With all the anger going around about the Josh Howard disrespecting the anthem fiasco, I decided to take a more light-hearted (but still scathing) approach to descirbing my feelings towards Howard's actions. With further ado, here come the BoreStars!

BoreStars Episode 3: A Real American

Flasback scene (cue voiceover guy): When we last left our BoreStars, they had just defeated the monsterous Ted Thompson and Aaron Rodgers with the help of Brett Favre. Now, in today's episode, Tim Duncan, Roger Federer and David Beckham race to stop a nefarious evil that threatens to destroy America!

Title Music (cue band): BOREEEEESTARSSSSS!

(montage of a rare Beckham score): Beckham scores more than you know! BORESTARS!

(montage of Federer winning the U.S. Open): Federer weaves; viewers leave! BORESTARS!

(montage of Duncan's bankshot): Duncan wins; the NBA cringes! BORESTARS!

BoreStars! We put the 'bore' into immeasurable boredom!

Scene one: The Stars are waiting for their next assignment at their lair, where no one notices them; the Memphis Grizzlies arena!

Duncan: I hope we can get another case in before the NBA season starts. I need to do what I've done for 10 years; be myself and make SA a contender.

Federer: Me, I'm glad I'm not active. Between losing to Nadal and people thinking I got the easy way out at the U.S. Open, I need a break.

(Beckham returns, looking obviously drunk)

Duncan: What the hell did you do last night?

Beckham: I clebrted yessterday. The Galxy scoreddddd more than too goals!

Duncan & Federer: Great! (laugh to themselves)

(Just after that, Michael Jordan appears to give them an assignment)

Jordan: BoreStars, I need you to go to Dallas and investigate reports of unrest against the country.

Duncan: Cool! Let's go!

Jordan: But, there's a catch; Brett Favre wants to join you!

Duncan & Federer: Damn!

Beckham: Honest, occifer, I isn't drunk!

Jordan: Just tolerate Brett. With Becks so drunk, you may need him!

Duncan: Alright, let's go.

(The Stars meet up with Favre at the plane, and go down to Dallas)

Scene two: The Stars arrive in Dallas. Just then, Favre starts to waffle.

Duncan: What the matter now, Brett!

Favre: I just get the creeps coming down here; not many fond memories here!

Federer: Well, let's just see what the fuss is about.

(Just then, Josh Howard appears)

Howard: What's up, BoreStars?

Beckham: I ain't upsy. I just be drunk!

Duncan: O.K., just ignore him. Josh, have you heard about the unrest in Dallas? It's worse than the screams in the NBA office when my Spurs reach the Finals!

Howard: I haven't heard anything. Anyhow, I gotta run to the football game!

(Howard leaves)

Beckham: He plays foosball?

Favre: He sounds like he knows more than he's letting on.

Duncan: I agree. What about you, Roger?

(Federer says nothing. He secretly wishes Nadal was behind things.)

Duncan: Let's go to American Airlines Center (sidenote: Since Miami and Dallas share the same sponser, correct me if I'm wrong).

(They depart)

Scene three: The Stars arrive at American Airlines Arena.

Beckham: Isn't this the bar I was at last night?

Duncan: No! Let's scope the place.

(As the Stars search the arena, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban arrives.)

Duncan: Hi, Cuban! Not incurring fines with Stern, are you?

Cuban: No, just trying to figure out how to be more wrong with my team. Maybe I can trade Dirk for Shaq, huh?

Federer: Enough of that. Have you heard about the unrest down here?

Cuban: I have, but I can't put my finger on where it came from.

Favre: Could it be one of your players? I should know better than anyone that players can make situations uncomfortable.

Cuban: Perhaps. I've heard Josh said something bad the other day.

Duncan: Really? That fact never came out from Josh, much like the league never wants to mention my team winning four titles.

(The Stars begin to suspect Howard. Soon, they realize the truth.)

Scene four: After some fact-checking, the Stars confirm the worst; Howard has denounced America and wants to smash everything it stands for! The Stars set out to confront Howard.

Beckham: Do we really need another drink?

Duncan: Becks, just lay low here.

(The Stars dump Beckham onto a soccer field because nobody watches soccer. Then, they confront Howard on the football field.)

Duncan: Alright, Josh; you're under arrest for the good of the country!

Howard: Oh yeah? #### the country and it's ####ty anthem! You won't stop me!

