How Long Will Kobe Bryant's Torn Ligament Keep Him From Playing?

Long enough to miss Sunday's All-Star Game, or at least that's what the Los Angeles Lakers are hoping.

The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping that Kobe Bryant gets clearance from the league to miss Sunday's All-Star Game in New Orleans after announcing Thursday that Bryant has a torn ligament in his right pinkie.

But Bryant doesn't yet have that clearance.....and may not get it.

A league official confirmed Thursday night that the NBA is not looking for potential replacements to fill Bryant's spot on the Western Conference squad. That's because the league office still expects Bryant to start and play for the West, even if it's only for a brief cameo, after he played for the Lakers all the way through to their final game before the All-Star break Wednesday in Minnesota.

Bryant scored 29 points in 35 minutes in Wednesday's 117-92 win at Minnesota. Bryant sat out the fourth quarter and had the finger X-rayed after the game.

The Lakers, according to team sources, are trying to convince the league that Bryant should be excused after a visit Thursday to hand specialist Dr. Steven Shin revealed a ligament tear. Bryant is expected to make that plea personally once he arrives in New Orleans on Friday after Shin recommend that Bryant undergo surgery that would likely sideline him for six weeks.

Bryant also announced in a statement Thursday that he will bypass the surgery recommendation to try to play through the injury, as he did for much of a nine-game, 15-day road trip that the Lakers -- already missing injured center Andrew Bynum -- just completed with a sparkling 7-2 record.

He has been replaced in Saturday's Long Distance Shootout by Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, but the NBA's longstanding policy on these matters would require Bryant to take some part Sunday because he did play Wednesday and since he's planning to play Tuesday against Atlanta in the Lakers' first game after the break.

That makes sense, and yet it doesn't. Though it may be disrespectful to fans and other players, he has a right to rest in what is ultimately a meaningless game of fun. However, if Kobe did play his final game before the All-Star game and he will play his first game after the All-Star game, then technically he is saying he is healthy enough to participate in any games inbetween those two.

Now Lebron James Wants A Blockbuster Trade For The Cavs?

Like nearly everyone else, Cleveland's Lebron James was shocked by Shaquille O'Neal's trade to Phoenix.

"Unbelievable," James said after practice Wednesday. "That's all I got. It's unbelievable."

O'Neal, one of the league's top centers for more than a decade, was traded by Miami to the Suns for forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks, a blockbuster deal that rocked the league like one of Shaq's backboard-bending dunks.

It was the second jaw-dropping swap involving All-Star players in days. Last week, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired 7-foot center Pau Gasol from Memphis, a trade that may have forced the Suns into retooling their team in order to stay ahead of their nearest competitor in the Pacific Division.

With the Lakers and Heat acquiring superstars, Lebron James is starting to wonder when the Cavs will acquire a superstar (with no disrespect to Lebron's teamates) of their own.

James recently said he would love for general manager Danny Ferry to make a run at New Jersey point guard Jason Kidd, who has made it no secret that he wants the Nets to dish him off before the Feb. 21 trading deadline.

When James was asked if being paired with Kidd, his teammate last summer on the U.S. national team, could win the Cavs their first championship, Cleveland's superstar delivered an answer as resounding as any of his powerful slam dunks.

The Cavs are going to have to compete with the Dallas Mavericks, who are also interested in acquiring Jason Kidd.

The Cavaliers would like to add another star player to complement James, who's having an MVP-caliber season. Larry Hughes hasn't been what Cleveland had hoped since Ferry signed the oft-injured shooting guard to a five-year, $60 million contract before the '05 season.

James was asked if it's necessary for a team to have multiple stars to win an NBA title.

"It helps," he said with a laugh. "It does help when you have guys on the team that are perennial All-Stars or can go out there and produce every night and you know what you're going to get."

Reminded that Kidd was still available, James grinned.

"I know that," he said.

James, too, knows that adding another big player can lead to problems.

"It can mess up the chemistry a little bit and it could take a little longer for them to fit in, maybe not," he said. "The reward is you get a good player. Like the Lakers, they got a guy [Gasol] who has averaged 20 [points] and 12 [rebounds] for his whole career. Last night, Kobe Bryant gets six points and the Lakers win by 15, that's the reward.

"It all depends on what caliber of player you are getting and how fast he can adjust to the new system."

