Email your thoughts to (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

DIRK NOWITZKI HEADLINES
RESERVES FOR 2010 NBA ALL-STAR GAME

NEW YORK, Jan. 28, 2010 – Dirk Nowitzki of the hometown Dallas Mavericks was named an NBA All-Star for the ninth time, as the NBA today announced the list of 14 players—including seven first-timers—that have been selected by the coaches as reserves for the 2010 All-Star Game. The 59th NBA All-Star Game will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, before an expected crowd of more than 80,000 – the largest group ever to witness a live basketball game – on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.

Joining Nowitzki on the West squad are the Los Angeles Lakers’ Pau Gasol, the New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul, the Portland Trail Blazers’ Brandon Roy, and three first-timers—the Memphis Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant and the Utah Jazz’s Deron Williams.

In the Eastern Conference, four first-time selections – the Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford, the Boston Celtics’ Rajon Rondo, the Charlotte Bobcats’ Gerald Wallace and the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose – are joined by the Hawks’ Joe Johnson, the Celtics’ Paul Pierce and the Toronto Raptors’ Chris Bosh. Rose also was selected to play in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, which will be held in Dallas at American Airlines Center on Friday, Feb. 12.

The 14 players selected—seven each from the Eastern and Western Conferences—were chosen by the 30 NBA head coaches, who were asked to vote for seven players in their respective conferences—two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position. They were not permitted to vote for players from their own team.

Selected to start for the East—through the 2010 NBA All-Star Balloting Program presented by T-Mobile—were the Celtics’ Kevin Garnett, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard, the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Allen Iverson. The Denver Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony, the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, the Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire, and the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan will start for the West.

Should any player be unable to participate in the All-Star Game due to injury, NBA Commissioner David Stern will select the replacement.

The East and West All-Star coaches and coaching staffs will be determined by the best record in each conference through games played Jan. 31. Last year’s East and West coaches – Cleveland’s Mike Brown and the L.A. Lakers’ Phil Jackson—are not eligible to coach this year’s All-Star Game.

2010 EASTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS

No. Player (Team) Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate College/HS/Country All-Star Selections
4 Chris Bosh (Toronto) F/C 6-10 230 03/24/84 Georgia Tech 5
5 *Kevin Garnett (Boston) F 6-11 220 05/19/76 Farragut Academy (HS) 13
15 #Al Horford (Atlanta) F/C 6-10 245 06/03/86 Florida 1
12 *Dwight Howard (Orlando) C 6-11 265 12/08/85 SW Atlanta Christian Academy 4
3 *Allen Iverson (Philadelphia) G 6-0 165 06/07/75 Georgetown 11
23 *LeBron James (Cleveland) F 6-8 250 12/30/84 St. Vincent/St. Mary HS 6
2 Joe Johnson (Atlanta) G 6-7 235 06/29/81 Arkansas 4
34 Paul Pierce (Boston) F 6-7 235 10/13/77 Kansas 8
1 #Rajon Rondo (Boston) G 6-1 171 02/22/86 Kentucky 1
1 Derrick Rose (Chicago) G 6-3 190 10/04/88 Memphis 1
3 *Dwyane Wade (Miami) G 6-4 210 01/17/82 Marquette 6
3 #Gerald Wallace (Charlotte) F 6-7 215 07/23/82 Alabama 1

2010 WESTERN CONFERENCE ALL-STARS

No. Player (Team) Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate College/HS/Country All-Star Selections
15 *Carmelo Anthony (Denver) F 6-8 230 05/29/84 Syracuse 3
24 *Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers) G 6-6 205 08/23/78 Lower Merion HS 12
21 *Tim Duncan (San Antonio) F 6-11 260 04/25/76 Wake Forest 12
35 #Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City) F 6-9 230 09/29/88 Texas 1
16 Pau Gasol (L.A. Lakers) F 7-0 227 07/06/80 Barcelona, Spain 3
    13 *Steve Nash (Phoenix) G 6-3 178 02/07/74 Santa Clara 7
41 Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas) F 7-0 245 06/19/78 Wurzburg, Germany 9
3 Chris Paul (New Orleans) G 6-0 175 05/06/85 Wake Forest 3
50 #Zach Randolph (Memphis) F 6-9 260 07/16/81 Michigan State 1
7 Brandon Roy (Portland) G 6-6 211 07/23/84 Washington 3
1 *Amar’e Stoudemire (Phoenix) F/C 6-10 245 11/16/82 Cypress Creek HS 5
8 #Deron Williams (Utah) G 6-3 207 06/26/84 Illinois 1

*denotes starter
#denotes first-time selection

How many questions does Greg Oden have to answer about nude photos? Creepy Portland media, creepy.