(Howard gets into his attack vehicle, and soon after knocks Federer aside because he can't focus. Duncan and Favre hold back Howard, but they realize they can't do it alone.)

Favre: I'm thinking about retiring again!

Duncan: You better not!

(Just then, an errant beam of light comes through, and strikes Howard's vehicle. It explodes, and Howard falls on his rear and is arrested by Duncan and Favre. The blast comes from Beckham, who doesn't know what happened.)

Duncan: Dave, you did it! You scored a big goal!

Beckham: I scored? Wow, that never happens!

(The Stars return to AAA.)

Scene five: The Stars are met by the Dallas media.

Duncan: Never fear, fair citizens. We stopped the menace that was Josh Howard. (People nod off during his speech).

Federer: Great! Now I can work on beating Nadal.

Favre: It's great getting in my first case! I won't retire until at least next episode!

Beckham (stares at Favre): Victoria!?

(Beckham starts to chase Favre. Duncan and Federer just stare into the sunset.)

Voiceover: Tune in next time for another exciting episode of BoreStars!

Beckham: You can't escpae forever, Victoria!

Favre: AHHHHH!

What Josh Howard did was wrong, and he thoroughly disrepected many soldiers dying in Iraq and around the world for his right to say moronic things. While little can be done to stop his career (since it's obvious that Howard would land elsewhere if Dallas cut him), he can't evade the bad press he'll get for the time to come. And that can be a fate worse than death for many athletes (right, Latrell Sprewell?).

Well, time is running short. Hope you enjoy it, and until next time, may Howard be cursed to a terrible fate; playing for Matt Millen!

Looks like the deal is finally done: Jason Kidd is back in Dallas. The trade was approved by the NBA today, and suddenly Dallas is... getting completely ripped off. I said last week, when Devean George initially blocked the deal (he was taken out of this trade) that Dallas was getting fleeced by giving up five players and two draft picks for an aging player who may not lead you to the promised land. I stand by that today. But I am interested in whether George will be able to rest easy now that Kidd's in town. With all Dallas gave up, cutting him would be hard to do. But the question now becomes: Who is the favorite in the loaded West?

Take a quick glimpse of the standings, and you'll see that there are only 4 1/2 games between the top seed (New Orleans at the moment) and the #8 seed (a tie between Golden State and Denver). There's little room for error for any team. Is it obvious to us that all the major trades have occured among West teams? Here's how (today) I'm handicapping the race:

1. Spurs, 2. Lakers, 3. Suns, 4. Mavs, 5. Jazz, 6. Hornets, 7. Nuggets, 8. Warriors

Why do I still say the Spurs are the favorites? Simply put, you must beat the best to be the best. The Spurs aren't the defending champs for nothing. That said, you must wonder if this team is getting too old to compete, but all these big moves were made to counter Tim Duncan's excellence. You think Phoenix would trade for Shaq if they weren't thinking about how Duncan has torn them to shreds in the playoffs? Duncan makes the West revolve and do everything to counter him.

The Lakers are #2 in spite of Kobe's injury. My feeling is that he'll shoot the ball even if all his ligaments in his shooting hand were torn! There's no way he'll shut it down when he has easily his best team since Shaq left (by the way, the Lakers probably sent Byron Scott some cash for resting Kobe in the All-Star Game). Kobe will produce as well as he always does, and the Lakers pose the most serious threat to SA's title hopes.

What about Phoenix and the aforementioned Mavs? Both trades these teams made did the one thing neither could afford: deplete depth. The Suns usually only play seven guys, so can Shaq play over 30 minutes a night? And will he be a late-in-his-career Wilt Chamberlain (pass and defend willingly) or the Shaq who stunk it up earlier this year? One doesn't know. The Mavs now must worry that their C position can be manned almost exclusively by Erick Dampier, which is about as likely as Roger Clemens passing a lie-detector test. And who will spell Kidd? Jason Terry? Jerry Stackhouse? Neither one can run the show when Kidd sits, and the hoped for offensive revival will resemble what it did before the deal.

How about the current top seed? The Hornets have surprised almost everybody, but it's been four years since they last made the playoffs (they were still in the East!). And only Peja has experience in the postseason. They will do well if they win one round. And none of the other teams has a legit chance of making the Finals. So, in the end, there are four legit title contenders.

