The Greatest Man in the East

All last season, there was no "Amar'e Countdown" or "Amar'e Watch" in the New York papers. The fans didn't chant his name or drop on bended knee when his team, the Suns, played at the Garden. And when it came time to sign free agents last summer, he was far enough down the wish list that you needed to borrow his goggles to find him.

No, he wasn't The One They Wanted. Or even The Two They Wanted.

But after a franchise-record nine-straight 30-point game, and an MVP-like start, New Yorkers are glad to have him. Even better for the Knicks and their fans: Amar'e Stoudemire wanted New York, and how many free agents in any sport would gladly walk into the snakepit that he did?

Well, yes, the money helps. A lot. One hundred extra-large is enough to convince anyone to play anywhere and for any team -- even for the Clippers. Let's be clear about that. And yet, this is New York, which can be cruel, and these were the Knicks, desperate for a savior and by extension, a scapegoat if the misery continued. This wasn't a situation for the meek.

Apparently, it's a situation made for Stoudemire.

"This was the plan," Stoudemire said. "The plan was to have success."
Stoudemire isn't the answer to the whole puzzle, but a generous piece that the Knicks needed to become relevant again. With a 16-10 record, and a hunch that if nothing else the Dark Decade is over, the Garden is noisy again. Knicks games are an event; Wednesday night's thriller with the Celtics certainly was, and Friday's visit by Miami will certainly be. And there's someone worth paying to see, for the first time since Patrick Ewing.
"There's a reason he's balling this season," said Nene, the Nuggets' center. "Nobody's stopping him."
He came a split-second away from a special moment when he barely missed beating the Celtics with a game-winning 3-pointer Wednesday. Still, he was the best player on the floor, scoring 39 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks. Not even Ewing had a run like this, which is why there's a basketball awakening in New York.

Stoudemire so far has dismissed two myths: That he'd be less of a player without Steve Nash around, and that he couldn't elevate a dormant team. Instead, he's playing the best of his career away from Nash, averaging 26.2 points (up five points from his career average) and is having as good a season, if not better, than anyone in the NBA. That's including LeBron James, the player the Knicks and New York wanted last summer. That puts Stoudemire in the early conversation for MVP and the Knicks in the running for a top-5 finish in the East.

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Nine is not Enough: The Heat Won Their 10th Straight Game Over Cavs

LeBron James had few words for his former Cleveland teammates this time.

Dwyane Wade did more than enough talking with his play.

Wade scored 17 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, James added 21 points and a season-high 13 rebounds, and the Miami Heat won their 10th straight game, holding off the Cavaliers 101-95 on Wednesday night.

"It was a good game," James said. "We executed enough plays down the stretch to help us win. Gut-check? I don't ever think it got to a gut-check point ... but for us, we're happy that we continued to win and we continued to get better."

The star duo was silent in on-court words, perhaps, but not in actions. James flexed his arms after getting fouled and scoring on a drive to the basket, Wade did his arms-flailing, "George Jefferson" celebration again, then looked down and screamed at his right hand after hitting a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.

But those moments of joy aside, this one wasn't easy.

Far from it, as James' former team - which got rolled by 28 in Cleveland on Dec. 2 in the clubs' first meeting of the season - gave Miami all it wanted this time around.

"We got the win, we won 10 straight and that ultimately is the most important thing. I get it, OK?" Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But we also want to make sure that the process that we've been talking about, whether we lost or whether we won, that we're playing to our potential. Cleveland played very well tonight and I do want to give them credit. They competed."

Chris Bosh scored 16 points for Miami, Mario Chalmers had 14 and James Jones added 11.

Miami failed in its quest to be the fourth NBA team ever to win 10 straight games by at least 10 points. Still, the 10-game winning streak - by any margin - matched the fourth-longest in Heat history. The try for No. 11 comes Friday night in New York against the Knicks.

"I've never won 10 games in a row," Bosh said. "So I'm happy."

Daniel Gibson scored 26 points for Cleveland, which lost its ninth straight. Anderson Varejao had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Antawn Jamison scored 15 points and Mo Williams added 13 for the Cavs.

"I couldn't ask for them to play any harder than they played," Cavs coach Byron Scott said. "I thought they were terrific effort-wise. They competed for 48 minutes."

Emotions were nowhere near as high as they were when James appeared in Cleveland for the first time as an opponent on Dec. 2, though there was some tension. At least one skirmish broke out in the stands - a rare occurrence in Miami - during the fourth quarter as Miami pulled away.

On the court, there was some flareups as well. Gibson wrapped up James on a fast break in the fourth quarter, the two friends not exchanging a word. And in the opening minutes, Wade was tackled by Joey Graham while dunking after an assist from James.

Still, this one was nothing like the hyped-for-months matchup in Cleveland two weeks ago that turned into a blowout.

"We had fight in us," Bosh said. "They had fight, too. We just grinded the game out."
Miami's 14-point lead was down to six when Gibson hit a 3-pointer with 2:09 left, and Jamison's free throws 36 seconds later made it 96-93.

That was Cleveland's last gasp. Gibson missed a 3-pointer over James with 46 seconds left, Williams missed a long try from the left side with 17 ticks remaining - he finished 1 for 10 from beyond the arc - and Miami escaped.

The mood when the players took the floor was noticably different than the game in Cleveland, when both James and members of the team he left behind were criticized for being, at times, a little too chummy with one another.

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Miami turns up Heat to Thrash Hornets 96 – 84 for Ninth Straight Win

The red-hot Miami Heat used an 18-2 second-half run to blow past the New Orleans Hornets 96-84 on Monday for their ninth straight victory.

Dwyane Wade scored 32 points, including the final six of Miami's second-half explosion that gave the Heat a commanding 94-77 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Chris Bosh had 23 points and 11 rebounds while LeBron James finished with 20 points as the "Big Three" continued to find their form during a dominant stretch for Miami (18-8).

Miami lost to New Orleans in their last meeting on Nov 5, but the teams have gone in opposite directions since then with the Hornets (14-10) losing nine of their last 12 following a surprising 11-1 start to the season.

David West put up 26 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans, which kept the game close until the Heat raced away with the contest beginning late in the third quarter.

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The Heat Is Finally On: LeBron Scores 33, Heat Bang Jazz for 6th Straight

SALT LAKE CITY – LeBron James scored 33 points, Dwyane Wade added 28 and the surging Miami Heat outscored the Utah Jazz by 14 in the fourth quarter for a 111-98 victory Wednesday night.

The victory extended Miami's winning streak to six, and avenged a 116-114 overtime loss to Utah at home on Nov. 9. The Heat improved to 15-8, while Utah fell to 16-7.

Al Jefferson scored 25 points and all five Jazz starters were in double figures by the start of the fourth. But it wasn't enough as the Heat pulled away with a 12-3 run to start the quarter.

Miami led by as many as 12, but the Heat found themselves trailing 78-77 entering the fourth after the Jazz mounted yet another rally. Last month, they came back from a 22-point deficit to beat the Heat.

In that game, Paul Millsap scored a career-high 46 for Utah. This time, he got going late and finished with 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Deron Williams had 21 for Utah but only four in the first half.

The loss continued an up-and-down season for the Jazz, who were riding a seven-game winning streak last week but lost Friday to Dallas.

