Around the Association

• The Los Angeles Clippers organization has asked long- time Fan "Clipper Darrell" to remove their team name from his nickname.


• Kobe Bryant was forced to wear a mask in Wednesday's contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves but claims it is all good with Dwyane Wade.


• The Orlando Magic are trying to add Monta Ellis in an attempt to keep Dwight Howard; meanwhile the Warriors are trying to trade Ellis for the big man.


• The Boston Celtics have supposedly had enough with the attitude of Rajon Rondo and are now listening to trade proposals for the All-Star point guard.


• The Minnesota Timberwolves offered the Lakers the services of Michael Beasley but the offer was delined.


• Twitter's logo has a name and it is Larry; after of course the Boston legend Larry Bird.


• Michael Jordan's Chicago estate is on the market for just 29 million; where do I sign?


• Video: Not many can believe the fact that J.J. Barea is indeed married to a former Miss Universe.


• Dirk Nowitzki will be forced to miss some time to tend to an ailing back injury.


• Is Kennth Farried a better option for the Nuggets than Nene?


• Video: The Clippers like their airplane pranks.


• Charles Barkley really said recently hat he wished he could shoot 20 percent of NBA fans.


• Barack Obama guarantees a World Championship for the Chicago Bulls this year; if this proves true I will vote him in for a third term.

Around the Association

• Great news out of Sacramento, the efforts of all the Kings faithful has paid off as the city was able to secure a new arena.


• Dwyane Wade's hard foul on Kobe Bryant during the All-Star game left Bryant with a mild concussion and a broken nose.


• The time has came for the Orlando Magic to cut ties with their franchise player Dwight Howard.


• Lebron James compares his game to that of Magic Johnson; seems like a fair comparison except for the jewelry part.


• Alex Rodriguez recently told media during New York Yankee spring training that Kobe Bryant considered retirement before off-season knee surgery.


• Lamar Odom is not back with the Dallas Mavericks but Mark Cuban says the Mavs are not interested in unloading Odom.


• Meanwhile, Dallas hosted the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night and the fans of the team might have saw their future point guard in Deron Williams.


• The fans of the Denver Nuggets have to be wondering what is going on with Wilson Chandler.


• Even female rappers are taking jabs at Chris Bosh these days.


• Carmelo Anthony thinks the Knicks should start preparing like the Miami Heat; many New York faithful would rather trade Melo.


• Dallas Mavericks stating point guard Deleonte West was temporary homeless this season.

Around the Association- All-Star Weekend Edition

• Comedian Kevin Hart did enough on the court to earn MVP honors before getting ejected in the Celebrity All-Star game.


• Cleveland Cavaliers Rookie, Kyrie Irving, put on a show in the Rookie/Sophomore Rising Stars game.


• In one of the least entertaining Dunk Contests of recent memory; Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz took home the crown with the only impressive dunk of the night.


• Minnesota Timberwolves double-double machine Kevin Love surprisely won the 3-Point Shootout.


• In commissioners David Stern's state of the union address he revealed that Adam Silver is ready to step in for him when he decides to end his tenure; he also mentioned that the New Orleans Hornets could be sold within the week.


• The Basketball Hall of Fame will allow fan participation as early as 2013 in their voting process.


• In the grand-daddy of the weekend we saw the Western Conference lead from start to finish with Kevin Durant winning MVP honors and Kobe Byant becoming the All-time scoring leader in the game.


• Video: In the most impressive play of the game; Russell Westbrook absolutely explodes to the rim.


• Rasheed Wallace is expected to sign with Bryant's Lakers.

Around the Association

• Is Jeremy Lin the great hope for the NBA to remain popular in China after the retirement of Yao Ming.


• Tom Thibodeau has the task of trying to manage the egos that will exist on the Eastern Conference's All-Star team.


• Paul George is hoping that Larry Legend takes time away from the front office to assist him in this year's Slam Dunk contest.


• Jeanie Buss and Phil Jackson apparently making up for all the time they lost with each other the last 12 years.


• TheSan Antonio Spurs are on an absolute tear right now and the end does not seem in sight after their most recent victory.


• Yes it is true, we have yet to hear a word from Steve Nash involving asking for a trade and it seems unlikely that we will.


• Carmelo Anthony is likely to return Monday night and we will finally see how the ball stopper adapts to LinSanity.


