I've been waiting for the official announcement, and here it is: ESPN bought True Hoop.

It's a huge day for the basketblogosphere in particular, and sports blogging in general. Over the last 18 months or so, Henry built his site from the ground up, combining the fan-perspective casual writing style with some damn good reportage. The door is opened.

So Henry is now a paid blogger, and ESPN's hoops coverage jumped about a dozen notches. Actually, what ESPN.com's NBA team - led by Royce Webb - has done over the past year or so is incredible. They pulled in John Hollinger, the face of APBRmetrics more or less. They grabbed one of the best game analysts in David Thorpe. And now, Abbott, the godfather of the basketblogosphere. Incredible strides.

Three cheers to Henry and to ESPN.