Against the Heat, Millsap tried to spark the Jazz again. He grabbed the rebound off James Jones' miss and raced the length of the court for a layup at the buzzer to pull the Jazz within 28-27 to end the first quarter.

The Heat led by as many as 10 again in the second as Wade scored eight points in a 3-minute span, and James' driving layup with 4:27 left made it 49-39.

A three-point play by Andrei Kirilenko pulled the Jazz to 66-64 with 6:18 left in the third. Williams then passed underneath to Kirilenko for a dunk to tie it at 72 with 4:14 left, and Raja Bell put Utah ahead with a pair of free throws.

But the fourth quarter was all Miami, as the Heat outscored the Jazz 34-20.
Utah had held its last 10 opponents under 100 points, and the Jazz were 10-0 when entering the fourth with a lead.

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Bosh made 27 points - Heat outdoes Hawks

MIAMI – LeBron James' new fan base in Miami had a response.
So did his teammates.

Chris Bosh scored 27 points, Dwyane Wade added 26 and the Miami Heat scored 11 straight points in the final minutes to beat the Atlanta Hawks 89-77 on Saturday night — winning their fourth straight to move a season-high five games over .500.

"It's just a better feel in the locker room, away from the game, but also on the basketball court," Wade said. "We're starting to 'get it' with each other. ... It's making a world of difference."

James was quiet offensively for much of the second half, and it didn't matter. He finished with 22 points, and got serenaded by "Miami loves you!" chants — a nod to the "Akron hates you!" cries James heard when Miami visited Cleveland for the first time since he scorned the Cavaliers and joined the Heat in July.

Wade and Bosh did their part to keep the Hawks at bay, and then the reigning two-time MVP got his first field goal of the second half with 2:52 remaining — a fierce slam, followed by a scream, all giving Miami an 81-72 lead. Mario Chalmers hit an off-balance jumper with 1:38 left, the lead was back to 11, and Miami survived.

"We're figuring it out," James said. "We're figuring out what it takes for us three to be successful, and to have the team win."

Wade and Bosh each had 10 rebounds for the Heat (13-8), whose lead was cut to two at 74-72 with 4:39 remaining. Atlanta then missed its next six shots and Miami ran away.

"They're a tough team," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "Anytime you have three guys that can potentially be 20-plus every night, you got your hands full."

Only a week ago, the Heat were reeling, calling a 40-minute players-only meeting after a loss in Dallas sent a team with championship aspirations to 9-8.

Four straight wins later, that all seems a distant memory.

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The Return of the KING

CLEVELAND – He tuned out the boos. He smiled at the derisive chants. He embraced all the negativity Cleveland could muster.

LeBron James wasn't fazed by anything.

He brought his talents back home and reminded everyone — even the haters — why he's missed.

Returning as a villain to his native state and the city he scorned this summer, James scored 38 points — 24 in a virtuoso third-quarter performance — to lead the Miami Heat to a 118-90 win on Thursday night, turning his hostile homecoming into another embarrassing moment for the Cavaliers.

By halftime, James was the one having fun. By the fourth quarter, he was watching from the bench as Cavs fans headed into the cold for a disappointing drive home.

This wasn't the payback they waited five months to inflict.

James simply wouldn't allow it.

As he did so many times during seven seasons for the Cavs, the two-time league MVP did anything he wanted on the floor. In the third quarter, he made 10-of-12 shots, jumpers from every angle and taunted Cleveland's bench after draining a seemingly impossible baseline jumper.

"I know this court. I've made a lot of shots on this court," he said. "Just wanted to be aggressive, just try to keep them out of the game. I knew they were going to try to make a run in the third quarter, but we were able to get stops and we were able to get some shots."

With security guards forming a human barricade to line his entrance, James came hopping out of the tunnel and into the electrically charged atmosphere inside Quicken Loans Arena, as more than 20,000 fans, the same ones who once adored him, turned their fury on James.

It was rowdy, but thankfully, not violent. There were a few minor incidents in the stands.

Just in case, Moondog, the Cavs' fuzzy mascot, wore a bulletproof vest.

Booed every time he touched the ball, James scored 14 points in the first half as the Heat opened a 59-40 lead, and threatened to turn the highly anticipated game into a blowout.
James quickly made certain of one.

Miami outscored Cleveland 36-25 in the third to open a 95-65 lead, prompting Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to pull his superstar. James spent the final 12 minutes as a spectator, glancing at the scoreboard and into the stands at so many familiar faces.

James remained defiant afterward, saying he didn't regret his decision to leave Cleveland.

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James, Wade led Heat over Wizards 105-94

LeBron James and Erik Spoelstra had a pregame meeting Monday afternoon to talk about Miami's offensive woes.

Early returns suggest it was a productive chat.

James scored 30 points, Dwyane Wade added 26 and the Heat beat Washington 105-94 on Monday night, keeping the Wizards winless away from home this season.

James had 20 of his points in the first half, Wade added 15 in the third quarter, and though it didn't get into a blowout until the fourth quarter — it's the fifth time already this season where the Wizards have lost by double digits — it was comfortable for Miami throughout.

The Heat topped 100 points for the first time in their past seven games, and led by as many as 22 on the way to just their second win in their past six games.

And for Spoelstra, it was a milestone, his 100th regular-season victory, coming in career game No. 182.

Andray Blatche scored 26 for Washington, which is 0-8 on the road. Gilbert Arenas added 23 for the Wizards, who lost to the Heat for the eighth time in the teams' past nine meetings.

Nick Young scored 13 and JaVale McGee finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Washington.

The Wizards were without No. 1 draft pick John Wall, who missed his second straight game with a bruised right knee, and went largely with a seven-man rotation for much of the night. Washington was also again without Al Thornton (ankle) and Yi Jianlian (knee).

Miami's lead was only 55-49 with 10:31 left in the third quarter, before Wade — who has been slumping — got his scoring touch back.

He did it in a hurry, too.

Wade scored 15 points in the quarter, matching a Heat season best for any quarter this season, and needed only 6:17 to get that done. Consecutive jumpers 27 seconds apart, both set up by James, got him started, and he went on the attack the rest of the quarter — getting all 11 of his remaining points either at the foul line or on driving layups.

His personal spurt ended with 3:17 left in the period, when Wade split defenders on a spin move, got fouled, made a layup from the left side and hit the free throw for a 76-63 lead.
From there, things got chippy.

Washington's Hilton Armstrong and Miami's Juwan Howard were ejected with 32.3 seconds left in the third. Armstrong flagrantly fouled Heat center Joel Anthony on a layup attempt, pushing him with both hands in what was deemed a flagrant-2 infraction. Howard's night ended after referee Bill Kennedy saw he had pushed Armstrong in the back while coming to Anthony's defense.

The Wizards' Kirk Hinrich and Miami's James Jones were called for double technicals after getting in each other's faces with 8:20 left to play, and Washington's Trevor Booker was called for a flagrant-1 about 5 minutes later.

James made 6 of his 9 shots in the first half, and then started 2 for 7 following the break before hitting a 3-pointer with 2:32 remaining for a 103-83 lead.

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Obama on Heat: 'It takes some time'

ORLANDO, Fla. – Miami's slower-than-expected start is a talking point around the NBA. Around the White House, too.

And the nation's First Fan says the Heat will need time to reach their best.

