NBA Insider with Ken Berger

Glad to see some of Alan Hahn’s loyal fans have come over to the dark side. Alan isn’t the only one with a basketball blog around here.

Welcome aboard, starburyfan, and anyone else who wants to join me for what is going to be a wild couple of months before training camps open. I will know I have arrived as a Newsday blogger when Ali G starts posting here.

It is cool that Alan’s blog has grown to the point where it is spawning a whole subculture from which I can now benefit. Well, benefit in the sense that it must be very satisfying to interact with those readers who care about basketball and the NBA. Ol’ Hahnsey (I still can’t separate Alan from hockey, and in hockey, they give everybody cutesy nicknames like that) works really hard at his blog. He’s got some deep stuff going on there, with lyrics and things that are way over my head. But he does know his basketball. If you ever saw us stand side-by-side, you’d know instantly that he could dunk on me. I doubt he could get out to stop me from three, though.

Anyway, in addition to getting your fix for the Knicks and dark lyrics on Alan’s blog, stop by here to tell me what you think about one of the most eventful NBA summers in memory. And it’s only going to get more interesting.

As Tim Donaghy continues cooperating with federal authorities, we will get closer and closer to finding out exactly what he did and how long he was doing it. As another informative NBA blogger wrote Wednesday, Donaghy will get a huge break on his sentence if he cooperates not only with the feds, but with the NBA. It is in his best interests to tell them everything. And all of it will come out at his sentencing hearing, scheduled for Nov. 9.

Then we have the basketball news: Team USA getting ready for the Olympic qualifying tournament in Vegas, Kobe contemplating a training-camp holdout, Jermaine O’Neal still a Pacer (but for how long), and the Knicks possessing the inside track in a Ron Artest deal.

Interesting times. Glad to have you aboard.