• Manu Ginobili is once again injured, this time it just does not appear as serious.


• A Yahoo report suggests that LeBron James' talk about a return to Cleveland followed something earlier in the year that leads some to believe James has second guessed his "Decision."


• Not only did J.R. smith return to the NBA on Sunday; he returned with wild hair.


• So ESPN is apparently allow to make racial slurs nowadays ?


• Video: Someone really shot the lights out on Thursday in Indiana.


• Here is a look at the line-up for All-Star weekend; Rising Stars Game Rosters, Slam Dunk Contest, and the 3 - point contest.


• Kevin Durant has left his long-time agent Aaron Goodwin.

The Degenerate Special

Poor performance last night. 1-3 overall, 0-3 ATS. Hopefully I can redeem myself with TNT's doubleheader tonight, but I'm not too confident on either game to be honest. Here's the picks.

Chicago Bulls (-8), vs. Boston Celtics

I was kind of shocked when I saw the Bulls were laying 8 to the Celtics tonight without DR0se. Seems like Vegas is begging people to take the C's and the points tonight, so I guess I'm going to have to put my faith in C.J. Watson. But who the hell knows? Betting the Celtics this season is like playing russian roulette. They took last night off at home against Detroit and lost by 10. They could half-ass it again and lose by 15 tonight against the Bulls, or they could put up a fight and even win. You just don't know what you're going to get with the Celtics this year, so wager carefully on this one or don't bet it at all.

Los Angeles Clippers (-2), at Portland Trailblazers

Another tricky game because the Blazers are inconsistent like the Celtics. Two nights ago, they lost by 15 at the Rose Garden to the Wizards. Last night, they pulled out a tight one at Golden State. I'm going with the Clippers. They got CP3. The Blazers have Ray Felton. That's my logic.

Season Totals

ATS: 21-15-1
ML: 9-4
T: 30-19-1

Around the Association

• Here is a look at how the NBA has evolved in the world's biggest market; China.


• Chris Paul is aggressively recruiting J.R. Smith to join the Clippers, this makes sense with the recent loss of guard Chauncey Billups.


• Here is evidence that Jeremy Lin does indeed sleep on his brother's couch; at least it looks comfortable.


• Spike Lee recently texted Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson and thanked him for cutting the Knicks new star player, turns out Jackson never even got to see Lin attempt a lay-up.


• It is nice to see LeBron is threatening fans nowadays; he better watch himself though with a return trip to Cleveland quickly approaching.


• Lin mania has reached new heights; we take a look back at the point guard's high school playing days and one businessman's attempt to make some money of the youngster.


• Dwight Howard wants to be the go-to man down the stretch for the Magic, it would probably make more sense if he could hit some free throws.


• The Milwaukee Bucks' highest paid players are the ones who are not producing.


• During free agency, Shannon Brown signed a nice deal with the Phoenix Suns and now is glued to the bench.


• Why exactly do we scream at players attempting free throws?


• Video: Some NBA players offer some love tips for Valentines Day.

The Degenerate Special

There's like 37 NBA games on tonight, so I'll try to restrain myself from going crazy and betting all 37. Below are the select few I like on this loaded Wednesday evening in February.

Orlando Magic (-155), vs. Philadelphia 76ers

I'm taking the Magic at home in this one even though the Sixers have been one of the most impressive teams in the NBA all season long and they embarrassed the Magic in their lone meeting in late January. The Magic have gotten their shit together since then and have won six of their last eight games.

New Jersey Nets (+3.5), vs. Memphis Grizzlies

The Nets are a pretty shitty team and the Grizz are way more talented. Still, this feels like a game the Nets can steal from the Grizz, who are just 5-9 on the road and seem ripe for a letdown a night after beating Houston by 10.

Oklahoma City Thunder (-3.5), at Houston Rockets

Both teams played last night, with the Thunder destroying the Jazz in Utah and the Rockets losing by 10 in Houston. Houston's tough at home (10-3), but I'm laying the points and taking OKC. The Thunder have been rolling so I'm hopping on that train.

Golden State Warriors (-5), vs. Portland Trailblazers

Not super confident with this pick but I can't in good conscience take Portland after watching them lose by 15 to Washington last night at the Rose Garden. I mean...the fucking Wizards? In Portland? Something ain't right.

Season Totals

ATS: 21-12-1
ML: 8-4
T: 29-16-1