According to this kotaku article, the answer might be an unfortunate "yes." You know what Dick Vitale would say to that.

"NCAA Basketball is not listed among key sports titles due for release in Electronic Arts' coming fiscal year, fueling speculation that the poor-selling franchise has been discontinued.

I emailed EA Sports for comment; it hadn't responded as of publication time. NCAA Basketball has long been rumored for the chopping block, with poor sales only part of the picture. The title draws nowhere near the kind of post-release support of other EA Sports retail releases."

So the field has been set for the 2010 NBA All-Star Weekend H-O-R-S-E event. According to JE Skeets at Ball Don't Lie, this year's event will see returning champion Kevin Durant take on Israeli rookie sensation Omri Casspi and Rajon "there's no F-T in" Rondo.

As Skeets pointed out well, "This year's shot-making shoot-out raises the stakes, as the contest will be held on All-Star Saturday Night (at 7 p.m. ET) in front of a packed house in Dallas.

Pray Rondo's been workin' on those free throws."

With that in mind, I thought it was worthwhile taking a look at the H-O-R-S-E contests (or G-E-I-C-O as it was named last year in an unpopular marketing sell-out) from years gone by to see what we have in store for us. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Ultimate Collection of H-O-R-S-E Videos.

This shot came before the game between the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Hornets.

Comparisons are not always just, necessary or desirable. However when it comes to sport and in particular statistics, comparisons will always come to mind. Andrew Bogut has never compared himself to Luc Longley, though the media has wanted to do so ever since the big Buck was drafted number one in 2005. Very soon though, Bogut will pass Longley in a number of key categories to become the all-time Australian NBA leader -- a feat that should not go unnoticed.

Just about everyone remembers Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway's game fondly. Yes, back when he had game and was not debilitated to a shadow of his former self. Everyone remembers Lil' Penny -- the pre-cursor to all other great NBA advert mini-me's. But how many truly remember what Penny was like as a person?

Sure you may recall the story of how he got his name Penny due to his Grandmama saying that he was "pretty as a penny," but what else do you remember about the former "Next Magic Johnson"? Thankfully, the interweb comes to our rescue yet again! Yes, I thank it every day too.

This superb 1995 interview with Anfernee has resurfaced, with Penny talking for 10 minutes on what makes him tick, all-star votes and who he'd like with the ball in their hands at the end of the game, plus more.

The New Zealand Breakers are doing a great thing for charity by supporting CanTeen -- assisting teens with cancer. It's clear watching this video who the seasoned vets are as opposed to those unaccustomed to being in front of the camera!

Perhaps these LeBron and Kobe MVPuppets are reaching their use-by date -- I'll leave that up to everyone else to decide. Looking at this one, I think they probably should be on the tail end of things. This time it's all about LeBron James and his elaborate handshakes.

Hot on the heals of the news that Tony Ronaldson was to call it a day, another league legend in Chris Anstey has announced his retirement. It has been a tough season for the Melbourne Tigers, a season which stands out like a sore thumb in a club with a rich tradition of winning. Their overtime loss to the Perth Wildcats on Saturday night ruled out any chance of a playoff berth this season.

Daniel Eade at Gaze Hoops broke the story on the Anstey retirement -- read his article here, which chronicles Anstey's fine international career. As with any outstanding player, Anstey has had his share of detractors over the years, as he scorched teams in his final stint in the NBL after returning from overseas. But for Melbourne Tigers fans he was a franchise saviour at a time he was needed most and undoubtedly enjoyed one of the finest international careers (across various domestic leagues) of any Australian.

Word is, he may not be the only Tiger to call it quits either.

We've all seen superstar treatment on the basketball court (not to mention in other sports). It's almost accepted practice that a foul by a superstar will have a blind-eye turned to it by officials, whereas the same play by a rookie/journeyman will cop an immediate whistle. The question I put forward to you this weekend is: am I the only one who is bothered by this?

Do you notice the same thing happening? And more than this, do you think it's acceptable?

Perhaps some people just accept it as part of the game -- a part of David Stern's big marketing machine. For me it falls into the same category as allowing players to travel on big dunks and homer-tv-announcers. All of it makes me feel like the powers that be think we're stupid. To me it's insulting. As a viewer, you are insulting my intelligence by allowing a foul call to go unwhistled because it was committed by (for example) LeBron James on Jonas Jerebko or Kobe Bryant on Will Bynum. I can see the foul, you can see the foul. We all can see the foul -- well, those of us with both eyes open anyway.

In recent years there has been a clear shift in the tides; point guards can now be as high-flying dunkers as anyone else. Take a look at the likes of Dwyane Wade, John Wall and of course this man, Derrick Rose. Rose will not be in the slam dunk competition this year (it's one of the few aspects of All-Star Weekend he is not involved in. Based on this alley-oop last night against the Atlanta Hawks, you'd have to think that he needs to be involved next year.

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen Rose bang on somebody this year. Ask Goran Dragic.