#5 : Jose Canseco Gets Juiced
For years, Major League baseball fans watched as Jose Canseco launched homers into the uperdeck. With homerun records falling year after year, nobody seemed to care that these athletes had bulging biceps, thick neck, and huge legs.
That all changed when Jose Canseco retired and published Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big. Revealing his steriod abuse during his record baseball history.

#4: SMU Football receives the “death penalty”
The “death penalty” refers to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) power to force United States academic institutions not to compete in certain sports. It is the most severe punishment that a school can receive. Twenty years ago, money killed the SMU football program. The NCAA handed SMU the first and only “death penalty,” eliminating football for the 1987 season.

#3 : The O.J. Simpson Trails
Never has a professional athlete fallen from such heights to such depths as O.J. Simpson has. Simpson, a former Heisman Trophy winner, was arrested in 1994 and charged with the murder of former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

#2: Tonya Harding
This skating scandal was so huge that it made Olympic women’s figure skating competition the sixth-highest rated program in history.Trying to eliminate her competition in the 1994 Winter Games, Tonya Harding asked her then-husband to hire an attacker to take a pipe to Nancy Kerrigan’s knee. This led Harding to a victory gaining the U.S. title.

#1: The 1919 Black Sox Fix
The Cincinnati Reds’ 1919 world championship banner proudly hangs at their current home, The Great American Ballpark. One of the players banned for life by Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis. Most importantly, a signed confession by Jackson was somehow “lost” during the trial. The scandal damaged baseball badly.

As we continue in the NBA season, several rookies have stood out from among the pack as the more talented players in their class.

OJ Mayo, Derrick Rose, Greg Oden and Rudy Fernandez have all impressed for various reasons. OJ Mayo was expected to be a great talent on a losing team and this has happened as the Grizzlies are woeful, but he has been a great scorer for them. Derrick Rose was expected to be a talented player on a mediocre team and the Bulls have ingrained him into the offense.

Greg Oden, though, has been inconsistent, but his team is winning in the tough Western conference. Furthermore, Rudy Fernandez, his teammate on the Portland Trailblazers, has been an impressive spark off the bench. Rose and Mayo are on terrible teams and while they have impressive numbers, this has not translated to many wins and the odds of either making the playoffs this season, especially Mayo, are quite slim. Some voters will vote for the rookie of the year based on individual numbers while others will analyze the rookie’s impact on the team’s win-loss record. While you think about your decision, here are some NBA cheerleaders to view:

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We love our lists here, so we decided to round up 2008’s top ten sports stories.

1. In Phelps We Trust. Who would have thought that a 23, an Olympic swimmer could take home seven world records, one Olympic record, and eight gold medals. This great moment even came with drama when in the 100-meter butterfly it Phelps had to catch up, touching out his Serbian rival by the narrowest possible margin of 0.01 seconds. Phelps achievement not only tops this list, but, arguably, stands as the greatest Olympic performance in history. Go America!

2. Giant Upset. It was one of the three greatest upsets in Super Bowl History, rivaling the Jets over the Colts in Super Bowl III and the Patriots over the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. Yet it was even more than that because the New York Giants‘ 17-14 win knocked the New England Patriots off an unprecedented perc.

3. Bolt Of Lightning. A bit ironic his name being Bolt, yet it still didn’t do justice to Usain Bolt’s astonishing Olympic performance. The gangly, 21-year-old Jamaican became the first sprinter to shatter world records in both the 100 and the 200 at the same Olympics. He won the gold in 9.69 despite slowing and beginning his celebration some five meters before the finish.

4. I Feel Like I’ve Been Here Before… In the 1980s, Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers and Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics would capture eight championships between them, resurrecting a storied NBA rivalry that had seen those two teams meet in seven finals between 1959 and 1969, and in the new millineum Kevin Garnett Ray Allen, and Paul Piercelead the Celtics to the league’s best record and a meeting in the finals with their old rivals the Lakers.

5. Tiger Limps To Victory. Well know that golf is hard, and that Tiger Woods is a god among mortals. For the U.S. Open Woods played the game coming out of a knee surgery. It would take to the 91st hold of play for Woods to finally out duel Rocco Mediate. Finally, Woods would do so in pain, capturing his 14th major overall (with one leg), getting him closer to Jack Nicklaus and his 18 Major Championships.

