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Remarks they made in a Wednesday night game offended at least one fan. From AP-
Clippers longtime play-by-play announcer Ralph Lawler and color analyst Michael Smith were suspended one game by the Fox Sports Prime Ticket cable network for their comments about Memphis center Hamed Haddadi.
Lawler and Smith made their off-the-cuff comments about the Iranian-born center during Wednesday night’s telecast from Memphis. The on-air banter offended a viewer who e-mailed Fox to complain.
The duo did not work Friday’s night telecast against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center. Michael Eaves and Don MacLean, who regularly serve as halftime and postgame analysts on the Clippers telecasts, substituted for Lawler and Smith at courtside.
What was it said that led to the suspension? I will put it beneath the fold. IMHO, it’s all pretty lame.
Smith: “Look who’s in.”
Lawler: “Hamed Haddadi. Where’s he from?”
Smith: “He’s the first Iranian to play in the NBA.” (Smith pronounced Iranian as “Eye-ranian,” a pronunciation that offended the viewer who complained.)
Lawler: “There aren’t any Iranian players in the NBA,” repeating Smith’s mispronunciation.
Smith: “He’s the only one.”
Lawler: “He’s from Iran?”
Smith: “I guess so.”
Lawler: “That Iran?”
Smith: “Yes.”
Lawler: “The real Iran?”
Smith: “Yes.”
Lawler: “Wow. Haddadi that’s H-A-D-D-A-D-I.”
Smith: “You’re sure it’s not Borat’s older brother?”
Smith: “If they ever make a movie about Haddadi, I’m going to get Sacha Baron Cohen to play the part.”
Lawler: “Here’s Haddadi. Nice little back-door pass. I guess those Iranians can pass the ball.”
Smith: “Especially the post players.
Lawler: “I don’t know about their guards.”
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Shades of Sam Bowie? From AP-
Blake Griffin’s NBA debut has been pushed back indefinitely after the Los Angeles Clippers revealed late Monday night that their No. 1 overall draft pick has a broken left kneecap.
The stress fracture could sideline the Oklahoma star for six weeks, the team announced, promising further information Tuesday.
Griffin, who averaged 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game during the preseason, won’t be in the Clippers’ lineup when they face the Lakers in their opener Tuesday night, and he could be out much longer. The Clippers play 20 games in their first six weeks of the regular season.
Griffin apparently broke his kneecap during the Clippers’ final exhibition game against New Orleans last Friday, perhaps after a dunk that left the power forward wincing in pain. The team initially said Griffin only had a sore left knee, making him questionable for the opener, before revealing the break.
Griffin was the consensus college player of the year with 22.7 points and an NCAA-best 14.4 rebounds per game last season for the Sooners.
I’ve watched the video of the dunk and Griffin came up in pain immediately after the play. With Griffin injured, the Clippers look likely to have another top pick in the 2010 NBA draft
The victims were basketball players from Israel. From AP-
Police say $22,000 in cash and valuables were stolen from a visiting Israeli basketball team during an exhibition game with the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.
Lt. Albert Gavin says somebody apparently got into the locker room Tuesday and stole watches, jewelry and $15,000 in cash from 10 members of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv.
Gavin says the team noticed the theft during halftime of Maccabi’s 108-96 loss.
Gavin says police weren’t notified of the theft until after the game and weren’t able to get statements from the victims.
Locker rooms at many sporting facilities are under heavy guard. Could this robbery been an inside job?
The Basketball Hall of Famer claims he was unceremoniously let go because of his age and race. From AP-
Elgin Baylor, the former Los Angeles Clippers general manager who left the team last fall after 22 years, has sued the franchise, the NBA and team owner Donald Sterling alleging employment discrimination.
Dr. Taylor at Poliblog nails the absurdity of this suit right on the head.
Recognizing that I have no access to the facts under dispute, as a lay person observing sports for many years now, it is difficult to take seriously such claims when Baylor oversaw, for over two decades, one of the worst pro franchises of any professional sport ever.
Indeed, I can’t think of a similar run of futility that didn’t result in multiple firings. Has anyone in recent memory been allowed to run a team for over two decades with a record anywhere similar to that which the Clippers managed?
Mikel Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals has a .351 winning percentage since taking over as the owner of the team. If anyone wants to tally up Baylor’s record and see who came out on bottom, feel free to let me know in the comments section.
His 11-year career in the NBA ends with a whimper. From AP-
New York Knicks guard Cuttino Mobley retired from the NBA on Thursday because of heart disease that he said has gotten worse.
Mobley said doctors told him he faced significant risks if he kept playing. The 11-year veteran said by walking away now, he could live a long life.
