• Remember when that academic said referees made calls biased by race? And the NBA said oh, noooooo, we have our own study that proves otherwise? The NBA finally released their internal study, and the NBA's claims are looking more and more inaccurate. Of independent researchers hired by ESPN, and who talked to the Wall Street Journal, none think the NBA's research disproves the study that started the whole conversation.
• Kirk Hinrich will not be punished for his apparent attempt to make Flip Murray less potent. Likewise, Baron Davis will not be suspended for his little junior version of Robert Horry's "forearm shiver." The Suns are hoping the "let 'em play" vibe rolls on at the league office.
• In case you missed the Cleveland vs. New Jersey game last night, TrueHoop reader Cooper has a succinct summary for you: "Halfway through the fourth quarter, I came to realize something I have not previously seen: whichever team's superstar had the ball last would lose the game. LeBron James and Vince Carter were having a fourth-quarter sucking competition that was really interesting to watch (and by "interesting," I mean "terrible"). LeBron did his part by getting fouled and, true to form, hitting only one of two free throws. The Nets got the ball to Carter (fresh off of a few free-throw misses of his own) who dribbled away some of the clock -- eliminating the chance for LeBron to suck last -- and then lost the ball out of bounds. Game, suck, match." The thing I keep wondering as I watch crunch time in this series: has Jason Kidd lost the ability to create shots for his teammates in crunch time? Why put the whole game in Carter's hands all the time? Also, Mikki Moore could teach a seminar called "how to motivate your opponent."
• Did you hear Shaquille O'Neal on TNT in response to Charles Barkley's assessment that it would be unfair to suspend Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudemire? "Life is unfair," he said. "You can't even take toothpaste on a plane anymore." And, did you hear O'Neal apparently tampering by openly campaigning for Vince Carter?
• In a thoughtful Insider preview, ESPN's Jeff Weltman predicts Utah victory tonight to close out the series against Golden State: "Golden State has been playing at a relentless pace since the playoffs began, and with the series entering the "game-every-other-day" phase, we have to wonder if the Warriors are losing steam. They have played a short rotation and have mostly relied on excellent play from Davis in the half court. Davis has to play with insane energy to overcome multiple defenders while pushing himself to constantly remain in attack mode and not settle for shots when he is tired. Monta Ellis and Al Harrington have played better the last two games but despite that, Utah appears the fresher, stronger team right now. With Game 5 at home and veterans such as Derek Fisher and Harpring knowing how seldom closeout opportunities come along, it's difficult to imagine Utah not playing its best, spurred on by the Jazz faithful."
• Dwight Howard plays pickup with regular people, blocks shots without jumping.
• Frank Hughes of the News Tribune has a depressing look at the state of the Sonics: "Bennett has been telling acquaintances around the league that he thinks he was swindled by former CEO Wally Walker, that he was led to believe that the situation in Seattle was far more positive than it actually is, the reason Bennett and his partners paid $150 million more for the team than Walker's group did only five years before."
• Who likes highlights?
• One of the best explanations of how Golden State wins, and a magnificent name for their style: Fried Liver Attack.
• The rumor mill has plenty of Laker assistants on the move and some players too. Ron Artest, anyone? Getting that broken bird to fly would be Phil Jackson's greatest achievement. Or, maybe Isiah Thomas should be the one to take a crack at it.
• Great MJD line on the Fanhouse in response to Amare Stoudemire's claim he was checking into the game: "If you watch what happened, you see Stoudemire's body language, watch his eyes, and see how he reacts. Sorry, but I'm not buying it, Black Jesus. You were no more getting off the bench to check into the game than Boris Diaw was getting off the bench to invade Germany."
• Who wants to play on Team USA this summer? Anyone? Anyone? Marcus Camby?
• Bulls fans are not keen on Flip Saunders' hack-a-Wallace.
• I got an email with the subject line: "BREAKING NEWS: Dirk Nowitzki Named Most Valuable Player." That news has been broken for some time. Also, my candidate, Tim Duncan, came in fourth, behind Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, and Kobe Bryant. Chris Bosh got 14 times more votes than Dwyane Wade, which I bet no one saw coming. UPDATE: The highlights of Dirk Nowitzki's season.
• An excellent breakdown of the basketball (as opposed to the officiating) down the stretch of last night's Phoenix vs. San Antonio Game 4.
• Jerome Kersey, NBA agent.
• The Suns vs. Spurs fracas, in comics.
• Neal Pollack, author of Alternadad, had this conversation with his son last night:
  

-"Why are the Suns losing tonight?"
-"I don't know. They've been doing a lot of whining."
"The Spurs whine, too."
-"Not as much."
-"Yes they do. They whine all the time. When the game is over, the Suns will say 'Yay! We won! Let's all go get some ice cream.' And the Spurs will go, 'WAAAAH! We lost! We want some ice cream, too.' But they can't have ice cream when they lose, because their coach won't let them. And they'll whine all night long."

• People always want to compare Deron Williams to Jason Kidd, but here's an argument that he's really more like Steve Nash.
• ESPN's Bill Simmons predicted that one day a stat geek would declare that Kevin Garnett was as good as Tim Duncan. That day is today.
• Remember when I quoted John Mellencamp saying he smoked ... something ... with Larry Bird and Kevin McHale? The McHale camp reportedly says that Bird and Mellencamp smoked cigarettes, while McHale smoked cigars.
• Dwyane Wade undergoes successful surgery, according to the Heat.