Just when it seemed like the Chris Paul trade saga in New Orleans couldn’t get any stranger, evil dictator NBA commissioner David Stern vetoed a third consecutive trade that would have landed the perennial all-star point guard in Los Angeles.

Stern made major headlines on Friday and Saturday by blocking two blockbuster trades that would have landed Paul in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform, ultimately discouraging the Lakers so much they completely pulled out of any chase for Paul.

Paul was justifiably livid, as were Hornets general manager Dell Demps and the front office of the league-owned team. After realizing a deal with the Lakers was impossible, the Hornets got to working on a deal with another one of Paul’s favored destinations, the LA Clippers. The Clippers put a package together that was supposed to be exactly what the commish and league wanted – young talent and future draft picks – only to see Stern once again demand more than LA had to offer, forcing them to withdraw their trade as well.

There’s only one way to describe this whole fiasco, with a photo.

With no viable options left to go to his preferred options of the Lakers, Clipper or New York Knicks, Paul is now apparently left hostage in New Orleans, a fate suffered by fellow Stern victims in the Hornets front office. Sources across the NBA are now saying the league’s demands for Paul are so high they can’t see any deals being made. The front office might as well follow the latest poker news and create accounts on poker websites since they can’t make their own moves.

Giving in to Stern’s outlandish demands would severely hinder most team’s future, especially since there’s no guarantee Paul would sign an extension. With those odds, teams are better off trying their luck at Lock Poker since that’s a much safer gamble.

YouBeenBlinded.com was on hand for two days of the 2011 ESPN The Magazine ESPYs Style Studio event at the W Hotel in Hollywood. Spread over three full days, the event drew a large variety of professional athletes, superstar singers, actors and much more including Dirk Nowitzki, Justin Bieber, Amare Stoudemire, Jimmie Johnson, Jason Kidd, Aaron Rodgers, Shawn Marion, Erin Andrews, Michelle Beadle and countless others.

Each invited celebrity guest was taken through a special tour of several gift suites at the W Hotel, each filled with lots of great prizes, food and drinks. Throughout each of the days, we had the opportunity to talk with many of the stars, including two members of the NBA world champion Dallas Mavericks; Shawn Marion and Brian Cardinal.

Both are league veterans who finally added the ever important title of champion to their career resumes and they spoke with us about how that felt, as well as the Mavs nomination for “Best Team” (they won) and more. Cardinal also explained how preparation and teamwork is a key to success, his “The Custodian” nickname and a few other topics. Check the interview out below.

We also shot several photos of famous athletes and sports figures for you, courtesy of Alex C. You can check them out below.

Row 1: Amare Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Jason Kidd.
Row 2: John Wall, Ray Allen, Jalen Rose, JJ Barea & Biz Markie.
Row 3: Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kemp, Michael Irvin, Michael Wilbon.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

We had the great opportunity to talk with ESPN‘s Pardon The Interruption host Michael Wilbon while at the 2011 ESPN The Magazine Style Studio event. Held in Hollywood at The W Hotel for the 2011 ESPY Awards, the event included countless sports heavyweights from both on and off the field.

Wilbon gave us here at YBB “3 Good Minutes” and shared his thoughts on feel-good stories at the ESPY Awards, the constantly-evolving world of sports media and journalism, as well as his thoughts on the NBA lockout and the Chicago Bulls title hopes.

In addition to this interview, we were also able to capture much more, so stay tuned to YouBeenBlinded for future updates.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

We here at YouBeenBlinded had the pleasure of covering two days of a special “Style Studio” for the 2011 ESPY Awards organized by ESPN The Magazine. The three-day event was held at The W Hotel in Hollywood and included an impressive array of gifts for a long list of celebrity athletes and entertainers, including Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitzki, Aaron Rodgers, Jimmie Johnson and many more.

We caught up with Dallas Mavericks guard and NBA champion JJ Barea for a few questions. The Puerto Rican star discussed winning the NBA title, the NBA lockout, his free agent plans and basketball in Puerto Rico. He also responds to some playful requests from Hip-Hop star Biz Markie to join the Los Angeles Lakers. Check it out below.

