The Dallas Mavericks are currently in the eight spot in the NBA western conference. Can they hang on for the rest of the season and narrowly make the playoffs? I believe so, but they can’t let any games slip. They need to win seventy percent of their games to ensure their spot. The Phoenix Suns are right on their trail and would kill to make the post season. The question is, if the Mavs even do make the spot, they will likely face the tough Los Angeles Lakers. This will be a tough debut, and since the seven game series was introduced, the only one seed to get knocked off was the Dallas Mavericks themselves.

The ShamWow Guy, Vince Shlomli was arrested recently for getting in a fight with a prostitute in a hotel room. Apparently the prostitute bit his lip while kissing and didn’t let go till Shlomli repeatedly hit her.

Shlomi told police he paid Harris about $1,000 and that that when he kissed her, she “bit his tongue and would not let go.”

Both were arrested for felony aggravated battery.

Prosecutors have declined to file formal charges against the two parties.

There are some new NFL rules that Roger Goodell wants to implement next year. One of them is to add a 17th or 18th game to the season. He also wants to put in some rules that will be hard to oversee. Such as the “Hines Ward” rule to protect players from blindside hits to the head.

The other is the “Tom Brady” rule to protect the quarterback’s knees. The problem is now defensive players are going to have to change tackling habits that they’ve formed for over two decades of their lives. I understand he wants to protect quarterbacks, but the hit on Brady was just a hustle play, not intentional.

As for the 17th or 18th extra game, the players aren’t conditioned to play for that long, and their would be way more injuries to star players, thus making the playoffs less interesting.

Evidently winning just doesn’t cut it for Kentucky Basketball. Now former head coach Billly Gillispie recently was let go from the Wildcats coaching position. He had coached them for three years and had a 39-26 record with the team.

I just don’t see the cause for Kentucky to bail on this good coach. He was named co-SEC coach of the year last season along with Bruce Pearl of Tennessee. His squad from last year made the NCAA Tournament. He recruited great athletes like Jodie Meeks for the squad. His team was on the bubble and barely missed the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

I think he should have been given one more year with his recruits to become seniors before giving up on him. I guess the Kentucky Athletics Director had higher aspirations for the team like making the Sweet Sixteen or something (which no SEC team did this year).

The well known anchor of “Fast Money” on CNBC, Dylan Ratigan has quit today. Evidently there were lots of ongoing disputes between his boss and network VP Susan Krakower. Ratigan would constantly complain about doing tedious things like reading emails to traders. He wanted his show to be more of a “Letterman” host type presentation. This falling out lead to him leaving CNBC effective immediately.

The stalker of Shawn Johnson has finally been caught. Robert O’Ryan has been charged with “one felony count of stalking and two misdemeanor counts of carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle.”

Now the 17 year old gymnast from “Dancing With the Stars” has hired a bodyguard. The bodyguard is an off duty police officer.

O’Ryan was arrested Tuesday on the CBS lot — during a “Dancing with the Stars” rehearsal — after security confronted him and found out he had two loaded firearms in his car, along with duct tape and love letters to Shawn.

He is currently being held on $35,000 bail. With the charges just filed by the L.A. County District Attorney, prosecutors will ask that bail be upped to $220,000.

In the charges, the D.A. claims O’Ryan “willfully and maliciously” harassed Shawn Johnson and made “a credible threat with the intent that SHE be placed in reasonable fear for HER safety…”

O’Ryan allegedly drove from his home in Florida to meet Johnson, with whom he felt a psychic connection.

“The Three Stooges” movie has been remade by the Farrelly Brothers(Dumb and Dumber Directors). Yes, you guessed it Jim Carrey is working with them again as Curly. They also got Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro to play the other two stooges, Larry and Moe. The movie is slated to release on November 9th of this year. I’m sure the movie will be hilarious and do justice to the classic slapstick “The Three Stooges.”

With the NBA draft coming up on June 25th, 2008, here are the ten best prospects for this year’s draft.

