Last game as a Laker? 'There is no clear choice' on Dwight Howard's team next season
Dwight Howard took an early exit on Sunday in the final chapter of
the Los Angeles Lakers season. With 9:51 remaining in the third quarter
of Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs, Howard was ejected following
his second technical foul. As Howard slowly walked off the floor at
Staples Center, he slapped his teammates' hands, offered some words as
he walked by general manager Mitch Kupchak and headed to the locker room
in perhaps his last moments in a Laker uniform.
"It's like a nightmare," Howard said after Los Angeles suffered a 103-82 defeat that swept it out of Round 1 of the playoffs. "It's like a bad dream and we couldn't wake up out of it. That's what it felt like.
"It seemed like nothing could go right, right from the start,
injuries and all that stuff. We get an opportunity to get some rest for
guys who are injured. A chance to rehab and think about what we can all
do to better ourselves."
When asked if the last part of that statement reflected optimism
toward returning, Howard said: "You're reading too much into it."
Howard will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Lakers
can pay him more than anyone else with a five-year, maximum $117.9
million contract. By departing to the likes of the Houston Rockets,
Atlanta Hawks or Dallas Mavericks, which have the salary cap space,
Howard would take a pay cut with a four-year, $87.6 million max deal.
Howard is just 27 years old and could potentially make up a lost $30
million of his contract down the road. But who walks away from $30
million, especially someone still recovering from major back surgery?
"I'm going to step away from everything for a couple of weeks,"
Howard said. "I'm going to clear my head before I do or talk about
anything as far as next season. I think I deserve that and that's what
I'm going to do."
Howard averaged 17.1 points per game this season, his lowest average
in five years, but led the league with 12.4 rebounds in 35.8 minutes per
game. Even with Howard's injury concerns, the Lakers can't afford to
lose him for nothing.
"Coming back super early from a major surgery was tough," Howard
said. "I tried to give everything I had and leave it on the floor. I was
in pain for the whole season. I just wanted to try to play through it,
fight through it. Even though I'm hurting, I'm still standing and I'm
just going to keep fighting."
The Lakers have numerous roster decisions to make and an amnesty
clause to use, if needed. Uncertainty is at every corner, and that's
assuming Bryant is back healthy from an Achilles tendon injury. Pau
Gasol, no stranger to trade discussions, could've played his last game
as a Laker, too. He was given a standing ovation Sunday when he came out
for good in Game 4.
Howard is expected to exercise his due diligence in free agency in
large part due to the uncertainty with the Lakers' roster, said an NBA
source close to the situation.
"He's going to sign a long-term deal," the source said. "It has to
be the right spot, the right commitment. There is no clear choice. The
Lakers choice has longevity. They've won a lot of championships. But at
the same time, that's not where they're at any more."
Other factors in Howard's decision are whether he can co-exist with Bryant and coach Mike D'Antoni's up-tempo system.
Howard and Bryant aren't best friends, but they don't hate each other
either. The two All-Stars have grown to respect each other after
enduring this horrible campaign and appear to have become closer since
Bryant suffered his injury.
"We had a pretty good relationship before I got here," Howard said
about Bryant. "I think a lot of people have twisted a lot of things. The
fake fights. Arguments we supposedly had. We've maintained a pretty
good relationship. I want to continue to be there for him throughout the
process he has to go through recovering from his Achilles.
D'Antoni told the Los Angeles Times he could change his offense to
better fit the team. When asked if playing for D'Antoni again could be a
situation that is beneficial for him, Howard said: "I don't want to
talk about anything for the upcoming season. I just want to reflect on
this year and try to get myself better and come back 100 percent."
Yes, getting away from it all certainly makes sense for Howard. He has two months to figure it out before free agency begins.
NEWARK, N.J. – Just 25 months ago, Jon Jones became the
youngest champion in UFC history when he routed Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
in the Prudential Center to claim the light heavyweight title.
Jones has gone on to unprecedented heights since, and
on Saturday, put his name into the record books with a dominating
victory over Chael Sonnen for his fifth consecutive successful title
defense, tying Tito Ortiz's record by obliterating Sonnen and put to
rest the foolish notion he was somehow afraid when he declined to fight
Sonnen on eight days notice at UFC 151.
