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SPORTS BITS: NBA Playoffs on iTunes; Ben Wallace/Chris Paul earn year-end honors.
*Recap versions of the 2006 NBA playoff games will be available for purchase at iTunes Music Store (www.itunes.com) within 24 hours after airing on their perspective NBA networks, including ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBATV. In addition to the 15 to 20 minute full game recaps, fans will also be able to purchase complete game replays of every Finals game the day after they air on ABC. In addition, TNT Sports will provide more than 15 episodes of the Emmy Award-winning studio show, “Inside the NBA on TNT” that will feature exclusive off-camera footage and interaction between Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. Episodes will also include guest appearances by TNT analysts Reggie Miller and Magic Johnson and the host of NBA players and legends who visit the set throughout the Playoffs.
*Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace won the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award Monday for the fourth time in five years for his ability to do the impossible – shut down Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James. "It's definitely a team award," said the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Wallace. "I'm only as good as the guys that play in front of me." San Antonio's Bruce Bowen finished second in the voting, and Utah's Andrei Kirilenko was third.
*On Wednesday, New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul will be crowned the NBA's Rookie of the Year, an anonymous league-member told the Associated Press Monday. Drafted from Wake Forest as the No. 4 overall pick in 2005, he ranked first in points (16.1), assists (7.8), steals (2.2), double-doubles (21), minutes played (36.4) and triple doubles (2) during his first year. "I couldn't have asked for a better rookie season," Paul said after the Hornets' season ended in mid-April.
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