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.

Love was suspended for two games without pay for driving his foot into the face and upper body of Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola in the Timberwolves’ 100-91 home victory against the Rockets. The two had had an incident in a game last Monday, when a Scola pass hit Love in the groin.

Love said his stomp was unintentional and he apologized to Scola after the game and in a statement released by the team Monday. Scola said he did not know if it were intentional or not.

Love, who leads the Timberwolves with averages of 25.0 points and 13.7 rebounds a game, will miss Tuesday’s home game against the Sacramento Kings and Wednesday’s game at the Memphis Grizzlies.

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.

Have you thought about finally entering the All-Star Slam Dunk contest?

“I have thought about it before and a few times in the past I kind of had an ankle injury that kind of kept me out of it and a couple of times I was just like, ‘You know what, I’m going to go in here and rest my legs for this weekend and then get back to the regular season,” James said. “But, I mean, they say a lot of the greats have done it and I’ve watched it over the years.”

A lot of the greats — Michael Jordan, Julius Erving, Clyde Drexler — have, and All-Star talents Vince Carter, Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin have participated in recent years.

James even vowed to participate three years ago, then quietly backed out.

“I don’t know, I’ll be on the fence every year about it,” James said. “It’s always a fence year for me. I know they’re getting tired of me, though, so I’m not even going to start up nothing.”

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: