So long to Alvin “Boogie” Williams, always my favourite Raptor. He played his ass off and worked his ass off and eventually played and worked his knees off…Williams leaves the Raptors with career averages of 9.1 PPG, 4.1 APG and 2.5 RPG, but his best years were 2001-02 (11.8 PPG, 5.7 APG, 3.4 RPG) and 2002-03 (13.2 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.1 RPG) both years in which the Raptors were in the playoffs. Williams is all over the Raptors history books as he owns the Raptors’ consecutive games played streak at 187 (April 16, 2000 – Dec. 11, 2002), has played more games in a Raptors uniform (360) than any player in franchise history, holds the Raptors career record for assists, and it was his clutch jump shot at Madison Square Garden in 2001 that sealed the franchise's only playoff series win against the New York Knicks… While a provision in Williams' contract allowed the Raptors to release him and pay him only half of the approximately $14 million (U.S.) remaining on his contract, Bryan Colangelo, the Raptors' president and GM, voluntarily negotiated a sweeter settlement for a loyal employee. Williams had a rep as a tremendous ballhandler and very clutch shooter, both of which were justified…but most of all, I will remember his as a guy who just did not quit, always defended the other teams best guard, and had the best lean forward, cross the ball back to his left hand to a pull up jumper move I’ve ever seen, a move that Philly superstar Allen Iverson claims Williams taught him and he uses to great effect to this day…

Terrific preview coverage of all D1 conferences here: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2516801

The Hornets signed SG Rasual Butler and PG Bobby Jackson yesterday…word is Jackson hurt himself signing the contract and is out 4-6 weeks, while Butler disappeared into thin air from the pressure a reporter asking him a question…

1) Matthew Waxman of Si.com with a terrific article on where the NBA players ball in the summer:

Pickup hoops hot spots - Where the best players ball in the offseason

Turns out the basketball offseason isn't all piña coladas and inflatable pool furniture. We've located the summer pickup games that consistently lure All-Stars and All-Americas, despite the less-than-ideal conditions. We'll tell you who plays where, the house rules, how to sneak in and a famous rumor from each of the four most prolific offseason hoops runs in the country.

Rucker Park

The Regulars: Ron Artest, Stephon Marbury, Jamaal Tinsley, Jamal Crawford, Rafer Alston, Sebastian Telfair, Joakim Noah

Access: When superstars like AI, Kobe or KG are rumored to be in town, the rickety bleachers that line the perimeter of the court and hold a couple thousand people fill up more than an hour in advance of the early game at six. If you arrive after that, do as the kids do: scale the chain-link fence that surrounds the playground or perch yourself in a tree for a view of the action.

The Rules: NBA rules with refs, a time clock and a scoreboard.

The Run: "You're back in school, Joakim," the emcee crows. At the free throw line Noah, the Florida Gators' sophomore forward and Most Outstanding Player of last year's NCAA tournament, dips his knees and hits the first shot. "Congratulations on winning the NCAAs, but they gonna test you here," the emcee continues as Noah prepares for his second shot. "Ladies and gentleman, he could have gone to the league. Decided to enjoy another year" -- Noah starts his shooting motion -- "spending his parents' cash." Mid-stroke Noah cracks, flashing his gap-toothed grin and shaking his bouquet of long hair before clanging the second shot. The crowd laughs in amusement. At 155th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard -- next to Mama's Fried Chicken, Nas Deli, Miny Nails and Uptown Laundromat -- stands Rucker Park. The most historic slab of concrete since the Rosetta Stone has evolved since the days when Goat, Pearl and Tiny made names for themselves there. Streetballers like Homicide, Antifreeze and the Bone Collector now suit up in the Entertainers Basketball Classic (EBC), a league in which sponsors like Fat Joe, The Game and Jadakiss own and often coach teams featuring any NBA players they can get their hands on, even for a single game. Despite the debris, dusty surface and on-court emcees, who lollygag within the court lines while maintaining a running commentary/comedy show for the fans ("Potato chips at three in the morning is a dead giveaway you getting high," one of them once said to the crowd), the top ballers can't resist. "You got a lot of tradition out there," said Vince Carter after he played there in 2002. "It's just something where I wanted to say, 'Yeah, I played.'"
The Rucker's star power on-court is matched by those in attendance, from Fabolous and Mike Tyson to Alicia Keys, who has been known to stroll out of the stands and put on an impromptu a capella halftime performance. "I remember being at Rucker Park in the company of President Clinton," says commissioner David Stern, "and the MC says, 'Yo, Bill' and then decided it would be better to call him 'Mr. President.' It's neighborhood fun." The assist-to-turnover ratio may not be to Stern's liking, but the rough, And1 brand of ball helps pampered stars maintain their edge. "I got my swagger at the Rucker," says Noah, who played last summer as an unknown freshman before returning this year as a main attraction. "The basketball is completely different here; it isn't for everybody. But if you can play at the Rucker, you can play anywhere."

