With the year he’s been having, I’d definitely say so.

The 2010 NBA basketball season hasn’t been kind to Allen Iverson, once one of the league’s brightest stars. Heck, this season has been that tough for him that he already retired this season only to come back after his old team, the Philadelphia 76ers, gave him a second lease in life.

Now, everything is being taken away from Allen Iverson again, as he was forced to put what’s left of his basketball career on hold to attend to his four-year-old daughter Messiah, who is reportedly suffering from an undisclosed illness.

Wow. You really can’t help but feel sorry for Iverson. For a guy who once led the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals and won numerous scoring titles with, including league MVP honors, going out this way is definitely a tough pill to swallow.

Just look at what A.I. has been through this year. First he signs a one-year deal with the Memphis Grizzlies looking to redeem himself after such a disastrous outing with Detroit last season. After only three games in Memphis, Iverson wanted out after he figured that he wasn’t on the same page with the team’s direction.

That led to Iverson announcing his retirement last November 25.

Then, his old team, the Philadelphia 76ers, gave him a second lease in life. And after a very emotional press conference, Iverson was back playing again for the very team that drafted him to the NBA.

Well, that lasted for 25 games. On February 22, Iverson took an indefinite leave to attend to his four-year-old daughter who was suffering from an undisclosed sickness. That forced the 76ers to announce that Iverson won’t be returning to the team for the remainder of the 2010 season.

”After discussing the situation with Allen, we have come to the conclusion…”

We know the starters, now it’s time to find out who got snubbed and who should be there in Dallas.

Every year, the NBA’s midseason extravaganza snubs a few players who fans feel should be in the league’s annual celebration of the brightest stars in the NBA. The 2010 NBA All-Star Game in Dallas is no different.

Let’s start with this one guy who probably got snubbed from the All-Star game this year because of a mug you can’t market ANYWHERE. And in case you didn’t get that, I’m referring to Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman.

This will be the second time the Los Angeles Clippers star got snubbed for the All-Star game. For a guy who looks like a child molester, Kaman is quickly becoming one of the brightest stars in Hollywood. The guy is averaging 20.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He is arguably having the best season of any traditional center in the West and that is why the Clippers, despite all their struggles, are still hanging on for a playoff spot.

Another guy who definitely should be in the All-Star game in Dallas is Chauncey Billups. Having the All-Star game this year without Mr. Big Shot is a travesty, to say the least. He is probably the best point guard in the Western Conference at this point of the season. Hell, he should be there starting for the West instead of Steve Nash in my opinion.

But probably because of the injury that forced him to miss eight games this season, Billups failed to get the fans’ and the coaches’ votes.

”I’m sure it played a role,” Billups said, who just recently broke his career high when he led the Denver Nuggets to a win over the Lakers in Los Angeles…

It’s that time of the year when the NFL concludes its season for the NBA to pick up the slack.

And just like every other year in sports, the NBA will pick up the slack with a bang, kicking off the second half of the season with the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. Yes, it’s the East All-Stars going up against the West All-Stars once again as fans voted in who they feel are the five best players in each conference as All-Star starters.

Leading the East All-Stars this year is leading vote-getter LeBron James. The reigning league MVP got 2,549,693 votes this season, becoming the first player in balloting history to draw at least 2.5 million votes on three separate occasions.

James is making his sixth All-Star appearance and will start for the Eastern Conference for the sixth time in his career. Joining James in the East are Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Allen Iverson , the 2001 and 2005 All-Star Game MVP.

Among active players, Garnett’s 13th All-Star selection ranks second to Shaquille O’Neal who has 15. Dwight Howard of…

At least that’s what the Sixers coach claims.

After all the whining about not starting this 2009 NBA basketball season, it looks like Allen Iverson may finally get his wish because after he returned to the Philadelphia 76ers a few days ago, current 76ers head coach Eddie Jordan has already said he will start Iverson, probably because he doesn’t have anybody else left.

In case you didn’t know, yes, Allen Iverson is back where it started it all, Philadelphia, returning to the very team that drafted him to the NBA after a bitter parting back in 2006.

It’s funny that when Iverson left the 76ers, the team was at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference and on game night, he will return to the same team still at the very bottom of the East. When the Sixers traded Iverson to the Nuggets in 2006, they were 5-18 and on an 11-game losing streak. The Sixers are 5-15 and on a nine-game losing streak when Iverson returns Monday.

Will Iverson’s return to the Philadelphia 76ers be the boost the team is looking for? Maybe. At least their dwindling ticket sales will improve a bit.

Iverson practiced with the other four starters who will likely start on Monday against the Denver Nuggets, one of the three teams Iverson played for after leaving Philly in 2006. Iverson joined Samuel Dalembert, Elton Brand, Thaddeus Young and Willie Green in his first practice back with the team.

”It was like deja vu,” 76ers center Samuel Dalembert said of watching…

Will he cry like a baby too?

Allen Iverson is happy to be back with the Philadelphia 76ers this 2009 NBA basketball season. The way he cried like a baby almost from the start of his return news conference ’til the end was evident of that.

And in case you missed it, yes, Allen Iverson wept, throwing away every street cred he had out the window in the process. He’ll play his first game back with the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, ironically against the same team the 76ers traded him to following a bitter parting, the Denver Nuggets.

Will Iverson start? Can A.I. show us that he really can still play at a high level? How in the hell can he help the Philadelphia 76ers, a team THIS CLOSE from throwing away the season? Well get the answers soon enough but as far as Iverson is concerned, he can now breathe a sigh of relief.

”I want to retire here,” Allen Iverson said. ”Coming back home, all I could think about was the people who made me who I am.”

”I always thought it was strange having another uniform. I couldn’t feel comfortable with another uniform.”

”I watch other NBA teams. I can’t watch the Sixers. Ever since I left, I wasn’t able to. Not because there was any bitterness, it was just a feeling I get. I gave everything I had here for 10 years. It was just always tough for me to watch them, so I didn’t.”

”I don’t want to prove anyone wrong in this situation. I’m…”

Because in case you did, we’d like you to know that he just signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Allen Iverson’s 2009 NBA basketball season hasn’t gone the way he planned. This was suppose to be the year that he comes back to being the fiery Iverson we knew who attacks the rim with reckless abandon. Instead, Iverson turned into something else.

For all ya’ll who didn’t know, Allen Iverson played this season, for the Memphis Grizzlies. And since Iverson retired before signing back to the 76ers, one can only assume that his brief stay with the Grizzlies hasn’t been a good one.

Instead of resurrecting the Memphis Grizzlies, Iverson ended up stirring quite a mess in Memphis that the Grizzlies ended up throwing him away to free agency faster than a used condom.

And without a team willing to give Iverson starter’s minutes, the former league MVP decided to call it quits, probably hoping that there will still be a team out there that will feel sorry for him and give him what he wants just to keep him in the league.

Luckily for him, the 76ers took the bait.

In Iverson’s retirement statement, he said that he still has what it takes to play at a high level. He also claims retiring will allow him to be with his family. Of course, we all know that he just can’t accept the fact that he can no longer start in this league and his…

Iverson is once again with the 76ers.

Having retired while probably still looking for a team to give him another shot this 2009 NBA basketball season, we knew Iverson was THIS CLOSE from having a reunion with the Philadelphia 76ers, the same franchise that he had a bitter parting with back in 2006.

So why was Allen Iverson even considering to return to Philly? Apparently, the 76ers is the only team in the league still willing to have a nutcase like Iverson. And since the team is pretty much in need of anything that can salvage their season, signing a diva like Iverson won’t hurt them that much.

The Philadelphia 76ers are in desperate need of a guard anyway after point guard Lou Williams broke his jaw and since their former franchise player is looking for a team while pretending to stay retired, I am not surprised to see the Sixers and the disgruntled A.I. kiss and make up.

