Category: News (Page 97 of 199)

      Izzo is staying put…does this mean LeBron is leaving?

      June 16, 2010 /

      Per ESPN…

      Izzo rejected the NBA in part because he was unable to speak with James, although he did speak with people in his camp.

      “That was one of the key factors, 100 percent true,” Izzo said. “That was not the only factor. Was it a big factor? Sure.”

      James’ uncertain future will make for a difficult decision for any prospective Cavs coach. He is unlikely to tip his hand publicly before free agency begins July 1.

      I’m glad to see that Izzo is staying at Michigan State. Too many great college coaches go to the NBA and ultimately fail. It’s a different game, a different schedule, and a different level of ego. Most NBA players were the best players on their teams through high school and college; they think they know everything about the basketball and it’s tough to get through to them. That’s why you see so many coaches during those “Wired Up” sequences trying to motivate and cheerlead, while the players are staring off into the stands or up at the scoreboard.

      With regard to LeBron, we can read the tea leaves a little bit. LeBron wouldn’t speak with Izzo directly, but Izzo did sepak with “people in his camp.” Remember what I said about ego? LeBron won’t even take the time to talk to a prospective head coach for his “hometown” team. If he were leaning towards staying, I think he and Izzo would have spoken so that he could create the best situation for himself in Cleveland.

      Unless, of course, he’s not an Izzo fan, which seems somewhat unlikely.

      This sequence of events tells me that the chances of him leaving are greater than the chances that he’ll stay put. Either way, the next two weeks are going to be excruciating. This could last another month if LeBron holds the league hostage by dragging his feet making a decision in July.

      At least we have a Game 7 to look forward to on Thursday night.


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      The state of the Lakers

      June 15, 2010 /

      Adrian Wojnarowski writes that Kobe Bryant was rightfully furious after the Lakers Game 5 loss Sunday evening.

      On his way into the losing locker room, the most angry man in the Garden was heard to bellow a spontaneous stream of curses into the ears of his Los Angeles Lakers. As the door slammed behind them, a witness heard Kobe Bryant(notes) screaming that he needed some-bleeping-one to make a stand with him.

      “We’ve regressed since Game 1,” Bryant confessed to Yahoo! Sports. “Our defense belongs on milk cartons in the last two games.”

      Everyone wonders how Bryant goes about these next hours until Game 6 at the Staples Center. On the eve of Game 1, Bryant told me how the development of these Lakers, their growth, allowed him to channel his aggression, his time, into his own game. Two years ago, Bryant said, the Lakers weren’t good enough to beat the Celtics. He hated losing to them, but he could live with it. This one, he’ll take to his grave. This one, he’ll never get over.

      All that screaming in the locker room, all that angst over a Game 5 that felt like ’08 again, and Bryant stopped walking and stood for a moment. He had to start building back these Lakers, building back the fragility of a defending champion on the brink of elimination.

      His eyes narrowed now, his lips stiffened, and Kobe Bryant would say late in this chase for a back-to-back championship, “Listen, if you told me at the beginning of the year that we’ve got two games at home to win a championship, yeah, I’ll take that [bleep].”

      There has always been an interesting dynamic between Kobe and his teammates. As long as they keep winning, he’s generally happy, but when the chips are down he lashes out like a black mamba. Certain people, like Derek Fisher, can take it as motivation and play a great Game 6, but I wonder how someone like Ron Artest, who hasn’t been in the foxhole with Kobe before, is going to react to the mounting pressure. It’s not just that the Lakers might lose, it’s that Kobe might lose, and that might be worse.

      What is going through his teammates’ heads when the game is on the line? Are they wondering if Kobe approves of this shot or doesn’t approve of that shot? Are they afraid to make mistakes for fear of the tongue-lashing that they’ll no doubt get on the way to the bench? Or do they somehow transform his criticism into toughness and good play?

      I guess we’ll find out tonight.


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      Steve Kerr out as Suns GM

      June 15, 2010 /

      Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the scoop.

      Kerr’s contract expires June 30 but he had been expecting and hoping to return until negotiations for his contract and an opportunity to return to television as a NBA commentator prompted him to leave the organization after three years as its GM, Suns Managing Partner Robert Sarver said.

      Kerr, who could not be reached for comment, reportedly was asked to take a cut in salary during negotiations.

      Owner Robert Sarver said that finances barely played a role:

      “I wouldn’t say it’s a big surprise,” Sarver said. “Television is what he did before he came on board. It’s a change of plans from during the season. It boiled down to a number of things, including lifestyle and the opportunity. I was hoping to have him back.”

