Ben Wallace’s goggles are wack…does anyone still say that?

TO’s own Jamaal Magloire absolutely posterized Alonzo Mourning last night with a one handed cram on the baseline…speaking of which, has anyone gotten dunked on more than Mr. Kidney this year?

Shaquille O’Neal mixing metaphors when asked about Pat Riley coaching again: "[Riley's] the president," he said after throwing snowballs outside before the game. "I'm the general. Unless I want to get impeached, I've got to do what [the president] says."…OK…

Clippers PG Shaun Livingston made his debut in the loss to the Hornets, entering midway through the first quarter. He picked up four fouls in his four minutes. He played 16 minutes in the second half and didn't pick up his fifth foul until there were 40.4 seconds left. He had five points. The second-year point guard had been sidelined all season because of a stress reaction in his lower back….not exactly Hoffa numbers, but close…

Top 10 jerseys selling NBA jerseys so far this year

1. Dwyane Wade, Heat
2. Allen Iverson, 76ers
3. LeBron James, Cavaliers
4. Stephon Marbury, Knicks
5. Kobe Bryant, Lakers
6. Shaquille O'Neal, Heat
7. Tracy McGrady, Rockets
8. Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets
9. Tim Duncan, Spurs
10. Vince Carter, Nets

Trade rumors: Pacers send SF Ron Artest and second-round pick PF Erazem Lorbek to the Raptors for Morris Peterson, Matt Bonner and a first-round pick… Lakers send PF Lamar Odom to the Pacers for SF Ron Artest…Wizards send PG Chucky Atkins and PF Jared Jeffries to the New York Knicks in exchange for Quentin Richardson.

Jermaine O'Neal told the Boston Globe he has two people in mind who would be more than suitable replacements for Artest: former teammate Al Harrington, now with Atlanta, and Bonzi Wells, now with Sacramento. Harrington would be a natural, O'Neal surmised, because of his familiarity with the system and the team. As for Wells, O'Neal said, "He fits in with what we do. We have a defensive-oriented team. He's a 6-6, 6-7 body who can play two different positions and thinks defense first."

Isiah Thomas told the New York Post he's not offering Channing Frye, Nate Robinson, David Lee or Trevor Ariza for Artest. "I wouldn't part with any of them," Thomas said. "I like where we're headed." Walsh said he's received calls from close to 20 teams.

Quote of the week and proof than Artest will not be a Hornet: "I've always thought I could coach anybody, but I don't know about Ron," Hornets coach Byron Scott said.

Wow…Chauncey Billups scored 28 points and a career-high 19 assists in the Detroit Pistons' 109-98 win over Sacramento Wednesday.

Don’t know caught this on the weekend, but Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison is gangsta… Morrison had the ball with his Gonzaga Bulldogs trailing by a point to the Oklahoma State Cowboys and less than 10 seconds left….Morrison has the ball just outsidethe 3 point arc on the right elbow about 20 feet from the basket as the clock ticks down to 5 seconds…he’s missed 8 of 13 shots in the game… he goes to pull up and then as it’s about to be blocked by either Marcus Dove or David Monds both of whom are blanketing him on the double team, he stepped back and fades away from both defenders and BANKS in a 3-pointer high off the backboard with 2.5 seconds left to give No. 9 Gonzaga a wild 64-62 comeback win over the stunned Cowboys. Oh, by the way: Morrison said he called "bank" on his latest money shot. "I had the angle," he said….asked about it later, Marcus Dove of Ok. State confirms that Morrison did indeed call “glass” when he shot it…which is ridiculous…

1) From the AP, this is weird as hell, but I’ll definitely be watching:

