Kobe drills the Dinos...

Yes…I watched it…at the half he had 26 points…by the end, he had 81 points in a Lakers 122-104 win over the Raptors who had led by 17…he was 28-of-46 from the floor, 7-of-13 from 3-point range and 18-of-20 from the line. For comparison, when Wilt scored 100 points against the Knicks in 1962, he was 36-of-63 from the field and 28-of-32 from the foul line…Chamberlain had 59 points in the second half -- the only player with more points in a half than Bryant's 55 after halftime in this game. Bryant’s previous career high was 62 points in the 1st three quarters of a win over Dallas last month…Bryant raised his scoring average to an NBA-leading 35.9 points this season. It was ridiculous, for sure…especially when you saw the looks on the Raptors faces…helpless, deer in the headlights looks…For posterity, here’s the list:

100 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. New York at Hershey, Pa., March 2, 1962.
81 - Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers vs. Toronto, Jan. 22, 2006.
78 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. L.A. Lakers, Dec. 8, 1961 (3 OT).
73 - David Thompson, Denver at Detroit, April 9, 1978.
73 - Wilt Chamberlain, San Francisco at New York, Nov. 16, 1962.
73 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. Chicago, Jan. 13, 1962.
72 - Wilt Chamberlain, San Francisco at L.A. Lakers, Nov. 3, 1962.
71 - David Robinson, San Antonio at L.A. Clippers, April 24, 1994.
71 - Elgin Baylor, L.A. Lakers at New York, Nov. 15, 1960.
70 - Wilt Chamberlain, San Francisco vs. Syracuse, March 10, 1963.
69 - Michael Jordan, Chicago at Cleveland, March 28, 1990.
68 - Pete Maravich, New Orleans vs. New York, Feb. 25, 1977.
68 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. Chicago, Dec. 16, 1967.
67 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. L.A. Lakers, Jan. 11, 1963.
67 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. New York, Feb. 25, 1962.
67 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Feb. 17, 1962.
67 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. New York, March 9, 1961.
66 - Wilt Chamberlain, L.A. Lakers vs. Phoenix, Feb. 9, 1969.
65 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. L.A. Lakers, Dec. 29, 1966.
65 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. St. Louis, Feb. 27, 1962.
65 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia vs. Cincinnati, Feb. 13, 1962.

Wow…if you saw Duke's loss to Georgetown on Saturday, don’t let it overshadow the J.J. Redick show….he had 41 points on a number of three, drives to the bucket and even a breakaway dunk…

Quote of the week…an NBA scout’s opinion on Chicago PF Tyson Chandler:“ He’s nothing but an overpaid Mikki Moore.”…

Weird…Police were called to guard the condemned home of a reclusive man whose death led to the discovery of a valuable collection of vintage sports cards. The collection, stored in 400 to 500 boxes in John F. Hessian's home in Boston's Roslindale section, included cards of such long-ago baseball stars as Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. Hessian also had football and hockey cards dating to the 1940s in a collection police estimate could be worth up to $1 million. "This is like Fort Knox inside," said Michael Wiseman of Aftermath Cleaning Co., which was hired to tear through piles of trash 6-feet high to reach the cards. Hessian, 83, lived alone in the home his entire life, until a neighbor discovered him dead there on Jan. 2. Four truckloads of the cards were removed from the house last week. Hessian also had some valuable cards stored in a safe deposit box in an unknown location Hessian is survived by two cousins who are left to hunt for a will or determine who inherits the card collection.
1) Duke, Florida and Pit…all unbeaten, went down this weekend…but the most amazing win of the weekend in NCAA hoops was North Dakota State beating Wisconsin at home, as reported by SI.com:

Anything's possible - N. Dakota State's win in Wisconsin one to remember

Perhaps you saw the score scrawl across the ticker and raised an eyebrow. Perhaps you saw it in Sunday morning's paper and went, "Are you kidding me?" But there are times when a simple score doesn't come close to telling the whole story, and North Dakota State 62, Wisconsin 55 is one of them. Forget Georgetown over Duke, St. John's over Pittsburgh or Tennessee over Florida (at least until later in this column). The upset of the weekend, the season and many, many seasons before that took place Saturday in Madison, Wis. Consider: a) Wisconsin reached the NCAA Elite Eight last season; North Dakota State, in the midst of a transition from Division II, isn't even eligible for the Tourney until 2009. b) Wisconsin had won 68 of its previous 71 home games under head coach Bo Ryan, with the losses coming to Illinois, Wake Forest and Temple; North Dakota State had lost 18 of its past 24 road games, the most recent wins coming against Florida Gulf Coast, Minnesota-Crookston and Southwest Minnesota State. C) Less than 48 hours before facing the No. 3 team in the RPI ratings in front of 17,142 spectators at the Kohl Center, the Bison were in Orem, Utah, facing the No. 303 team, Utah Valley State, in front of an announced crowd of 702 ("And that was an exaggeration of great proportions," said North Dakota State coach Tim Miles of the attendance figure) -- and they lost, 67-65 on a last-second tip-in. d) Finally, according to research by Wisconsin-Green Bay's sports information department, the Bison took the court Saturday with the youngest team in the country -- 13 freshmen or sophomores, including four redshirt-freshman starters -- one junior and one senior. How?? "We must have repeated 100 times throughout the game -- 'Today's our day,'" Miles, 39, recounted by cell phone Saturday during an eight-hour bus ride back to Fargo. "We felt like we were playing sharp, we knew we had a chance. It just proves that in college basketball, anything can happen on any given day." Actually, the statistics dispute that notion, particularly for teams playing on the road. With college basketball's tightly packed gyms, manic student sections and clunky travel schedules, homecourt advantage plays a bigger role than in any other major sport. Entering Saturday's games, Big Ten teams had won 90.2 percent of their home games this season. Jeff Sagarin factors in a 3.8-point advantage for home teams in his college basketball computer ratings, higher than he does for the NFL (3.51), NBA (2.98) or college football (2.48). The Bison, 11-9, were on the last leg of a particularly grueling road trip that started at 6 a.m. last Wednesday, when they left campus to fly to Minneapolis, from which they caught a connecting flight to Salt Lake City, from where they bused a snowy 40 miles to Orem. Friday began at 5:30 a.m. with a ride back to Salt Lake for another flight to Minneapolis, this time for the connection to Madison. Wake-up Saturday was at 7 for an 11:15 a.m. tip-off. Such is life as the new kid on the block. Like Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UC-Davis, Savannah State and so many other dreamers who have taken the step up to Division I recently, NDSU, a 10,000-student school with a modest basketball history (eight Division II tourney appearances, most recently 1997), aspires to be the next Gonzaga. If Saturday's win was any indication, the Bison just might be able to pull it off. In fact Miles, in his fifth season at the school, has emulated the philosophy the Zags initially used in building their program, recruiting primarily overlooked regional prospects (10 players hail from either North Dakota, South Dakota or Minnesota) and, whenever possible, giving them a redshirt year to develop. Leading scorer Ben Woodside, a playmaking point guard and redshirt freshman from Albert Lea, Minn., had almost no Division I overtures; he scored 24 points against Wisconsin. "When we announced we were going [to Division I], a lot of people thought we were going to get blown out of the gym," Miles said. "Our goal is to put NDSU on the national map." It sounds far-fetched, but hey, in this sport, apparently anything can happen.

2) Royce Webb of ESPN.com is as amazed by Kobe as we are:

