Monday, May 2, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Blake Griffin, Four Celtics Headline 2011 NBA All-Star Reserves
NEW YORK -- Blake Griffin is going to his first All-Star game, and Kevin Garnett matched an NBA record with his 14th straight selection as one of a record-tying four Boston Celtics headed for the midseason event.
Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen will accompany Garnett, who equaled Jerry West, Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone for the most consecutive selections. The Celtics joined the 2006 Detroit Pistons as the only teams to have four players picked as reserves by the coaches.
Griffin, the Rookie of the Year favorite of the Clippers, will be playing on his home floor in the Feb. 20 game at Staples Center. Joining him on the Western Conference team were Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili of the NBA-leading Spurs; forwards Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas and Pau Gasol of the Lakers; and guards Deron Williams of Utah and Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City, who joins Griffin as the lone first-time selections.
Chris Bosh will go to Los Angeles with Miami teammates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who were elected as starters. The other East reserves picked Thursday were Atlanta's Joe Johnson and Al Horford.
The reserves were selected in voting by the head coaches in each conference, who had to vote for two forwards, two guards, a center and two players regardless of position.
They went for the winning teams in the East, whose reserves are represented by just three teams.
The voting was much more difficult in the West, where coaches bypassed the likes of Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Zach Randolph and Lamar Odom at the forward spot.
Tony Parker missed out despite being the second-leading scorer on the Spurs, who entered play Thursday with a 40-8 record. Veteran Steve Nash of the Suns and the Warriors' Monta Ellis, the league's sixth-leading scorer, all fell short.
The starters were chosen by fan voting and announced last week. Orlando's Dwight Howard, Chicago's Derrick Rose and Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire are the other East starters, while the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, Hornets guard Chris Paul, forwards Carmelo Anthony of Denver and Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City, and Houston center Yao Ming were the winners from the West.
Yao is injured and Commissioner David Stern will choose a replacement. That gives another chance to Love, who is averaging 21.4 points and a league-best 15.5 rebounds, and shooting 43.9 percent from 3-point range. He has 34 straight double-doubles, but was undoubtedly hurt by his Minnesota Timberwolves' 11-37 record.
But the coaches couldn't overlook Griffin, even though the Clippers are also below .500. The No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft has been spectacular after sitting out last season following knee surgery, averaging 23 points and 12.7 rebounds while compiling a half season of highlights with his array of dunks.
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Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen will accompany Garnett, who equaled Jerry West, Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone for the most consecutive selections. The Celtics joined the 2006 Detroit Pistons as the only teams to have four players picked as reserves by the coaches.
Griffin, the Rookie of the Year favorite of the Clippers, will be playing on his home floor in the Feb. 20 game at Staples Center. Joining him on the Western Conference team were Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili of the NBA-leading Spurs; forwards Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas and Pau Gasol of the Lakers; and guards Deron Williams of Utah and Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City, who joins Griffin as the lone first-time selections.
Chris Bosh will go to Los Angeles with Miami teammates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who were elected as starters. The other East reserves picked Thursday were Atlanta's Joe Johnson and Al Horford.
The reserves were selected in voting by the head coaches in each conference, who had to vote for two forwards, two guards, a center and two players regardless of position.
They went for the winning teams in the East, whose reserves are represented by just three teams.
The voting was much more difficult in the West, where coaches bypassed the likes of Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Zach Randolph and Lamar Odom at the forward spot.
Tony Parker missed out despite being the second-leading scorer on the Spurs, who entered play Thursday with a 40-8 record. Veteran Steve Nash of the Suns and the Warriors' Monta Ellis, the league's sixth-leading scorer, all fell short.
The starters were chosen by fan voting and announced last week. Orlando's Dwight Howard, Chicago's Derrick Rose and Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire are the other East starters, while the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, Hornets guard Chris Paul, forwards Carmelo Anthony of Denver and Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City, and Houston center Yao Ming were the winners from the West.
Yao is injured and Commissioner David Stern will choose a replacement. That gives another chance to Love, who is averaging 21.4 points and a league-best 15.5 rebounds, and shooting 43.9 percent from 3-point range. He has 34 straight double-doubles, but was undoubtedly hurt by his Minnesota Timberwolves' 11-37 record.
