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Joel Osteen, he of soothing voice and prosperity gospel advocacy, was recently in the spotlight for being shamed to opening the doors of his church to flood victims who may or may not all be part of his congregation . It's good that he finally did (hey, it took Moses a little while to get with the program; God's used to working with stubborn people). HOWEVER... When you run a tax-exempt organization that's allowed to do most anything without scrutiny, you gotta find some way to compensate for those bums who may be *gasp* trying to take advantage of your (strong-armed) goodwill! So why not pass that plate around while people who are looking for shelter are still hanging around ? They may not have a house, but I bet there's still money in the bank! Let it be said that this humble blogger's theory is: Osteen never wanted to open the church as a shelter in the first place because he was thinking about Sunday service, and he wanted his congregation to come into...

I'll save time and answer that question first: because there's no garauntee that LeBron James will stay when his contract's up, and none of the prized free agents want to be stuck in Cleveland while James signs a big deal in a major market like New York . Let's look at the recent list of free agent transactions (I don't count trades because only a few players have a say in the deal): Ron Artest goes with Lakers (making one of Kobe Bryant's most tenacious opponents a teammate); Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva sign with Detriot (GM Joe Dumars' attempt to justify seasons worth of questionable moves); After flirting with the Trailblazers, Hedo Tukoglu leans toward Toronto (adding some shooting to a team that has big man Chris Bosh and swing man Shawn Marion); Trevor Ariza looks toward the Rockets (making up for even thinking he had leverage against the Lakers); and Rasheed Wallace says he's headed to Boston ('nuff said). Of all of these moves, Charle...

Jason Kidd could head to the Knicks . Yao Ming's foot injury is serious ... ... and things don't look good for Tracy McGrady either . And here's what an (anonymous) veteran international player had to say about the 2009 #5 pick : "Rubio isn't very quick, isn't very strong, and isn't a very good shooter," says the player, who was a record-setting point guard for a mid-Division I college. "What he can do is play hard, see the floor, deliver the ball, be totally unselfish, and make terrific decisions."

I completely slept on the Ron Artest trade . While the guys over at Bullets Forever don't see the big "To-Do," I think this puts the Rockets on a course to the Western Conference Finals. It's like they've become the mirror image of the Boston Celtics. Let me break it down: Boston had an awesome offensive swingman (who could play decent D) , but never could get past some of the other powerhouses. Playing the role of Paul Pierce: Tracy McGrady. Boston traded for a big man who was effective offensively and a defensive nightmare, but Conventional Basketball Wisdom said he wasn't "franchise" enough to win a championship on his own. Playing the role of Kevin Garnett: Yao Ming. Boston acquired a third piece to split the opposing defense's attention away from their two stars. People wonder if this person's game would fit. Playing the role of Ray Allen: Ron Artest. We even have a shaky coach who managed to rise above everyone's expectations. Seri...