Jones took Sonnen down late in the first round and was pounding on
him with punches and elbows when referee Keith Peterson stopped it at
4:33.
Sonnen came out hard, but he was never able to mount an offense.
Jones took him down several times, and the last time led to the finish.
Sonnen briefly argued the stoppage, but he was taking a lot of abuse.
The feud seemed to end with the one-sided defeat.
"Chael Sonnen is an awesome opponent," Jones said.
Jones' left big toe was somehow broken late in the fight and was
grotesquely deformed and swollen. It was unclear how it occurred and
Jones did not realize it immediately.
Sonnen credited Jones and didn't complain.
"He's an excellent fighter and I have no problem with the decision,"
Sonnen said. " … I was very surprised at his power and size. I'm
disappointed. … Jon's the man."
Sonnen said he's going to consider retirement.
In the primary undercard match, Michael Bisping got a critical
victory on Saturday, scoring a unanimous technical decision over Alan
Belcher, a bout that ended early when Belcher was inadvertently poked in
the right eye by Bisping's left thumb.
Bisping didn't put a lot of pressure on Belcher in the first, circling and seeming to gauge the distance.
But in the final two rounds, Bisping's clear advantage in the standup
showed. He mixed his punches up and was landing his straight right
consistently.
He was wearing Belcher down after landing it enough that Belcher seemed unwilling to engage.
Bisping fired a punch at Belcher in the final minute and as he moved
in to throw a left, he inadvertently poked Belcher in the eye. Belcher
went down in obvious pain, and took his mouthpiece out.
The eye was closed and after doctors briefly examined him, the bout
was stopped. It went to the scorecards since the poke was inadvertent,
and Bisping won by scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28.
Roy Nelson had a highlight reel knockout that is slowly moving him
into heavyweight title contention. Nelson caught Cheick Kongo with a
massive overhand right that landed on the cheek.
Kongo went down and was clearly out, as referee Kevin Mulhall jumped in to stop it quickly at 2:03 of the first.
Nelson has now won three in a row and hopes to meet the winner of the
title fight between champion Cain Velasquez and Antonio "Big Foot"
Silva in his next bout.
UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan said to Nelson in the cage, "You can't teach that power." Nelson smiled and said, "No, you can't."
He leaped to the top of the cage in exultation after it was stopped. He hopes it leads to much bigger things.
"All I do is, they set them up and I knock them down," Nelson said.
"I want that gold. UFC 160, whoever wins, that [is who] I want."
Nelson has beaten Dave Herman, Matt Mitrione and Kongo in succession and has reeled off four wins in his last five.
After Kongo went down, Nelson threw one punch before holding back, realizing Kongo was out.
" I knew when I hit him that he was out, but he also recovers very
fast, as we saw in the Pat Barry fight," Nelson said. "I went in and hit
him again then looked to the ref to let him know I was prepared to keep
going, if necessary. I changed up my camp a little bit this time
surrounded myself with guys who really have my best interests in mind.
"I think that made a big difference tonight. I'm ready for the title
if that's what's next for me. I know I can give Cain fits and if it's
Big Foot, then I'm ready for that too.”
Nelson was able to back up his pre-fight words with a big right hand.
Sonnen, though, wasn't the only fighter who talked a lot of trash prior
to his UFC 159 bout and came up short. Vinny Magalhaes made all sorts
of threats toward Phil Davis, but then was totally unable to mount any
offense and was drubbed by Davis.
Davis won a unanimous decision, using his striking to keep Maghalaes
at bay. A submission expert, Maghalaes made few efforts to get the fight
to the ground and those that he did were half-hearted.
It was a poor effort in any event, but particularly for a guy who talked as much as he did.
Judges had it 30-27 twice and 29-28 for Davis.
Pat Healy and Jim Miller opened the pay-per-view portion of the card
with a fun back-and-forth fight, but Healy overwhelmed Miller in the
second half of the fight and finished it with a rear naked choke at 4:02
of the third.
Healy took a lot of punishment from Miller in a good first round and
his right eye was swollen badly when he returned to his corner. But
Healy kept swarming Miller and finally just started winning the battles
for position.
He got Miller's back and choked him out with the rear naked choke along the cage.
