The natural pivot for this story is toward the Knicks, although ESPN.com’s Chris Sheridan throws a bucket of water on the idea that Anthony will be traded there.

The other natural reaction is a deepening fatigue, although you can almost hear N.B.A. fans’ collective eye roll when Dwyane Wade proclaimed he was tired of hearing about Anthony deals. It is more than a bit priceless that Anthony keeps saying he doesn’t want to stray into LeBron territory because that’s exactly where he’s headed, writes Mitch Lawrence in The Daily News. Fanhouse.com’s Sam Amick writes hopefully that other young N.B.A. stars are learning from these sad spectacles, but you are allowed to suspect they are learning all the wrong things. (Hey, could I get Jim Gray to ask me inane questions for an hour on ESPN?!)

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Prokhorov’s news conference on Wednesday was that it almost completely blotted out the Jets from the New York metropolitan area news for a bit. Of course, the Jets are contributing to this by veering widely out of character and failing to insult anyone leading up to Sunday’s American Football Conference championship game against the Steelers. The Daily News’s Filip Bondy, for one, thinks this is just no fun at all.

At this point, the N.F.L. might consider paying Rex Ryan to spout off on something new, as a diversion from anyone pondering what Yahoo.com’s Dan Wetzel describes as the league’s latest performance-enhancing drug of choice, which involves deer antlers. (Insert “Huh?” sound here.) And the league definitely doesn’t want you thinking hard about the fact that it is charging $200 for the right to hang out outside Cowboys Stadium during the Super Bowl. They’re calling it the “party zone,” counting its participants in the game attendance and doing this all while everyone predicts a labor stoppage after the Super Bowl. Alex Marvez of Foxsports.com wants someone to explain how a league enjoying record television ratings and the gall to charge $200 for a parking lot party can cry economic hardship.

While you are contemplating gall, you might enjoy diverting your attention to a USA Today article about the N.C.A.A.’s response to recent criticism of its leadership by adding security. Or how Oregon built a new basketball court that is annoying everyone, partly because its questionable aesthetics do not include things like a halfcourt line.