The Futon Report

Delonte West has himself some good YouTube appearances. ◼ C-Notes

LeBron James ain’t gonna raise no dummy in his entourage. ◼ Crain’s Sportsbiz

Heath Shuler with an important political message. ◼ KSK

Then again, so can I. Doesn’t mean a team would want either one of us.

Stopping me from making a team is primarily my poor vertical jump, adequate throwing arm, and a tendency to try and stop the pass rush through UN sanctions. Stopping Chris Henry from making a team used to be his court-ordered house arrest, but that’s not an issue anymore. Now the only bugaboo left from him getting another chance at the pros is merely the fact that he’s Chris Henry. Read more

Treehouse Fort: New summer time, same summer weight, same amount of obscure Tuffy jokes. ◼ THF

“In baseball, as in life, you can’t make chicken salad out of chicken poop.” ◼ ESPN

Call this the biggest slap in the face in the world, but most people still aren’t giving the Atlanta Hawks much of a chance to win Sunday’s Game 7 that they forced last night against the Boston Celtics.

This is a No. 8 seed that finished 37-44, pushing the 65-16 Celtics to the edge of the first round, even though Boston swept Atlanta in the regular season series. So can you blame traditional logic? Either way, the Cleveland Cavaliers have to freakin’ love this series. Read more

Well that was a fun little freewheeling episode, if only for the John Daly segue. ◼ THF

The Dee Eff Pee published a “Best of Jason Grilli” photo gallery yesterday, which frankly was touching. I didn’t expect a metro newspaper to dedicate something like that after the exile of a long relief pitcher. Then again the man had local roots.

But if the champagne goggles is his Stairway To Heaven, here’s his Black Dog:

And that’s it. No more Grilli thoughts. From here on out it’s Francisco Cruceta. With soy. No foam. ◼ DFP

Why mock drafts are still hella useful, if inaccurate. ◼ Shutdown Corner