Tag: Miami Heat

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Happy New Year!


1. Kevin Likes It! He Really Likes It!
Well, at long last, the leather ball has returned and it has already been approved by Kevin Garnett. The Minnesota forward put up a season high 32 points against Charlotte in the NBA’s first game with the new old ball. “There is a God,” said Garnett. And K.G. wasn’t the only one feeling the magic of the rock. Four other players scored 20 or more points in the contest. The Celtics seemed to enjoy the change as well. After losing to Seattle on New Year’s Eve with the synthetic ball, Boston opened 2007 with a win over Portland, shooting 44 percent and snapping a six game losing streak in the process.

2. Philly Comes to Town
It wasn’t that long ago when Allen Iverson wore a Sixers uniform. Now, after over a decade of hoops, Iverson will play his first game against Philadelphia. Philly has been a joke all year long and A.I. would love nothing more than to make this reunion a memorable one. Obviously, he could do so by leading his new team to a victory over his old team but, he can also etch his name into the record books with a high scoring performance. If Iverson can drop 40 on his old franchise then he will move into fourth place on the list of players with the most games of 40 or more. The Answer is currently tied with Oscar Robertson with 77 such games. Only Wilt Chamberlain (271), Michael Jordan (173) and Elgin Baylor (88) are ahead of Iverson on the list.

3. Shaq’s Back?
Coaches around the league are searching for a team schedule as they are looking to see when they have to play Miami next. That’s because Shaquille O’Neal is expected to return to the Heat’s lineup on January 15. And what a surprise, if all goes according to plan then Shaq first game back will be against his old Los Angeles Lakers team. Consider it a late Christmas present since Shaq missed the now traditional L.A. versus Miami X-Mas match-up. But late is better than never as Miami has struggled this season and they are currently sitting in third place in their division.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Kevin Garnett @ Charlotte 42 min, 32 pts (FG: 12-18, FT: 8-10), 14 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Phoenix (21-8) @ Chicago (19-12) Chicago has the best home record in the league and they will need to take full advantage of their crowd’s support as the Suns come to town. Phoenix is only 9-5 on the road but most of their road woes came early in the season. Steve Nash and Co. has won nine of their last ten away from home. No team has hotter than the Bulls recently and a four-time Defensive Player of the Year might be the only person that can slow down a now healthy Amare Stoudemire.

Buzzer Beater: Denver is not the safest place to live if you are a professional athlete. Just ask Nuggets guard Julius Hodge who was shot four times on April 8, 2006. Hodge considers himself lucky to be alive after the drive-by shooting. Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was not so fortunate after he was gunned down inside of his limousine. Oddly enough, Williams was killed in the same neighborhood where Hodge currently lives.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Carmelo-Dramatics


1. Denver’s Expedition
Well, not too many people saw this coming. While missing four players to suspensions from the brawl in New York, including the leagues leading scorer, Denver rallied around the team’s veterans and defeated Washington 117-108. Earl Boykins put up 29 points, Andre Miller had 27, and Marcus Camby finished the night with 25 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks to fill the void left in the absence of Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith. The also managed to keep Gilbert Arenas in check with only 23 points after he lit up the Lakers for 60. Good job Denver, only 14 more games to go.

2. Points Taken
With only a week left before Christmas, David Stern was in the giving spirit on Monday as he handed out 47 games worth of suspensions and $1 million in fines to the Knicks and Nuggets. In doing so, he eliminated the league’s leading scorer from competition until January 20, 2007. Now, the NBA’s two best scorers in Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson are at home watching and waiting for their returns. The two combine for 62.8 points and what’s ironic is that the duo might be on the verge of teaming up. If the trade is still going to happen, Denver would love to get Iverson suited up sooner rather than later thanks to Melo’s moronic eruption.

3. Just Another Day at the Office
As amazing as his season has been so far, Jason Kidd is beginning to actually make getting a triple-double boring. Kidd now has six triple-doubles on the season and 81 in his career as he put up 10 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in a 105-97 defeat of Golden State. That gives him four triple-dips in his last seven games. So, for anybody that’s keeping score at home, that’s six for Kidd and four for the rest of the league. Unfortunately for Kidd, his spectacular play still can’t make New Jersey respectable in a pathetic Atlantic Division.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Marcus Camby vs. Washington 34 min, 25 pts (FG: 9-13, FT: 7-10), 17 reb, 5 ast, 7 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Lakers (16-8) @ Chicago (14-10) The Bulls are as hot as any team in the NBA right now. They’ve won 11 out of their last 12 games, including four in a row, and they own a 10-2 record in Chicago. The Lakers are playing on the road for only the eighth time this season. Kobe Bryant has been abusing defenders to the tune of 43.7 points per game since Lamar Odom went down with an injury. Tonight shouldn’t be any different as Bryant will look to fly in the house that Jordan built.

Buzzer Beater: At 36 years old, Alonzo Mourning is still getting it done in the paint. Last night against the Hornets, Zo played like he did when the Hornets were still in Charlotte. Mourning contributed a solid 11 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in the game as he continues to fill in for the injured Shaquille O’Neal. While the Heat has never lost faith in their former franchise player, Mourning’s level of production has to be unexpected to say the least. No matter how many players dunk on Zo’s head, he remains a viable defensive force for Miami.

Categories
Boxing

Dec 14 in Sports History: The first black heavyweight champion


In 1908: Jack Johnson became the first black world heavyweight champion in boxing by knocking out Tommy Burns (who had to be paid $30,000 because he initially refused to fight a black man) in Sidney, Australia. Accounts from the fight say that Johnson literally knocked the much lighter Burns out while Burns was still on his feet and the fight had to be stopped. Johnson had a career record of 79-8 with 46 knockouts, 12 draws and 14 no decisions (which some believed were attributed to biased judges). Interestingly, he would become a fugitive for several years (while still champion) for transporting a white woman across state lines “for immoral purposes.” He was charged in court by Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, the future first commissioner of baseball. His story is documented on a PBS special called “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson”.

In 1988: The Miami Heat, much like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, set a standard for expansion futility when they lost their first 17 games in the NBA. The got off the schneid by beating the equally pathetic Los Angeles Clippers 89-88. The Heat were built to suck that year, as they featured a starting lineup anchored by Rony Seikaly and Pat Cummings; and no player made more than $650,000. They finished 15-67. A little trivia: which division did the Heat play in that first year?

In 1984: ABC’s “Monday Night Football” became a lot less controversial, but also a lot less interesting as commentator Howard Cosell retired. Whether fans loved him or hated the former New York lawyer, they always tuned in to watch him. Many believe that MNF went downhill after Cosell left because a good replacement was never found (simply because there was only one Cosell). Cosell always had to “tell it like it is“, whether raging about the “jockocracy,” or calling a player an idiot. His most memorable moments during MNF were suddenly announcing the murder of John Lennon during a game and calling Redskins receiver Alvin Garrett a “little monkey.” Cosell died in 1995. A few other interesting facts about Cosell: he never announced a Super Bowl and he once hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Crisis in Canada



Chris Bosh’s raptor impersonation

1. Immune Deficiency
Chris Bosh has recently been diagnosed with Garnett’s Disease. Named after the most famous patient of the illness, the virus affects the entire franchise and leaves only one player to attempt to defend the well-being of the team as a whole. The human body is not built to withstand such an attack, but Bosh is considered to be an extreme case in which the patient actually defies the medical statistics and proceeds to thrive off of the virus. However, his life span remains in question as long as the infection goes untreated. One method of treatment involves an injection of new coaches, followed by a strict regiment of acquiring appropriate talent and drafting healthy bodies. The more controversial procedure involves transplanting the affected patient to a more stable environment conducive to playoff appearances. In the mean time, Bosh has been ordered to continue scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds every game.

