The current Superman of the league will be laced with a new colorway of the adiPower Howard II, the lightest so far of Howard’s signature sneakers with adidas.

The asymmetrical design along the upper is a nod to the shattered glass that used to come from the broken backboards of last player from Orlando to don the “superman” nickname.

Other features of this sneaker are miCoach support, an ALIVE cushioning system, and a convenient pulltab on top of the mesh tongue for easy access.

adidas Basketball has always been good with letting you know just which one of their players sneaker you’re wearing which can be seen thru Dwight Howard’s number on the medial side, Superman-inspired logo on the tongue, and signature on the heel.

adidas adiPower Howard II – ’2012 All-Star’

Per Jeff McDonald of the Express-News:

“The doctors say he’s healed and healthy,” Popovich said before the Spurs’ 89-84 win over the Grizzlies. “It’s just a matter of conditioning and timing, rhythm and confidence, all those things right now.”

“I’d expect him in the next week or so.”

Ginobili’s imminent return should come as great news, but the question as to the potential impact he will have for San Antonio must be posed. The shooting guard was on an absolute tear before he went down with a broken hand, but the Spurs have recently gone on an absolute tear of their own, without him.

Just like when Rudy Gay went down for the Memphis Grizzlies last season, the rest of the San Antonio team stepped up in Ginobili’s absence. Tony Parker has been sensational, Tim Duncan still has gas left in the tank and Richard Jefferson has been surprisingly not-horrible.

Currently, the Spurs hold the third seed in the Western Conference, a position few expected them to be in prior to Ginobili’s injury. Now that he is close to returning, the team should be prepared to make an even more impressive postseason run. Unless his absence is truly similar to that of Gay’s last year.

While Gay has excelled since returning to the Grizzlies’ rotation, the team itself has not. Zach Randolph’s injury is a definite factor, but you cannot help but notice Memphis lacks the complete selflessness it did without a bona fide superstar.

As far as heralded athletes go, Gay is far from selfish, but without him, there was no focal point, but rather offense was run as a balanced collective. And we all know where that got the Grizzlies.

The same can arguably be said of the Spurs. San Antonio was milking Ginobili’s shooting abilities before he went down. He was Parker’s first, and second, option to pass off to. Now that Parker does not have that luxury, he has been forced to think outside the box, getting himself, Duncan, DeJuan Blair, Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter more involved. And its working.

Like it or not, Ginobili’s presence will significantly alter the Spurs’ current game plan. While the offensive free-for-all has gotten them this far, Popovich and company won’t hesitate for a moment to go back to feeding Ginobili.

And you know what? San Antonio shouldn’t take any other approach.

Even after what we have seen from Gay and the Grizzlies, it must be understood that while Ginobili’s situation in San Antonio is similar, it is also much different. The Spurs are an experienced group, whose core has been together for nearly a decade, and familiarity makes all the difference.

Memphis isn’t exactly new to each other, but a majority of their core, including Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, boast an air of uncertainty. San Antonio knows for sure what it has, and it knows how to use it.

Ginobili will take shots away from other players, yet he will create open looks for them at the same time. Don’t believe for a minute that he is going to force the action. He’ll take over when he has to, but he won’t hesitate to hit the open man in the event of a double-team.

What’s to make of all this?

That the Spurs are are currently a dangerous team who is about to become even more lethal; Ginobili’s presence will most certainly disrupt the chemistry San Antonio has established, but in the best way one possibly can.

And to think, about a decade ago, many believed Antoine Walker to be the better of the two players and the one who would lead Boston to the promised land. While Walker is still trying to scrape up some loose change in the D-League, Pierce is still playing at a high level. Long before Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett made their way to Massachusetts during the same offseason several years ago, I always thought Paul Pierce to be a grossly underrated player. That was primarily because he always played on losing teams. But when the Big 3 was formed, his talents were front and center and he finally got the loved he was owed.

An invigorated Bryant is on a scoring tear this season, putting up 29.3 points per game. Despite his nagging injuries, Bryant has not indicated that they are holding him back, much. Yet, before the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers took the court on Monday night, Bryant said something that reminded me how close we are to the end of the magnificent career of Kobe “Black Mamba” Bryant.

