The Front Row: Time to sign up

SIGN UP NOW: Attention all local athletes and card sharks.

Tomorrow is the final day for you to sign up for the 24th annual Green Valley Senior Games.

Applications are due by 3 p.m. and can be picked up at any Green Valley Recreation office or downloaded from www.gvrec.org.

I’ve had the pleasure of covering the last two editions of the senior games, and it is always one of the most enjoyable events I see each year.

This community has some remarkable athletes with fascinating stories.

The GVSG starts on March 5 and runs through March 27.

For all the information you need — including coordinator contacts and volunteer sign-up — feel free to call Karen Rans, event director, at 625-3440.

WHAT A SHOW: The NBA doesn’t have an image problem.

With baseball dealing with the embarrassing steroids mess and the NFL struggling with everything from spygate to dogfighting, the NBA is still the league everyone loves to criticize.

However, after a remarkable All-Star weekend in New Orleans, the critics have been conspicuously quiet.

The NBA has a cavalcade of likable young stars and the only competitive, relevant All-Star game.

Unlike previous years, both sides played with pride and determination on Sunday, capped by LeBron James’ emphatic game-changing dunk.

And, of course, we can’t forget Dwight Howard re-inventing the slam dunk contest.

Between the showmanship of the superman slam and the jaw-dropping athleticism involved with the double-tap dunk, Howard vaulted himself into the slam-dunk pantheon, along with Dr. J, Jordan, ‘Nique, Vinsanity and J-Rich.

With part two of the NBA season underway, this is shaping up to be the most memorable season since Jordan’s prime.

And that’s before Shaquille O’Neal makes his much-anticipated debut in Phoenix. If he has any sense of drama — which I believe he does — he will suit up for tonight’s home game against Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Even though I still don’t think the trade is a good idea, seeing Shaq in a Suns uniform battling the team he helped lead to three straight NBA titles will be a phenomenal moment.

ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN: So, is Jason Kidd a Net or a Maverick?

Apparently, the oft-rumored trade that will send Kidd to Dallas in exchange for half of the Mavericks’ bench is finally a go, despite Devean George’s refusals and Jerry Stackhouse’s loose lips.

It looks like Kidd, along with marginal forward Malik Allen, will be headed to Big D in exchange for Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, the retired Keith Van Horn (it’s a weird salary requirement — don’t ask), Dallas’ first-round picks this year and in 2010 and $3 million.

In a separate deal, Dallas will acquire former first-round pick Antoine Wright in exchange for a second-rounder this year.

Forget the fact that giving up Diop will render the foul-plagued Erick Dampier essentially ineffective, since many of the conference’s best big men are adept at drawing fouls.

I’m not entirely sure Kidd is that much better than Devin Harris.

While Kidd is obviously a better floor general at this point, he’s shooting a career-low 36.6 percent from the floor and turning the ball over about once every eight minutes of action.

Harris, on the other hand, is only 24 years old and is one of the league’s quickest players.

This trade reeks of desperation.

ROAD TRIP: The last time the Arizona Wildcats battled the Washington schools, they scored a total of 160 points on 59 percent shooting — without question this squad’s strongest stretch of basketball.

With the bitter one-point home loss to Stanford still lingering, the Wildcats’ (16-9, 6-6 Pac-10) hope to regain the confidence they enjoyed last month.

Of course, Arizona was operating at (relatively) full strength when the Huskies and Cougars came to McKale Center on Jan. 24 and 26, respectively. A healthy Nic Wise was wreaking havoc in the defensive back-court and efficiently running the Wildcat offense.

Without Wise, Jerryd Bayless has been forced to step up his production. While he earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors as a result, Arizona has won only once in its last four outings.

Bayless averaged 32 points a game last week, bringing his season average to 21.1. While Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo might receive most of the hype, Bayless might be more valuable to his team than anyone in the conference — regardless of class.

Tomorrow night’s game against the Huskies is scheduled to tip off at 9 p.m. on Fox Sports Net, Ariz. Saturday’s game against the defensive-minded Cougars will begin at 8 p.m. on Fox Sports Net.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747