By Rob Peterson, NBA.com

Happy day-after Thanksgiving. I had planned to have this edition of Race to the MVP ready on late Thursday soon after everyone had their last turkey sandwiches for dinner. I wanted you to be able to print it out and take it with your Christmas list so you had something to read while you waited in line for your favorite department store to open at 5 a.m.

Alas, I could not rouse myself from my tryptophan-induced stupor to get this done in time. Aside from that, it's tough to type when you're holding a fork in one hand and a four-inch pile of pie (What kind of pie? Every kind, of course! A slice that, a sliver of this ...) on a plate in the other. It's physically impossible. I tried. Just check out the first thing I wrote with my hands full:

"hppy day sfter Tnaksgivin ..."

That's fine when you're trying to Twitter someone, but not so good when you're writing an article. So, apologies to those who had nothing to read and froze their fannies off waiting in line with complete strangers looking to get 30 percent off on something that's marked up 40 percent.

Despite my cynicism toward Christmas commercialism ("I never thought it was such a bad little tree..."), I like giving presents as much as the next person. Still, I get just as big a kick giving gifts as I do getting them. In the spirit of the holiday season, and in spirit with those folks who waited in line this morning, I'm making a list and checking it twice for those in the Race to the MVP Top 10 (and some others). After all, what do you get guys who seemingly have everything? LeBron and Kobe are so tough to shop for ... I know, I've tried. Making a list is key because you must plan. You need to know what you're looking for.

I'll gladly take your Christmas lists for next few mailbags, where we'll combine your holiday wish lists with some of your very, very involved formulae for figuring out what makes an MVP.

Just drop us a line here RacetotheMVP@gmail.com and we'll try to publish the best over the next few weeks. Before we get into this week's rankings, here's my list for last week's top 10.

Rob's Race to the MVP Christmas List
LeBron -- An end to the 2010 talk (Oh, wait, that's my gift to me)
Kobe -- A ring without Shaq
Chauncey -- Find a new shot to replace the old one
D-Wade -- A point guard so he won't need to handle the ball so much
Dwight -- A killer instinct
CB -- A healthy Jermaine O'Neal
CP3 -- A return to 2007-08 form
Boozer -- A reason to keep him in the Race to the MVP
Amar'e -- A box of apostrophes
Pierce -- Another ring (Why get him something different?)

Hoops Line of the Week: Chris Paul: Nov. 22 vs. Oklahoma City 29 points, 16 assists and 10 boards

Considering basketball fans celebrated Oscar Robertson's 70th birthday on Monday, Nov. 24, I felt giving HLotW to a point guard with a stellar triple-double was appropriate.

Line of the Week: "As I told these guys, together they are accountable for each other. I expect guys not to be late. I expect that if a guy's not here, somebody will call that guy. We have to make sure as a group that we hold each other accountable because as a staff and an organization, we're darn sure going to hold them accountable." -- Pistons coach Michael Curry on Allen Iverson missing practice ("We're talking about practice. Not a game. Not a game. Practice!") on Thanksgiving.

Who knows? Maybe he just wanted to get to Wal-Mart early. That, and the practice rant never gets old.


http://www.nba.com/2008/news/features/rob_peterson/11/28/112808racetomvp/index.html