How come there’s always some jackass that has to ruin things for everyone?  Things like bringing your own bottle of vodka on flights to Vegas so you can pass it around the back of the plane, or knocking boots in public (Hypotheticals. I swear…).  Well NBA players–and I imagine other sport leagues might follow suit–can thank Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for getting their in-flight poker privileges taken away.

Following the Arenas/Crittenton scuffle, the Washington Wizards and New Jersey Nets are the first teams to ban gambling on team flights.  However, the Denver Nuggets crew isn’t taking this ban lightly.

“I definitely don’t think that’s something teams should do,” said [Chauncey] Billups, one of the NBA’s most respected players. “I think that when it’s done in the right way, that’s great camaraderie. Everybody likes to gamble whether it’s any kind of card game. Whatever it is, I think that it’s who you gamble with. I think that it’s the stakes that you gamble for.

“For our team, we gamble for small money. Just to waste time. Twenty dollars. If we gambled for $2,000, $2,500, $3,000, now that messes with your camaraderie. Now, when someone wants to get paid … it’s like ‘I don’t want to be around this guy.’ I think it’s about what you gamble for and who you’re with … We’re not gambling to pay bills. We’re just gambling to have fun.”–Fanhouse.com

Also speaking up against the ban are Melo, Arron Affalo, and Chris Andersen’s hair.  One might argue that if it’s “just to waste time”, why do they need to play for money at all regardless of the amount?  But everyone knows that everything is better when money is involved.  Kinda like working, or doing chores…or blowjobs–you know, all the big stuff.  The players are right, though.  Everyone shouldn’t be punished because of the actions of two idiot thugs.  If it were a recurring problem, fine;  but the guilty parties really should be the only ones held accountable here with maybe a “let this be a lesson to you” warning to the rest of the league.

So, how’s that Allen Iverson-Chauncey Billups trade looking now?  Not too bad at all, says the lazy pundit who only works in broad strokes.

After a few games of growing pains, the Iverson Experiment has taken off in Motown.  The Pistons delivered the Lakers their first loss on Friday, and last night they cooled off the red-hot Cavs, snapping Cleveland’s eight-game winning streak with a 96-89 win in Auburn Hills.  Iverson (23 points) and Rasheed Wallace (21/15) carried Detroit through the key fourth-quarter surge.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets improved to 5-1 since the addition of Billups to their lineup with a 91-81 victory over the Spurs.  Billups led Denver’s balanced attack with 22 points, while Team Floppy Bitchass fell to 5-6 on the season and is still missing Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.  Hooray!

Elsewhere: The TrailBlazers broke out the whoopass for Greg Oden’s home debut.  Portland blew out the Bulls 116-74, and Oden had 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 17 minutes of PT… Dwyane Wade went off for 40 points, 11 assists, and 5 blocks, but the Heat still fell to the Raptors.  You’ll live to regret this, Canada!

The big news in the NBA today is that Allen Iverson has been traded to Detroit for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and young center Cheikh Samb.

Not that I pretend to know dick about the NBA, but it looks like the Nuggets wanted a purer point guard to feed Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, which they’ll get in Denver native Billups.  The Pistons, meanwhile, get the roster shake-up that team president Joe Dumars promised after last season’s playoff loss, plus the added benefit of $20M in cap space when Iverson’s contract ends in the spring.

See, this is why I hate talking about breaking news like trades and coaches getting fired (or stepping down like Phil Fulmer).  I end up talking about actual sports instead of calling people gay or gossiping about arrest records.  However, in a related story, the name “Chauncey” is pretty gay.

(Photo: Getty Images)

There's no way to really sugarcoat this one. Yao Ming is over seven feet tall and just got stuffed by five-nine Nate Robinson. After the game, Tracy McGrady entered Yao's dim holding cell, handed him a cyanide pill, and left the room without a word.

Source=Deadspin