Kobe makes records wilt

Only Kobe Bryant would try to singlehandedly upstage the NFL on Championship Sunday. And get it done. It's the greatest scoring night any of us have ever seen, except for the few among us who were in the arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on March 2, 1962. In other words, it's the best performance in NBA history, except for Wilt's 100. It was 1.7 points per minute, or, in this case, 1.9 points per minute, since Kobe actually sat six minutes against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, in the Lakers' 122-104, come-from-behind win in L.A. It was 66 shots -- 46 field goal attempts and 20 free throw attempts. Of those FGAs, 28 found the net (60.9 percent), including seven of his 13 3-pointers. Eighteen of 20 free throws followed suit. (Yes, Kobe's free throw streak ended -- at 62.) It's this -- 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 1 3 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1. It's enough to make you wish he'd have had a faster start, instead of "only" 26 in the first half ... to be followed by 27 in the third quarter ... and 28 in the fourth ... picking up speed with all the inevitability of gravity itself, a runaway train, a basketball bouncing down a steep driveway. After the game, Kobe insisted it was "a big win," and said getting the W was the most important thing. Not sure anyone believes that, but it was remarkable how Bryant's scoring affected the game, far more than his usual onslaught. Three minutes into the second half, the Raptors led 71-53. Bryant already had all four of the Lakers' second half points, giving him 30 for the game, but then he cranked it up -- later he would say that he had gone into overdrive because the Lakers were "lethargic," as though he needs a reason. Over the next 80 seconds, he made a basket and two 3s, cutting the 18-point lead to 12. The Lakers and Kobe kept coming, and, late in the third quarter, when he stole a pass and tiptoed down the sidelines to get loose for a dunk and make it 87-85, he put Los Angeles up for good. Speaking of getting Los Angeles up, Kobe turned on the Showtime crowd for one of the greatest spontaneous celebrations ever for a single player. For his audience, this was not about beating the Raptors but rather the pinch-me thrill of being in the arena during the greatest individual performance of the past four decades. It was M-V-P!! M-V-P!! But it was more than that -- it was the growing sound of 18,997 paying customers every time Kobe got the ball, and a expectant whoosh every time he went up to shoot, and a noisy, giddy sigh every time he missed, and a roar every time he made the basket or was fouled. It was the sound of a crowd at the circus, watching the trapeze artists at work, watching the greatest show on earth. And while it's easy to forget when Kobe goes off, especially when the opposing team wears RAPTORS on its chest, this was an NBA team he was doing this to -- a team that was leading the game handily before he really got going. That team, with talented players like Chris Bosh, Jalen Rose and Mike James on the floor, was clearly rattled, or worse. When everyone realized what Kobe was up to, both teams responded emotionally. The Lakers got a charge from Kobe's energy, while the Raptors were both distracted and overwhelmed. After a 63-point first half, they managed only 41 points in the second half, including only three baskets during a decisive nine-minute stretch. A month ago, Lakers coach Phil Jackson (along with Kobe himself) held Bryant out of the fourth quarter, when Kobe had 62 and the Lakers had the game vs. the Mavericks locked up. Jackson was criticized, in the Daily Dime and elsewhere, for his decision. This time, he might have had the same impulse, but he thought better of it. Late in the game, he said later, he told assistant coach Frank Hamblen he would take Kobe out. "I don't think you can," Hamblen replied, according to Jackson. "He has 77 points." And Jackson left Kobe in, until a Toronto turnover with four seconds to play allowed him to remove Kobe for the ovation he deserved and, indeed, even a half-hug from the Zen Master. Jackson did the right thing this time, because Kobe ultimately wasn't playing against the Raptors. He was playing against all the guys who never scored 80, or even 70 -- Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Dominique Wilkins, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Shaquille O'Neal, Jerry West, Karl Malone, Bob McAdoo, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Pete Maravich, George Gervin, Bernard King, and on and on. And he was competing against the Lakers' record holder, Elgin Baylor, who had 71; David Robinson, also 71; David Thompson, 73; and Wilt, 72, 73, 73, 78 and 100. And he beat them all. Except for Wilt. On one night. Too bad the Lakers don't play on Super Sunday. I'd love to see Kobe go for Wilt's record, too.

3) Ian Thomsen of SI.com thinks Rebounding is underrated:

Beasts of the boards - Rebounding specialists rarely receive their due

Last Thursday, at the conclusion of the Lakers-Cavs game in L.A., LeBron James missed a tough fadeaway jumper from the left wing as time expired, wrapping up the victory for the Lakers. The post-game analysis on TNT centered on whether James should have gone to the basket (Magic Johnson's opinion on Inside the NBA), whether he waited too long to start his move, or whether this was just a matter, as game analyst Steve Kerr suggested, of James not yet having the killer instinct that Kobe Bryant possesses (though, to be fair, who does?). Lost in the discussion was what happened directly before James' missed shot, a play more remarkable -- and statistically improbable -- than any Bryant or James made the entire evening. With five seconds left, James missed a free throw, which caromed off to the left side. Charging from the right side of the lane, the Cavs' Drew Gooden somehow got to the ball and called timeout, setting up the final shot. At the time, Gooden's effort was briefly noted on-air by Kerr, after which the focus quickly shifted to what the Cavs would do with their final possession. Let's stop and evaluate the magnitude of Gooden's board. Consider: as of last week, the league leader in offensive rebounds off missed free throws was Mehmet Okur of Utah, who had 10 the entire season; Gooden was second with seven (thanks to Roland Beech of 82games.com for this info). The chances that Gooden would pull down a board at the most crucial point in the game (and from the other side of the lane, no less, with two players, Kwame Brown and Lamar Odom, assigned to box out and pinch down on him,) were miniscule. Still, it went largely unheralded. Had James hit the final shot, no doubt the focus would have been on how he had "come up big in the clutch," and "willed" the Cavs to victory. Gooden, on the other hand, was just "doing his job," even if he was the reason the Cavs had a chance to win at all. So how valuable are these types of rebounds? It is an interesting question, and one I recently discussed with Sam Hinkie, special assistant to the GM for the Rockets, while working on a story about rebounding for the magazine. Hinkie, one of a handful of people around the league who use quantitative analysis to measure NBA play (think of Sabermetrics for hoops), believes that rebounding specialists such as Reggie Evans of Seattle and Jeff Foster of Indiana are incredibly undervalued, both financially -- a 20-point scorer in the league commands a hefty contract, but a guy like Evans, who might provide six or seven extra possessions per game, can be had for a bargain price -- and strategically. Detroit coach Flip Saunders, who gets to unleash rebounding maven Ben Wallace nightly, told me he'd researched the subject during his collegiate days and determined that every offensive rebound is worth 1.5 points. At first, this sounds high, but I suppose it is possible, considering that, a) most offensive rebounds are collected near the rim, where they can be taken right back up for either two points or a free throw situation; and b) since defenses break down on a missed shot, the rebounder's teammates are usually open if he kicks it out. Of course, the value of a rebound also depends on who is grabbing it. On the Sonics, for example, Nick Collison finishes a much higher percentage of his offensive rebounds than Evans. Evans also suffers a bit from what we'll call the Nine-Year-Old Factor; that is, if you're in the NBA and a nine-year-old can shoot free throws better than you, then you really shouldn't be going right back up with it. For this reason, Elton Brand of the Clippers doesn't believe rebounding specialists are necessarily undervalued. "Certain teams and certain people make a living doing just rebounding," he says. "Your free throws are terrible, you can't shoot a jumper, you can't shoot a jump hook. But if you can play D and get boards, you can make a lot of money. If you're shooting 50 percent from the free throw line and you can't hit a six-foot jumper, you're getting paid millions if you're in the NBA -- I don't think it's underrated. I think they know, this guy gets boards, gets extra possessions, and that's why he's out there." Of course, what Brand isn't saying is, if you can do both -- rebound and shoot, like, say, Brand -- it makes you invaluable. And he's right. For the specialists, however -- those men who act as ball valets, tracking down the leather, then cordially returning it to the hands of a shooter -- there is an interesting conundrum. As Hinkie noted, when a team rotates away from a guy like Evans (and they do), forcing him to take a jump shot at the end of the shot clock, his coach effectively loses the strategy game with the opposing coach, a kind of, "I found your non-shooter and made him shoot." But take Evans out of the game and replace him with a poor-rebounding big man, such as Eddy Curry, Curry probably makes that shot. But then the team may get beat on the boards and lose. So whom do you play? Often, coaches answer that question by essentially hedging their bets, strategically deploying the specialists. Kendrick Perkins of Boston, a tremendous rebounder (first in the NBA in defensive rebounding differential, which is the percent of available rebounds a team gets with him on the floor versus without) but a remarkably inept offensive player, averages 15.1 minutes a game. Evans averages 21.6. Michael Ruffin of Washington, who treats rebounding like a science but is flummoxed by layups, averages 13.7. It is no surprise, then, that certain players don't want to be "just" rebounders. Ben Wallace is the patron saint of the craft since the retirement of Dennis Rodman, the only other player in this era to become a celebrity based on defense and rebounding. But what Wallace really wants to do is score. One need only attend a Pistons practice, where Wallace invariably works on his 3-pointers as if he's Dell Curry, shooting long after the final whistle (another example is Seattle's Danny Fortson, who is said to beat most of the Sonics in 3-point shootouts) to understand how desperately these men want to round out their games. This desire may also explain why Gooden, despite his rebounding skills, can be frustrating to coaches. When I asked former Cleveland coach Paul Silas about who might be able to average 15 or 16 rebounds a game -- something only three men have done since 1983 -- he mentioned Dwight Howard, Shaq ("if that was his focus") and then his former charge, Gooden. "He has the jumping ability, the timing, and he's strong," said Silas. "But Drew wants to score more than rebound." Then again, can you blame him? There is little glory, or thanks, in pulling down a board so that someone else can take the final shot. It's something Fortson thinks should be rectified. "A lot of times you see a QB take his offensive line out to dinner," says Fortson, who is first among active players in offensive rebounds per 48 minutes. "I think the NBA needs to have more of that -- taking out their bigs. Because at the end of the day, we're guarding the stars' backs." Fortson pauses, then makes a harrumphing sound. "All I'm saying is: Take us out to a steak dinner, man."

