That tremor you felt all the way back here to the East Coast was a shift in power that started in Los Angeles.  With the acquistion of Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies yesterday the Los Angeles Lakers have to be considered serious contenders for the NBA title.  They become younger, more athletic, and well, add one heck of a scorer.

All for four players (If we really consider Kwame Brown that), two (future) first round draft choices (read that as low first rounders because NBA champions and almost champions never eat early at the draft), and a bag of balls and photos of Jenny Buss.  Guess the Mets weren't the only ones to steal a trade this week.

And look what patience has done for Kobe.  Even though we are a bit more East Coast centric and are more concerned about the events of the "As The Knicks Turn" and the Nets.  We even look up north towards all the changes with the Celtics.  But we spent many a day talking about the desire of Kobe to be traded.  And the Lakers insistence in not just giving him away to the Bulls.  And to be patient.  As they told Kobe.  That they would find him some help.  And they have.  All for a lot of luggage.

That earthquake you feel is the Lakers feeling smug, getting back to the elite.  All we need now is for them to face the Celtics.  Like the old days.

We want to give a shout out to a Game Over Urban Legend friend that has granted us insite to the world of Urban Legends on the West Coast.  Dan the Man has sent us several Emails with tales of some of the Urban Legends he has encountered over the years, particularly Raymond Lewis.  Now he tells us of a movie that will be coming out shortly on the life of former New York Knick legend Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton, who helped break the NBA color line.  Not only that, but Dan is in it too!  You can check out some of the info at http://www.movieset.com/og/synopsis/1457   Henry Simmons, who played Detective Baldwin Jones plays Clifton.  We'll keep you posted as to when the movie comes out.

After all that has befallen the New York Knicks it is easy for us to jump on the player-hate bandwagon.  The last thing any of us who are Knick fans want is to watch what some have called a trainwreck.  We would all like to see what we all remember, teams of Willis, Clyde, and Pearl; Bernard finishing a drive to the hoop for a three-point play; and championship caliber teams of Pat, John, and Anthony.

The latest news is that the team has lost Stephon Marbury for two months after successful foot surgery.  He says he will try to be back before the end of the season.  Some say why bother on a team that looks like it will miss the playoffs (again).  Some even speculate that Stephon has played his last game as a Knick.

No one wants to lose.  We can turn on the sport radio stations in New York any time of day and hear from the talking heads and fans their hurt in watching this NBA flagship franchise go through another poor season.  We don't have all the answers, but we have some thoughts.  They all lead to one destination - the return to the glory days of Knick basketball.

Should the Knicks trade / buy-out / or let Stephon's contract expire after next year?  Unfortunately for Brooklyn's finest, it might be for the best.  For the Knicks, and for Stephon.  About the other expensive, over-the-salary-cap contracts of players that aren't performing, let them go too.  Don't take on any additional contracts that are going to put the team over the salary cap now.  The time, if there is such a time, is when you need one more piece to take the team over the top.  Now is not the time.  And the Knicks realize that.   Though there is speculation in the tabloids, statements have been made by the Knicks front office (Isiah) that they wiill not be making any trades next month.  Would if benefit the team to have Ron Artest?  Perhaps.  We'll leave that thought to the fans.  But to take him now when he would be a free agent at the end of the season would allow the Knicks to shed some poor contracts.  Trading for him now would mean giving up on some of the young talent the Knicks have, and that is the future of this team.

We yell, scream, and talk about the Knicks because we are Knick fans.  The worst thing to happen is for us not to care.  Then the Knicks are really in trouble. 

The other night Saint Louis University took on George Washington in an Atlantic 10 game.  They scored 7 points in the first half . . . 7.  20 for the whole game.  Now the first reaction is that they just can't shoot.  Well, that isn't the case.  Did they shoot poorly that evening?  No question.

But there were other factors involved, some that are overlooked in each and every game by the casual observer.  First, lets give credit to George Washington for the individual and team defense they displayed.  Every shot was challenged.  How many times have you heard your coach say to get a hand in your man's face, or to cut off the driver?  GW did just that.

Then there was also that GW limited Saint Louis in offense rebounds, which therefore limits Saint Louis to offensive opportunities at the basket.  If you only get one shot at the hoop per possession, you are not going to get a lot of second-chance points.

And then there was the pace of the game.  The 35 second clock was used by both teams, GW on offense to slow the game down and look for the good shot and Saint Louis because of the difficulty they had against the GW defense.  GW's use of the clock acts as a sixth defender as Saint Louis had to now force the offense inorder to not lose too much time from the clock.

At first, we tend to look at a performance on the surface and make quick judgments as to why a team played a certain way.  Games are won and lost on much deeper levels as well.  This game was the perfect wave - poor shooting with outstanding defense and good ball usage by the opponent.  After that - Game Over.

Like we said, we are now getting into the heart of the college basketball season.  Exhibit A, Clemson takes North Carolina to OT before falling short.  For most of the game the Tigers held off the Tar Heels but Wayne Ellington's 3 with .04 on the clock ("An eternity" - Coach Al McGuire) in overtime gave top ranked North Carolina a 90-88 ACC victory.  We give this shout-out to long-time Game Over supporter Harry D. - your 19th ranked Tigers almost did it Harry.  It might be tougher to do at Chapel Hill next month.

Haven't we all taken a test in class and we know we didn't do to well and wish that we could mark the test, explaining our answers and why we didn't know something?  Of course we all wish we could have done that.  Wouldn't be great, mark all your tests?  We would all get passing grades (okay - some of us would get 100's too!).

Well, thats what our buddy and friend Isiah Thomas, Coach of the New York Knicks, has just done.  Two weeks ago he issued a statement that he should be evaluated for the next two weeks and if no progress was made then he should be fired.  A fair idea after all the recent turmoil at the World's Most Infamous Arena.  Lets, see, they've lost 4 in a row, 10 of their last 12, and are 8 - 21.  This is progress?  By who's definition?  Oh, of course, Isiah.  Who marked his own paper.  Game Over.

Here it is New Year's Eve at Game Over Headquarters and we are excited.  This week officially starts the conference season in college basketball.  No more made for tv match-ups of the 10 seed Big Ten Team against the 1 seed ACC Team.  Blow-Out City.  Yeah, we do get to see some goodies, but how many years do we have to watch Syracuse play cupcakes AT THEIR HOUSE?  Seriously, how does that get you to meld as a team.  If your fortunate, you can move up in the rankings.

But then comes January.  Conference season.  Where each conference beats up on itself after playing some 12 "Pre-season" (non-conference) games.  Now Duke plays North Carolina, Georgetown plays Marquette, and UCLA plays upstart Washington State.  This is where we see teams show what they learned outside the conference inorder to win the conference.

While UNC may be tops now, the ACC is not our pick for top conference.  That nod goes to the Big East.  They will be beating each other up for the next two months and we'll see at least 8 squads make it to the NCAA's because of how good the conference is.  A very close second is what most of us East-coasters won't see unless its you view on the weekends or late at night, the Pac-10.  That conference is 8 deep and we may see 5-6 teams come from out west.  The ACC fills the third spot, UNC easily winning the conference with Duke holding a group of strong contenders for the NCAA's.

We'll update you with our thoughts on the college season as it unravels.  Game Over.