NBA.com has added the Video Rule Book to its website.

"The NBA Video Rulebook website is intended to help explain the Rules of the NBA game to all interested parties - our teams, the media, and our fans."

Just in time, the NBA has reached an agreement with the refs.

NBA opening night tonight. Celtics-Cavs followed by Clippers-Lakers (also Wizards-Mavs and Rockets-Blazers). Those poor Clips: their #1 draft pick Blake Griffin shattered his kneecap and will start the season sitting on the sidelines.

I think there are 4 or 5 teams with a shot at the title this year barring catastrophic injuries...the Cavs and Celtics in the East, the Lakers and Spurs in the West with the Magic a possibility.

Bummer about Blake Griffin. Seems like a nice young guy and a dynamic player and I hope he's better soon.

George, I agree with your list. I suppose if there was going to be a party crasher, though, it would be Portland. Of the 5 you mention, I think Orlando has a decidedly lower chance of getting to the finals, but otherwise it's a crapshoot. It will probably come down to health. For that reason, my bet would be Lakers v. Cavs. They aren't necessarily better than their rivals, but more likely to stay healthy (Shaq might not, but that might not really matter for Cleveland).

Yeah I really only included the Magic because they made the Finals last year. But adding Vince Carter doesn't make me really believe they have a shot against the Cavs or Celtics.

Is there nothing he can't do? Manu Ginobili catches a bat out of the air at Halloween game in San Antonio.

Reminds me of the time that Dave Winfield killed a seagull by throwing a ball at it. That even happened in Toronto, didn't it?

How long before those dopey PETA people start calling for boycotts of Spurs' games?

Re: Dave Winfield seagull incident. From ESPN.com: Animals were harmed in making this list

Dave Winfield and the seagull.

Well as cool as it was, poor Manu will have to undergo rabies shots...16 in the next 30 days! UGH!

Did anyone explain why a bat was in the arena? Seems more than a coincidence that they showed the mascot with a net, apparently trying to catch the bat, and the mascot was dressed as Batman for Halloween.

It's called karma.

Only 9 games into the season (and 3-6 start) and Byron Scott loses his job.

Milwaukee Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings lights up the Warriors for 55 points in a 129-125 victory. The 10th pick overall in the 2009 draft, Jennings surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's (then Lew Alcindor) franchise rookie record and puts himself on the all time rookie scoring list. Jennings was scoreless in the first quarter, but finished 21-34 from the floor, including 7-8 from downtown. Shot chart.

All Time NBA Rookie Scoring

Wilt Chamberlain (58) Feb. 1960
Wilt Chamberlain (58) Jan. 1960
Rick Barry (57) Dec. 1965
Earl Monroe (56) Feb. 1968
Brandon Jennings (55) Nov. 2009
Wilt Chamberlain (55) Nov. 1959
Elgin Baylor (55) Feb. 1959

He's been the surprise -- the shock -- of the draft. I figured he was the second coming of Sebastian Telfair, and so far he's looking more like Isiah Thomas

Despite 2-9 record, the Knicks will not go after now-free agent Allen Iverson.

What's with the Nets, off to an 0-13 start to the season? They're second last in the league in scoring (84.9), last in field goal percentage (40.2%) and fourth worst in turnovers. They are apparently 4 losses away from tying and NBA record for most losses to start the season... and their next 4 games are on the west coast: Denver, Portland, Sacramento and Lakers.

On the plus side, they're getting some good production from their young players: sophmores Chris Douglas-Roberts 18.3 points, 5.5 rebounds; Brook Lopez 17.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.69 blocks; and rookie Terrence Williams 11 points, 6.1 rebounds.

Well, let's see. They traded away Vince Carter for the completely unproven Courtney Lee and a box full of Goofy ears, and then Lee has been injured the entire season. They also gave up Ryan Anderson in that "trade" (i.e., salary dump), and he's turned out to be a better shooter than anyone the Nets kept.

Their remaining best player, Devin Harris, has been injured the entire season (just back last game). Also, Eddie Najera is out, who at least provides some toughness and would have started.

Added to that is, even with all those players healthy, they may be the worse team in the league. Most commentators had them with the second to worse record, with Sacramento behind them. But it seems everyone underestimated the Kings, who are sort of making out as the Rockets-lite so far this season (doing better without their best player than they were doing with him).

And other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the game?

Well, it looked like Allen Iverson was going to retire. He's too big a man to come off the bench at Memphis (why did he sign with them in the first place?) and no one, not even the Knicks, seemed interested. But now there are rumors that the Sixers might go after their former star.