Beast from the East - Ruiz prepares to fight 7-foot, 330-lb. Russian Valuev

WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz should have no problem finding challenger Nikolay Valuev -- a 7-footer weighing 330 pounds. "He's got a head the size of a Volkswagen," Ruiz said Wednesday. "I can't miss hitting him." Dubbed "The Beast from the East," Valuev is 43-0 and will be the tallest and heaviest champion of all time if he beats Ruiz (42-5-1) on Saturday night. The American, despite wins against former champions Evander Holyfield, Hasim Rahman and Andrew Golota, said beating Valuev will earn him the respect he believes he's due. "This is an important fight for me, because after this guy it's going to be a unification fight -- and I'm the best guy to win unification," Ruiz said. "They'll be talking about me a lot more if I beat this guy." Rahman was given the WBC title after Vitali Klitschko retired last month because of injuries. Don King is promoting the fight Saturday, an unlikely prospect a decade ago when Valuev traveled around Russia beating up people for minuscule purses. "I was a very experienced fighter -- all I needed was a good promoter," Valuev said. The 32-year-old former basketball player and discus thrower found his promoter two years ago when he twice boxed on the undercard of two fights staged by Wilfried Sauerland in Germany. Valuev's third-round knockout of Clifford Etienne was followed in October by a disputed decision against Larry Donald, which earned him the title shot. The 6-foot-2 Ruiz, who fights at about 240 pounds, says he won't change tactics to compensate for Valuev's height advantage. "No doubt this will be a hard fight, but I've overcome situations like this before," Ruiz said. Valuev has a reputation of being mobile for his size, but without a big punch despite his 31 knockouts. The Russian insists Ruiz's grab-and-hold tactics, used since David Tua knocked him out inside a minute in 1996 -- won't work this time. "I won't give him the chance," Valuev said. "I always use my height -- I see no reason it should be different this time." About 9,000 of the 10,000 tickets have been sold for the bout. Muhammad Ali's daughter, Laila, will fight on the undercard against Asa Sandell of Sweden.

2) Also from the AP, maybe the most boring game ever:

PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) -- In the lowest-scoring Division I game since the introduction of the 3-point line, Monmouth, N.J., beat Princeton 41-21 Wednesday night. Princeton tied the record for fewest points in a Division I game since the 3-point line started in 1986-87. Georgia Southern also finished with 21 in a 40-point loss to Coastal Carolina on Jan. 2, 1997. The previous record for fewest combined points since 1986-87 was 67, which happened twice. SMU beat Texas-Arlington 36-31 on Dec. 16, 1989, and Wisconsin-Green Bay defeated Northern Michigan 46-21 on Nov. 22, 1996. Princeton's previous scoring low in the era of the 3-point line was 35 points. The Tigers, a perennial Ivy League power known for their deliberate offense predicated on backdoor cuts and long possessions, had that total twice, against Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1995 and UNLV in 1991. The Tigers (2-5) had their lowest point total since a 44-21 loss to Penn in 1935-36. They averaged 49.3 points in their first six games this season. Princeton went scoreless for a 14:54 stretch in the second half after going 7:14 without a point in the first half. Monmouth (2-7) never trailed after taking a 4-3 lead less than three minutes into the game. The Tigers went 9-for-41 from the field, including 2-for-20 on 3-pointers, and turned the ball over 19 times. Patrick Ekeruo was Princeton's leading scorer with nine points. Dejan Delic scored 11 points and Chris Kenny had 10 for Monmouth, which snapped a six-game losing streak.

3) Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com reports that the trading season is upon us:

