No Love for Love: All-Star hopes now rest on the Commish

Hello from Toronto...

So now Kevin Love waits on David Stern to make his injury replacement pick for Yao Ming or any other injuries that might occur between now and the Feb. 20 game.

That's the last way he'll get into the All-Star Game in Los Angeles, where he played his one collegiate season at UCLA and where he still makes his summertime home.

Western Conference coaches passed him by when East and West reserves were announced Thursday night, electing instead of choose, among others, Tim Duncan, Blake Griffin and Pau Gasol.

The Spurs are now 41-8 after beating the Lakers on a buzzer beater in L.A. Thursday night and you knew somebody other than Manu Ginobili was going to be picked as a reserve from a team that's running away with the league's best record.

Coaches picked Ginobili, Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook as guards and left Tony Parker at home, so to get more than one Spur on the team they took Duncan.

Love admitted when I talked to him by phone tonight that he was surprised by Duncan's inclusion.

There's no question Duncan isn't having the kind of season that Love, Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge or Zach Randolphis having, but...

Love didn't seek out a television to watch Thursday night's announcement before TNT"s game doubleheader for a couple reasons:

No. 1: He was in Toronto and he would have had a far better chance finding a hockey game -- Carolina at Leafs tonight -- rather than TNT coverage, which is hard to find up here.

No. 2: He said he was told after Wednesday's game against Memphis that his chances weren't looking good.

Here's some snippets of my conversation with Love, which you'll also find in a story for Friday's paper and the Web site that I'll link to at the end of this.

"When it comes down to it, the 11 with the 36 or 37 behind it, that kind of killed me," he said, referring to the Wolves' 11-37 record. "We know why I didn't make it…I know winning plays a big factor. I didn't want to be too upset. I'm not too bitter about it."

"We'll just have to wait and see," Love said of Stern, who will decide upon Love, Aldridge, Steve Nash or Lakers forward Lamar Odom among others. "No matter how you get in, it doesn't matter. If I make it that way, I still feel like I'm very deserving."

Charles Barkley had one word to say about the decision on TNT's coverage, other than "travesty."

Turrible.

"I know I've had a ton – a ton – of support, maybe more so than others have had in the past," Love said. "I'm happy and thankful for that."

Here's the story from the web site and paper.