Rumor Has It: When Rafer "Skip to My Lou" Alston was a junior in high school and a defender (actually it was Conrad McRae, former Syracuse centre) went up to block his layup, Alston is said to have let the ball roll down his arm, behind his neck and down the other arm before flicking it to a streaking teammate for a layin.

The Men's Gym at UCLA

The Regulars: Paul Pierce, Chauncey Billups, Kevin Garnett, Derek Fisher, Baron Davis, Jermaine O'Neal, Earl Watson, Joe Johnson, Amaré Stoudamire, Tyronne Lue, Richard Jefferson, Grant Hill, Jared Jeffries, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Jordan Farmar

Access: Word spreads quickly when Kobe's walking through campus, but on most days only a couple dozen spectators line the walls.

The Rules: Games to seven by ones. Call your own fouls. Winners stay on center court.

The Run: Like all things basketball in L.A., the high-water mark of the pickup run at UCLA was caused by Magic Johnson, during summers in the '80s. John Wooden's Bruins squads may have won two championships in this old gym, in the shadow of Pauley Pavilion, but the fierce pickup games that begin in June and gain steam through July and August have Magic's fingerprints all over them. Adam Mills, a blond 6-foot-0 basketball junkie, and former television actor, has coordinated the games here for the past 20 years. "If I have three courts of 30 NBA guys, I'm happy," says Mills, who divides the teams evenly, keeping teammates together and filling out the rosters with local college and European talent, even tossing himself in the mix when one more is needed. The well-oiled, NBA-quality, NBA-style run is the antithesis of playground ball. "Pros get pissed if you try and take them one-on-one to show them how great you are," says Mills, who claims to have had every great player in but Kareem and Larry Bird. "They want to come in and get a nice two-hour run with no arguing." GMs such as Elgin Baylor, Kiki Vandeweghe and Mitch Kupchak respect the game enough to send players there for auditions, as the Lakers did in 1999 with Brian Shaw before eventually signing him. Kobe shows up occasionally; Shaq did too when he was with the Lakers. But it's Pierce who has stepped up to take the torch from Magic. "Where else can you go in the summer and play against NBA guys at the same level?" asks Pierce, who pitches in to help Mills pay for the gym time, while the other players "forget their wallets every day," according to Mills. "I've had a lot of battles there," says Pierce. "I played against Magic even after he retired and he'd still beat up on a lot of people."

Rumor Has It: Former UCLA coach Larry Brown claims that in the early '80s, Wilt Chamberlain, a decade retired from the NBA, would drive down from his Bel Air home to play and stay in shape. "[Magic] called a couple of chintzy fouls and a goaltending on Wilt," says Brown, "so Wilt said, 'There will be no more layups in this gym,' and he blocked every shot after that."

Tim Grover Game in Chicago

The Regulars: Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Antoine Walker, Shaun Livingston, Devin Harris, Chris Kaman, Michael Finley, Corey Maggette, James Posey

Access: Limited -- the only spectators allowed are family members, agents and Michael Jordan.

The Rules: Game to seven by ones. Actual NBA refs, scorekeepers, 24-second shot clock.

The Run: Michael Jordan's days as kingpin of the Chicago pickup games may be over, but that doesn't stop him from lording over the scene. Though His Airness no longer laces up, he occasionally drops by to talk trash. "He's the only one that has that right," says Jordan's former personal trainer Tim Grover, who as CEO of Attack Athletics, an athlete training company, organizes this workout exclusively for his NBA clients.
The notorious game shifted this year from Hoops the Gym to the University of Illinois at Chicago after Hoops was bought out, but the top-tier talent that follows Grover remains constant. A gym official recently did a quick mental tally of the contracts of the 30 or so NBA players warming up and remarked, "Wow, there must be three quarters of a billion dollars on the court." The Attack Athletic clients, most of who grew up or played in the Midwest, battle every offseason against the same players, developing rivalries that raise the intensity of play. When devising the teams, Grover matches like-minded stars against each other, like Harris and Livingston, and tries to pair current regular-season teammates. "As soon as Antoine Walker got traded to Miami," says Grover, "we put him and Dwyane Wade on the same team so they could get acclimated and develop a feel for each other." While Wade, a Grover client since his days at Marquette, may be the latest superstar to earn the "next MJ" tag, only Jordan himself can really crank up the level of competition. Says Grover, "He'll come up and tell guys, 'When I was playing, there's no way you could have scored on me. Remember when I gave you 50? Remember when we knocked you out in the first round of the playoffs?'" How could they forget, Mike? You keep coming back to remind them.

