As attendance at games dwindles and injuries take their toll across the league, the National Basketball Association has started counting on something else to provide the entertainment it so sorely lacks.

This time, it’s not the game that has taken center stage, but the action off the court, or in some cases the things that happen after the whistle blows that are attracting interest from fans.

Throughout these last few months, I’ve watched as Michael Jordan made his comeback, as Grant Hill went down with another ankle injury and as Allen Iverson defends his league MVP title.

But, as a basketball fan, my attention has been drawn elsewhere.

With Shaq’s tirade after the whistle, Michael Jordan’s pending divorce and the on going feud between Iverson and Sixers coach Larry Brown, the league has become a soap opera for sports fans.

Charles Oakley bashes his coach, as he did this year in Chicago, and it’s the lead story on ESPN’s Sportscenter.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban spends a few hours as the manager of Dairy Queen after saying NBA director of officials Ed Rush “might have been a great ref, but I wouldn’t hire him to manage a Dairy Queen,” and it’s the top story in sports sections all across the United States.

The central focus in the league has not become the game that’s being played but rather the things that happen after the lights go down.

Right now, I don’t know who all the division leaders are.

However, I do know what size shorts Shaq wears (54) after watching footage of him trying to squeeze into a pair of Utah point guard John Stockton’s size 32’s.

I know the amount of the fine levied on Mark Cuban after his “Dairy Queen” remarks against the NBA officiating ($500,000).

And I know just what kind of food the Bulls’ Brad Miller would be eating for the next few months if both of Shaq’s roundhouse punches would have landed after Shaq took insult to a hard foul.

The game has become boring. What happens in the locker rooms, during practice and even at the players’ homes hasn’t.

What makes this problem even harder to address is that there may not be just one solution.

The level of talent in the league hasn’t decreased. With new players like Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter leading the way, parts of the game are enjoyable to watch. However, there is a lack of talent within the league.

For example, the top five players on a team may be very skilled individuals, but then there are those on the bench who should never see an NBA minute.

Minnesota vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale recently said, “If you’re 7 feet tall, can run down the court and chew gum at the same time, you’ll have a job in this league.”

Players like Shawn Bradley prove this theory to be true.

Parity in the league is also at a high.

Any team can beat another on any given night. The Bulls and Grizzlies, two of the worst teams in the NBA, both proved this when they knocked off the Lakers earlier this season.

But because of the number of games and the number of teams that qualify for the playoffs (16 of 29), the regular season hardly seems to matter anymore.

Thankfully, at least there are people like Mark Cuban to keep it interesting.

Emily Arthur is a junior in journalism and mass communications from Clark, S.D. She is the assistant sports editor of the Daily.