FanNation - The Republic of Sport

CC Sabathia told The Post last night that he absolutely would like to see his friend LeBron James in New York, and said he would tell the future free agent that New York is a one-of-a-kind city to play in. Sabathia, the Yankees ace and former Cleveland Indians star, was honored with five of his Yankees teammates at a star-studded Knicks-Cavaliers game at Madison Square Garden. Sabathia just finished the first year of his seven-year, $161 million contract with the Yanks.

New York Post

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Ron Artest fired back at Charles Barkley on Friday after the TNT analyst criticized the Lakers forward by saying he could become a distraction to the team. Barkley made his comments after TNT did a prerecorded segment on Artest's off-court activities that aired Thursday night during the telecast of an NBA doubleheader. Artest said Barkley took his "shine," meaning his publicity. Artest has spent time rapping, working on his Twitter account, interacting with fans and attending charity events and other entertainment ventures. He took exception to what Barkley said, pointing out that some of his rapping was about abuse of women in Afghanistan.

Los Angeles Times

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It's been more than four months since Kobe Bryant announced his intentions to sign a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers and pass up a chance to join the 2010 free-agent market. So why hasn't he signed anything? Sources with knowledge of the talks say the Lakers continue to meet with Bryant's camp and that both sides fully expect the deal to get done, though neither wants to commit to a firm timetable. The initial hope was that the extension would be completed by the start of the season.

Yahoo! Sports

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The Clippers' Al Thornton is dealing with losing his spot in the starting lineup. Accepting it, but, of course, not happy about the demotion. "If you ask me now, the coach is doing what's best for the team," he said before the Clippers' game against the Golden State Warriors. "Of course, I want to start. I'd love to start. Like I said, he's doing what's best for the team. When I get out there, I just got to try to be effective." Thornton smiled, adding: "We'll see how it plays out."

Los Angeles Times

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The Nets' start to the season has been a tragedy wrapped up in a catastrophe surrounded by a disaster. Defeats and injuries have ruled the way. But don't blame the coach, team president Rod Thorn said, because he certainly doesn't. Thorn said he knows the stacked deck that coach Lawrence Frank has faced.

New York Post

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