"The one thing you can never question is my heart," Healy said. "As long as I can walk, I'm going to keep coming."
Source:-http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mma--ufc-159--jon-jones-routs-chael-sonnen-via-first-round-stoppage-in-one-sided-affair-043435771.html
Miami tightens its grip on first place in the ACC by pounding top-ranked Duke
At the 17:43 mark of the second half, with No. 25 Miami curb-stomping top-ranked Duke by an unfathomable 30 points, the man with the reputation as TV's most well-known Blue Devils apologist had seen enough.
"This is the poorest performance I have witnessed from a Duke team in all my years sitting courtside," ESPN analyst Dick Vitale said.
The Blue Devils salvaged a bit of pride by the end of Miami's 90-63 victory, but it was hard to argue with Vitale's assessment.
Miami held Duke without a field goal for more than eight minutes in the latter portion of the first half, unleashing a 25-1 blitz to turn what briefly had been a back-and-forth game into a 38-15 rout. Only five times in program history had Duke ever trailed by more than 23 points at halftime, yet it somehow got even worse to start the second half as Miami scored the first seven points to extend its lead to 30.
Even though the win was Miami's first against a top-ranked opponent, the ramifications of the victory for the Hurricanes were even larger than that. They're now 5-0 in the ACC, two games clear of Duke and NC State in the loss column and three or more ahead of every other team in the league.
Wednesday's loss will send Duke tumbling out of the top spot in the polls, meaning there will be a new No. 1 on Monday for the third consecutive week. The one-sided nature of the result also suggests the Blue Devils have more issues than merely the indefinite absence of forward Ryan Kelly (foot injury).
They were helpless against the quickness of guards Shane Larkin (18 points) and Durand Scott (25 points) off ball screens. They had no answer for the inside-outside versatility of Kenny Kadji (22 points, 9 of 11 shooting). And while they uncharacteristically missed some layups and open 3-pointers, they also missed the perimeter shooting, passing and spacing that Kelly brings.
It's hard to imagine Miami playing any better than this, yet the Hurricanes will get stronger from a personnel standpoint in the coming weeks. Center Reggie Johnson, an all-conference candidate entering the season, returned from a month-long injury absence on Wednesday night, yet looked rusty and out of shape in a brief foul-plagued appearance.
As he gets back into game shape, Miami will have another interior weapon at its disposal. That's great news for the Hurricanes and bad news for the 11 ACC schools chasing them.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/miami-tightens-grip-first-place-acc-pounding-top-022954170--ncaab.html;_ylt=AqWPCV7zs3X0Pk_0oajis605nYcB;_ylu=X3oDMTQ0ZDJiYTRiBG1pdANGRUFUVVJFRCBNZWdhdHJvbiBTUE9SVFMgRlAEcGtnA2RhZjIzMmU4LTJkMTAtMzk5NS04MjZiLTZmOTk2MTc1ZTFkMQRwb3MDMQRzZWMDbWVnYXRyb24EdmVyAzEwZDhmNzEzLTY2MWYtMTFlMi1hNDJlLWE5NmNmMTFkMzM3ZQ--;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3
Sloane Stephens upsets Serena Williams at Australian Open
There are few moments when you can physically see the changing of the guard happening. One that comes to my golfing mind was Jack Nicklaus standing on the Swilcan Bridge, waving to the crowd during his last British Open as Tiger Woods was teeing off, prepared to win at St. Andrews.
And while this might be different as Nicklaus was past his prime, it had a little bit of the same feel. Sloane Stephens, a 19-year-old American who has the eyes to be a champion and the stamina to live up to it, was paired against Serena Williams, possibly the best American women's tennis player to ever hit a yellow ball on a court that has seen five trophy ceremonies set for Serena.
The match ended with Stephens upsetting the elder Williams 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, but there was plenty of action in between those numbers.
Williams dominated, struggled, left the court and broke a racket from start to finish, but it was the teenager who kept her cool the entire match and was able to leave the winner on Wednesday at Rod Laver Arena.
[Related: Li Na delivers one of pro tennis' worst serve at Aussie Open]
The match started out like you'd expect. Serena, who was a day removed from losing her doubles match with sister Venus in the quarterfinals, wasn't as aggressive as she normally is but allowed Stephens to make the mistakes late in an early set you might expect from someone trying to get to a point she's never been in a Grand Slam.
