Los Angeles Lakers forward Vladimir Radmanovic has fessed up and admitted that he was snowboarding when he separated his shoulder, not the “slipped on ice” excuse he had originally offered…"I lied about what happened, but I just couldn't keep it to myself," Radmanovic told reporters at his locker before Friday night's game against Boston. "I did a silly thing by snowboarding -- and then I panicked about what was going to happen. I felt really bad about it. I let my teammates down and the whole organization down by not letting them know what really happened. So yesterday I decided to step forward and bring out the truth, no matter what the consequences, and I'm glad I did it. I don't want to be a liar. It's not something that I am. It's embarrassing. I hope people will have some understanding and some forgiveness for it. Unfortunately, before I stepped on that board, I wasn't really thinking about the things that could happen and that it could become something that could finish my career," said the 26-year-old forward, who was snowboarding for the first time and fell while coming down a slope. "I mean, things happen, but you don't think they're going to happen to you." Jackson’s comment about the violation of Radmanovic’s five-year, $30.2 million contract? "It does list behaviour that's in the standard NBA player's contract -- motorcycles, skydiving and various other `risk' behaviour," Jackson said. "Snowboarding is not mentioned, per se, but I think it's an activity that's probably there. We'll discuss it internally in the next couple of days. If it's something that needs to be shared (publicly), we'll share it. If not, we'll keep it internally." Don’t forget, Jackson has experience here…remember when Luc Longley separated his shoulder body surfing during the Bulls days? Too funny…

Quick baseball note, if only because it’s so incredible…one of the most compelling set of facts from Game of Shadows, the book on steroid use in baseball is the outrageous growth of Bonds' body parts as a result of his use of human growth hormone, since he has been with the Giants…case in point:

Jersey size has gone from a size 42 to a size 52 jersey, basically a medium to an extra large

His shoes size has gone from size 10 1/2 to size 13

And most incredibly, his hat size from a 7 1/8 cap to size 7 1/4 cap…even though began shaving his head when he joined the Giants…

And this is the comment from the book…"The changes in his foot and head size," they write, "were of special interest: medical experts said overuse of human growth hormone could cause an adult's extremities to begin growing, aping the symptoms of the glandular disorder acromegaly." Acromegaly is the gigantism disorder that produced Andre the Giant’s exceptional size or the NBA’s Georghe Muresan…

This is just plain great writing: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neel/070223

It happened yesterday, just 30 years ago…on February 25, 1977 "Pistol" Pete Maravich scored a career-high 68 points as the New Orleans Jazz defeated New York 124-107. Only five NBA players have ever scored more than 68 points in a game…

Ouch…After former Suns star and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley criticized D'Antoni's short rotation and challenged him to use his reserves more, D'Antoni said he wasn't sure he should take basketball advice from someone who "choked" away championships and had his own playoff conditioning questioned.

I love this picture of Dennis Johnson, who died suddenly yesterday of a heart attack at age 52…Johnson, who many believe to be a hall of famer is widely regarded as one of the great clutch players in NBA history…this is supported by the fact that he averaged 14.1 points per game in the regular season during his 14-year NBA career but in 37 games in the NBA Finals he averaged 18.3 points per game….in fact among the 65 players in NBA history who played at least 800 games in the regular season and 15 games in the Finals, only two had a larger increase in their Finals ppg average over their regular-season mark than Johnson's 4.2: Hakeem Olajuwon, who was plus 5.7 (21.8 to 27.5), and James Worthy, who was plus 4.6 (17.6 to 22.2)…he’s also one of the most adaptable players I’ve ever seen, starting off as a long armed, super quick, high jumping scorer for the Sonics (1979 MVP of the Finals) and ending up as a defensive stopper (11 times 1st or 2nd team All-defence) and clutch shooter (Bird stole the ball from Isaih, but DJ Made the cut to the basket and witched hands on the layup to get by Dumars) for the Celtics…

Anyways, here are some terrific writer’s who remember him fondly:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070222

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jack_mccallum/02/22/dennis.johnson.remembered/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6496228

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003585164_a1kelley23.html

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-dj0223.artfeb23,0,7610078.story?coll=hc-headlines-sports

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2007/02/23/he_always_rose_to_the_occasion/

Bosh had 24 points and 10 rebounds but the Raptors lost 86-85 to Cleveland last night because Bosh can not box out…Anderson Varejao slammed home teammate Sasha Pavlovic 's missed shot with 16 seconds to give the Cavs the win…Varejao had 16 points and 15 rebounds and finished 8-for-9 from the field…