Iverson's retirement was a cry for help. Sort of like Isaiah Thomas with his sleeping pill overdose (which he denied, since everyone denies the attention-getting schemes they perpetrate), but less self-endangering.

Someone is going to take a chance on AI as the playoffs approach, because someone is going to have an injury and someone is going to convince themselves that he can help them. Fortunately, the Lakers will not be one of those teams!

The 0-16 Nets have fired Lawrence Frank before they can tie an NBA record 0-17 start tonight vs. the Lakers.

If the 76ers really do bring Iverson back, I hope they're honest about it. Tell everyone "the reason we brought him back is to sell tickets." Because this will not help them become a true contender, in the short or the long run, and no one will believe them if they say that the reason they signed him is to help make the team better."

What? This is something else I didn't hear about. I agree that I don't think Iverson can do anything other than sell tickets. Just stay out of Gladwyne if you do come back A.I. I don't miss the "disturbances" from when you were in the neighborhood previously.

The Sixers are, not unexpectedly, spinning the Iverson signing as a move to help the team. I don't agree. They just want to sell tickets.

The only thing I can say for it is that the Sixers couldn't do any worse than they already are. Of course, it might be better to play for a higher lottery pick instead.

Well the historic drought is finally over...the Nets beat the Bobcats last night.

It was a banner night for the woeful Atlantic Division. Not only did the Nets win, but the Knicks, Raptors and Celtics also won (the Sixers didn't play). Not including the Celtics, the Raptors, Sixers, Knicks and Nets have won 19 and lost 60. The Celtics by themselves have 16 wins.

Oden injured again. That guy is jinxed.

He really is. I just saw it as BREAKING NEWS on ESPN.

There's no longer any question about it -- he's Sam Bowie Version 2.0.

Hey Nate, how would Kevin Durant look in your lineup? As a Laker fan, the Portland scouts have my eternal gratitude. The ironic thing about it is I bet Portland does better without Oden. They're way better than a 12 - 8 team, which they will now prove.

(All I can add is that Andrew Bynum better not go down with his own version of chronic knee injuries.)

Of course, bloggers and anonymous poster are THE official word on all things sports, right?

ESPN, with a tad more sense, says 30 out of 30 GMs would have drafted Greg Oden.

How many championships, or even playoff games, has Durant won?

Actually, I came here to lament. The Blazers are getting murdered by injury bug:

Patty Mills, drafted second round, looked pretty good. Last practice before summer league, broke his foot.

Pendergrath, second round pick/draft day trade, impressed enough in summer league to earn a roster spot and a seat at the end of the bench. Just before the start of the season, hip injury, out for the year.

Those were not so bad, both of those guys would have been high priced cheerleaders playing garbage time. But...
Last year, Martell Webster missed the entire season with a broken foot but rookie Nicolas Batum, not expected to play much at all, stepped in to the starting lineup and played reasonably well. He spent the summer working to improve his game and just before the start of the season, dislocated his shoulder. Out for the year.

Fortunately the Blazers had a deep bench and Webster moved back into the starting lineup. That left the two main bench scorers Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez, both somewhat inconsistent but on good days capable of lighting it up. The season was barely underway when Travis breaks a bone in his toe, out until February. Rudy has sciatica that won't go away and is missing the current road trip to undergo tests.

They were so shorthanded coach Nate McMillan joined a scrimmage and tore his Achilles tendon. Will undergo surgery and miss this road trip. But at least he can coach in a cast, unlike...

Greg Oden. The guy deserves better. It normally takes 2 years to fully recover from microfacture surgery. We saw just glimpses last year. He worked his butt off all summer. Came to camp lighter and quicker and started showing why everyone in the world was coveting him. Freak accident, out for the season. He told Brandon Roy while writing in pain "I'm so sorry". You could see the frustration on his face. Poor guy feels he's got the weight of the franchise on his massive shoulders, and now it's back to rehab for Greg. The good news, if there is any, is that there was no ligament or tendon damage.

And if that were not enough, assistant coach Maurice Lucas, former player and Portland sports icon, has bladder cancer that was in remission but came back. Luke underwent surgery that was described as "unsuccessful", which sounds pretty damn bad, and has not been on the bench all year. In fact he's rarely been out of the hospital.

And owner Paul Allen has lymphoma and is undergoing chemo. His second bout with cancer.

Good grief, if I were not an atheist I'd think someone up there really hates Portland.