The set ended with Williams winning and was quickly opened with a break by Serena that had tennis fans expecting the expected. Williams would win, of course, and it was on to the next as the future American star would leave at the hands of our constant American champion.
But the second set would be the decider. After Sloane broke back, the set got to 5-3 with Stephens serving to take it to a third set but nerves finally settled in and as we've already seen in this Australian Open, a professional couldn't find the ability to finish off an opponent.
Williams would win that game, but it was when she was down 4-5 that Serena had to leave the court with what appeared to be that nagging ankle injury that upset her during her doubles match. Trainers later reported that Serena had suffered a back injury on a point close to the net that she put away, and it never seemed that Williams was the same.
After the match, Williams told reporters, "A few days ago (my back) got really tight and I had no rotation on it and I went for this drop shot in the second set and it locked up on it, and I couldn't really rotate after that."
Her first serve after returning to the court was a surprising 89 miles per hour, but Serena somehow held at love and forced Stephens to serve at 5-5. She held, and it was then that the teenager showed that she wouldn't let the hobbled Williams get away with just smashing winners at her discretion.
Stephens broke Serena to win the second set, and after holding at 2-1, Williams let some of her frustration out on a racket. She smashed it a few times on the court, saying after, "Oh yeah, did you see it? I even had a wry smile on my lips after that."
The match would slowly slip from Serena's grasp. She fought as hard as her injured back and ankle would let her, but eventually the young Stephens was too much, prevailing in the final set, saying after about advancing to the semifinals, "It's a new thing, but it's fun."
Stephens might still be a teenager, but she's incredibly talented and you see it in all parts of her game. Her fourth round win was solid but professional, and after she opened up on court like the 19-year-old she is.
She now faces the No. 1 seed in the tournament in Victoria Azarenka and most will expect her to lose but do you know the final thing she said in her post-match interview with ESPN before heading to the locker room?
"I hope to have a lot more Twitter followers, too!"
She's still 19, but her game is aging quickly.
Jim, John Harbaugh ready for rematch at Super Bowl
Jim and John Harbaugh have exchanged a handful of text messages, and plan to leave it at that. No phone conversations necessary while the season's still going. No time for pleasantries, even for the friendly siblings.
There is work to be done to prepare for the Super Bowl, prepare for each other, prepare for a history-making day already being widely hyped as ''Harbowl'' or ''Superbaugh'' depending which nickname you prefer.
''It doesn't matter who the coach is, what relationship you have with the person on the other side,'' 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said so matter-of-factly Monday afternoon.
Their parents sure aren't picking sides for the Feb. 3 matchup in New Orleans.
These days, the Harbaughs' longtime coaching father, Jack, stays away from game-planning chatter or strategy sessions with his Super Bowl-bound coaching sons. Baltimore's John Harbaugh and little brother Jim have been doing this long enough now to no longer need dad's input.
Yet, they still regularly seek it. And, their father does offer one basic mantra: ''Get ahead, stay ahead.''
''Probably the greatest advice that I've ever been given and the only advice that I've ever found to be true in all of coaching, I think we mentioned it to both John and Jim ... the coaching advice is, 'Get ahead, stay ahead,''' Jack Harbaugh said.
''If I'm called upon, I'll repeat that same message.''
His boys still call home regularly to check in with the man who turned both on to the coaching profession years ago, and the mother who has handled everything behind the scenes for decades in a highly competitive, sports-crazed family - with all the routine sports cliches to show for it.
The Harbaugh brothers will become the first siblings to square off from opposite sidelines when their teams play for the NFL championship at the Superdome.
Not that they're too keen on playing up the storyline that has no chance of going away as hard as they try.
''Well, I think it's a blessing and a curse,'' Jim Harbaugh said Monday. ''A blessing because that is my brother's team. And, also, personally I played for the Ravens. Great respect for their organization. ... The curse part would be the talk of two brothers playing in the Super Bowl and what that takes away from the players that are in the game. Every moment that you're talking about myself or John, that's less time that the players are going to be talked about.''
Both men love history, just not the kind with them making it.
