Chris Anderson's feel good moment

Unfortunately for professional sports, there are only so many feel good moments to go around. And sadly, most of these moments come after deaths, like those of Pat Tillman and Sean Taylor.

Thankfully, Chris Anderson's story doesn't involve death. Instead, it involves a much happier story about a recovery from drug abuse.

Anderson was reinstated by the league after a little more than 2 years worth of suspension. According to the ESPN story, he has turned his life around and is ready to be back.

Good for you Chris. I hope your career continues right where you left off.

It's always good to see someone kick a drug habit. They are tough things to kick and sadly I lost a cousin a couple years ago to a drug overdose.

Professional sports need more of these good stories and less of the bad.

Van Horn is prime example of working the system

Do you ever wish you could make $4.3 million for doing next to nothing?

Ask Keith Van Horn, he might be able to help you.

Van Horn, the semi-retired forward whose rights are still retained by the Dallas Mavericks, may be the key to completing a trade that would send Jason Kidd to Dallas from the New Jersey Nets.

The trade, which nearly was dead because of Devean George's refusal to be traded and then Jerry Stackhouse's mouth, is alive again according to ESPN.

Props go to Van Horn. At the most, he will probably have to fly to New Jersey, take a physical, and maybe show up at practice. And for his troubles, New Jersey will pay him approximately $4.3 million.

Earlier this month, Aaron McKie was dealt in a much similar fashion. The Lakers traded McKie, who was then a volunteer assistant on the Philadelphia 76ers coaching staff, to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the package that brought Pau Gasol to Los Angeles. Reportedly, McKie will make up to $750,000 more than the $7 million he was already being paid through an old contract.

Though McKie has decided to stay with the Grizzlies as a player/coach, it is possible that Van Horn could be released immediately after joining the Nets. He would then be paid for the rest of the year.

I sure wish I could find someone to pay me $4.3 million to take a physical. I spend enough time around the dorm tossing out ideas to make a little cash here and there, and yet none of those ideas seem feasible. I guess I just need to learn how to work the system.

Thanks to this awesome loophole, players like Van Horn and McKie get to increase their already large wealths. And I say, who can blame them?

Shaq traded to Suns

If I had the honor to be a reporter covering the Phoenix Suns I would have one question to ask.

Why fix something that isn't broken?

Trading Shawn Marion to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O'Neal makes no sense whatsoever. What on earth makes GM Steve Kerr think that Shaq will work in their offense?

Not only is Shaq on the decline, his physical fitness doesn't exactly fit into the run-and-gun offense that the Suns run. I can't remember a game where he wasn't sweating profusely less than a minute into the game, and that was only after plodding up and down the court. What's going to happen when he's expected to run?

Marion is an explosive player who is in the prime of his career. Shaq is a shadow of his former self. Advantage Miami Heat.

Though Phoenix does automatically get bigger upfront, it won't help. Shaq is the true center that the really doesn't fit their offense. Speed and outside shooting is how the Suns win, and the last time I checked, Shaq can't run or shoot.

I loved Kerr when he played for the Bulls, but I just don't understand his logic.

On the plus side, as a Pistons fan I no longer have to look at Shaq in the Eastern Conference again. That means I don't have to watch Shaq get babied by the referees.

NY Knicks drop the proverbial ball

NBA commissioner David Stern has finally gotten around to blasting the New York Knicks for how they handled the Isiah Thomas sexual harassment lawsuit. The Knicks lost the lawsuit in October and were ordered to pay $11.6 million to the plaintiff, Anucha Browne Sanders.

Stern, displeased with the Knicks for not taking other actions, said this to ESPN:

"It demonstrates that they're not a model of intelligent management. There were many checkpoints along the way where more decisive action would have eliminated this issue."

It’s too bad this comes far too late. Had he said this before the trial happened, maybe the Knicks would have agreed to settle out of court.

In my opinion, some of the blame has to fall on Stern himself. Obviously, this kind of press is not good for a league that is trying to clean up its image, regardless if the matter was settled out of court or not. But, Stern could have stepped in and offered advice to the Knicks; advice that may have kept them out of court. A small win in the image department, but a victory nonetheless. I think we can all agree that the last thing the NBA needs is more legal problems than what it already has.