2. Carmelo’s Juice
Carmelo Anthony has been out-running, out-jumping and out-scoring opponents throughout November, and now we know what’s been giving him that extra edge. It’s his “ghetto Kool-Aid.” That’s how Melo refers to his new Mountain Dew, Red Bull concoction named C1.5 Extreme Energy Drink. The league might want to check into the contents of the beverage because Anthony’s been tweaking up and down the court for over 30 a game. The product is only available in the Syracuse, N.Y. area until late December when it will be unleashed on Denver. Rumor has it that the NBA’s version of Droopy Dog, Jeff Van Gundy, has been eagerly anticipating the national release.

3. Load Bearing Joints
Jason Williams had surgery on his right knee in July and has recently complained of frustration due to lingering pain that has kept him from making a full return. Why is this important? Well, Shaquille O’Neal recently had surgery on his left knee and claims that he will be able to make a full recovery. Now, White Chocolate is 6-1, 180 pounds and his knee can’t take the impact. How is Shaq’s knee going to hold up to 35 minutes of running underneath a 7-1, 325 pound frame? As dominant as the Diesel has been over his career, he is obviously in the declining years, and injuries to the knees have been known to end careers. I’ve heard Shaq say in interviews that he plans to play for at least another five years; unfortunately, I’m not sure his body can make the same long term plans.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Joe Johnson vs. Charlotte 43 min, 36 pts (FG: 13-24, 3FG: 5-11, FT: 5-5), 3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Utah (13-3) @ Los Angeles Lakers (9-5) The Lakers lost to the Jazz last Friday in Salt Lake City but Kobe and crew are a much better team inside the friendly confines of the Staples Center where they are 8-2. The Jazz got a big win last night over the Spurs to snap a two game losing streak; tonight they hope to avoid closing out the month of November losing three of four after starting off 12-1.

Buzzer Beater: Pacers forward Al Harrington will never live up to his potential. Sure, he’ll give you a glimpse of his true ability from time to time, like last night when he scored 28 against Golden State with 6-8 shooting from down town. Or the two games this season when he scored 32 points, both in wins. Or the two games in which he grabbed 18 and 14 rebounds. Inconsistency has always been his downfall; if he could string some of these games together then the All-Star votes would start coming.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Rocky Mountain High


1. Scoring King
Thanks to six straight games of at least 30 points, the NBA has a new scoring leader. Carmelo Anthony has been torching his opponents all year long and now boasts a league high 31 point per game average, seven-tenths of a point ahead of Milwaukee’s Michael Redd. Anthony struggled in the opening game of the season and managed to net only 15 points on six of 13 shooting. Since that game, Melo has been shooting 49.4 percent from the field and has put together an impressive string of scoring: 28 vs. Minnesota, 37 vs. New York, 31 @ Philadelphia, 36 @ Charlotte, 33 @ Miami, 34 @ Orlando and 34 vs. Toronto. Anthony has been able to increase his scoring average, in part, due to his ability to get to the line, shooting 70 of 81 in his eight games this season. With Kenyon Martin gone for the rest of the season, expect Anthony’s attempts from the field to grow even further. Andre Miller and J.R. Smith will see their numbers improve, as well, because of the injury to Martin but there is no doubt who shoulders the scoring load in Denver.

2. Wardrobe Change
On Saturday night, the NBA revealed a new line of alternate road uniforms for the Jazz, Nets, Bobcats and Wizards. For Utah, Charlotte and New Jersey, the changes were minimal. The Nets’ uniforms looked very similar to their normal gear except that they were red. Charlotte replaced its normal red road jersey with a slate blue one and Utah donned a baby blue uniform with navy and white stripes going down along the sides. However, the award for the biggest fashion break-out goes to the Washington Wizards who changed from a blue road uniform to a gold and black set with stars along the sides. Washington became the first team since the 1946 Chicago Stags to wear a uniform that consisted of different colored shorts and jerseys. The predominately black shorts contrasted with a bright gold jersey. The uniforms didn’t guarantee the teams victories on the road however. The four teams went 2-2 with Washington winning easily and Utah snatching a three point victory in overtime at Phoenix, while Charlotte and New Jersey both proceeded to lose by double digits in their new attire.

