This is the time of year when basketball players start getting tired from the long season, and they need to start conserving energy for the important post-season games ahead. Brandon Roy of the Blazers is starting to look bushed, for example. He's the go-to guy every game, even when the competition is weak. Lately he's been having to save his best stuff for the fourth quarter, sleepwalking through other stretches of the game.

At this point in the season, nobody can be too thrilled at having to play long multiple-overtime games. But if the score's tied at the end of the contest, the ballers must play on. This past week, we had the six-overtime thriller between Syracuse and Connecticut in the college ranks. Then last night in the pro's, Miami took three overtimes to beat Utah. Dwayne Wade played 52½ minutes and scored 50 points for the Heat. The final score was 140 to 129. Dee-fense!