Shaq and Kobe Christmas Day matchup

Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant will each be playing in their 12th Christmas Day game on Friday when the Cavs visit the Lakers at Staples Center (5 p.m. ET, ABC). Considering that the average NBA player has just five years of experience, playing on Christmas 12 times is a pretty amazing feat.

Whether as teammates on the überpopular Lakers or as post-breakup foils, Shaq and Kobe have been in the same arena nine times on Christmas, though O'Neal has missed two of those games with injuries. Their relationship has been full of drama throughout the years, and it has been played out on the biggest stage outside of the postseason, in front of both casual and dedicated fans.

Christmas TV is about entertainment, and over the last 18 seasons, no player has been more entertaining than Shaq. He's big, he's jolly and he was made to play on Dec. 25.

He's played well, too. Shaq has recorded a double-double in 10 of the 11 Christmas games he's played in, including a year ago, when he had one of his better performances as a Phoenix Sun, scoring 23 points, grabbing 12 boards and blocking four shots.

This year, the selection of the Cavs for a Christmas Day matchup was more about LeBron James than Shaq. When you think Cavs-Lakers, you think of it as a matchup of the two best players in the world, rather than the next chapter in the Shaq and Kobe soap opera.

But O'Neal's presence on Friday is critical for the Cavs, more than it has been for most of their first 30 games. Cleveland struggled against teams with talented size in the pivot last season. They had the best record in the league, but they lost both meetings to the Lakers, getting doubled up in points in the paint 104-52.

So, while O'Neal's statistical line will likely be worse than any he's had in Christmas past, Friday's game will be a test of the Cavs' new, beefier frontline. And points in the paint will be the stat to watch.

The player to watch will be Bryant.

His Christmas Day history started quietly. As a rookie in 1996, Bryant came off the bench to play just five minutes in the Lakers' win in Phoenix. While O'Neal was carrying the team with 26 points and 16 rebounds, Bryant missed both shots he took and didn't score a point.

In 1999, with the Lakers on their way to their first post-Magic championship, Bryant was firmly entrenches in his sidekick role and saw his first real action on the Christmas stage. He's played every Christmas since and in 2007, he passed his former teammate as the active leader in Christmas Day points.

Bryant has yet to have a signature Christmas performance though. His career high on Christmas Day, 42 points in 2004, came with nine turnovers in an overtime loss to O'Neal's Heat. His best game in a win, 38 points against the Suns two years ago, was overshadowed by a career-high 28 points from Andrew Bynum.

Overall, Bryant has shot less than 40 percent from the field in Christmas games. And like Shaq, he's got a losing record (5-6) on Dec. 25. One of them will be back to 0.500 after Friday. source:www.nba.com

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Win a Sony DVP - SR400 DVD Player

Play SMART Rewards Craze and get a chance to win a Sony DVP - SR400 DVD Player!

GAMES MECHANICS

1.Create a profile by registering your personal data at the Registration Page. Once registration is successful, use the Username and Password you supplied to access the game.

2. Play the Mini-games to earn Play Money. Play Money is the virtual currency you need to obtain Game Credits for use in placing a bid at the Auction Page.

3. Getting Game Credits. Play Money earned by playing the games must be converted to Game Credits in order to place a bid at the Auction. You have two options to get Game Credits:

a. Covert Play Money - Click on the CONVERT PLAY MONEY TO GAME CREDITS tab, enter the amount of Play Money to be converted and click on Submit. Once Play Money has been converted to Game Credits, it cannot be converted back to Play Money.

b. Covert Smart Rewards points - Click on the CONVERT SMART REWARDS POINTS TO GAME CREDITS tab, use the calculator to determine how much Game Credits you can get for your Smart Rewards points, and follow the on-screen instructions. Converted Smart Rewards points will be automatically credited to your Game Credits upon receiving the confirmation message from Smart. Just hit the refresh button. Once Smart Rewards points have been converted to Game Credits, it cannot be converted back to Smart Rewards points.

4. Auction Room. In the auction room, Smart Rewards registered subscribers can use their earned Game Credits to place a bid for the featured item of the month. To register to Smart Rewards, follow the on-screen instructions. Players who are not registered to Smart Rewards cannot enter in the Auction Room.