President Barack Obama — who wasn't thrilled that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade turned down the Chicago Bulls this summer — told ABC's Barbara Walters that when it comes to the Heat, it would be prudent for fans to be patient.

"It takes some time for the team to come together," Obama said. "There's no 'I' in team. So no matter how good a player is, no matter how good a group of players are, if they haven't played together before they are not going to be as good as a team that has played together a long time."

The Heat dropped to 8-7 with a 104-95 loss in Orlando on Wednesday

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Spurs Back on Top of NBA with Blazing Start

Tony Parker's private life has been splashed across tabloids after splitting from his TV star wife. Tim Duncan is playing the fewest minutes of his career and coach Gregg Popovich's big summer addition can't find his way off the bench yet.

Yet here are the San Antonio Spurs, back atop the NBA.

"The Lakers are the back-to-back champions. The Celtics are the Eastern Conference champions. We got to respect them," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. "We're just looking at them, trying to learn and be as good as them."

Through the first month, no one has been good as the Spurs.

Their NBA-best record of 12-1 is the best start in franchise history, surpassing even how they began their four championship seasons. Their 11-game winning streak is their longest in nearly three years, and they can stretch it to a dozen Wednesday at Minnesota.

They've won while Parker and Ginobili -- arguably the best backcourt in the West so far -- have turned Duncan into the team's fourth-leading scorer. They've won without needing Tiago Splitter, their heralded new 7-footer who has barely cracked the rotation.

After winning 50 games last season and needing a late surge just to secure the No. 7 playoff seed -- the lowest of the Duncan era -- the Spurs didn't make any big summer adjustments. Duncan merely got older, swingman Richard Jefferson worked harder and the front office finally signed Splitter, their 2007 first-round pick from Brazil who had played several years in Spain.

Parker didn't play overseas to recover from a slew of injuries. Ginobili rested, too. Signing both to extensions are the biggest moves the Spurs have made in the last eight months.

So far, that seems to be all they needed.

"They've always been real good. But one of the three main guys have been hurt a lot the last three years, and that's not the case anymore," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said before Orlando lost to San Antonio on Monday night. "We're seeing them at their best."

Ginobili is averaging a career-high 20.4 points per game, a resurgence for the 33-year-old who was so bothered by ankle problems the last two years that the Spurs waited until the end of last season to extend a new deal. He and Parker have taken over while Duncan's numbers have plummeted to 13.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, putting him on pace to not average a double-double for the first time.

He's done so with a career-low 29.1 minutes per game.

"Timmy's taking a little bit of the back seat so we can save him for the playoffs," Parker said.
Parker is on a pace for perhaps his best season in his 10 years in the NBA, averaging 19.5 points and a career-best 7.8 assists. He's had no drop-off since his split from "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria, who filed for divorce in Los Angeles last week after three years of marriage.

Parker, 28, hasn't spoken about the breakup aside from a few, clipped statements to a horde of reporters outside the Spurs' locker room a week ago.

Jefferson, who broke off an engagement with his fiancee before joining the Spurs last season, said people are often too quick to chalk up personal issues as potential distractions.
The job, Jefferson said, is sometimes the only refuge.

"I've gone through personal issues myself. Sometimes basketball, those couple of hours you're on the court, that's the only time you're focused on that," Jefferson said. "I'm not surprised by how well [Tony's] playing. If anything, this is when you become more focused on your game."

After beating the Magic, Ginobili wouldn't declare the Spurs the best in the league.

"It's too early to tell. What we know we're winning games that last year we would have lost," Ginobili said. "But it's too early. Thirteen games so far. We've got a long way to go."

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Rampage Jackson Edges Machida, Penn Destroys Hughes

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Quinton "Rampage" Jackson looked stunned beat Lyoto Machida.
B.J. Penn left no doubt against Matt Hughes.

In the UFC's first card featuring four former champions, one main event ended quickly and the other marquee matchup went the distance Saturday night.

Jackson was awarded a split-decision victory against Machida — after raising his opponent's hand.

"When he dominated me in the third round, I forgot what happened in the first two rounds," Jackson said. "At the time, I thought I got whooped because he landed a flurry on my face."

Penn, meanwhile, screamed as he celebrated a 21-second knockout of Hughes at UFC 123.
He knocked Hughes flat onto his back by countering with a right cross, then unleashed a flurry of shots to his head that led to their fight being stopped.

"He hit me hard," Hughes said. "When I felt the hit, I thought it was a knee or a kick."
There weren't many punches or kicks in the Jackson-Machida fight, but Jackson's aggressive style seemed to pay off for the judges against Machida's passive ways.

"I think that's the only reason that earned the decision," Jackson said.

Machida shuffled and backpedaled more than he punched or kicked, but took Rampage down in the third after two rounds without much action.

He didn't bristle at the decision that didn't go his way, losing a second straight fight after starting 16-0.

"If the judges saw that Quinton won, then they saw Quinton win," the Brazilian said through a translator.

Jackson (31-8) was determined to show he can still be a force in the UFC after playing B.A. Baracus in "The A-Team" movie. He was unimpressive in a loss to Rashad Evans in May, one of just two setbacks in a 10-fight stretch, and was lackluster against Machida.

"I was really going for the knock out," he said. "I am kind of disappointed in my performance a little bit."

It looks as if Penn made the right decision to keep fighting.

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Bosh’s season-high 35 lift Heat past Suns, 123-96

Bosh scored a season-high 35 points before sitting out the fourth quarter, LeBron James finished with 20 points and the Miami Heat ran away from the Suns 123-96 on Wednesday.
“We’re smart,” Bosh said. “And we know how to play the correct way.”

Dwyane Wade(notes) added 17 points, six rebounds and six assists for Miami, which used two big runs—a 24-9 spurt to end the first half, followed by an 18-3 flurry that closed the third quarter—to snap the Suns’ three-game winning streak. James also had nine assists and eight boards, but deferred afterward to Bosh’s breakout night.

“I think he was due—well overdue—for one of these games,” James said.

Eddie House scored 15 points and Carlos Arroyo added 10 for Miami, which enjoyed its biggest win over Phoenix in nearly 14 years and held Suns point guard Steve Nash to an uncharacteristically low two assists.

“Well, we weren’t necessarily expecting that result,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We just wanted to focus on our game, our energy and really having a defensive edge to us again. That’s one of the most challenging teams to defend.”

The top criticisms of the Heat this season, in no particular order, had been how they struggled against big-time point guards, how they couldn’t seem to put teams away and that Bosh’s numbers had taken a hit as he adjusted to his new role in Miami.

None of those issues were issues against the Suns.

“They just outplayed us the entire game,” Nash said. “We only have ourselves to blame. We didn’t play hard. We didn’t play with enough aggressiveness or urgency and I think it showed.”

Slowed by a sore groin, Nash scored 17 points for Phoenix. But the last time he had only two assists was Dec. 29, 2008, against Oklahoma City, 141 games ago. And Wednesday marked only the ninth time in 737 games where Nash played at least 29 minutes and failed to get more than two assists, according to STATS LLC.

“I kind of took a little risk,” said Nash, who may consider sitting out Thursday in Orlando. “It didn’t feel great, but I don’t think I did serious damage to it.”

Controlling Nash, who came in averaging 12 assists in his last five games, was a huge point of emphasis for the Heat. In Miami’s four losses this season, opposing point guards—Rajon Rondo twice, Deron Williams and Chris Paul — averaged 16.5 assists per game.