6. Three Times A Winner. Jimmie Johnson embarked into the 2008 NASCAR season as a two-time champion. He’ll enter the 2009 season as a three-time champion. Johnson, who drives the #48 Lowes Chevrolet, won his third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship in November. The win allowed him to join Cale Yarborough as the only man to ever win three consecutive championships.

7. Nadal ousts Federer in “One of Greatest Matches Ever”. Federer was “The Master of the Grass”. Nadal was unbeatable on clay courts. Both tennis warriors would embark on the impossible. Nadal searched for his record setting sixth straight Wimbledon. Nadal wanted to prove to the world that he wasn’t just a clay court champion. Nadal would do just that, in a hard fought 4 hour and 48 minute barrage of power, accuracy, and intensity. Many consider it to be one of the greatest tennis matches of all time and there is no doubting that many tennis fans will never forget this 2008 epic for a long time to come.

8. Falcons, Dolphins experience HUGE turnarounds. A year ago, things looked dismal for both the Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons. Now, both teams are experience amazing comeback seasons. Under new rookie sensation Matt Ryan (above) and breakout running back Michael Turner, the Falcons rocketed to an 11-5 record and nearly won the NFC South. The Dolphins on the other hand had the greatest turnaround in the history of the league, going from 1-15 a year ago to an 11-5 record.Â

9. Lesnar KOs Couture to win UFC Heavyweight crown. This was by far one of the most anticipated matches in UFC history. It did get a lot of slack because of Brock’s MMA record (2-1), but the fight lived up to the hype. After a rough first round with Lesnar, Lesnar, followed by a round of hammer fists to end the fight, hit Couture on the crown of the head. He will now wait to fight Frank Mir to crown an Undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.

10. Danica Did It! While this may not be a big moment for a lot of people, it was a big one historically. Patrick becomes the first woman ever to win an Indy Car event. She also becomes the first one in recent memory to win an auto race.

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Chamique Holdsclaw is now returning to the WNBA. She was out for 2 years because the Atlanta Dream acquired the rights to the former University of Tennessee star from the Los Angeles Sparks Wednesday for the 13th overall pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft.

Holdsclaw announced retirement in June 2007, which was 5 games into the season, despite leading her team with 15.8 points per game. But being out of the WNBA for 2 years, she had the itch to come back.

“Coming back has been something that I have been thinking about for a while,” Holdsclaw stated “The only thing that was holding me back was my body and being healthy. I realized that if I had the chance I would like to play this summer.”

Holdsclaw last played for Los Angeles and spent six seasons with Washington after the Mystics made her the top overall pick in the 1999 draft. She averaged 17.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists during her WNBA career.

Texas Tech men’s basketball coach Pat Knight could not think of a way to chide his team for missed layups, so he got a 12 year old.

After watching his team miss 15+ layups against Stephen F. Austin, Knight struggled to think of how to express his frustration, so he found a 12 year old in the stands and told him about it, asking him if he could make a layup.  The child replied he could.
How does a sports team miss more than 10 layups and find a way to win the game? How does a team of 18-21 year olds miss layups when a 12 year old can make shots? Were their backs stiff? Did they not exercise their bodies beforehand? Did they not get a full extension before going into their shots? Now granted Texas Tech men’s basketball is not on the level of say UNC basketball and Pat Knight probably is not on the coaching level of say, Tom Izzo, but there is no excuse for players not being able to make such simple shots.

We compiled a short list of what we feel are the top 10 sports moments. No offense if you don’t agree, you can go read someone elses top 10.

10. Goodbye Gherig (7/4/3). In perhaps one of the most touching sports moments, a dying man stood before over 60,000 people and the world to impart the genuine feeling that he was “the luckiest man in the world” for having the opportunity to endeavor through the love of his craft. Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse, who had not missed a game his entire 13-plus year career (spanning a mind-bending 2,130 consecutive games) lowered his head and became the symbol of what sports, and maybe all of life is about; accepting your destiny, giving it your all, and enjoying every moment, good or ill.

9. Go Get ‘Em Tiger (4/13/97)! In what turned out to be a phenomenon, Tiger Woods was both launched and cemented during a record 18-under Masters victory by 12 strokes over an awed field. At the tender age of 21, and only his fifteenth appearance as a pro, with the eyes of the world watching his every move, the highly touted Woods became the youngest player to win the Masters in the 61-year history of the tournament, winning an event that didn’t even invite a black player until the year he was born at a club that didn’t invite a black member to join until 1990.