Besides, this team is having one of the worst seasons of their franchise, add that with the low ticket sales and you have a team looking desperately for that jolt of electricity. Getting Iverson back to the fold won’t help them to win a couple of games but at least it will generate enough hype to bring some asses back to their seats.

”We met with free agent Allen Iverson in Dallas for the first formal discussion regarding a possible return to the Philadelphia 76ers,” 76ers general manager Ed Stefanski said in a statement.

”The meeting covered a variety of topics, all of which we would…”

But should they really hate the team?

Apparently, the New York Knicks are having a slow start to the 2009 NBA basketball season and need all the help they can get to salvage what’s shaping up to be another lost campaign.

Rumors began to come out that the New York Knicks were trying to sign free agent Allen Iverson, sparking some interest in a franchise that has been going virtually nowhere since losing Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell.

Unfortunately for Knicks fans, their team decided that Allen Iverson wasn’t the guy they were looking for after all. As expected, this created an uproar. Knicks fans are baffled why the Knicks decided against having a former league MVP and scoring champion on their roster.

Reaction by some New York Knicks fans definitely don’t surprise me.

”What do the Knicks have, two wins?” said Jose Valentine, 24, of Manhattan. ”Iverson can win more games than that by himself. He has the heart to play, he loves the game.”

”It’s a bad move,” added Tim Coffey, 25, of Brooklyn. ”They could have at least put people in the seats.”

”I was hoping to have something to watch this year. He would have brought a lot of excitement to the Garden,” 29-year-old Mike Acosta of Brooklyn said. ”It would have been something to watch opposed to waiting until next year. Everyone is waiting until 2010.”

Perhaps these fans are right, perhaps what the Knicks need…

Looks like being benched in Memphis is really getting to Iverson now.

A.I. was really hoping for better things coming to the 2009 NBA basketball season. People following him on Twitter know that. But after an auspicious start to the season and realizing that he will still be relegated as a bench player in Memphis like he was in Detroit last year, Iverson ain’t happy with the Grizzlies no more and now, rumors claim that he’s already contemplating on retirement because of it.

Yes, Allen Iverson, the former league MVP and multi-time scoring champion, is on the brink of walking away from his career. Things haven’t been working out as Iverson had hoped in Memphis and since his new head coach Lionel Hollins ain’t budging, rumors claim that Iverson could take the easy way out, retire.

Still, Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has shot down the idea that Iverson is already considering retirement. For all ya’ll who didn’t know, Iverson took a leave of absence from the Grizzlies for ”personal reasons,” and as far as Heisley is concerned, retirement is not one of ‘em.

”I expect him to come back,” Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said. ”If he does retire, I’ll be tremendously disappointed. I feel bad because I don’t think that’s the way he should go out.”

He’s right. Iverson is only averaging 12.3 points and 3.7 assists in 22.3 minutes per game this season and by Iverson’s standards, those are unacceptable numbers. But hey, at least…

We knew this one was coming.

After all kinds of hoopla concerning Iverson’s move from Detroit to Memphis this 2009 NBA basketball season, A.I. Found out that he’s still coming off the bench, the very thing that led to his divorce with the Pitsons.

You read it, Allen Iverson, at least for the first weeks of the season, is still relegated to a bench warmer after refusing to come off the bench last season for Detroit and as far as A.I. is concerned, he ain’t happy.

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Allen Iverson voiced out his displeasure with his nonstarting role with the Memphis Grizzlies, saying that he’s ”not a sixth man.” Iverson also said, ”I had no problems [with the hamstring]. I had a problem with my butt sitting on that bench for so long.”

”I’m not a bench player. I’m not a sixth man,” he continued. ”Look at my resume and that’ll show I’m not a sixth man. I don’t think it has anything to do with me being selfish. It’s just who I am. I don’t want to change what gave me all the success that I’ve had since I’ve been in this league. I’m not a sixth man. And that’s that.”

Haven’t we heard that when he was playing for the Detroit Pistons last year?

Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins has made it clear that Iverson is STILL…