Grant Hill scored 15 for Phoenix, which also got 14 from Channing Frye , 11 from Jason Richardson and Goran Dragic , and 10 from Hedo Turkoglu . The Suns were outrebounded 42-32.

Bosh started quickly—not a surprise given his recent history against Phoenix.

“When CB comes out as aggressive as he was, I think that helps us a lot,” James said.

He hit his first four shots and had 14 points by the time the game was 9 minutes old. He has topped 30 points in three of his last six meetings with Phoenix—yet oddly, hadn’t been part of a win over the Suns since Feb. 10, 2004.

By the time Bosh went to the bench for the evening, snapping that streak was certain.
“We just never came close to guarding Bosh tonight,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said.

Miami wasted a 22-point home lead at home against Utah last week, and for a moment in the third quarter, the Heat seemed on the brink of blowing another huge edge. Phoenix frustrated Miami briefly with zone defense and Nash’s finger-roll with 3:14 left in the third cut what had been a 25-point Miami edge minutes earlier to 82-70.

Some anxiety pulsed through the building.

No need.

“We didn’t panic,” Bosh said. “We didn’t get out of place or anything. We just continued to play solid basketball.”

Bosh scored the game’s next seven points, kickstarting a run that put things away for Miami.
Reserve House hit a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to get the lead back to 24, and Wade had a spectacular three-point play—defensive rebound at one end, drive downcourt, finger-roll layup while getting fouled and then highstepping past photographers—to make it 100-73 entering the fourth.

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Need a Resuscitator?

Chris Bosh has shrunken from a center to a power forward to a small forward in just a matter of weeks, and at this rate, will soon be able to look Muggsy Bogues in the kneecaps.
Erik Spoelstra doesn't have the guts, or the resume, to tell the Big Three what to do, or how to do it.

LeBron James left his better talents (as in teammates) in Cleveland.

Dwyane Wade prefers Robin to LeBron's Batman and it's hurting his swag.

Pat Riley is now busy rummaging through his closet, searching for an Armani that'll look good on the bench.

Leave anything out? Have we covered all or most of the issues preventing the Heat, to paraphrase the LeBron commercial, from being who you want them to be?

Everything we just mentioned as a degree of merit to it here in mid-November, a time for panic in Miami, . Bosh is looking softer than your grandmother's touch, averaging six rebounds and appearing timid and afraid. You can't imagine Spoelstra ripping into his team, let alone his best players.

LeBron doesn't have an Anderson Varejao or Mo Williams on the Heat. Wade is terribly inconsistent as he plays the "my turn, your turn" game with LeBron. (We're just kidding about Riley mulling a return, but check back next month if Miami's staring at .500 in the standings.)

Everybody's overreacting, to a degree. The season's too early to draw any concrete conclusions about Miami. But there's one very legitimate concern that won't flare up until spring, when the Miami season matters most, and it is this:

Will the grind of doing-it-all eventually wear down LeBron and Wade, just in time for the playoffs?

It's not just the minutes, which LeBron alluded to a few days ago (and as you might expect, the public took his comments as a swipe toward Spoelstra). It's the multi-tasking. LeBron is playing nearly 38 minutes a night, 35 for Wade, which is normal for them, but heightened once you factor in the stress of playing almost every position on the floor and defending the other team's best players. Because there's such a massive gap between the talent level of LeBron/Wade and everyone else, Miami is leaning heavily on two players to do it all. Big minutes, plus big responsibility, equals lots of tread wear.

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Eighth World Title Gives Pacquiao Exceptional Status

Manny Pacquiao cemented his place in the pantheon of boxing greats by recording an unanimous points victory over Antonio Margarito on Saturday to claim the vacant WBC super welterweight title.

The 31-year-old southpaw dominated all 12 rounds against his bigger Mexican opponent at Cowboys Stadium to land an eighth world title in an unprecedented eighth weight class.

Having already established himself as one of the best offensive fighters of all time, Pacquiao outclassed Margarito with his lightning hand speed and precise power punching to improve his career record to 52-3-2 with 38 knockouts.

"It was a really hard fight, the hardest fight in my boxing career," Pacquiao told reporters after winning his 13th consecutive bout since losing to Erik Morales in Las Vegas in March 2005.

"He's strong. I never expected him to be as strong as he was. He's a very tough fighter. I can't believe he took all those punches."

The Filipino, a heavily odds-on favorite going into the fight, pummeled the Mexican's head virtually at will for much of the bout, leaving his opponent with a puffed left eye and a cut under a badly swollen right eye.

Despite being outweighed by 17 pounds, Pacquiao blended raw power with speed in front of a crowd of 41,734 to deliver a spectacular performance against an opponent who was also four-and-a-half inches taller.

The pride of the Philippines, who had never previously fought above welterweight, dominated the official ringside statistics, landing 474 power punches compared to Margarito's 229.

At one point during the 11th round, Pacquiao looked across at referee Laurence Cole and asked him to stop the fight.

"I feel for my opponent, his eyes and his bloody face," said the Filipino, who was hurt by Margarito's body shots during the middle rounds when pinned against the ropes. "I wanted the ref to look at that."

"In the 12th round I wasn't looking for a knockout. I take it easy because my trainer told me to take it easy and just be careful."

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Why Agent 0 Faked an Injury

Gilbert Arenas' candid nature swings both ways. About a month ago, he admitted to begging off of a Wizards exhibition game with a fake ankle injury in order to free up more playing time for young'ish Wizards guard Nick Young.

November rolls around, and he's telling Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix (in a fantastic piece) that he actually wanted to sit out of the game because he was scared of being booed.

This is still wrong. You don't lie about injuries, and you don't take time off of your (very, very well-paid) job just because you're afraid about getting your feelings hurt.

But, somehow, the idea that Gilbert was out for his own insecure interests rather than looking out for Nick Young's interest as a burgeoning prospect is, somehow, more palatable. Because nobody likes to be disliked, and everyone can understand.

That said, you weren't getting booed, Gilbert. There's just no way. This isn't to say there isn't booing, even needless home-team booing, in the NBA. But fans are freaks, and I'm one of them (if for a different team), and if I've been a Wizards fan for ages and sat through the worst of your downs and saw you strutting out on the court even in a meaningless preseason game after a couple of years off (essentially), I'd clap away. Because you'd be on the team I support.

OK, that aside? Get to being Gilbert, already. And that doesn't mean doing something to a teammate's shoes.

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Millsap and the Jazz Spoils Lebron’s 29th Career Triple-Double

Paul Millsap scored a career-high 46 points, including a putback at the buzzer to force overtime, and the Utah Jazz got two free throws from Francisco Elson with 0.4 seconds left to beat the Miami Heat 116-114 on Tuesday night.

Utah erased a 22-point deficit, plus overcame a 39-point night from Dwyane Wade and LeBron James' 29th career triple-double - 20 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds - to hand the Heat their first home loss.

The Heat missed five shots in the final two minutes of overtime that either would have tied the game or given them the lead, including Eddie House's desperation jumper at the buzzer.
Deron Williams had 21 points and 14 assists before fouling out late in regulation for the Jazz, who also got 16 points from Andrei Kirilenko.

Kirilenko hit a 3-pointer with 1:50 left to put Utah up 112-111, and Wade answered with a 3-pointer with 17 ticks remaining to tie the game at 114.

