At least a few of those “buts” were answered Wednesday night as the Sixers easily pasted the Bulls in South Philly, 98-82. Chicago came into the game with the NBA’s second-best record at 18-5.

“Everybody was waiting for us, ‘OK, let’s wait for the big boys to get to town. When these guys come in, we’ll see.’ I think our guys take that to heart,” said coach Doug Collins.

In perhaps the most telling sign that the times are changing, the much-maligned Andre Iguodala was greeted with a standing ovation from the fans on his way out of the game in the second half. It was well-deserved.

During a pivotal third-quarter sequence, Iguodala threw down a side-windmill scoop dunk, made a pull-up 3-pointer and then went around the back to himself before dishing to Jrue Holiday for an open jumper. The lead went from five to 12 and the Bulls never threatened again. Iguodala finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.

“Andre Iguodala was spectacular tonight, that third quarter that he played for us was brilliant,” Collins said.

The Sixers have now beaten the Bulls three straight times. They also coasted past the Magic on Monday, setting up a showdown with the defending conference champion Heat on Friday night.

“I don’t think we’ve gotten the respect yet, from the outside point,” Iguodala said. “We’ll try to get there.”

With a 16-6 record, and those “yeah, buts” quieting, that respect may already be here.

Three things we saw

1. Local Hero – Lavoy Allen, the rookie second-rounder out of Temple, looks like a diamond in the rough. He’s passed first-rounder Nikola Vucevic as the first big off the bench with ease. Allen had 15 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes Wednesday night. “It’s just amazing to see how much Lavoy Allen has grown. He has really become a force for us. He’s been terrific,” Doug Collins said.

2. Beasts of the East – The top five teams in the Eastern Conference right now are the Heat, Bulls, Sixers, Hawks and Pacers. The Sixers have gone 3-1 against those four. The lone loss came against the Heat, who will be at the Wells Fargo Center Friday night.

3. MVP in check – The Sixers chose not to use Andre Iguodala on league MVP Derrick Rose, instead letting Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams take their shots. It worked. Rose was held to 18 points and six assists on 8-of-17 shooting. The Bulls rested most of their starters in the fourth quarter because they play again Thursday.

Alicia Morgan, in a phone interview with CNN Wednesday, said she called her son last month to say she needed $25,000 to pay off her mortgage, but his assistant called back and told her, “Tracy would do a one shot deal of $2,000.”

READ FULL STORY HERE:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/01/showbiz/tracy-morgan-mother/index.html

“The novelty wears off,” says a Pew researcher. Of course, the apps that do stand the test of time end up taking a lot of our time: Android users spend around 90 minutes on their phone each day, and around two-thirds of that time is spent on apps. iPhone users are similar, says a media researcher.

The judge will garnish Iverson’s earnings to allow Aydin and Company Jewelers to collect $859, 896.46 for the jewelry bill, court costs, interest and attorney fees, according to a TMZ.com report.

The company initially sued Iverson in 2010 for failing to pay a $375,000 bill.

Over the course of two years, the grand total ballooned until a judge finally granted the store access to Iverson’s Wells Fargo bank account, TMZ.com reported. Iverson was not present for the judgment and his representatives did not respond to calls, according to TMZ.com.

Iverson, who is currently out of the NBA, spent 14 seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies. He averaged 26.7 points, 6.2 assists and 3.7 rebounds for his career, most of which was spent in Philadelphia. Iverson made over $154 million in his time in the NBA, peaking at $20 million in 2008-09, according to basketball-reference.com.

Iverson’s most successful season on the court might have come in the 2000-2001 season when his Sixers lost 4-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. The 6-foot guard averaged 31.1 points per game and was named the league’s MVP for the regular season.

A new survey reveals that most mobile phone users don’t let a little thing like going to the bathroom get in the way of texting, talking or browsing the web.

About 1,000 people were polled by marketing agency 11mark, as reported by The New York Times. 75 percent of them confess to using their phones while on the toilet. People ages 28 to 35 are the most attached to their devices, with 91 percent saying they still talk and text while doing their business. 16 percent of that age group also confess to making online purchases during their alone time.

The data may suggest that this isn’t just some coincidence — these people don’t just happen to get phone calls while they’re in the bathroom. Instead, it’s become part of their routine. In fact, 25 percent of people say they simply won’t go without their phones.

Here are some more of the dirty, grimy statistics.

– 63 percent have answered calls on the toilet.

– 41 percent have made calls while indisposed.

– 20 percent of men say they have joined a conference call from the John.

– 13 percent of women have also jumped onto a group call from the little girl’s room.

Wondering which mobile device is prone to the most restroom attention? The survey found that Android users are the biggest potty mouths of all.

