Hump Day Headlines: Afternoon Edition

In this week's Hump Day Headlines, we discuss good sportsmanship, A-Rod's new memories, Tiger's impending return, and an NBA trade deadline update:

• Amidst all that is wrong with sports right now, kudos to the Dekalb, Illinois High School Boys Basketball team. In February 8th's contest against Milwaukee Madison, WI High School senior Johntell Franklin of MM decided that despite the passing of his mother the night before, he wanted to play in the game. Franklin's coach, Aaron Womack Jr., didn't list Frankin as an eligible player, anticipating Franklin wouldn't play. If Franklin did enter the game, a technical foul would automatically be called against Milwaukee Madison. Dekalb coach Dave Rohlman got word of this, and instructed his team that whoever would shoot the technical free throws would miss on purpose in tribute to Franklin. He didn't want his team to benefit from the opportunity at two points that he felt wouldn't be right. Franklin did enter the game. Madison's Darius McNeal rolled both free throws toward the basket. After this act, the entire crowd stood and clapped for McNeal's gesture towards Franklin. Finally, something in sports to be proud of, and a reminder of one of the biggest reasons we love sports. (Click here for a discussion on this from ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning.
  
• While I was visiting Fenway Park, I know many of you and Scott watched closely as A-Rod re-explained his admission to using performance enhancing drugs. Still, he didn't seem completely contrite and once again there were inconsistencies in his commentary. Convenient to bring in his "cousin" to take some of the fall. All of a sudden, he knew what drugs he was taking. Even though he didn't think he was doing anything wrong, he didn't tell anyone. Yeah. Sure. Today it was a circus at Yankees spring training. ESPN's Hannah Storm said the clubhouse was so full of media that "it felt like a playoff game". We knew with their plethora of big off-season free agent acquisitions, they'd have a lot of attention coming to them this spring as it is. But now guys like C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira will have to learn quickly what it's like to be a Yankee. They can all thank A-Rod for this mess. So with all the alleged support the Yankees are reportedly providing to A-Rod, if I were his teammate I'd be very frustrated.
• Tiger Woods is apparently on his way back, and soon. So here's what I say to you, PGA Tour pros: start getting used to the fact that your year-long reprieve is over. Now that Tiger is "95% of the way there" according to Steve Williams, his caddy, things have suddenly become terribly difficult again for the field. Williams says his swing has been retooled a bit, an he is still having a little trouble walking. But we all know this about Tiger Woods: if he's coming back, he thinks he can win. And that alone is scary for any golfer in the field. Now that Tiger is the father of two, he can get back to work. He reportedly plans to play in a couple of tournaments as a tune-up for the Masters at Augusta National come April.
• As the NBA trade deadline looms in the next day, some teams are already busy. The Thunder has acquired Tyson Chandler from New Orleans. Chris Wilcox and Joe Smith will be heading to the Hornets. In the newest move, Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com reports the Bulls have acquired Brad Miller and John Salmons from the Kings in exchange for Drew Gooden, Andres Nocioni and Cedric Simmons. Both moves were reportedly fueled by opening cap space for the famous 2010 free agent class. BERNing on Sports will have complete coverage of the NBA trade deadline as it approaches and passes.

Five Second Half Things To Look Out For

1.  The trading deadline.  Vince Carter to the Rockets or Spurs?  Amar'e Stoudamire to the Bulls or Cavs?  Other (obviously more interesting, duh) names that could be on the move include Tyson Chandler, Richard Jefferson, Caron Butler, David Lee, and of course, the human trading chip, Raef LaFrentz.

With the obvious exception of LaFrentz (who should be lauded for the sheer slight of hand it took to convince any team to offer him a contract), those are some pretty big names.  Problem is, as Chad Ford mentions, most teams are hesitant in this economy to pick up big contracts. 

2.  How much longer can Orlando play at a top tier level without point guard Jameer Nelson?  Out for the season with a torn right labrum, Nelson lead the team in 3PT and FT%, and was second on the team in FG%.  Some how I doubt Tyronn Lue and Anthony Johnson will be able to keep things afloat.

3.  Who will come out as the California champions?  The Lakers, or the rest of the Golden State?  I'd seen someone mention this somewhere, but I didn't believe it, so I did my own research, detailed as it may be.  Currently, the Kings/Clippers/Warriors are up 43 to 42 over the Lakers, far as wins are concerned.

4.  Speaking of the Lakers, will they even remotely take their foot off the gas to let the rest of the conference in?  Likely not.  The Spurs and Nuggets, two of the hottest teams in the league, have been unable to make up much ground over the past two weeks despite playing over .700 ball.

5. Finally, and most importantly, will the Bucks have to resort to petitioning the league to allow them to only play three or four players instead of five?  As it's going now, that may not be that far off.

BONUS THING TO LOOK OUT FOR:

K-Mart and Al Harrington have paired up (why they didn't get the real K-Mart, Kenyon, I'll never know), and the only question that remains is how many kicks will Big Al sell?