OKC's Nenad Krstic Gets All WWF on Greece

The Thunder's Nenad Krstic has never seemed like much of a violent guy. In fact, he would probably benefit from playing with some more aggression on the basketball court. In a recent exhibition game with his native Serbia going up against Greece, Krstic showed that he is willing to mix it up, but he didn't show it by setting hard screens or banging on defense in the paint. When a scuffle broke out in the middle of the game, Nenad showed that he is willing to ride out for his fellow countrymen as he threw several punches, stomped on a fallen player for Greece and even threw a chair all WWF-style.



It kind of makes sense now that he hasn't shown much of a mean streak in the past, as Krstic seems absolutely clueless of how to throw a punch. Not that I'm much of a scrapper, but I at least know to punch with my knuckles rather than the soft bottom of my fist. Nenad looks more like he's playing Whac-A-Mole with his fists than he does fighting.

I think the real question here is whether Nenad is willing to get violent like this in defense of his OKC brethren. I really can't imagine Durant, Westbrook or any other member of the Thunder getting in a fight so we'll probably never know.

Football vs. Basketball

It's ON in Cleveland!

(graphic courtesy of SlimMcFavorite . . . it was my idea though)

Specifically, Browns "star" (he's really not that good) Braylon Edwards and Cavaliers mega-super-all-time-greatest-to-ever-wear-23-according-to-himself-best-of-all-time-floats-like-a-butterfly-stings-like-the-manta-ray-that-killed-the-crocodile-hunter-(what-too-soon?)-star LeBron James are in the middle of an ugly public feud.

So, LeBron is apparently friends with some Cleveland-area events promoter named Edward Givens. At roughly 2:30 in the morning, Braylon approached Givens, who was talking with people outside a nightclub. The conversation quickly went sour.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer, according to Givens:

"Braylon comes up and started saying things, degrading me. He said if it wasn't for LeBron or the Four Horsemen, I wouldn't have what I have, nor would I be able to get girls. Everyone knows Braylon has a problem with LeBron. So I had to speak up for myself. The conversation started to escalate. As some of his teammates started to pull him back, he punched me. I have a black eye and a cut. I'm not a violent guy.

"As long as I've known Braylon, I've allowed him and his friends to come into our events free of charge. Whatever jealousy he has with LeBron, he felt he needed to take it out on me."

Juicy! The best part is the revelation that "everyone knows Braylon has a problem with LeBron." Well if they didn't, they sure do know! And Edwards may be facing assault charges.

But it totally doesn't end there. LeBron had more than a little bit to say on the matter, per the Associated Press:

"I've never crossed paths with Braylon before, but it seems like there's a little jealousy going on with Braylon and me and my friends. I have no idea why. I've never said anything to Braylon at all. But for him to do that is very childish. My friend is 130 pounds. Seriously. It's like hitting one of my kids. It doesn't make sense."

Not the harshest of words, but a slight escalation. Speaking later to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, James pushed the envelope:

"I know how to handle myself as a professional athlete and I take care of my friends and my family. It is unfortunate that some guys don't understand that. You are a role model to kids and you should carry yourself that way on and off the field. And I carry that. I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize myself or my family. I'm one of the guys that look at being a professional athlete at more than just being out on the court."

James more or less does seem to carry himself well as a professional athlete, but clearly this comment will only inflame this "rivalry." I shudder to call it that though, as Edwards will never have the cachet that LeBron does in Cleveland. Why he choses to carry beef with LeBron, who claims they've never met, seems pretty pointless.

On a wider scale, it seems odd that an NFL player would bother beefing with an NBA player. The NFL is currently considerably more popular. But if it were going to happen anywhere, it would have to be Cleveland. The Mistake on the Lake is probably the only city hosting both an NBA and NFL team were the NBA team has eclipsed the NFL team in popularity.

In Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, the NFL teams are more popular - no contest. As much as Boston loves the Celtics, they are nuts for the Pats. Even during Jordan-mania, Chicago seemed to more-or-less equally love their Bears.

But in Cleveland, the Cavs are the only glimmering hope for a city that is currently most famous for having low budget tourism videos written about how shitty it is (I won't even mention the Indians World Series appearance from a few years back, as baseball is boring).

But maybe, just maybe this will be the beginning of an all out-war between the two greatest American sports. Is it possible that Miami-residents Dwayne Wade and Jason Taylor carry a deap-seated hatred of each other? Could Kevin Garnet and Randy Moss fight for the hearts of Boston? Will Steve Nash and Kurt Warner prove that the old guys in Phoenix want in on the fight?

Or maybe some drunk asshole just punched some dude.

UPDATE:

Braylon Edwards was traded to the New York Jets this morning.