We captured much more at the event, so stay posted to YouBeenBlinded for further updates.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

When Dwyane Wade and LeBron James agreed to team up on the Miami Heat, most people expected to see some great highlights. With Wade and LeBron the Heat boast two of the best wing players in the game today.

Both are excellent finishers at the rim and when their chemistry is right, the possibilities may be endless. In today’s game against the New York Knicks they showed off “their talents” when LeBron stole the ball, dribbled behind his back and passed to Wade, who hit a streaking LeBron for a one-handed monster alley-oop slam.

When a city with lights as bright as Los Angeles hosts an NBA All-Star weekend it’s bound to be full of fun and celebrities. Things got started off great thanks to Los Angeles Clippers star point guard Baron Davis, who teamed up with Lexus to raise money and awareness for kids with the 2011 CT Challenge.

The event was a collaborative effort between Baron’s “Rising Stars of America” charity and Lexus, who were showcasing their new CT model and brought out a great mix of stars, supporters and fans, including Jessica Alba, Cash Warren, Michael Strahan and many more.

We had the pleasure of covering the event, which took place Thursday, February 25th right across the street from the Staples Center. In addition to the stars mentioned above, other attendees included former Laker and 4-time NBA champion John Salley, actor Hill Harper, NFL player Ephraim Salaam, boxer Andre Berto, Terrell Owens, Tichina Arnold, Jaleel White, Craig Smith, Terry Kennedy, DJ Skee, Gene Simmons, Ben Lyons, and many others.

We were able to talk to Salley about his thoughts on Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin being his Slam Dunk contest choice, as well as former NFL star Michael Strahan about the possible NFL lockout, Jets coach Rex Ryan‘s new Super Bowl guarantee and more. We also caught Baron in action behind the wheel on the course, which you can watch in a video recap below, along with photos from the event, courtesy of retOne.

It all raised money and awareness for several charities, with the winner of the challenge (Hill Harper) able to choose a charity to receive his winnings. Several children from the Rising Stars were in attendance, along with a packed house that enjoyed the show and all the festivities.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

The Los Angeles Clippers are quickly becoming “streak-busters” in the NBA this season. They ended the Miami Heat‘s 13-game road winning streak last week (which also stopped the Heat’s 9 consecutive overall wins) and today won a hard-fought game against the Los Angeles Lakers 99-92, ending the Lakers seven-game winning streak.

It was a closely contested battle that clearly had both teams frustrated, culminating with a shoving match and ejections for four players.

With the game in its final seconds and the outcome clearly headed toward a Clippers win, Lamar Odom got tangled up with Blake Griffin and tried to toss him away by angrily pulling at his jersey. Before the referees could fully handle the situation, veteran Clippers point guard Baron Davis ran across the court and shoved Odom aside, resulting in some more pushing and shoving from both sides.

As a Clippers fan, I was happy to see Baron react so quickly to stick up for Blake, who is regularly on the wrong end of cheap shots and physical plays from frustrated opponents. It had been a tough game to swallow for Blake up until that point, with foul trouble plaguing him in the first half and almost taking him completely out of the game.

He responded well in the second half with 16 of his 18 points and finished with 15 rebounds for his 26th straight double-double. According to ESPN Stats & Information, that ties him with NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon for the 4th-longest such streak in the last 25 seasons.

The scrum ended with Baron, Blake, Odom and Ron Artest being ejected, but with only five seconds left in the game it didn’t matter much. It was confusing to see Blake and Artest get tossed, since neither appeared to do anything wrong, but it is what it is. As for Baron, it wasn’t the first time he made a point of showing the Lakers that he’s not afraid to mix it up with them. Here’s some video from last January, coincidentally almost a year ago to the day.

Baron may be one of the smaller players on the court, but he clearly stands up for his teammates, which is a welcome sight. Here’s his take on it all after the game, via Fox Sports West.