8. Namath Saves The Day (1/12/69) In a great moment in football history, brash Broadway Joe Namath, the richest of athletes at the time, uttered the unthinkable and broke the code of centuries of competition, he guaranteed victory. Standing at a podium in downtown Miami, Florida, where he was to be given the upstart pro league, AFL Most Valuable Player, Namath vehemently predicted his team’s easy victory in a game two previous representative from his league had been embarrassed in and whose own team was an unprecedented 18 plus point dog in a championship contest. The New York Jets and Namath did convincingly defeat the 13-1 Baltimore Colts and the NFL’s best defense, 16-7 and helped merge both leagues into what is now the premiere professional sports franchise in America.

7. Roger Bannister Breaks Four Minute Mile (5/6/54) A 25-year-old British medical student becomes the first man to achieve the unthinkable; run a mile in less than four minutes. One afternoon on the Iffley Road track in Oxford, England, his miraculously close time of 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds was achieved during a 15mph crosswind with gusts of up to 25mph. Ironically, this nearly caused Bannister to call off the triumphant event witnessed by about 3,000 spectators.

6. Long Jump World Record, Long Gone (10/18/68) In what is widely considered the greatest individual physical feat in human competition, 24 year-old, New Yorker Bob Beamon obliterated an Olympic/World Record in the long jump by a mind-bending two feet. Fellow American, Ralph Boston established the record years before at 27 feet, 43/4 inches, and it was Boston who coached Beamon through his record leap. As the Mexico City crowd watched in stunned awe, Beamon tossed his 6-foot-3, 160-pound 8.90 meters — 29 feet, 21/2 inches for the most lopsided destruction of a world record ever.

5. Owens Debunks Aryan Myth (8/9/36) Son of a sharecropper from Oakville Alabama, world class, black American athlete, Jesse Owens marched into Adolph Hitler’s great Berlin arena and spit in the face of the Third Reich’s claims of Aryan superiority by setting three world records and one Olympic record, earning four track and field gold medals in the same Summer Olympiad, a performance that would remain unmatched for 48 years. In front of the visibly infuriated German dictator and a stunned international audience, Owens won the 100 meters in an Olympic-record 10.3 seconds, the long jump, setting an Olympic record of 26-53/8 and the 200 meters in an Olympic-record 20.7 seconds. Owens won his fourth gold medal, leading off the 4×100-meter relay that would set a world record at 39.8 seconds.

4. Bye Bye Babe (1/3/20) The greatest player in the history of the game is sold from the powerful Boston Red Sox to the burgeoning New York Yankees for $100,000 to finance a Broadway play produced by Boston owner Harry Frazee. At the time of the deal, the Red Sox had won five world championships and was the toast of American League baseball. The Yankees had only been around for 17 uneventful years and didn’t even have a ballpark to call their own. Since, the Red Sox have not won a title. The Yankees built a ballpark in Babe’s honor and on his financial back and have won 26 titles.Â

3. Robinson Breaks Racial Barriers (10 /30/45) Breaking the color barrier and paving the way for modern American sport, Jackie Roosevelt Robinson becomes the first African American to garner a Major League Baseball paycheck. Thanks to the efforts of Brooklyn president Branch Rickey, and the indomitable spirit of Robinson, in less than two years the newest Dodger, after enduring trials and tribulations beyond comprehension, failed player boycotts and insidious fan outrage to become Rookie of the Year, while leading his team to the World Series.

2. Ali Wins The Title (2/25/64) In one of the most amazing upsets in boxing, the young, 22-year old stood against the seemingly indestructible heavyweight champ, Sonny Liston. The event was more than a mere world championship bout due to Clay’s taunting and media manipulation. In one night in Miami Florida, the Louisville Lip, Cassius Clay told the world he was the greatest, won in six rounds, despite the alleged cheating of Liston (the champ’s corner was said to have put a foreign substance on his gloves, effectively blinding Clay for the entire fifth round) and became Muhammad Ali, the greatest, and invented the American icon of latter 20th century sport.

1. USA Dream Team.  Rag tag assembly of mostly teenaged amateurs, barely together a few months and playing a sport invented and perfected elsewhere, take on the most polished, professional and seemingly unbeatable team in the history of international hockey and win; producing the greatest upset in all of sports. What makes the ultimate upset even more unbelievable is the fact that the same two teams played only a week earlier in an exhibition match and the Soviet Union cruised to a 10-1 victory, setting the stage for the expected American embarrassment that never came.

