Quoted: Barack Obama was on his way to the Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn on Tuesday when a reporter shouted a question. The topic: Who is going to win the NBA championship, the Los Angeles Lakers or the Orlando Magic?
...
Said the smiling president: “Lakers in six, I think.” In sports terms, that means the Lakers will win the best-of-seven series in six games.

Quoted: "The Lakers paid $50,000 to win that game. They got their money's worth," said a Denver player, not wanting to be identified for fear of retribution from the league.

The folks at Save Our Sonics, the grassroots organization that tried to keep the Seattle Supersonics from leaving the city, are organizing a trip to Portland to watch the Blazers face the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 13th, in what they are calling the Blazers vs. Blunder game. S.O.S are encouraging people to show up wearing the Sonics' green and gold.

Quoted: Nate Robinson dunks over Dwight Howard in the finals of the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest.

The Lakers' big man Andrew Bynum was named player of the week. He's the new Shaq people.

Quoted: The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers' Andrew Bynum today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Jan. 19, through Sunday, Jan. 25.

Quoted: Since the NBA allows its fans to vote for all-stars online, and making the starting lineup leads to more exposure and bonus money for players, it’s not too surprising that some athletes are turning to the Web to get more votes. Last year, the Toronto Raptors’ Chris Bosh kicked off the trend by posting a hilarious video asking for votes on YouTube ...

"It was an awkward game tonight. Offensively we were very ragged. Our timing was off and we tried to do too much."

-- Phil Jackson

Tonight's win ties the Lakers' best start in franchise history (17-2). Let's pause and reflect on that. The Lakers are an old franchise, 61 years, and this is their best start. The Lakers are historically a good franchise, with 14 NBA championships, and this is their best start. Do you think the expectations for the season are high?

Final score: 105-92

THE_REAL_SHAQ says you must follow him on Twitter.

Quoted: Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time

Quoted: The Lakes signed Andrew Bynum to a four year $57.4 million contract extension today, apparently convinced that there are no complications from the arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Mark Heisler of the LA Times has the full report. Click on through.