A few days ago, Carmelo Anthony admitted to reporters that he didn't play hard on defense while Mike D'Antoni was running the Knicks.
Remarkably, that isn't the dumbest thing an NBA all-star has said to the media this week. That prize goes to LeBron James, who suggested that he's "too tough" to get a concussion.
Yeah, in those exact words.
While scrambling to cover an open Jared Dudley in the final seconds of Wednesday's game, James ran into a Grant Hill screen. James obviously didn't see Hill's screen and crashed head-first into the veteran forward's shoulder. James fell to the court and stayed there as play went on; he was helped off the court when play stopped after a Dwyane Wade foul.
(You can see the entire sequence - from multiple angles - here.)
After the game, reporters asked James if he had ever suffered a concussion. James replied, "No, I'm too tough for that."
Obviously, he was trying to make a joke. But head injuries are no laughing matter... and the idea that "toughness" can prevent head injuries - injuries that can be both debilitating and life-threatening - is the height of ignorance.
I wonder if LeBron would care to repeat his "joke" to someone like Ted Johnson, the ex-New England Patriot linebacker who has dealt with severe concussion-related health problems since his playing career ended.
The Heat are back in action against the Detroit Pistons tonight. James should be held out of the game - both as a precaution and a symbolic gesture.
A Louisville woman named Karen Sypher was arrested and charged with attempted extortion and lying to the FBI. Sypher and several co-conspirators allegedly threatened Pitino, saying they'd go public with criminal allegations against the coach unless their demands were met. Days after her arrest, Sypher accused Pitino of rape.
Pitino is a married father of five, and a practicing Catholic who often has Rev. Edward Bradley pray with his team before games.
But a statement from Louisville president James Ramsey was a bit more ominous in tone. Ramsey said, "Several months ago Coach Pitino informed me about the alleged extortion attempt. I've now been informed that there may be other details which, if true, I find surprising."
Pitino associates have reportedly told ESPN's Andy Katz that the coach will not be taking a leave of absence in the wake of this scandal.
The news of Pitino's affair casts other Louisville news in a whole new light. At around the same time the extorsion attempt was becoming public, Pitino's people made general inquiries about the then-vacant Sacramento Kings coaching position. And Pitino's son Richard left the Louisville staff at around the same time, taking a job with Pitino protege Billy Donovan at Florida.
Could it be that Pitino was concerned that this story could cause him to lose his job? Or to ruin his standing in the Louisville community? Was the younger Pitino's departure a reaction to news of his father's affair?
Pitino's Accuser Speaks
August 14, 2009
Pitino's accuser gave her (incredibly convoluted) side of the story in an exclusive interview with the New York Post.
Pitino's Apology
August 13, 2009
Rick Pitino apologizes for his "indiscretion," vows to stay at Louisville "as long as they'll have me."
Pitino's Contract Has a Morality Clause
August 12, 2009
Could Rick Pitino's indiscretions cost him his job? That's far from clear at this point... but Louisville apparently has the option to hand him his walking papers.
Pitino Admits Affair, Payment for Abortion
August 12, 2009
The case of Karen Sypher -- the woman accused of attempting to extort money from Cardinals coach Rick Pitino -- took an ugly turn yesterday, when reports obtained by the Louisville Courier-Journal revealed that Pitino admitted to having consensual sex with Sypher in 2003, and to giving her $3,000 for an abortion.
Tennis superstar Maria Sharapova and NBA... um... significantly less than super-star Sasha Vujacic will reportedly tie the knot this fall.
An ex-Los Angeles Laker and New Jersey Net, Vujacic is playing professionally in Turkey these days.
What wedding present should you buy for the happy couple? Maybe a really nice trophy case. Vujacic was a member of the Lakers' 2009 and 2010 NBA championship teams. His bride-to-be owns Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open titles.
Image: Maria Sharapova at the 2009 China Open. Feng Li/Getty Images
Mark Twain - perhaps the most quotable American besides Charles Barkley - once said, "It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt."
It seems Carmelo Anthony never read that particular quip.
Anthony and his New York Knicks are in the midst of a three-game winning streak; a run that started when Mike Woodson replaced Mike D'Antoni as head coach. Under Woodson, the Knicks seem much more focused... they are working harder on the defensive end, fighting for rebounds and playing with newfound intensity.
The fact that Woodson is getting his team to play so well speaks well of the new coach. Of course, it also raises an important question: "Where was this energy before D'Antoni was fired?"
We can assume that the Knicks weren't necessarily leaving it all out there on the floor for D'Antoni. But thanks to 'Melo, we don't have to. Anthony confirmed everyone's worst suspicion, telling reporters:
I think in the last three games, my focus was to have an energy that I haven't had so far this season, especially on the defensive end.
Stunning, right? Not the substance of the quote... anyone who thought Anthony was giving 110 percent during the Knicks' post All-Star losing streak simply wasn't paying attention. But the fact that he'd come out and admit that is an absolute shocker.
The only real surprise, for me, is that he didn't follow that up by saying, "And under D'Antoni, Jeremy Lin was taking too many of my shots."
LeBron James just sent out this picture of himself and his Miami Heat teammates wearing their warmup hoodies as a protest of the senseless killing of Trayvon Martin.
Nice job, guys.
His charitable work is nearly as legendary -- Robinson and his family are the driving forces behind The Carver Academy, a non-profit elementary school in San Antonio, donating their time and in excess of $10 million to the program.
The University of Illinois has parted ways with head basketball coach Bruce Weber, ESPN Chicago is reporting.
Weber took over the team for the 2003-04 season, after Bill Self left for Kansas. He reached the Sweet Sixteen in his first season as head coach and the national title game in his second, losing to North Carolina. But since then, Illinois' postseason performances have been somewhat disappointing: two first-round exits, two second-round losses, and two years out of the Big Dance entirely.
In 2011, the Illini beat UNLV in the round of 64, but lost to Self's Kansas Jayhawks in the second round.
Lots of people will look at this year's NCAA Tournament brackets and try to find this year's Cinderella. This year's version of VCU, or Butler, or George Mason or Davidson... an anonymous school from a lesser-known conference that gets hot at the right time and rides that streak all the way to the Final Four.
Me? I'm looking for a team that can beat Kentucky. And thus far, I'm not finding one.
Missouri has the speed to run with the Wildcats, but they don't have the defense to stop 'em. Syracuse doesn't rebound well enough. Ohio State can't shoot from the outside. Kansas? Too thin. Duke? Too small. Michigan State? North Carolina?
Nope. Kentucky. This is the year John Calipari finally gets to cut down the nets.
How will it happen? I've broken it all down in my 2012 NCAA Tournament Preview and Picks:
The higher-seeded teams do better.
Here's a deeper look at that shocking trend, as well as some others that may assist as you fill out your NCAA brackets:
Before the 2008 tournament, the closest we'd come is three of four, which happened just twice: in 1997, when top seeds Kentucky, North Carolina and Minnesota reached the final weekend but fourth-seeded Arizona won the title, and in in 1993, when North Carolina (1) won the final game over Michigan (1), with Kansas (1) and Kentucky (2) making up the rest of the Final Four.
The average Final Four features 1.8 number one seeds.
The 2007 group, which featured one seeds Florida and Ohio State and two seeds UCLA and Georgetown was the third-chalkiest group to make the Final Four.
On the flip side, the most surprising Final Four may have been the 2000 group, when fifth-seeded Florida and eight seeds Wisconsin and North Carolina joined eventual champions Michigan State (1). The average seed of that group: 5.5.
That was one of only two years in which the average seed of the Final Four was five or higher. The others was 2006, when 11th-seeded George Mason crashed the party with Florida (3), UCLA (2) and LSU (4).
Interestingly, that makes the eleven spot more successful than the ten, nine or seven seeds.
The six seed won in 1988 -- Larry Brown and Danny Manning's Kansas Jayhawks beat number one seed Oklahoma for the championship.
Those three Cinderellas and the '97 Arizona Wildcats, who won the title as a four, are the only teams to win championships without a top-three position in the brackets.
Players involved in a point shaving scheme might purposefully miss shots or create turnovers in an attempt to keep the final score within the desired margin.
The most infamous point shaving incident in college basketball history was the 1951 scandal that involved numerous players from then-national power City College of New York. The so-called CCNY scandal resulted in the arrests of dozens of players at several schools, including LIU, NYU, Kentucky, Bradley, Manhattan College and Toledo.
The CCNY Scandal got a major pop-culture shout-out in a 2004 episode of The Sopranos when Bobby Baccala credited a recently-deceased mob boss as the inventor of point-shaving.
When healthy, Andrew Bogut is one of the best centers in the NBA. But he hasn't been healthy much in the last few years, which is one reason the Bucks are reportedly open to trading the top overall pick in the 2005 draft.
ESPN's Marc Stein is reporting that Milwaukee is at least open to the idea of trading Bogut... though their asking price is likely to be sky-high, and that disgruntled wing Stephen Jackson would need to be included in any deal. The Washington Wizards are reportedly interested, and could offer a package including talented-but-occasionally-knuckleheaded center JaVale McGee.
