Season finally gets under way

NBA: Finally, the conversation changes.

It’s time for the NBA to ditch the dollars and nonsense of the lockout for the alleys and oops in Lob City, the new nickname for the suddenly exciting Los Angeles Clippers.

For months, all the talk was about lockouts, salary caps and mediation. Now there are games that count as a new season begins Christmas Day.

For all practical purposes, Clippers fans have been locked out of competitive basketball for the better part of three decades. Now they get entertainment of the highest order – watching Blake Griffin throw down lob passes from Chris Paul.

The 2011-12 season, shortened to 66 games, debuts today when five marquee games will be played from morning deep into the night. This marks a first step for the league as it looks to bury a damaging offseason marred by a five-month labor dispute and several stars trying to force their way out of town.

The day begins with Boston and New York and then goes to an NBA finals rematch with Miami at Dallas. Next up is Chicago at the Lakers, followed by the small-market special – Orlando at Oklahoma City – before CP3 makes his regular-season debut as a Clipper at Golden State in the nightcap.

“The lockout was hectic for everybody,” Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley said. “We were bored! Now we feel like we’ve got a purpose in life. We can do what we do best.”

It’s time.

The fan hunger is there. The Clippers sold out their game against the Lakers, and the first in that series was the most viewed preseason game in NBA TV history.

The Timberwolves had 15,000 people attend their home preseason game against the Bucks, and another 2,500 turned out for a free practice on a Monday afternoon just to get a glimpse of Ricky Rubio.

Let the games begin.

NBA preview, C4

Forget what your mother told you

Olympics: Some dietary advice for athletes at the London Olympics: Watch how much liver you eat. Too much can raise the risk of testing positive for clenbuterol.

The official advice from Britain comes after the World Anti-Doping Agency issued a warning last month about the dangers of athletes eating contaminated meat.

Clenbuterol is on WADA’s list of banned substances as an anabolic agent that builds muscle and burns fat, and athletes who test positive can face bans of up to two years.

In advice based on evidence from the Food Standards Agency, U.K. Anti-Doping warns: “Athletes should be wary of consuming large quantities of liver.”

Associated Press