HoopsHype.com Rumors

From one sports superstar to another, one of the toughest lessons that Kobe Bryant will have to learn is that nothing is harder than doing nothing. "The first three months is mental, because you can't move or do anything," said Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs, who suffered a torn Achilles' tendon last May, four months after he was named the NFL's defensive player of the year. "It's extremely difficult," Suggs said Saturday. "It's definitely one of the hardest things I've had to endure in my life. But if you've got drive, you're not accepting what the world's telling you, you can do it. But it's definitely the hardest thing I've ever done." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Injuries, NFL, Terrell Suggs 

After the Super Bowl was delayed by a 34-minute power outage earlier this month at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the NBA took extra steps to make sure nothing like it occurs during its All-Star Saturday events or Sunday night’s All-Star Game at the Toyota Center. But in case something unforeseen occurs, the NBA and the Toyota Center have put in a number of contingency plans, NBA officials confirmed earlier this week. ``We are prepared with contingency plans for a myriad of potential scenarios,’’ NBA spokesman Tim Frank said. ``In the very unlikely event there is a power outage at the Toyota Center, there is a back-up system that restores power immediately.’’ New Orleans Times-Picayune

Tim Frank, NFL, All Star Game 

Jay Cicero, the CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the executive director of the Super Bowl XLVII host committee, said they met with NBA officials and they didn’t express a high degree of concern about the possibility of another power outage occurring. But it’s likely the NBA will have contingency plans similar to what they put forth at the Toyota Center this weekend. ``They’ve done enough events and understand that sometimes stuff happens,’’ Cicero said. New Orleans Times-Picayune

NFL, All Star Game 

The #Heat Twitter account showed a photo of Erik Spoelstra watching Heat tape on laptop while watching Super Bowl. "I’m not a total geek,'' Spoelstra said. "I mean, I did. We were there an hour before the game started. So I watched film during that hour, and I watched on and off during the commercials of the first quarter. After the first quarter, I put the computer in my bag, and I enjoyed the rest of the game with our staff and the players.” Sulia

Miami Heat, Coaching, Erik Spoelstra, NFL 

Chris Tomasson: When President Obama greeted #Heat assistant coach Bob McAdoo last week at White House Obama cracked to McAdoo he "didn't play any defense'' Twitter @christomasson

Miami Heat, Coaching, Erik Spoelstra, NFL, Bob McAdoo 

Everyone in the NBA knows today is Super Bowl Sunday. But a few, including the Rockets’ Carlos Delfino, don’t particularly care. “I still don’t watch it,” Delfino, the veteran Argentinian Olympic veteran. “I may watch a half-hour to see the commercials. I don’t know the rules. I’m not into it.” Houston Chronicle

Houston Rockets, Carlos Delfino, NFL 

“How often do you get a chance to have the Super Bowl take place in the same city where you live?” said Hornets center/forward Jason Smith, explaining his decision to buy tickets. Smith is joined by Ryan Anderson, Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, Robin Lopez, Roger Mason and Greivis Vasquez among Hornets players who bought Super Bowl XLVII tickets. Kick-off in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome – which is literally across Girod Street from the Hornets’ home arena – is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Central, giving players plenty of time to rest after a roughly three-hour flight from Minneapolis. Like several of his teammates, Smith said that his preference would have been to root for the Hornets’ NFL brothers, the New Orleans Saints. With no obvious reason to cheer for either participating team, Hornets players are split evenly between Baltimore and San Francisco. NBA.com

New Orleans Hornets, Greivis Vasquez, Roger Mason, Robin Lopez, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, NFL, New Orleans Saints, Jason Smith, Anthony Davis 

Mark Jackson: Congrats to Coach Harbaugh and The 49ers! Super Bowl bound! #Warriors Twitter @JacksonMark13

