Compiled by Chris Bernucca 

• NBA: "The lead negotiator and spokesman for the NBA's referees says Tim Donaghy made threats against him, and that the disgraced former official's accusations about his colleagues shouldn't be believed because he is a 'compulsive liar.' Lamell McMorris said Thursday that Donaghy also threatened fellow referees, whom he has accused of misconduct during a series of interviews this week." Brian Mahomey for the Associated Press 

• NBA: "Sean Griffin, an associate professor in criminal justice at Penn State Abington and a former Philadelphia police officer, is less than sure Tim Donaghy has been telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Griffin, who has written two books, including one on Philadelphia's Black Mafia, has been researching the Donaghy betting scandal for 2 years. He is finishing a book on the case. Its working title is 'Not Sharp Enough.' Griffin bought the life rights to Donaghy co-conspirator James Battista. He has been piecing together the details through interviews with Battista, police, FBI and others associated with the case. He has pored through all the court filings. 'I have this crazy idea you don't write something that you can't back up,' Griffin said." Dick Jerardi in the Philadelphia Daily News 

• CELTICS: "Rondo, who admittedly has such a mind for numbers that he can do equations off the top of his head, enjoyed studying his older brother William’s math assignments. Rondo was secretly engrossed in subjects like trigonometry and finite math while his classmates were poring over simple algebra and geometry. 'He always wanted to know what X was -- he always tried to figure out what was ahead,' said William Rondo, who is five years older than his 23-year-old brother." Mark Murphy in the Boston Herald 

• BULLS: "When asked if he believed the Bulls had to play better to save Del Negro's job, Deng said, 'Yeah. I mean, I think for all of us -- we could be traded. When things aren't going well, change is gonna happen somehow. That's just the way it is.' During his Alfred E. Neuman routine -- What, me worry? -- Del Negro morphed into another infamous 1970s character -- former vice president Spiro Agnew -- when he said the media folks calling for his head don't understand what his job entails. 'It's easy to sit back on the sidelines and everyone has these great ideas and people think they know what they're talking about,' Del Negro said. 'But until you live it and do it, no one has an idea.'" John Jackson in the Chicago Sun-Times 

• BLAZERS: "McMillan has been in contact with the coaching staff and players throughout the trip, talking several times a day with his lead assistant, Dean Demopoulos, as well as text messages with players. On Wednesday in Indiana, he broke pattern and talked via telephone with assistant coach Kaleb Canales at halftime of the team's game in Indiana. In turn, Canales relayed McMillan's messages to Demopoulos and the team: Push the pace, penetrate more on offense and send more bodies to rebound. Team star Brandon Roy said after the New York game, he came off the court and looked at his phone and McMillan had already texted: 'Call me.' A similar message arrived late Wednesday night when the team was boarding its flight from Indianapolis to Cleveland." Jason Quick in the Oregonian 

• ROCKETS: "Rockets guard Tracy McGrady might not have played a minute this season, but finally, there might be a long-range idea when he might get on the court. In the first All-Star balloting released by the NBA, McGrady is in position to start in the Western Conference backcourt, despite being out since last February." Jonathan Feigen in the Houston Chronicle 

• WIZARDS: "After 20 games, it's fair to make an assessment of the Washington Wizards. They are a team that doesn't know how to play for 48 minutes, that goes through some terrible lapses -- especially on defense -- and hasn't figured out yet how to finish games. They are 7-13. They aren't a good team. 'We're a bottom feeder team until we start proving it,' Gilbert Arenas said afterward." Michael Lee in the Washington Post 

• WARRIORS: "The negative attention he got for being Duke's first one-and-done. His reputation for being selfish. His propensity for injury. Even the current struggles of the Warriors. Maggette views them all as training to build the kind of strength others can't see. It's times like today, when he can return home to the Chicago, that Maggette remembers where he gets the wherewithal to repeatedly power through." Marcus Thompson in the San Jose Mercury News 

• WOLVES: "On one channel, one could watch the further maturation of Jonny Flynn, who had 14 points and nine assists -- which might have been good enough to lead the Wolves over the Hornets and Chris Paul if Flynn hadn't, you know, forgotten to follow Paul to the hoop on the game's most critical play. Still, for anyone who watched it was a reminder that Flynn has the tools and makeup to be a very effective point guard in the NBA for a long time. That said, on another channel one could check out Kentucky freshman John Wall, who was once again impressive with a career-high 25 points for the undefeated Wildcats in a victory over UConn. Wall, of course, is a point guard. He could be a once-every-5-to-10-years kind of talent and already is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick after a one-and-done college career. With a little bit of luck, he could be available to the Wolves in the 2010 draft." Michael Rand in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune 

• GRIZZLIES: "Sean Tuohy said they had no input in the book or movie. They sold their life rights away three years ago for the book. They trusted director John Lee Hancock and were pleased with the finished product that’s had people packing theaters across the country. This is the first time Bullock has played a real-life person. 'She basically called my wife every day for five straight months,' Sean Tuohy said. "They talked almost every day, whether it was a dialect coach, what dress she wore. They sent a film crew to our house. They wanted everything exactly true to life. That was extremely scary. 'When they called and wanted to know the nightgown she wore one night, she told them: ‘Ya’ll need to get a life. I’m not answering anymore questions.’ But they became very close. They have the same intense nature about life and same kind of heart. She nailed exactly who the movie was about.'" Mike Baldwin in the Daily Oklahoman 

• NUGGETS: "The Los Angeles Lakers are a great team. They're 17-3 (goodness!) and 9-0 since all-star Pau Gasol returned from injury (gracious!). At times, the Nuggets are a great team too. Remember when Denver beat the Lakers at the Pepsi Center? Or even last Saturday, when the Nuggets slapped the Spurs around in San Antonio? But after Thursday night's 101-99 loss to the Detroit Pistons — an encore to another what-the-heck? loss — Chauncey Billups said with certainty: 'We're not a great team. We're a good team, not a great team. We have an opportunity to get a lot better, our window is really big to get better, but we're not a great team. We should be winning games like this and the Charlotte game. If you're supposed to win, you got to win.'" Benjamin Hochman in the Denver Post 

• MAGIC: "Controversy brewed during the Orlando Magic’s 120-111 loss to the Utah Jazz on Thursday night when power forward Rashard Lewis said he declined to go back in the game during the second quarter. Coach Stan Van Gundy was upset and said he had never had a player overrule him. '(Lewis) didn’t want to go back in. I wanted to put him back in with six minutes to go in the second quarter and he didn’t want to go back in,' Van Gundy said after the Magic (17-5) had their six-game winning streak broken. 'He said it was because he had two fouls, and so if you have a guy who doesn’t want to play, I’m not going to get in an argument and put him back in if he doesn’t want to play at that time.'" Brian Schmitz in the Orlando Sentinel 

• KINGS: "At the communitywide Jewish celebration Thursday night before the start of Hanukkah, children played with dreidels, three generations of leaders were honored, and Sacramento Kings player Omri Casspi signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans." Jennifer Garza in the Sacramento Bee

• JAZZ: "Williams led the Jazz with 32 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds, playing the entire second half in the second game of a back-to-back set." Ross Siler in the Salt Lake Tribune