Wednesday's Works

The Links
-Another gem sent in by Kami C. Check out what she calls the best blog ever. Apparently she is not fond of this one.

Sports
-Another fantastic night in the NBA Playoffs. The Bulls and Celtics are quickly playing a series that will be shown on ESPN Classic for years to come. Dallas eliminated the Spurs last night which is good because now I don't have to listen to the terrible PA announcer in San Antonio shouting "HERE COME THE SPURS!"

-Lots of people are weighing in on whether or not Dwight Howard should be suspended for throwing an elbow at Samuel Dalembert. The Inside the NBA crew breaks it down right here. It will be real interesting to see whether or not the Association hands down the suspension to one of its marquee players.

-Just what I wanted to read today, another Brett Favre story. Seriously, just retire and leave me alone!

Entertainment
-Ferris Bueller is having twins! Actor Matthew Broderick and his wife Sarah Jessica Parker are expecting twins through a surrogate. Broderick is currently starring in a Broadway musical, while his wife is filming a movie and also preparing for the Sex and the City sequel due out next summer.

-The hot girl from Utah was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars last night. Chuck Wicks and his partner and Utah native Julianne Hough were booted from the ABC reality dancing show. I still have never seen an episode of this show. Have you?

News
-There are now 91 confirmed cases of the Swine Flu in the United States. A 22 month old Mexican boy has died from the disease after receiving treatments in Houston. Make sure you read the last paragraph in this article to gain some perspective on the "outbreak".

-There are lots of reports out today about President Obama's first 100 days in office. I found this slide show from MSNBC. There really are some fascinating photos of our Commander in Chief, I highly recommend checking this out.

How Does Dwight Howard Prepare For A Game?

I don't think it's any big secret that I am a big fan of Dwight Howard. He is a specimen on the court, and can dominate a game like almost no one else in the association. But one questions remains: how does Dwight prepare for a game?

Another Reason To Love Dwight Howard

Weekend Update... Only Not As Funny

First before we get to any highlights from the weekend, I wanted to address the passing of Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller. Obviously being a Jazz fan, and living in the state of Utah I have seen first hand what this man has meant not only to the Jazz, but to the entire state. Without him we wouldn't have the ESA, we wouldn't still have the Jazz, and who knows what else.

So much has already been written throughout the local papers and blogs that I figured I'd just link to a couple of my favorites:

Doug Robinson had a fantastic piece in the Deseret News on Sunday.

Ross Siler covered numerous things in regards to the death of the Jazz owner in his blog for the Salt Lake Tribune.

The Jazz will be wearing a memorial patch for Miller on their jerseys for the remainder of the season. Even the folks over at the Uni Watch Blog like the patch.

The official release sent out by the Miller group can be found here.

RIP Larry, you were a great man.

-LeBron did his thing Friday night in Milwaukee. James scored 55 points on only 29 shots against the Bucks. Maybe Kobe could take notes since he took 30 shots to score 39 points in overtime against the Hornets on Friday.

-Dwayne Wade had the crowd chanting MVP on Sunday. The only problem was, the game was in Orlando. Wade scored a career high 50 points in a loss to the Magic. Dwight Howard had 32 and 17 in the win. The Magic are going to be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time. A lot of people are talking about where a potential game 7 would be between the Celtics and the Cavs, don't count out JJ's boys come June.

-Very sad story out of the NFL combine in Indianapolis. Brian Mandeville was told by doctors to retire before his professional career even started. Apparently during a routine exam prior to working out doctors found an irregularity with his heart that could be life threatning if he continued to play football.

-Matt Kenseth turned left better than anyone else on Sunday to win the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Race at Fontana.

-Slumdog Millionaire was the big winner at the 81st Academy Awards last night in LA. Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, and Heath Ledger were among the winners.

Around the Association

It's time to take a quick trip Around the Association where we will take a look at some of the highlights from last night in the NBA.

-Obvious first stop is in Orlando where Dwight Howard went off. Being the Duke homer that I am, I decided to check the box score last night and see how J.J. Redick did (20 minutes, 10 points, 3-5 FG, and hit a 3 to send the game into OT, just an FYI) and somehow totally missed Dwight's line. 45-19-8. I'll repeat, 45 points, 19 boards, and 8 blocks, and I didn't even notice it in the box score. Maybe had he gone to Duke this would not have happened.

-Kevin Durant continues to scare the bejeezus out of me. Last night he had 47 points in the loss to New Orleans. This guy is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the Northwest Division for years to come I'm afraid. Not to go unmentioned was David West dropping 37 and 13 to help the Hornets escape with a victory.

-Thanks for coming Terry Porter. Your former employer, the Phoenix Suns, decided to drop 140 on the Clippers in their first game without you at the helm. The Suns shot 76% in the first half, and 63% for the game. Do you think they might have been sending a statement to Terry Porter, that throwing away the 7 Seconds or Less theory might have been a bad idea for a team who was built around it? Just a thought.

-Tracy McGrady is out for the year with Microfracture surgery. I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing for the Rockets. When their big 3 (McGrady, Yao, and Artest) are healthy they seem to be worse off as a team. But when one of them is hurt they seem to play better because it opens up the floor a little bit more for guys like Battier, and Scola who are much more efficent from the floor. I can't help but wonder if this will effect the trade rumors that are circulating between the Rockets and the Nets.

-Good night for Deron Williams. Andrei Kirilenko returned from injury for the Jazz, and it looks like Carlos Boozer is not far behind.

-Thank God.

-Do you think Sean Williams will be attending his 20 year reunion at Boston College? Yeah, me neither.