Not that you asked me, but I'm going to exercise the power of the pen -- or modem in this case -- and offer up my opinion on who should be the NBA Rookie of the Year. It's Allen Iverson ... and his braids ... and his "shoot first, then pass" mentality ... and his mind-boggling 40-point games ... and his perceived "lack of respect" for the establishment ... and ... his posse. Let's deal with that last one first. The word "posse" offends me. I have a question and I'd like an honest response. If Allen Iverson were white and had a group of six friends with him, friends from his childhood, and they wore khakis, topsiders and polo shirts -- would they be a posse?Or would they be his "buddies," his "friends?" I didn't know that once you traded in your khakis for baggy jeans and your polo Iverson, shown shirts for oversized sweatshirts, that once you turned your baseball hat around, with his Rookie and because you're young and own cell phones and beepers ... I didn't know that made you and your "buddies" a posse.

Iverson's comment that was directed toward Michael Jordan? You know, the "I don't have to respect anybody" remark that made news? I asked Joe Dumars about it. Yes, the same Joe Dumars who is respected by everybody in the league. He told me, "In the heat of the battle, if another player told me I had to respect the game, I'd tell him 'I don't have to respect anybody.'"

As for Iverson's streak of 40-point games -- a streak that saw the Sixers lose all five of those high-output performances -- it's not what the prototypical point guard is all about. But the prototypical point guard wasn't about being 6-foot-8 and being able to play center and score 42 points in an NBA Finals game until Magic Johnson came along. And the prototypical small forward couldn't bring the ball up court, run the offense and lead his team in scoring, rebounding and assists until Scottie Pippen did it the year Jordan was out. That's what the NBA is all about: Breaking the mold, changing the prototype. As for Philadelphia's three timeouts just to get Iverson his 40 against the Bullets, was it shameless? Maybe. But it wasn't Iverson's idea. He told his teammates, "Let the streak end here." But it was those teammates and the coaches who wanted the "Answer" to get it. As for his cornrolls: if you have a problem with the way Allen Iverson wore his hair for a while, for cryin' out loud, get over it. As for his Rookie of the Year competition: Stephon Marbury is a great kid with a great game. He leads rookies in assists, but he has a lot of help around him with Kevin Garnett and Tom Gugliotta.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim? Yes, he has really come on. But that makes my argument for Iverson, who never had to come on. He was always there. Iverson leads rookies in scoring and steals. He averaged 23 points both before and after the All-Star Game. He dished out seven assists per game before and after the All-Star Game, and he brought his turnovers down. One more thing (and I say this with the utmost respect for Jordan, who for my money is the league MVP as long as his heart beats): No one had more people talking about one move than Iverson did when he faked Jordan out with not one, not two, but three crossover moves in one play. I don't have a vote, but if I did I'd check the Rookie of the Year box next to Allen Iverson's name.