If the Cavaliers stand pat and don't make a trade, James is confident the defending Eastern Conference champs are still good enough to win it all.

"As long as I'm healthy, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win," he said. "No matter who is out on the court with me."

From James' comments, you wouldn't be able to tell if he wants another superstar on his team or not. However, it is clear that James is happy and confident with the way things are now.

Shaquille O'Neal Is Going To Bring Some Heat To The Phoenix Suns

In one of the most improbable trades in NBA history, the Miami Heat traded Shaquille O'Neal to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, sources close to the situation told ESPN.com.

Who would have thought that trading Shaquille O'Neal would have been so simple? The Miami Heat, other than the obvious fact that they are a very bad team, have terrible team chemistry issues. Pat Riley and Shaq were not getting along. Likewise, Shawn Marion wasn't mixing well with his team either.

The Suns have been plagued by well-chronicled concerns about their chemistry for nearly two years, generally focusing on the occasional dissatisfaction voiced behind the scenes by either Marion or Stoudemire. In the locker room as well as the front office, sources told Stein, there are factions that have believed for some time that one of them would eventually have to be traded for the Suns to reach their full potential.

Marion asked to be traded before the season but has rarely mentioned that declaration since, with many Suns insiders believing that he went public with that request mostly as a protest response to being mentioned in trade rumors for years.

O'Neal turns 36 in March and has been plagued by a persistent hip problem that has cost him 14 games this season. He refused to speak with Miami reporters after Tuesday's practice, while Riley insisted that O'Neal would soon undergo an MRI after missing the Heat's past six games.

And when he has been healthy, O'Neal is averaging a career-worst 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds, while the Heat's demise has deepened after they followed their historic comeback from 2-0 down against Dallas in the 2006 NBA Finals by absorbing a first-round sweep by Chicago last season.

Marion, a four-time All-Star, is averaging 15.6 points and 9.8 rebounds this season, while Banks is putting up 5.2 points and 1.0 assist per game.

Obviously, Marion and Wade will fit will together. But, what can Shaq offer the Suns? Though this seems on the surface to be a terrible trade, the Suns are hoping to get out of Shaq at least 20 minutes of offensive and defensive pressure in the paint that wasn't there when Marion was playing for them. Now, they have a huge center that can compete with Tim Duncan and the Spurs or Andrew Bynum on the Lakers. They can still run up and down the court with their fast paced offense, but when all else fails, just throw the ball to the big man under the rim.

The Lakers Trade Kwame Brown For Pau Gasol Of The Memphis Grizzlies

The Los Angeles Lakers bolstered their banged-up front line Friday, acquiring 7-footer Pau Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Lakers gave up Kwame Brown, rookie Javaris Crittenton and their 2008 and 2010 first-round draft picks for Gasol.

This should give the Lakers the frontcourt help they need.

Brown

Gasol

Gasol is certain to help a Lakers team reeling from a series of recent injuries to inside players, including blossoming center Andrew Bynum.

Gasol, averaging 18.9 points and 8.8 rebounds in 39 games this season, can fill in at center until Bynum returns in mid-March and then move to power forward.

The Grizzlies also will get guard Aaron McKie, signed earlier Friday for salary cap purposes, and the rights to Gasol's brother Marc, a former second-round pick of Los Angeles.

The Lakers also receive the Grizzlies' second-round pick in 2010.

"We're extremely pleased to be able to make this trade," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in a statement. "Pau is a proven player of All-Star caliber in this league who can score and rebound and is still a young player. We feel this strengthens our team in the short term as well as the long term."

The Lakers were 28-16, second in the Pacific Division, entering Friday night's game at Toronto.

Gasol, the NBA rookie of the year in 2002 and an All-Star four years later, has averaged 18.8 points and 8.6 rebounds in 476 career games. The 27-year-old is under contract for three more years. The Grizzlies (13-33) haven't won a postseason game since Gasol joined them and haven't made the playoffs since 2006.

Also, a Grizzlies source told The Commercial Appeal of Memphis that forward Stromile Swift has been traded to the New Jersey Nets for center Jason Collins. According to the newspaper, the deal had been discussed for the past week and is expected to be finalized on Monday.

The Lakers also signed backup center DJ Mbenga to a second 10-day contract. The 7-footer from the Congo signed his first 10-day contract Jan. 21 and averaged 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in four games. Mbenga was released by the Dallas on Oct. 30 and signed with Golden State on Nov. 17, where he played 16 games before being released Jan. 6.