When asked about how special it is to play in front of his hometown crowd of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bryant admitted that he’s grown to love putting on a show there. But then, he pointed to the end of his own career, saying that he can count the times he will play here in the future “on one hand.”

A lot of good writers have looked at Bryant’s physique and workout regimen and assumed he would be like Karl Malone, John Stockton or Robert Parish and play into his early 40’s. But here, Bryant says that he will not even make it to 40. At 33 years of age, Bryant’s own words suggest that he will retire within six years, or by the time he is 39.

If Bryant is only planning on another six years, or less in the NBA, can Bryant surpass Michael Jordan as the 3rd leading scorer in NBA history?

There is good news and bad news. For Jordan, it’s been a short ride near the top. He retired 2nd in scoring. Karl Malone then passed him. Soon Kobe Bryant too, could pass him. Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett are climbing as well, but Jordan should be watching the young scoring sensation Kevin Durant. For Bryant, the air will be getting thin up there with only a few more productive seasons separating Kobe from former teammate Karl Malone (2nd) and Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1st).

Bryant has scored 733 points in the first 25 games of this season. With 41 games to go (in this abbreviated 66 game season), Bryant will score probably somewhere between 1,201 and 1,107 more points this season, depending on whether or not you think he can keep up his scoring clip of just under 30 points per game.

After this shortened season, Bryant could catch Jordan after next season if Kobe scored at a career-high pace (like he did in ’06), but of course he won’t. He will be 34. It will probably take Bryant this season and two more. But, with good health and good fortune it seems that nothing short of Jordan coming back from retirement again, can stop Bryant from passing MJ on the NBA’s All-time scoring list. Then again, health and fortune are hard to come by late in the career of NBA players.

You’ve likely heard the news and seen the video by now, as the NBA dropped the news of Love’s two-game suspension last night. Clearly Love got lost in the moment and let his frustrations get the best of him. The stomp itself, well, it doesn’t look good on him nor accidental.

However, for as out of character as Kevin Love’s actions on Saturday were, his attempts at cleaning the situation up with his in-person post-game apology to Scola, to his subsequent official and unofficial statements, are pretty much what we’d expect from a guy we wouldn’t expect to see stomping guys on the floor in the first place.

Love doesn’t want to be seen as a dirty player; he’s concerned about how he’s viewed in and around the NBA community, and he wants to make it up to all of us. He’s not brazenly brushing the incident off altogether, or hiding behind one press release and giving reason to think he’s simply apologizing because David Stern made a strong suggestion or two. His concern seems real, making the stomp feel both stranger and out of character at the same time. Its almost like he is trying to figure out what happened along with the rest of us.

All told, if one had to predict how Love would respond to a suspension under these circumstances, it would probably be pretty close to this. It seems difficult to imagine that many around the league will come to think of him as a ‘dirty’ player now, and as time goes on this incident could likely be filed under the “He’s Just A Highly Emotional Player Who Lost His Cool” category (provided it doesn’t become a behavioral pattern of course).

Love’s apologies are profuse enough to let the situation fade away upon his return from the two-game ban. It was a stupid, dangerous, and irresponsible thing to do, but for now, from what we knew of Love before the stomp and what we’re seeing in its wake, it appears his apology is sincere. The whole thing feels more like a reflection on his need for in-game control of emotions rather than some urge to purposely injure another player.

Scola is thankfully okay, and Love will return later this week to continue his ascension as one of the league’s best young forwards on one of the more exciting teams going right now. Time for a return to regular business, and the hope we don’t need to speak of something like this again.

Either way, when it’s all said and done for Kobe (regardless of if he passes Kareem) I think both LeBron and Kevin Durant will end up with more career points than him. Yes, Kobe came straight out of high school, but it wasn’t until his fourth season where he began averaging more than 20ppg. Conversely, neither LeBron (straight from HS) nor KD (who only played one year of college ball) have ever averaged less than 20 ppg in their respective careers so they have a big head start on Kobe.

