the forthcoming trade. Indy's unforeseen trade exception gets Harrington fairly close to his financial target and the team he likes best. Better yet for the Pacers, their new Ron Artest replacement is regarded as a topflight athlete capable of playing small forward and power forward. When the free-agent period commenced July 1 and the Hornets secured a verbal commitment from Stojakovic within hours, it looked as though Indiana would lose its original Artest successor without compensation. The Pacers have been busy on other fronts, as well, according to sources, in hopes of reducing future salary obligations wherever possible as they prepare to absorb Harrington's big contract. They first rescinded a qualifying offer to shooting guard Fred Jones, suddenly making Jones an unrestricted free agent, and he quickly reached an agreement to sign with Toronto Raptors. Indiana also agreed this past weekend to trade point guard Anthony Johnson, who has two seasons left on his contract worth a little more than $5 million, for a package of three Dallas Mavericks that likely will be whittled to one. Veteran point guard Darrell Armstrong is the only Mav expected to stick with the Pacers after the deal goes through. Young forwards Josh Powell and Rawle Marshall are prime candidates to be waived. The Pacers also have shopped Foster (who earns $5.5 million next season) and guard Sarunas Jasikevicius ($4 million) this summer and might proceed with plans to move one or both to gain additional distance from the luxury-tax threshold. "Obviously, Indiana, I'm more comfortable there because I've been there, I've been in the East," Harrington told ESPN.com earlier this month at the Vegas Summer League, making it clear then that he expected to wind up with either the Pacers or the Warriors. "Going into free agency, obviously you think, 'I'm going to be at the bottom of the screen [on ESPN's Bottom Line ticker] like Ben Wallace and the rest of the guys.' But everyone's telling me to be patient, so that's what I'm trying to do."