      Sarver said the differences in financial negotiations played a “small part,” if any at all.

      It’s funny — I thought Kerr might be fired after the Marion-for-Shaq debacle, but he hung in there, unloaded Shaq and his monstrous contract, and put together a nice team that was playing Top 4 basketball at the end of the season. The Suns had great chemistry, and I’m not sure if that was on purpose or by accident, but Kerr was ultimately responsible.

      Being an NBA general manager is something of a dream job for me, but I can see how doing color commentary for the NBA would be a far less stressful occupation. Kerr won’t have fans dissecting his every move and there won’t be any “Fire Steve Kerr” websites out there clamoring for his dismissal.

      That said, whomever takes over for Kerr will have to hit the ground running. The Suns have a big decision to make with regard to Amare Stoudemire, who is looking for a max contract (and probably isn’t worth it).

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      Report: Texas getting closer to joining Pac-10

      June 14, 2010 /

      ESPN.com is reporting that Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are getting closer to joining the Pac-10. The report also states that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe is trying to put together a plan to save the conference, although sources say that he has “zero” chance of succeeding.

      Beebe’s last-ditch plan included an emotional plea about preserving rivalries and maintaining the best welfare of the student-athlete, one source said.

      Texas A&M is now most likely to join the SEC, a source within the Big 12 said. This move, in the wake of Colorado and Nebraska’s departure, would further diminish the chance of Beebe’s plan succeeding, one source said.

      Texas’ decision is expected to come no later than Tuesday. One source familiar with Texas’ plans suggested a hearing on Wednesday at the Texas House of Representatives is “a nonfactor.”

      A report on Orangebloods.com said that Texas is committed to discussions with the remaining 10 schools in the Big 12 about a plan put together by Beebe that would keep the league intact with its current programs.

      The plan includes assurances that a TV deal could net each school between $14 million and $17 million, Orangebloods.com reported, and schools such as Texas could still have their own TV network.

      College football expansion is all about money, so Beebe’s plan isn’t completely hopeless. That said, things don’t look good for him and the Big 12. These schools are going to go where the TV deals are bigger and where they can generate more revenue. As of now, the Pac-10 offers the better “deal” for teams like Texas, so it seems inevitable that that is where they’ll wind up.

      We’ll see if Beebe’s last-ditch effort can save the conference but as of now, it appears that the Big 12 is on the verge of imploding.

      Update: Now ESPN is reporting that Texas is leaning towards accepting a deal to stay in the Big 12.

      Based on a TV deal in the works that could pay them upwards of
      $25 million per year, Texas is leaning toward staying in a 10-team Big 12 for the foreseeable future, Orangebloods.com has reported, citing sources familiar with negotiations.

      Texas was meeting Monday with the other remaining nine schools in the Big 12 about a TV deal included in a plan put together by Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe that would keep the league intact with its current programs, according to multiple reports.

      Texas stands to earn between $20 million and
      $25 million annually in television revenue in the reworked deal, including money from its own network, according to Orangebloods.com.


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      Fact-checking Tim Donaghy

      June 12, 2010 /

      Tim Donaghy is still around, mostly because he’s in financial trouble and is trying to find a way to parlay his history of gambling on (or fixing?) NBA games into some semblance of a post-officiating career. Henry Abbott put together a nice post about Donaghy that seems to debunk much of what he has said.

      * Donaghy recalls a conversation he had on the court with Phil Jackson that Jackson tells ESPN’s J.A. Adande never happened.
      * He describes relationships between Allen Iverson and referees Steve Javie (who he says hated Iverson) and Joe Crawford (who was allegedly a fan) that biased their calls, and made picking Iverson games easy ways to make money. But those betting rules, in fact, would not have led to winners.
      * He told a stirring tale of locker room run-in with Charles Barkley, but Barkley told ESPN’s Mark Schwarz no such thing occurred.
      * The three palming violations Donaghy remembers in some detail that were really two.
      * He wrote that he won bets relying on Dick Bavetta’s habit of keeping games close, but looking at scores proved betting like that would not win you money.
      * He described in some detail the friendship between referee Joe Forte and then-Grizzlies coach Mike Fratello, which inspired him to pick Fratello’s team to beat the spread when Forte reffed. But in that period, Fratello’s teams beat the spread less than half the time.

      Even Donaghy’s publisher has severed ties with him.

      Generally speaking, I don’t think there is a lot of game-fixing going on. To err is to be human, and NBA referees make a LOT of bad calls. It doesn’t mean they’re doing it on purpose. It’s an impossible job to do perfectly.


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