1. Blake Griffin: This guy is a beast in the post! Think Carlos Boozier with more vertical. He even has a nice jump shot to top it off. He will definitely be the first pick overall if he decides to go pro. He is one of the elite picks in this year’s draft and should capitalize and go pro.

2. Greg Monroe: Coming out of Georgetown, this kid is just a freshman, but man can he play! He is athletic in the lane and will drive it without hesitation. He even knows when to feed the other players, now there’s something you don’t see from a big man. I’ve been talking about this guy from the beginning of the season and it seems that he really is the diamond in the rough that I thought he was.

3. Ricky Rubio: Not only does his name flow, but his ball handling skills flow as well. He was fun to watch in the Olympics for Spain, and I saw then that he had the talent to hang in the NBA with our elite guards. He kept his composure against team USA and it is going to pay off big for him.

4. James Harden: This guy can shoot the three or penetrate the lane with ease. He is an explosive threat and will most likely come out this year. I was mistaken when I thought Jeff Pendergraph was going to be the star for Arizona State this year. He had to take a back seat to Harden’s talent this year.

5. Hasheem Thabeet: This guy is not lanky or uncoordinated at 7′3″, well he was, but not anymore. He has honed and refined his inside presence and is a fierce shot blocker and rebounder. Some are comparing him to Dikembe Mutumbo, but we’ll have to wait and see if that pans out in the NBA.

6. Jeff Teague: A sophomore point guard for Wake Forest, scouts aren’t sure if he’s really a 2 guard in a point guard’s body. Teague has a soft touch inside and knows who and where to dish the ball. He could be a major threat in the NBA for defenders.

7. Brandon Jennings: A guard out of Italy, I must have missed this guy during the Olympics, but he is a amazing ball handler and has a nice three point shot. He has decided to skip college and head straight for the the NBA. Some draft annalists are comparing him to Gilbert Arenas.

8. Al-Farouq Aminu: A very long and lean player. His athleticism is very unexpected for a player at 6-8 in college. He is an excellent small forward and great rebounder, he runs the floor very well. If he improves his perimeter shot he will be nearly impossible to guard.

9. Stephen Curry: If you haven’t heard of Stephen Curry, than you’ve been living in a cave in Antarctica. This kid can ball! Curry could have gone pro last year if he wanted to, but he wanted to bulk up and improve his skills. Well he’s did that, now scouts are saying his is an improved version of his dad, Dell Curry. He made the switch from shooting guard to point guard this year, we’ll see if he keeps that position in the pros.

10. Jordan Hill: A junior for Arizona, this guy might be the reason that they made it to the Sweet Sixteen this year. He has an amazing vertical and is real aggressive at taking it to the hoop. He has improved his rebounding and shot blocking as well as his game on the offensive side of the ball.

A fisherman was mauled to death by a Komodo dragon after he ventured into a remote island sanctuary for the giant killer lizards, police said.

The fisherman died from massive blood loss after being bitten in the leg as he looked for fruit on the deserted island in the east of the archipelago.

“The fisherman was with some friends and took a break on Rinca island. He entered the jungle to find some sugar-apples,” local police deputy chief Benny Hutajulu said on Tuesday.

“The Komodo suddenly grabbed his heel… His two friends in the boat heard a scream and rushed to help him.”

The reptile had disappeared when his friends arrived but the man died on his way to hospital.

“A doctor said that he was bleeding badly and losing a lot of blood,” Hutajulu said.

College hoops continue on Xbox 360 with NCAA Basketball 09, which introduces several significant features to help distinguish it from its March Madness predecessors. First and foremost is the new gameplay engine based on the publisher’s NBA Live 09. New team-specific tendencies have been added to enhance the realism, and players can dictate the game’s tempo by slowing down or speeding up the on-court action as needed. To gauge your performance, you’ll hear real-time feedback and tips from actual NCAA coaches on the sidelines.