Shopping season begins in the NBA

When the clock strikes midnight Wednesday, just about every NBA player becomes trade-eligible, and the general consensus is that deals will proceed faster than they did a year ago, when Dec. 15 was a dud in terms of trades. "There seems to be a lot of movement right now. There are some teams trying to push things and make some deals," Suns general manager Bryan Colangelo said Tuesday night. Under collective-bargaining rules, players who signed contracts over the summer are ineligible to be dealt for 90 days after they signed or until Dec. 15 -- whichever is later. That means a handful of signings that seemed to make sense at the time -- Earl Watson signing with Denver, Arvydas Macijauskas joining the Hornets, Jerome James bringing his enlarged frame to New York -- can now be put in the past. All it will take is the right match between two willing partners. "As a businessperson who knows my job, a person who is educated on what I do, the 15th is an important date for me, so I'm very much aware of it," said Watson, who it seemed was being showcased Tuesday night, making three 3-pointers and a dunk in the fourth quarter of Denver's 99-87 victory at Charlotte. Watson signed a five-year contract for the Nuggets' full mid-level exception last summer, but Denver coach George Karl has had little use for him, playing him only 14 minutes per game and holding him out of nine of the Nuggets' 21 games. New York has offered forward Malik Rose, but Denver general manager Kiki Vandeweghe is likely to find a more appealing offer from a team that feels Watson can become a latter-day Eric Snow -- a heady, defense-minded point guard who feels he's ready to become an everyday contributor rather than being stuck as a career backup. With many teams searching for size, there has been a keen focus on the threesome of bigs -- Corliss Williamson, Brian Skinner and Kenny Thomas -- that the Sacramento Kings received from Philadelphia in last season's Chris Webber trade. Many sources believe Thomas is the most likely to be moved, and several pro-personnel types were in attendance Saturday night in Seattle as Thomas played a mundane 17-minute stint, shooting just 1-of-3 with one rebound. The 6-7 forward, who makes $6.5 million, is under contract for four more seasons. Williamson has only one season remaining, while Skinner has two. Kings president Geoff Petrie is seeking scoring off the bench. Elsewhere, two teams mentioned by several league sources as the most likely to pull the trigger soon are the New Jersey Nets and Washington Wizards. Nets president Rod Thorn would like to upgrade the power-forward position for an underachieving team that lost by 20 points at Washington on Wednesday night. He has been shopping third-string point guard Zoran Planinic and a pair of first-round picks (the Nets' own and the Clippers'), and the arrival of Dec. 15 will allow him to package one or more of the spare parts (Lamond Murray, Scott Padgett, Jeff McInnis) that New Jersey signed over the summer. Washington would like to acquire someone to take some defensive heat off Gilbert Arenas, who is running up against the opponent's best defender on a night-in, night-out basis now that other teams no longer have to worry about Larry Hughes. Antonio Daniels, signed as a free agent in the offseason, is averaging only 4.7 points on 30 percent shooting. He will now become eligible to be traded, and the Wizards may try to find him a new home more suited to his strengths as a ballhandler and offensive initiator. Another Washington guard, Chucky Atkins, has formally requested a trade. The pace of Dec. 15-related activity likely will be affected by the Indiana Pacers, as they sort through more than a dozen offers that have come in since the start of the week when they announced they would trade Ron Artest. Until the other 29 teams know where Artest is headed, some will hold off on making other deals. Sacramento, for instance, could hold off on a Thomas or Skinner trade if it believes it has a viable shot at acquiring Artest. Petrie, aghast at the Kings' poor start before they put together their current three-game winning streak, has been exploring all of his options, including deals involving Peja Stojakovic, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season heading into a summer in which teams with significant cap space will have very few impact players to bid on. Stojakovic's asking price likely will be $12 million or more, and the Kings will have to make a judgment about whether Peja is worth the price. If they decide he isn't, they may trade him sooner rather than later -- especially if the Artest situation impacts their choices. The Chicago Bulls are widely seen as Stojakovic's most likely next destination, but any team that acquired Peja during this season would also get his "Larry Bird rights" -- which means that team would have the opportunity to re-sign the 28-year-old, even if it meant going over the usual salary-cap limits. If Chicago fears that another team will acquire Stojakovic and effectively take him off next summer's market, the best time might be now to put together a package (Luol Deng, Tim Thomas and draft picks) that would be more appealing to the Kings than a straight-up swap for Artest. Stojakovic's countryman Vladimir Radmanovic likely will stay put in Seattle. After signing a one-year tender, he has the right to veto any trade. If he were to accept a trade, he'd forfeit his Bird rights and would be prevented from re-signing with the team that acquired him if it were over the $49.5 million salary cap. Radmanovic likely would only accept a trade to a team that will be substantially below the cap next summer (Clippers, Bulls). His teammate Ronald Murray has been mentioned as a candidate for a trade from Seattle to the Nuggets. He also would have to forfeit his Bird rights, but Denver would be able to re-sign him for any amount up to next season's mid-level exception. But because Murray didn't sign until Sept. 27, he will not become trade-eligible until Dec. 26. A few other players around the league will remain ineligible to be traded until 90 days elapse from the date they signed. Among them are Miami's Gary Payton (eligible Dec. 21), Chicago's Darius Songaila (Dec. 22), Orlando's Bo Outlaw (Dec. 28), Charlotte's Keith Bogans (Dec. 29) and Miami's Jason Kapono (Jan. 2). Of course, there's always a chance that this Dec. 15 will be another dud, coming and going without any deals. That's what happened last season, but the calm was loudly shattered two days later when New Jersey pulled off its trade for Vince Carter. This season, however, there seems to be a consensus that teams are a little more eager to deal.

4) Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports that Jermaine and Ron will not be having Christmas Dinner together:

Bitter situation - O'Neal says Artest let teammates down

The Pacers' All-Star forwards have had their problems, but both say this season is the closest they've ever been. That's what made Artest's recent trade request so painful, O'Neal said Wednesday. He thinks Artest turned his back on the same teammates who were suspended, had their images tarnished and lost millions of dollars for coming to his defense during last season's brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills (Mich.). "I've been through a lot with him," O'Neal said. "I was one of the guys that went to bat for him. For him to talk about another team and other players while he's still on this team, it was disrespectful not only to me, but to the rest of the guys. I don't wish any bad things on Ron. I wish Ron still goes out and accomplishes his goals. It's just a painful thing when you went through what we went through. The money I lost while I was out was extremely high. Now it's like, what was it for?" O'Neal was suspended for 15 games and lost $2.7 million for his part in the brawl. Stephen Jackson missed 30 games and lost $1.9 million. O'Neal also was charged with two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery. Jackson, Artest and two other Pacers were charged with one count. All five Pacers received probation, community service and a fine. O'Neal criticized Artest's timing and the manner in which he asked out. "We felt betrayed, a little disrespected," O'Neal said. "It caught me off-guard because our relationship was at an all-time high. I just wish it was handled differently because as a player, you're always for the players. It's a team sport." As for their basketball relationship, O'Neal said: "The business relationship is over. That's fact." O'Neal also said Artest had not contacted any of the Pacers since his trade demand became public. Artest, who is on the inactive list for at least two more games, said in a phone interview Wednesday he understands O'Neal's frustration. He again said his decision was based on his dislike of playing for coach Rick Carlisle, not on his relationship with O'Neal. "Jermaine has the right to be mad at me," Artest said. "I don't have a right to be mad at him. What I'm doing is a little selfish, but I still think this will help the team by me leaving. This has nothing to do with Jermaine. Me and Jermaine are cool. I've always said from the beginning that it's Jermaine's team. He's the most qualified for the job to lead this team." O'Neal backed Artest's comments by saying, "In the off time, when we're in the streets, when I see him and he's with another team, we can talk." Artest had more to say, however, about his relationship with Carlisle. Artest told The Star on Saturday that his role in Carlisle's offense led to his trade request. Wednesday, Artest questioned whether Carlisle wanted him on the team. "I believe coach didn't want me there," Artest said. "I think he did things to make me tick. Why keep fighting coach, when I have enough problems, when I can go elsewhere and play?" Said Carlisle: "Ron Artest is a great player. He was leading the team in minutes played and was on track to have his best statistical year as a pro. Why would I not want to have a guy like that on my team?" While Artest leads the team in minutes played and is second in scoring average, he felt stifled in Carlisle's structured system. "Coach's offense is a distraction," Artest said. "I'm one of the best players in the league, and he won't call a play for me for most of the quarter. That's why I feel like I messed up the offense because I can take my man any time I want. He would call plays for me at the wrong time. He's always constantly switching things up and it's confusing."

5) Jackie MacMullan of the Boston Globe and who is also the ghost writer for some of Larry Bird’s books, reports that PP is all good:

