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Chris Paul responsible for Nuggets’ unwillingness to trade Carmelo to the Knicks?

The Nuggets’ stance towards the Knicks has been puzzling. They claim that New York doesn’t have the assets they want in exchange for Carmelo Anthony, but a quick look at the roster reveals a few good pieces: Danilo Gallinari, Landry Fields, Wilson Chandler, Anthony Randolph and Toney Douglas, just to name a few. Certainly the Knicks could work with a third team to bring another player into the mix if Denver offered up a list of players/assets that it wanted. But when GM Donnie Walsh has asked for this, the Nuggets have been non-responsive.

There was a little nugget (no pun intended) from Ric Bucher in ESPN’s Daily Dime which might explain why the Nuggets don’t want to trade Carmelo to the Knicks:

Stan Kroenke, the Nuggets’ former owner who ceded control to son Josh, is vehemently against dealing with the Knicks after being embarrassed at Anthony’s wedding in Manhattan by talk of his star becoming a Knick…

Bucher is presumably talking about Chris Paul’s wedding toast, where he allegedly said, “We’ll form our own Big 3,” referring to the possibility that Paul, Anthony and Amare Stoudemire could team up in New York.

Apparently, that didn’t sit well with the former Nugget owner and that perceived slight has affected these trade negotiations. Bucher goes on to say that the Knicks “can’t offer the Nuggets anywhere close to the same package of building blocks” as the Nets can. Still, it’s interesting that Kroenke still holds a grudge against the Knicks about comments made at a wedding by a player who isn’t even on the Knick roster.

Not yet, anyway.

Shurmur not a flashy hire for Browns, but he’s a fit for Holmgren

Not many football fans are familiar with former Rams’ offensive coordinator and new Browns’ head coach Pat Shurmur, but Mike Holmgren is well aware of what the 45-year-old from Michigan brings to the table.

Shurmur was considered the favorite to win Cleveland’s head coaching job since Eric Mangini was fired last week. He runs the West Coast offense that Holmgren will likely implement in 2011 and he’s presided over the development of young quarterbacks like Sam Bradford and Kevin Kolb. Being able to work and develop young signal callers was a trait that Holmgren was looking for in his next head coach because of Colt McCoy.

While he’s never been a head coach at any level, Shurmur has plenty of experience as an NFL assistant. He was the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach from 1998-2008 and was the Rams’ O-coordinator the past two seasons. Again, his ability to tutor McCoy in the offensive scheme that Holmgren wants to implement was the main reason why Shurmur was hired. In the end, he may not wind up being successful but at least he’s the guy that Holmgren handpicked (unlike Mangini). And at this point, Browns fans have no reason to not trust Holmgren’s decision-making.

At the very least, things are starting to take shape in Cleveland. Holmgren has built winners in his two previous NFL stops (Green Bay and Seattle) and given enough time, he could do the same in Cleveland. This will be his second offseason “buying the groceries” if you will, and now he can really focus on bringing in the personnel to fit the WCO. Assuming McCoy showed him enough this season to be counted on as the full-time starter, Holmgren now has his quarterback and head coach in place.

As football fans know, teams can’t be successful unless they have those two pieces in place, so Holmgren is off to a fine start.

LeBron claims “karma tweet” was a retweet

Miami Heat forward LeBron James looks to the referee as he points towards the other side of the court after a foul against the Boston Celtics in the second half of the opening night game at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on October 26, 2010. UPI/Matthew Healey

Per ESPN…

“It’s just how I was feeling at the time,” James said. “It wasn’t even a comment from me, it was someone who sent it to me and I sent it out. It wasn’t toward that team. It definitely wasn’t a good showing by that team last night, I know they wish they would’ve played better.”

The entry on James’ Twitter account did not indicate it was a re-tweet from another user. James also did not fully explain the meaning behind the statement, though he did say that karma is a word and concept “I’ve kinda always used my whole life.”

“I don’t think there was intent at all,” James said.

“I think everyone looks into everything I say. Everybody looks too far into it. No hit toward that organization. I’ve moved on and hopefully that organization is continuing to move on. But I’m happy where I am as a Miami Heat player.”

To recap: It wasn’t from him, but it was how he was feeling at the time, though it wasn’t about the Cavs. There wasn’t any intent, people look too much into what he says. Everyone should move on.

Here’s what I wrote yesterday about LeBron’s possible response to the inevitable criticism.

I foresee a sh*tstorm of criticism today at which point LeBron will release a statement/tweet that either a) refers to all critics as “haters,” b) claims that the tweet was not about the Cavs, or c) all of the above.

