The Conference finals for both the Uptown and Downtown divisions were well worth the wait.

After Jason Burke led AF1 through the semifinals, he assured me that he’d finally get over the hump that was Uptempo and make it to the garden. With 17 points and seven boards-right on his average’s for the season-he was able to pull off a Naimithian performance and come through on his promise of dominance. On a pick and roll play with Ryan Fisher in the second half, Burke split two defenders with a  twinkle toed ala Fred Flintstone spin and scored a layup that made the crowd make the somebody farted face while screaming ooooh!

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As me and Jay Corbin were chopping it up about the events at NBA all star weekend, he suddenly stopped and looked at Brandon Smith’s kicks.

“That’s a bold move,” Corbin said.

I tried to see what Brandon had on his feet, as he usually rocks some converses or something clean with an ill/limited colorway but I couldn’t see from the sideline. The last game of the night kicked off and I peeped the pink LeBron Soldier III’s and I thought that would be the loudest statement Smith would make that night.

I was wrong.

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“Oh, well be there-we’ll be there.”

They were the last words that Scott Williams uttered as he left the gym, after defending champion Uptempo knocked off the Termies. I had just finished shooting the breeze with my favorite fellow dip-set enthusiast Luci-Mane about his bum-leg, and snagging a quote from Dan Gladstone who was trying his best to stay positive after the tough loss. Losing to the defending champs is never something to be ashamed of because it’s not that you lost, but more so, they maintained. They held it down. For at least one more week, Scott, Terrence, Nick & Co. get to walk around doing the Aaron Rodgers “championship belt” gesture. And if they do make back (to the Garden), consider Jarek Carethers the Rasheed Wallace of the crew.

He’ll need to carry the belt and the post-play on his shoulders, if Uptempo is going to ...

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Week 10 of the NRF was quite possibly the best yet. AF1 proved they could contend with anyone (and this is still without the mythical PR in the lineup) by beating title contender Delta Force. Jason Burke messed around and got a double-double in convincing fashion, taking full advantage of his six-foot-six-ness. Terance Takyi had another stellar performance for Huarache a.k.a. the Perfect Posse a.k.a. The Killer Bees. Takyi's 27 points and five steals only strengthened his case for MVP and more importantly proved that competition is none by beating up the Shox, until they walked off the court. But the game that proved most noteworthy was the nightcap between Dunk and defending champs, Uptempo. Dunk got off to a slow start this season but has had a late surge. Raf made sure that Uptempo ended their season with a losing record by dropping 22 ...

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Week after week we’ve watched Scott Williams get buckets and then let the whole gym know about it. Williams get’s to the rack, knocks down shots from the outside and is surgical with his mid-range game. Most of the time it looks easy, but week nine was different. He looked frustrated, couldn’t get his shot off and for most of the first half, he couldn’t even get to the ball, let alone score it. Delta Force had a plan Wednesday night, and they showed everyone that their record is no fluke. Treasure Kyn Neal channeled his inner Joe Dumars by locking up the league’s best, and getting buckets, too. TKN’s 15 points, and seven boards are stats that look good on paper but his defensive presence was way more impressive than his near double-double and that’s why he’s the POW.

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This week’s POW comes from what had to have been one of the sloppiest games of the season. Both teams dropped nearly as many turnovers as they did points, but that’s not what’s important about Generation v. Hyperflight. Two players stood out and stepped in the clutch: Hype’s AP and Gen’s Joe Branch. With Team Hyperflight missing a few key cogs, AP got his shine on (and even pulled the pre-game powder move a la LeBron, which he’s been waiting to do for two years) and knocked down two three’s and fought hard for five boards. A respectable night’s work.

But Branch has been struggling as the leader of a team that was facing a possible winless season and he finally helped them get that elusive W. With that in mind (and the fact that I had to watch my Iona Gaels ...

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After watching the games of Week 7, I was left with one question: How do you stop Team Huarache? They've won in close game with last second efforts and they've smacked teams on cruise control. They can play at a fast pace or slow it down and catch wreck in half court sets. So far they've met every challenge and what makes them so good is their balance on offense and defense. They have about four players who can drop 20 but all of them are capable of at least 10 points. Everyone on Huarache can defend and rebound, but factor in the little things like converting on fast breaks and tipped balls to create steals and what you have is a roster full of glue-guys. This week's POW is Huarache's Roscoe, who had 20 points and 14 rebounds. And this comes in a game ... READ MORE >

The first day I got down with NRF, Eric and Justin gave me a run down on who to look out for and which seasoned vets get it in. The first team mentioned was Uptempo and the first player was Scott Williams. As reigning regular season MVP on the quest for a hat trick of championships, I fully expected him to put up numbers and Uptempo to smack a lot of teams. He has but so far, Uptempo hasn't filled the win column up like everyone expected. As we get closer to the playoffs, they needed a win and with his 32 points, five assists and five steals, Williams made sure they got the W. *Honorable mention: AF1's PR There were whispers that PR would make his first appearance of the season on Wednesday for the game against Team Shox. He didn't make it but the way ... READ MORE >

This week’s POW was a close three-man race. Two rookies and one vet (not to be confused with two girls, one…never mind) truly balled outta control this week and, if nothing else, locked up unquestionable all-star selections. The NRF’s biggest surprise of the season has been AF1 rookie guard Ryan Fisher.  The team struggled a bit but is back at .500 and Fisher’s consistent play has been the catalyst of their recent success, as he dropped 20 points, five boards and five steals on Wednesday. Eric Raymundo might be a calm, mellow, character who hands out checks, takes verbal abuse from Ka$h-money, and eats Chinese food with the rest of us on the sidelines but he’s efficiently-flashy (sorta like the Ru-fi-ooooo character from Steven Speilberg’s 1991 classic Hook, who he happens to favor) once he touches the hardwood (I’m not saying pause ...

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After a 24 point, five rebound effort in a three OT win over defending champion Team Uptempo, Keith Howard is the Player of the Week for week 4. Howard made the game tying drive to keep Foamposite alive in the second plus-period and then made the game winning free throw. While Terance Takyi did drop 25 points and help Team Huarache stay undefeated (CGF) and Rafa a.k.a “Yo, put this in the write-up,” had 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals in Team Dunk’s first win of the season, leading the charge in a three OT victory that exciting has to be acknowledged. Real recognize real and this week, Howard was looking real familiar.   

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