The hottest video game of the here and now is NBA 2K11 (official site) and you could WIN yourself your very own copy (PS3/X360). The game is stacked with upgraded content this year, with the big highlights being the Jordan Challenge mode and the MJ: Creating A Legend mode, both of which allow you to resurrect His Airness' career.

So what do you have to do to become Michael Jordan and re-create the legend by winning a copy? We have three very simple MJ-themed steps:

1. Which team did Craig Ehlo famously play for from 1987-1993, during which time he was humbled by Jordan on more than one occasion?
2. Michael Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 1992-93. Who came second in total points that season (note: not PPG, but total points)? Huge hint: you can see a great photo of him at The Fantasy Dudes.
3. Lastly, subscribe to either our free NBA newsletter or our free overall site newsletter. [Use the email address that you enter with.]

Email your two answers to ASternWarning@gmail.com (and make sure that you've subscribed to one of the newsletters) -- if you're our winner, I'll get back to you via email.

Conditions of entry:

1. You've got until 12:01 AM US EST on November 7, 2010 to get your entries in. 
2. Contest only open to North American (USA & Canada) residents. Sorry, it's just the way it is for technical reasons.
3. The game will be provided in your choice of Playstation 3 or XBox 360 format.
4. Make sure you email us from an address we can contact you on to provide you with your prize if you're the winner. Also, make sure that you subscribe to our newsletter from that same email address, so that we can verify.
5. If more than one person provides the correct entry, the winner will be chosen at random from those successful entries.
6. A Stern Warning and its writers can not be held liable for any negative impacts of you entering this contest (including, but not limited to, forgetting to do your school homework or being mesmerized by Craig Ehlo's manly good looks).

ENTER NOW! 

Something had to give in Portland. And finally it has.

The roster that the Trail Blazers were carrying through the pre-season, coupled with the terrible run of injuries to big men continuing, meant that a move was likely on the horizon. Today that move came as it was announced that Jerryd Bayless would be traded to the New Orleans Hornets for a conditional future first round draft pick.

The good news for Patty Mills fans is that the speedy Aussie may now hang on to a roster spot, after the expected (yet unfortunate) waiving of very popular, but injured, big man Jeff Pendergraph.

Julian Khazzouh has been named a very deserving NBL Player of the Week for the first round of the 2010/11 season after a huge performance punctuated by his 24 point, 17 rebound, 3 steal, 3 block performance in leading the reborn Sydney Kings to a first-up victory over the more-fancied Melbourne Tigers.

Read on for the NBL press release...

Who says that the NBL is only played below the rim? Check out this alley-oop jam from Craig Winder of the Adelaide 36ers in their surprise victory over 2009-10 champions, the Perth Wildcats.

Fresh off an opening night victory over the Melbourne Tigers, the Sydney Kings did everything right for their home opener against the New Zealand Breakers. Off the court, at least.

The new management team of the Kings, spearheaded by the experience of Bob Turner, put together a finely polished night of entertainment to welcome the Kings back to Sydney. As a fan amongst the 8,533 in attendance, it was hard not to get caught up in the atmosphere.

The history of the Kings and the emotions evoked by their return were heavily drawn upon in the game night presentation. A fantastic highlights video was sewn together from the archives, bringing back vision of such favourites as Dwayne McClain, Shane Heal, Matty Nielsen, Steve Carfino, Leon Trimmingham and even current coach Ian "Moose" Robilliard in his playing days.

Many basketball fans in Australia follow the sport they love for years and years, watching the epitome of basketball -- the NBA -- from afar via their television screens and now the internet. A large percentage of them never get the opportunity to actually watch a live NBA game. That is miraculous really, when you think about it, given the devotion that a lot of these fanatics display.

Since we have just started the 2010-11 NBL season and you've just realised that it's all back in action because you heard something on the news last night about a victory by the New Zealand Breakers over the Sydney Kings and you exclaimed, "what, the Sydney Kings are back?!?!" it's time for you to do a bit of light reading on the season ahead. It's time to catch up.

As the National Basketball season is about to tip-off, the league and its teams have done a better job than ever of embracing the power of technology in spreading the word about their opening clashes. In the near future, we will be analysing the social media presences of each team (twitter, facebook, website etc), but today, take a look at some of the television advertisements that are pulling the fans in.

NBL Season Launch: "It Goes Off"

(A longer version of this commercial, with player footage, can be found at this nbl.com.au link)

The Sydney Kings are back.

But then again, you already knew that. The biggest story in the lead-up to the 2010/11 National Basketball League season has been the return of the team from Australia's biggest city. Everything has been said about basketball in Sydney -- it is vital to the success of the league... it will never work... it needs to have star players... the franchise enjoys favouritism from the league office...

The reality is, the veracity of all of those assertions will not be proven until the team gets out on the court. That return to the court is all that really matters right now, refueling a fan base that has been without their team for far too long.

The 2010/11 NBL season tipoff is just around the corner, with the Kings resuming their rivalry with the Melbourne Tigers on opening night -- 15 October, 2010 in Melbourne. Rising from the ashes of the recent failings of the Kings' franchise, a set of old hands (led by Bob Turner) have returned to the fold to bring back the glory days of Sydney Kings basketball at the Kingdome.

In an attempt to revive the good times, many lessons have been learnt and much of history has been brought back into play. The stadium is the same (the Sydney Entertainment Centre), the approach to marketing the team is much the same (a focus on the grassroots and providing an entertainment experience on game night) and a few of the old players are the same (the likes of Luke Martin, Ben Knight and Graeme Dann all have a history in Kings' colours).