Melo All-Star Game without Carmelo Anthony

Yep, Carmelo Anthony won't be at the All-Star Game in Las Vegas.

Of course, after that fateful melee at Madison Square Garden with the New York Knicks (and after running away from Jared Jeffries like one scared little bitch...) Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony won't be at the All-Star Game.

Despite leading the league in scoring, Carmelo Anthony won't be making the trip to Las Vegas much to the dismay of the young Nugget who has already served his 15-game suspension because of the MSG brawl.

This is probably the first time the league's leading scorer won't be at the All-Star Game, making you wonder what else can Melo do to make it next year. Well, I suppose NOT participating in any of them brawls next year will help.

Melo's teammate, Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson, got the invite. Iverson now extends his All-Star appearances to eight straight invites.

As expected, the Denver Nuggets forward was not fond of getting the All-Star snub. Melo said he hoped his suspension didn't prevent him from earning an All-Star spot. Of course, at the back of his mind, he knew THAT was exactly it.

''I hope no one holds that (MSG Brawl) over my head over anything,'' Carmelo Anthony said. ''Things happen. One incident like that is held over one person's head, life ain't fair.''

''I did my punishment. I could've easily kept my name out there by appealing it and doing other stuff about it, but I just did my 15 games suspension and hopefully put that behind us.''

Apparently, the league just can't let that happen.

Can Carmelo Anthony lead the Denver Nuggets to the NBA Playoffs? Who will win the 2007 NBA Championship? Here are some odds from Bodog:

Chicago Bulls 7/1

Detroit Pistons 9/1

Dallas Mavericks 7/2

Miami Heat 4/1 (boo!)

Want more odds? Visit OddsHQ for more NBA Basketball Odds and the best betting lines on some of today's biggest sporting events.