Manu Ginobili went bananas in the Spurs 103-96 win over the Hawks last night scoring 40 overall and a ridiculous 24 straight that went like this: Entering the game late in the first quarter, Ginobili missed two of his first four shots before hitting six in a row from the field and all seven attempts on free throws. The Spurs led 39-23 at the end of his flurry, and Ginobili had 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting before halftime….of course if the Hawks could hit more than 21 of 35 free throws, they’d have won easily…

Trades that have already happened:

Toronto Raptor's send SG Fred Jones, to Portland for PG/SG Juan Dixon…
Atlanta sends a 2nd round pick to Mavs for PG Anthony Johnson…

Trade Rumours:

NJ Nets send Vince Carter to the Knicks for PF Malik Rose, PF/C Channing Frye and SF Renaldo Balkman...
Portland T-Blazers sends PF Zach Randolph to Chicago for SF Andres Nocioni, PF P.J. Brown and a pick…
Sacramento sends PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim to Chicago for same…
Portland sends C Jamal Magloire to Washington for SG Jarvis Hayes and PF/C Etan Thomas…
Dallas sends PG Anthony Johnson to Denver for PF Eduardo Najera…
Sacramento sends PG Mike Bibby to Cleveland for PF Drew Gooden and something else, maybe with a third team involved…
Minnesota sends PG Mike James to Houston for anything…
NJ sends SG Vince Carter to the Clippers for PG Shaun Livingston and SG Corey Maggette…
Phoenix Suns send PG Marcus Banks to Cleveland for SG Damon Jones…
Houston Rockets send SF Bonzi Wells to Chicago for PF Michael Sweetney…OR Houston sends Wells to Detroit for PF Dale Davis and SG Flip Murray…
.
Phoenix sends SG Raja Bell, PF Kurt Thomas and a 1st rounder to the Nets for PG Jason Kidd…to block the Lakers from getting him I presume…
Kings send PG Mike Bibby and PF Kenny Thomas to Nets for PG Jason Kidd…
Portland sends C Jamal Magliore to the Lakers for C Chris Mihm and SG Aaron McKie…
Nets send SG Vince Carter to Orlando for C Darko Milicic, SF Hedo Turkoglu and SG JJ Redick…

Oh Boy, we’re going to find out if Shaq is healthy now…Dwyane Wade dislocated his left shoulder in the 4th quarter of Miami’s 112-102 loss to the Rockets…

Comments on All-Star weekend:

Dwight Howard got jobbed by the judges…his sticker dunk was creative, and for God’s sake he almost got the top of the backboard…Gerald Green (Yawn!!!) may have won the contest, but a year from now, the only dunk anyone will remember is Howard’s sticker dunk…

Did you see the highlight of Gilbert Arenas getting into the line of Elvis Impersonators and dunking off the trampoline? Awesome…

There was a lot of talk about Scottie Pippen making a comeback, but here’s the real reason: He has to pay a bank more than $5 million in a breach of contract lawsuit involving a loan for a business jet…the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a ruling in St. Louis County, where a judge found last year that Pippen owed U.S. Bank just over $5.021 million in principal, interest and attorneys' fees…

David Lee going 14-for-14 from the field and scoring 30 points to lead the sophomores to a 155-114 victory over the rookies…nice coming out party for Lee who has been the best player Isaih Thomas has never heard of for the Knicks this year…

Jason Kapono hit for 24 points in the final round of the 3 point contest, beating Gilbert Arenas who copped out by shooting the last rack one handed…

Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki were the only two players not to slap hands/man-hug before the opening tip…a sign that the little tiff they’ve been maintaining through the media is still on…

You’ve got to catch the video of Shaq and Dwight Howard break-dancing…it is too funny…

Commissioner David Stern and players union director Billy Hunter announcing that former players who spent three or four years in the NBA, or its predecessor, the BAA, prior to 1965 will now receive $3,600 a month per year of service, compared to the $2,400 per year of service they received under the previous pension program…a terrific gesture for a bunch of guys who set the groundwork for the millions players make today…

Dick Bavetta diving for the finish line in his race against Charles Barkley…Bavetta even bloodied his knee…although

Other notes:

A little gossip on the bitter divorce of Jason and Joumana Kidd…last year, after Allen Iverson torched Jason Kidd for 40+ points in a Sixers win over the Nets, apparently Joumana Kidd went out and bought all three kids Iverson Jerseys so that when Jason came home from the road game in philly the next day, his kids were all wearing the AI Jerseys…wow, that’s cold…


