Nick Gagalis/n.gagalismedia@latinospost.com
The NBA Slam Dunk Contest is Saturday night. It is part of a bevy of festivities, including the three-point contest and the skills competition. We have a preview, the TV schedule and highlights from the last five contests here.
Usain Bolt certainly isn't a basketball player, but he still has ups. The Jamaican sprinter had a slam dunk in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday night. Bolt used his speed to get far ahead and create plenty of space for his jam. We have video of the dunk and a poll here.
The #2 Duke Blue Devils host the Maryland Terrapins in ACC Basketball on Saturday at 6 p.m. EST on ESPN. Duke won the previous match at Cameron Indoor Stadium. We have the live stream, a preview and video highlights here.
The top-ranked Indiana Hoosiers host the Purdue Boilermakers in the second of two games this season between the Indiana teams at 2 p.m. EST on ESPN in a Big Ten Basketball contest. We have a preview, past highlights and the live stream here.
The #15 Georgetown Hoyas are in Cincinnati to face the Bearcats in a Big East Conference basketball match-up on Friday at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN. It is the only game tonight featuring a top-25 team. As usual, we have a preview, the live stream, past highlights and more.
The Eastern Conference has two teams with two players each in the starting lineup, though one player is out for the year. The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics' All-Stars will lead the way for the Eastern Conference on Sunday in the 2013 NBA All-Star Game. We profile the past successes each starter has had in past all-star games.
The McDonald's All-American Game Rosters were announced earlier this week, featuring one of the deepest classes in recent memory. Recently-injured Nerlens Noel was a late scratch from the roster last season, but his injury and a flood of potential NBA talent into this game raise a biggest question: will any of these 24 players be one-and-done at the NCAA level?
The Los Angeles Lakers are only 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot and are 5-3 in the month of February, so all is not lost just yet. However, it won't be an easy road to the playoffs for one of the NBA's most storied franchises. We detail the team's issues with consistency here.
The AP reports that basketball player Kris Humphries' attorney wants to withdraw his effort from the Humphries-Kim Kardashian divorce case. The attorney-- Marshall Waller-- said that he and Humphries have reached an impasse, and that he no longer wants to be involved. Waller filed the necessary paperwork on Thursday to split from his client, with Friday being the day the hearing for the Humphries-Kardashian case.
Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss has cancer and is being treated for it at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The 79-year-old basketball-lifer has been in and out of the hospital in recent months and he may be near death. The Lakers figure is one of the most successful and popular sports executives in the U.S.
Former South African olympian Oscar Pistorius was in a controversial video advertisement for Nike long before he allegedly shot and killed model Reeva Steenkamp. The commercial calls each athlete involved "a bullet in the chamber" and has other visual and auditory cues that suggest the athletes are part of a violent game. The olympian and paralympian's website pulled the ad off, though it can still be seen online here.
If the Charlotte Bobcats didn't have a good enough reason to trade Ben Gordon before this week, they may now. Bleacher Report says the shooting guard got into an argument with head coach Mike Dunlap that could encourage the team to deal him by the deadline a week from Thursday.
As we reported before, it appears Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn are dating. The latest news about Vonn's return to the U.S. only confirms what we thought originally. Vonn boarded Woods' private jet last week after suffering her season-ending leg injuries. With Lindsey in the fold and Tiger scheduled to play his next tournament next week, will that affect his performance?
The #13 Ohio State Buckeyes play the Northwestern Wildcats in a Big Ten Basketball bout Thursday night at 7 p.m. EST on the Big Ten Network. It's the first of two games between them this season. We offer the live stream, a preview and past highlights.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs take on the St. Mary's Gaels Thursday night in a West Coast Conference match-up at 11 p.m. EST on ESPN2. The Zags defeated the Gaels in their previous game this season. St. Mary's has won nine in a row since... We offer a live stream and a preview of the WCC contest.