Golden State Warriors, Mark Jackson, NFL, San Francisco 49ers 

Paul Pierce: Let's go Pats Twitter @paulpierce34

Boston Celtics, Paul Pierce, NFL 

The drama began earlier this week ... when Griffin appeared on the Dan Patrick radio show and said, "Terrell Owens is always ... he was at our practice facility this summer, begging coaches for a 10-day contract.” But T.O.'s rep tells us Blake was just kidding ... explaining, "Blake and Terrell are friends. Terrell never begged to become a Clipper." The rep says Terrell WAS at the Clippers practice facility over the summer, but only because Jasen Powell -- T.O.'s good friend -- is the team's head trainer. TMZ.com

Los Angeles Clippers, NFL, Terrell Owens 

The NFL isn’t the only league Terrell Owens wants to play in. Owens, who was last seen begging the Jets to give him a chance, also begged the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers to sign him, according to Clippers forward Blake Griffin. “Terrell Owens is always — he was at our practice facility this summer, begging coaches for a 10-day contract,” Griffin said on the Dan Patrick Show. Although Griffin allowed that Owens “can play a little bit,” it’s safe to say that at age 39, Owens won’t be taking up a second career in the NBA. And seeing as he hasn’t played in an NFL game since December 19, 2010, we can just about declare his first career over as well. NBCSports.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Blake Griffin, NFL, Terrekk Owens 

James is a sucker for underdogs -- "I love Arian Foster, from the Houston Texans," he says, "because he didn't get drafted, he played on the practice squad, and now he's probably the best running back in the NFL" -- knowing full well he will never be one himself. He will never win in an upset, never know what it feels like to overachieve. He assumes the most unsustainable position in sports, the eternal front-runner, and he kept coming up short at the finish. But after each colossal disappointment, while the talking heads returned their attention to Tim Tebow or whatever topic du jour gooses the ratings, James wiped the beer from his chin and resumed his discovery. "In every adversity there is a seed of equivalent benefit," Riley says, and the Boat finds it. When James lost in the Finals in 2007, with the Cavaliers, he remade his jump shot. When he fell again in 2011, with the Heat, he built a post game. James was born with supernatural ability, but he lets none of it lie dormant. He extracts every ounce, through a distillation process created and refined by failure. SI.com

Miami Heat, LeBron James, NFL, Arian Foster 

Andrew Bogut: So thankful our @NBA referees are full time professionals! Twitter @AndrewMBogut

Golden State Warriors, NFL, Andrew Bogut, Referees 

Tony Wroten: Lmao these replacement refs better retire. Because that was pass interference first. Then it was interception. But hey. Imma Seahawks fan.ha Twitter @TWroten_LOE

Memphis Grizzlies, NFL, Tony Wroten 

Pau Gasol: Crazy ending at Packers and Seahawks game! They should always review those plays at the end of the game. Twitter @paugasol

Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol, NFL 

Mark Cuban: I would love to see what my reaction would be if a Mavs game ended like #MNF. #Expensive #NBAtime Twitter @mcuban

Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, NFL 

We’re still more than a few weeks away from some team claiming the Larry O’Brien trophy, but we can go ahead and crown the undisputed champ of professional sports leagues on Twitter. The NBA wins in a runaway. The NBA’s Twitter feed has a robust 5 million-plus, and counting, followers (5,011, 814 as of this morning). That dwarfs the National Football League’s 3,332,082, Major League Baseball’s 2,044,861 and the National Hockey League’s 1,166,503. NBA.com

Twitter, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB 

New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson will be announced as the owner of the New Orleans Hornets this afternoon, according to sources. New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, David Stern, NFL, New Orleans Saints, Tom Benson 

Benson will own 100 percent of the team. The purchase price has not been announced, but it is expected to be in the neighborhood of $340 million. New Orleans Times-Picayune

New Orleans Hornets, David Stern, NFL, New Orleans Saints, Tom Benson 

The NBA’s days as an owner of the New Orleans Hornets are drawing to a close. The league reached a tentative agreement early Friday morning with New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson to buy the team for $338 million, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions. NBA.com

New Orleans Hornets, David Stern, NFL, New Orleans Saints, Tom Benson