Of course, McGee might be an even worse fit with hot-headed Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles than Jackson.
Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith has asked the team for a trade before the March 15 deadline, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting.
Smith is reportedly unhappy that the Hawks didn't push his All-Star candidacy strongly enough (which seems sort of petty) and that the team isn't fully committed to building a championship contender (which seems fairly accurate).
Assuming he really is available, a Smith trade could have a significant impact on the Dwight Howard sweepstakes. Smith and Howard are close friends who grew up together in Atlanta. That said, Smith doesn't have a ton of leverage to force a deal, as he's not set to hit free agency until the summer of 2013.
March 11 is Selection Sunday... which means March 12 will be one of the least-productive days of the year in offices all over the country.
Some companies will fight this, banning tournament discussion on company time or blocking access to sites that host March Madness brackets. But About.com's Human Resources guide, Susan M. Heathfield, suggests a different approach.
Embrace the madness.
Susan interviewed John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., who suggested that employers might consider using March Madness as an annual team building event.
"Companies can use this event as a way to build morale and camaraderie. This could mean putting televisions in the break room, so employees have somewhere to watch the games other than the Internet."
Of course, that advice doesn't apply to every workplace. Strictly speaking, gambling on the NCAA Tournament is illegal in most jurisdictions. If you do decide to sponsor a company March Madness pool, you might want to consider making it a "for bragging rights only" affair.
These guys must have been excellent at sharing their toys in preschool -- they went on to become the most prolific distributors in Division I history. The ACC has a mortal lock on this list, with four of the top five spots.
Getty Images / Ken Levine
Duke: 1989-93
Hurley was the quarterback for Mike Krzyzewski's back-to-back champions in 1991 and 1992, with a large number of his assists going to capable finishers like Grant Hill and Christian Laettner. His NBA career was side-tracked when he was involved in a serious car accident during his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings.
It's worth noting -- the "short" guy in this photo, Wooden Award winner Tyler Hansbrough of UNC -- is 6'9". Unfortunately, the big fella -- 7'7" center Kenny George of UNC Asheville -- may miss his senior season after having surgery on his foot.
Getty Images / Kevin C. CoxKyrie Irving couldn't miss. Paul George glowed in the dark, but that wasn't enough to get the fan vote. Love beat Durant in a three-point duel between Kevins, Tony Parker showed skills, and Allan Houston sparked talk of a comeback.
Again.
Oh, and LeBron James led a fourth-quarter comeback... then botched it.
These stories and more in our All-Star Weekend Recap:
Mar 1 2012
The Big East has broken its own record for most teams from one conference in an NCAA Tournament, sending eleven clubs to the Big Dance in 2011.The sheer number of Big East teams in the field forced the selection committee to abandon some matchup guidelines. In the past, the committee tried to avoid having conference foes meet before the round of sixteen. In 2011, that went right out the window. Connecticut and Cincinnati could play in the round of 32, as could Syracuse and Marquette.
Mar 1 2012
The most significant change to the NCAA Tournament this season -- you'll be able to see more of it. The only way to see the games you wanted in their entirety was to purchase a special package from a cable or satellite operator; without it, you were at the mercy of CBS, reduced to hoping they'd break away from the Duke game to show the end of your alma mater's nail-biter.No more.
Starting this season, NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast by four different networks - CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV - and game times will be staggered to allow viewers to catch more of the action.
Here's a look at how the new schedule will stack up. Actual matchups will be released on March 13.
(All times Eastern)
Saturday Games
The field is set, and now the real fun begins... that most sacred of springtime rituals, "The Filling of the Brackets." Here are my... educated guesses as to how the 2011 NCAA Tournament will play out. Feel free to use them in your office pool... but your mileage may vary.
Getty Images / Andy Lyons
Top overall seed Ohio State will have to get past teams with Final Four pedigrees to reach Houston - the East Regional bracket includes George Mason, Villanova, Kentucky, Syracuse and North Carolina.
Getty Images / Streeter Lecka
The Blue Devils will have to head West to defend their national title - and get past Connecticut's Kemba Walker.
Getty Images / Ronald Martinez
Many thought Notre Dame would be a top seed. Instead, they're a two - and sharing a bracket with the Kansas Jayhawks.
Getty Images / Ethan Miller
Can Pittsburgh advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1941? Or will Billy Donovan's Gators or Jimmer Fredette's BYU Cougars cut Pitt's season short?
Getty Images / Ronald Martinez
Which teams will make it all the way to Reliant Stadium?