But the coaches couldn't overlook Griffin, even though the Clippers are also below .500. The No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft has been spectacular after sitting out last season following knee surgery, averaging 23 points and 12.7 rebounds while compiling a half season of highlights with his array of dunks.
http://www.BestVirginiaBeachShop.com
Bill Belichick Wins Coach of the Year, Joins Tom Brady With AP Honors
For the second straight night a member of the New England Patriots has been recognized for an outstanding 2010 regular season as Bill Belichick was selected as the Coach of the Year by The Associated Press. This is the third time Belichick has won the award, only one less than Hall-of-Famer Don Shula, as he received 30 votes from the 50-member voting panel, and joined his quarterback, Tom Brady, who won Offensive Player of the Year honors on Tuesday.
"I accept the award on behalf of the entire organization -- ownership, our assistant coaches and certainly the players -- they're the ones that stepped up and made the plays this year," Belichick said in an NFL Network phone interview. "We had a lot of new people on the team, young players that contributed. It's certainly an honor to receive this award on behalf of our performance in the regular season. Unfortunately, we weren't able to carry that over into the playoffs."
Tampa Bay's Raheem Morris finished second with 11 1/2 votes after engineering an impressive turnaround with the Bucs, but it was not enough to outdo Belichick, who led New England to a league-best 14-2 record. He did so with his youngest team in years and without Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins for the first seven games, picking up steam after trading wide receiver Randy Moss to Minnesota.
With the departure of Moss it was thought by many that the Patriots' offense would struggle, but then Belichick put together a trade with Seattle that brought about the return of Super Bowl XXXIX MVP Deion Branch at wide receiver and the offense didn't miss a beat. Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis broke the 1,000-yard rushing barrier and New York Jets castoff Danny Woodhead provided the spark that was missing after all-purpose back Kevin Faulk suffered a season-ending knee injury.
"When I chose him, people at the league office, people in this town, sent me tapes of him in Cleveland and said, 'You don't want to hire this guy,'" Patriots owner Robert Kraft said. "And, remember, he went 5-11 (in his first year with Patriots) and we gave up a No. 1 draft choice (to the Jets to get him). People thought we were nuts. So I think that probably was one of the best decisions I've made in football."
Belichick also won the award in 2003 and 2007 and his record with the Patriots is 126-50, plus a 14-5 mark in the postseason, with losses in the last three tries with teams that went a collective 40-8. His career winning percentage of .716 ranks eighth, tied with Hall of Famer Paul Brown, and no other coach has four 14-victory regular seasons.
Also receiving votes were Kansas City's Todd Haley (4), whose team went 11-5 and won the AFC West; and four coaches with one selection apiece: Atlanta's Mike Smith, Philadelphia's Andy Reid, Chicago's Lovie Smith and St. Louis' Steve Spagnuolo.
http://www.BestVirginiaBeachShop.com
"I accept the award on behalf of the entire organization -- ownership, our assistant coaches and certainly the players -- they're the ones that stepped up and made the plays this year," Belichick said in an NFL Network phone interview. "We had a lot of new people on the team, young players that contributed. It's certainly an honor to receive this award on behalf of our performance in the regular season. Unfortunately, we weren't able to carry that over into the playoffs."
Tampa Bay's Raheem Morris finished second with 11 1/2 votes after engineering an impressive turnaround with the Bucs, but it was not enough to outdo Belichick, who led New England to a league-best 14-2 record. He did so with his youngest team in years and without Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins for the first seven games, picking up steam after trading wide receiver Randy Moss to Minnesota.
With the departure of Moss it was thought by many that the Patriots' offense would struggle, but then Belichick put together a trade with Seattle that brought about the return of Super Bowl XXXIX MVP Deion Branch at wide receiver and the offense didn't miss a beat. Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis broke the 1,000-yard rushing barrier and New York Jets castoff Danny Woodhead provided the spark that was missing after all-purpose back Kevin Faulk suffered a season-ending knee injury.
"When I chose him, people at the league office, people in this town, sent me tapes of him in Cleveland and said, 'You don't want to hire this guy,'" Patriots owner Robert Kraft said. "And, remember, he went 5-11 (in his first year with Patriots) and we gave up a No. 1 draft choice (to the Jets to get him). People thought we were nuts. So I think that probably was one of the best decisions I've made in football."
Belichick also won the award in 2003 and 2007 and his record with the Patriots is 126-50, plus a 14-5 mark in the postseason, with losses in the last three tries with teams that went a collective 40-8. His career winning percentage of .716 ranks eighth, tied with Hall of Famer Paul Brown, and no other coach has four 14-victory regular seasons.
Also receiving votes were Kansas City's Todd Haley (4), whose team went 11-5 and won the AFC West; and four coaches with one selection apiece: Atlanta's Mike Smith, Philadelphia's Andy Reid, Chicago's Lovie Smith and St. Louis' Steve Spagnuolo.
http://www.BestVirginiaBeachShop.com
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Syracuse Ends Skid, Beats No. 6 UConn
Brandon Triche led Syracuse with 16 points and Rick Jackson added 13 points and 13 rebounds as Syracuse finally got back to its winning ways Wednesday at Connecticut.
No. 6 Connecticut (17-4, 5-4) scored the first six points of the game and led for much of the first half, but Jackson's short jumper gave Syracuse a slight halftime lead. The Orange came out hot in the second half, reeling off seven straight points and they would lead by as many as nine. UConn was able to cut the lead to one late, but was never able to get over the hump.
No. 17 Syracuse (19-4, 6-4) needed a win badly after dropping four straight games, culminating with back-to-back losses to Seton Hall and Marquette.
Jeremy Lamb led all scorers with 22 points for the Huskies, and no other Connecticut player reached double figures.
Containing Kemba: For the first time this season, Kemba Walker didn't score in double figures. He had only eight points on 3-of-14 shooting, continuing his recent struggles. After starting the season white hot, Walker has only averaged 14.5 points a game over his last four.
Friendly Confines? Though they have come against ranked teams, Connecticut has now lost back-to-back games at home after breezing through its non-conference slate. It's certainly not panic time yet, especially with the Huskies' next three against unranked foes, but holding home court is imperative if they hope to stay in the race for the Big East Crown.
New Streak: After winning their first 18 games, the Orange dropped four straight. Now, after a tough win on the road, perhaps they are poised to put another streak together. They go to South Florida this weekend before getting Georgetown at home and traveling to Louisville. It's a tall order just to reel off four straight in the Big East -- especially for a team that has looked as out of sorts as Syracuse recently -- but the Orange should at least be close in their next three.
http://www.BestVirginiaBeachShop.com
No. 6 Connecticut (17-4, 5-4) scored the first six points of the game and led for much of the first half, but Jackson's short jumper gave Syracuse a slight halftime lead. The Orange came out hot in the second half, reeling off seven straight points and they would lead by as many as nine. UConn was able to cut the lead to one late, but was never able to get over the hump.
No. 17 Syracuse (19-4, 6-4) needed a win badly after dropping four straight games, culminating with back-to-back losses to Seton Hall and Marquette.
Jeremy Lamb led all scorers with 22 points for the Huskies, and no other Connecticut player reached double figures.
Containing Kemba: For the first time this season, Kemba Walker didn't score in double figures. He had only eight points on 3-of-14 shooting, continuing his recent struggles. After starting the season white hot, Walker has only averaged 14.5 points a game over his last four.
Friendly Confines? Though they have come against ranked teams, Connecticut has now lost back-to-back games at home after breezing through its non-conference slate. It's certainly not panic time yet, especially with the Huskies' next three against unranked foes, but holding home court is imperative if they hope to stay in the race for the Big East Crown.
New Streak: After winning their first 18 games, the Orange dropped four straight. Now, after a tough win on the road, perhaps they are poised to put another streak together. They go to South Florida this weekend before getting Georgetown at home and traveling to Louisville. It's a tall order just to reel off four straight in the Big East -- especially for a team that has looked as out of sorts as Syracuse recently -- but the Orange should at least be close in their next three.
http://www.BestVirginiaBeachShop.com
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