Lebron

RANKINGS, COMMENTS (WITH LAST WEEK'S RANK) -- REAL DEALS 1. LAKERS (44-18) I wanted to put them No. 2 to see if Vic the Brick's eyes popped out of his head.(1) 2. BOSTON (49-12) Averaging 15 since return, KG gets 31 as they win season series vs. Pistons. (3) 3. SAN ANTONIO (43-18) Not there yet: Just got blown out, 63-42, in second half in Denver. (4) 4. DETROIT (45-17) Still trying to add depth because starter for starter, Boston has them.(2) COMERS 5. UTAH (42-22) Not that Suns are a major power, but Jazz just beat them in Phoenix.

Brent Musburger came under fire during the BCS title game between Alabama and Notre Dame last month for what some perceived to be "creepy old man" comments about Katherine Webb, girlfriend of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, who was in the stands. When Webb was shown on camera watching the game, Musburger talked about how attractive she was, and that quarterbacks get all the hot women. Of course, if you really listened to his statements, it was all pretty harmless. Even Webb said she wasn't offended by it, and later thanked him for sparking interest in it helping her land a gig on a reality TV show.

Tiger Woods has been the butt of many jokes since his marital meltdown in 2009, and new girlfriend Lindsey Vonn's ex-husband, Thomas Vonn, has joined the chorus of would-be comedians. Woods came under scrutiny on Friday night after he took a questionable drop following his watery approach at No. 15 during the second round of the Masters tournament. His original shot struck the flagstick on the fly and drew back into Rae's Creek in front of the green. It seems Masters officials took some phone calls from television viewers who called out Tiger for taking his drop from behind his original spot when he determined the designated drop zone was less than desirable.

When LeBron James was in high school, his basketball skills weren't the only thing that impressed college coaches. James was also a successful football player at St. Vincent-St. Mary High, catching 42 passes for 820 yards and seven touchdowns in his sophomore year, and 61 passes for 1,245 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. Urban Meyer, then the wide receivers coach at Notre Dame, offered a scholarship to the All-Ohio wideout as a sophomore. Meyer, who is now the new coach at Ohio State, recalled James' reaction to his offer.

Fedor Emelianenko, a Russian bear of a mixed martial arts heavyweight whose greatness includes the asterisk of never participating in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, announced his retirement after a Thursday night fight in his home country. “I think it is time I quit,” Emelianenko said in a story by Russian news site Ria Novosti after a first-round triumph over former UFC fighter Pedro Rizzo. “My family influenced my decision. My daughters are growing without me. That's why it's time to leave.” An intriguing athlete who boasted the rare combination of powerful brawn, lightning punching and wrestling speed polished in his secluded Siberian training camp, Emelianenko, 35, owned victories over three men who held the UFC heavyweight belt, Andrei Arlovski, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Tim Sylvia.

"Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson seems a bit eccentric, but this may be plain old crazy. Robertson reportedly turned down an offer to play for the Washington Redskins so he could pursue his hobby: hunting. In the 1960s, Robertson played quarterback at Louisiana Tech. He apparently was good, so good that he started ahead of Terry Bradshaw, who went on to win four Super Bowl titles and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989. According to Sports Illustrated , the Redskins made Robertson an offer to turn pro during his junior year.

Clippers guard Chris Paul was selected Monday to the NBA All-Defensive team, and Lakers guard Kobe Bryant failed to make the list for the first time since 2005. Paul led the NBA in steals per game (2.4) for the fifth time in six years and was joined on the first team by Miami's LeBron James, New York's Tyson Chandler, Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka, Memphis' Tony Allen and Chicago's Joakim Noah. The second team consisted of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley of Memphis, San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Indiana's Paul George and Boston's Avery Bradley.

As if Kobe Bryant needed another reminder, it's becoming more apparent he's no longer at the forefront of the NBA's hype machine. Sure, Bryant boasts the top selling jersey interntationally. His presence in China proves unmatched. Out here in Los Angeles, Bryant still remains king. But there are other signs suggesting he's no longer commanding the spotlight. Most of the excitement in L.A. last season centered on the dunks the Clippers threw down and less on the aging Lakers.

The wins kept coming. So did the games. Three in a row. Five in six days. It didn't matter that the rest of the NBA, and the calendar, conspired against the Lakers 41 seasons ago. Logistics couldn't bother them in a season when they didn't seem to grasp the meaning of Ls. The team that would win 33 consecutive games, still the longest streak for a major U.S. professional team, often arrived in a city on a midday flight and played a...

Magic Johnson's relationship with Larry Bird, like so much else about Johnson, was one of the best things the NBA ever saw. They started out hating each other as rivals in the 1979 Michigan State-Indiana State NCAA final, the highest-rated basketball game of all time; re-floated the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, then, in an unexpected inspiring turn, became lifelong friends, showing themselves and everyone else how much of themselves an urban African...