•Not only do SEC replay booths not use HD screens, but they say it's not worth making the switch. Also, that play where Patrick Peterson clearly stayed in bounds? They accidentally DVR'd The Mentalist over it.

•Want to know what makes Sidney Crosby so good? Evgeni Malkin. In the sixth game without the real MVP in the lineup, Sid The Kid extended his point-less streak to five games, and the Pens fell to Boston.

•A four-minute replay review overturned Brad Miller's buzzer-almost-beater, and Denver hung on to top Chicago. Imagine that! The length of the game was extended in order to make the right call, and no one's calling for David Stern's head! You listening, Selig? Of course you're not. You fell asleep halfway through Leno.

•What's Larry Johnson worth? Not moving to the bottom of the waiver wire. No one claimed the, um, expressive RB, and he's free to sign anywhere. Except with the Chiefs. My sources tell me they have no plans of signing him.

•If Mauer, Jeter and Teixeira were hoping their defense would set them apart in the MVP race, well...all three won Gold Gloves. Also, Placido Polanco emerges as a dark horse candidate.

•A judge has blocked North Dakota from changing their nickname from the Fighting Sioux. In these trying times, with two wars being fought, it's just insensitive to name a team the Fighting anythings.

•The Tribune's Rick Morrissey said Joakim Noah would never be a useful player, and promised to eat the column if he was proven wrong. Well...

In case you missed it, Miller was driving for the game-winning bucket with two seconds left in overtime, when Rondo reached from behind and non-seductively put his fingers in Miller's mouth. Miller was bleeding and clearly loopy and had to have battle stitches quickly put in his mouth, but went back to free thrown line (80% shooter!) where he promptly missed them both (the second intentionally.) So the Celtics now lead the series 3-2.

Putting aside the question of whether it was a flagrant foul or not (it was), does it bug anyone else that a player would be praised for a smart, clutch foul? Rondo "saved the day" and "did what he had to do" to win the game? I thought playing defense was what you had to do. Rondo basically admitted, "He was bigger than me, so I had to foul him."

Is that the amazing happening?

Bulls vs. Celtics Video Highlights [NBA.com]
Over and above [Boston Globe]
Loss leaves Bulls bloodied and bruised [Yahoo]

Generally speaking, we think it's silly for online writers — who are the only ones free from the PR/press pass/everybody-play-nice circle jerk of commercialized athletics — to salivate over press passes as if they had, at last, been invited to the ball. But we will make an exception when the folks from Free Darko sit courtside for the United States-Puerto Rico international game.

They hang out with Brad Miller at a Best Buy, ask Jim Gray if he likes being single and even give a shirt to the man Gilbert Arenas himself. We are fascinated by USA Basketball and have read countless stories about the first game. This is, without question, our favorite.

Free Darko At The Hem Of USA Basketball [Free Darko]