NBA looking to add Jeremy Lin to All-Star Weekend

The NBA is giving serious thought to finding a way to get the season's biggest story down to its All-Star Weekend festivities in Orlando.

The idea of adding Jeremy Lin to the All-Star roster may be a hard sell considering the New York Knicks sensation has only five career starts; but it sounds like the league will somehow find a way to bring Linsanity to the party.

According to the New York Daily News, the NBA is trying to maximize the attention Lin is receiving and bringing the Knicks point guard down to the All-Star weekend is a no-brainer.

According to the Daily News source, the NBA is hoping to add Lin to its NBA All-Star lineup by having him participate in the Haier Shooting stars competition during All-Star Saturday night.  The competition features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one TNT on-air talent and legend on each team.

While it may hard to swallow the thought of a player who was cut by two teams and sitting on the Knicks bench just two weeks ago playing alongside Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Derrick Rose, the NBA knows the underdog Lin is too big a money-maker to keep away.



TV ratings have soared when he plays and stores can't keep his No. 17 jerseys on the racks.

The league hasn't seen a phenomenon like Lin in a long time and— by adding the player with a dozen nicknames to the All-Star weekend— it would be a nice gift to the fans from the NBA after the off-season lockout.

After all, he did breathe some life into the abbreviated season.

Even with basically a six-game season, Lin isn't undeserving of some kind of participation in the All-Star weekend in two weeks.

The 6-foot-3 Knick doesn't have the hops for the Slam Dunk Contest but the Skills Challenge seems to fit him a little better than one of his loose-fitting jerseys.

The Chinese-American Harvard-grad has become an overnight sensation after leading the Knicks to six straight wins since coming off the bench.

Last night, he buried three-point shot with :05 left in regulation to beat the Toronto Raptors and kept his legend growing.

Lin's humble personality and storybook season have made him a fan favorite. He is headed towards Tim Tebow-like adoration.

Linsanity has even made it to the White House.

According to ESPN, President Barack Obama is following the exploits of the reluctant star.

White House spokesman, Jay Carney said the President caught Lin's game-winning shot at the end of Tuesday game while on Marine One to Andrews Air Force Base.

He considers Lin's success a "great story" and it "transcends the sport itself,' said Carney.

Sounds like an endorsement to me.

Derek Jeter Is Most Popular Male Athlete Despite Recent Bad Publicity

Derek Jeter was voted the "Most Popular Male Athlete" according to a just-released Harris Poll.  The New York Yankees shortstop is perched at the top spot for the first time, replacing Kobe Bryant who held the title last year.

Jeter's rise from the No. 3 spot in 2010 to the No. 1 position wasn't influenced too much by his highly-publicized quest for his milestone 3,000th hit because the poll of 2,163 participants were contacted during the week of June 13-20, when Jeter was on the disabled list.

Peyton Manning moved up from No. 5 to the second spot.  The face of the NFL also endorses half a dozen prominent products and his mug is seen on plenty of TV commercials.  The Indianapolis Colts quarterback had a popular faux '70's movie trailer, co-starring his brother Eli, flooding the Internet about the same time of the poll.

Even the NFL lockout couldn't dim the ubiquitous football star's popularity.  He was the most popular athlete polled by Gen-X (ages 35-46).

Michael Jordan, whose final NBA game was eight years ago, still tied for third place with Los Angeles Laker Bryant.  Jordan was the most popular athlete from 1993-2005, when the title was handed over to golfer Tiger Woods.

Surprisingly,  Woods was the most popular this year with the "matures" (ages 66+) according to the Harris Group.  He was number one from 2006-2009.  Still, the shamed and slumping golfer had the biggest drop in the top-ten.

"As his playing woes continue, it is likely that his (Woods) fall will continue next year", said a Harris representative.

Even so, Woods marketing team has to be happy.

Bryant was the most popular among Hispanic and African-Americans in the Harris Poll.

Jeter was big among the Baby Boomers (ages 47-65) even though the The Captain has been in the news a lot lately-- and not for all the most popular reasons.

Jeter's quest for the 3,000 Hit Club was accomplished in grand style last week after he went 5-for-5 and bashed the historic hit into the centerfield stands.  The home run ball was caught by a fan, Christian Lopez, who was immediately whisked out of his seat by Yankees personnel, who--many believe-- overwhelmed the young man into turning the ball over to Jeter for a mere pittance.  Now Lopez is stuck with a whopping income tax bill to cover the season tickets he got as a reward.  Now,  even Yankees fans say that Jeter should foot the IRS bill in exchange for the ball.

After that controversy,  Jeter skipped out on the All-Star Game he was elected to; citing his recovery from a strained calf and preparing for the wear-and-tear of the second half of the season as his reasons.  Many fans didn't think he deserved to be in the Mid-summer Classic in the first place.  He spent the break in Miami with his girlfriend actress Minka Kelly.

Noticeably absent from the Top Ten is Lebron James.  King James "Decision" last summer seems to have turned off more than only Cleveland fans.  James was No. 6 last year.

Besides Woods, another bad boy made the list.  Hines Ward tied with Albert Pujols at the seventh position.  The Pittsburgh Steeler was arrested a couple of weeks ago--after the poll was taken-- for suspicion of DUI.  Ward's "Dancing With the Stars" victory probably pulled in a lot of the ladies' votes, but apparently not as many as Manning.  The QB was the most popular athlete among the women polled.

First timers to the Top Ten included Ward, Pujols, Derrick Rose and Aaron Rodgers.

The top three female athletes were at No. 1, tennis-star Serena Williams followed by her sister Venus and race car driver Danica Patrick.