Jason Kidd Is Close To Nesting In His Old Home Of Dallas

The growing feeling among league executives that the Dallas Mavericks are the most likely winners in the Jason Kidd trade sweepstakes is even stronger now.

Reason being: Within 24 hours of Kidd saying that it's time for him and the New Jersey Nets "all to move on" in separate directions, New Jersey and Dallas engaged in advanced trade discussions with Portland on a three-way deal that would land Kidd back with the team that drafted him in 1994.

Kidd

Such a trade would involve at least a dozen players, cash sweeteners and future draft picks. In a breakdown of the most noteworthy principles, Portland would land Mavericks guard Devin Harris and possibly Mavs forward Brandon Bass, New Jersey would receive draft and financial considerations, Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse and a trio of young prospects from Portland (Travis Outlaw, Channing Frye and Jarrett Jack) while the Mavericks would score Kidd.

The talks were very active Tuesday, as reported Tuesday night on ESPN2's "NBA Coast to Coast" by ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard. But dialogue between the three clubs had cooled Wednesday to the point that sources close to the situation described them as "pretty much dead."

But another source insisted that the deal still has life and noted that the "pretty much" disclaimer leaves open the possibility that the dialogue can be reheated to Tuesday's levels, especially since the league's Feb. 21 trading deadline is still three weeks away. And what most observers considered to be one of the biggest obstacles for New Jersey and Dallas to either moving or acquiring Kidd -- finding the third team they needed to broaden the deal -- might be less of an impediment than anticipated if Portland could be recruited so quickly.

Some reluctance from the Blazers, sources said, is one of the factors that has stalled the talks. In addition to the short-term concerns about the ankle injury that has sidelined Harris, Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard told The Oregonian newspaper last week that "we're not making any trades" to break up a roster of youngsters that rebounded from Greg Oden's season-ending injury to rank as the biggest surprise team so far in a league filled with surprise teams. Sources say Portland has been shopping Jack on his own, but parting with three or four players is something else, with guard Sergio Rodriguez also potentially involved. Outlaw's development, furthermore, is one of the stories of the Blazers' season.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, might also have some hesitation, even knowing that Kidd has made it clear behind the scenes that a return to Dallas and the opportunity to play alongside Dirk Nowitzki is his preferred outcome, ahead of a move to Cleveland to play with Team USA teammate and close friend LeBron James.

Sources say Dallas is resigned to the fact that it won't be able to reacquire Kidd -- 1994-95's co-Rookie of the Year with Grant Hill as a Mav but who left town in acrimonious circumstances less than two seasons later -- without parting with Harris, who's a fan and Mark Cuban favorite as well as a 24-year-old point guard having by far his best season.

The initial scenarios discussed by the teams, however, also would require Dallas to part with either Bass or center DeSagana Diop. Both are critical role players in the Mavericks' system. Bass ranks as the most effective backup Nowitzki has ever had and Diop operates as one half of the center tandem with Erick Dampier that has been successful against San Antonio and Tim Duncan.

The Mavs, if the deal goes through, would be undertaking the aggressive renovation that many critics have been calling for since they followed up a 67-win regular season with a first-round exit to Golden State last season. Although there would obviously be some risk giving Harris' job to a quarterback who will be 35 in March, Dallas is undoubtedly seduced by the idea of enhancing the scoring abilities of Nowitzki and Josh Howard. Kidd's arrival would likewise address Dallas' team IQ and mental toughness issues after back-to-back epic collapses in the playoffs, first to Miami in the 2006 NBA Finals and then to Golden State.

Yet another potential snag here is that the Nets naturally hope to come out of a Kidd deal with at least one young star. The closest thing to a young star in the scenarios discussed so far -- Harris -- would be going to Portland.

But Outlaw is on the rise, too. Outlaw and Frye, furthermore, are athletic prospects who come with salary cap-friendly contracts in addition to the two future first-round draft picks New Jersey would also likely receive. It's believed that the Nets would immediately buy out Stackhouse and release him if the proposed deal wound up going through.

Yet it seems safe to expect that a Kidd deal involving these three teams will likely happen quickly or fade to all the way dead sooner rather than later. New Jersey has been dealing with speculation about Kidd's future dating to last February's trade deadline, when Kidd was nearly dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers. "But Dallas and Portland," said one source, "won't want this [trade speculation] to linger because then it starts affecting their teams."

