Holy crap, Brian Grant has Parkinson's

ESPN.com: Former NBA player Brian Grant is diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's disease.

With a huge black-and-white painting of Bob Marley peering over one shoulder and a half-dozen framed NBA jerseys visible over the other, Brian Grant took a deep breath, ignored his left hand shaking as if it were trying to put out a match, and let go of the secret that had tormented him for the last four months.

"I have young onset Parkinson's," he said.

That's Parkinson's, as in the disease that disrupts the brain's coordination and control of muscle movement and motor skills. A progressive disease for which the cause and the cure are unknown. A disease so rare for someone like Grant, 37, to contract that his case is identified as "young onset."

Tons more at the link.

It's not been a good few months for the retired stars. First, Rodney Rogers gets paralysed from the neck down in an accident. Then, last week, Wayman Tisdale dies young. And now this.

Bad times.

Rodney Rogers Update

I missed this story when it first come out, a month ago. Maybe you did too.

I hate it.

Rodney Rogers, three months after his accident.

Where Are They Now, 2009; Part 43

I suppose I ought really ask - are you enjoying these? Really? I'd like some feedback on this. I mean, even if you don't enjoy them I'm doing them anyway, because despite how tedious it can get trying to find new and exciting ways to list someone's rebounding averages, I've come too far to quit. And I'm also kind of enjoying doing it. But I need to know if you are too. If you're not, please say so, as your opinion is important to us, even if it will be largely ignored.

- Jason Richards is unsigned, perhaps unsurprising due to the knee injury he suffered in training camp that ended his season before it even began. Speaking of, if any Heat fans out there are wondering why Jason's getting a full $442,114 salary from the Heat this year (see salary page), it's not because the Heat signed him to a guaranteed deal. They actually signed him in July to a deal with a small $50,000 guarantee, enough to convince him to choose their training camp over anyone else's. However, because Richards was hurt while directly playing for the team, his contract is guaranteed until such time as he is able to return. And since he's out for the year, that means he's getting paid for the whole of this year. (The same has happened to Mike Wilks, formerly of Orlando and now of Memphis.) It's kind of a bugger for Jason that he's had such a serious knee injury in the first season of his professional career, but the $370,000 extra compensation that he got for his troubles will numb the pain a bit. I can only hope that this doesn't lead to a speight of fringe NBA players signing training camp contracts for nominal or no guaranteed money, just to then take a dive and pick up a fat check for a year. This would be bad, if alarmingly smart.

- Norm Richardson - a legend in my eyes for reasons not even I really understand - has already retired at least once from professional basketball. Clearly it didn't work out, though, because Norm is back and playing in Germany for the insatiable TBB Trier. N (it's like Q, only N) averages 10.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists, numbers that extol the virtues of his greatness better than my mere words ever could.

- Anthony Richardson's senior and junior years at Florida State were far less productive than his junior season, but he began his NBA career in earnest anyway. Richardson didn't play in his first professional season (if that makes sense), but for the 2006/07 season he signed with the fantastically named Butte Daredevils of the CBA. From there he played in the USBL for a bit, where he was a 20ppg scorer, and then went to 2007 training camp with the New Orleans Hornets. Richardson did sufficiently well there that he scooped a training camp spot with the team, although clearly he didn't make the regular season roster. Richardson then buggered off to Germany, where he scored 53 points in 7 games, and is signed this season with Eiffel Towers Den Bosch, a team which you may remember are deceptively located in Holland. Richardson averages 12.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in the Dutch league, along with 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in the EuroChallenge.

- Rick Rickert spent the year with the New Zealand Breakers, who equally confusingly play in the Australian NBL. It took me a while to figure this out. Rickert averaged 13.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in the Australian regular season, which has now finished. In the semi final game Friday, which saw the end of the Breakers' season, the Breakers lost 103-97 to the Melbourne Tigers, via 26 points by personal favourite Ebi Ere. Rickert had only 7 points and 10 rebounds.

- Former Cavaliers great Filiberto Rivera is in Germany, playing for Brose Baskets Bamberg. Rivera averages 10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Per game. Obviously.

- Lawrence Roberts is averaging 11.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in the Eurocup for Crvena Zvezda, alongside 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in the Adriatic League. Unfortunately, despite the fact that I'm going to go and watch a Crvena Zvezda game as soon as I finish writing this post, Roberts won't be in it, for he injured himself back on the 7th Feb and is not active at the moment. Bugger. Might go back to bed instead then.

- Dennis Rodman is currently appearing on Celebrity Apprentice, where he has demonstrated a stubborn refusal to bake cakes.

- Rodney Rogers..... :(

- Jalen Rose....... :|

- Bryon Russell is reportedly wanting to mount a comeback at the age of 38. This seems odd, given that he was done at the age of about 32. But good luck with that. I just don't think it will happen.

- Finally, Walker Russell Texas Ranger has emerged from somewhere as being one of the best point guards in the D-League. Russell averages 15.9 points and a league leading 11.4 assists per game for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Is this further evidence of Isiah Thomas's ability to scout young talent? Seems so. Shame about his ability to scout old talent.

Some bonus Rodney Rogers

Upset as we are about the news of Rodney Rogers's accident and paralysis, there's only one way to tribute the man, and that's with a Rodney Rogers Highlight Montage.

Unfortunately, I don't have one. But I do have this awesome clip, of Rodney Rogers scoring 9 points in 9 seconds back in his days with the Denver Nuggets. This clip has been kind of forgotten over the years, as Reggie Miller's 8 in 18 seconds and Tracy McGraknee's 13 points in 35 seconds have instead taken the plaudits as the best examples of lots of points in little time at all. However, both are inferior to Rodney Rogers's explosion, which boasts a points-per-time-allowed ratio far superior to either of theirs, or indeed to any other instance that I know of. Well, except for Trent Tucker.

I am told that the Nuggets were down 8 at the start of the clip, with 30 something seconds left in the game. Rodney Rogers's outburst put them up by 1. Rodney Rogers was indeed a game changer. (As was Robert Pack, I guess.)



God bless you, Rodney Rogers.



EDIT Apparently a Rodney Rogers mix DOES exist, upped with the last few hours. God bless both Youtube and Rodney Rogers.

Rodney Rogers paralysed in accident

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3744237

Former NBA and college basketball star Rodney Rogers is paralyzed as the result of an all-terrain vehicle accident, his college coach told the News & Observer of Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

Dave Odom, who coached Rogers when he earned All-America honors at Wake Forest and was the 1993 ACC Player of the Year, said Wednesday that his former star is paralyzed from the shoulders down, according to the report.

Those of us that used to play the Rodney Rogers game - the precursor to the Fred Tedeschi game - feel particularly bad about this terrible news.

You know, it wasn't all that long ago that I was wondering what happened to Rodney Rogers. Now, I wish I didn't know.