Ironically, Kobe passed Shaq last night in his native Philadelphia (not that they care about what he does). Here’s the bucket that did it:

When the Jordan IV was chosen for as the Air Jordan for the 2011 Doernbecher collection, that meant that 2012 would see a return of the fourth signature sneaker of Michael Jordan.

Fans of Spike Lee Joints will remember this as the sneaker worn by Buggin Out from Do the Right Thing in the scene where they were scuffed by a passer-by (wearing a Larry Bird shirt) from my top 10 basketball sneaker moments in movies.

Despite the original Cement Grey being replaced with the darker Tech Grey color, these will still be called the Cement IV and will sell out on release day all the same.

The Clippers run one of the most uptempo and athletic offenses in the league, thanks to the presence of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. DeAndre Jordan, while a near non-factor on offense, is an athletic fiend, Mo Williams is the epitome of swiftness, and Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups have proven to have some serious hops left in their step. So where does Martin fit in?

Los Angeles is in need of some further assistance in their second unit, but is Martin necessarily the one to provide it? He seems to think so, as he has already stated that Griffin and Jordan should thrive under his tutelage.

From the LA Times:

“With my knowledge of the game, I know I can help Blake,” Martin said. “I’ve been where Blake is — a whole lot of athleticism and not really knowing how to play. He’s getting it, but I think me being here, being around and talking to him and DeAndre, I think it’s going to help a lot.”

Even during Martin’s brief stint as a premiere power forward, he was never as athletic as Jordan or Griffin. His rebounding was solid and he was an underrated defender, but he never thrived in transition, blocked many shots, developed a solid mid range game or had a positive attitude about him.

Yet somehow, Martin believes, that at 34 and more than six years removed from any sort of prolific display, he can help hone the skills of the Clippers’ young low post tandem, help develop them into a player that he never was. That doesn’t exactly sound like a recipe for success.

And as far as his impact on the second unit goes, he would be a real asset if Los Angeles is ever looking to slow things down, but that’s an avenue they hardly ever explore. Half-court sets are not what helped them stave off the Orlando Magic in overtime, and it’s not what’s going to propel them to victories over the Oklahoma City Thunder or Denver Nuggets.

Are the Clippers worse off with Martin on the roster? Aside from the fact that he’s a public relations time-bomb, absolutely not. But does his oft-injured presence make them a substantially better team? No, it just provides Los Angeles with an extra body.

While there are those that will argue an extra body is all the Clippers need at this juncture, keep in mind Martin is not only an injury risk, but liable to disrupt any ball movement or transition opportunities the team would have had with Griffin or Jordan on the floor in his stead.

Martin’s role with the Clippers is simply as a stop-gap, a body who can hopefully allot Jordan and Griffin some rest.

Is he the ideal candidate to assume such a role? His public sentiments say yes, but reality says no.

While we have been treated to a number of top ranked teams going down unexpectantly to unranked opponents and an inordinate amount of teams losing on last second buzzer beaters, nothing compares to the drama and excitement that goes down during the NCAA’s annual Rivalry Week.

Even though the many upcoming conference realignments may threaten to destroy the sometimes near century long rivalries between teams like Missouri/Kansas and West Virginia/Pittsburgh, many new conference tilts will emerge once teams like Syracuse, UConn, and Texas A&M make there move to the ACC and SEC respectively over the next few seasons.

Here are some of the key contests on ESPN during Rivalry Week Feb 6th-13th:

UConn vs (25)Louisville – Monday @7PM on ESPN

(11)Florida vs (1)Kentucky – Tuesday @7PM on ESPN

(14)Georgetown vs (2)Syracuse – Wednesday @7Pm on ESPN

(8)Kansas vs (6)Baylor – Wednesday @7PM on ESPN2

(5)Duke vs (6)North Carolina – Wednesday @9PM on ESPN

(16)St. Mary’s vs Gonzaga – Thursday @11PM on ESPN2

UConn vs (2)Syracuse – Saturday @1PM on CBS

(10)Michigan State vs (3)Ohio State – Saturday @6PM on ESPN

(1)Kentucky vs Vanderbilt – Saturday @9PM on ESPN

(8)Kansas vs Kansas State – Monday Feb 13th @9PM on ESPN

Check Out ESPN’s Rivalry Week Promo:

From TMZ:

The accident happened on Route 27 in Lake Wales. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Stoudemire was driving at a “high rate of speed” when he collided with the rear of a tractor trailer.