From SI.com…Thirty years ago this month, Pete Maravich of the New Orleans Jazz scored 68 points in a game against the New York Knicks. New Orleans was bad (35-47 that season) and the Knicks (40-42) were past their prime, but on Feb. 25, 1977, Maravich livened up an otherwise nondescript game by scoring the most points by a guard to that point in NBA history. As a 12-year-old living in the New York area at the time, I was fortunate enough to watch history unfold on Channel 9 as Maravich not only threw in a few of his trademark improbable one-handed flip shots, but also nailed several shots from 27 or 28 feet (the three-point shot didn't come into the NBA for another three seasons). "I was just happy there wasn't a three-point line because he would have gotten 100," Walt Frazier, who guarded Maravich for part of the game, told the New York Post. "Most of his shots were deep anyway, coming off screens. He was throwing up hook shots. He was doing everything that game."

Oh my goodness, much better stuff from SI.com…http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/2007_swimsuit/beyonce/

First off, I think every month should be Black History Month, or history of any other colour, race, orientation or creed…but being as I don’t make the rules, let’s all remember that in the world of sports, nobody suffered more than Jackie Robinson, pictured above…Of course, most people associate Robinson breaking the colour barrier in baseball with his playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947…in reality, he broke the colour barrier as a member of the Montreal Royals the year before and always spoke fondly of his time amongst us canucks…

Wow…what a game…Chris Bosh’s two free throws with 2.1 seconds left saved the Raps from a blown 12 point 4th quarter lead to beat the Chicago Bulls 112-111. Bosh finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds whie Andrea Bargnani added 22 points… Bargnani 1st half was remarkable as he went 6-for-7 from the field, including 3 threes and a very nice two foot one handed dunk for 17 points at the half…
Bosh had 12 first-quarter points and the Raptors surged to a 33-26 lead.

By now I’m sure you’ve heard/read the reports of Gonzaga forwards Josh Heytvelt and Theo Davis being arrested for possession of pot and mushrooms…I don’t know much about Heyvelt, other than he is a key player for the Zags, but Theo Davis’ promising NCAA career seems to stall every few years…My favourite part of the police report ands subsequent AP article is that this was the evidence from the scene: A strong odour of burnt marijuana and a small used roach found in Davis’ pocket…A bag of psychedelic mushroom caps and stems… Also in the bag were "three foil-wrapped brownie muffins" that the officer contended contained hallucinogenic mushrooms…The items have been sent to the state crime lab for analysis….

Do we really have to call the mushrooms psychedelic? What is this the sixties? I think we get the point, and why do the mushrooms need to be classified as caps and stems? Is the whole mushroom somehow a more egregious offence? And are they brownies or muffins? Brownies I’ve heard of, but muffins would be creative for sure…and do we really have to send these to the lab for analysis? I’m thinking we save a whole lot of taxpayer money by just trying them…heck, we could get Portland F Zach Randolph to do it, he’s a “pro” in more ways than just basketball…OK I’ll stop now…

I include this link just to torture Rob K, a noted Celtics fan…

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_mannix/02/13/state.of.the.celtics/index.html

Not sure what to make of this…Apparently Spurs forward Bruce Bowen gave line-dancing lessons to 15 elementary students last week to celebrate the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo…

The new Prez…Utah guard Derek Fisher will take over from the retired Kendra…oops I mean Antonio Davis as president of the NBA Players Association…

The Replacements: Seattle's Ray Allen and Utah's Mehmet Okur were chosen Tuesday by commissioner David Stern as injury replacements for the All-Star game. They are replacing Suns PG Steve Nash and Nuggets SG Allen Iverson…Okur over Zach Randolph (24 PPG and 10 RPG) is tough to swallow…

Golden State PG Baron Davis will undergo surgery on his left knee Tuesday to “…clean out some debris in his left knee.” The over/under on how fat he’ll get is around 20 pounds…

Yawn…The San Antonio Spurs traded former Raptors malcontent SF Eric Williams and a draft pick to Charlotte for PF/C Melvin Ely…

