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After losing out to the Thunder, Kobe Bryant asserted that he's "not fading into the shadows." But does SN think Bryant's championship window has closed? Vote » Big changes? » Conversation »
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Welcome to SportsNation! On Monday, X Gamer and Rallycross driver Stephan Verdier stops by to chat about this summer's X Games as well as the start of the Global RallyCross Championships season, which gets underway May 26 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.
Verdier finished fourth overall in 2011. For the 2012 season, Verdier will be teaming his Rhys Millen Racing No. 12 car with the new Disney XD animated series "Motorcity" as a sponsor. Fans can follow him on Twitter: @StephanVerdier or on his website StephanVerdier.com.
Send your questions now and join Verdier Monday at 3:30 p.m. ET!
More Special Guests: Previous chats | SportsNation
The Clippers are out of the running, which is normally a sentence one would say sometime around December. This season, however, they made it all the way to the conference semifinals, taking care of a tough Grizzlies team in seven games before falling to the aging but still effective Spurs juggernaut. Seriously, 18 straight wins since mid-April? That's somewhat notable, don't you think? Anyway, the Clippers clearly must be pleased with how their season turned out overall, but there are questions about their long-term future, as neither Blake Griffin nor Chris Paul has signed a long-term contract extension. Will both reside in Lob City for the long haul?
Blake Griffin is eligible to sign an extension this summer, while Chris Paul is under contract for only one more year.
Paul and Griffin meshed well in their first season, but it'll take more than a barrage of alley-oops to win a championship.
The Spurs have been written off as done before, but they're looking like the mid-2000s team of old in these playoffs.
If you missed some of these links earlier in the week, they might prove to be a good way to ease the clock toward quitting time.
The week's best polls ...
1. How should the NBA address flopping?
2. Could you keep awake in the Clemens trial?
3. Are the Lakers already done in their series?
4. Should Wes Welker have signed a tender?
5. Are the Heat losing control against the Pacers?
6. Should Ed Reed walk away from the game?
The week's best rankers ...
1. Which are the smartest football schools?
2. Which is the best team in baseball?
3. Which is the best team in the WNBA?
The week's best quizzes ...
1. Can you name the last 10 NBA Rookies of the Year?
The injury to Miami's Chris Bosh really seemed to hurt the Heat during the early parts of their series against the Indiana Pacers. Does that make Miami vulnerable for an upset? That question was prevalent in our NBA chats this week and we asked our experts to weigh in. For all of our other chats, check out our chat archive page.
Can Indiana pull this off, or was that just a miserable night for Miami?
Indiana is much better than people are giving them credit for. They have a more complete team. But when the top 3 players all play for the Heat ... I understand why folks struggled to see how they would compete. With Bosh not on the floor, the Pacers have a great shot of taking them out and representing the East in the Finals.. Full transcript
What do the Pacers need to do to pull off the upset?
I think the Pacers need to attack from the perimeter. Danny Granger made a great point after Game 1 when he said Indiana needed to tweak it's offense in order to make Wade and LeBron work as hard defensively as they have to on offense, now that Bosh is likely out. That means Granger and Paul George have to be more difficult to defend than they were in Game 1. Full transcript
Does the Bosh injury guarantee that he will be traded if the Heat don't beat the Pacers?
Half the people in my questions want to trade Bosh for some reason. Um, wouldn't a Heat loss guarantee the opposite: that it proves how valuable Bosh is to this team? Full transcript
At first, Ed Reed said that he wasn't 100 percent committed to playing next season. Now he's changing it up, stating that his goal is to play this season and possibly beyond. Reed has had injury issues since around 2009 or so, but has still played at a high level ever since. He is one of the best safeties in the NFL, but how much longer will that be true?
Throwing in Ed Reed's general direction over the course of his career has rarely worked out for anyone but the Ravens.
Reed's health is an ongoing concern for both him and his team, but should it force him to retire?
The Ravens are already out one Terrell Suggs for next season; would Ed Reed be a bigger loss?
On Friday, "First Take" discussed the amount of blame LeBron James deserves for the Heat's Game 3 loss against the Pacers. Much of the fault seems to lie at the feet of Dwyane Wade, who scored only five points in the contest, but whenever the Heat lose, it's inevitable that LeBron will draw some fire. Skip Bayless thinks LeBron deserves the majority of the blame, but Stephen A. Smith gives him only about 20 percent. What's your take?
Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall won't face charges due to an incident in a nightclub in New York. Will Marshall be a distraction for the Bears?
Join the conversation or respond by signing in or creating a profile and blogging.
Nothing seems to go according to script for the Heat in the playoffs. If you believe LeBron James' prediction in their infamous introductory press conference, they should be well on their way to their second title by now. Instead, they're teetering on the brink of falling in a deep hole in their series against the Pacers. It's gotten so bad that the normally unflappable Dwyane Wade is scoring in the single digits and arguing with his coach. Whatever's wrong with Wade and the Heat, they'll have to turn it around quickly.
Dwyane Wade's performance in Game 3 was eminently forgettable -- a mere five points and five turnovers in 37 minutes.
Dwyane Wade and coach Erik Spoelstra had to be separated after a heated argument.
The Pacers have been splitting scoring duties almost evenly among their five starters, and it's been working out well so far.
There's been talk of splitting up the Big Three if the Heat don't win this season, possibly with the intention of acquiring Dwight Howard.
Welcome to SportsNation! On Friday, ESPN's sports business analyst Andrew Brandt stops by to chat about the NFL offseason.
Brandt, who has over 25 years of experience in professional football, both from the management and player representation side, runs NationalFootballPost.com, where he gives fans an insider's view on the business of football. His Twitter is: @ADBrandt.
He is also a lecturer at the Wharton School of Business, teaching Sports Law, Sports Business and Negotiations. He has written for Forbes, the Huffington Post and Sports Business Journal, while also appearing across all ESPN TV, radio and online platforms. In his time in the football business, Brandt as served as a player representative, a World League GM and a VP with the Packers.
Send your questions now and join Brandt Friday at 3 p.m. ET!
The Lynx look to retain their crown as WNBA champions as the road to a second consecutive title is set to begin. With most of last year's championship team returning, is Minnesota clearly the WNBA's best team? Where do the two-time defending Eastern Conference champion Dream rank? Does Nneka Ogwumike give the Sparks the edge they need to regain its spot among the league's best teams?
Click the logos below to set your power rankings!
2012 WNBA Power Rankings
Dream
Atlanta Dream
2011 record: 20-14
Fever
Indiana Fever
2011 record: 21-13
Liberty
New York Liberty
2011 record: 19-15
Lynx
Minnesota Lynx
2011 record: 27-7
Mercury
Phoenix Mercury
2011 record: 19-15
Mystics
Washington Mystics
2011 record: 6-28
Silver Stars
San Antonio Silver Stars
2011 record: 18-16
Sky
Chicago Sky
2011 record: 14-20
Sparks
Los Angeles Sparks
2011 record: 15-19
Storm
Seattle Storm
2011 record: 21-13
Sun
Connecticut Sun
2011 record: 21-13
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