He died on the scene.

The Florida Highway Patrol says 35-year old Stoudemire was not wearing a seat belt when he smashed into the big rig … and they are unsure if alcohol was a factor.

The deepest of sympathies undoubtedly go out to Stoudemire and his family, as this tragic event reminds us that an athlete’s life extends beyond the basketball court. And it also allows us to gain a little perspective.

For the talk about athletes being overpaid and the owners being so profit driven, the understanding of the New York Knicks organization is a refreshing sentiment. Stoudemire will not be in uniform tonight when the Knicks take on the Utah Jazz, as he will be tending to his family, but his presence will certainly be felt.

The NBA is a business, one of the most cut-throat entities there are, but when it comes down to it, the athletes—who are often seen as immune to circumstances off the hardwood—are human beings, with families and real life problems, just like anyone else. The entire New York and Knicks community has taken to the realm of social media to show their support and extend their condolences to Stoudemire and his family, and that’s classy.

There isn’t a single market that is tougher to play in than New York. If you have one bad game, you’re heckled by fans and being shopped on the trade market by the franchise. Stoudemire himself has had to deal with this painful reality over the first third of the season.

Despite the brutal mindset of New York and the entire NBA though, when tragedy strikes, and athletes must cope with another painful reality, the nature of the beast is put on the back burner, even if only for a minute.

Professional athletes are held in higher regard than some of our world leaders, they are seen as heroes, role models and even immortals. And while it’s great to see that they can manufacture such inspiration and charisma, we must remember that they are people, first and foremost.

Fresh off an ugly lockout and knowing what a callous business the NBA has become, it’s great to see that the league itself hasn’t forgotten that. And if any solace is to be found within this tragedy, it will be as we extend our own condolences to the Stoudemire family, knowing full well that the Knicks and the NBA have done so first.

Martin had signed to play for the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball League during the Lockout but was granted an early release by CBA officials early last week and was considering joining a number of NBA teams like Miami, New York, LA Lakers, Atlanta, and San Antonio.

Despite signing the most lucrative contract by an American player in CBA history, Martin immediately clashed with coaches, management, and reportedly everyone besides former Nuggets teammate JR Smith, who conversely to K-Mart, has been tearing it up on the Chinese circuit.

For those younger NBA fans that didn’t have the pleasure of watching Martin in his prime before all of the injuries, as the National POY at the University of Cincinnati, #1 overall NBA Draft pick in 2000, and as an All Star helping the NJ Nets reach the NBA Finals 3 consecutive seasons in the early part of the 2000‘s, Martin was as ferocious a dunker and as ill tempered as anyone in the Association.

Dare I say, he was the precursor to today’s Blake Griffin, minus the infamous lips tattoo, closed door fist-a-cuffs with former coach George Karl, on-and-off again relationships with female rappers like Trina, and wishing full blown AIDS upon all of his haters.

While a double dose of microfracture surgery has robbed Martin of some of his explosion, he never lacks for confidence and will provide excellent depth off the bench behind Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan on the now star-studded Clippers roster. There’s no doubt he will help with rebounding and defensive pressure heading towards the postseason. But the real question is whether LA ready for both Metta World Peace and K-Mart?

Check out Kenyon Martin’s Top 100 Dunks:

Davis took the first step in making history by setting the single season blocked shots mark for a freshman in another blowout win for the Wildcats over SEC rival South Carolina. By posting yet another fantastic stat line Saturday consisting of 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 blocks, he passed future NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal’s single season SEC freshman mark of 115 blocked shots, while at LSU.