JETS FAN GETS ARRESTED AT SAN DIEGO GAME JUST FOR CHANTING “JETS”!

The fan talks about the incident here.

You can read my column on college football programs on the rise for 2010 here on Versus.com.  You can always give me feedback at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Follow me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/kevingraham1280.  As always thanks for your support and for listening to Monson and Graham.

Chad Ford of ESPN made a great point in a recent chat about Carlos Boozer

Andy (SLC)

Should the Jazz try to make the playoffs instead of dumping Boozer and getting under the tax? With how inconsistent they have been I don’t see how the revenue from a few playoff games can offset the luxury tax bill and the money not received from being under the tax, not to mention having to give up their draft pick to Minny. Thoughts?

Chad Ford (1:12 PM)

It’s more money than you think. You have to take Boozers contract, double it (because of the luxury tax) and then figure in lost rebates that tax playing teams don’t get. It’s A LOT of money. Besides, I’m not sure Boozer really makes them THAT much better. They still will have Millsap and Kirilenko can play the four. I think if they can pick up an asset, they’ll do it. They don’t want to lose him for nothing this summer.

Trade him or keep him? Vote in the poll on the front of 1280thezone.com

The East-West Shrine Game is this Saturday at 1 PM local time (Mtn.) on ESPN2 and Dennis Pitta of BYU and David Reed of Utah have already helped their NFL draft stock in the practices leading up to the game according to Todd McShay of ESPN and Scouts.com:

West Practice: Good Days

TE Dennis Pitta, BYU
Pitta could emerge as the top player drafted from this year’s East-West Shrine Game. He is a bit lean, has room to improve as a blocker and lacks elite top-end speed. Still, his separation skills as a route runner are uncanny and he is a vacuum when the ball is in the air. There will be a handful of tight ends at the combine that look better than Pitta at the weigh-in, run faster than Pitta in the 40-yard dash and jump higher than Pitta in the vertical. But the team willing to ignore the measurables and take a chance on the Pitta in the late-second to early-third round range will eventually be rewarded.

WR David Reed, Utah
No other receiver has helped his stock as much as Reed so far. He made a big impression early when he caught a pass over the middle, was leveled by Oregon State OLB Keaton Kristick, held onto the ball and popped up off the ground. He continued to play well showing great suddenness in his routes and attacking the ball with his hands instead of letting it to get to his frame.

BYU QB Max Hall
Hall headlines the crop of West quarterbacks and turned in a solid first day. He is accurate when he throws in rhythm and has an above-average sense of timing. It comes as no surprise that he hooked up with former teammate Pitta on a corner route during the team period. He did a nice job of anticipating Pitta’s break and allowed him to catch the ball in stride. Hall appears to lack ideal overall arm strength, which brings up concerns about his ability to push the ball downfield.

I obviously don’t know what’s cool and nothing says that more than the Pants on the Ground song hitting it big…........

Pants on the ground
Pants on the ground
Lookin’ like a fool with your pants on the ground
With the gold in your mouth
Hat turned sideways
Pants hit the ground
Call yourself a cool cat
Lookin’ like a fool
Walkin’ downtown with your pants on the ground

Get it up, hey!
Get your pants off the ground
Lookin’ like a fool
Walkin’ talkin’ with your pants on the ground.

Get it up, hey!
Get your pants off the ground
Lookin’ like a fool with your pants on the ground

ERIC WEDDLE GETS RUN OVER & SHONN GREENE TAUNTS LT!

BRETT FAVRE IS A DORK!

For my thoughts on the MWC, Byu, Utah and college football in general head over to read my Versus.com columns here.  You can always give me feedback at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Follow me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/kevingraham1280.  As always thanks for your support and for listening to Monson and Graham.

Sure he’s a scum bag, but lets see how well you do. My best score was 4 under par. send your best scores to (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
http://www.atom.com/fun_games/tiger_woods_defense/?xrs=cpc_gorilla