3. Blood, No Foul
On Friday, Houston Rockets’ head coach Jeff Van Gundy was fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing the officials in charge during the game last week between Houston and Miami. The game pitted the leagues two most dominant big men, Shaquille O’Neal and Yao Ming, in a physical battle. Yao left the game with a large gash on his arm from contact with O’Neal which lead to comments by Van Gundy. “It just irritated me,” said Van Gundy. “The whole game irritated me the way he was officiated. ‘There was no contact,’ (officials said) yet there was blood streaming down his arm.” This isn’t the first time that Van Gundy has paid a fine over what he felt was poor treatment of his star center. He was forced to fork over $100,000 in May after stating that an official not involved in the playoffs told Van Gundy that Mark Cuban had convinced the referees to unfairly target Yao.

4. Wade Un’Shaq’led
Shaquille O’Neal is expected to miss between four and six weeks thanks to surgery meant to repair torn cartilage in his knee. While the team is going to miss having the big man in the center, Dwyane Wade fans will be happy to see their hero begin a true MVP run. Miami is 2-3 without Shaq but Wade’s numbers are outstanding during those games. Wade is averaging 25 points, five rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game with O’Neal in the lineup. Without Shaq Daddy, Wade has increased his numbers to 29 points, five rebounds, 8.6 assists and two steals per game. The long term absence of Shaq will give Pat Riley added incentive to keep the ball in Wade’s hands, thus increasing his scoring and assists. While Wade’s numbers will most likely see an upward spike, the team, currently 8th in the eastern conference, could be struggling to remain in playoff contention by the time their post presence returns.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Tim Duncan @ Sacramento 31 min, 35 pts (FG: 13-17, FT: 9-11), 14 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: San Antonio (8-2) @ Portland (5-6) The Spurs are off to a franchise best 5-0 on the road this season after a win over Sacramento on Sunday. San Antonio would love to continue their recent road success but Portland is proving to be a tougher team than most people expected. The Trail Blazers currently have a record of 5-6 but they have been especially competitive in Portland where they are 3-1. Both teams possess potential power forward MVP’s in Tim Duncan and Zach Randolph. It should be a battle all-night in the post as these two double-double artists perform their magic in the paint.

Categories
Miami Heat

Coming to a falsely accused child pornographer’s house near you: Deputy Shaq


Shaq has always had an interest in law enforcement and is actually a Miami Beach reserve officer but his latest foray into kicking perp ass went a little sideways.

The Bedford County (VA) Sheriff’s department confirmed today that Shaq was part of a raid last month on a farm house of a man suspected of being a child pornographer. Shaq is the spokeman for The Safe Surfin’ Foundation which protects kids from online predators. The owner of the farm has filed a formal complaint because he was held at gunpoint, taunted, and his house was ransacked as officers seized computers, cameras, dvds and tapes. However, it turns out that the sheriff’s department had the wrong physical address of the suspect because they were given the wrong IP address by the Internet Service Provider. Oops.

Hey look, at least you can say that Shaq has been in your house. That’s gotta be worth 30 minutes of terror and a false accusation right?

Links:
[Miami Herald]: Deputy Shaq was part of a bungled raid
[ars technica]: Faulty IP address data leads to Shaq attack on innocent family

Categories
Miami Heat

Dwyane Wade vs Dirk Nowitzki

While everyone is writing volumes about the “Air Apparent”, we thought a simple chart might do the trick. Stepping up when it counted, D-Wade was simply the best player in the playoffs, outlasting LeBron James and putting Carmello (who?) to shame. On the flip side, we also have the Incredible Shrinking Nowitzki!

If you must read people gushing about Wade and the Heat, here are some selections from the blogosphere.

[Complete Sports]: Your 2006 NBA Champion… Dwyane Wade (er, the Miami Heat)

[Straight Bangin]: NBA Finals: Wade 4, Dallas 2

[The Assimilated Negro]: Final Thoughts On The Finals

[Reggie’s Extra Points]: Wade’s class worth emulating

Categories
Miami Heat

Hold the obit on the Miami Heat

After the first two games of the series, we thought the Heat were toast. We figured they’d grab game 3 and then game 5 and lose to Dallas in game 6. But the boys from South Beach showed they weren’t going to roll over and quit just because Mark Cuban was already ordering up a 2006 NBA Champions mural for his mansion. Still, there’s being wrong with your picks and then there’s looking like a complete tool.

