Well I think there, you picked a poor audience. Like you say, and they did, it's not really their cup of tea. Like I said, I didn't really find my voice when I thought about submitting a piece. It's not that I don't have one, I just didn't think I had one they'd find appealing to their demo. Which isn't a bad thing, I doubt Id have much to say on a football blog either.
Don't get dissuaded just because Cracked isn't your cup of tea. You want a good cracked article, rank the top 30 ninja mutant turtles action figures in terms of how ridiculous they are.
But if you want to write in-depth basketball, try the celticsblogs.
Here, reds army, celtics life, it's not hard to get something published if it's good. Especially during the offseason when fatigue sets in for the regular writers.
If you really wanna get published, write. Write and write some more. Think about it like basketball. The guys who just play for a paycheck are never remembered fondly. You gotta love it, and if someone pays you for it, great. But don't write because you want some kind of reward. Just write.