Lebron James And Kobe Bryant Did Not Disappoint In This Controversial Ending

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant went back and forth throughout an intense fourth quarter.James and his Cleveland Cavaliers won out in the end, even surviving a few raindrops at Staples Center.

James scored 14 of his 41 points in the final period, and the Cavaliers beat the short-handed Lakers 98-95 Sunday for their 12th win in 15 games.Bryant scored nine of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, and also had 12 rebounds and six assists, but it wouldn't be enough to keep the Lakers from losing their third straight to match their longest losing streak of the season.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 6:14 to play, and Larry Hughes also scored 16 points for the Cavaliers (24-19), who have beaten the Lakers in their last five meetings.

Lamar Odom had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers (27-15), who have a 2-4 record since center Andrew Bynum injured his left knee. It was their fourth game without Trevor Ariza, who broke his right foot. Neither player is expected to return before the middle of March.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao was helped from the court late in the third quarter of a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday with an injured left ankle.

X-rays were negative, but he will undergo an MRI on Monday.

Right after teammate LeBron James made a layup, Varejao stepped on the foot of Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic as he entered the lane, trailing the play. Varejao was helped from the court, unable to put weight on his left leg.

Varejao, averaging 8.0 points and a team-leading 8.7 rebounds, had two points and four rebounds in 17 minutes when he was injured, with 3:12 left in the third period and the Cavaliers leading 63-59.

The game was delayed for 12 minutes late in the first quarter because of a small leak in the Staples Center roof. It resulted in a steady flow of drops falling under the north basket -- out of bounds but less than a foot from the baseline. Arena spokesman Michael Roth said a roofing company inspected the roof Sunday morning and when the inspectors were finished, they removed their rain gear and left it along with some equipment on a catwalk over the north basket. The leak came from the clothing and equipment through slats in the catwalk.

The Cavaliers took a 94-93 lead on a basket by James with 1:16 remaining, and Bryant drew an offensive foul nine seconds later. After an empty possession by each team, James ran the shot clock down before hitting from outside with 20 seconds to go, giving the Cavaliers a three-point lead. Ronny Turiaf made a follow shot with 13 seconds left, trimming Cleveland's lead to one point, but James made two free throws four seconds later to make it 98-95. The Lakers called a timeout, but were unable to get off a potential game-tying 3-pointer before the final buzzer sounded.

Here's A Replay I Never Thought I'd See In Basketball

The Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat must replay the final 51.9 seconds of their game last month because the NBA said the official scorer ruled incorrectly that Shaquille O'Neal fouled out. This will be the first time since 1982 the league has sent teams back on the court for a replay.

Usually in baseball when rain delays or cancels a game, depending on how much of the game was played and the content produced in the game, sometimes the rest of the game or whatever innings were remaining are played on another date. However, I never heard of this happening in basketball, especially over someone fouling out. I could understand this happening if the stadium collapsed or some disaster struck, but not because someone mistakingly ruled Shaq fouled out when he didn't. I mean, would it really make a terribly big difference if Shaq played the last 52 seconds of the game?

The Hawks won 117-111 at home in overtime Dec. 19. The NBA said Friday the replay will be held before the teams' next scheduled game -- March 8 in Atlanta. Play will start from the time after O'Neal's disputed sixth foul.

The Hawks also were fined $50,000, with commissioner David Stern ruling the team was "grossly negligent" in failing to address the mistake.

The protest is the first granted by the NBA since December 1982, when then-NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien upheld a request for a replay by the San Antonio Spurs after their 137-132 double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers the previous month.

The Spurs and Lakers finished the game in April 1983, with San Antonio winning 117-114.

I guess the Heat figure that every possible win is a must, but I can't see their season turning around, especially with the East only getting better.

Sports Conspiracies

In light of the New England Patriots going 16-0 this weekend (which I believe to be a conspiracy), I did some research into other sports conspiracies that have gone on throughout the years. I compiled a list of these conspiracies and was amazed at what I found.

The driving force behind these and other conspiracies is money.

On the surface, professional sports leagues serve the purpose of entertaining their viewers with jaw-dropping plays, close competition and fantastic finishes.

But behind every organization is a corporate world focused on accumulating the maximum amount of dollars in order to satisfy fans with dramatic contests, please players with fat contracts and place prized newcomers in major marketing areas for publicity.