But Wade fouled Elson near the basket on Utah's final possession. Elson made both free throws - banking in the second - and the Heat needed a miracle. House barely had time to get the final shot off.

Millsap's 46 were by far the most by any player to face Miami this season - and he might have been a most surprising candidate to top that list. In eight previous games against the Heat, Millsap averaged just 6.9 points.

But he owned the Heat all night, hitting 3-pointers with 12.1 and 4.3 seconds left in regulation as Utah scored 42 points in the fourth alone just to get into the extra period.

The Heat led by 19 at halftime and were still comfortably ahead at 67-51 when James made a layup with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. And considering third quarters have been a strong suit for Miami all season, the Heat were likely feeling good about things.
Utah changed everything in a flash.

Down 77-66 with 10:20 remaining, the Jazz held Miami without a field goal for 4 1/2 minutes, roaring back. CJ Miles - who had two points in the first 38 minutes - scored six straight for Utah to start a rally, and when Ronnie Price hit a 3-pointer with 6:59 left, the game was tied at 79.
Utah took the lead on Williams' jumper on the next Jazz possession, before Miami swung things back its way.

When the Jazz decided to double-team James at the side of the lane, he kicked the ball to Wade for a 3-pointer from the left corner to give Miami the lead again, the start of a 9-0 run. James Jones was flagrantly fouled by Price about a half-minute later - Price did make a play on the ball, and even offered to help Jones up - and Miami wound up getting four points on that possession.
Wade's dunk - off another assist by James - made it 88-81, but the Jazz were far from done that time, too.

Utah's first trip to the Eastern time zone this season made the Jazz seemed a bit jet-lagged coming out of the gate.

The Jazz missed 10 straight shots in the opening quarter, allowing the Heat to peel off a 15-0 run - matching Miami's biggest of the young season - and run out to a quick 22-7 lead. Miami led by as many as 22 in the second quarter, and the margin was 51-32 at halftime.

NOTES: Emeka Okafor's 26 points in the loss to New Orleans had been the high against Miami this season. ... Miami hosts Boston on Thursday in a rematch of the season-opening loss to the Celtics. ... The Jazz had lost seven straight in Miami.

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Manny Pacquiao Transcends Sporting World

It’s not often that the President of the United States serves as an opening act for another politician, but to boxing promoter Bob Arum, that’s exactly what happened Sunday on “60 Minutes.”

After Steve Kroft’s interview with President Obama, a profile of Manny Pacquiao, the true star of the show in Arum’s eyes, was broadcast.

Pacquiao – Congressman Manny Pacquiao, to those in the Sarangani province of the Philippine Islands – has become not only the best boxer in the world, but also the most beloved since Muhammad Ali.

CBS correspondent Bob Simon, who traveled to the Philippines to do the “60 Minutes” profile and was twice stood up for interviews by the notoriously hard to pin down fighter, opened the segment by noting “We haven’t done many stories about boxers, but there’s good reason to do one now.”

Pacquiao, who meets Antonio Margarito on Saturday at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for the World Boxing Council super welterweight title for what could be, depending upon who is doing the counting, a championship in a record eighth weight class, has a global influence now that extends far beyond the borders of his beloved homeland.

At Arum’s request, Pacquiao left training in Los Angeles on Oct. 29 to fly to Las Vegas to help boost Sen. Harry Reid’s chances of re-election. Reid, the Senate majority leader and one of the most powerful politicians in the country, was in the toughest race of his career. The local newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was gleefully reporting his demise and leading the charge against him. Reid’s negatives among would-be voters were astronomical. He trailed upstart challenger Sharron Angle in nearly every public opinion poll.

Las Vegas is home to a large Filipino population and Reid needed all the help he could get in what was a very tight race. When Pacquiao arrived for the joint appearance with Reid and Arum at Orr Middle School, the crowd looked as if it could have been in Manila. The gym was filled with Filipinos.

Pacquiao, publicist Fred Sternburg noted, didn’t simply lend his dazzling smile to Reid’s re-election effort. Sternburg was in Los Angeles with Pacquiao, coordinating his public relations effort, and discovered Pacquiao researching the Nevada campaign and Reid’s stances on the issues.

“He didn’t just want to show up and smile and wave and then fly back (to Los Angeles),” Sternburg said. “Just in the time I’ve worked with him, he’s grown tremendously. Since the (Joshua) Clottey fight (on March 13), I’ve noticed a visible change in his temperament, in his demeanor. I think he realizes that being a public servant is his calling and that this is what he was meant to do.”

Arum has promoted boxing for nearly a half century, and for much of that time, he’s had to beg, plead and cajole the media to take an interest in his shows.

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Heat Blowout

Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 26 points, James added 20 points and a game-high 12 assists — the most ever by a Heat forward, according to STATS LLC — and Miami rolled to its fourth straight win, 129-97 over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

Wade made 12 of 17 shots in just 24 minutes for Miami, which has outscored opponents by 22.8 points per game losing the season-opener in Boston last week.

James Jones hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 for the Heat, who got 15 from Eddie House, 13 from Chris Bosh and 11 from Udonis Haslem.

Kevin Love led Minnesota with 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

It was Miami's highest-scoring non-overtime game since beating Phoenix 135-129 on March 4, 2009. Minnesota gave up at least 130 points five times last season alone, all in regulation.

Michael Beasley's return to Miami was one that will stay with him for a few days — in the form of a bruised hip.

The former Heat forward left with about 8 minutes remaining until halftime after scoring on a drive, but tumbling awkwardly to the floor and slamming his left side on the hardwood. He scored 11 points, and X-rays were negative.

Sebastian Telfair and Wes Johnson each scored 13 for Minnesota, which stayed with the Heat for much of the first half. Miami's lead was only 50-44 when Wade got free for a dunk with 5 minutes left until halftime, kickstarting what became a 44-22 run over the next 16 minutes.

Nikola Pekovic scored 12 for Minnesota.

Miami shot 58 percent, and to think James wasn't even doing much of the scoring.
He turned down shots in the first half to make extra passes, and his 12 assists were distributed among eight different Heat players. By the time James got his second basket of the night — a layup with 9:12 to play in the third quarter — the Heat were already leading by a comfortable 79-58 margin.

James hit 6 of 8 shots in the third quarter, scoring 14 of his points, then took the fourth quarter off as Miami's reserves completed the runaway.

Even when he wasn't scoring, James was active. Wes Johnson tried to drive for a layup, never knowing that James was lurking from behind in the third quarter, swatting his try out of bounds, then grabbing the ball and twirling it a bit while smiling. He wasn't alone, either — Wade was still grinning a minute after that play was over.

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Cavs upset Celtics in Curtain-Raiser without LeBron

CLEVELAND (Reuters) – The Cleveland Cavaliers began the post-LeBron James era with a stunning 95-87 victory over the heavily favored Boston Celtics Wednesday.

Making the victory all the sweeter for jilted Cavaliers fans was the fact that their season-opening win came over the Celtics, something James and his new team the Miami Heat were unable to do in the NBA curtain-raiser Tuesday.

When James announced in July that he was "taking his talents to South Beach" to form a super team in Miami with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, it left Cavaliers fans crushed fearing a return to the bottom of the standings without the twice league MVP.

