Carmelo Anthony Out of All Stars

From ESPN.com "One bad night may have overshadowed all the good Carmelo Anthony has done this season.

The NBA's leading scorer was not among the seven reserves announced Thursday night for the Western Conference team that will play in the NBA All-Star Game.

Denver teammate Allen Iverson was chosen, extending his streak of All-Star appearances to eight. He started the last seven games while playing for Philadelphia. Anthony, who is averaging 31.3 points but missed 15 games while suspended for his role in the brawl at Madison Square Garden, was the most obvious omission.

Earlier Thursday, Anthony said he hoped his suspension wouldn't prevent him from earning his first All-Star spot.

'I hope no one holds that over my head over anything,' he said. 'Things happen. One incident like that is held over one person's head, life ain't fair.

'I did my punishment. I could've easily kept my name out there by appealing it and doing other stuff about it, but I just did my 15 games suspension and hopefully put that behind us.'"

Read more on ESPN.com

Suns, Mavs, Rockets Playing Well

From cbssportsline.com: " The opening month of 2007 belonged to Phoenix, which managed to avoid defeat until its final game, winning 15 of 16 in January. The Suns also strung together a 17-game winning streak from Dec. 29 through Jan. 28.

Top five teams: 1. Phoenix Suns; 2. Dallas Mavericks; 3. Houston Rockets; 4. Toronto Raptors; 5. Washington Wizards.

Phoenix captured the imagination of the league again, surpassing the 15-game winning streak it launched in December by going on yet another run in January. The Suns (15-1) matched the best January record in NBA history, tying the 1962-63 Lakers.

Only Phoenix's excellence could prevent the Mavericks (14-2) from enjoying the top spot, but Dallas still managed to maintain the NBA's best overall record.

Houston was strong, winning 10 of 14 games despite the absence of Yao Ming, getting everyone else to pitch in just a little more to make it work. It helped that Tracy McGrady returned to the top of his game, vying for Player of the Month honors.

A great story began to develop north of the border, where Toronto (10-5) used its winningest month in years to climb up to .500, finishing January a game ahead of New Jersey in the Atlantic Division. They beat the Wizards (10-5) at home on Jan. 31 to edge them out for the No. 4 spot, but that bunch has nothing to hang its heads about, either. As February begins, surprising Washington sits atop the Eastern Conference."

To read more, go to the article on CBS Sportsline.com