With 7 regular season games remaining, Davis still has an outside shot of breaking Mississippi State’s Jarvis Varnado’s SEC record of 170 blocks, and even the 182 block NCAA mark in a season set by Hassan Whiteside of Marshall 2 seasons ago.

In addition to blocked shots, Davis is approaching several other Kentucky single season milestones like potentially becoming the first UK player since Kenny “Sky” Walker in ’84-’85 to average double digit rebounds per game. Davis’ current mark of 10.1 boards per contest would be the 3rd highest since Jim Andrews average 12.4 rebounds in ’72-’73.

Davis has tallied double-digit rebounds in 10 games this season. He’s grabbed at least 15 rebounds on three occasions, highlighted by a career-high 18 rebounds against Chattanooga. Davis’ 11 double-doubles this season are fourth most by a freshman in UK history. Just three UK players have averaged at least nine rebounds per game in the last 26 seasons, the last being DeMarcus Cousins’ 9.8 per game in ’09-’10.

Additionally, with another impressive 9 for 10 shooting game against the Gamecocks, Davis is now shooting an unbelievable .663% from the field. That mark would set an all-time Wildcat record for shooting proficiency considering the current record is held by Michael Bradley, who shot .657% during the ’88-’89 season.

Faithful supporters of Big Blue Nation should enjoy watching Davis while they can since he is already projected as a consensus Top 3 pick in most Mock Drafts. There’s no doubting he will be severely tested this upcoming week against SEC rival big men Patric Young of Florida, Festus Ezeli of Vanderbilt, and Arnett Moultrie and Reynardo Sidney of Mississippi State.

Check out highlights of Davis’ Record Setting Block:

Friday.

Miami at Philadelphia – A-. Wednesday, the 76ers got what was probably their biggest win of the season when they smacked the Chicago Bulls, 98-82. In their first meeting a few weeks back, the Heat trounced the Sixers by 21. Wins over the two elites of the Eastern Conference in one week, and Philly’s resume suddenly looks a lot better.

Memphis at Oklahoma City – B. The Thunder are already 2-0 this season against Memphis, who aren’t always as sharp on the road, but these are the Grit and Grind Grizzlies; adverse situations only allow them to use that nickname all the more.

Los Angeles Lakers at Denver – B-. Could be fun, but I could also see a Nuggets’ barrage and Kobe & Co. resting the ol’ legs early. Either way, it’s the late game of the night and Denver doesn’t stop running, so it should be entirely watchable.

Saturday.

Orlando at Indiana – SRY. It’s the night before the Super Bowl, the Magic don’t want to be there – some people don’t seem to want to be anywhere with the Magic, which probably doesn’t help —  and the Pacers, an exciting up-and-comer in the East, will likely feel like they’re playing second fiddle in their own city. Definitely seems like a scheduling oversight, hence the grade of ‘Sorry’ for this one.

Chicago at Milwaukee – B+. These teams met in Chicago last Friday, where the Bulls simply wore down the Bucks in the second half. Since then, the Bogut-less Bucks have beaten the Lakers and Heat at home, and Brandon Jennings is making an All-Star push with some truly electrifying play. There will be a fun atmosphere in Milwaukee for this one; plus, people really want to start saying “Fear the Deer” again.

Denver at Portland – A-. Another fantastic-looking late game for any NBA-TVers out there. After their hot start, the Blazers seem to have lost some of their buzziness around the league. But because Portland seems to be about as alternative a city as any in the league, staying a few steps away from what’s trending probably means they’re right where they want to be.

Sunday.

Memphis at Boston – B. Not a bad pairing at all, and since this one will tip around 12 Eastern time, get the tailgating started early by tallying all Patriots paraphernalia against Celtics’ green in the crowd and drinking in some accordance with said count. Then get depressed, or excited, I guess, when you remember the Super Bowl starts in a few hours.

Toronto at Miami – ON. ‘On’ as in it is on television. League Pass, actually, but yeah, this is all you get from the NBA on Super Bowl Sunday. Since it’s the Heat, it could be worth a look as compared to a live feed of Rob Gronkowski’s ankle.

Enjoy the weekend, and if your team’s in the Super Bowl, go team.