But for one night at least, the Cavaliers looked every bit a championship contender and the sellout crowd agreed erupting in wild celebration as the final buzzer sounded and confetti rained down from the rafters.

"I'm very proud of my guys tonight, there were times in this game when we got down double-digits and they could have just mailed it in but they didn't," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott told reporters.

"This is how we've got to play basketball. We played really hard all night long.

"We're going to enjoy this victory because it was big time for us, for us to win this game at home, to start the season off this way."

The Cavaliers had trailed by as much as 11 points but showed their mettle in the final minutes, taking an 86-84 lead on a J.J. Hickson layup.

Hickson led the Cavaliers with a game high 21 points while Daniel Gibson provided 16 points and eight assists coming off the bench.

Ramon Sessions chipped in with 14 points while Jamario Moon, who took over James locker and his starting place in the lineup added 10.

The Celtics, arriving in Cleveland off an emotional win 24 hours earlier, appeared to run out of steam down the stretch.

"I think their true strength is playing together," said Celtics Kevin Garnett. "They don't have the one go to guy but they do play well together.

"They play hard and when you don't match that you find yourself in trouble."

Rajon Rondo had 18 points and nine assists to pace the Celtics while Paul Pierce added 13 and Garnett contributed nine points and 15 rebounds.

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Heat's Atrocious Debut

Playing under Boston's 17 championship banners, the Miami Heat team set together to win its own NBA title couldn't win its first game, as the new Big Three lost to the old Big Three of the Celtics, 88-80 on Tuesday night.

James scored 31 points, but the other members of the trio struggled. Dwyane Wade was limited to 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting and Chris Bosh added eight points and eight rebounds. They combined for 15 of the Heat's 17 turnovers — eight by James, six by Wade and one by Bosh.

Ray Allen led Boston with 20 points, Pierce scored 19 and Kevin Garnett had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Those three joined together in 2007 and led the Celtics to the NBA title that season.

Boston led 45-30 at halftime, but Miami cut that to 63-57 after the third quarter behind James' 15 points in that period. A layup by James made it 83-80 with 1:10 left in the game. But Boston, which once led by 19, got the last five points on a 3-pointer by Allen and two free throws by Pierce.

Boston led 16-9 after one quarter, the first time since March 15, 2009, at the Philadelphia 76ers that the Heat scored nine points or fewer in a period. The last time James' Cavaliers scored nine or fewer points in a quarter was February 2, 2007, when they managed nine in the second against the Chicago Bulls.

Things got so bad for the Heat in the first half that Shaquille O'Neal, a notoriously poor free throw shooter, made the first two he tried as a Celtic. That boosted the lead to 41-22 with 2:13 left in the second quarter.

Miami then got a brief burst, scoring six straight points to make it 41-28. The last basket in that surge was a dunk by James on a backward pass from Eddie House, whose steal started their 2-on-none break.

That drew cheers from two Heat fans — one wearing a T-shirt with James' name on the back and the other with a jersey bearing Wade's name — but a fan wearing a green Celtics T-shirt, yelled, "He's supposed to do that. That is not impressive."

It was pretty impressive, considering how poorly the Heat shot in the first half against a quick, aggressive Celtics defense.

Miami missed 30 of its 41 shots, a paltry 26.8 percent. Boston went 17 for 38 (44.7 percent).
The Celtics lost Pierce with 4:32 left in the third period when he hit the floor and hurt his back as he was charged with a blocking foul on James, who made two shots and cut the lead to 55-45. Pierce returned with 10:43 left in the game with Boston ahead 64-57.

James came back to the building where he lost the last game of his Cleveland career in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. He then became a free agent after seven seasons with the Cavaliers and signed with the Heat.

That also was O'Neal's last game there, also with Cleveland. He was back in a Celtics uniform Tuesday and had nine points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes.

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At last, Miami set for Big 3 debut in Boston

MIAMI – Before leaving for the airport Monday and catching the flight to Boston, Dwyane Wade had a conversation with the friend he calls Larry.

As in, the Larry O'Brien Trophy. The one they give out for winning an NBA championship.

"I asked him where he's been," Wade said. "He's eluded me. He's been missing for a while."

Larry will be waiting for someone in June, and on Tuesday night the Miami Heat will take what they hope is their first steps toward winning him when a season of title expectations finally opens in Boston. Miami squares off against the reigning Eastern Conference champion Celtics in a matchup loaded with story lines.

LeBron James' opener with Miami after seven seasons in Cleveland. Wade's first time with James and Chris Bosh as his Heat running mates. Shaquille O'Neal — once a teammate to both Wade and James — playing his first game in Celtics' colors. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett motivated by a Game 7 loss to the Lakers in last season's finals. Miami's new Big 3 vs. Boston's not-so-new Big 3.

Oh, and the small fact that Wade and James were both ousted from the playoffs by Boston last spring, defeats that helped along their decision to play with one another.

"I think the NBA did an unbelievable job of picking a great first game," Wade said.
O'Neal says he believes it's just another game, noting that the only big games in which he's played in are the ones where "jewelry" — a ring — is up for grabs.

Not everyone is of that opinion.

"Once LeBron took his talents to South Beach, I think everyone got excited," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.

The Heat practiced one last time in Miami on Monday morning, followed by coach Erik Spoelstra gathering his team in the locker room for a quick meeting.

He didn't have to say much. Spoelstra brought Miami's 2006 championship trophy and reminded everyone of the season's lone goal.

"We're all ready for this because of how long the summer has seemed," Spoelstra said. "Seemed like it's taken forever to get to this point. But it's finally here. And finally we can have most of the talk about the game and not all these other things which people are interested in right now, which is normal. But let's play."

James feels the same way.

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Cain Velasquez Destroys Brock Lesnar in The First Round

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Cain Velasquez stopped Brock Lesnar late in the first round with a relentless flurry of punches at UFC 121 on Saturday night, claiming Lesnar's UFC heavyweight title.

Velasquez remained unbeaten by outpunching the fearsome Lesnar, the UFC's biggest star and top pay-per-view draw. After a frenetic opening minute featuring huge blows by both fighters, Velasquez kept pursuing the bigger champion and eventually staggered Lesnar across the octagon, with Lesnar stumbling to the canvas several times.

Lesnar (5-2) tried to cover up near the cage, but Velasquez mercilessly rained down blows on Lesnar and eventually broke his guard, forcing referee Herb Dean to stop the fight with 48 seconds left in the round.

While Velasquez (9-0) scarcely made a mistake in the entire fight, Lesnar was left cut and seriously bloodied from Velasquez's punches.

"What can I say? He was better than me tonight," Lesnar said.

Lesnar's third title defense came just four months after his return to the octagon following a yearlong bout with diverticulitis, an intestinal malady that threatened his life and forced him to revamp his training and diet. The former professional wrestler and football player adapted without losing the sheer bulk that makes him the toughest physical matchup in the UFC.

But he had never faced a fighter with the athleticism and well-rounded skills of Velasquez, the former Arizona State wrestler who trains at a famed kickboxing academy in San Jose. Velasquez also drew motivation from the chance to become the first Mexican-American heavyweight champion in a major promotion in either MMA or boxing.

Jake Shields also won a contentious split decision over Martin Kampmann in his UFC debut at Honda ( HMC - news - people ) Center, extending his career winning streak to 15 fights. Matt Hamill beat Tito Ortiz by unanimous decision to keep the former light heavyweight champion winless in the past four years, and Diego Sanchez beat Paulo Thiago by unanimous decision.