''I like reading a lot of history ... I guess it's pretty neat,'' John Harbaugh offered Monday. ''But is it really going to be written about? It's not exactly like Churchill and Roosevelt or anything. It's pretty cool, but that's as far as it goes.''
Nice try, guys.
John watched the end of Jim's game from the field in Foxborough, Mass., as Baltimore warmed up for the AFC championship game. Jim called his sister's family from the team plane before takeoff after a win at Atlanta and asked how his big brother's team was doing against New England.
The improbable Super Bowl features a set of brothers known around the NFL as fierce competitors unafraid to make a bold move during the season. Unafraid to upset anyone who stands in their way.
In fact, each one made a major change midseason to get this far - John fired his offensive coordinator, while Jim boosted his offense with a quarterback switch from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick.
Leading up to Sunday's games, parents Jack and Jackie said they would wait to decide whether to travel to New Orleans if both teams advanced or stick to what has been working so well - watching from the comfort of their couch in Mequon, Wis.
''We enjoy it very much. We get down in our basement, turn on the television and just have a fantastic day watching outstanding football,'' Jack said last week. ''We share our misery with no one but ourselves. Not only the misery, but the ups and downs, the ins and outs of an outstanding professional game.''
And, no, the Harbaughs weren't looking ahead to a potential big trip to the Big Easy.
Jack insists his wife is quick to pull out that old sports cliche: ''It's one game at a time. I think it's very appropriate,'' he said.
Jim figures they won't possibly miss this history-making game.
''I think they'll be there,'' he said with a smile.
The brothers, separated in age by 15 months, have taken different paths to football's biggest stage - years after their intense games of knee football at the family home. They tried to beat each other at cards, or whatever other game it was at the time. Sometimes, they tried to beat each other up. Sister, Joani Crean, often got in on the fun, too.
The 49-year-old Jim never reached a Super Bowl, falling a last-gasp pass short during a 15-year NFL career as a quarterback. The 50-year-old John never played in the NFL.
Still, both will tell you, ''Who's got it better than us? No-body!'' - one catchphrase they got from their dad.
''We can't put into words what it means to see John and Jim achieve this incredible milestone,'' their brother-in-law, Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean, said on Twitter. ''We talked to Jim (before) his team plane left. All he wanted to know was how was John doing? How were they playing? One incredible family who puts the care, well-being and love for each other at the forefront like most families do. Again, we are very proud of them. Going to be exciting to watch it unfold.''
John worked his way up from the bottom of the coaching ranks, while Jim was the star college quarterback at Michigan, a first-round draft pick and eventual Pro Bowler who made coaching his career once he retired.
John already has the one-up, while Jim's team is the early favorite. John's Ravens beat the 49ers 16-6 on Thanksgiving night 2011, in Jim's rookie season as an NFL coach - though both know that means nothing now.
''I just want everybody to know, that was a four-day deal and every story has been told,'' John said. ''We're not that interesting. There's nothing more to learn. The tape across the middle of the room story, OK, you got it? It's OK. It was just like any other family, really. I really hope the focus is not so much on that. We get it, it's really cool and it's exciting and all that.''
Said Jim, ''Completely new business.''
In spite of his efforts to avoid the topic, Jim did take the opportunity to express how proud he is of John.
''He's a great football coach, a real grasp of all phases - offense, defense, special teams. I think he could coordinate at least two of those phases and do it as well as anyone in the league,'' Jim said. ''I've got half the amount of coaching experience he does. Again, it's not about us. I keep coming back to that. I'm really proud of my brother. I love him. That's the blessing part, that this is happening to him.''
Source:-http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jim-john-harbaugh-ready-rematch-214007555--nfl.html;_ylt=AmhNWUTm5AYYGwDgXceOgQc5nYcB;_ylu=X3oDMTRsZGR1cTlxBG1pdANMSVNUUyBNaXhlZCBMaXN0IEZQIEhlYWRsaW5lcwRwa2cDYmQyNWExY2ItMGY4NS0zZTEzLWIxNTYtMDQ3YjlhMmEwYTBjBHBvcwMxBHNlYwNNZWRpYUJMaXN0TWl4ZWRMUENBVGVtcAR2ZXIDZTcyNTk4ZDAtNjQyMy0xMWUyLWJmY2QtZGNjYjk3OTNkYzdm;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3
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