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NBA suspends training camps indefinitely

File this under not surprising news-

NEW YORK — The lockout has started doing real damage to the NBA’s calendar.

Players won’t report at the usual time. The preseason won’t start as scheduled.

And more cancellations could be necessary without a new labor deal soon.

Out of time to keep everything intact, the NBA postponed training camps indefinitely and canceled 43 preseason games Friday because it has not reached an agreement with players.

All games from Oct. 9-15 are off, the league said. Camps were expected to open Oct. 3.

“We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” deputy commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We will make further decisions as warranted.”

The players’ association did not comment.

I don’t expect their to be another NBA game this year. This kind of labor conflict is usually protracted and nothing will get done till the season is on the verge of being lost. As NHL fans know from 2004-2005, even then the dispute can go over the cliff taking a whole season with it.

I have no sympathy for either owners or players. The players are rich and overindulged, the owners of small market NBA teams had to know when going in that they had little chance of making the franchise they were purchasing into NBA Championship contenders/moneymakers.

 

Former College and NBA Head Coach Fred Schaus dead at 84

He led the Mountaineers to six straight NCAA tournament berths and one finals appearance. Before that he played in the NBA for two teams, including the New York Knicks.RIP.

Fred Schaus, a former Los Angeles Lakers coach and general manager who mentored Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley at West Virginia, has died. He was 84.Fred Schaus

The former West Virginia University coach and athletic director died Wednesday night in Morgantown, said Dan Hastings, a funeral director at Hastings Funeral Home in Morgantown. Schaus had been living in a nursing home. The cause of death wasn’t immediately released.

“Fred’s passing brings finality to a relationship that began in 1955, when he first came to our house to introduce himself as the coach of West Virginia University,” West said in a statement released by the school.

A Cabin Creek native, West recalled Schaus telling him WVU would be the place for him to attend school and have an opportunity to play basketball.

“At that point in my life, he was the first coach to show interest in me,” West said. “I was thrilled beyond words and to this day, I remember much about our meeting. Little did I know what a long-lasting relationship we would have.”

Born in Newark, Ohio, Schaus became the first Mountaineers player to score 1,000 career points. He was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft and played five seasons with the Fort Wayne Pistons and New York Knicks.

He compiled a 127-26 record as head coach at West Virginia from 1954 to 1960, including six straight NCAA tournament berths. The Mountaineers, led by West, advanced to the NCAA championship game in 1959, losing to California 71-70.

Schaus followed West to the Lakers, going 315-245 in seven seasons as head coach and guiding the team to four NBA finals before becoming general manager in 1967. The 1972 Lakers, behind West and Wilt Chamberlain, won a then-record 69 games in the regular season and beat the Knicks for the NBA title.

“We shared many incredible experiences, both joyous and painful, during our years together at WVU and then as my coach with the Los Angeles Lakers,” West said. “As a young man with little experience with the outside world, he became my mentor and sounding board as I progressed as an athlete and as a person.”

Schaus returned to the college ranks in 1972, going 105-59 in six seasons as head coach at Purdue. He also served as athletic director at West Virginia from 1981-89 before he retired. Schaus was inducted into his alma mater’s athletics hall of fame in 1992.

 

NBA Hall of Famer Dick McGuire dead at 84

He spent over 50 years with the New York Knicks first as a player, then as a coach, and eventually in the team’s front office. His brother Al was a successful college coach. RIP.

Dick McGuire, a basketball Hall of Famer and longtime member of the New York Knicks organization, died Wednesday of natural causes. He was 84.Dick McGuire

The Knicks said McGuire died at Huntington Hospital in Long Island. McGuire still worked for the Knicks as a senior basketball consultant.

McGuire was a part of the Knicks’ organization for 53 of its 64 seasons.

“Dick McGuire was the epitome of what it means to be a Knickerbocker: pride, tradition and class,” Knicks president Donnie Walsh said in a statement. “It was an honor to watch him play for our hometown team and I consider myself very lucky to say I worked alongside a man who shaped the National Basketball Association for parts of all eight decades of its existence.”

A Bronx native, McGuire was a five-time All-Star and led the Knicks to three straight NBA Finals from 1951-53. He went on to serve the team as a coach, assistant coach and scout. His No. 15 was retired in 1992 and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame a year later.

McGuire still ranks third on the Knicks’ career list with 2,950 assists.

“As one of its first superstars, Dick was instrumental to the early success of the NBA,” commissioner David Stern said in a statement. “Whether as player, coach, scout or consultant, Dick loyally served the New York Knicks organization.”

Nicknamed “Tricky Dick,” McGuire was born Jan. 26, 1926, in New York, part of a famed basketball family. His younger brother, Al, also played for the Knicks and later won a national championship as coach of Marquette — before being himself inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992.

Dick McGuire played collegiately at St. John’s and was picked by the Knicks in the first round of the 1949 draft. He played eight seasons for the team before he was traded to the Detroit Pistons on April 3, 1957, for a first-round pick. McGuire spent his final three seasons with the Pistons.

 

Record rout- Dallas annihilates New York 128-78

How many more games half as bad as today’s can Mike D’Antoni withstand before losing his job?

Jose Barea kept finding unimpeded paths on his drives to the basket, and two things became clear.

The Dallas Mavericks couldn’t be stopped, and the New York Knicks didn’t seem interested in proving otherwise.

Dallas put on a shooting clinic that crushed the Knicks’ spirits, ignoring the absence of two starters and rolling to the biggest win in franchise history with a 128-78 victory Sunday.

“They took our heart out of us,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said.

Drew Gooden stepped into the lineup with 15 points and 18 rebounds, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry each scored 20 points, and the Mavericks beat the Knicks for the eighth straight time. Dallas shot 58 percent from the field, was 12 of 22 from beyond the arc and 16 of 17 from the foul line.

Today was the worst home loss in almost 50 years for the Knicks. Dallas hasn’t lost a game to New York since 2006.

Even after today’s embarrassing defeat, the Knicks(17-26) are no where being the worst professional basketball team in the New York City area. The New Jersey Nets who lost last night are 3-40 and are on an eleven game losing streak at present. At the moment, I don’t think the Nets will reach double figures in wins this season.

 

NY Knicks Nate Robinson fined $25,000 for agent’s remarks

He wants a trade and has been benched by Coach Mike D’Antoni. From AP-

New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for remarks made by his agent.Nate Robinson

The penalty was issued Monday. Robinson has been benched for 12 straight games by coach Mike D’Antoni.

Agent Aaron Goodwin recently told reporters he’d asked the Knicks to move Robinson to another team.

The NBA also fined former Golden State Warrior Stephen Jackson for publicly demanding a trade. I hold to the same view on Robinson that I took in regards to Jackson. If the Knicks can’t trade Robinson, they should swallow his salary and cut him loose. In any case, he is of no use to the team as long as he is benched by D’Antoni.

 

Who called the timeout?- NY Knicks beat New Orleans 113-96

The last time New York last won 4 or more games in a row was 2006. From AP-

The New York Knicks were making shot after shot, ready to go down the stretch with the New Orleans Hornets.NYK-NOH

Turned out, they didn’t have to. The Hornets pretty much took the last five minutes off.

Al Harrington scored 28 points and the Knicks scored the game’s final 18 points to beat the Hornets 113-96 on Friday night.

“Our defense was horrible,” Paul said. “We’ve had a few games where our defense was good, but not tonight, and it was obvious we couldn’t buy a shot.”

Before the Knicks closing streak, the two teams were only separated by one shot. I’m guessing New Orleans got demoralized after the Knicks ran off 8-10 points and gave up. Pro athletes are human, when life or a sports game isn’t breaking our way, we lose interest.

With the win, the Knicks improved to 8-15. This recent winning streak has probably made Coach Mike D’Antoni’s job a little more secure. But for how long?

 

NY Knick Nate Robinson not benched for shooting at the wrong basket

Was he trying to earn infamy like the NFL’s Jim Marshall did? From AP-

Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni says Nate Robinson was not benched for taking a shot at the wrong basket Saturday.

The Knicks inbounded to Robinson in the backcourt with 0.5 seconds left in the first quarter of their 98-91 victory at New Jersey. Rather than just hold the ball, or heave one at the basket the Knicks were attacking, Robinson turned and shot at the wrong basket. The shot went in, but it was released after the buzzer and didn’t count.

D’Antoni yelled at Robinson on the court between quarters.