The UFC returned to the Los Angeles area for the first time in a year with its most anticipated event of the fall. The main event didn't disappoint - although many fans in the sold-out arena likely didn't expect the result after one round of pyrotechnics in the main event.

The first 30 seconds were nonstop action, with both fighters trading haymakers and kicks. Velasquez eventually pushed Lesnar back against the cage, testing both fighters' strength - and Velasquez held his own despite giving away 2 inches and roughly 30 pounds to Lesnar.

When the punching resumed, Velasquez landed most of the blows. Lesnar stayed in a right-handed stance, but might have had trouble seeing out of his left eye, eventually leading to his stumbles and tumbles against the cage.

Earlier, most fans booed when Shields' hand was raised after a slow, largely uneventful fight with Kampmann. Shields (26-4-1) hasn't lost an MMA fight since December 2004, going through eight promotions since that defeat.

Shields joined the UFC after defending his Strikeforce middleweight championship in April, and UFC president Dana White has touted the San Francisco-based fighter as a likely challenger for Georges St. Pierre, the league's nearly unbeatable welterweight champ.

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Sharapova Engaged to Lakers’ Vujacic

The most eligible bachelorette in tennis is off the market.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova got engaged to her boyfriend, Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, after he proposed on Tuesday night at his Manhattan Beach, Calif. home. The two had been dating for nearly a year. TMZ was the first to report the news. Sharapova's agent has since confirmed it to CNBC's Darren Rovell.

Sharapova and Vujacic first went public with their relationship last November when they were seen cuddling at a U2 concert in Los Angeles. Since then, the relationship has become the fodder of tabloids and paparazzi, as the athletes have been photographed together in Los Angeles and Italy, where they vacationed.

This summer, Sharapova invited Vujacic to join her in training at the IMG Academy in Florida. The backup guard for the two-time defending champions credited his girlfriend for helping him prepare for the upcoming basketball season.

Neither should be worried about the inevitable questions on whether marriage will negatively impact their games. Vujacic averaged a career low in points, rebounds, minutes and assists with the Lakers, while Sharapova struggled in Grand Slams and didn't live up to the high expectations following her comeback from shoulder surgery.

No wedding plans have been announced, but given that Vujacic's seasons in Los Angeles often last until mid-June, a post-Wimbledon date could be in the offing.

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Michael Jordan's Car for Sale for $430,000

Michael Jordan bought a 2007 Mercedes McLaren SLR 722? That's one of the best cars ever made. Nice move, M.J.

Wait, he's selling it after only driving it 962 miles? Seriously? You give me hope, Michael, and then you take it all away.

So, the McLaren can be yours for $430,000, which is a little dear for that brand even if the wheels were spun for fewer than a thousand miles (considering it cost around $475,000 new). The sellers are clearly factoring in the whole "Michael Jordan owned this car" addition.

The specs? Even three years later, this is one of the fastest things in the world. It has a 5 1/2-liter V8, it'll go from zero to just over 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, it runs with 640 horsepower and it will reach 209 miles an hour; and the rear-wheel driven monster is loaded with all sorts of carbon fiber bits so it's light as a feather in comparison to other supercars.

Also, Michael Jordan drove it. For a few hundred miles, at least.

Front...



Back...



Inside...



Engine...

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Top 10 Highest Paid Athletes in the World

Whenever I see how much athletes are getting paid every year, it makes me want to start my life over again and devote myself to sports. I’m sure a lot of us feel this way but since we can’t get a redo, we can at least gape at the numbers and tell each other what we would do with the cash. Now let’s take a look at the top paid athletes in the world.

1. Tiger Woods ($110 million)

Woods has earned almost $900 million in prize money, endorsements and appearance fees during his 13-year professional golf career and next year is poised to become the first athlete to earn $1 billion during a career. Woods racked up more than twice the earnings of any other athlete over the past 12 months despite being sidelined for eight months after knee surgery thanks to lucrative endorsement deals with Accenture, Gillette and Nike as well as a thriving golf course design business.

2. Kobe Bryant ($45 million)

Bryant secured his place among the NBA’s all-time greats when he won his fourth NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in June. The Black Mamba’s popularity is at its zenith as his No. 24 jersey is the top seller in the U.S., Europe and China. Bryant pads his $21 million Lakers salary through endorsement deals with Nike, Upper Deck, Activision and VitaminWater.

3. Micheal Jordan ($45 million)

MJ retired as a player for the third and presumably final time six years ago, but he is still the most famous athlete in the United States. The Jordan Brand is approaching $1 billion in sales for Nike which turned Jordan into a marketing phenomenon. Jordan is on the short list of potential buyers for the Charlotte Bobcats where he is head of basketball operations and a minority owner.

4. Kimi Raikkonen ($45 million)

Formula One’s highest-paid driver finished a disappointing third in the World Championship standings last year after winning the title in 2007. This year has been even worse for the Iceman who sits in 10th place in the current standings. Ferrari resigned Raikkonen in September to a one-year contract extension keeping the Finn behind the wheel for Ferrari through 2010.

5. David Beckham ($42 million)

Becks is far from the best player on the pitch, but he is still the most famous which is why companies like Adidas, Giorgio Armani and Motorola pay him millions for his endorsement. Beckham spent five months on loan this year playing for AC Milan before his planned return to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy in July when the MLS season is half over.

6. LeBron James ($40 million)

The NBA’s MVP led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the league’s best record and had a playoff performance for the ages this year, but his team was bounced from the playoffs by the Orlando Magic in the Conference Finals. His free agency next summer has teams maneuvering to get under the salary cap in hopes of signing King James. The Cavs can offer the biggest contract under NBA salary rules, but James might go in search of a bigger market.

7. Phil Mickelson ($40 million)

Playing second fiddle to Tiger Woods has proven very lucrative for the world’s second-ranked player. His most lucrative deal is with Callaway, which signed Mickelson to a five-year extension this year. Other sponsors include Barclay’s, Exxon, KPMG and Rolex. Mickelson has won $54 million in prize money during his career, third all-time behind Woods and Vijay Singh

8. Manny Pacquiao ($40 million)

Pac-Man hogged the boxing spotlight over the past year with victories in two blockbuster fights against Oscar De La Hoya in December and Ricky Hatton in March that combined generated more than $100 million in pay-per-view revenue in the U.S. A member of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Pacquiao plans to run for political office when his days in the ring are over.

9. Valentino Rossi ($35 million)

The Doctor won his eighth World Championship in 2008 after two straight years of falling short of the title. The biggest star in motorcycle racing earns $16 million annually from his contract to ride for Yamaha and his earnings more than double when you count licensing income, bonuses and endorsement deals with the likes of energy drink Monster.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ($34 million)

Earnhardt was chosen as Nascar’s most popular driver for a sixth straight year in 2008 despite winning only one race during the past two seasons. His merchandise sales were twice the total of any other driver. Earnhardt’s biggest personal sponsorship deals are with Adidas, Chevrolet, Polaris, Wrangler and Nationwide Insurance, which he added this year.

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Season Preview 2010 – 11

Whether the Heat are a smash success in Year One won't depend on highlight reels, unless the sports TV shows suddenly develop an appetite for stops, steals and blocks.