It's been put in the past by Pierce
The familiar blue and yellow uniforms dotting the parquet in pregame warmups did not send Celtics star Paul Pierce spiraling into a series of painful flashbacks. It was against last night's opponent, the Indiana Pacers, that Pierce unraveled in the 2005 postseason, losing his cool, his shirt -- and a huge chunk of his credibility after his implosion in Game 6 of the opening round of the playoffs was replayed from coast to coast. There's Pierce, ejected from the game at a critical juncture. There he is, defiantly removing his shirt and waving it above his head as he left the court. There he is again, meeting the media with a ludicrous bandage wrapped around his jaw, mocking the referees and embarrassing the most decorated franchise in the NBA. It is behind him now. Truly, it is. ''I haven't watched it," Pierce said. ''I sort of left it there." It isn't easy to rebuild trust with fans, teammates, and coaches. Ask AWOL Indiana forward Ron Artest. He failed in his attempt to put a far more egregious incident behind him, and has disrupted his team yet again with his criticism of his coach and his request for a trade. Pierce has done the opposite. He has been a reliable teammate, accommodating to the fans and the media, and solicitous of a coach that he once chafed against. He offered a public apology for the embarrassment he caused, something Artest could never bring himself to do. He has been a leader, a team guy, and has flat out been one of the best players in the league through the first two months of the season. It hasn't been easy to erase the image he projected last May. Pierce spent most of last summer evaluating himself and his future with the only team he has ever played for, while his reputation absorbed a beating. His initial conclusion: He asked the Celtics for a trade. ''I mentioned it," he admitted. ''At the beginning of the summer, I thought that was the best thing. But I wasn't going to do it through the media. I talked to them myself." The problem, he quickly learned, was asking for a trade took his future out of his hands. All the various landing spots were relayed to him in one way or another, and some of them frightened him. Executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge, for instance, was enamored with point guard Chris Paul (good call, Danny), and at one point the Celtics and Trail Blazers discussed the No. 3 overall pick and Nick Van Exel, whose contract was about to expire, for Pierce. ''When I heard that one, I made it known [to Boston] that I wasn't going there," said Pierce. ''And, as the summer went on, we just never got to the point where it [a trade] became a real serious option. There were still issues to resolve. One of the most critical was for Pierce to make peace with coach Doc Rivers, who didn't hesitate to challenge him, criticize him, or sit him if he didn't like the results. Coaches don't normally treat stars that way. Pierce barked out his displeasure, but Rivers, to his credit, held firm. ''I just think we didn't communicate as much as we should have," Pierce said. ''We aired it out at the beginning of this season. He told me what he expected of me, and we left it at that. I respect Doc. He played this game. He's still a young coach. He's still learning. So am I." Pierce has been woven into the fabric of the Celtics landscape for so long now, it's easy to forget he turned just 28 in October. His contract is up in two years (three if he exercises an option worth $16.3 million), and he will have some decisions to make. ''Obviously, at this point of my career I'd like to contend for a championship," he said. ''If things keep going backwards, that's something I don't want to do." With yet another infusion of not-yet-ready-for-prime-time talent instead of a veteran presence, it's obvious Boston will be taking yet another step to the rear this season with an eye toward the long-term future. How long can Pierce live with that? ''You've got to put everything in perspective," Pierce said. ''I've had a lot of ups and downs, but Boston, for the most part, has been loyal to me, starting with taking me with the No. 10 pick. ''My loyalty is to the franchise. And, as time goes on, and things develop, if there's a situation where I think it's time to go, hopefully they'll be loyal to me." In the meantime, coming into last night's game Pierce was averaging a career-high 26.6 points a game, sixth in the league behind such luminaries as Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. He was averaging a career-high 8.7 rebounds, shooting a career-high 49 percent, shooting a career-high 3.5 percent on 3-pointers, and submitting a career-high 1.5 steals a game. ''What I'm proudest of Paul for is that he's moved on," Ainge said. ''It's not what he did, but how he responded to it. ''Everybody makes mistakes. Paul was in a situation last season where we were on a nice little roll, then our season ended in a very ugly fashion. ''Did he deserve criticism for our [playoff elimination]? No. We won the game that he was ejected from. Did he deserve some criticism for his behavior? Yes. But there was no way I was going to be down on Paul Pierce because of that. That's ridiculous... ''Things like this happen in pressure situations. I don't think what Paul did was near as bad as what Scottie Pippen did, and he's one the 50 greatest players of all time." For those of you who have blocked out those Bulls years, in 1993-94, Pippen's first season without Michael Jordan (his Airness was in Birmingham, Ala., trying in vain to hit fastballs), he refused to take the floor in the waning seconds of an Eastern Conference semifinal playoff game against the Knicks because coach Phil Jackson diagrammed the final shot for Toni Kukoc, instead of Pippen. Kukoc went on to hit the shot, and Pippen went on to earn a scarlet letter he carries with him to this day. Pierce will do his best to erase his own badge of shame, knowing full well that some people will never let him forget. Scars heal eventually, but they never disappear. ''I really don't worry about that," he said. ''If, at the end of the day, that's all they can say about Paul Pierce when my career is over, I'm fine with that. I've never had problems off the court. I've got no blemishes on my family, nothing." In a perfect world, Al Jefferson becomes a 20/10 guy next season, Gerald Green's voice changes and he actually gets to act like one of the big boys, and Delonte West, Kendrick Perkins, et al experience a quantum leap in experience and ability. If not, the clock continues to tick, and as Pierce settles into the prime of his career he might ask for that change of address again, only this time with conviction. ''I understand what we're up against," Ainge said. ''It's a race against time. But I really believe Paul is one of those players who can bridge the gap with these younger players. He's the kind of guy who will still be playing at a high level in his 30s. He could be like a Reggie Miller with these young guys, if he wanted to." Don't ask Paul Pierce about the future. He is trying to immerse himself in here and now. Last night against those blue and yellow uniforms, he poured in 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in 40 minutes, and received absolutely no technicals. Sure beats the past.