Basketball overload anyone? Since the five-game Christmas Day start to the NBA season, there has been nonstop action. Its television mayhem. Five games in one night is the lightest night of action so far this year. Every night, theres at least two games on the tube, and there have been interesting storylines, players and highlights in each. I catch myself asking friends if they saw a particular play and the convo usually turns into a chat about everything we had managed to watch in a game or in the wrap up highlights. We went from the Chris Paul and Derrick Rose head-to-head, to LeBrons chase-down block, to Durants buzzer beater, but only before Vinces almost buzzer-beater, then Wades buzzer beater and follow-up game winner the next night, to Howards back-to-back 24 rebound games, to Kobe and company having to start the year with a back-to-back-to-back, to wondering what kind of offence Mike DAntoni is trying to run in Gotham. It was madness. This rapid-fire schedule is compelling because of the talent-rich star power the league can boast right now. But another part is due to nothing really being established heading into the season. Training camp and preseason games arent really that exciting, but what it does is give us an insight to how a team might look coming into the season, whether it be rotations, philosophy, go to plays, things like that. But with just two games, and just a short refresher-style camp, things are out of whack. Its like going to a wedding as a guest, but after the wedding ceremony and before the reception, the bride and groom pull you aside and ask you to do a toast. Um, ya … great. Shouldnt be a problem (gulp). Of course, we didnt need a training camp to know that a LeBron James and Dwyane Wade-led team is going to be fine. What nobody knew was that Norris Cole could very well be the solution to their point guard problems. Who knew how Chris Paul was going to gel with his Lob City leapers? Or that the Clippers are employing five POINT guards for their backcourt rotation? I doubt thats ever happened before, and its an exciting little experiment. On paper they looked like they were still elite contenders but thus far, the Mavericks are completely out of sorts, their latest setback a loss to the Timberwolves, who hadnt won a game in 295 days. I was raving to a friend at how good Kobe Bryant looked against the Knicks, and that seeing him operate outside of the triangle was so refreshing, because he was back to just plain reacting and playing – then he drops a 6-for-28 night in Denver. Even the 2009 Game 7 Finals Kobe would have been like eeesh. The season was the first time that Russell Westbrook may have finally realized that all eyes were on him, and how he would mesh his all-NBA game with all-world teammate Kevin Durants. Lets just say hes handled it poorly. Already cited for starting a spat with teammates (including Durant), its compounded by the fact that his play has been so uneven to start the year. You can literally see the grief on his face as he turns the ball over, makes a poor decision or takes a bad shot. OKC fans know this, hence a rousing ovation for him when he finally started making some shots in a win over the Mavs. We havent even talked about Rajon Rondo basically executing fury on the court every way possible. He still misses free throws and jump shots, but hes so confident in his abilities now that it doesnt affect his entire game. After a rough start that had everyone questioning his body language, Dwight Howard proved he hasnt yet checked out on his team in Orlando (which many thought he would). Nope, instead, that distinct title goes to DeMarcus Cousins, who is in the infancy of his second season in the league and wants out of SacTo. Everything is moving like the Suns offence of old, theres barely enough time for Dan Gilbert to complain. And the best part is that were just one week into it. There will be injuries, trades, game-winning shots, struggles, successes, and there will be drama. Soon enough, well begin to see who emerges out of the pack in this sprint. My New Years resolution (and suggestion to you hoop-heads): buckle up and make sure you set aside some watching time each night. This is really shaping up to be a year like none other. None that we can predict right now, anyways. On to this weeks matchups: Oklahoma City at Dallas (Monday at 8:30pm et): Forget the hangover, the Mavericks are just not as good as they were last year right now. Odom, Vince and Delonte West are nice additions, probably even more talented than Chandler, Deshawn Stevenson , Caron Butler and JJ Barea. But they lack the intangibles that the outgoing foursome brought to the table. Winning has softened some of the mayhem around the Westbrook-Durant relationship, but I think every trade scenario featuring Westbrook has already been discussed. LA Lakers at Portland (Thursday at 10:30pm et, TSN2): Like my friend Luc asked me earlier this week, "Is it time I start caring about the Trail Blazers?" Yes, yes it is. You would think a team thats had two of their cornerstone players (Greg Oden and Brandon Roy) either inactive or retired would be in rebuild mode, but Blazers brass has put together a good, deep team. The addition of Jamal Crawford is huge, and the pickup of Gerald Wallace at last years trade deadline is looking nice. Closest thing to a great team without a true superstar in the league thats not named Denver. Nice early test against the Lakers, who have been hot and cold to start this season. Chicago at Orlando (Friday at 8pm et): Derrick Rose, another guy