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Kevin Garnett may welcome troubled New York Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury to the Boston Celtics.

This is amazing in light of Garnett and Marbury’s history when the two played for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Neither man liked the other and eventually Marbury was forced out the organization.  However, the two appear to be on good terms as Garnett said that he would back the organization and Marbury if Danny Ainge, the general manager, chose to bring him in. Kevin Garnett is a perennial MVP candidate and one of the best players in the league, so if he gives it an okay, this opens the door for the organization.

Overall, signing Stephon Marbury to the Celtics may be good for the NBA. It would give him a chance to start over and allow the Knicks to start over too. Plus, the Celtics would get an experienced point guard capable of handling the second unit when Rajon Rondo sits down. It should be a most interesting next few weeks as we wait to see when or even if Marbury will sign with the Celtics.

The Boston Celtics were the NBA’s best team on Christmas Eve, composing a record of 27-2.

Then they lost to the LA Lakers in Los Angeles. And they were still the NBA’s best team.

But when they lost 99-89 to the Golden State Warriors the day after Christmas and followed that up with a 100-88 loss to the hands of the New York Knicks on Sunday, their aura of invincibility vaporized. A team mired in the Stephon Marbury fiasco and seemingly fading from the playoff picture, despite Mike D’Antoni’s coaching, managed to beat them. The Celtics were barely adequate on the road in last year’s NBA playoffs on their way to the championship. During their most recent setback, players were seen yelling at each other and missing defensive assignments. Even though Finals MVP Paul Pierce scored 31 points, that was not enough and now the questions about the odds of Boston being able to repeat will commence based on this team’s recent slump.

Alex Stepney - Manchester United

You’re probably aware of the expression “screaming your head off,” but here’s an incident of “screaming your jaw off.” Alex Stepney, a former Manchester United goalkeeper, was reaming out his defensemen in a match against Birmingham City in an effort to encourage a more spirited performance. He yelled so hard that he dislocated his jaw. Contrary to those who believe soccer is a slow sport, it does provide enough jaw-dropping plays.

Cal Ripken Jr. - Baltimore Orioles

Cal Ripken Jr. earned the nickname “Iron Man” for his impeccable toughness and endurance, both of which helped him to play in an MLB-record 2,632 consecutive games. But just because you’re made of iron doesn’t mean you will go without injury. In the 1996 All-Star Game’s pre-game photo session, pitcher Roberto Hernandez lost his balance and started to fall backward. He swung his arms in an effort to regain his balance and his forearm connected with and broke Ripken’s nose. In typical Ripken fashion, he still played — and started — the All-Star Game.

Derrick Mason - Baltimore Ravens

Most golfers scream the word “fore” during an errant shot, but NFL wide receiver Derrick Mason likely uttered a different four-letter word when playing golf during a charity tournament. Mason was teeing off when he made an awkward swing, causing his hand to twist and break his wrist. Unfortunately, a mulligan didn’t help in this situation.

Jaromir Jagr - New York Rangers

Enforcers are a dying breed in the new NHL, but the following example is one reason to keep them around. At the end of an ugly playoff loss to the rival New Jersey Devils, the New York Rangers’ goal-scorer Jaromir Jagr tried to punch Scott Gomez. Jagr used his left hand for the swipe but whiffed and dislocated his shoulder. Jagr has made many defenders and goaltenders look foolish with his stick, but the tables turned when he tried to use his fist.

Bret Barberie - Chicago Cubs

Brett Barberie, former baseball utility man and ex-husband of the foxy Jillian Barberie, obviously had good taste in women and seemingly had good taste in food. He was making nachos one night with all the mixings, including chili peppers and hot sauce, but he neglected to wash his hands after touching the spicy ingredients. He later went to put in his contact lenses and felt a severe burning sensation; consequently he missed a game. Talk about taking your eye off the ball.

Mark Smith - Milwaukee Brewers

By the time most of us reach the age of 3 we have been thoroughly lectured about sticking our hands into electrical sockets, fans or other potentially dangerous devices. Unfortunately, Mark Smith, a former MLB outfielder, must have missed that lesson. He was fairly average with his bat through his eight-year career, but he quite obviously didn’t excel in evaluating situations. When faced with a hotel room air conditioner that he thought was broken, Smith cut his hand after sticking it directly inside the unit to ascertain what was causing the malfunction. Maybe it was working fine after all.

Bill Gramatica - Miami Dolphins

They say NFL kickers are a dime a dozen, but Bill Gramatica found a way to stand out in an anonymous grouping. He wasn’t more skilled than your average kicker, but his exuberant celebration style made him stand apart. After one particular routine field goal with the Arizona Cardinals, he jumped high in the air for his typical superfluous celebration but landed awkwardly and tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his nonkicking knee. He claimed that he wasn’t doing it for show, but his reasoning for excessive celebration didn’t have a leg to stand on.

David Seaman - Manchester City

Soap operas are fictional and seemingly never-ending, but most addicts can’t stand to go one day without their fix. Chalk up goalkeeper David Seaman as a fiend and his bad habit cost him: While trying to tape an episode of Coronation Street, Britain’s longest running soap, Seaman pulled a back muscle reaching for the remote. In his defense, it is perennially one the UK’s highest-rated shows.

Gus Frerotte - St. Louis Rams

NFL touchdown celebrations have run the gamut from Merton Hanks’ funky chicken dance to Chad Johnson’s Riverdance, but none were as foolish as Gus Frerotte’s festivity. After scoring in the second quarter of a game for the Washington Redskins, Frerotte went to headbutt the padded wall just outside the end zone. Unfortunately, the stadium wall consisted of a thin layer of foam and a very thick layer of concrete, which put Frerotte into a woozy state. He was then quickly ambulanced to the hospital to get treatment for his head injury.

Kevin Johnson - Phoenix Suns

After a walk-off hit, shot or goal, most teams clear their bench and euphorically celebrate together in a mob. After Phoenix Suns guard Kevin Johnson netted a game-winning basket, teammate Charles Barkley greeted him with a big bear hug. Barkley squeezed him like a tube of toothpaste and clasped so hard that Johnson’s shoulder popped and dislocated, making the moment truly bittersweet.

On early Wednesday, Charles Barkley was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence in Scottsdale, Arizona. Charles had ran a stop sign about 1:30 A.M, was pulled over by Gilbert police and failed his field sobriety test when the officer smelled alcohol on him.”I am disappointed that I put myself in that situation,” Barkley said in a statement to The Associated Press. “The Scottsdale police were fantastic. I will not comment any further as it is a legal matter.”The former basketball player and now currently the NBA TV commentator, was cited and released. Facing $1,000 fine, 10 days in jail. His vehicle was impounded. While police described Barkley as cooperative, adding it is customary to release people after an arrest on suspicion of DUI.

In 1997, Charles was arrested in Orlando, Florida, and charged with hurling a bar patron through a glass window after the man tossed a glass of ice at him. The case was settled after Charles was fined and performed community service.

“There was nothing unusual about how he was taken into custody,” Gilbert Police stated. “He was treated exactly like we treat anybody else.”

The former 76er, Sun, and Rocket is an NBA Hall of Famer and one of the greatest players of all time. He was arrested early Wednesday morning on suspicion of DUI. He was pulled over in Scottsdale, Arizona for running a stop sign. The officer administered a standard field sobriety test, which Barkley failed, and there was a also strong odor of alcohol coming from the Round Mound of Rebound. Sir Charles also submitted a blood test before being booked at the Scottsdale police station.

Shortly after being booked and processed Barkley was cited and released. Officers described Barkley as “cordial and respectful”. He had nothing but kind words for them also. “The Scottsdale police were fantastic. Now it is a legal matter and I will not comment further until it is resolved,” said Barkley. Â

When he was pulled over and asked why he ran the stop sign, Barkley gave a surprising answer. He stated that he was in a hurry to get to a female friend’s house for oral sex. While at the station he regaled the officers with the tale of their past rendezvous and stated that “it was the best one he had ever had in his life.” While leaving the station Barkley, one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players, promised to have the officer who could get him out of trouble’s name tattooed on his rear.

It was possibly for this reason that the NBA superstar was finally able to will his team to victory after two straight losses on their current road trip. Los Angeles lost its games to two inferior teams, the Heat on Friday and the Magic on Saturday. The Lakers are favored to repeat their Western Conference championship from last season and are generally considered one of the top two teams in the league. However, they have not played well as of late and needed their best player to step up.

