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      Durant’s agent in negotiations with Turkish team

      August 10, 2011 /
      Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant sits on the bench in the first half against the Dallas Mavericks during Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Final basketball playoff in Dallas, Texas May 17, 2011. REUTERS/Tim Sharp (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

      Per ESPN…

      Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant is in the early stages of contract negotiations with the same Turkish team that has signed Deron Williams and has been pursuing Kobe Bryant, according to Durant’s agent.

      Agent Aaron Goodwin told ESPN.com on Tuesday night that he has met with officials from Turkish club Besiktas and has likewise begun exploring opportunities for Durant in Spain and Russia. Goodwin added that playing in China is not something Durant is considering at this time.

      “The Turkish option is very intriguing,” Goodwin said. “We’re looking at other countries as well. Kevin hasn’t agreed to play anywhere yet, but we’re looking for the best fit.”

      The longer this lockout goes, more and more big name players will find somewhere else to play.

      External Sports, NBA

      Apparently the Bears know something about Roy Williams nobody else does

      August 10, 2011 /
      Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams watches from the sidelines in the second half of their NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Arlington, Texas January 3, 2010. REUTERS/Mike Stone (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      “You don’t bring a Roy Williams in here to sit the bench.”

      That’s what Bears wide receiver coach Darryl Drake said in this Chicago Tribune article about Johnny Knox and his frustration over being listed behind Williams on the team’s first depth chart of the preseason.

      I’d be frustrated too if nonsense like that was spilling out of my coach’s mouth.

      You don’t bring a Roy Williams in to sit the bench? Since when did Williams turn into Andre Johnson, Greg Jennings or even Jabar Gaffney? I get what Drake is implying: that Williams is a veteran, has experience playing in Mike Martz’s offense and deserves the respect to see his name atop the depth chart. But are the Bears serious here?

      If Cowboy fans ever wondered if Williams could get any slower than he was last year, follow him this year on that patch of dirt the Bears call their home field. This was a guy that struggled mightily trying to gain separation from defenders last season in Dallas, which oh-by-the-way plays half its games on turf. There were also times when he displayed alligator arms and lost focus as his role diminished in the offense.

      Granted, the Bears have been vocal about Knox needing to get more aggressive at the line of scrimmage and fighting for the ball when it’s in the air. Plus, he’s going to get opportunities to play because Martz usually roles out three or four receivers in most sets. But the part that is confusing to me is the Bears’ overall thought process. Do they honestly believe that Williams should receive more playing time than Knox? Or that Williams gives them the best chance to win? Knox played in 88.2 percent of the Bears’ offensive plays last year and was easily their best receiver. If the coaching staff believes that Williams is an upgrade, then what in Tom Waddle’s name is going on in the Windy City?

      Of course, none of this will probably matter in a couple of months. Once Williams proves that he’s not a reliable full-time starter, Martz and the rest of the Bears coaching staff will wise up and put Knox back in. Because if there’s one thing this Chicago coaching staff knows, its how to manage a receiver corps…

      External Sports, NFL

      Could NBA players form their own league?

      August 9, 2011 /
      Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant smiles after demonstrating the videogame NBA 2K11 during a Sony Computer Entertainment America media briefing before the opening day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles June 6, 2011. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES – Tags: ENTERTAINMENT SPORT BASKETBALL)

      Ken Berger of CBS Sports doesn’t think it’s likely, but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

      What if the top 25 or 30 players in the NBA — All-Stars and others deserving of that status — announced their intention to form a rival league? On many levels, it’s even more of a pie-in-the-sky dream for the players than getting a few million dollars from overseas teams. But short of a legal shock to the labor negotiations — for example, the issuing of a complaint against the NBA by the National Labor Relations Board in the next 60 days — it’s difficult to imagine a more effective leverage play than a breakaway league featuring the biggest stars in successful markets.

      If someone could pull it off, it would beat the hell out of Sonny Weems signing in Lithuania as far as leverage goes.

      How would Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan react if, say, Amar’e Stoudemire, Anthony and Paul joined forces on a team based in the New York metropolitan area and went on a mini barnstorming tour against such teams as an L.A.-based squad featuring Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin and UCLA’s Russell Westbrook? How about instead of tearing up Rucker Park in his free time, Kevin Durant went back to Texas to play with Dirk Nowitzki, facing a Midwestern-based team starring Chicago natives Derrick Rose and Wade?