4) Gregg Doyel of CBS SportsLine.com with an article on the hidden draft picks:

The unknown: NBA Draft prospects to watch for

The 2006 NBA Draft is still five months away, but you're not going to believe some of the prospects who've already been unearthed by pro scouts. They're good, these pro scouts. Very thorough. They've found a former Alabama State recruit who didn't play in the SWAC -- or anywhere -- for three years because of academic and legal issues. This guy is 6-foot-10 with athletic ability and perimeter skills, but at this time last year he was hanging dry wall in Montgomery, Ala. They've found a sophomore in the Pac-10 who's fourth on his team in scoring but is apparently a better NBA prospect than any of his teammates -- including one who began this year as a preseason All-American. They've found lots of guys who began this year under the radar. None more than the first name on this list. Tedric Hill, unattached: Here's the best story of the 2006 NBA Draft. Hill signed with Alabama State in 2002, failed to get eligible, then ran into more serious problems. Coach Jim Hatfield of Gulf Coast (Fla.) Community College, where Hill has averaged 21.1 points this season, says Hill was arrested for stealing groceries while at Alabama State. Hill got probation, says Hatfield, and left campus. Hill, who had attended high schools in Atlanta and Eufala, Ala., returned to Montgomery, where he hung dry wall and lived with his mother and two siblings in a pay-by-the-week hotel. A Montgomery preacher saw Hill hammering other players at a recreation center and called Hatfield, the former head coach at Mississippi State, who says Hill reminds him of Kevin Garnett. NBA scouts call that a reach -- they say Jonathan Bender is a better comparison -- but they're intrigued by Hill's size, athletic ability and untapped potential. Considering he's played 14 games since 2002, his ceiling is a complete unknown. And it will stay that way a few months longer -- he's academically ineligible for the second semester at Gulf Coast. Still, juco scout Mike Mitchell of the Midwest Scouting Service says Hill is the best JC prospect since Qyntel Woods was taken No. 21 overall by Portland in 2002. DeVon Hardin, California: Surprise! Hardin is Cal's No. 4 scorer at 9.9 ppg, well behind celebrated frontcourt partner Leon Powe (19.4), but some NBA scouts feel Hardin is a better prospect. He's 6-11 and 225 pounds, only a sophomore, and an explosive athlete. He's also averaging 7.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 23.6 minutes. Tyrus Thomas, LSU: This cat came from nowhere. A no-hype recruit who missed last season with a neck injury. Thomas is a redshirt freshman who won't become a redshirt sophomore -- he'll become a 2006 first-round draft pick. He's an incredible 6-9 athlete, a slightly bigger Hakim Warrick but more skilled than Warrick was at age 19. Thomas is averaging 14.1 ppg, 10.1 rpg and 3.3 blocks. Demetris Nichols, Syracuse: The Orange had one certifiable frontcourt prospect entering this season: Terrence Roberts. Now they have two, and Roberts is no longer the best prospect on his team. Nichols, who averaged 3.9 ppg last season behind Roberts and Hakim Warrick, is having a breakout junior season (16.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg) that has scouts comparing him to Suns small forward James Jones. Nichols is 6-8, 212 pounds and shooting 40.2 percent on 3-pointers. Hilton Armstrong, UConn: Although their numbers are almost identical (roughly 10 ppg, 6.5 rpg each), the 6-11 Armstrong has overtaken 6-10 teammate Josh Boone on NBA draft boards. After averaging 3.8 ppg as a junior, Armstrong has become a consistent double-double threat who blocked eight shots Monday against Syracuse. Bobby Brown, Cal State-Fullerton: This isn't a great draft for point guards, which explains why offensively limited Rajon Rondo of Kentucky continues to be mentioned as a lottery pick -- and why Brown is getting a serious look. Brown, a 6-1 junior, is averaging 19.3 ppg and 3.9 apg, and shooting 40 percent on 3's. Seven NBA scouts were expected to attend his game Thursday against Long Beach State. Jermareo Davidson: The Alabama big man was generally chided for entering the 2005 NBA Draft as a little-known sophomore. He withdrew and has shown this season that his NBA stock is no joke. Davidson is averaging 14 ppg and 9.7 rpg, with a developing mid-range game to go with his bouncy, 6-10 body. Want a comparison? He's a smaller Tyson Chandler. Aaron Gray: You can't teach size, and Gray is 7-0, 270 pounds. He's also more productive than the guy he backed up last season, Chris Taft. Gray is averaging 13.1 ppg and 10.5 rpg, and while he's still a project who needs more games on the college level, the dearth of big men makes him a possible first-round pick. Turning pro this spring would be a shortsighted move, and probably a long-term mistake, for Gray.