You know: ratings-challenged, pass-the-remote-control defense.

It's certainly not our intention to bore you over the next several paragraphs, but be warned, the following is not about "The Decision" or whether Miami will win 70 games or any of the vortex of intrigue stuff that's currently consuming Miami.

From the first day LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh pulled on the same uniform, defense became the buzzword within the organization. Since each player is a proven 20-point scorer, offense is a given. And because they instinctively share the ball, we'll even assume this season won't lapse into a tug-of-war over whose "team" it is.

But what about shutting down the other guy? Can Miami make it hard for the other team to score points and, by extension, keep up the offensive pace of the Big Three? That's what championship teams are made of. That's what Pat Riley sold successfully to the Lakers of the 1980s (along with no-rebounds, no-rings) who, like this Miami team, were stuffed with stars. Defense will make or break the Heat in the interim, until Riley finds a way to surround his three-man core with a better cast.

"That's going to be our focus," James said. "Maybe the fans and the media won't be focusing on it, but we will."

The encouraging news, aside from defense being embraced by the Big Three, is that defense has been a Heat hallmark the last few years. While dumping salaries in preparation for last summer's free-agent haul, the Heat survived and even reached the playoffs with defense (and a helping of Wade, too). Certainly, the Heat's tendency to slow the tempo had something to do with Miami allowing only 94 points a game last season, second only to the Bobcats.

But defense was Miami's only chance to save face during the salary-dumping process, and defense served the club well, keeping Miami in most games and allowing them to even prosper, to a degree, in a weak Eastern Conference. Once Wade bought into the concept, his teammates followed and made the job easier for Erik Spoelstra, a first-time head coach who needed to make a mark for himself.

When the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen two years ago and teamed them with Paul Pierce, the immediate response was scoring wouldn't be a problem for the suddenly rejuvenated Celtics. Well, Boston won a title that year with defense, which was overlooked among the fuss. And defense helped Boston return to the NBA Finals last summer. So much for the idea that offensive superstars can't or won't concentrate a fair amount of energy and effort on the other end of the floor.

But Miami didn't trade for a KG, and on the current roster, only James and Wade ever made the All-Defensive team (both made it twice, with Wade being named to the second team). Bosh was a member of some atrocious defensive teams in Toronto.

What the Heat could use is a Bruce Bowen-type, someone handed the responsibility of doing the dirty work and being a tough guy and enforcer. But only Udonis Haslem comes close to that definition. Does Joel Anthony become that player? Mike Miller? (Just kidding.) And with the possible exception of Anthony, there's no shot blocker anywhere. You hardly expect such senior citizens as Juwan Howard and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to get enough minutes to be a defensive presence, let alone make a defensive impact.

Defense will come into play when the rivalry between Miami and Orlando hikes up a few hundred degrees. Sure, the Magic will certainly scramble to find ways to play the Big Three straight up. Just the same, who's going to do anything against Dwight Howard, except collect fouls?

The topic of interior defense might crop up a time or two in games against the Celtics (KG) and Lakers (Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol), perhaps the only other teams standing in the way between Miami and the Larry O'Brien trophy.

In reality, until the Heat luck into a Ben Wallace-type down the line, defense will be conducted by committee, each player doing his part to cover for one of the few Heat concerns this season.
"It's about how we perform as a team," Bosh said, "despite all the attention given to individuals."
We'll remember that when Orlando is spoon feeding Howard in the low post, and Kobe is licking his lips.

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Miami Heat’s Championship DNA?

Not everyone will consent with their methods, a four-part series — Inside the Heat: Championship DNA probably won’t endear them to the masses in places like Boston, Chicago, Orlando or even Los Angeles.

But their sheer disdain for any reasonable limit to the expectations they’ve placed on themselves is both refreshing and frightening at the same time.

They’ve already created a cottage industry out of their own hype — ESPN.com’s “Heat Index” launched Monday and it’s only a small piece of the massive coverage plan various media outlets have in store for this team.

Some people would argue that touting your “Championship DNA” in October is wildly presumptuous.

I’m having a hard time reconciling the words of both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, each of whom has tried to cover the expectations in recent weeks by claiming that the hype, and the subsequent backlash, surrounding this team is media generated as opposed to an inside job.

That’s nonsense.

These guys didn’t have any problem embracing the hype in July, so don’t pass off the responsibility for it all now. There’s nothing wrong with chasing championships. I don’t think anyone, not even their biggest critics, and begrudge them for that.

It’s just that there seems to be so much sizzle riding the back, at least for now, of so little substance.

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Do You Believe in Magic?

We do things differently around here. And that means watching preseason NBA games. That’s right. Our eyes are on the prize from the moment training camp begins, even on the preseason games.

And after watching the Orlando Magic demolish the New Orleans Hornets to christen their new arena, the plush Amway Center, we have to ask, what happened to the buzz surrounding this Magic team?

A year ago this time they were the crew most of the pundits assumed would step into the void at the top of the Eastern Conference, surpassing both Cleveland and Boston for supremacy on the other side of the aisle of Kobe Bryant‘s Los Angeles Lakers.

Dwight Howard had assumed his position as the league’s most dominant defensive force and his supporting cast was as good as it had ever been, led by a healthy Jameer Nelson, a recharged Vince Carter and an anxious Rashard Lewis, who never seemed concerned with proving his worth.

For a long time last season those pundits looked wise. The Magic shook off some early season uncertainty and by the playoffs they were back to looking like the team that had fallen to Bryant and the Lakers in the 2009 NBA Finals.

They mowed down to the Bobcats and Hawks in the first two round of the playoffs, toying at times with a Hawks team that won 53 games and owned one of the top four playoff seeds in the East.

Then, inexplicably, some eight games into their postseason run the power went out in Orlando.
A nightmare matchup against a hungry Boston team, the same one (sans an injured Kevin Garnett) they’d eliminated in the East semifinals in Game 7 a year earlier, exposed the Magic’s flaws. We all promptly shoved them aside and watched the Lakers and Celtics battled throughout an epic, seven-game series for the Larry O’Brien trophy.

Instead of the Magic reloading this summer and checking into a penthouse suite in the East, they watched as the Miami Heat put together a dream team of their own and the Celtics reloaded for another run at the Finals.

But that doesn’t mean we should just discount the Magic, does it?

Clearly, the Magic have more going on than just trying to restore the luster the franchise enjoyed as recently as two years ago. Whether or not this crew is up to the task remains to be seen.
Using each of the past two seasons as a guide, The Magic would appear to be in the perfect position to upset the favorites and find their way back to the Finals to see if they can finish what they started in 2009.

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Who’s Next?

NEW YORK (AP)—The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant will earn another ring and Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant will snatch the MVP award away from LeBron James.

Those are among the opinions of NBA general managers who voted in the ninth annual NBA.com GM survey, which was released Wednesday. Los Angeles was decided on by 63 percent of the respondents to repeat as champions, with 33 percent of the vote going to James and the new-look Miami Heat.

Durant, the MVP of the U.S. victory in the world basketball championship, received 67 percent of the MVP vote. James, the two-time MVP, was picked by only 4 percent.

Top pick John Wall was the overwhelming favorite for Rookie of the Year, claiming 68 percent.
The GMs picked Boston—a unanimous choice in the Atlantic—Chicago, Miami, the Lakers, Dallas and Oklahoma City as division champions.

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