      It’s an interesting thought, but who is going to put up the money for the league knowing full well that the owners would be back at the table in a New York minute?

      Berger says that the potential for a spin-off league increases as the lockout goes deeper into the season

      …if the two sides got deep into the fall — maybe all the way to Christmas — without a new CBA, the canceling of the season would open a window from, say, February to June for such an idea to work without the threat of the NBA resuming. The focus would then shift away from the failed efforts to save the season and toward the filling of a void in the marketplace for pro basketball. And there is a small pile of money to start with — the $188 million the league owes the players from last season’s escrow.

      It’s an interesting idea that could work if the league’s biggest stars got together and could agree on format and financing.

      External Sports, NBA

      Three factors that could derail the Eagles in 2011

      August 9, 2011 /
      Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick leaves the field after the team lost to the Green Bay Packers in their NFC Wild Card NFL playoff football game in Philadelphia, January 9, 2011. REUTERS/Tim Shaffer (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Word has it that the Eagles loaded up this offseason. BIG TIME.

      They added Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie, Cullen Jenkins, Jason Babin, Ronnie Brown, Anthony Hargrove and Vince Young to a roster that already included Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson and Asante Samuel. In other words: CHAMPIONSHIP!

      Following their huge offseason, there’s no doubt that the Eagles should be favored to win the NFC East, but let’s pump the breaks for a second and play devil’s advocate. Just like any team at this point of the year, they have question marks. Below are three factors I believe could make Philly fail to live up to the hype.

      (For those wondering why I didn’t include DeSean Jackson’s contract situation: I fully believe that the Eagles will pay D-JAX at some point, which is why I chose to focus on other factors.)

      1. Michael Vick
      Last season, Vick compiled career-highs in completion percentage, touchdowns and QB-rating, while posting a career-low in interceptions and interception percentage. Now let’s see if he can do it again. Talent has never been the issue with Vick – consistency has. When he set a then career-high for completion percentage in ‘04 with Atlanta, he regressed as a passer in ‘05 and ‘06. He’s also injury-prone and has a habit of forcing the action when his team is trailing in the fourth quarter and counting on him to make a play. (One example of this came in last year’s playoffs against the Packers in which he was picked off in the end zone on the Eagles’ final drive.)

      There’s no doubt Vick has matured as a player and a person. Prison and not being coddled by an owner (Arthur Blank) and head coach (Jim Mora) will do that for an athlete. But let’s see if Vick can put together back-to-back successful seasons before we anoint him a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback. He has a habit of getting complacent in his situation, especially when he has nobody behind him to push him. Granted, Andy Reid is 10-times the coach Mora was, but it remains to be seen whether or not Vick will stay hungry for 16-plus games. Remember, he’s 2-3 as a starter in the playoffs and 0-3 in postseason games in Philly.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, NFL

      Matt Barnes explains why he punched an opposing player

      August 8, 2011 /
      Los Angeles Lakers’ Matt Barnes poses for photos during the basketball team’s media day at the Lakers training facility in El Segundo, California on September 25, 2010. The Lakers will try to three-peat this season after winning back-to-back NBA championship titles. UPI/Jim Ruymen

      There’s no real good video of Matt Barnes punching an opponent in a Pro-Am game in San Francisco, but Barnes explains his actions after the game.

      “He elbowed me and pushed me, so he got one,” Barnes told ESPN.com college basketball writer Diamond Leung.

      “People just think they can talk any way or do anything to … me. You can’t. You can’t do that, ’cause you know people are men out here. So if you think you’re going to come out here and punk someone, that s— ain’t happening.”

      Barnes said that he wasn’t the instigator and was just protecting himself.

      “That’s part of the game, man. It’s physical,” he said. “You know what I mean? People come out here and think they can beat and push on me. There’s only so much I’m going to take. I’m a grown man first, so if you think you’re going to come out here and rough me up and cheap-shot, I’m not having that s—.”

      I wonder what the nature of the “elbow” and “pushing” was to merit a punch to the face. It’s interesting that he’s taking the “I was just defending myself” defense here.

      External Sports, NBA

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