Remember Gilbert Arenas wrote on his NBA.com blog that he was going to score 50 points against Portland on Sunday in retaliation for Portland coach Nate McMillan's involvement with Arenas being left off the U.S. national team last summer? Well, not quite… the Wizards lost to the Trail Blazers 94-73 with Arenas going 3-for-15 from the field, including 0-for-8 on 3-pointers and tallying a whopping nine points…Portland PG Jarrett Jack had something to say about it after the game: ''Thats like a dude saying he's going to punch you in your face. With a guy like him, Kobe or LeBron, the easy way to guard him is don't let him get the ball back when he passes it. We did a good job of trying to deny him when he was one pass away, and my big guys did a great job of helping me whenever he got by me.'' It’s worth noting that Jack guarded Arenas for most of the game…

Here’s a CSI worthy mystery…Lebron’s free throw percentage by month:

November 2006 71.15%
December 2006 69.57%
January 2007 66.96%
February 2007 56.10%

I’ve always thought LeBron form was a little shaky…he bends his too much on the pull-back phase of the shot, which lengthens his motion and can make for an inconsistent release…plus he’s a little flat footed on the release…

Italian magazine Superbasket awarding it’s annual Best Euro award to Toronto’s own Jorge Garbajosa…Garbo was MVP of the Spanish league last year for Unicaja Malaga, leading them to the Spanish national title…he also played exceptionally well for the Spanish national team in the FIBA world championships, pairing with the Grizzlies Pau Gasol to lead Spain to the FIBA World Championship…the 29 year old Garbajosa is averaging 8.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.1 APG and 1.2 SPG in 28.9 MPG for the Raptors this season…

Trade Rumour: Cavs send PF Drew Gooden to the Kings for PG Mike Bibby…

It’s getting bitchy out there…Dwyane Wade had this to say about Dirk Nowizki in the Miami Herald last week: ''At the end of the day you're remembered for what you did at the end. ... Dirk says they gave us the championship last year, but he's the reason they lost the championship, because he wasn't the leader that he's supposed to be in the closing moments. That's because of great defense by us, but also he wasn't assertive enough as a leader's supposed to be.'' Nowitzki didn't comment on the controversy until yesterday, when he spoke with Newsday before Dallas played the 76ers. "All I said two weeks ago when we played them was, we feel like we gave them the championship," Nowitzki said. "... That's really all I said, and I don't know why he got all sensitive about it."

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s reaction to the announcement by former NBA player John Amaechi that he is gay…speaking to the Fort-Worth Telegram on the business prospects of an openly gay NBA player: "From a marketing perspective, if you're a player who happens to be gay and you want to be incredibly rich, then you should come out, because it would be the best thing that ever happened to you from a marketing and an endorsement perspective. You would be an absolute hero to more Americans than you can ever possibly be as an athlete, and that'll put money in your pocket. On the flip side, if you're the idiot who condemns somebody because they're gay, then you're going to be ostracized, you're going to be picketed and you're going to ruin whatever marketing endorsements you have. "When you do something that the whole world thinks is difficult and you stand up and just be who you are and take on that difficulty factor, you're an American hero no matter what. That's what the American spirit's all about, going against the grain and standing up for who you are, even if it's not a popular position."

Before we get to the All-Star picks and snubs, this ridiculous stat from Elias: Gilbert Arenas has scored 97 points in two games against the Lakers this season, including 37 on Saturday. Arenas' average of 48.5 points per game against the Lakers this season is the highest by one player against one team in a season since Karl Malone averaged 50.5 points in two games against Milwaukee in 1989-90 (minimum: two games played).
The NBA "record" for such a thing belongs to Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain averaged 54.5 points in 12 games (654 points!) against the Knicks in 1961-62…

Now that the All-Star starters and reserves are in, here’s what I think…

2007 NBA All-Star Rosters

Eastern Conference

Starters

Guard
IS: Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
SHOULD BE: Dwyane Wade…28.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 7.8 APG…Flash continues to amaze and is the most dangerous player in the league going to the basket…

Guard:
IS: Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
SHOULD BE: Gilbert Arenas…29.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 6.3 APG…having an unbelievable year and has established himself as the most clutch shooter on the planet right now…

Forward
IS: LeBron James, Cleveland
SHOULD BE: LeBron James…26.7PPG, 6.8 RPG, 6.0 APG…Occupying the traditional ”small” forward spot would seem to be a misnomer in this case, LeBron is generally considered to be having a down year (which considering his averages is ridiculous) but Bron is all-world all the time, although slowed recently by a sore toe…

Power Forward
IS: Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
SHOULD BE: Chris Bosh…22.8 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.2BPG…Bosh is now in the top 3 discussions when it comes to the PF position (Garnett, Duncan) and is still improving…

