NBA - All-Star Saturday 3-Point Contest

The best shooters the NBA has to offer take aim at the Three-Point Shootout tonight in Orlando. One man will reign as the top shooter in the league. The current champion, James Jones of the Heat, will defend his title tonight against the likes of Minnesota's Kevin Love, Orlando's Ryan Anderson, New Jersey's Anthony Morrow, Jones' Miami teammate Mario Chalmers, and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant. Jones will be looking to become the 7th player to defend his title.

Kevin Durant (2.25 to 1)
- 37% 3P
- 58 3PM

James Jones (2.5 to 1)
- 2011 3-Point Shootout Champion
- 42% 3P
- 28 3PM

Ryan Anderson (3 to 1)
- 43% 3P
- 99 3PM

Anthony Morrow (3 to 1)
- 40% 3P
- 69 3PM

Mario Chalmers (3.5 to 1)
- 46% 3P
- 69 3PM

Kevin Love (5 to 1)
- 35% 3P
- 48 3PM

And the winner is: Mario Chalmers. The 3-Point Shootout Championship Trophy will return to South Beach. It won't be in James Jones' hands this time around though. Mario Chalmers has flat out stroked the ball this year. He doesn't take the nightly grind that other competitors like Durant and Love do, so he should be fairly fresh. Surprisingly, Chalmers's odds are the 5th lowest out of 6 contestants. This gives me even more reason to like him as you can get more for your dollar. His shooting abilities are part of the reason that the Heat are wrecking their competition right now. Those abilities will be on display tonight.

NBA - At the All-Star Break

We have now reached the NBA All-Star Break in this condensed season. Every team in the league is about half way through their schedule and gearing up for the stretch run. Over the next month we will start to see who will be in contention for an NBA title this year. The NBA is the one league that generally crowns the best team champion. This could be a year unlike any other though (besides 1999). The last time the NBA had a shortened season, an 8-seed (New York Knicks) made it to the NBA Finals. Could we see something similar this year? There are some talented teams that aren't having stellar regular seasons that could make a splash in the playoffs (Celtics, Knicks, Lakers, Grizzlies). But time will tell. Here is how the remainder of the season projects based off of current standings and simulations of the remaining games.

Eastern Conference
1. Miami 52-14
2. Chicago 49-17
3. Orlando 40-26
4. Philadelphia 39-27
5. Indiana 39-27
6. Atlanta 36-30
7. New York 35-31
8. Boston 34-32
9. Milwaukee 28-38
10. Cleveland 24-42
11. Detroit 21-45
12. New Jersey 20-46
13. Toronto 20-46
14. Washington 19-47
15. Charlotte 11-55

Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City 49-17
2. San Antonio 43-23
3. LA Clippers 43-23
4. Dallas 42-24
5. LA Lakers 40-26
6. Memphis 38-28
7. Portland 35-31
8. Houston 34-32
9. Denver 33-33
10. Minnesota 30-36
11. Golden St. 30-36
12. Utah 29-37
13. Phoenix 28-38
14. Sacramento 22-44
15. New Orleans 20-46

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
1 Miami over 8 Boston 4-1
4 Philadelphia over 5 Indiana 4-2
3 Orlando over 6 Atlanta 4-3
2 Chicago over 7 New York 4-2

Western Conference Quarterfinals
1 Oklahoma City over 8 Houston 4-1
4 Dallas over 5 LA Lakers 4-3
3 LA Clippers over 6 Memphis 4-3
2 San Antonio over 7 Portland 4-2

Eastern Conference Semifinals
1 Miami over 4 Philadelphia 4-0
2 Chicago over 3 Orlando 4-1

Western Conference Semifinals
1 Oklahoma City over 4 Dallas 4-2
2 San Antonio over 3 LA Clippers 4-2

Eastern Conference Finals
2 Chicago over 1 Miami 4-3

Western Conference Finals
1 Oklahoma City over 2 San Antonio 4-2

NBA Finals
2 Chicago over 1 Oklahoma City 4-2

The Miami Heat appear to be the best team in basketball at the moment. They have been beating the brakes off of teams over the last couple weeks. But can they do it in the playoffs? I do think they can. But I am stubborn so I am sticking with my preseason picks and taking the Bulls to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

Here are my midseason awards:

