Two-time NBA MVP Karl Malone, six-time champion Scottie Pippen, and two of the great U.S. Olympic champions are finalists for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.
The 1992 "Dream Team," which Malone and Pippen played on along with superstars such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, is a finalist in the team category. Also up for induction is the 1960 Olympic gold medalists, a team led by Hall of Famers Jerry West and Oscar Robertson that won its games in Rome by 42.4 points per game.
The 19 finalists were announced Friday at the start of the NBA's All-Star weekend in Dallas. The class of 2010 will be announced on April 5 in Indianapolis before the NCAA championship game.
Returning finalists include Chris Mullin, another Dream Teamer, Dennis Johnson, coach Don Nelson and four-time WNBA champion Cynthia Cooper.
Snow hits Dallas: The business of All-Star Friday was business, with plenty of talk about trades, free agency and the NBA's labor situation that hung over Dallas like the gray clouds that dumped a foot of snow on the city the day before.
Some of the players were still missing Friday morning, with Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Brandon Roy delayed by the largest one-day snowfall total in city history. It's expected to clear before the game Sunday, when more than 90,000 fans are expected at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
Meanwhile, Dirk Nowitzki of the hometown Mavericks was told he would replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the West lineup, and East coach Stan Van Gundy tabbed Atlanta's Joe Johnson to start for Allen Iverson, who pulled out for family reasons.
Karl gets new deal: Denver Nuggets coach George Karl agreed to a new contract that runs through the 2010-11 season. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Karl has led the Nuggets to a 35-18 record this season and will be coaching the Western Conference All-Star team Sunday.
Karl has the second most wins in Nuggets' history with 260 and has taken the team to the playoffs in each of the last five seasons.
