The first few days of the week have been eventful. It began with news in the midwest that the Milwaukee Bucks had fired their head coach and future Hall of Famer, Jason Kidd.  

Kidd went 139-152 during his 3 ½ year tenure as coach of the Bucks. During his tenure in Milwaukee, Kidd guided the team to two NBA Playoff appearances.

But that wasn’t enough to keep Bucks brass happy. Upon his firing, the Bucks were an eighth seed with a 23-22 record despite the pretty consistent play from their All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo and recent trade with the Phoenix Suns which shipped speedy guard Eric Bledsoe to Fear The Deer nation.

Speaking of Antetokounmpo, ESPN’s Ramon Shelburne reported that the Greek Freak offered to take his grievances to Bucks management and fight Kidd’s firing. Giannis loves his coach and didn’t want to see him go.

But, business is business, right?

Jason Kidd tells ESPN that Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo called him about 15 minutes before Kidd was officially notified he’d been fired by the Bucks and offered to help save his job.

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 23, 2018

Joe Prunty took over as the Bucks’ interim head coach. He and the Bucks got a win Monday night against the Phoenix Suns.

Prunty is no stranger to hoops, comes highly recommended and is another disciple from San Antonio Spurs head coach, Gregg Popovich’s coaching tree. Prunty began as a video coordinator with San Antonio before becoming an advance scout and assistant coach for nine seasons, beginning in 1996.

Speaking of San Antonio, they’ve made headlines in the last 48 hours. A multitude of NBA league sources indicate that Spurs forward, Kawhi Leonard and his reps are disconnected from the Spurs organization.

Last Wednesday, the Spurs announced that Kawhi Leonard would be out of action for an “indefinite period of time” as he’s been dealing with a lingering quad injury that has burdened him since the NBA Playoffs last year.

Leonard’s right quadriceps tendinopathy recovery has carried over into this season, causing the one time NBA Finals MVP to miss the first 27 games of the season.

Retired NBA vet and ESPN analyst Jalen Rose told ESPN’s First Take yesterday that Leonard doesn’t want to be in San Antonio.

According to Rose, Leonard wants out because the Spurs have been ‘unable to attract elite-level, all-NBA-caliber free agents to come play with him.’

Added Rose:

“Players talk about wanting to win and wanting to be a champion, but ultimately they want to do it on their own terms,” Rose said. “And when you go to San Antonio, guess who is the CEO of that organization? Gregg Popovich. It’s going to be his way.”

Before the Spurs’ 114-102  home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, Popovich rebuffed confusion or the Spurs being a soap opera. “Some people wrote some articles. I understand it, but soap opera? It’s a soap opera if we talk about it every day, I guess,” Popovich said.

“I don’t get it. We won’t talk about it. There’s nothing to talk about other than what we’ve already said.”

As for the Cavs, the Oklahoma City Thunder scored 148 points on them on Saturday without Kevin Love who called out sick.

That got folks talking. Was Love really sick? Some of Love’s teammates reportedly called Love out in a team meeting.

Cleveland is 3-7 in their last 10 games. During their last 10, Isaiah Thomas has returned from injury, J.R. Smith has struggled, the talk of LeBron James leaving at seasons end has resurfaced along with the debates on whether Cavs head coach Ty Lue should lose his job.

Mind you, the Cavs currently hold a 27-19 record and are sitting in third place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

Ashley Nevel says it best

The Cavs will get it together. Don’t push the panic button just yet!

Kemba Walker is apparently on the trading block. A Bronx, New York native, a return home as a member of the New York Knicks is what anybody from the 5-boroughs would want.

The Milwaukee Bucks were reportedly in preliminary talks before the Kidd firing and the usual suspects, teams in the NBA Finals hunt like the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers have made calls.

“Kemba Walker is a player that can come to a team and score you points. If he came off the bench he could be a Lou Williams Jr. He can help a team win.” @ScoopB has high praise for the @hornets point guard. Which team should go out there and make a trade for the UConn alum?

— Bud and the Manchild (@Budandmanchild) January 23, 2018

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says that Charlotte has been encouraging teams to make offers and appears eager to discuss attaching Walker to a larger trade in which another team would take on one of the Hornets’ several less desirable contracts.

Not so fast; Hornets majority owner, Michael Jordan is not trading him unless he’s shipped out for something really good.

“It’s not like we are shopping him,” said Jordan.

“We would not just give him up. I love Kemba Walker. I would not trade him for anything but an All-Star player.”

Walker would be a nice addition to any team. He can score in volume and will be a scorer for hire like the Los Angeles Clippers’ Lou Williams and Minnesota Timberwolves’ Jamal Crawford.

Be on the lookout for where he goes next!

RESPECT Magazine’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson checking out Bangkok, Thailand’s Temple of the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho . Photo Credit: @Scoop_B Instagram.

Check out all of my commentary on the going ons of the NBA on Syracuse, NY’s Bud and the Manchild by pressing play at the top!