Mobley, 33, announced his decision at a news conference at the Knicks’ training center, where he confirmed he has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The condition causes the heart muscle to thicken, making it harder to pump blood, and he said he had no choice but to end his career.
“The specialists I’ve seen made it clear that my heart condition has gotten worse and I couldn’t continue to play professional basketball without putting my health and life in serious danger,” Mobley said. “As much as I want to keep playing in the NBA, I have no choice but to follow the advice of my doctors and step away from the league.”
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in people under 30 years old and was linked to the deaths of former Boston Celtics forward Reggie Lewis and Loyola Marymount star Hank Gathers.
Your health is more important than basketball Cuttino. Good luck in retirement.
He was supposed to be part of a four player trade between the two NBA teams. From ESPN-
Zach Randolph was in the Los Angeles Clippers’ locker room Tuesday night. He just wasn’t in a Clippers’ uniform, as the trade between Los Angeles and the New York Knicks was held up by what a source said were concerns about Cuttino Mobley’s heart.
Mobley and Tim Thomas were sent to New York in exchange for Randolph and Mardy Collins on Friday in a deal that gives the Clippers a low post presence in Randolph and gives the Knicks more cap space for the 2010 free-agent market.
Mobley’s and Thomas’ contracts expire before the 2010 season.
The source said Mobley would see a heart specialist on Tuesday. Normally players have 48 hours to report to their new teams and take a physical examination, followed by another 24 hours for all the test results to come in. Because this trade was completed after business hours on Friday, the teams agreed to an additional 24-hour period, which ends at 6:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.
When asked about ESPN.com’s report by reporters after the Clippers game on Monday, coach Mike Dunleavy said: “From the standpoint of Cuttino’s concern, there’s nothing they have or don’t have that hasn’t been known to us or hasn’t been approved by us and all the other teams he’s played for. Neither one of those guys has had any issues with any of the things that are even being talked about.
As someone who lived with a heart defect for 47 years before needing it to be repaired, I can say a heart issue shouldn’t automatically cancel any deal. The Knicks are just being careful, as they don’t want to spend 9 million dollars a year on a player who can’t take part in any games.
ESPN’s Chad Ford offers the Sports Leader’s take on the impending NBA Draft.
It’s almost draft day, and the picture is getting clearer and fuzzier simultaneously.
We’ve been able to narrow down the list of prospects that each team is considering, but two things stand in the way of getting a complete picture.
One, this is a time when many GMs are notorious for dropping smoke screens. A source in Memphis swears the team is taking Joakim Noah. Another says to bank on the Grizzlies’ taking Mike Conley. Someone is misinformed or bluffing.
Two, there is a flurry of trade conversation, starting with Memphis, Boston, Charlotte and Chicago all talking about trading away their lottery picks. Meanwhile teams such as Golden State, Phoenix and the Lakers are trying hard to move up. Others — like Portland, Indiana and Toronto — are trying to get in or grab another pick.
The talk in Phoenix about trading up in the draft has gotten so hot that the Suns have gotten Noah, Jeff Green and Corey Brewer to agree to a workout on Tuesday. They’ll try to add Brandan Wright as a fourth. That shows you how much players want to play in Phoenix — they’ll drop everything just for the chance. It could be the most competitive workout of the draft.
Their consensus draft board:
1. Portland Trailblazers – Greg Oden – C
2. Portland Trailblazers – Kevin Durant – SF – Texas
3. Atlanta Hawks – Al Horford – PF – Florida
4. Memphis Grizzlies – Mike Conley – PG- Ohio State
5. Boston Celtics – Yi Jianlian – PF – China
6. Milwaukee Bucks – Jeff Green – SF – Georgetown
7. Minnesota Timberwolves – Joakim Noah – PF – Florida
8. Charlotte Bobcats – Corey Brewer – SG – Florida
9. Chicago Bulls (via New York Knicks) – Spencer Hawes – C- Washington
10. Sacramento Kings- Brandan Wright – PF – North Carolina
11. Atlanta Hawks (via Indiana Pacers) – Acie Law – PG – Texas A&M
12. Philadelphia 76ers – Al Thornton – SF – Florida State
13. New Orleans Hornets – Nick Young – SG- USC
14. L.A. Clippers – Julian Wright – SF – Kansas
15. Detroit Pistons (via Orlando Magic) – Rodney Stuckey SG – Eastern Wash.
Click the link for more in-depth analysis and for the second half of the draft.
For Shaq’s 35th Birthday ESPN saw fit to rank the top 10 centers of all time and I can’t disagree with #1 at all.