There’s nothing we enjoy more than a hometown homer columnist making a fool of himself. Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News had this to say following game 2 of the series:


he only way the Mavs come back from Miami is on a float. Map the parade route. Schedule the sick day.

Miami’s chances of getting back here? Good as a Shaq free throw.

Think this series is still too early to call? Want to remind of the San Antonio series, when the Mavs went up 3-1 and needed a miracle three-point play from Dirk Nowitzki just to get into overtime in Game 7?

Forget it. San Antonio was a far more worthy opponent. Phoenix, too. Even Memphis wasn’t as grisly as Miami.

Four games, maybe five, and that’s it.

Not suprisingly, Kevin had nothing to say this morning after a thorough dismantling of his Mavericks by the Miami Heat. Miami fans, feel free to email Nostradamus at [email protected]

Links:
[Miami Herald]: Heat gets even, stronger
[Yahoo]: Buy a clue, Cuban

Categories
Miami Heat

Odds and Ends for Tues May 16 2006: Miami Heat Dancers in FHM

It was only a matter of time after winning the dance team tournament that the Miami Heat Dance team would end up in a men’s magazine. FHM has a few members of the team in the obligatory bikini poses. Most interesting is this tidbit:


Karelix on hazing “If you do make the team, the veterans are usually nice. One year, though, we made all the new girls wear Depends during an entire rehearsal.

Too bad we can’t substitute the Miami Dance team for the Northwestern Soccer team. Hey, like we said before, we don’t make up the rules.

In other news…

[Yahoo]: San Jose mayor apologizes for anthem booing

[Fangraphs.com]: More out of the ordinary stats than you can shake a pink bat at

[Golf Blog]: Michelle Wie wins local qualifier to move one step closer to Men’s US Open

[Yahoo]: Judge rules that golfers aren’t eligible for errant golf shots… hoooray!

[120 proof ball]: Majerle told Fox Sports Net’s Best Damn Sports Show Period that Charles Barkley’s estimate of losing 10 million bucks gambling was a tad light. I think that’s being real conservative, because he lost about $5 million to (Danny) Ainge and I in shootarounds….When he left Phoenix, my income took a big hit.

Categories
Miami Heat

Odds and Ends for Mon May 1 2006: "just like Donovan McNabb and TO"



Babysitting headaches

The players on the Heat are busy trying to pass off the Dwayne Wade – Gary Payton incident as just teammates getting into it in the heat of battle, but Gary Payton compared it to the sideline disagreement between McNabb and TO in the Pittsburgh game. And while that incident was the definition of the media trying to make something out of nothing, we need to remind Payton that things didn’t exactly end up well for DMac and TO. And we also should remind GP that despite his hall of fame career, this is Wade’s team . It’s not even Shaq’s team. It’s Wade’s. And unless Payton wants to play Italian league ball next year, it might be smart to let the next bad pass from Wade just go unmentioned.

In other news…

[Cincinnati.com]: The Bengals draft Chad Johnson again… this time to play CB.

[Detroit Free Press]: Matt Millen says the Lions had a good draft. Must be on the George Bush mission accomplished plan.

[Tennessean.com]: So much for McNair mentoring Vince Young. Titans might trade Air to the Ravens.

[UPI]: Polish soccer fans planning a tournament to fight other fans. You can’t make this stuff up, folks.

[AZCentral.com]: Matt Leinart says he’s happy to leave LA. “I’ve dealt with everything you possibly can in that city. I love LA. I was born and raised out there. But I’m definitely ready. It’s time to move on.” By this, he means he’s already slept with all the chicks in LA. But he could’ve nailed all the chicks in NYC as…

[NY Daily News]: The Jets tried to trade up to get Leinart after drafting Ferguson.