But this year, the Raiders took control of ticket sales for the first time since returning to Oakland from Los Angeles in 1995. Previously, sales had been handled by a county and city run organization. Another plus under the Raiders new agreement with Alameda County is that the team will collect some advertising revenue within McAfee Coliseum.Tripp Halstead was playing outside his daycare center in Winder, Ga., on Oct. 29 when Sandy's winds brought a tree limb down on his head. He suffered brain damage, underwent emergency surgery and has been in Children's Health Care of Atlanta ever since.

Even though he missed over a quarter of the season, Dirk was still the best player for this Mavs' squad by a mile. It may have been his worst statistical season in over a decade (his 19.63 PER is his lowest since his first two years in the league), but Dirk's still been the focal of everything the Mavericks have done since he returned, and he's still a high level offensive player that