Actually, Danny Ainge supposedly was dead-set on picking Durant, should the Celtics have gotten the #1 pick. But there's no question that picking Oden was the "conventional" wisdom, since some know-it-all decided you always pick big over small, and most GMs are too gutless to do anything against the conventional wisdom. I guess like Atlanta's picking Marvin Williams (or even Milwaukee taking Bogut, for that matter) ahead of Chris Paul in 2005 -- another great example of picking big over small. It's interesting to look at past drafts -- Brandon Roy is by far the best player of 2006, but he was picked 6, behind all bigger players (although Portland did alright with Aldrich, too). The only ones who got this right were the Bulls, who were daring enough to take Rose ahead of Beasley.

But in any event, even speaking as a Lakers' fan, I do feel bad for the Blazers. Oden, in particular, seems like a great guy from everything I've read about him. I hadn't heard that about Maurice Lucas. That's quite sad too.

Thought I'd share some Kiss Cam news from tonight's Clippers-76ers game...got this from a local sportswriter's Twitter feed (he's normally on hockey but because the snow stranded their 76ers writer in Boston and because he's already at the arena having covered the Flyers this afternoon): "These guys have fun in the NBA. During a timeout, the kiss cam on the big screen. They showed the Clips bench and Rasual Butler kissed Camby"

Nate Robinson demanding trade. NY Post: Nate Robinson's agent asks for trade citing D'Antoni 'vendetta'

It's funny how it's usually the players that no one else wants who are demanding trades. Maybe the Knicks can swap him for Iverson.

The depleted Blazers are refusing to give up on their season. They came from 15 down to beat Phoenix, the first time Phoenix lost this year when leading after 3 quarters. Then in what has to be the game of the week, they beat Miami on the road in a nail biter with Brandon Roy outplaying Dwyane Wade.

Holy moly. Joel Przybilla out for the season. And the Blazers beat the Mavs in Dallas after 11 consecutive losses there. Brandon Roy injures shoulder (appears to be just a sprain, please goddess). And the Blazers with no Roy and no center at all beat the Spurs in San Antonio.

That really is too cruel. Poor Blazers. Guess they could try to trade for a center, but who is available who could really help?

ESPN.com is saying that Vinnie Del Negro is gone as soon as the Bulls can find a replacement coach.

The story is coming out about Wizard players drawing guns on each other in the locker room. Hibachi! From the Washington Post.


Meanwhile... Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady are moving up in the All Star voting. Iverson has moved ahead of Vince Carter for the second in East guards, and McGrady (3.2 ppg; played only 6 games this season) has moved ahead of Steve Nash (18.4 ppg, 11.2 assists/game) for second among West guards.

At least McGrady had the good judgment to say he wouldn't play even if voted in, because he didn't deserve it. Somehow I doubt Iverson would say that.

Don't look now, but Brandon and the Chipmunks (formerly known as the Portland Trail Blazers) are now in first place in the Northwest Division, 3rd in the west.

LaMarcus Aldridge sprained an ankle and on New Year's Day Steve Blake was taken to the hospital with pneumonia. Blakie was released today but out indefinitely. Jeff Pendergrath, a second round pick who played his first NBA game Dec 22 after missing two months with, you guessed it, an injury, is starting for Aldridge. Juwan Howard, a 36 year old power forward, is starting at center since there is no one else.

Fans are taking about staging an exorcism in the Rose Garden parking lot and asking whoever stole the eye of a god to please return it, no questions asked.

"Sources from both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptors insist there have been no talks between the two clubs regarding an Andrew Bynum-for-Chris Bosh swap. The Lakers view the 22-year-old Bynum as a key building block and a player whose best years are ahead of him"

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id...ckets-wish-list

Damn, I'd do that trade in a heartbeat. Bynum will be a good player for years, but he has inconsistency written all over him. Bosh is a proven commodity.

The Clipper Curse strikes again. Blake Griffin is out for the season.

(And yet there is a local sportswriter who insists that the Clippers are a plausible team for LeBron to sign with.)

Too bad about Griffin. I hope he doesn't become another (injury plagued number one pick) Greg Oden.

Tiger's not the only athlete being dropped by sponsors. Adidas has cut its ties with Gilbert Arenas.

Lowlight for the Knicks as they lose to the Mavs by 50 points (128-78), their largest margin of defeat at the Garden and second-worst in team history (62 point defeat in 1960). The Mavs, meanwhile, were without starters Jason Kidd and Erik Dampier.

Isn't it time to start the countdown? The New Jersey Nets are 3-40. They have a real chance of finishing with a worse record than the 1972-73 Sixers, of 9-73 infamy.

Although they are "ahead" of the Sixers' pace, I don't think they'll break it. It takes a real focus and concentration to lose that consistently, which I don't think the Nets will be able to maintain through the dog days of February. Also, once various teams conclude they are out of the playoffs, they'll start jockeying to improve their lottery positions. The Nets will have no such incentive, because they'll already have clinched last place.