LeBron James according to ESPN, led all other players in ballots for the All-Star game. Shocker. The rest of the East starters are Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade and Kyrie Irving.

Voters also chose Kobe Bryant to play in his 16th All-Star game, being the second-most in NBA history. According to ESPN, he responded by saying he didn’t feel he deserved the All-Star start, and that “you’ve got to reward the young guys.”

I must admit, I’m not much a fan of any particular basketball team, nor do I particularly follow basketball that closely despite my Los Angeles residency. Therefore, I feel I’m unbiased in saying that I was always under the impression that non-Laker fans viewed Bryant as rather arrogant. Maybe he’s matured with age? But regardless of his personal issues, Kobe will go down in NBA history, and as a consolation prize, will also be one of the most loved and love-to-hate players.

All I know, and this may be irrelevant, is that you can often find Kobe’s face plastered on billboards across Los Angeles, advertising — or something of that nature — the Great Wall of China. Why? I can honestly say that I have no idea.

What I DO know, is apparently Nick Young is more violent than meets the eye. I mean, come on. Basketball is a FULL contact sport, why would you feel the need to punch someone, when you could just get all “up in his business” on the next play? Seriously.

And in conclusion to my thoughts on basketball: I praise the fans of the NBA for giving the younger players a chance to play in the All-Star game, it’s been exciting watching the new blood circulate through the league, and their recognition is much earned.

Like I touched upon last week, I love following the baseball offseason, and this week’s advancements were definitely note-worthy.

For those who didn’t know, Jay-Z has his own sports agency, Roc Nation Sports, which, in it’s infancy, signed athletes across the sport-spectrum, such as Victor Cruz, Geno Smith and Robinson Cano to name a few. However, Roc Nation Sports just signed its newest moneymaker, pitcher CC Sabathia.

Why anyone would want to sign an ATHLETIC contract with a rap legend, I can’t say that I know. However, I’m sure that any amount of money that large invested behind a sports agency speaks for itself regardless of who owns it.

But for all of the athletes I mentioned today, they may have 99 problems, but money is definitely not one of them… unless you’re Vince Young.