“I was just helping my teammate and being a backup,” Davis said. “People take shots at Blake, and they’ve been doing it all season. … It was just a bunch of lollygagging and arguing, but it wasn’t nothing. It was just playing tag.”

Whatever it is that’s motivating the Clippers lately, it’s working. They’ve won nine of 13 since their poor 5-21 start and are showing they’re ready to take on all challengers.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

By now everyone knows the age old saying/cliche of “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Most people agree and realize that it’s true, yet 99 percent of the world still ignores it and thinks they’ll be the ones to get away with it.

If we’re to believe the latest rumors, NBA star and former NBA Finals MVP Tony Parker falls into that 99 percent. Parker has won three NBA championships with the San Antonio Spurs so far in his career and up until today was married to arguably one of the hottest women on the planet, actress Eva Longoria Parker. Their marriage, in its third year, came to end today when she filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

The popular gossip at the moment is that he was cheating on her, but that’s not even the juiciest allegation out.

According to several different anonymous sources, Eva found a bunch of steamy text messages sent between Parker and the wife of a former Spurs teammate, allegedly Erin Barry, who is going through her own divorce with former Spurs guard Brent Barry. If that’s true that’s foul as hell.

Judging by the steamy Erin Berry lingerie photos that are making the rounds online, she’s a looker. Still though, she’s no Eva Freakin’ Longoria.

Both sides (Tony & Eva) have publicly released matching statements about the divorce on their respective Twitter pages; here and here that are decidedly nicer than the rumors, but at least one famous name has apparently spoken up.

Brent’s Hall of Fame dad Rick Barry had this to say:

“I feel horrible for my son. I’m in shock. I knew [Erin] was moving out of the house soon and SHE was the one that filed for divorce. This is the straw that broke the camel’s back. [Brent] is going to be devastated. I can’t even imagine him going through this … the divorce was hard enough news.”

So far it hasn’t affected Tony’s play, since he put up 21 points and 7 assists in a 103-94 win over the Chicago Bulls, but Eva is reportedly going to be seeking spousal support, so it seems like this divorce will get uglier before it gets nicer. .

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

If anyone was wondering whether there was any love lost in the rivalry between the Boston Celtics, LeBron James and his new Miami Heat teammates, former NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce just added a little fuel to the fire via his Twitter page. Less than an hour after Pierce and his Celtics defeated the new look Heat for the second time this season 112-107, Pierce put his own spin on the famous “I’m taking my talents to South Beach” quote first uttered by LeBron during his “Decision” to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It’s obvious Pierce really enjoys beating the Heat, and I’m sure it has to do with all the praise and high expectations handed to Miami. Lost in the mix and hype to some was the fact that the Celtics are the defending Eastern Conference champions and still favorites to compete for the title.

They were also less than 10 minutes and three Staples Center referees away from winning their second title in three years together as the original revamped “Big Three” this past June. Throw in the fact that Pierce has eliminated LeBron’s teams along the way and it makes for some great back and forth.

No word on whether the Tweet will be deleted or labeled as a hack like the last time he poked fun at an opponent, but so far it already has more than 100 retweets. Regardless, it’s time to get your popcorn ready.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

Chris Paul is having one hell of a resurgence so far in this young NBA season. His New Orleans Hornets have started off with a franchise best 7-0 record so far (after beating my Clippers today) and are the only remaining undefeated team aside from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Paul is averaging 19 points, 10 assists, 2 steals and hitting 50 percent of his shots. It’s quite a turnaround for the Hornets after seeing Paul go down to injury last year and reportedly asking to be traded. It seems like everything is going great for him right now. Well, almost everything, since he just Tweeted that his mom and dad showed him their Shake Weight techniques at the dinner table.

Not sure what the Shake Weight is? It’s supposed to be some revolutionary new exercise technique but in reality it just looks like a portable masturbation machine. Don’t believe me? Check their real commercial below.

I’m with you Chris, hearing a mother talk about using the Shake Weight is a definite FML moment. On the bright side, at least she didn’t pull it out of her purse or anything.

-Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com