Kobe Bryant Leads NBA All-Star Voting

Filed under: Celtics, Heat, Hornets, Lakers, Magic, Nuggets, Rockets, Spurs, NBA All-Star Game, Thunder

Kobe Bryant remains the leading vote-getter for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game with 1,153,694 votes, the league announced Thursday. Dwight Howard (988,572) leads all players in the Eastern Conference, while Miami's LeBron James (969,459) and Dwyane Wade (938,402) place third and fourth in the league.

Bryant, a three-time All-Star MVP (2002, 2007 and 2009), has been voted a starter in each of the last 12 All-Star games, although he missed last season's contest in Dallas due to injury. This season's game will be played Feb. 20 in Los Angeles on Bryant's home court at STAPLES Center. Paper balloting for the All-Star game will continue through Jan. 17, while electronic ballots can be cast through Jan. 23. The starters will be announced on Jan. 27, and the reserves will be announced on Feb. 3.

The latest returns also suggest a passing of the torch in Boston, as Rajon Rondo (777,310) so far has been named on more ballots than any of the Celtics' Big Three of Kevin Garnett (712,555), Paul Pierce (381,348) or Ray Allen (392,441). Rondo and Garnett are second among the East's guards and forwards, respectively, putting them on pace to earn a stating job -- provided they're healthy. Rondo, who's recently missed time with a sprained ankle, is expected to return Friday, but Garnett, who left Wednesday's game with a leg injury, is sidelined indefinitely.

In the West, Kevin Durant (735,521) and Carmelo Anthony (602,516) are the current leaders among forwards, although Pau Gasol (597,201) doesn't have much ground to make up to earn a starting job. Chris Paul (585,690) is second among the West's guards, possessing a healthy lead over Manu Ginobili (403,632).

Yao Ming (376,283), who's already been ruled out for the remainder of the season, is the runaway leader among the West's centers, with Andrew Bynum (376,283) a distant second. If Yao finishes as the top vote-getter at center, NBA commissioner David Stern will name a replacement for his spot on the roster, and the West's coach, currently slated to be Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, will choose a starter.

 

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Tucker Carlson's Michael Vick Comment Unfair, Unbalanced

by Milton Kent

Filed under: Eagles, Sports Business and Media

We live in a world that gets coarser and less forgiving as each day goes by. Make a mistake on the highway and you're likely presented with someone's middle finger, if not worse. Give someone a little less change than they are expecting from their hot dog and beer and find yourself on the end of a profane tirade. And get the lawyer's number on speed dial if you spill something on a person's lap.

And no entity has been more responsible for the decline in civility than television. Every perceived slight, every misstep, every wrong move ends up on an E! "True Hollywood Story" or in the crucible of a panel of chuckle-headed commentators, each braying more loudly than the next.

Tucker Carlson has been a member of the chattering class for quite some time, taking his trademarked bow-tie from a spot on the late and unlamented "Crossfire" on CNN to MSNBC. Carlson has relocated to the FOX News Channel where he was guest-hosting something called the "Great American Panel."

It was from there that Carlson opined Tuesday that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick should have been executed for killing dogs and for orchestrating dog fights.

Take a moment and let that one roll around the noggin. A guy who had never previously been seriously involved in a major crime should lose his life for killing animals. And this came from the mouth of a man who, in delivering that fireball, declared himself to be a Christian.

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More: Tucker Carlson: Michael Vick 'Should Have Been Executed'

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Maurice Jones-Drew Likely to Have Knee Surgery Following Season

Filed under: Jaguars, NFL Injuries, NFL Playoffs

Jacksonville Pro Bowl tailback Maurice Jones-Drew reportedly will undergo knee surgery once the Jaguars' season is officially over.

Jones-Drew, who ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing with 1,324 yards, has a torn meniscus, according to The Florida Times-Union, and needs arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage. He was held out of last week's game against Washington and already had been ruled out for Sunday's regular-season finale at Houston.