I didn’t foresee that LeBron would claim it was someone else’s tweet, even though nothing about the tweet indicates that it was written by someone else. (Twitter shows when something is retweeted, so LeBron would have had to copy and paste the text into a new tweet for it to show up the way it did.) LeBron did claim, however, that the tweet wasn’t about the Cavs.

This is all nonsense. LeBron should own up to his comments and take the consequences like a man. Instead, he’s claiming the tweet isn’t his, that it isn’t aimed at the Cavs and that people read “too far into” what he says. Always the victim.

Give. Me. A. Break.

Five Questions: Seahawks vs. Bears

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler stands on the field before game against the Washington Redskins at Soldier Field in Chicago on October 24, 2010. UPI/Brian Kersey

Matchup: Seahawks (8-9) @ Bears (11-5)
Kickoff: 1:00PM ET, Sunday

1. Will inconsistency doom the Seahawks again?
There have been seven separate occasions this year when the Seahawks have played at home and then gone on the road the following week. In those seven games, they went 0-7 and lost by an average margin of 23.6 points. Last week the Hawks played at home and pulled off the upset of the year by knocking off the defending champs. But they won’t have home field advantage or the element of surprise this week when they travel to Solider Field. Can Seattle finally put together back-to-back solid performances and pull off another upset? Or will their issues with consistency burn them again?

2. How will Cutler play in his first-ever postseason game?
The Seahawks do have one distinct advantage over the Bears this weekend, which is that their quarterback has postseason experience and Chicago’s doesn’t. Matt Hasselbeck has played in a Super Bowl. Before this season, Jay Cutler never had a winning seasons at either the college or pro level. Will his lack of inexperience cost the Bears this Sunday or will he rise to the challenge like he did against the Eagles and Jets earlier this year? Seattle ranks 29th in total defense and 30th against the pass. This is a unit that Cutler has to torch. He can’t throw three interceptions and have Devin Hester and his defense bail him out. He’s had a great season but now is the time to elevate his game.

3. Will the Seahawks kick to Hester?
The answer to this question should be no, but sometimes special teams coaches and punters think that they’re smarter than everyone and kick to him anyway. If he gets an opportunity to return a punt, it’s not a question of “if” he’ll put the Bears in good field position but, “at what yard line are the Bears going to start in their opponent’s territory?” Brian Schneider has a tough job this week in trying to figure out a way to neutralize Hester the best he can. If it were me, I’d be telling punter Jon Ryan to get as much distance on the kick as possible but to make sure the ball eventually lands out of bounds. There’s no reason to give Hester a chance to return the ball, even for a team like Seattle, which has had good special teams play this season.

4. Will Martz stay balanced?
This is right around the time of year when Mike Martz wants to go back to proving to people how smart he is. But he must keep his offense balanced. Following back-to-back losses to the Seahawks and Redskins in Weeks 6-7, Lovie Smith tightened the reins on Martz during the Bears’ Week 8 bye. The team also shuffled its offensive line around to take advantage of his personnel’s strengths and hide their weaknesses. The result was a six-game winning streak for Chicago, which only ended when the Bears ran into the buzz saw that is the New England Patriots. Martz is a better playcaller when his offense remains balanced. Cutler is a better quarterback when Matt Forte runs the ball more than six times a game. Now isn’t the time for Martz to go off script: he needs to stick to the game plan and to continue feeding Forte in order to keep defense’s on their heels. There’s also no need to try to throw vertical every down when Cutler is more efficient throwing short-to-intermediate passes. Even though they’re playing a Seattle team that only won seven games this season, the Bears still need to be at their best, and that includes Martz.

5. Can Seattle attack Chicago’s weakness?
The Bears rank 10th in total defense, second in rushing defense and fourth in scoring. But if there’s one area where they can be attacked it’s in the secondary. The Bears have given up an average of 224.2 yards per game through the air this season, which ranks them 21st in the league in that category. That said, they’re actually pretty good defending the deep pass. They’ve only allowed nine pass plays of 30-plus yards this season, which leads the NFC. But Hasselbeck actually fared well against Chicago earlier this season while completing 4 of 7 passes for 85 yards with one touchdown and a 139.9 rating on throws traveling at least 15 yards. Hasselbeck understands the Tampa 2 defense that Chicago runs better than any quarterback in the league because he has loads of experience and has played against that scheme many times before. The Bears may humiliate inexperienced quarterbacks, but chances are Hasselbeck will hold his own this Sunday. But can his offensive line protect him from Chicago’s nasty front seven? And can he beat the Bears without the threat of a running game?

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