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A few A-list free agents and many top-notch B-list free agents head the 2011 class, but here are the top five who will especially help potential suitors in need of specific skills and services.

The NBA has added two more games to its Christmas Day tripleheader: the Orlando Magic vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Clippers vs. the Golden State Warriors.

Shaquille O'Neal's girlfriend, Nicole Hoopz Alexander, showed off her strength, as she carried her 325 pound, basketball-playing boyfriend across Jimmy Kimmel's stage.

Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge said he has no intentions to trade the team's All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo for New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul.

The Ohio State star is thinner and better than last season.

No one else should ever wear a baseball cap; it serves no purpose, neither practical nor aesthetic.

The Boston Celtics are reportedly looking to acquire All-Star point guard Chris Paul, and they're willing to trade their own All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo to get him.

The struggling Jaguars have a lease that keeps them in Florida.

The chief executive of Adidas , the world's second largest sportswear company, is eyeing a year-end boost to its basketball business following the end of the NBA lockout in the United States.

Some oddsmakers envision that the Miami Heat will win a title this upcoming season, despite a compressed 66-game regular-season schedule and playoff games being played with fewer days off, according to reports. Other teams, though, might disappoint the Heat--like the Mavericks did last season.

Retired Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming venturing into a new world, has launched a wine collection in his own name in Shanghai.

The NBA lockout is over. We want to play basketball, NBA commissioner David Stern said, perhaps forgetting that he actually didn't want to play basketball for the first scheduled month of the season.

Jordan, the dominant athlete of my lifetime, a global icon, and widely regarded as the greatest basketball player in history, is now fat.

The Heat go into the season with a strong chance of winning the title.

The 2011-12 National Basketball Association season is likely to start on Christmas Day after the NBA and players reached a tentative deal on a new collective-bargaining agreement, league commissioner David Stern said Saturday.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and actress Lindsay Lohan have had a difficult couple of months but they both took time off to spend time with those less fortunate and feed the hungry on Thanksgiving.

The NBA meandered ever so slightly closer to resolving its five-month-long work stoppage Tuesday, with its players consolidating two class-action anti-trust suits against league owners.

While Kim Kardashian and her ex-husband Kris Humphries have remained civil about the surprising end to their 72-day marriage, people close to the ex-couple are dishing details about the marriage.

Playing during the NBA lockout is understandable, but only so as far as staying competitive and sightseeing. But as far as making a statement to the NBA owners and its fans, it's almost like a copout.

The NBA won't be playing anytime soon, following a breakdown in talks over a new collective bargaining agreement. Still, those willing to financially support President Barack Obama could get to see their favorite NBA stars play some hoops next month.

Tyler Perry has caught no small amount of flak for casting reality TV star Kim Kardashian in his upcoming movie The Marriage Counselor.

Networks are prepared to miss the first few months of a delayed NBA season. But now that it looks like the entire season could be canceled, TNT, ESPN/ABC and the league's other broadcast partners have to make some serious programing decisions.

A U.S.-based private equity firm, is looking at buying Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the owner of Toronto's NHL and NBA sports teams, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Unlike their NBA brethren, the MLB is on the precipice of a new labor deal that will last for the next 20 years, according to ESPN.com, that will ensure continuous labor peace for the first time since the Major League Baseball Players Association formed in the 1960s.

The National Basketball Association's season is major jeopardy and appears to be less likely than before. The players' union rejected the league's latest collective bargaining agreement compromise and completely disbanded.

The NBA Players Association decided to reject the league owners' latest offer and begin the decertification process on Monday in a move that could derail the entire NBA season, according to commissioner David Stern.

Some compromise on the NBA lockout did come to the forefront on Tuesday after the player's union collectively conveyed that they would be willing to accept the owners' proposed 50-50 split of basketball-related income, however, only if the owners are willing to make concessions on certain system issues.

Activision Blizzard revealed it has lost almost a million users for its World of Warcraft cash cow, dampening enthusiasm for its blockbuster Call of Duty franchise and wiping 3 percent off its share price.

After receiving a take it or leave it final offer from David Stern and the owners, the NBA players union now must decide whether to take an unacceptable deal or try to generate some last minute leverage by decertifying the union.