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The San Diego Padres desperately need help at the plate. Their anemic offense last year killed any chance that the Padres could reach the playoffs. To help score some runs, San Diego traded a pair of prospects to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Carlos Quentin.

Quentin, who grew up in San Diego, should be able to help right away. Since becoming a regular four years ago, the 29-year-old has been an impressive power hitter. Last season, Quentin had 24 homers, 77 RBIs and 53 runs. While his batting average leaves much to be desired (.254), his power is enough to get the Padres excited.

As for the White Sox, this is another step in their rebuilding process. In return for Quentin, they get pitchers Pedro Hernandez and Simon Castro. Both played in the minor leagues last season.

With the Padres, Quentin will play left field. He’ll also be in the middle of their lineup — perhaps hitting cleanup for the offensively starved squad.

Carlos Quentin traded to the Padres (Image: TSN.ca)

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Welcome back, Andrew Bynum. The center for the Los Angeles Lakers took a break from racking up traffic tickets and got back to playing basketball. In his first game back from suspension, Andrew Bynum was dominant — scoring 29 points, pulling down 13 rebounds and blocking two shots.

With Andrew Bynum powerful in the middle, the Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets by a final score of 92-89. Kobe Bryant and Paul Gasol both chipped in 17 points for the Lakers.

The Nuggets, who played the Lakers close all day, couldn’t get over the hump. Al Harrington had 21 points, while Nene, Arron Afflalo and Andre Miller each had 13 points.

The Lakers lost their first two games of the season but have responded with three straight wins. The Nuggets, on the other hand, have lost two straight after winning their first two contests.

Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant (Image: TSN.ca)

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LeBron James picked a team last year. And today, LeBron James has picked a wife. The Miami Heat superstar proposed to Savannah Brinson, who has been LeBron James’ girlfriend since high school. LeBron and Savannah already have two children together.

Why did LeBron James decide to get engaged now? Perhaps he was just following in the footsteps of his basketball idol. Earlier in the month, Michael Jordan got engaged.

With the Heat undefeated and a good woman at his side, LeBron James can only hope that 2012 is as good to him as the end of 2011 has been. The Heat look like the favorites to win the NBA championship this season and there are rumors that Savannah may already be pregnant with number 3!

LeBron James and Savannah Brinson got engaged

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Amare Stoudemire was out due to injury and the New York Knicks were on the road to take on the Sacramento Kings. It turned out to be a walk in the park for the Knicks, who rode Carmelo Anthony’s 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists to a 114-92 win.

The Knicks also got 22 points, seven rebounds and three blocks from Tyson Chandler, while Landry Field chipped in with 21 points and five rebounds.

As a team, the Kings shot only 34.9% from the field and missed 16-of-22 three-point attempts. Marcus Thornton led the way with 14 points, however he was just 5-for-13 from the floor.

The Knicks entered the season with high expectations but they’ve been all over the map early on. After this win, they sit at 2-2. The Kings, meanwhile, are just 1-3.

Carmelo Anthony slayed the Kings (Image: TSN.ca)

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New York Knicks rookie bigman Josh Harrellson got the start on Saturday night and was really impressive as the Knicks defeated the Sacramento Kings. He had 14 points and 12 rebounds, while nailing 4-of-8 from downtown. In the fantasy basketball world, those stats look like gold for a player available on the waiver wire.

That said, you should know that Josh Harrellson was only starting due to an injury to Amare Stoudemire. And since Amare Stoudemire’s injury isn’t believed to be serious, Josh Harrellson’s time in the starting lineup will be short.

Is Josh Harrellson worth a roster spot on your fantasy basketball team? If you can afford to grab him and hold him with the hope that he’ll play big minutes, go ahead and sign him. Josh Harrellson plays behind a pair of injury prone players in Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler. It could be simply a matter of time before he finds himself in the starting lineup again.

And like we saw tonight, Josh Harrellson can produce when given minutes.

Josh Harrellson Knicks (Image: TSN.ca)

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A lot of older teams around the NBA have struggled. This condensed season appears to be favoring the younger squads who have youthful energy. However, so far the San Antonio Spurs have been able to avoid struggles — even though their core is older.

