Bad Blood Between Paul and Rondo, Usain Bolt Adopts a Cheetah (SERIOUSLY), Ginobilli Getting Heat from PETA for Swatting Bat?

After reading about the scuffle between Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul in Sunday's Celtics-Hornets game, its obvious: these two guys don't like each other. At two points in the game, the two were tied up and exchanged pleasantries. In the second quarter, the two players were fighting for position under the basket during a Ray Allen 3-point shot. After the shot was hoisted, the two players came face to face and exchanged words before referees split the two up. Both players were assessed technical fouls. After the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, Paul proceeded towards the Celtic bench, which is not customary during a road loss, and greeted players from the opposing team. Rondo approached Paul and walked into him while Paul raised his hands in the air. Paul then attempted to follow Rondo into the locker room and had to be restrained by Celtics assistant coaches until Hornets head coach Byron Scott came to retrieve his player. After the game, both players had little to say about the incident but it was obvious the two have bad blood pouring over from comments made in the off-season. Paul took a sarcastic shot at Rondo after the game saying: "Rondo is a lucky guy to play with guys like Pierce, Allen and Garnett," Paul said with a sly smile. Mark February 10th on your calendar. Both teams will meet again in New Orleans and I expect the point guard rivalry to continue. Should be interesting as the season goes on. A clip of the incident is posted in the Featured Videos Section.

The fastest man in the world has acquainted himself with the fastest animal in the world. While touring Kenya recently, 100-meter record holder Usain Bolt visited the Nairobi animal sanctuary and adopted a young cheetah. The sanctuary allowed him to name the cat and fittingly, he named it "Lightning Bolt". It seems like such an oxymoron but I thought it was interesting. Above is a picture of Bolt with his new feline friend. 

 One of the wackiest things I've ever watched during a basketball game took place on Halloween night. During a game between the San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings on Saturday, a bat was loose in the arena. Play was stopped late in the game, when the bat started flying at court-level. As the bat flew by Spurs G/F Manu Ginbobili, he swated the bat out of the air and handed it off to an arena staff member before play resumed. The Video, which you can check out in the Featured Videos section, has been a hit on the internet garnering laughs from a lot of people. PETA doesn't think it's funny. The animal awareness group released a statement yesterday:

"Here's our take on it: To bludgeon a 4-ounce animal to death, it takes a small man or a totally unthinking one-with no respect or consideration for lives humbler than his own. This is a time when athletes in particular need to be on their best behavior around any animal and show that they have brains and heart, not just reactionary brawn."

It seems as though they are trying to make a link between this incident and the Michael Vick fiasco that has been a headline since his return to the NFL after spending time in jail for dog-fighting and animal cruelty charges. It is a ridiculous assessment and I think anyone can understand in this case. You can't even prove Ginobili's intention was to hurt the bat. To make a statement of that magnitude is fairly naive and a little far-fetched. PETA needs to back off a little, give athletes some space and RELAX!