Fresh off his MVP award from last season, Kobe Bryant took a step back this season. Early on, his team was able to win without him haveing to dominate or play more than 30 minutes a game. Recently, though, the team has gone as Kobe goes. It took 36 points from him on Monday night to beat the lowly Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers trailed 93-88 with 3 minutes remaining and relied on ten points from Bryant to take the lead and seal the victory.

It had always seemed that Vanessa Bryant wore the pants in their relationship, but Kobe’s infidelity and subsequent rape trial proved that he was not as subservient as some thought. However, all that trouble put him into that position. It is widely known that Vanessa does not tolerate losing by her husband and will hold back on certain wifely duties when it occurs. Now, Kobe is a great competitor, but a beautiful woman can will a man to do things when nothing else is working.

Julius Erving is considered one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game. He had a big part in the merger between the NBA and ABA, and was the first high-flying dunker in professional basketball. Although always a great basketball, it turns out he is not the best of fathers. “The Fish that saved Philadelphia” had an affair with a freelance writer in the 1970’s ending with a child in 1980. It turned out his daughter, Alexandra Stevenson, became a pro tennis player who made the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1999 as a teenager. This exposure to Stevenson brought out the truth to the world.

The former Philadelphia 76′ers star knew about the child from the beginning as did his wife. He was not able to make it to the birth because of a basketball game the same night. A deal was drawn up where Alexander’s mother would keep the news out of the media and Erving would pay her a monthly stipend. The shame of a child resulting from an affair would potentially have ruined his endorsements and public standing.

Alexandra’s success brought out the news of her father, and her failure brought forward their meeting. She has struggled since that Wimbledon in 1999 and needed money to stay on the tennis tour. This is what prompted her call to her “father”, and coupled with the guilt and shame, brought them together. It was long overdue, but possibly done for the wrong reasons. Of course, ESPN was there to capture the whole meeting. No one can be sure if the media coverage was a result of the meeting, or the reason.

The former MTV deejay might be exactly why Anthony will be staying home for the Nuggets next two games. The NBA superstar has played sub-par basketball recently, and seems to be distracted. Anthony has averaged over 20 points and 7 rebounds per game this season, but is averaging a mere 13 and 3 over his last two games.

The Denver Nuggets have been one of the hottest teams in the league so far this season. They were given an unexpected boost with the trade of Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups. While Billups has played great for Denver, the team goes as Anthony goes. Fellow 2003 draft pick Lebron James, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, embarrassed the Nuggets and Anthony on Friday night. Shaq and the Phoenix Suns did the same the next night in a game where Carmelo shot 3 for 13.

Officially, the reason for Carmelo missing the next two games, at least, is a sore elbow. It is obvious that there is something amiss, but two games seems like too short a time to recover from any injury. Perhaps Carmelo needs to clear his head and get away from the game for a bit. He will not be with the team during either of the two games he is scheduled to miss, raising some eyebrows. It is probably a good strategy, because if he cannot forget about basketball with Lala waiting for him at home, there is no hope for him.

Ole Miss basketball coach Andy Kennedy was arrested early this morning for assaulting a cabdriver. The coach was arrested in downtown Cincinnati for punching the cabdriver while shouting racial slurs. Kennedy is meeting with Mississippi’s Athletic Director today to figure out his future.

Kennedy’s attorney entered a not-guilty plea in court his morning and emphatically denied to the media that he had made any racial or derogatory comments. Also arrested was for disorderly conduct was William Armstrong, Mississippi’s Director of Basketball Operations. Police stated that Kennedy and Armstrong were the aggressors in the situation and that an unrelated witness confirmed the cabdriver’s story.

If Kennedy is unable to coach, assistant coach Michael White will coach the Rebels tonight against Louisville. One of the preseason’s favorites in the SEC, Mississippi is in town to take part in the NCAA’s Big East/SEC Invitational. He was previously an assistant coach in Cincinnati and then the interim head coach after the firing of Bob Huggins.

A couple of weeks ago the New York Knicks told Stephon Marbury to go home and not come back, to practices or games, as they decided what to do with him. He is currently earning his $21 million salary and has yet to play in a game this season. At the start of the year coach Mike D’Antoni let Marbury know he did not fit into the team’s plan and that he would not see the court. However, a couple of injuries and delayed trades later and the Knicks were in need of his services. The same coach who told him he was not wanted attempted to put Marbury in the game. He refused, sending the organization into furious frenzy, and getting himself the boot.

