M Pro Basketball

Watching New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin's explosion into the NBA this month, reading all of the stories about his meteoric rise from nobody to superstar, listening to all of the talking heads tell us Lin came from nowhere, I couldn't help thinking about Billy Ray Bates.

Commentators and coaches are saying they've never seen anything quite like Lin's rapid rise.

I have.

SALT LAKE CITY - This month, unwittingly observing the 25th anniversary of his late father's first regrettable outburst as an NBA owner, Jazz CEO Greg Miller launched into a tirade of his own.

SAN FRANCISCO - These are difficult times for a sports traditionalist.

We're trying to adapt, especially on the big stuff. Major League Baseball's plan to add another wild-card team in each league and a win-or-go-home, one-game playoff might add October excitement. That sounds cool.

The Big Game in October? Not so cool. Hideous, actually.

Six games into his ascent with the New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin is the toast of the tabloids, the flavor of the month in Madison Square Garden, a cultural and marketing global phenomenon and, most impressively, he is an emerging basketball star who fooled some of the best and brightest minds in the NBA.

A hard foul ignited some tough talk, a few forearm shoves and a typical basketball scrum that was heated but mostly harmless. Nikola Pekovic peeled back to make sure it became nothing more than that.

As officials restored order, Indiana Pacers guard Dahntay Jones singled out the Minnesota Timberwolves' resident bouncer.

The NBA All-Star starters have been chosen by fans. Reserves have been picked by coaches.

And now as the season rolls on past one-third gone, with only a fraction of precincts reporting, we offer an early look at how this truncated 66-game season might play out come postseason-awards time.

If nothing else, Jeremy Lin's week has made for some great headlines.

Lin-disputable!

Lin-genious!

A New Lin Dynasty!

But 23-year-old Jeremy Lin is really much more than that. He represents what most of us are (hardworking) and want (an opportunity).

A list of the 10 most disliked athletes has the usual suspects -- and one disconcerting aberration.

The power of reality TV can be expressed through ratings, revenue and fake stardom. Add this one to the list: It apparently makes the average American hate an athlete far more than you would ever imagine that athlete should be hated.

SAN FRANCISCO - Kevin Durant scrunches his lanky frame into a 1990s GMC van and heads for the Oklahoma City highways.

He stops and joins the action when he spots some businessmen who just clocked out and started a pickup game.

He crashes a stranger's barbecue and shoots hoops on the side of a barn.

Jimmer Fredette is a rookie, and he will be a rookie next week and the week after that. So for those wondering why the former Brigham Young University standout has spent the past two games on the bench -- and hello to all you impassioned tweeters from Utah -- that's the short answer.

The long answer is that Fredette walked into a mess.