Centre
IS: Shaquille O'Neal, Miami
SHOULD BE: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic…16.8 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 1.8 BPG…this is where fan voting goes off the rails with Shaq being hurt most of the year and averaging a very pedestrian 12.0 PPG and 6.5 RPG, while Howard has exploded for Orlando and has become the best centre in the East while only scratching the surface of his Shaq-like (Shaq-esque? Shaq-a-licious?) potential…

Reserves

ARE:
Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons…18.1PPG, 3.5 RPG, 7.6 APG
Caron Butler, Washington Wizards…20.6 PPF, 8.0 RPG, 3.9 APG
Vince Carter, New Jersey Nets… 25.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 4.4 APG
Richard Hamilton, Detroit Pistons…22.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.6 APG
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic…see above
Jason Kidd, New Jersey…14.9PPG, 8.2 RPG, 8.8 APG
Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana Pacers…19.5 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 2.8 APG

SHOULD BE:
Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats…14.8 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 2.9 BPG…Seeing as I removed Shaq from his starting spot for Dwight Howard, I will remove him entirely by putting Emeka Okafor as the backup centre for the East…I pick him over Eddie Curry (19.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 0.5 BPG) of the New York Knicks, who since he’s laid off the Twinkies has really established himself as a low-post scorer, but who is an atrocious rebounder and shot blocker for someone so big…

Note: I’d like to remove Vince Carter for Joe Johnson (25.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.3 APG) just because Carter is so annoying, but his numbers are great even as most observers acknowledge that he’s still not getting the most out of his talent and the fact that the Hawks suck a little harder than the Nets, which is saying something…Luol Deng (17.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG) was also a possibility here, especially as a defender and a master of the disappearing mid-range game, but who is still more of a “glue’ guy than an All-Star…Oh, and if Michael Redd had not gotten hurt (27.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.3 SPG) hurt, than I would also have considered him as a worthy substitute for Vicki Carter…

Western Conference

Guard
IS: Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets…
SHOULD BE: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns…19.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 11.8 APG…Although McGrady should still be an All-Star with averages of 23.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 6.3 APG, Nash is the best player on arguably the best team in the NBA, especially when you factor in that he’s shooting a collectively and individually preposterous 53.6% from the field, 49% from three, and 88.2% from the free throw line…

Guard
IS: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers…
SHOULD BE: Kobe Bryant…28.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.5 APG…no question, he’s the most dangerous player not named Arenas, although his stupid self-imposed nickname (“Mamba”) almost disqualifies him from my list…

Forward
IS: Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
SHOULD BE: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks…25.1 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.2 APG…Although Garnett remains a superstar player with averages of 22.7 PPG, 12.4 RPG, 4.3 APG, Nowitzki is just more dangerous, in that he could go for 50 points at any time…

Forward
IS: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
SHOULD BE: Tim Duncan…20.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, 2.4 BPG…Yawn…one day we’ll wake up and miss the Big Fundamental…

IS: Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
SHOULD BE: Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns…18.6 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1.4 BPG… Yao (25.9 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 2.2 BPG) has a broken leg, so Amare, who has made a remarkable comeback from micro-fracture knee surgery, gets the nod here…

Reserves

ARE:
Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz…22.1 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 3.0 APG
Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets…28.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 7.5 APG
Shawn Marion, Phoenix Suns…18.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 2.1 SPG, 1.5 BPG
Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns…see above
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks…see above
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs…19.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 5.6 APG
Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns…see above

SHOULD BE:

Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets…31.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.2 SPG…An easy replacement for Boozer who is hurt, Anthony (Madison Square Garden slapfest notwithstanding) is having a career year…I pick him over Josh Howard of the Dallas Mavericks (19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.0 BPG) who is similar to Deng in his “glue” guy role…

Ray Allen, Seattle Supersonics…26.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.6 SPG…I pick Allen over Parker because he is simply a better player who is, unfortunately, on a far inferior team…

Break up the Raptors…PF Chris Bosh was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month, while Raptors coach Sam Mitchell and rookie C Andrea Bargnani were named January's Coach of the Month and Rookie of the Month, respectively…

Off Season Free Agency Rumour: Pistons PG Chauncey Billups signs with the Bucks…think of it…Billups, Redd Bogut, Simmons, Villenueva…that is the starting 5 of a 50 win team…