Just last week, Marbury met with team president Donnie Walsh to discuss buyout options on his contract. Walsh figured that Marbury’s desire to play NBA ball sooner than later, and potential large contract with another team, would make for an easy deal. Marbury knew he was not worth anything close to $21 million anymore and would make more money as the Knicks’ castoff. He walked out of the meeting after 20 minutes, at which time he was told to stay away from the team for good.

Coincidentally, or not, Marbury happened to be in L.A. at the same time as the Knicks. He put some of that $21 million to good use and bought some court-side seats. Instead of sulking on the bench, watching anything but the game, he was court-side, getting paid to root against his own team. After the game, the Knicks’ players were forced to keep hearing his name as they were all asked about his presence at the game. The fact that they almost beat the best team in the league was barely mentioned. Starbury continues to steal their thunder, and their money, without even suiting up.

OJ Mayo, shooting guard for the Memphis Grizzlies, may be the best rookie this year and in position to win the rookie of the year award.

Mayo was originally drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but a draft day trade sent him to the Memphis Grizzlies. Interesting as Mayo is originally from West Virginia, so he’s in familiar territory. Mayo has excited the fans at the Fed-Ex Forum and brought enthusiasm to the NBA product in Memphis. OJ Mayo brings the camera with him, as several photos of his athleticism have been taken quite early in the season.

The NBA has a lot of talented young players. It is the world’s premiere basketball league, so it should have the best, but among the youngest, the new group moving in, one must consider OJ Mayo among the best of the rookies.

That may seem like a premature question, but with the NBA season a quarter complete, now is a good time to start thinking about who the best basketball player this season is.

The NBA has a lot of exciting players: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade and so on. Now all of these players, with the exception of Wade are on teams with excellent win-loss records, however Wade is currently leading the NBA in scoring, so how do you figure the MVP? Team record or individual achievements? Kobe Bryant did not lead the NBA in scoring or lead the Lakers to the NBA’s best record, but he won the regular season MVP award last year.

The MVP figures the best basketball player on the best team. Some would say that is the Boston Celtics’s Paul Pierce, last year’s Finals MVP.   In sports, one has to give credit to the teams that are doing well and plenty of teams are. Maybe a young team like the Portland Trailblazers will give us Brandon Roy as an MVP. You never know who the MVP will be until it’s all over.

When the Chicago Bulls won the first pick in the NBA draft this last summer it was truly winning the lottery. This was one of the best draft classes ever, rivaling those that brought us Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Magic and Bird. With the first pick, Chicago was guaranteed a superstar, or were they?

Derrick Rose was one of the best players in college last season as a freshman but was not picked to make a huge splash as a rookie. He was exactly the type of player the Bulls needed, however, and was a good fit being from Chicago’s South Side. Nobody was surprised when he was selected first overall, but some thought the Bulls could have found a better player elsewhere. It turns out, for once, that Bulls GM John Paxson made the right choice. Rose has proven to be the type of player that can take over a game at will. After 23 games he is averaging over 18 points and 6 assists per game. It will not be long before he is in the same breath as premier point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams.

Not only is Rose far and above the best rookie in the league, he is probably the premier point guard in the Eastern Conference. No other player has done more with less around him and been able to completely dominate a basketball game. A little over 2 months removed from his 20th birthday, it will be a long time before this Rose wilts.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, formerly the Seattle Supersonics, have an atrocious record at 2-21 and are challenging the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers for the worst record of all-time (9-73). But the fans are into the team, and while they are clearly not one of the best teams in the NBA, they have started playing hard.

The Oklahoma City fans cheer during the basketball games, sell-out the arena and are energized by the plays of super sophomore Kevin Durant. It’s amazing the fans still care, because at one point, the Thunder were losing by fifteen, twenty points, at home, which is unusual, even for really bad teams.

Seems like some teams, regardless of record, can still entertain fans and have a product that engages them. The fans pay to watch the team and since firing PJ Carlesimo and the hiring of interim head coach Scott Brooks, the Thunder still lose, but they seem to care now and don’t embarrass themselves. They do have a lot of young talent, maybe the Oklahoma City fans know now what it’ll take others a few years to figure out, this team is worth watching.