5) Mike Kahn of Foxsports.com thinks Antonio Davis got off easy:

Davis deserved a bigger suspension

Everyone seems to be missing the point about the way the NBA handled the latest example of a player going into the stands. Yes, New York Knicks veteran Antonio Davis was suspended for five games after going into the stands — ostensibly to protect his wife Kendra — who got into an incident with a fan during the Knicks' 106-104 loss to the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. nd of course, it would be disproportionate to compare this incident with what happened in the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills in 2004 when a handful of players were suspended — including Ron Artest for 73 games for instigating a frightening riot by going into the stands after he was hit with a drink. But let's look at this more closely, and consider the consequences when any player at any time going into the stands can escalate into a near riot — particularly when it happens in the other team's building as it did Wednesday night. Nobody can blame Davis for concern over his wife's safety. That's not the point. As soon as he jumped onto the scorer's table and went into the stands, everything changed. Had there been a lot of out-of-control, drunken fans as he and his wife claimed, then somebody may have shoved or taken a swing at him out of fear because he went into the stands. Besides, what happens when a player's wife, who has a history of being confrontational, escalates a situation — perhaps even provokes it in the first place? According to witnesses, the officiating had been growing increasingly erratic and fans were booing and yelling at the way the game was being called — with the inclination being the Knicks were getting preferential treatment. But according to Bulls fan Michael Axelrod, Kendra Davis apparently didn't want to hear it from him. The 22-year-old fan was perhaps louder and more incensed than most, so she allegedly told him in no uncertain terms to shut up. If Axelrod was completely out of control, wouldn't security have told him to sit down and shut up? He responded, and then, evidently, she got into his face and allegedly poked him — and the two had to be separated. At that point, Davis jumped onto the scorer's table and went into the stands. By the time he got to their seats some 10 rows up, security had calmed the situation. Now Axelrod, the son of a prominent Chicago political consultant, is suing Davis and his wife for their contention that he was drunk and started the incident. He claims to have had a glass of wine at dinner hours before and was just being a vocal fan who was first sworn at by Davis' wife and she then poked him in the face when he responded to her. If that is true, it not only proves that she created the incident because she was defending her husband's team, there should be questions about whether or not she should be given the comp tickets in a visiting team's arena if she can't handle the situation. "We have made it plain to our players and our fans that players may not enter the spectator stands, no matter the provocation, and that violations of this policy will be treated with the utmost seriousness," NBA vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson said. "We have concluded, however, that Antonio's actions were the result of his belief that his family members required his immediate assistance, and have taken those mitigating circumstances into account in setting the length of the suspension." What that means is Davis, the president of the National Basketball Players Association, caught a break because of his stature in the league and defending his wife. Obviously, he shouldn't receive the kind of suspension Artest received. Perhaps even more to his defense, he was inclined to defend his wife. It doesn't even matter that there is at least a 50/50 chance that she started the situation and escalated it. He knew a suspension was coming and made the decision wittingly. What does matter is this could have blown out of control as it did in the Palace. And were it not a player of Davis' standing in the league, the action would have drawn at least a 10-game suspension — perhaps 15 or 20. But because it didn't escalate and he was defending his agitated wife, he got only five games. That's a bad signal to the league. He should have gotten 15 games, and upon appeal reduced to 10. At least then the proper message would be sent to the rest of the league. Instead, it was a classic example of a double standard. Simply because Davis is held in high regard, they needed to set a higher standard with him. He should not be compared to the mercurial Artest, Stephen Jackson who was suspended for 30 games for jumping into the stands and throwing a punch in defense of Artest. Davis also should not be compared to Jermaine O'Neal, who originally was suspended for 25 games, but later got it reduced to 15. But it's only because the fans didn't escalate the situation and players didn't have to react out of fear for their own safety. Antonio and Kendra Davis are lucky the fans weren't uproariously drunk and out of control as they claimed. It provoked Axelrod to respond with a lawsuit which may indeed prove to be frivolous. But that's not the point. The entire incident didn't get out of hand, which in and of itself speaks volumes more about the fans than Davis and his wife. Although security at NBA games continues to be dicey from time to time, this time they got everything under control quickly. Consequently, it falls back on the league to set an absolute decree: No player should ever go into the stands during a game or an automatic suspension of at least 15 games should be meted out pending investigation. Furthermore, all wives who attend games on the road to watch their husbands compete in hostile environments need to be able to cope with the booing and cat calls or just stay home.

