Alotta Stuff

......go Usher

Grammy Award-winning rhythm and blues singer Usher is buying a minority ownership stake in the Cavaliers, two people familiar with the transaction said.

Usher, whose full name is Usher Raymond, would join an ownership group led by Quicken Loans Inc. and Rock Financial founder Dan Gilbert, who agreed last month to buy the franchise from Gordon Gund for $375 million.

Mix bag of stuff......

LeBron has all kinds of excuses

BY FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Carmelo Anthony (l.) dunks over Atlanta's Josh Smith last night.
DENVER - No one will ever know if the rumor about LeBron James demanding $1 million to participate in the slam dunk contest is true or not. But yesterday, James offered about a million excuses as to why he won't be competing in an event that desperately needs him.

"I'm still a little sick (with the flu) and my ankle's still a little tender," James said. "I'm not getting as much lift as I know I can get off this (left) ankle. I'll be in attendance but I won't be participating in it."

James also declined to be in last year's slam dunk contest, reportedly because he was upset over not being selected as a reserve in the All-Star Game. This year, James has a full schedule. He was voted a starter by the fans and he also played in the Rookie Challenge last night.

"I don't have 100% energy, but I'm happy to be here," said James, who had to be helped off the court during the Cavs' loss to Minnesota on Thursday. "I got dizzy, dehydrated. I went into the locker room, took my temperature. It was like 105."

James' decision to sit out the slam dunk contest leaves Hawks rookie Josh Smith, Chris Andersen and rookie J.R. Smith of New Orleans, and Amare Stoudemire of Phoenix as the only participants. As it turns out, Denver was the site of the NBA's first dunk contest in 1984 and the ABA dunk-off between Julius Erving and David Thompson in 1976.



HALL WHISPERS: Former Atlanta Hawks forward Dominique Wilkins is one of the finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, according to a league source. Despite being a perennial All-Star, Wilkins was omitted from the NBA's list of Top 50 players of all time. New inductees will be announced tomorrow. UConn head coach Jim Calhoun reportedly also is a finalist.

ARTEST ON MOVE? Indiana's Ron Artest may be on the suspended list, but his name continues to come up in trade rumors. Artest, whom the Knicks would love to have, could end up in Memphis, according to one league source. It is unclear whom the Grizzlies would part with in order to make a deal work. But names being mentioned are Mike Miller, Bonzi Wells and Stromile Swift.

AWOL-STARS: Oops. Stephon Marbury is on the official All-Star poster even though the Knicks' point guard was not selected to the game. Orlando's Steve Francis and Denver's Carmelo Anthony, both non-All Stars, also appear on the poster.

ROOKIE CHALLENGE: Anthony excelled in his only on-court appearance of the weekend, scoring 31 points last night to lead the sophomores to a 133-106 victory over the rookies in the NBA Rookie Challenge exhibition.

Teaming with James for the first time since the Olympics, Anthony fell just three points short of his season high with the Denver Nuggets.

He was named the game's Most Valuable Player, finishing with five dunks, including three straight early in the second half while both teams were playing hard, thanks to a surprising nine-point lead the overmatched rookies took late in the first half.

so they won't be playing in the gund arena in the future?

so they won't be playing in the gund arena in the future?

no its gonna be the called the Lil Jon Arena

I think it will be called the Gilbert Arena.

It will be fun when Washington comes to play, so Gilbert Arenas will be in Gilbert's Arena.

Usher Arena... half of the season tickets only to gay people.

man.. dont rag usher!

shit, i don remember smith getting dunked on by melo?

pfff, fucking editors probably think josh smith's "defense" last night was bad or something... fucking retards. didn't you shits see that josh played def. TWICE (when he blocked someone) and then when melo blew by him baseline for a reverse. the rest were just "o, you have a dunk prepared? im not going to be a bitch about it and defend you. it's all about fun"

FUCK YOU FRANK ISOLA. YOU DIDN'T WATCH THAT GAME DID YOU? FUCK YOU.

HALL WHISPERS: Former Atlanta Hawks forward Dominique Wilkins is one of the finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, according to a league source. Despite being a perennial All-Star, Wilkins was omitted from the NBA's list of Top 50 players of all time. New inductees will be announced tomorrow. UConn head coach Jim Calhoun reportedly also is a finalist.

I should think so. Nique may not have won a title and his career may not have ended on such a positive note, but he's a guy who deserves to be in the Hall as soon as he becomes eligible. Now that his time has come, hopefully the committee won't snub him.

FUCK YOU FRANK ISOLA. YOU DIDN'T WATCH THAT GAME DID YOU? FUCK YOU.

So much hate for just one stupid line some guy wrote. It's not like he's ripping Josh's D.

Nique may not have won a title and his career may not have ended on such a positive note, but he's a guy who deserves to be in the Hall as soon as he becomes eligible. Now that his time has come, hopefully the committee won't snub him.

I agree. I'm surprised that I didn't notice that he wasn't in the top 50 of all time. I'm not sure why, but how come his career didn't end on a positive note? I remember in the All Star game in Atlanta, the crowd was booing him when he participated in a shooting challenge? What's up with that?

He finished his career as a benchwarmer for the Magic in 1999. Every so often he'd play extended minutes and put up decent numbers, but for the most part he wasted away on the bench. Unfortunately, Nique was pretty much brushed aside after the trade to the Clippers back in 1994.

AWOL-STARS: Oops. Stephon Marbury is on the official All-Star poster even though the Knicks' point guard was not selected to the game. Orlando's Steve Francis and Denver's Carmelo Anthony, both non-All Stars, also appear on the poster.

guess everyone was too focused on Usher and the rookie game to read that. Thats pretty embarrasing for the NBA Photo Commitee if you ask me.