The Chrysler had 19,000 miles on it when Obama traded it, most of which are thought to have been highway miles. It currently has 20,800 miles. A rep for the seller, who says the car is “heavily insured,” dismisses those eyebrows that might be raised over the hefty price tag, noting that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 1977 Peugot 504 fetched $1.5 million at auction last year. But, notes the Times, a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee also thought to have been owned by Obama fetched a relatively pedestrian $26,438 in 2010. The eBay listing will expire Wednesday night.

The Boston Herald reports that Ochocinco dropped around $28,000 on Beats by Dre Headphones for every member of the team. The headphones, widely regarded as the best in the industry, were designed by rapper Dr. Dre. The version Ochocinco picked out for the team produce a “clean, yet forceful sound.”

Wes Welker thinks the team needs to tune out distractions:

“The game is the most important thing and all I really look forward to and concentrate on,” WR Wes Welker said. “Everything else is just kinda noise. I think the fun part is really arriving there and getting away from everything and really concentrating on the game and the task at hand.”

Which makes the gifts perfect, because of their noise-canceling quality.

They are also capable of connecting to each other, meaning that the whole team can be connected and listening to the same song, but Bill Belichick won’t be forced to listen to those darn kids’ music. The headphones elicited excited tweets from Ochocinco’s teammates, who thanked him for his kindness and shared pictures of the gift.

The headphones are the second gift bestowed on the Patriots this week. On Friday, UGGs and their spokesman, Tom Brady, gave the entire team a pair of boots.

Since James’ death on Jan. 20, celebrities and music fans alike have been paying their own tributes to the star. The result: A substantial leap in sales and trends for the late icon’s tunes.

Approximately 30,000 copies of James’ albums were sold between Jan. 20 and Jan. 25, compared with just over 6,000 copies the previous week. In total, sales of James’s albums have increased by 378 percent in the past week, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

James’ greatest hits collection, Her Best, is currently one of the best-selling albums in America. The compilation reached number 59 on the Billboard 200 this week.

The Best of Etta James rose from number 162 to number 46 on the chart — even though final figures were collected only two days after James’ death. Her signature track, “At Last,” was the best-selling James single last week, shifting 63,000 downloads.

Blues icon Etta James dead at 73 >>

The two-time Grammy winner’s previous Billboard peak came with her 1961 LP At Last, which debuted at number 68. More than 50 years later, At Last has re-entered the chart in the number 96 position.

The “At Last” crooner passed away one week ago after a lengthy battle against leukemia and dementia.

She was 73.

Kelly Clarkson honors Etta James in song >>

Members of the public will be able to pay their respects to the singer on Friday, when her body will lie in state in the Inglewood area of Los Angeles.

Reverend Al Sharpton will eulogize the late legend at a private funeral set for Saturday. The funeral will include performances by unnamed celebrities, reps for the famous reverend told the Associated Press this week.

The main focus of Nutter’s approach is to push judges for at least two years of jail time for anybody convicted of carrying an illegal handgun. Those who help police recover an illegal handgun will also receive a $500 reward under the plan.

“Got a gun, go to jail. No more slaps on the wrist, no more falling through the cracks, no more walking away and thinking nothing’s going to happen,” Nutter said, surrounded by city and state lawmakers at Strawberry Mansion High School.

Normally those prosecuted in Philadelphia for carrying illegal guns are given probation. District Attorney Seth Williams said prosecutors would indeed ask for stiffer penalties and work with other law enforcement agencies to track the city’s most dangerous criminals.

Some gun-reform groups applauded the move.

“If there are no penalties for carrying an illegal gun, they won’t think twice before sticking one in their pants when they walk outside,” said Max Nacheman, executive director of CeaseFirePA, a statewide anti-gun violence advocacy organization.

“What we think is really exciting is you now have the mayor’s office, the D.A.’s office, the police department – they’re all committed. And now it’s up to judges to do their part and give penalties worthy of carrying an illegal gun in our city.”

Nutter said he’s talked with judges, but would not say whether there are on board with the plan. “They read the newspapers like everyone else,” he said.

For every murder, there’s a reward

For the first time ever, police will offer a reward for every murder conviction, which they hope will encourage community members to speak up.

“I think there are going to be some people who wouldn’t otherwise come forward. [But] I don’t think the flood gates are going to open,” said Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross.

In some cases, the reward will be as much as $20,000. A police spokesman yesterday could not say if there would be a minimum.

Last week, police arrested three people in connection to the beating death of a Temple University student in Old City after a $20,000 reward was posted.

Seven policies

There are seven main initiatives of the plan:

1. Seek jail time for those convicted of possessing illegal guns.
2. Double funding for the witness assistance fund.
3. Offer rewards of up to $20,000 for a murder arrest and conviction.
4. An anonymous text hotline for residents to contact police.
5. Monitor the movement of the city’s most violent criminals through the justice system.
6. Put about 100 more officers on the street.
7. Put more pressure on nuisance bars.