. Aldridge averaged a career-best 23.2 points and 11.1 rebounds last

NEW YORK -- Kobe Bryant called for younger players in the All-Star game, and the fans listened. They still want Bryant, too. Stephen Curry, Kevin Love, Paul George and Kyrie Irving were voted NBA All-Stars Thursday, putting four first-time starters in the Feb. 16 game in New Orleans. Bryant was elected by fans to his 16th All-Star game, second-most in NBA history, but this one is shaping up as a kids game. Curry, perhaps the biggest snub last season, will join him in the Western Conference backcourt. Love passed Dwight Howard in the final days of voting and will start in the frontcourt along with Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant and the Clippers Blake Griffin. "Hey, Im popular now," Love joked. "Its very humbling to me to be starting in the All-Star game. I tip my hat to the fans in the Twin Cities and all over Minnesota and beyond." The four first-time starters are all 25 or younger. Curry went to All-Star weekend as a kid when his father, Dell, competed in the 3-point contest, and now hell finally get to play in the game. "Its kind of just a surreal feeling," Curry said. "I saw Kobe come on the screen and you knew that next person on the screen was going to be me or I was going to get left off that list. Just when I saw my name it was a real emotional kind of experience and glad my wife and daughter were here to watch it with me." LeBron James was the leading vote-getter with 1.4 million and Miami teammate Dwyane Wade also was voted in Thursday. George, who has led Indiana to the leagues best record, and New Yorks Carmelo Anthony are the other East forwards, and Irving will start at guard. Bryant has been limited to just six games this season because of injuries and will be out until at least early next month. He said recently he hoped fans wouldnt vote for him and would instead look toward younger, more deserving players. Fans picked him anyway. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with 19, was selected to more All-Star games. But even Bryant could finish only second to Curry among West guards, a remarkable turnaround for the Golden State sharpshooter. He was the highest-scoring player not chosen last year, but moved past the Clippers Chris Paul in the third returns of balloting, then passed Bryant in the final days to finish with more than a million votes and become the Warriors first All-Star starter since Latrell Sprewell in 1995. "I understand how big a deal it is to be selected on the team," Curry said. "And just how different the feeling was from last year, having gone through that experience and just trying to get back healthy, first and foremost, to give myself a chance come All-Star selection time." Love also made a late move to surge into the top three, finishing about 8,000 votes ahead of Houston centre Dwight Howard to become Minnesotas first All-Star starter since Kevin Garnett in 2007. "I was hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, and knowing the worst was I was going to still probably end up in the All-Star game (as a coachs pick) and represent the West and the Wolves and the Twin Cities." Love said. "Right now, Im very happy." Indiana hadnt had one since Jermaine ONeal a year earlier, but now George will get to play for Pacers coach Frank Vogel, who has already clinched the Easts coaching spot. "It means a lot because that means the fans are really watching us as a team," George said. "For us to have the No. 1 record in the league, and playing at a high level, I think the fans are starting to follow us as a whole and I think thats the biggest thing with me being a starter." The reserves will be announced next Thursday. Head coaches in each conference will vote for two guards, three frontcourt players and two players regardless of position. AP Sports Writers Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis and Antonio Gonzalez in Oakland, Calif. contributed to this report. Air Max Outlet . He will play 10th-seeded Feliciano Lopez in Sundays final, after the Spanish left-hander defeated Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7), 6-4. Cheap Real Air Max . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. https://www.airmaxchina.us/ .C. -- Jackson Whistle made 26 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Kelowna Rockets blanked the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes 5-0 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. Wholesale Air Max . - Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Jason Babin is now a free agent. Cheap Air Max From China .com) - The San Francisco Giants delivered plenty of big hits to tie the World Series.PORTLAND, Ore. - With no picks in this years NBA draft, the Portland Trail Blazers still made news in offering All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge a maximum contract extension. The offer was confirmed Thursday by a person close to the negotiations who could not comment publicly because the team had not formally announced it. The offer, made to Aldridges representatives last week, was first reported by Yahoo! Sports. Aldridge, in the fifth and final year of a $65 million contract, is set to become a free agent next summer. The Blazers hope to lure him to stay with a five-year, $108 million extension. Aldridge averaged a career-best 23.2 points and 11.1 rebounds last season for the Blazers, who went 54-28 and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals before losing to eventual NBA champion San Antonio. The move does not come as a surprise after general manager Neil Olshey emphasized the importance of getting tthe deal with Aldridge done.dddddddddddd "The most important thing is everybody, including LaMarcus, knows hes the number one priority in the organization right now," Olshey said when the season ended. There was talk last summer that Aldridge was interested in entertaining other offers, but as the season drew to a close he said several times that he was happy in Portland. The Blazers have been known in recent years to pull off draft night surprises, but the team was quiet with no picks this season. It was the third time that the Blazers had gone without a selection, but first since 1999. The team surrendered its picks in this years draft because of earlier trades. The No. 24 overall pick went to the Charlotte Hornets as part of a 2011 trade that brought Gerald Wallace to Portland. The No. 56 pick went to the Denver Nuggets in the 2011 trade that sent Andre Miller to the Nuggets. ' ' '