Dwyane Wade
The NBA, needing to create a new star after Kobe Bryant’s rape allegations, encourage the refs to do what it takes to make sure the Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s NBA Finals, even going so far as giving him more free throws than the Mavs’ entire team one game. In another version of the same conspiracy, David Stern hates Mark Cuban so much that he will never allow his team to win a title.

New England Patriots
After 9/11, the NFL wanted a team called the “Patriots” to win their championship, so they had the refs help them out against the Raiders (in whose case you also have a similar situation to #7 with Art Shell/the NFL) and the heavily favored Rams.

6% of college basketball games are fixed
So says Justin Wolfers, a University of Pennsylvania economist, who studied over 44,000 Division I games and found that the stronger teams win, but do not cover the spread, often enough that it couldn’t be just by chance. Click here for the whole article.

Bret Hart
In wrestling, when stuff is REAL, then it’s a conspiracy. Bret Hart was leaving the WWF and did not want to lose the title to Shawn Michaels, so Vince McMahon told him that he could lose in a disqualification. When the actual match came, he called for the bell when Hart was in a submission hold, ending the match with Michaels the winner. Afterwards, in the locker room, Hart punched McMahon in the face. The movie “Wrestling with Shadows” goesinto this in more detail.

UNLV threw the 1991 Final Four
UNLV was seemingly unstoppable in 1991, and their loss to Duke in the national seminfinals was one of the biggest shockers of my lifetime. Three players on that UNLV have been photographed in a hot tub with a convicted points-shaver-arranger guy, whose name was Richie “The Fixer” Perry. Some people believe that the Duke loss was fixed. A heavily favored team who played in Vegas, hung out with a guy NAMED The Fixer,
and lost in a huge game definitely sounds a bit shady.

Michael Jordan
David Stern could have been on this list a few more times (fixed NBA Draft Lotteries, Magic Johnson didn’t really have HIV), but this one is the ultimate, him secretly suspending the greatest player ever for two years for gambling. The Bulls could have had eight titles in a row.

Bill Simmons' 1985 Draft Lottery Conspiracy

ESPN's Bill Simmons has long had his theories that David Stern fixed the 1985 draft lottery so the Knicks would end up with Patrick Ewing. The hired accountant from Ernst & Whinney bangs one of the envelopes around on the rim of the drum, presumably creasing one of the corners. Every other envelope goes in cleanly. Stern reaches in and grabs a handful of envelopes, turns them over to look at them, and then drops all but one of them. The one he picks up is the one with the crease in the corner. That envelope is placed at the #1-spot. Stern announces that the Pacers get the 2nd pick, and thus, the Knicks have the first. Everyone in the building seems surprised but David Stern, who just looks guilty

An Abundance Of Free Throws Helped The Lakers Win

How about the 27 4^th quarter free throws the Lakers were awarded in Game 6 against Sacramento in the 2002 playoffs. Their total number of free throws in that game was just 40. The Lakers had also only averaged 22 free throws per game in the first 5 games of the series. I can still remember Mike Bibby getting called for a foul after Kobe elbowed him in the nose. The Lakers of course went on to win the series in 7 games and then 3-peat as NBA champs. I wonder if that made big news for the league..

Did The Referees Ruin The Seahawks' Super Bowl Hopes With Questionable Calls?

Remember when Steeler's line backer Joey Porter was complaining that the NFL wanted the Indianapolis Colts to win the Super Bowl? Well, now Seattle Seahawks fans can argue the same conspiracy theory for Pittsburgh.

Sure it was nice to see the "Bus" make his last stop in Detroit, the city where he started his career, and it was cool to see a sixth-seeded team win the Super Bowl. A storybook ending.

Too bad the referees had to rob Seattle blind to get it done.

No offense to the Steelers, they played a great game and they are a great team that deserved to win the championship, but not this way. For Seattle to out-gain the Steelers by 57 yards, win the time of possession battle and have a better turnover ratio, and then have the game ripped away from them by terrible refs is ridiculously unfair.

The two calls that would have helped them out the most were Darrell Jackson's two would-be touchdown catches.

The first catch was questionable at best; sure he pushed off in the end zone-but come on, everybody pushes off.

But the refs really bungled the second call when they said that Jackson stepped out of bounds taking away a touchdown, ignoring the rule that says, according to nfl.com, "[a] player no longer can be ruled out of bounds when he touches a pylon unless he already touched the boundary line," which Jackson didn't.

