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The Bulls went into Cleveland on Thursday and pulled out a hard-fought win over the Cavaliers. It was a low-scoring, defensive struggle, as neither team shot the ball very well, so it's not surprising that the game came down to the final play.

LeBron James drove to the basket with three seconds left and his team trailing by one, and was met by two defenders when he got there -- Luol Deng, who was guarding him from the play's outset, and Joakim Noah, who came over to help at the last second. James appeared to jump into Noah, and there was definitely contact. But somewhat incredibly, the refs swallowed their whistles, and the Bulls won the game.

Was it the right call? Read on and judge for yourself.

Rome was not built in a day. But in two days, the NBA's version of Camelot sure has looked like the barbarians are at the gate.

OK, I'll try not to lob anymore historical metaphors at you. But you might want to get ready for a whole lot of consternation from the great state of Ohio, because the team with the best record in the league last year has started out 0-2. The Cavaliers fell to the Raptors in Toronto 101-91 to remain winless, and the same problems that surfaced Tuesday night in their loss to the Celtics reared their head again.

For the first time since his loss to Forrest Griffin more than two years ago, Shogun Rua can legitimately be called one of the top 10 fighters in MMA -- and it took a loss to get him there.

Rua's unanimous decision loss to Lyoto Machida in the main event at UFC 104 was a fight that most people thought he deserved to win, and a fight that makes one thing very clear: Shogun is back.

But where does Shogun fit in our list of the Top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in MMA? Find out below.

The WEC 44 fight card has been finalized with 10 bouts for Nov. 18 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

The event is being headlined by featherweight champion Mike Brown (22-4) defending his belt against Jose Aldo (15-1).

Full lineup after the jump.

Former WEC contender Jeff Curran has signed with Strikeforce to compete on the undercard of the Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers event on Nov. 7 in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Curran (29-12-1) was released after four consecutive losses with the WEC. But it's also important to note that the losses came against Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, Joseph Benavidez and Takeya Mizugaki -- arguably four of the toughest assignments for a lighterweight fighter, all in a 20-month period.

Before he was named head coach of the Cavaliers in 2005, Mike Brown twice had the honor of coaching Stephen Jackson: once as an assistant with the Pacers, and before that, as an assistant with the Spurs.

Jackson's time in Indiana wasn't exactly that of a model citizen, but he was fine in San Antonio, and even got himself a ring as a contributor to the Spurs' championship in 2003.

Maybe Brown, based on this past experience, sees something in Jackson that at this point, most of the rest of us do not. That has to be the reason that Cleveland is interested in trading for Jackson, and freeing him from the unpleasant situation that he's created for himself in Golden State.

Pay-per-views and a reality television show are still in the plans for the WEC to further its viability as the lighter weight version of the UFC.

WEC general Reed Harris said Thursday that the WEC is actively looking to enter the pay-per-view market in 2010, but when will all depend on how effective it is in the near future when it comes to building anticipated fights through its free telecasts on Versus.

After being arrested recently on a gun charge that raised more than a few eyebrows, Delonte West was all smiles at the Cavaliers' media day on Monday. He seemed ready to put the incident behind him, telling reporters, "I'm back taking my meds and everything," and that he was focused on basketball.

Unfortunately, the newly-found focus didn't last very long, as West didn't show up to the Cavs' first day of training camp practice.

And according to Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer, the absence was unexcused.

WEC co-founder and general manager Reed Harris' "big announcement" for Tuesday has been revealed as WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown defending his belt against Jose Aldo at WEC 44 on Nov. 18 at the Pearl at the Palms in Las Vegas.

Brown (22-4) will be making his third title defense after winning the belt from Urijah Faber last November and successfully defending it against Garcia at WEC 39 and Faber in a rematch at WEC 41 this year.

Aldo (15-1) has been on a tear, winning his last eight fights with five of them in the WEC. He won his last fight in impressive fashion, landing a double flying knee to stop Cub Swanson in eight seconds at WEC 41 in June.

Every Tuesday this offseason, two of our NBA experts will go at it with a Debate in the Paint. This week, the topic is LeBron James and what he should do next summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

LeBron James is no fool. Starting this season with uncertainty over his pending free agency would doom the Cleveland Cavaliers, bury them under a sea of unhealthy rumors.

Accentuated by Shaquille O'Neal playing alongside him, basketball would become more circus than serious in Cleveland this season.

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