Last Tuesday, all-star forward Josh Howard put his injured ankle into a walking boot. This is bad news for the Mavericks, because the management doesn’t know when Howard is going to be back in playing shape. Te Mavericks are losing a lot with Howard’s injury: he is the team’s second leading rebounder and scorer.

He already missed eight straight games due to the injury and every time he seemed close to returning the ankle swelled up again.

 “You’re talking about a dynamic athlete that needs to be up to near full capacity physically to do the things he does,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “So you can’t put him out there unless he is pain-free and swelling-free and right now he’s not.”

Multiple MRI’s have been conducted on the sixth foot forward and so far the results have been positive. So the team doctors think the best option is to mobilize the ankle’s healing with much needed rest.

To make matters worst for Dallas, veteran standout Jerry Stackhouse (Howard’s most qualified replacement) is also suffering from an injury that has sidelined him since mid-November.
 

In the Premier League, Tottenham preserved its streak under the team‘s new manager Harry Redknapp as the team took the match 2-0 against West Ham.

The first goal was scored by King, who hasn’t scored since December 2005. The next successful kick came from a long-range strike by Jamie O’ Hara. The match takes the Spurs atop West Ham in the Premier League standings.

Both teams had chances in an evenly matched first half—most notably Roman Pavlyuchenko who extended to meet a low cross from Lennon to push the ball to the far post.  Coincidentally, Lennon opened the first goal during the 68th minute.

As the minutes drew to a close, Tottenham secured the victory with a stunning strike from O’hara.