That, compounded with bad holding calls that prevented the Seahawks from getting within the ten-yard line, professes just how bad the referees were in this game. It is a shame that a great Super Bowl game would ultimately be determined by bad zebras.

Speaking of bad officiating, do you notice how many players this year are lashing out at refs for questionable calls? And do you notice how the NFL responds to these players? By fining them in order to shut them up and protect their referees. This wouldn't concern me so much if it happened to one player once a week. However, every week it seems more and more players are questioning the referees and the NFL is issuing fines left and right. How can that many officials be making bad calls every week and the NFL doesn't do anything except fine the players? Something is up with that.

This commercial I think is hilarious and relevant to what's been going on lately in the world of sports officiating.

And I don't want to make myself sound like a sports fan who cries "fix" everytime something doesn't go my way. That's not my intent of this article. I just want to make sports fans aware that behind every action there is a motive and sometimes if one digs deep enough and looks at the entire background to a situation he can understand why sports players and officials act the way they do in critical moments of games. The media just puts on display what they want to show the public and never shows the entire truth. Of course, I don't blame them either. After all, if everyone knew sports were rigged no one would watch, play for, and bet on games and that would be the end of one of the greatest money making tools ever...... Then they can cry "fix" later.

History Was Made In Madison Square Garden....But It Wasn't The Knicks

Kobe Bryant enjoyed every minute of his return to Madison Square Garden and making history made his trip that much better. Bryant scored 39 points, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the New York Knicks 95-90 Sunday. Bryant became the 31st player with 20,000 points.

Player	Years-Days
Kobe Bryant	29-122
Wilt Chamberlain	29-134
Michael Jordan	29-326
Oscar Robertson	30-97
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	30-342
30 players are in the 20,000-Point Club: 18 are in the Basketball Hall of Fame; 10 are not yet eligible. Only eligible players not in Hall: Tom Chambers, Adrian Dantley.

Bryant added 11 rebounds and eight assists in his first game at the Garden in nearly two years. His 3-pointer in the opening minute of the third quarter allowed him to reach the milestone at 29 years, 122 days.

Kobe Bryant said: "I always like playing here, period," Bryant said. "Last year I didn't have an opportunity to play and I was upset about it. This is my favorite arena to play in so I'm just happy and relieved that I was able to play tonight."

Here that Isiah Thomas? Maybe you should look into acquiring Kobe to revitalize the Knicks and keep the fans happy. A move like that would make the fans happy and you would be likable again in the Garden. Though Bryant told reporters Saturday that the Knicks were one of the four teams he would have accepted a trade to, both coaches downplayed New York's chances. Jackson said there were no serious talks before the season, and Thomas added, "I never sincerely thought that the Lakers would trade him." Well, Isiah, you thought wrong. You didn't even make an effort.

Bryant's last basket came in the final minute after the Knicks had trimmed a 25-point deficit to one. The victory capped a 3-1 road trip for the Lakers, who headed home to host Phoenix on Tuesday. Kobe is also happy his team is finally connecting and playing well together. When Kobe is pleased, thats a good sign.

The Knicks, however, are still a disgrace. After the Knicks fell too far behind to make a comeback likely for the second time in three days, coach Isiah Thomas said there would be lineup changes when the Knicks play their next game, against Orlando on Wednesday."We probably have the wrong guys starting and we'll look to change our lineup and try to get some more energy and defensive guys in the lineup," Thomas said. Hey, with the way things are going for the Knicks, who can really argue with Isiah?

The Most Valuable Franchises In The NBA According To Forbes

Despite the struggles and antics of the New York Knicks on and off the court, they still remain the NBA's most valuable franchise for the third straight year, according to a list compiled by Forbes. The Knicks were valued at $604 million, up 3 percent from the previous year despite a spate of losing, an embarrassing defeat in a sexual harassment lawsuit, poor team chemistry, and continuing questions about the future of coach Isiah Thomas.

The NBA's marquee franchise also had a league-high $196 million in revenues for the 2006-07 season while topping the list with negative $42.2 million in operating income after going 33-49 and missing the playoffs.