While on Bud & the Manchild, I also discussed my recent 15-day vacation to Thailand where I visited the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.

If you’re a Street Fighter 2 fan, Sagat’s battle stage is in front of the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, which is located at Wat Pho.

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The post Scoop B: Milwaukee Bucks, Jason Kidd part ways, Cavs, Spurs & Kawhi Leonard drama & a trip to Thailand appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

While on Scoop B Radio Overtime, boxer Bernard Hopkins chats with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson about some of his favorite fashion influences. Photo Provided By: Eric Salvary/Scoop Vision Media

Bernard Hopkins made statements in the boxing ring and out of it. When he talks, goshdarnit please listen! Now a boxing analyst on ESPN’s family of networks, Hopkins dons a lot of suits and the now retired 55-8 Philadelphia bruiser known in the the ring as The Executioner traded in his boxing trunks and morphed into Mr. Suave in front of the teleprompter.

Not mad at you brotha! 

“I love fashion, I love to look good, I love to feel good and definitely love to perform good,” Bernard Hopkins told me on Scoop B Radio Overtime. “It’s a 3-punch combination that to me; that’s something that should be taught when you’re really young, but better late than never, but I love fashion.”

Check out Bernard Hopkins and Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson’s Fashion Discussion

In today’s sports world, fans and writers alike like to put things into boxes and category. In basketball for example many like to compare Michael Jordan’s legacy to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James. In the late 90s in baseball, folks were wondering who the homerun king was Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa and in boxing folks want the ultimate heavyweight in Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. Here’s a kicker for Bernard Hopkins: Who is on his Mount Rushmore of stylishly dressed athletes? Well I could look at– well like Magic Johnson,” Hopkins said after a brief pause.

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“There’s a lot of like, I could say basketball and football athletes that dress really good, but nobody really like stands out, you know? Deion Sanders is kinda like, loud and I don’t really like that style but a lot of people – he was like- he made statements whether you disagree or didn’t. He made statements.”

Sanders’ gear with MCHammer in the video of Straight To My Feet was legendary, by the way!

If you’re a tad young, that song was on the Street Fighter movie soundtrack

Many credit Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James as sports’ elite dressers. Honestly, the Brooklyn Nets’ Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and D’Angelo Russell are rising notables too. But back to a certain Cleveland Cavalier; Mr. Hopkins, do you dig LeBron James’ digs?

“I think LeBron has a style,” he said. “But it’s like you see somebody else wearing the same thing.

Hopkins also has advice for athletes looking to leave their mark in fashion: Be yourself! 

“I think when you look at fashion you gotta look at: does it go with your skin? Does it go with your physique? Does it go with your whole persona about you,” he said. “I think that when it comes to clothes and I’m getting a little deep, I think that when it comes to wearing a suit or clothes, women or man, it has to fit your personality. I don’t care how much it costs, I don’t care what name brand it is, if the clothes don’t fit your personality you don’t make it blossom.” 

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The post Scoop B: Bernard Hopkins Puts Magic Johnson & Deion Sanders On His Mount Rushmore of Fashionable Athletes appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Inspired by the popular Street Fighter video game series, Sir Michael Rocks drops off the visual to his latest joint, “Perfect”. The wavy, two-minute clip, directed by Jimmy Regular, shows Mikey transforming from a character in the game, to real life form. Sir Michael Rocks’ new album, Populair, is due out September 11th, and looks to be a promising follow-up to his debut effort, Banco.

The post Sir Michael Rocks channels “Street Fighter” in new video for “Perfect” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

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Bizzy Crook is no stranger to this experience. On “Amnesia” he contrasts his doubters’ amnesia with his inability to forget their every word. This isn’t a particularly new story in rap, but Bizzy changes gears by telling it in a way that isn’t overly boastful or concerned with vengeance. Instead of gleefully saying, “Look at me now!” he calmly asks, “How could you forget why you didn’t look before?” Bizzy wants accountability, not revenge. He wants to understand how people’s perception of him can alter so drastically when he feels so unchanged. Watch “Amnesia” below.  Bizzy Crook knows how to tell a story.

Download his latest mixtape, 84, here.

The post New Music: Bizzy Crook – “Amnesia” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Under the alias of COMBO, the  italian tagger who created this imaginative and innovated image chooses to remain anonymous towards his work. While little information can be found about Combo, it is known that he hails from the Vatican City, and is no stranger to graffitti. His work can be seen throughout many major european cities with Paris being his main target for the summer of 2011. His images, while lively and childish, are often alarming, for they are usually tinged with a discrete socio-political message. As a result, his murals, which habitually feature cartoon characters cleverly blended with easily recognizable pop images, leave the viewer feeling extremely sentimental and slightly uncomfortable. Combo write that he aims at creating portraits that showcase the world “for what it is: a cartoon where everyone must play its role”. Check out his other images from Paris 2011 here.

The post Paris Hosts the Fight of the Century: Ryu vs. Muhammed Ali appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.