You know who the REAL winner in all this is? The Pistons and the Celtics! Their road to the title got much easier. There are no real threats in the Least (Lebron won't make magic happen twice, the Magic aren't ready), and whoever comes out of the West will take a major beating to win those series. So if I was a betting man, I'd bet on either of those teams. And for the NBA's sake, it better be the Lakers and Celtics, because a Detroit-SA rematch would be akin to putting George Bush on Jeopardy!! But that's another issue. Until next time, may Devean George rest much easier!

It took me what seems like an eternity to get in here. Before I go off with my sports for today, let me get political about the never ending "Whoops!", "Service Unavailable"'s and "Internet Explorer..." pages I've been getting: Memo to Fox; you are going to lose a lot of loyal bloggers if you keep on bull****ing around and having more errors than Bill Buckner in the World Series! My computer is actually in shop for repairs because of the hair-yanking madness you've caused! Get your act together and let me and others post without having to reclick through endless "Whoops". Whoops, my (expletive)!

Now then, let's talk about my favorite league, the NBA. Yesterday, a potential blockbuster move was blocked, as Jason Kidd is not going to Dallas right now. Who would stand in the way of this trade? Why, that would be superstar F... Devean George? Yes, George, a player more known for being a bit player on the Lakers' title teams earlier this decade, is blocking the move through an "early Bird exception" that, in essence, would allow the Mavs to go over their cap to sign him to a new deal when he's an FA. Is this clown delusional? Or did he do the Mavs a favor?

On the surface, George appears to be an ####. After all, why would he think about that exception being used on him? When I first heard that George was blocking the deal for this, I thought "Dallas nor any other team will sign him with the exception!". And I stand by that. But look at what the Mavs would have to give up to get him; Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagna Diop, and Maurice Ager, along with George. Kidd's a great player, but four players and picks good? Not at this point of his career.

My gut feeling is that the Mavs are afraid, after the Shaq and Gasol trades, that they may become an afterthought in the loaded West and were desperate to make a splashy deal. But this trade might push them even futher back if it's completed. Although Stackhouse was expected to resign with Dallas after the trade and the required 30-day sitout following a buyout, they're sacrificing the future to attempt to win now even though they probably won't. Then what? They'll be stuck with an aged Kidd and no prospect of contending again.

Despite this, I think George will eventually consent and go to Jersey. If he stays in Big D, the fans will treat him like the Philly fans treated Mitch Williams after the 1993 World Series; like he's the direct reason they didn't win the title. George will be booed (like he was last night, and boy did he respond; 0-11 from the field, 0-2 from the line, and 0 points in 33 minutes) and heckled as long as he stays down there. And even though he seems like a cool cat, eventually, he will feel the heat and begin to crack. Williams eventually did, and his career fizzled after that. George will put off as long as he can, then at the last moment, when he realizes he won't get that Bird exception even if he stays, he accept the deal.

Bottom line; Dallas should be thanking George for putting the kibosh on a bad Kidd deal, but instead he's turned into a piriah. That is the way it goes, and pretty soon, the Mavs will wish that their trades will pop up with a "Whoops!" sign!

Tonight, the Golden State Warriors will attempt to complete what would be called the greatest upset (or, in Dallas' case, the greatest choke) when the two teams square off in Dallas tonight. Say what you will about how this series has gone thus far, with Nellie outcoaching Avery, Dirk not playing like a potential MVP should, to Baron Davis returning to the limelight, the sad thing is, Dallas had a chance to prevent this from happening. Yes, they could have played the Clippers instead had they not decided to tank a game to the Warriors late in the season, which proved to be the difference in Golden State edging the Clips for the #8 seed. Granted, when your team has nothing to really play for, you don't want to risk injuries on such a game. But when the stats tell you that you have lost 9 of your last 11 (or something of that nature), you should do all you can do to avoid that team in the postseason. Dirk, as well as several other players, sat out the entire game, which looked smart at the time. Now it's come back to bite them! This will inevitably force teams to look at the wisdom of clinching everything you want early. We saw last year with the Pistons how the best record means very little when your passion and energy are low. What's the reward for being the 'best' when you lose the energy to be the 'best'? It seems like coach Avery has more passion than his team! I think that this series could end tonight (although Dallas should have enough pride to avoid that) and that if it happens, this team needs a complete evalution of what they need to be a more effective team in 2008. Because their window of oppotunity is closing fast, and the West isn't getting any easier. One thing is readily apparent; Dirk needs to starting getting physical! Manute Bol thinks he plays too perimeter-oriented. Until that happens, good luck Dallas! You'll need it.