Rumor Has It: In 2002, when Jordan was playing pickup in preparation to join the Wizards, his comeback was stalled when he broke two ribs. According to the Chicago Tribune, Jordan had been trash-talking with Walker and Ron Artest when the latter "grabbed [Jordan], slammed him to the floor" and threw a punch. Grover, who was in the gym that day, says that while it's true that "Antoine takes more [abuse from Jordan] than anyone else," the broken ribs were simply a freak injury caused when Artest tried to deny Jordan position in the post.

Fondé Rec Center in Houston

The Regulars: Sam Cassell, Moochie Norris, Cuttino Mobley, Rashard Lewis, Damon Stoudamire, Steve Francis, Emeka Okafor, James Posey, J.R. Smith, Gerald Green, T.J. Ford, Daniel Ewing, Chris Wilcox, Glen Davis

Access: Free admission for the public; the pullout bleachers seat about 1,500. Kids can take pictures and get autographs from the players after the games.

The Rules: 12-minute quarters. Running time, except for the last two minutes of each half.

The Run: In the beginning there was Moses (Malone). His disciple became known as Little Moses. At the Fondé Rec Center, where basketball knowledge, like religion, is passed from generation to generation, it's fitting that the sign over the entryway reads, "Recreation, like religion, should permeate all of life." However, the proclamation most often associated with this basketball temple is, "You ain't done it till you done it at Fondé," which was dispensed by Moses. Like he did during the hot Houston summer at Fondé 25 years ago, when he tutored a freshman from the University of Houston named Akeem Olajuwon in the art of the low post -- Dream dubbed the sessions "basketball college" -- Malone is still teaching the game at Fondé. He's coach of The Chairman, in the Nike Pro City Summer Basketball League, which runs Monday and Wednesday nights from mid-July through August. And despite the abundance of available NBA players, Coach Malone eschews pros on his team in favor of amateurs, including his son, Moses Jr., as well as the sons of Hall of Famers George Gervin and Calvin Murphy. But if Rockets center Yao Ming came to rumble at Fondé, Malone, 51, says that not only would he break his no-pros rule, but he'd also suit up himself. "We've got standing room now," says Malone, who tips in at 275, only 15 pounds over his playing weight, "but if [the two big men teamed up] we'd have standing room outside the building, waiting to come in." Nike's arrival has meant a new coat of paint on the walls, a leveling of the rims and a buffing of the court. But, as the phrase goes, you can put lipstick on a pig.... "It's just the neighborhood gym," former Rocket Kenny Smith says of Fonde. "There are no frills; [It's just] like the Rocky gym." "When we play in Houston, it's grimy. It's hard-core," says former University of Texas standout Daniel Gibson, who started playing in youth leagues at the center when he was 11. "Once you step on the court at Fondé, you've gotta be ready to bring it -- or you're going to get put off to the side and nobody's gonna let you play anymore." Or, as former Rocket Robert Reid summed up to the Houston Chronicle, "You couldn't come in and play some fiddle-dee-dee game or you'd be fiddle-dee-dummed out of the gym." Some guys not fiddle-dee-dummed out were Clyde Drexler, who ran during summers with Olajuwon and their Phi Slamma Jamma teammates; playground star Dwayne Rogers, who earned the nickname "The Legend" for his ability to ball at Fonde; and Shaquille O'Neal, who would make the three-hour drive to run in the legendary games when he was a high school star in San Antonio. For fans, Fondé provides the opportunity to watch the pros up close without having to run a hedge fund. "Some people can't afford to go to games to see guys like Rashard Lewis," says Pro City director Kevin Granger. "Here they get to see [NBA players], get autographs, talk to them, high-five them." Gibson, now 20, remembers the thrill. "Shaq and Penny [Hardaway] and Drexler, Olajuwon. Just seeing those dudes out there like regular people, laughing and joking, you don't get that on TV."
Despite the addition of emcee chatter and music blaring before, during and after the games, the run remains crisp. "Any time a guy like Sam Cassell, Moochie [Norris] or [James] Posey enters the game, they want to win because it's the Fondé," says Malone, who warns that the game is not for everybody. "Guys come and ask me if they can play and I tell 'em, 'Let me see what you can do first on the B court, because Fondé's the A court.'"

Rumor Has It: During one game in the early '80s, Moses called one too many fouls, and when one of them was ignored, he took the game ball, left the court and went outside. When he saw the game restarting with a new ball, he protested the game by standing defiantly at center court until his call was acknowledged.

