The NBA lockout is not only bad for the business of sports but also bad for the ladies who bond with their partners while pretending to watch the scoreboard. That fine eye candy certainly helps to focus our attention on the court. Although there’s way too many handsome, Hot men playing in the NBA, we’ve decided to highlight the best of the best (in our eyes of course). Let us know who you think deserves to be added to the list!

Dwyane Wade is the obvious choice, isn’t he? He’ll make the eye-candy cut for years to come. He’s sweet, he’s cute, he’s Hot and he takes care of his kids, darnit!

Guard, Miami Heat

Age: 29

Marital status: Divorced, currently dating Gabrielle Union

When you were a little kid, did you want to be like fifteen different things when you got older? That’s many of our stories, but somewhere along the way we start believing that we have to choose and that we can only be one thing. The scenario is a bit different for celebrities though. Money, power and access play a huge role in what you’ll be able to see and experience in this life. Once a celebrity has reached a certain amount of success, it seems they start to branch out. And that’s a beautiful thing. We should all pursue all of our goals. But in some cases it’s better to stick to what you know. Here are some celebrities whose extracurricular activities left us scratching our heads.

(AP) — If NBA stars are serious about playing overseas, basketball’s governing body says they will be welcomed.  Just as long as they promise to leave once the lockout ends.  FIBA announced Friday it would clear NBA players under contract to play in its leagues during the work stoppage, provided the deals they sign come with opt-out clauses.  In a ruling that paves the way for players to earn a paycheck, FIBA agreed with NBA and players’ association officials that players are free to sign anywhere but do so at their own risk of injury.  ”As the world governing body for basketball, we strongly hope that the labor dispute will be resolved as soon as possible, and that the NBA season is able to begin as scheduled,” secretary general Patrick Baumann said in a statement.  ”In view of our role to promote basketball worldwide, we support any player wishing to play the game, wherever and whenever. We do so while obviously taking the interests, rights and obligations of all parties into account.”

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by Gresham Harkless

The NBA Finals are over, the victory parades have ended and the champagne has been popped.  Now the conversation turns to negotiations over the new collective bargaining agreement.  During these talks one of the most prominent issues will be trying make small market teams more competitive financially and on the court.

Most of the teams in the league are losing games and money.  Although Miami is considered a small market, when LeBron James took his talents to South Beach he may have single handedly tipped a line of dominoes leading to a “Great Migration” in which star players team up and move to big markets to the detriment of small market teams.

For every Kevin Durant, the scoring champion who quietly re-signed (that is, without an hour-long ESPN special) with the Oklahoma City Thunder, there is a LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony making splashy exits.  Carmelo Anthony held the Denver Nuggets hostage for half a season, and according to reports, demanded that he be traded to the New York Knicks.  Also, it’s said that the Utah Jazz expected their star point guard, Deron Williams, to bolt once his contract ended.  So, instead of the Jazz going through a Carmelo-like situation, they shipped him to the New Jersey Nets.  The hope is that he’ll attract fans as the Nets prepare to relocate in Brooklyn in 2012 .

These are just a few examples of stars who appeared to be content but bolted at the prospect of creating super teams.  On the horizon are more stars likely to follow suit.  Rumors are swirling around Chris Paul who at the beginning of this season expressed desire to get traded from the New Orleans Hornets.  Early reports had the Knicks in the mix to land the star point guard.  Also, analysts had Dwight Howard, the anchor of the Orlando Magic’s offense and defense, following another talented center, Shaquille O’Neal to Los Angeles, or possibly teaming up with Deron Williams and the Nets.

While this speculation might be good for a Sportscenter segment, overall it’s bad for the game.  Rather than speak about the current issues or games in the NBA, conversations have turned toward guessing where star athletes will end up in the coming years. The media attention can be extremely burdensome for players and the teams they are currently with.

(Washington Post) — He was a prolific producer of rebounds and record albums. And nicknames, too, as if at 7-foot-1 and 350 pounds he was too big for the simple “Shaq” that made him an instantly recognizable, one-name star in all of his endeavors.  Shaquille O’Neal had more than 28,000 points and almost 4 million Twitter followers. He appeared in six NBA finals, three times as the MVP, and seven feature films, twice in a starring role.  A 15-time All-Star, four-time champion and the 2000 NBA Most Valuable Player, the 39-year-old O’Neal announced his retirement on Twitter on Wednesday after spending most of his 19th season on the Boston Celtics bench, in street clothes because of leg injuries.  Along with a mid-afternoon tweet saying, “im retiring,” O’Neal included a link to a 16-second video of him saying, “We did it; 19 years, baby. Thank you very much. That’s why I’m telling you first: I’m about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon.”

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(The Root) — Joe Schad of ESPN is reporting that one day after Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said his conference members had discussed the concept of paying student athletes more than the scholarship money awarded now, several other power brokers in college football weighed in on the topic.  Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky said, “Something has to give on this issue. Universities justify spending tens of millions of dollars on coaches’ compensation, with a seemingly insatiable appetite for more growth. At the same time, a small fraction of that amount is spent on all scholarships for all student athletes. Unless the student athletes in the revenue-producing sports get more of the pie, the model will eventually break down. It seems it is only a matter of time.”

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(AP) — Miami Heat star Chris Bosh is suing the mother of his child for appearing on a reality TV show called “Basketball Wives,” which he said intrudes on his private life.  L and intruding into his private affairs.  He acknowledges he and Mathis have a child together.  The suit says Mathis was hired to appear in the third season of the VH1 reality show and wants to use it to become a TV star. Bosh seeks damages and an injunction to block her and the media company from trademark infringement by using his name and disclosing private facts about his life.

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(Eurweb.com) — Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Lamar Odom and his reality star wife Khloe Kardashian are releasing a new unisex fragrance. Named Unbreakable, the scent features chocolaty notes that work for both genders, according to People.com.  “He’s always wanted a unisex fragrance!,” Khloé recently told E! online about her NBA player hubby. “It took a long time to create what we both wanted and would wear and love, and we found the perfect one.”

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(New York Magazine) — Aside from the potentially imminent NBA salary chaos, he’s attracted, like many basketball hustlers, to China’s estimated 300 million basketball fans, hoping to infiltrate its $6 billion dollar athletic-shoe market with his sneaker/apparel line, Starbury. Launched five years ago in a joint venture with retail clothing chain Steve & Barry’s, the Starbury brand was meant to offer affordable apparel for those who couldn’t afford to pay $150 for a pair of Nikes. Since Steve & Barry’s filed for bankruptcy two years ago, Starbury has been dormant.

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(The Loop 21) — Who would have thought that Kim Kardashian would take off on Kobe Bryant for anything other than their shared sports and celebrity status? Kardashian in addition has carved out a growth industry in flesh baring, body ogling and sex titillation. But there’s Kardashian lambasting Bryant for his two year deal pitching the glories of riding the skies on Turk Hava Yollari AO, Turkish Airlines, the country’s state-run airlines.  Kardashian and a legion of Armenian organizations and leaders are ticked at Bryant for the deal which they say is tantamount to Bryant endorsing Turkey’s slaughter of 1 to 2 million Armenians in 1915. They want Bryant to do two things, scrub the deal and speak out against Turkey for its dogged refusal to admit its murderous crime against the Armenians.

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