5. Inviting Friends. Inviting Friends. Invite your friends to play Smart Rewards Craze and you could get 1,000 extra Play Money. You can invite friends via: 

a. In-game invite feature:

Get 1,000 Play Money for every friend who registers to Smart Rewards Craze. Just click on the “INVITE FRIENDS TO EARN MORE PLAY MONEY” button found on the upper-right corner of the game.

Type in your friends’ email addresses separate by a comma (,).

b. Facebook Application:

This requires that you have a Facebook account. Type “SMART REWARDS CRAZE” in the Search box found in the upper-right corner of your profile.

Click on “GO TO APPLICATION” 

and start inviting your friends!

6. Play Monies and Game Credits are non-convertible to cash or to Smart Rewards points and do not have any value outside of the Game and/or the Auction. Any unused Play Money and/or Game Credit at the end of the Promo will be forfeited. After every auction, all unused Game Credits earned from playing the games will forfeited. However, all unused Game Credits earned from Rewards Points conversion (redemption) will still be available for use in the next auctions. Any unused Play Money and/or Game Credit at the end of the Promo will be forfeited.

7. Winners of the auction, and the three (3) closest bidders, will receive a call from Smart via access number 7777 for details on how to claim their prizes. The names of the Grand prize and consolation prize winners will be posted at the Auction page and will be displayed for three (3) days until the start of the next auction. Winners will not be asked for their account details. An auction winner may only win one auction in the entire promo duration. Users who have already won in a previous auction will not be able to enter the Auction Room in the next auctions.

8. Winners are given 60 days from date of callout to claim their prizes. All unclaimed prizes after the 60-day claim period has expired will be forfeited in favor of Smart.

The Rewards-o-Rama promo (herein referred to as the “Promo”) wherein Smart Communications, Inc. (herein referred to as “SMART”) shall be giving away prizes for an online auction (the “Auction”) in an online game (the “Game”) available to active SMART subscribers who registered to the Smart Rewards loyalty program (herein referred to as the “Subscriber”). The Promo shall be governed by the following Rules, including any amendment, also available at the website www.smart.com.ph/rewards.

1. The Promo will run from August 21, 2009 to January 21, 2010.

2. The Game is open to any who visit and create a profile at www.smart.com.ph/rewards (the “Player”), which will redirect them to the Smart Rewards website: http://rewards.smart.net.ph/. Information submitted can be used by Smart for whatever purpose appropriate to the Promo and to Smart Rewards such as, but not limited to, cross-selling of Smart promos via SMS and/or email, SMS and/or email blasts to encourage Smart Rewards registrations, and updating of subscriber records.

3. The Player will need to play each mini-game to earn “Play Money” which the Player needs to convert to “Game Credits” to participate in the Auction. Players must play the Game as defined in the mechanics available at the Game page.

4. Only Subscribers can participate in the Auction. A player needs to register to Smart Rewards, only available to Smart subscribers with individual accounts, to be able to log into the Auction. Players not registered to Smart Rewards cannot enter the Auction but can still participate in the Game. Smart Corporate accounts, service units, Talk ‘n Text, Infinity, retailer MINs and subscribers of other carriers cannot register to Smart Rewards.

5. Registration to Smart Rewards subjects the Subscriber to the Terms and Conditions of the Smart Rewards loyalty program which can be found at the Smart Rewards website: www.smart.com.ph/rewards.

6. The max bid feature of the auction page is a system feature that places an automatic bid to outbid other players within the parameters set by the Player. Use of the max bid feature is completely optional and Smart will not be held responsible for any problems arising from the use of said feature such as the loss of Game Credits or unwanted spending of Game Credits due to untracked bidding. Smart will not credit back spent Game Credits.

7. The Subscriber with the highest bid at the end of the auction period as defined in the auction page will win the featured item for the month as defined in the Game. The three (3) closest bidders will also win consolation prizes from Smart.

8. Prizes are non-transferable and non-convertible to cash.

9. The decision of SMART is final and inappealable.

10. The status of the account must be ACTIVE prior to delivery of the prizes. If the account is inactive, the Subscriber shall be informed to activate his subscription before any delivery is made. Subscriber is given 30-days from date the Subscriber is informed of his inactive status with regard to the Promo to activate the account, otherwise, the prize is forfeited in favor of SMART.

11. By participating in the Promo, the Player agrees to these Terms and Conditions, the Terms and Conditions of the Smart Rewards program and the Terms and Conditions of Facebook, wherever applicable. In case of conflict between said Terms and Conditions, the Terms and Conditions of the Promo shall prevail.

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