Against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, the Spurs cruised to a 104-89 victory. Manu Ginobili was simply fantastic, finishing with 23 points in 23 minutes to go along with four rebounds and two assists. He hit 9-of-10 shots from the field and 5-of-6 shots from three-point land.

The Spurs also got 17 points and 10 rebounds from DeJuan Blair, the team’s young center. Blair has been a surprise thus far this season, averaging 16.3 points and 7.3 rebounds.

The Jazz, who are now 0-3 on the road this year, were led by Al Jefferson’s 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Can San Antonio keep it up? Well, they did win 61 games last year so perhaps they’ll be able to weather the storm that is this abbreviated regular season.

Manu Ginobili dominated the Jazz (Image: TSN.ca)

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The events leading up to the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl were as exciting as the game itself. On Friday, the teams visited Glide Memorial Church & Kitchen and St. Anthony’s Dining Room in San Francisco. On Saturday, it was time for the tailgate party and the big game at AT&T Park. Though there were plenty of highlights, one of the best was seeing Hall of Famers Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott taking part in the festivities. Another high point was the undefeated 1951 University of San Francisco Dons being honored at halftime.

The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is the only college bowl game that focuses on raising money & awareness about the issue of hunger in the United States. Hunger remains a serious issue in the United States. In fact, 49 million Americans, or one in six of our neighbors, don’t always know where their next meal will come from.

The second annual Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl celebrated the successful culmination of Kraft Foods’ 2011 HUDDLE TO FIGHT HUNGER program, including the donation of the monetary equivalent of 25 million meals to Feeding America to secure meals on behalf of local food banks. At the presentation of the check at the bowl game, they had donated 25,554,558 meals to Feeding America food banks.

Illinois defeated UCLA 20-14 in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl game. The Illini snapped a six-game losing streak with the victory.

All images © Kori Ellis

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As you’ve no doubt heard, Jay-Z and Beyonce have welcomed their daughter to the world. Named Blue Ivy Carter, Jay-z and Beyonce’s daughter is destined for superstardom. In fact, seconds after being born, Blue Ivy was featured on a Jay-Z song.

For proof, listen to the Jay-Z song at the end of this entry dedicated to Beyonce’s daughter.

The song is called “Glory” and you can hear Blue Ivy crying on the track. Honestly, while the song is from the heart, it’s pretty damn weak. Jay-Z’s lyrics are really basic and the beat is wack.

That said, it’s worth a listen. Here is the Jay-Z song dedicated to Beyonce’s daughter:

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In a much anticipated affair, the Los Angeles Clippers hosted the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. The game lived up to the hype. In an overtime battle, the Clippers escaped with a 95-89 victory.

Chris Paul, who was traded to the Clippers in the offseason, had perhaps his best game of the season: 27 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and three blocks. Blake Griffin added 20 points and 12 rebounds, while DeAndre Jordan had eight points, 11 rebounds and six blocks.

The Heat got 23 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists from LeBron James but it wasn’t enough. The Clippers scored the first two buckets of overtime and cruised to the win.

The win elevated the Lob City to 5-3, while the Miami Trice fell to 8-3.

Chris Paul - Los Angeles Clippers (Image: TSN.ca)

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Who says Kobe Bryant is old? He sure doesn’t look old right now. The superstar guard for the Los Angeles Lakers dropped 40 points on the Utah Jazz tonight — 24 hours after torching the Phoenix Suns for 48 points. With Kobe on fire, the Lakers have won four straight games and once again look like a legit contender in the Western Conference.

Over the last five games, Kobe has been tremendous. During that stretch he’s averaging 36.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists, while shooting 50.7% from the floor and 85.7% at the line.

During the offseason, Kobe spent much of his time trying to heal his ailing knees. Right before the season began, he suffered a torn wrist ligament. However, nothing ever seems to slow him down. And right now, he’s playing as well as he’s ever played.

Not bad for an old man.

Kobe Bryant on fire (Image: TSN.ca)

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