NBA MVP - LeBron James
Defensive POY - Dwight Howard
Rookie of the Year - Kyrie Irving
Coach of the Year - Frank Vogel
6th Man of the Year - Lou Williams

2012 NFL Mock Draft 2.0

1.  Indianapolis - Andrew Luck  QB/Stanford
2. Washington (via trade w/ StL) - Robert Griffin III  QB/Baylor
3. Minnesota - Matt Kalil  OT/USC
4. Cleveland - Justin Blackmon  WR/Oklahoma St.
5. Tampa Bay - Morris Claiborne  CB/LSU
6. St. Louis (via trade w/ Wash) - Riley Reiff  OT/Iowa
7. Jacksonville - Quinton Coples  DE/North Carolina
8. Miami - Johnathan Martin  OT/Stanford
9. Carolina - Michael Brockers  DT/LSU
10. Buffalo - Melvin Ingram  DE/South Carolina
11. Kansas City - Trent Richardson  RB/Alabama
12. Seattle - Dre Kirkpatrick  CB/Alabama
13. Arizona - David DeCastro  G/Stanford
14. Dallas - Luke Kuechly  ILB/Boston College
15. Philadelphia - Kendall Wright  WR/Baylor
16. NY Jets - Courtney Upshaw  OLB/Alabama
17. Cincinnati - Janoris Jenkins  CB/North Alabama
18. San Diego - Mark Barron  SS/Alabama
19. Chicago - Michael Floyd  WR/Notre Dame
20. Tennessee - Dontari Poe  DT/Memphis
21. Cincinnati - Lamar Miller  RB/Miami
22. Cleveland - Mike Adams  OT/Ohio St.
23. Detroit - Cordy Glenn  G/Georgia
24. Pittsburgh - Devon Still  DT/Penn St.
25. Denver - Jerel Worthy  DT/Michigan St.
26. Houston - Alshon Jeffery  WR/South Carolina
27. New England - Whitney Mercilus  OLB/Illinois
28. Green Bay - Peter Konz  C/Wisconsin
29. Baltimore - Donta Hightower  LB/Alabama
30. San Francisco - Mohamed Sanu  WR/Rutgers
31. New England - Alfonzo Dennard  CB/Nebraska
32. NY Giants - Vontaze Burfict  LB/Arizona St.

http://extra-point.net/

NCAA Basketball - 2012 NCAA Tournament Projections

East Regional - Boston

at Pittsburgh
1 Syracuse 16 UNC-Asheville/Savannah St.
8 Cal 9 Memphis
at Portland
5 Temple 12 Texas
4 Florida St. 13 Iona
at Albuquerque
6 Wichita St. 11 BYU
3 Baylor 14 Drexel
at Columbus
7 Mississippi St. 10 Cincinnati
2 Michigan St. 15 Weber St.

South Regional - Atlanta

at Omaha
1 Missouri 16 Texas-Arlington
8 Vanderbilt 9 St. Louis
at Nashville
5 Notre Dame 12 NC State/Oregon
4 Michigan 13 Oral Roberts
at Nashville
6 New Mexico 11 Northwestern
3 Florida 14 Akron
at Greensboro
7 Creighton 10 UConn
2 North Carolina 15 Bucknell

Midwest Regional - St. Louis

at Louisville
1 Kentucky 16 Mississippi Valley St./Stony Brook
8 Iowa St. 9 West Virginia
at Portland
5 Wisconsin 12 Seton Hall/Miami
4 UNLV 13 Middle Tennessee St.
at Columbus
6 Virginia 11 Kansas St.
3 Georgetown 14 Nevada
at Pittsburgh
7 St. Mary's 10 Harvard
2 Ohio St. 15 Long Island

West Regional - Phoenix

at Greenboro
1 Duke 16 Valparaiso
8 Gonzaga 9 Southern Miss
at Albuquerque
5 Louisville 12 Arizona
4 Indiana 13 Long Beach St.
at Louisville
6 Murray St. 11 Washington
3 Marquette 14 Belmont
at Omaha
7 San Diego St. 10 Purdue
2 Kansas 15 Davidson

Last Four In: Seton Hall, NC State, Oregon, Miami
First Four Out: Xavier, Alabama, South Florida, Colorado
Next Four Out: Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado St., Central Florida

** The Final Four matchups would be East vs. South and Midwest vs. West