plus 1, NBA Notebook: Nate McMillan's name raised as a possible candidate for Bobcats job - Oregonian

NBA Notebook: Nate McMillan's name raised as a possible candidate for Bobcats job - Oregonian

Posted: 26 Dec 2010 06:30 PM PST

Published: Sunday, December 26, 2010, 6:12 PM Updated: Sunday, December 26, 2010, 6:34 PM

The NBA's first coaching casualty this season came in Charlotte, where the Bobcats parted ways with veteran Larry Brown in a move the team portrayed as a mutual agreement between Brown and owner Michael Jordan, but has been cast by local media as a firing.

Paul Silas, who coached the Hornets when they were in Charlotte, was hired as interim coach, but speculation already has started about the permanent replacement, with a familiar name mentioned: Nate McMillan.

ESPN's Marc Stein writes that the Blazers' sixth-year coach - a native of Raleigh, N.C. - could draw the interest of Jordan if McMillan does not re-sign with Portland after this season, when his contract expires.

According to Stein, Bobcats president Fred Whitfield - a former Nike executive and North Carolina native - is an advocate for McMillan.

McMillan has said he will not negotiate a new deal with Portland during the season.

Earlier this season, when questions arose about Erik Spoelstra's future in Miami arose during the Heat's slow start, Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski wrote that McMillan could eventually end up in Miami. Wojnarowki also wrote that McMillan could succeed Phil Jackson as Lakers coach after Jackson retires at the end of this season.

Other notes:

Kings' struggles lead to questions about future of coach, GM

Jazz could be back at full strength with return of Mehmet Okur

-- Mike Tokito
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Daniel Balsam Quits Job, Suing Spammers for a Living Instead - CBS News

Posted: 27 Dec 2010 07:01 AM PST

Daniel Balsam Quits Job, Makes Living Suing Spammers

Attorney Daniel Balsam (AP Photo, file)

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/KOVR/AP) Call him the ultimate spam blocker.

Eight years ago, Daniel Balsam was working as a California marketer when he received one too many e-mail pitches to enlarge his breasts.

Enraged, he launched a site called Danhatesspam.com, quit a career in marketing to go to law school and is making a decent living suing companies who flood his e-mail inboxes with offers of cheap drugs, free sex and unbelievable vacations.

"I feel like I'm doing a little bit of good cleaning up the Internet," Balsam said.

From San Francisco Superior Court small claims court to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Balsam, based in San Francisco, has filed many lawsuits, including dozens before he graduated law school in 2008, against e-mail marketers he says violate anti-spamming laws.

His many victories are mere rain drops in the ocean considering that Cisco Systems Inc. estimates that there are 200 billion spam messages circulating a day, accounting for 90 percent of all e-mail.

Still, Balsam settles enough lawsuits and collects enough from judgments to make a living. He has racked up well in excess of $1 million in court judgments and lawsuit settlements with companies accused of sending illegal spam.

His courtroom foes contend that Balsam is one of many sole practitioners unfairly exploiting anti-spam sentiments and laws. They accuse him of filing lawsuits against out-of-state companies that would rather pay a small settlement than expend the resources to fight the legal claims.

"He really seems to be trying to twist things for a buck," said Bennet Kelley, a defense lawyer who has become Balsam's arch nemesis over the years in the rough-and-tumble litigation niche that has sprung up around spam.

Balsam started small in 2002 in small claims court. By 2008, some of his cases were appearing before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal and he was graduating from the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

"I feel comfortable doing what I'm doing," Balsam said. "And I'm not going away."