In this week’s Buzzer Beaters we have links to college basketball players talking smack on Facebook, the scoop on Steve Nash directing his latest commercial for Nike and a picture of Bryan Colangelo during a scouting trip in Europe.

* Hardwood Paroyxsm has a great screen grab of two college basketball players talking smack on Facebook.

* A big thanks goes out to Ben Couch from NBA.com for linking to a lot of articles from Hoops Addict this week.

* A large number of Raptors fans and a couple members of the local media are wondering what’s going on with T.J. Ford after his season has turned into a rocky roller coaster ride. At first blush it’s easy to take the side of his critics and jump off his bandwagon, but what fans seem to forget is Ford is having to adjust to coming off the bench for the first time in his life. Can you imagine growing up being better than your peers at something, being praised by everyone who knows you, getting treated like a rock star while at college and then becoming a professional athlete who makes millions of dollars while being one of the central pieces of the franchise you play for. Granted, there’s nothing to complain about so far in this equation, but then try to apply this to what Ford’s going through this season. He’s had everything that basketball can offer someone - stardom, money and fame - and with one hard foul he almost lost all of that. He battled back to get into playing shape despite doctors and some friends begging him to retire and when he returns he finds out he’s lost his starting spot to Jose Calderon. How’s that for a punch in the gut? I don’t care who you are, that’s a crushing blow to your ego and confidence. Since Ford’s returned to the Raptors he’s tried to be a distributor and get his teammates involved but when that hasn’t worked his ego has taken over and he’s tried to win games all by himself because he feels he can score at will. What’s happened is things have blown up and Ford let loose during a game against Utah last week and his temper tantrum earned him two technical fouls and an ejection. I’m not trying to justify his erratic play of late, or even his actions in the game against Utah, I’m just saying that Raptors fans need to cut Ford some slack and try to understand what’s going through his head. I still believe that once Ford gets his head on right he’ll go back to being one of the central pieces of the franchise and it’s future success.

* I was surprised to read about Billy Donovan kicking his players out of their practice facility after a lacklustre season which saw the team fail to qualify for the NCAA Tournament after winning National Championships the past two season. When asked about the situation Donovan vented to the media, “They got a facility that the administration has invested a lot in. It’s one of the best in the country. They’ve got a massage therapist to make sure they’re OK after games. They’ve got a private plane that they take to games. The meals that they eat. All those things, these guys came here and went right to the penthouse.” Granted, there’s going to be a sense of frustration with failing to qualify for the tournament, but doesn’t anyone else think Donovan is also frustrated that the NBA team he walked away from this summer, Orlando, is on pace to win 50 games this season and earn home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs?

* As a Canadian I’m bitter that Rogers Sportsnet won’t be broadcasting NBA games next season. This year I’ve loved the fact that I’ve been able to tune into one of their four regional networks to catch an NBA game on any given night but without them broadcasting games next year I’ll be forced to purchase NBA League Pass in order to watch games each night.

* Ball In Europe snapped a picture of Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo scouting games in Europe this past week.

* Empty The Bench wrote an interesting article about six ways to make the NBA better. One of my favourite points was when they brought up a need to change the way the NBA tracks assists because it’s something I’ve been talking about all season. Maybe it’s the Canadian in me, but why doesn’t the NBA adopt the assist rule the NHL uses in that two people get an assist? I understand how this would be an incredible headache for people who track stats to go back into game film and change things, but often times it’s the pass before the assist which sets up the play and I feel players should be rewarded for that.

* After directing his latest video for Nike, Steve Nash sees a future for himself in filmmaking.

* Jason Maxiell’s block on Tyson Chandler’s dunk attempt has to go down as the block of the year.

* The Big Lead posted a must read interview with Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts in which she talks about her tenure with the New York Times, an appalling story of what happened to her while covering minor league baseball early in her career and she tells why she chose writing for Sports Illustrated over a deal with ESPN.

* Makes sure you check out Blogger MVP and Rookie of the Year Rankings: Round 9.

* I bet you can’t read this post without laughing.