WATERCOOLER CHAT: KOBE WANTS 1 MILL PER MONTH FROM TURKEY, USC RB IN TROUBLE
BASKETBALL
In the NBA, with the lockout hovering large over the immediate future of the league, overseas teams are looking to capitalize. The Nets‘ Deron Williams has already signed a deal agreeing to play for Turkey’s Besiktas. These teams view this as an opportunity to bring the best basketball players in the world to play with their clubs LIVE in front of an adoring public.  That same team had shown interest in also bringing NBA superstar Kobe Bryant to town if the lockout persists. It was reported that they were willing to pay Bryant $500,000 a month to play there, but now it’s being reported that Bryant wants $1 million per month to play. However, it looks like this may not happen because of the current financial situation that Besiktas finds itself in. Their basketball funds are tied up in a soccer match-fixing scandal that is the major sports story in Turkey right now. Either way, if teams like Besiktas can bring over the best and brightest from the NBA, if even for just a short time, this could do wonders for the future of international basketball.FOOTBALL
In college football, another USC running back is in hot water. No, not Reggie Bush this time, but rather current USC running back Marc Tyler. Tyler was asked by a TMZ news crew if players got paid more at USC or in the pros (clearly a joke, as you are not supposed to get paid as a college athlete). But, an intoxicated Tyler responded, “They breakin’ bread”, while making a hand gesture that the money is flowing to USC athletes. Nobody is taking him too seriously, but USC has decided to ban their running-back Marc Tyler from the opening game of the season against Minnesota. Head coach Lane Kiffin said this is the best way for players to learn that player conduct matters off the field.  USC is constantly under suspicion for illegal activity in the form of player payments. Tyler may have just reopened another investigation against them.
