NBA All-Star Reserves Announced Tonight; Curry, Lee Strong Candidates

The NBA will announce the All-Star reserves on TNT at 4 p.m. PST tonight, and Stephen Curry and David Lee are among the viable candidates to have their name called. A Warriors player has not been named to an All-Star team since Latrell Sprewell in 1997.


Curry and Lee both made last minute pushes for All-Star consideration Wednesday night in the Warriors' 104-99 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Curry went for 31 points and seven assists, while Lee went for 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Curry is averaging 20.9 PPG and 6.6 APG, while Lee is averaging 19.6 PPG and 10.8 RPG.

Here are the starters for the NBA All-Star Game, as announced Jan. 17:

2013 NBA All-Star Starters

Eastern Conference

Player	Votes
LeBron James, MIA	1,583,646
Carmelo Anthony, NYK	1,460,950
Dwyane Wade, MIA	1,052,310
Rajon Rondo, BOS	924,180
Kevin Garnett, BOS	553,222

Western Conference

Player	Votes
Kobe Bryant, LAL	1,591,437
Kevin Durant, OKC	1,504,047
Chris Paul, LAC	929,155
Dwight Howard, LAL	922,070
Blake Griffin, LAC	863,832

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San Jose Sharks Lose Their Minds, Score Six Goals in First Period vs. Oilers

The San Jose Sharks cannot ask for a better start to their season, and now they accomplished not having a better start to a game.  The Sharks defeated the Oilers Tuesday night, 6-3, behind six first period goals -- tying the franchise record for most goals in one period.


San Jose is now 2-0, after starting the season on the road in Canada, and now head home for opening night at HP Pavilion vs. the Coyotes on Thursday.

Here is the breakdown of scoring in that epic first period (courtesy of ESPN.com):

3:17		Dan Boyle (2) (Power Play) Assists: Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton	1	0
4:30		Logan Couture (1) (Power Play) Assists: Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski	2	0
8:25		Nail Yakupov (1) (Power Play) Assists: Sam Gagner, Ales Hemsky	2	1
10:02		Patrick Marleau (3) Assists: Joe Thornton, Brad Stuart	3	1
11:07		Patrick Marleau (4) (Power Play) Assists: Joe Thornton, Logan Couture	4	1
18:09		Logan Couture (2) Assists: Martin Havlat, T.J. Galiardi	5	1
19:20		Marc-Edouard Vlasic (1) Assists: Tommy Wingels, T.J. Galiardi	6	1

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Harbaugh Brothers Only Texting, Not Calling Each Other Prior to Super Bowl XLVII

Jim and John Harbaugh, head coaches of the 49ers and Ravens who will be facing off in Super Bowl XLVII, are not speaking at all before Feb. 3. They will stick strictly to texting -- nothing more and nothing less.


Both coaches are incredibly focused on the Super Bowl, as they should, although i doubt sports could find another brother combo this uniformly focused on one goal.

The Harbaughs are a unique family, starting from their father Jack on down.  While both have rather outgoing personalities, business time is business time and the Super Bowl just happens to be the pinnacle of getting down to business.

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Jim Harbaugh Is Going To Lose His Mind With the Media Before Super Bowl XLVII

It has been one day since the 49ers defeated the Falcons in the NFC Championship, and already you can hear the angst in Jim Harbaugh's voice with the media. No, he does not want to talk about the Super Bowl matchup with his brother, John. He wants to talk about the players on the field. Good luck, Jim.


Harbaugh plays his hand close to the vest, which is a solid reason for why he has had so much success in his two seasons as a head coach in the NFL.

Unpredictability.

However, these next two weeks are different, and he is about to find out why -- as excruciating as it may be for him and entertaining as it will be for us.

Harbaugh can barely stand the local media here in the Bay Area. Wait until ESPN and the rest of the big league media that could not care less about Harbaugh's personal teeth-pulling ways of doing press conferences.

Super Bowl Media Day, an entire day literally devoted to the media, is quite possibly the worst thing that could ever happen to Harbaugh, and it will occur during the week before the Super Bowl. Fasten your seat belts for that one and count the awkward transitions -- there will be many.

Below is Day 1 of media questioning (per CSNBayArea.com) before the Super Bowl. It can only go down from here, Jim.

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Harbaugh: Akers Will Be the 49ers' Kicker in the Super Bowl

David Akers missed a 32-yard field goal with the 49ers down three points to the Falcons in the second half of the NFC Championship, and all hell nearly broke loose.

No, the 49ers cannot bring back free agent kicker Billy Cundiff. Waiver wire pick-ups are over with, and San Francisco literally has no other option at
this point in the playoffs. Akers will be the 49ers' kicker on Feb. 3 in New Orleans.

Jim Harbaugh said as much at Monday's presser:

"The decision's already been made," he said. "David Akers is our kicker."

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Mark Jackson: Stephen Curry's Latest Ankle Injury Not Serious

Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson stopped by the unofficially titled "Ratto and Mr. T Show" on KNBR Thursday to talk all things Dubs, and the never-ending fragility of Stephen Curry's ankle.

Curry was nursing an injured knee after the loss to the Nuggets on Sunday, and while practicing Wednesday before the matchup against the Heat, rolled his ankle. It caused him to be sidelined for arguably the biggest game on the Warriors' schedule this season.

Jackson seemed rather optimistic about the severity of the injury when talking to Tom Tolbert and Ray Ratto.

"I'm not a doctor, first of all, but I don't see it lingering on. I see it as a freak play that happened during shoot around."

As is well documented, Curry has had his share of ankle injuries in his career that has caused him to miss many a game, so it is no overreaction to anticipate the worst for Curry.

He will be a solid candidate for the Western Conference All-Star team in early February.

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Report: Pablo Sandoval Hospitalized in Venezuela

Pablo Sandoval was reportedly taken to a Venezuelan hospital on Thursday, according to his brother's Twitter account.

The San Jose Mercury News' Alex Pavlovic is reporting that Michael Sandoval, who last played for the San Jose Giants in 2010, tweeted that his brother Pablo has been taken to the hospital for an
abdominal issue and was diagnosed with colitis. He will be able to rejoin Team Venezuela for WBC preparation within 24-48 hours.

"Colitis is inflammation of the inner lining of the colon and is associated with diarrhea, pain, and blood in the stool." 

Here is an excerpt from Pavlovic's article:

"Michael Sandoval tweeted that Pablo had been diagnosed with colitis, but he is expected to return to his Winter League club soon. Sandoval had been playing for Navegantes del Magallanes in the Venezuelan League. According to the club's official twitter account, Sandoval could return to the team within 24 to 48 hours." 

La salida del partido de @kfp48 es debido a problemas estomacales.. Para quienes preguntan
— MICHAEL SANDOVAL (@Mik3Sand0vAl) January 17, 2013

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