6) Peter Vescey of the New York Post thinks Jalen might finally be on the way to NYC:

CLEARANCE ITEMS

COULD the Knicks really be (finally!) virtually ze roed in on acquiring Jalen Rose? Despite long-term contention over Isiah Thomas' demand for a No. 1 pick (Denver's) from Toronto in a proposed deal involving Penny Hardaway, that's what I'm hearing from a reliable source.
It's unclear which team is willing to compromise, probably both, meaning the pick figures to be lottery-protected, maybe through as low as eight, something along those coordinates. Oddly enough, the apparent Rose ($15.6M and $16.9M) breakthrough coincides with a turnaround in trade talk with the Blazers. Sources on both coasts reveal Portland, in the midst of a four-game win streak, abruptly reversed its position to cling to Theo Ratliff because Joel Przybilla is a rising free agent, and offered Larry Brown the defensive inside presence he's been seeking since the season began. Adding irony to irony, New York declined Ratliff ($11.67M with two more at the same number) and Ruben Patterson ($6.35M and $6.8M) for Penny ($15.7M). Who says money ain't a thing to Camp Cablevision? Penny hasn't been this unpopular since Tara Banks dumped him in a shoe commercial. The demand for him not to be part of any team is reaching epic proportion. * A wired source claims yet another Ron Artest transaction (first the Nuggets, then the Clippers) may very well go down over the weekend. He refused to divulge the destination for fear of jinxing the covert operation. Unless Indiana has radically inverted its stance about trading Artest to an Eastern Conference team (the pedestrian 76ers were tempted to move Andre Iguodala to fortify their saggy, baggy defense, but couldn't find one single, solitary person to vouch for Ron-Ron), I'm thinking maybe the Lakers or the Warriors or the Kings have had a change of heart regarding Lamar Odom, Ike Diogu or Mike Dunleavy and Peja Stojakovic, respectively. If you saw how Kobe Bryant glared long and livid at Odom after his bonehead charge (Lakers up four, 28 seconds left in the game, 20 on the shot clock) cost them a victory against the Kings, you have to suspect management has to at least now be leaning in that direction. Self-styled mastermind Jim Buss has been diametrically opposed to relinquishing either Odom (another Pacer, Austin Croshere, perhaps, would have to be included for salary-cap purposes) or Andrew Bynum for Artest, someone both Phil Jackson and Bryant crave. Odom understandably also incurred Kobe's wrath when he hoisted up an grubby 3-pointer in the closing moments of regulation instead of finding Kobe (46 points of his final 51 at the time, including a dozen in the last 5:43) unreasonably open considering the situation. After that, Kobe's reeking body language, unsavory shot selection and depraved attitude became, "The hell with everyone else! I'm either gonna win this or it ain't happenin'." He forced six of LA's first seven shots in OT, converting two, essentially putting his own team out of its misery. If not the Lakers, Warriors (the Pacers do, indeed, like Mickael Pietrus, but his procurement doesn't provide nearly enough salary or compensation) or Kings, then who? The Nuggets, having come exceedingly close twice to obtaining Artest, unquestionably remain in the hunt and have plenty to offer, though I don't believe Nene is a part of any equation. Rick Carlisle prefers to get a live body back for Artest, not a disabled free agent-to-be who's under no obligation to enlist with Indy come summer. The Timberwolves undoubtedly want Artest, too, but have little Indiana likes (other than Kevin Garnett, of course, whose patience for suitable reinforcements may be fried) except Marko Jaric. Despite reports to the contrary, my Paper Clips have been eliminated from consideration due to the uncertainly surrounding Corey Maggette's ankle injury. Again, Carlisle wants immediate help, not six weeks from now or maybe not even until next season. While on the subject of the Clips, I hear they're discussing a Chris Wilcox- Francisco Elson trade with Denver. The T'wolves, too, can't decide whether to exchange Eddie Griffin for Wilcox. Kevin McHale is against it. Dwane Casey is a proponent. This whole, grinding Artest process leaves me with one overriding thought: Who would've believed Ron-Ron's value could go down any more than it had last season? * I've changed my mind again about Phil Jackson. I now think he's highly overpaid. What was the Zen Hen's rationale for keeping Kwame Brown in the game in the closing seconds of regulation against the Kings when the Lakers needed quickness to get up into Brad Miller before he had a chance to deadbolt proceedings from long distance? Brown didn't even get close enough to foul Miller in the act of thinking about taking a 3 when the game clock got under five seconds. Furthermore, after Odom fouled out in OT, what possessed Big Chief Triangle to put Luke Walton on Kenny Thomas (16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists), and leave him hanging there for three straight scores (sandwiched around a Laker timeout) in the low docks without sending any help? It must've been something Luke's father said. And another thing, why wouldn't Basketball's Yoda think to switch Kobe from covering Francisco Garcia to Michael Bibby (23 of his 40 in the fourth and OT)? Think Bryant would've been up for that challenge? Think the refs would've given him a little more contact leeway than any other Laker? Think Tex Winter needs to move his chair closer to the Lakers' bench and get into Jackson's ear? * The NFL stages its conference championships today with four teams trying to get to Detroit. The two that don't make it earn Next Town Brown's endorsement for getting out of Detroit. . . . Rumors persist that Ted Kennedy had a child out of wedlock. If true, that would entitle him to joint membership in both the Senate and the Players' Association. . . .Seems Noble Peace Prize candidate Bill Russell was responsible for getting Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to kiss and make up. I think I speak for all of you when I say, "Who gives a damn?" No wonder I liked Wilt better. * Remember the good old days when NBA players were much more comfortable going on the stand rather than into them?

7) Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald with a great article on Shaq:

Shaq: I'm not on the decline

Shaquille O'Neal hears the whispers, Charles Barkley saying he's on the downside and others wondering if the consistent displays of dominance will return. Less than two months from his 34th birthday and halfway through the first year of a five-year, $100 million contract, O'Neal was introspective in a private moment last week. ''Everyone gets older and you lose a step,'' he conceded. ``But there is one thing I'll never lose, and that's my wisdom of the game. Of course, I'm going to be a step slow. But I'm still the No. 1, No. 2 center in the league. A lot of people have speed and don't know how to use it. When I was young, I had a lot of speed, but I didn't have any championships. I didn't start winning until I started slowing down and focusing on what I had to do. . . . I'm going to get it going here soon.'' Bothered by neck and shoulder arthritis and a November ankle injury that seems to have impacted his lift, O'Neal disputes Barkley's assertion he's on the ''downside:'' ''I've been in this league 13 years. The average is four to six. I've already doubled the average. Next year and the year after, I will be on the downside. But not yet. I have to make a positive exit'' in what he says will be his final contract. Though O'Neal is averaging a career-low 18.5 points (below his 26.7 career mark), his field-goal attempts also have declined, to 13.9 per game, compared with 18.3 in his career. (Dwyane Wade averages 26.9 points and 19.2 attempts.)''We all know Dwyane's going to take the most shots,'' O'Neal said. 'It would be crazy to say [about] a 23-year-old, `Don't let him take the most shots when you have another guy that's [almost] 34.' We don't work like that.'' His pride is evident when he says he ''could'' still score 25 to 27 a night ``if I want to. . . . This is the type team where I don't need to score 40 a game. If I get the opportunity where I'm taking 20 to 25 shots a game, my numbers would [be like those of old]. Defenses are doubling and tripling. I've got a lot of good shooters that I must keep in the game, and I'm kicking out to them.''