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      Phil Jackson will return for one ‘last stand’

      July 1, 2010 /

      In a rather unsurprising turn of events, Phil Jackson will return to coach the Lakers next season.

      “Count me in,” said Jackson. “After a couple weeks of deliberation, it is time to get back to the challenge of putting together a team that can defend its title in the 2010-11 season. It’ll be the last stand for me, and I hope a grand one.”

      Love or hate the Lakers, NBA fans have to respect Jackson’s ability to coax the best out of the great teams that he has coached. If the LeBron/Wade/Bosh dream comes to fruition in Miami or some other locale, they’ll have a powerful foe to overcome, as the two-time defending champs will be at full strength led by the Zen Master.


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      Police change their tune, not ready to rule Vick out as a person of interest in shooting

      July 1, 2010 /

      Michael Vick isn’t out of the woods yet. He was a person of “no interest” to police in the shooting of Quanis Phillips, but video surveillance taken the night of the incident has put his involvement in question.

      Vick told police that he was “long gone” by the time the shooting took place outside a club in which he was celebrating his 30th birthday late last week. But video shows him leaving the club just three minutes before the shooting took place, which casts some doubt in what the quarterback said in interviews with authorities.

      Now police don’t know what to call Vick, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. They’re not ready to deem him a suspect or even an accomplice to the shooting, but as they’re gathering more facts, they’re changing their tune in terms of whether or not he’s a person of interest.

      “Right now, we don’t really have a title for him,” police spokesman Adam Bernstein told the Daily News yesterday.

      “We didn’t know anything” when they were asked Friday morning about their interest in Vick’s involvement in the shooting, Bernstein said.

      “Since then, we have viewed this video. And more people have come forward, giving information,” Bernstein said.

      The Daily News is also reporting that Vick’s federal probation officer in Norfolk is also investigating the incident as well to see if the quarterback was in violation of his probation. So even if Vick isn’t charged by the police for having a connection in the shooting, it doesn’t mean that he will escape all punishment.

      And wouldn’t that be something. It’s been roughly a year since he was released from prison and he’s already in hot water again with the law.


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      External Sports, NFL

      Grizzles, Gay agree to five-year extension

      July 1, 2010 /

      Panic has set in in Memphis, as the Grizzlies have agreed to a five-year extension for Rudy Gay without letting the restricted free agent test the market.

      The Memphis Grizzlies and restricted free-agent Rudy Gay have agreed in principle on a five-year contract, The Commercial Appeal has learned.

      NBA sources indicated that Gay will sign the deal on or soon after July 8 when teams are allowed to finalize contracts.

      Gay’s starting salary will be the maximum allowed a player with his experience – projected to be roughly $13.3 million – according to sources.

      I highlighted the key part in bold. The Grizzlies waited all this time, said over and over that they’d match any offer he received, and then they turned around and gave him a max deal before he had a chance to sign an offer sheet.

      Why not let Gay go out and negotiate a deal and then match it? Why agree to pay him the max when there’s no proof that he’d get a max offer?

      Yes, he was likely to get a big offer, and perhaps the Grizzlies just wanted to be proactive and keep one of their star players happy. But by making this deal, they may have cost themselves millions of dollars. Rudy Gay is no ‘max’ player, at least not at this stage of his career.

      But he’s about to make max money.


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      NFL suspends Jackson for three games

      July 1, 2010 /

      ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the NFL has suspended Chargers’ restricted free agent Vincent Jackson for three games this season. The suspension stems from the receiver’s two DUIs, although it can also be appealed.

      Earlier this week I discussed possible trade partners for Jackson if the Chargers eventually decide to deal him. He has already stated his intentions to hold out if GM A.J. Smith doesn’t abide by his wishes for a new contract, or trades him to a team that will invest in him long-term.

      Interestingly, Schefter also reports that even if Jackson follows through with his holdout threats, the suspension will still start in Week 1 no matter what. If that’s the case (there’s no reason to doubt Schefter), then it gives V-Jax all the more reason to follow through with his holdout, seeing as how he won’t be playing the first couple of weeks anyway. He could ultimately holdout through training camp on the first couple of weeks to see if the Chargers offer him a long-term deal and then make his decision before Week 4.

      That said, no matter what Jackson does, Smith isn’t going to give in. He’s a hard-nosed executive that doesn’t bow to plays threats or demands. If he wants Jackson to play on a one-year tender, then that’s probably the receiver’s best and only option. We’ll just have to wait and see if either side gives in, although my money is on Smith standing firm.


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      External Sports, NFL

      How good would a LeBron/Wade/Bosh combo be?

      July 1, 2010 /

      ESPN’s John Hollinger used his Player Efficiency Rating to estimate the number of games this group would win if surrounded by 10 minimum salary veterans.

      Using my preseason prediction model, I plugged in a team with those three players and used fairly conservative estimates for what they might produce in the coming season — a Player Efficiency Rating of 29 for James, 26 for Wade and 23 for Bosh. I gave James 3,100 minutes, Wade 2,850 and Bosh 2,600.

      For every other minute played by Team Trinity, I inserted my replacement-level figure of a 10 PER — this is what I input when a team has an empty rotation spot or has it filled by a player projected to produce less than 10. I never go any lower than this and have never felt a need to, as virtually anyone who produces at a lesser rate (once we include defensive value) is quickly replaced.

      OK, that’s my methodology; now for the result. This team, believe it or not, projected to win 61 games.

      And that assumes all replacement level players. The roster could improve at midseason when a vet is bought out or waived, and next summer when the team would have the various exceptions available to add higher-priced talent.

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