"Maurice played through the issues he's been dealing with," Coach Jack Del Rio said. "Right now we're going to go through the rest of this week and see how much closer we can get him to being ready to go."

Neither Jones-Drew nor the Jaguars (8-7) may be going anywhere after Sunday.

Yes, the Jaguars still have an outside shot at winning the AFC South Division title. They have to beat the Texans and the Indianapolis Colts have to lose at home to the Tennessee Titans. Under that scenario -- and with two weeks to rest the knee -- the team thinks Jones-Drew would have a shot to be able to play in a wild-card round game.

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Stuart Holden Rated Premier League's Top Player by Guardian Readers

Filed under: English Premier League, U.S. Men's National Team, Houston Dynamo

U.S. national team midfielder Stuart Holden is the best player in the English Premier League.

All right, maybe that statement is just a tad premature. But based on The Guardian's analysis of readers' player ratings, Holden has been the highest-rated performer throughout the first half of the Premier League campaign, with an average mark of 7.4 out of 10.

Yes, English fans have rated an American as the best player in the world's most popular league.

The 25-year-old has started each of his 16 league appearances for Bolton this season, going the full 90 in all but one contest as Wanderers have made a surprising run to seventh place (6-4-8).

 

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FanHouse Fantasy Football Awards of 2010

Filed under: NFL New Studs, NFL Value Machine

As the sun sets on the fantasy football season, we take time to honor the best and worst players of 2010. Here you'll find the guys that would make or break fantasy teams this year, including a reformed star QB, an elite wideout turned journeyman receiver and a Tampa Bay youth movement. Let's start with the big dog.

Fantasy MVP and Value Pick of the Year

Michael Vick, QB, PHI

The Philadelphia quarterback received his first opportunity at rebuilding his name right away, as Kevin Kolb went down two quarters into the season. In just over a half of football, Vick would post what would be the first of nine 20-point efforts this season. Most weeks he was unstoppable, with his ascension to the top of the fantasy world complete after one of the best offensive days in history: 333 passing yards, 80 rushing yards, four passing TDs, two rushing TDs.

Incredibly, he led all players in fantasy points despite playing roughly 12 full games this season (he missed three weeks and played about half of two other games). Throwing out the two half-days, Vick only failed to score multiple TDs once all season.

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Rams vs. Seahawks Preview, Score and More

Filed under: Rams, Seahawks, NFC West

The bad news for the NFC West is that people are calling it the NFC Worst. The good news is that its a storyline many of those same people will be watching in a nationally-televised game Sunday night. The winner of this game will move on to the first round of the NFL playoffs.

The St. Louis Rams (7-8) are coming off a one-win season and has a chance to get to .500 in addition to earning a trip to the playoffs with a win. Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks (6-9) have already locked-up a third consecutive losing season, but a win Sunday brings home the bacon in terms of a division title and a home game in the playoffs.

Two sub-.500 teams aren't supposed to be playing for either a championship or a playoff berth, so this is uncharted territory.

Although the Rams and the Seahawks have had to defend themselves against charges that teams with losing records don't deserve to be here, neither is putting much stock in what others are saying.

 

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Saints' Marques Colston Questionable for Tampa Bay Game

Filed under: Saints, NFC South

The NFL is not going to require Sean Payton to talk about the knee surgery New Orleans wide receiver Marques Colston had on Tuesday, so the Saints' coach did not feel the slightest bit compelled to talk about it Friday with reporters.

All he would say is that Colston, the team's top receiver, is questionable for Sunday's game with the Tamp Bay Buccaneers (9-6). Colston, according to Payton earlier this week, had surgery to clean some things up in his right knee.

"I do hate to have any type of competitive edge that would work against us. I think injuries clearly in my experience can potentially do that," Payton said. "We'll list them. Just to discuss them, there's no benefit for us in regards to each week's game and really from our perspective, this is what the league requires. That's really it. The league doesn't require us to discuss the injuries from day to day, nor surgeries for that matter."

Colston did not practice on Thursday and it seems doubtful he would play, considering the Saints have a wild-card spot wrapped-up.

 

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