we havent even talked about yet! Just how diverse is the point guard position right now? Youve got Rose, whos a rugged paint penetrator and finisher, whos starting to get that jump shot cranked up. Theres Chris Paul, an absolute maestro with the ball; Rondo is a do-everything guy that might have the biggest toolbox of skills; Westbrook is an athletic freak; and Deron Williams could be the purest scorer of the bunch. Thats the top five in the league right now, each bringing a different dynamic to the court. And Dwight Howard would love the chance to play with any one of them, and hell have a realistic chance to, soon enough. Washington at Boston (Monday at 7:30pm et): Cant say enough about the Wizards new unis, and the fact that they are set on building around John Wall, who is going to develop rapidly into the conversation of elite point guards. Hell get a good look at another one Monday night, as the Celtics try to bounce back from what was a rough start to their campaign (0-3 out of the gate) and back to a nice even .500. Obviously, Paul Pierce returning to the lineup was a big boost. Atlanta at Miami (Thursday at 8pm et, TSN2): Hate them or love them, but LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have been nothing short of spectacular to start the year. The best part of their game thus far? They are forcing the issue and causing a ruckus in the paint, as evidenced by an exponentially low number of three-point attempts. And with highlights like this. And this. And how about a full game of hilight reel stuff? Crazy stuff. All in a weeks work, I guess. Atlanta, you have been warned. wholesale nfl jerseys . Humphries, from Calgary, and Valouis, from Wakaw, Sask., finished with a two-run time of one minute 56.53 seconds. "We were close to pushing a start record for this track so it was a really good day for us," said Humphries, following her fourth national title. jerseys from china . - Patrik Bartosak made 38 saves while earning his fourth shutout of the season, to lead the Red Deer Rebels to a 5-0 win over the Prince Albert Raiders on Wednesday in Western Hockey League action. http://www.cheapjerseyssafe.com/ . -- A week after his team lost by 45 points, Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman showed hes still very much a player to watch. cheap jerseys from china . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what Jarmo Kekalainen may do in his first offseason. What is imperative, in evaluating the status of the franchise, is not to have inflated expectations based on goaltender Sergei Bobrovskys 2013 phenomenal season. wholesale jerseys . The opener of the four-game series was called off after rain began in the afternoon. The wet weather was expected to continue for most of the day, with temperatures in the 30s and 20 mph winds.LOS ANGELES -- With the New Jersey Devils on the verge of elimination from the Stanley Cup final, coach Pete DeBoer is shuffling his lineup. Defenceman Henrik Tallinder will suit up in place of Peter Harrold for Game 4 on Wednesday night at Staples Center -- his first action since Jan. 17. Tallinder was receiving the second-highest amount of ice time among Devils defencemen until getting sidelined by a blood clot in his left leg. "The reality is Tallinder was a top-two defenceman for us all year," DeBoer said Wednesday morning. "Hes been out for a long time. This is the first time in the last four or five days where we felt in practice that he was up to game speed and a legitimate option. "We considered it after Game 2, but our group I thought had played such a good game that I didnt want to change it then. But now it seems appropriate." The Devils will also insert veteran forward Petr Sykora for Jacob Josefson -- a move DeBoer hopes might spark his teams struggling attack. They only managed to score two goals on Kings goalie Jonathan Quick in the opening three games of the series. "Weve got to score," said DeBoer. "Weve got to try to grab some momentum. We havent had the lead in a game. We havent, obviously, won a game. We have to try to find a way to grab some momentum here early." Darryl Sutter wouldnt comment on whether he planned to make any cchanges for Los Angeles.dddddddddddd However, the coach offered a strong indication that Simon Gagne would remain in the lineup by saying "hopefully hes better tonight" when asked about the veteran winger. Gagne received a little more than six minutes of ice time in Game 3, his first since suffering a concussion on Dec. 26. There wasnt much chatter during the Kings morning skate as players contemplated what was at stake. "We certainly want to think about," said forward Justin Williams. "Thats what drives everybody, the possibility of lifting the Stanley Cup. A lot of guys havent been in this situation before where its a clinching game. This could be it." That fact wasnt lost on defenceman Willie Mitchell, who at 35 is the oldest player on the team. Hes after his first championship and admitted to having trouble focusing during Tuesdays off day between games. When he has too much time to sit and think, his mind starts to wander. "To be honest with you, its a lot of emotion," said Mitchell. "Its only human nature on the off day. You just think about the long journey, you think about when you started hockey at the age of three or four and moving away from home at the age of 15 to pursue a career in the National Hockey League and win a Stanley Cup. "As a group, weve collectively given ourselves an opportunity and its pretty surreal." cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '