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BOB'S CORNER: The NBA's Miami Heat have secured coach Erik Spoelstra on a longer-term contract for $US120million reports our American correspondent BOB CRAVEN, along with the latest on LA Clippers' Kawhi Leonard, plus some NCAA news for fans of college basketball. It's all here in your weekend read.

BOY, things are just kind of meandering around hoops-wise, though there's some interesting activity in the college ranks as upsets keep happening with regularity.  To state the obvious, this season has had few breathless moments.

An interesting NBA personnel move several days ago saw Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat reach agreement on a contract extension, ensuring that the longest tenured coach in franchise history will keep adding to his victory total for years to come. 

He signed an eight-year extension reportedly worth about US$120 million, which would make it the largest contract in NBA history in terms of total value for a coach.  His current contract expires at the end of this season.

Spoelstra, 53, is in his 16th season as a coach in Miami and his 29th season overall with the franchise. 

He started in the video room, eventually becoming a scout, an assistant coach, and then Pat Riley's handpicked successor as head coach in April 2008.  He's won two NBA titles as a head coach.

In another NBA major announcement about a new contract extension, the LA Clippers announced they'd signed forward Kawhi Leonard, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, to a new 3-year extension worth US$153 million, according to ESPN. 

Leonard, 32 and in his 12th season, is a 5-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Earlier in the week, Boston and Minnesota, the two Conference leaders and both undefeated at home this season, met in Boston. 

Jason Tatum led the Celtics to a win in OT by scoring 45 points, 36 of them in the fourth quarter and OT.  Boston is now 18-0 at home for the first time in franchise history.

Mid-week was topsy-turvy for the top NCAA men's teams as four of the top 5-ranked teams all lost in a 24-hour period. 

No.1 Purdue took a 16-point beating at the hands of unranked Nebraska, and No.2 Houston, the last remaining undefeated D-I men's team, lost a close one to unranked Iowa State. 

The last time Nebraska defeated a No.1 team, also by 16 points, was 42 years ago.  It was the first time in eight years that both the No.1 team and the No. 2 team both lost on the same day. 

The next night Central Florida knocked off No.3 Kansas 65-60, and Mississippi State dumped No.5 Tennessee 77-72.  It was Mississippi State's first win over a top-five team since 2002.  

Several major anniversaries in hoops from last couple of days:

1951--The Indianapolis Olympians beat the Rochester Royals 75-73 in SIX overtimes, the longest game in NBA history.
1972--The LA Lakers defeated- the Atlanta Hawks 134-90 for their 33rd consecutive victory, an NBA record.
1995--Lenny Wilkins becomes the winningest head coach in NBA history as his Atlanta Hawks post a 112-90 victory over the Washington Bullets.  Wilkins, with his 939th win, surpasses Red Auerbach's record.  Wilkins reached the record in his 22nd year as an NBA head coach, which includes four years as a player-coach.
2005--For the first time in NBA history, a player leads his team in scoring despite not making a single field goal.  Detroit's Richard Hamilton scores 14 points, depite missing all 10 of his field goal attempts in a 101-79 loss to Memphis.