And sources say Shaquille O'Neal will miss a free throw tonight
Ironically for a sport that helped spawn the "Just Do It" slogan, basketball never seems to actually do anything. It's reported and pondered about to death that when something actually happens, it's irrelevant. And you wonder why people think NBA games/series are fixed. They can't even handle awards ceremonies right. There was plenty of hand-wringing over the Tim Duncan vs. Jason Kidd MVP fiasco. Problem was, the award wasn't announced yet when the debate started. We all wanted the announcement to come so we could end the debate -- not begin it. And today, there were "reports" that Larry Brown was selected to the Hall of Fame -- never mind, the full announcement was coming within hours. What's the rush to be first for something like this?

For all the heat baseball gets for its sometimes archaic voting process for the major awards and the Hall of Fame, at least the announcements can keep you guessing until the time they release the results. Then you can argue. Same goes with the other major sports. The AP handles many of the NFL awards, and the Hall of Fame is handled by a council of elders emerging from their semi-secret gathering during Super Bowl weekend proclaiming their choices. The NHL has its Oscars-like ceremony for the awards. Using hockey as an example, could you imagine a report saying "Sources say Denzel Washington will win the Oscar"? Thanks, NBA. Can you tell me the lotto numbers, too?