2) Brian Windhorst of the Akron Beacon-Journal confirms that LeBron really is just 21 years old:

Signed, sealed and delivered, LeBron is 21
.
A sweaty Team USA practice has ended inside UNLV's Cox Pavilion, and players are plopping down on chairs, untying laces and toweling off.
LeBron James slips off his signature Nikes and yells, to no one in particular, "I need five bags of ice!" Three chairs over, Dwyane Wade shoots LeBron a sly look and retorts: "That's because you're 30 years old!" It's not the first time LeBron's pal Wade has used the joke. Just a month ago, he made similar comments during the NBA Finals when the topic of James' frequent text messages came up. It seems Wade isn't entirely persuaded that James could be three years his junior. "No way I buy he's 21," Wade said. "Show me that birth certificate, that's what I want." Well, Dwyane, you're in luck. ESPN.com has obtained a copy of James' official birth certificate from the State of Ohio Office of Vital Statistics and compared it with records from the City of Akron Department of Public Health. Sure enough, sealed and certified, LeBron Raymone James was born to Gloria Marie James on Dec. 30, 1984. He's 21 now and was 18 when he played his first NBA game. When James debuted in the NBA in 2003, many wondered how his chiseled, highly developed physique could belong to a teenager. Many besides Wade have voiced their suspicions.
For instance: Tracy McGrady: "Damn, man. You sure he is 21? We've got to check his birth certificate." Sekou Smith, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Um, can I see LeBron James' birth certificate please?" Stephen A. Smith, Philadelphia Inquirer: "Just looking at him makes you want to check his birth certificate." Bomani Jones, ESPN.com's Page 2: "I still wonder if there's a little Almonte on his birth certificate." That would be Danny Almonte, the star pitcher whose parents insisted he was 12 when he pitched his Bronx team into the Little League World Series. When official documents and records showed Almonte was actually 14, his pitching records were removed and his team forfeited its third-place finish.
Besides the Almonte affair, other age scandals in baseball also have helped create the climate of suspicion about other precocious athletes, such as James. When a player like Rafael Furcal turns out to be 22 when he debuted in the big leagues, instead of 19 as originally believed, we might start to wonder what to believe when LeBron does the unbelievable. On the other hand, it's not clear what opportunity or incentive LeBron James would have to lie about his age. For one thing, his birth is a matter of public record in Ohio. And it seems unlikely that James would need to appear younger than he is, especially when such a maneuver actually would have delayed his entry into the NBA, considering James was ready to make the jump even earlier than he did. Still, the questions are there, mainly because James simply looks older than he is. "Everyone knows how old I am, y'all been following me around since I was 15," James said, noting he didn't get carded once while enjoying Vegas' adult offerings. "Some people age and grow differently than others." As a high school freshman, James was shaving, and he was always tall for his age -- standing nearly 6 feet, 4 inches at age 14. But he didn't look older than his classmates at that stage, and in some ways he was a late bloomer, considering his development now. "There were several players on our team [for whom] we had to carry their birth certificates around because other teams would want to see them, but LeBron wasn't one of them," said Dru Joyce, who coached James in AAU and in high school. "But you could always tell he was going to grow more because of his long legs and big feet." When James was a pimple-faced 16-year-old, he started showing muscle definition, and he arrived taller and stronger at his first ABCD Camp in New Jersey and won its Most Valuable Player Award. But it was later, when James became a regular on local and national television, that questions about his age began to be whispered. When he reported for his first NBA training camp, his squared jaw, broad shoulders and refined muscles further opened eyes. "It's because he's a once-in-50-year athlete," said Eric Lichter, the well-known personal trainer James worked with starting when he was 17. Lichter, who is now the strength and conditioning coach for the Ohio State football team, used to operate a private practice in Cleveland where he trained numerous pro athletes, including Nene, Leandro Barbosa and Antonio Gates. Although he didn't usually work with high school athletes, he took on James as a special case after the player's junior year of high school. At the time, James had done almost no weight training but realized he needed to become stronger, knowing he would be facing a highly competitive senior year at St. Vincent-St. Mary and a jump to the NBA shortly thereafter. "LeBron did sit-ups and push-ups, and he was very faithful to it," Joyce said. "But once he started working with weights, you could just see his body take to the training." Lichter said he weighed James in at 228 pounds at the start of a 16-week program. By the time they were done, James was 10 pounds heavier, jumping higher and running faster as his arms and legs became stronger and thicker. He has maintained roughly the same weight since, along with his muscle mass in working with the Cavs trainers. He is listed at 6-8, 240 pounds. "When I first met him, I was amazed at his bone structure and I looked to improve his wing muscle tissue," Lichter said. "He liked to train, and he took an intense approach to it. He didn't just take his talent for granted."
But will the word of his AAU coach and his trainer, combined with legal documents, end the debate? "No comment," said Wizards star and Team USA teammate Gilbert Arenas when told James' age had been confirmed as 21. "LeBron's my older brother -- he's not a day younger than 30."