A lot of the Knicks' success, money-wise, has to do with where they play. New York is the medulla oblongata of American culture and I am willing to bet that if the Knicks played anywhere else, people wouldn't waste their time and money watching this team. I would rank the circus as a slightly better tourist attraction, though the Knicks aren't far from that. The Knicks may have the most valuable franchise, but not the most valuable team

The Los Angeles Lakers decreased in value 2 percent, down to $560 from $568 million, but remained second on the list. I would suspect this is due to their recent lack of success and the other number of California teams available to watch. It can't be because of Kobe; he's probably the only reason why the Lakers draw in the money they do.

The Chicago Bulls were third with a value of $500 million and a league-best $59.3 million in operating income. Let's see how long this lasts with that amazing team of theirs who inexplainably can't win.

The Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets rounded out the top five.

The Cleveland Cavailers showed the biggest jump in value among the top 10 teams, increasing 20 percent to $455 million. They jumped from 10th to seventh. I believe two words are responsible for that: Lebron James.

Great Game... I Told You So

Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I did say earlier today that everyone should watch the Lakers visit the Denver Nuggets. If you took my advice and watched it you were treated to one heck of a ball game.

Allen Iverson put on a display of basketball brilliance. He had 51 points and single handily kept his team in the game. Kobe showed once again, why he is the best player in the game. Watching the game I knew Kobe was going to get the ball with under a minute left, and every time the Lakers came down court he got the ball and he scored. The best players always have that quality. In the middle of the game I knew Iverson was going to shoot, but nobody could stop him. It was the same way with Kobe with a minute to go in the game.

At the end of the game it looked like Iverson just ran out of gas. I would argue there is no finer conditioned athelete in the world than Iverson, but even he gets tired at some point. He carried his team through the first 3 and a half quarters. On the other hand there was Kobe who was able to carry his team in the closing minutes and lead his team to victory.

I said earlier today that the spread had the Nuggets as 9 point favorites. I told you to play this game and pick the Lakers. If you listened you were correct. The Lakers came out victorious tonight. It was a great game that was tightly contested throughout. In the 4th I looked up and they were either tied or only separated by a couple of points. What a basketball game and what individual performances by Iverson and Kobe. It is great to see basketball played at this level.

Tonight: Lakers vs Nuggets on ESPN

I hope everyone gets a chance to see this game tonight between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. How often is it that we get to see 3 of the greatest athletes compete on the same floor? We only get to see it 3-4 times a year now that Allen Iverson is on the Nuggets.

Allen Iverson is and has been one of the 5 best players in the league for a long time now. Here is a guy who barely stands 6 feet tall and carried his team, on his back, to the NBA Finals one year. Only to lose to to a guy who has been the best player in the league, unquestionably, for 4 years now; Kobe Bryant.

It's great when these two face off but now we get to up and coming superstar Carmelo Anthony. I shouldn't say 'Melo is up and coming, because he has arrived. He is already one of the top players in the NBA. He has a great jump shot and an incredibly fast first-step. If he can get his defense to the level that Iverson and Kobe play, he will be right up there with the elite in the league.

The last thing I want to point out about this game is the play of young center Andrew Bynum. Do not sleep on this young man. He is playing at a very high level, and still isn't old enough to drink alcohol. Here is a guy who plays the center the position the way it should be played. Back towards the basket, backing people down, blocking shots on defense, and catching alley-oop passes from his point guard.

So I encourage everyone tonight to sit in front of a TV, turn on ESPN, and enjoy a very exciting basketball game that invovles 2 first ballot Hall-of-Famers, 1 guy who is well on his way to being a Hall of Famer, and 1 guy who plays the center the position it should be played.

The line for this game is the Nuggets favored by 9 at home. Take the Lakers with this. The Nuggets may come out on top, but I don't see Kobe getting beat by 9 on national TV.

Bulls Say No to Kobe

Here is an interesting story about Kobe's future from ESPN.com:

Chicago Bulls general manager John Paxson said that trade talks on Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers have ended for now and downplayed the notion that the teams were ever on the verge of a deal.

"There's not a deal done," he said Thursday. "There's not going to be a deal done. All the things that were out there were really unfair to all of us who were trying to do our jobs. The misinformation ... I think gets in the way of the process. It's just such a complicated thing and we kind of put it to rest now."

Paxson said they discussed "parameters," but the sides "never got down to the nuts and bolts of it because there was never a deal to be done. That's the reality of it."

Comments:

I guess Kobe will have to suffer with the Lakers. I think they should worry about how to make a deal to get some talent around him, instead of trying to trade him away.