“When you’re 2-9, which we were at the time, I think any distractions are bad,” D’Antoni said Sunday before the Knicks played Boston. “If our whole focus is not on trying to win and turn this thing around, then it’s not right and it’s not something we want to do, and it’s just one incident and we’ll go on and we’ll see what happens today.”

Robinson played only six minutes all game, leading to speculation he was benched. But D’Antoni said he just felt other players, such as starting guard Larry Hughes, were playing better.

Robinson has been childish in his actions before. I think the shot at the wrong basket was deliberate.

Here’s the video-

The New Jersey Nets went to 0-13 with their loss in this game. Next up- a 4-game road trip to Denver, Portland, Sacremento, and the LA Lakers. I suspect New Jersey will start the month of December still looking for their first victory.

 

Former U of Cincinnati and NY Knick Center Paul Hogue dead at 69

Even though he played with Oscar Robertson who was famous for his rebounding ability, it was Hogue who set many of the Bearcats’ records. RIP

Paul “Duke” Hogue, a star center on Cincinnati’s back-to-back national championship basketball teams, has died at age 69.

His wife of 43 years, Patti Hogue, said he died Monday of heart and kidney failure.

The 6-foot-9-inch center helped lead the Bearcats to NCAA championships in 1961 and 1962, both times defeating Jerry Lucas-led Ohio State squads in the title games.

Hogue was chosen the most outstanding player in the 1962 NCAA tournament. He scored 36 points against UCLA in the semifinals.

Hogue was a first-round pick of the New York Knicks in the 1962 NBA draft, playing two seasons for the Knicks and the Baltimore Bullets.

 

NBA Iron man Randy Smith dead at age 60

He once held the NBA record for consecutive games played. RIP.

Randy Smith, a blindingly fast All-Star with the Buffalo Braves in the 1970s who once held the NBA record for consecutive games, died while working out on a treadmill. He was 60.

He had a massive heart attack Thursday while exercising at the Connecticut casino where he worked, son-in-law Lekan Bashua told The Associated Press on Friday.

Smith was pronounced dead at William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich. The Mohegan Sun Casino declined to comment on circumstances surrounding the death, citing medical confidentiality laws.

Jack Ramsay, Smith’s coach in Buffalo, called the 6-foot-3 guard the best athlete he ever coached.

“He had stamina, great speed and developed into a very good player,” Ramsay said Friday from the NBA Finals in Los Angeles. “And was so fun to be around. There was not a bad day in Randy’s life.”

Smith was drafted by the Braves in the seventh round in 1971 and averaged more than 13 points in his rookie season. He went on to play 13 years in the NBA and appeared in 906 consecutive games from 1972-83. His mark was broken by A.C. Green in 1997.

“He played hurt, gave it 100 percent and took pride in that,” said Durie Burns, a college teammate of Smith’s at Buffalo State.

Smith was a good shooter and great jumper who wowed fans with reverse dunks. He was one of the most popular players in Braves history, and in teaming with scoring champion Bob McAdoo he helped make the Braves under Ramsay one of the league’s exciting clubs.

“We could run,” Ramsay said, “and nobody could keep up with Randy’s sheer speed.”

 

Former NBA player Glen Gondrezick dead at 53

He played for the Knicks and Nuggets during the 70′s and 80′s. More recently he worked as announcer for his alma mater UNLV. RIP.

Former UNLV basketball star Glen Gondrezick, who later played for the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets before turning to broadcasting, has died. He was 53.

School officials and close friend Bobby Gleason said Gondrezick died Monday at St. Rose Hospital in Henderson, Nev., after apparent complications from a heart transplant that he received last September.

“From what the doctors told us, the body just rejected the heart,” Gleason said. “Gondo never gave up. The heart did.”

Gondrezick starred on the Rebels’ Final Four team in 1977, and his jersey No. 25 was retired by the program in 1997. He ranks 16th on the school’s career scoring list with 1,311 points, and his 831 rebounds rank ninth.

“He was only 6-foot-6. The hustle is what made him,” said former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian. “He would dive on the floor. He would take charges. If they kept that stat, he would have led the nation in taking charges.

“He was a fierce competitor and a very loyal guy. I’m going to miss him so much.”

Gondrezick played for the Knicks and Nuggets from 1977 to 1983, and later spent 17 years doing color commentary on UNLV basketball broadcasts.

 
 


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