As for his achievements: 1967-68 USBWA College Player of the Year; 1969 Naismith Award; Six-time NBA MVP; Six-time NBA Champion; Two-time Finals MVP; NBA Rookie of the Year (1970); and NBA Hall of Fame (1995).
Like no other player, Abdul-Jabbar embodied the maestro team brilliance of Bill Russell and the individual excellence of Wilt Chamberlain. His NBA cup runneth over: six championships, a record six MVPs and a Finals MVP award … at 38 years old!
Possessed the single most unstoppable shot in NBA history — the sky hook — but more than that, he was clutch, consistent and underrated in the toughness department.
He was the starting center on six championship teams and had the presence of mind to cohabitate with stars like Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and James Worthy.
He’s the all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points; was named to the All-NBA Defensive team 11 times; and is the only modern era player to lead the league at least once in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, minutes played, field-goal percentage and PER.
However, in their explanation of choosing Kareem as #1 I believe they left out on of the most amazing things about Kareem’s career. His expected arrival in the college ranks led to directly to a preemptive rule change by NCAA when they banned the dunk after the 1967 season and reinstated it shortly after his departure from UCLA. No other player that I can think of recieved the same treatment. While the rule was made mostly to limit his size advantage, it didn’t slow Kareem down as UCLA went 88-2 while he was a player.
The other thing to ponder about this list would is where Bill Walton would be if he hadn’t the chronic injury problems.
As for the complete list:
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2. Wilt Chamberlain
3. Bill Russell
4. Shaquille O’Neal
5. Hakeem Olajuwon
6. Moses Malone
7. Bill Walton
8. David Robinson
9. George Mikan
10. Patrick Ewing
Despite optimistic early reports an MRI showed that not only did Shaun Livingston dislocate his tibia-femoral and patella, he tore his MCL (medial collateral ligament), ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), and lateral meniscus. For those keeping track it means he tore three out of the four key knee ligaments that hold the knee together (he didn’t tear the LCL [lateral collateral ligament]). For the one piece of good news, Livingston did not damage any nerves or tear an artery (which happened to San Jose State football player Neil Parry and led to his leg being amputated about seven inches below the knee). Livingston will likely face multiple surgeries, many months of rehab and is expect to miss the next 8 to 12 months. I wish him the best of luck on the road to recovery; I’ve seen my fair share of knee ligament tears and what it takes to get your knee back into shape.
Warning: In the link to the ESPN story, they have a video link showing the injury as it happened during the game. It’s not obscene but definitely not for the squeamish, its one of those Theisman-esque injuries.
Pat Riley is stepping aside as coach of the Heat indefinitely, although he plans to be back in time for the stretch run.
Miami Heat coach Pat Riley will take an indefinite leave of absence because of ongoing hip and knee problems, and top assistant Ron Rothstein will fill his spot on an interim basis.
The 61-year-old Riley disclosed his plans Wednesday, two days before he’ll undergo surgery to remove floating chips in his right knee. He will not be with the team Wednesday night when it hosts the Los Angeles Clippers.
“I’m just tired of the pain and the medication,” said Riley, who said there is no timetable for when he would like to return.
But he insisted he plans to be back with the defending champions.
“I’m going to be displaced for a while, but not disconnected at all,” Riley said.
Riley, who also is the Heat president, is in his 12th season with the organization and 10th year as its coach. He resigned as coach shortly before the 2003-04 season, then returned to the bench in December 2005, replacing Stan Van Gundy and postponing right hip replacement surgery. In September, Riley said he didn’t expect to need the operation this season.
But his condition apparently worsened in recent weeks. He often walks with a limp and has been on medication for the hip.
“I’m tired of the grinding,” Riley said.
I heard the press conference while waiting around to hear the Nick Saban introduction at Alabama (since rescheduled for 11 ET tomorrow). Riley sounds like a broken man. I hope the surgery frees him from the pain.
Additional thoughts from Bill Jempty- Pat Riley either plans to come back or he’s a control freak. Stan Van Gundy, Riley’s predecessor as Heat coach, is essentially getting paid to do nothing. Van Gundy is a consultant, but never has his job been defined by anyone in the organization. Why not put Van Gundy back in control of the team rather than Rothstein?
Especially if one considers Rothstein’s coaching credentials. Miami was an expansion team when Rothstein coached it but then his short time in Detroit wasn’t impressive either.
Riley doesn’t like Van Gundy and probably sees him as a threat if Stan were able to get the underperforming Heat to play well. That’s my take on the situation.
Take all of what I say with a grain of salt. My interest in basketball is very limited other than the Heat.
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