Saturday 11/07 (Wall) Quickie

7:15 p.m. kickoffs make for very long Saturdays...

The John Wall Era is here: 27 pts and 9 ast in his exhibition debut for Kentucky. Folks who make preseason All-America teams really need to adjust, if they don't have the best player in college basketball on there. (15 years into the one-and-done era, I can't believe that All-America voters still have a bias against freshmen. Wait: Yes, I can.)

Boise State wins again -- but, as with the Tulsa win, it's not like they're beating their creampuff schedule decisively (like TCU is). Giving up 25 to LA Tech helps show that the defensive blanking of Oregon in the first week of the season was more because Oregon wasn't ready than because Boise's defense is particularly great.

Did not expect the Celtics' first loss to come to... the Suns. Biggest surprise of the NBA season so far: Phoenix.

LeBron (33 pts) helps Cavs dominate Knicks in NYC: The game was out of reach and boring for almost its entirety. Fans were booing. Exactly the kind of vibe that will lure LeBron!

Nuggets lose for 1st time this season, too... to the Heat.

Kobe youngest to 24,000 points: More impressed that he went over 40 (41) again this season.

Tyler Hansbrough makes his NBA debut: 13 points (hey, not bad -- I try hard not to make Hansbrough-Tebow pro-career comparisons... basketball and football -- particularly PF and QB -- are simply too different. Still, the analogy extends: The impacts will be modest but there.)

MLB Hot Stove: Manny will be back in L.A. Didn't think he'd opt-out of his fat deal, and things have been good for him in L.A. No reason to think they can't win the division next year, too. (But I don't think they can beat the Phillies in the playoffs -- btw, the Phils picked up a $9M option on Cliff Lee. Obviously.)

Urban Meyer fined $30K for criticizing refs: Pocket change. Fines have never and will never be a deterrent. (It's not like they're going to fine him a million dollars.)

Today's CFB Picks coming shortly.

-- D.S.