Look, I love the Suns…love watching them, and think Steve Nash is the MVP again…but the people who are comparing them with the 80’s Showtime Lakers have lost their minds…forget the stats people, the only stats that matter are these: The Showtime Lakers won five titles (1980, '82, '85, '87 and '88) and lost four (to the Philadelphia 76ers in '83, the Boston Celtics in '84, the Detroit Pistons in '89 and the Chicago Bulls in '91)…look at that again…in 12 Finals from 1980 to 1991 the Lakers won five, and lost four…they appeared in 75% of the NBA Finals over a 12 year span…that is absolutely ridiculous…Oh, and by the way, the Suns have appeared in 0 finals, winning 0…

Game of the Weekend: Lakers at Wizards on Saturday Feb. 3…last time these teams met, Gilbert Arenas scored 60 points and Kobe whined in the press after the game about Areas’ poor shot selection, which is hypocritical to the nth degree…

Fantastic Article from Wright Thompson of ESPN.com on 2 NBA players learning about what Dr. Martin Luther King was really about:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blackhistory2007/columns/story?columnist=thompson_wright&id=2748078&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos1

From Forbes.com, NBA teams overall value and “profit”…note that only 7 teams last money last year, according to Forbes…

Rank Team Current Value($MIL) Operating Income in 2005-06 ($MIL)
1 New York Knicks 592 -39
2 Los Angeles Lakers 568 33.3
3 Dallas Mavericks 463 -24.4
4 Chicago Bulls 461 48.5
5 Houston Rockets 439 21.4
6 Detroit Pistons 429 21.8
7 Phoenix Suns 410 34.5
8 Miami Heat 409 20.5
9 San Antonio Spurs 390 11.7
10 Cleveland Cavaliers 380 23.9
11 Sacramento Kings 379 16.4
12 Philadelphia 76ers 375 -6.2
13 Boston Celtics 367 15.7
14 Indiana Pacers 340 -12.5
15 Washington Wizards 334 14.8
16 New Jersey Nets 325 -8
17 Toronto Raptors 315 8.4
18 Memphis Grizzlies 313 -18.5
19 Denver Nuggets 309 9.4
20 Minnesota T-wolves 308 4.6
21 Utah Jazz 297 1.4
22 Los Angeles Clippers 285 15.7
23 Orlando Magic 283 -20.4
24 Charlotte Bobcats 277 11.9
25 Atlanta Hawks 275 12.9
26 Seattle SuperSonics 268 3.6
27 Golden State Warriors 267 6.3
28 Milwaukee Bucks 260 1.5
29 New Orleans Hornets 248 12.9
30 Portland Trail Blazers 230 -15.2

Nice Raptors win last night over the Wiz to get back to the .500 mark… PF Chris Bosh was unreal (34 points, 15-for-19 FG) hitting 15 in a row at one point, and he even threw in a buzzer-beater from 60 feet after stealing an inbounds pass at the end of the third quarter…

In the “Like a bad rash” category: former Raptors (and everywhere else) coach Lenny WIlkens is rumoured to be heading back to the bench in Seattle, as Bob Hill finds his seat getting hot…

Ooooh…same category, former Raptor SF Doug Christie has signed at 10-day with the Clippers…

Trade bait:

PF/C Pau Gasol – bad foot, bad hair, any trade deal needs to include an extra “l” for that 1st name…
SG Corey Maggette – on the trading block forever…
PG Mike Bibby – if he gets any slower…
SF Ron Artest – un-tradeable…
C Brad Miller - see Bibby…
C Jamaal Magloire – see Bibby or your local Glacier…
SF Grant Hill and his expiring contract ($16.9 million) – possible…
SF Vince Carter – only his mother knows for sure…

Kobe Bryant reaction to being suspended for smacking Manu Ginobili in the face? "I'm blown away by it. I really am," Bryant said. "It just makes no sense."…I say hallelujah…finally one of the league’s most egregious cheap-shot artists gets penalized…ask Raja Bell what he thinks…If you recall in last year’s playoffs, Bell took five or six solid elbows to the head and face from Bryant over the course of the Lakers-Suns series, none of which resulted in even a foul for Kobe…of course, Bell’s emotions boiled over in game 5 of the series when he clothes-lined Bryant in the lane and was ejected and suspended for Game 6…

SG Eddie Jones (who’s getting a fat head, have you seen him lately? Dude looks a little puffy) was released by the Grizzlies yesterday and is rumoured to be heading to the Miami Heat…