News Portal

Sunday, June 30, 2013

14 players Shabazz Muhammad doesn’t realize are in the NBA

Shabazz Muhammad was drafted 14th overall in Thursday’s NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. At his introductory press conference on Friday, he was given his #0 jersey. Hisrationale for choosing that number was fascinating, and totally inaccurate:

As it turns out, there are 14 other players who currently wear the number 0 on NBA teams, and some of them aren’t exactly low-profile.

For one thing, there’s the reigning Rookie of the Year, Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard:

Veteran Dallas Mavericks forward Shawn Marion:

Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeff Teague:

Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley:

Utah Jazz center Enes Kanter:

Phoenix Suns forward Michael Beasley:

Brooklyn Nets forward Andray Blatche:

Los Angeles Lakers guard Andrew Goudelock:

Milwaukee Bucks forward Drew Gooden:

Charlotte Bobcats center Bismack Biyombo:

New Orleans Pelicans forward Al-Farouq Aminu:

Cleveland Cavaliers guard C.J. Miles:

Houston Rockets guard Aaron Brooks:

Finally, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a point guard who wears number 0. He went to the same college (UCLA) as Muhammad. He’s made three All-Star teams in his first five NBA seasons, won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in London in 2012, and helped lead the Thunder to the Finals in 2012. He’s generally considered one of the 10 best basketball players in the world. Maybe Muhammad has heard of him.

Gennady Golovkin ends 14th consecutive fight with a brutal knockout

WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin continued his remarkable streak of wins by knockout Saturday night, punishing Matthew Macklin from the opening bell. In the third round, Golovkin caught Macklin with a shot to the liver, dropping Macklin to the canvas where he would remain for a few minutes. With the KO, Golovkin extended a five-year, 14 fight knockout streak, and improved to 27-0 for his career. He called this his “lucky punch” in his post-fight interview.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Rory McIlroy keeps trying to break his clubs

Rory McIlroy continued his recent slump at the Irish Open in Maynooth, Ireland, as the second ranked golfer in the world missed the cut by two strokes. Despite shooting an even-par 72 on Friday, McIlroy couldn’t make up for his 74 in the opening round, resulting in his third consecutive missed cut on the European Tour. McIlroy also continued his streak of trying to break his clubs, bending his driver over his back after an errant tee shot at No. 11.

You may remember Rory wasn’t too happy in the final round of the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, and destroyed a Nike iron.

Cheer up, Rory. Everything’s going to be okay.

This play sums up the Yankees’ June

Andy Pettitte is back in the majors, and he hasn’t forgotten how to make the blooper reel.

In Wednesday night’s loss to the Texas Rangers, Yankees veteran pitcher Andy Pettitte fielded a bunt down the third base line. As he turned to fire to first, third baseman Jayson Nix charged and collided with Pettitte just as he was throwing. Pettitte’s wrist hit Nix’s shoulder, and Pettitte fell to the ground, and the Yankees fans moaned.

Pettitte stayed in the game, which the Yankees ended up losing 8-5.

Why was Jim Harbaugh so angry at the Oakland Athletics game?

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh was in attendance Friday night to watch the Oakland Athletics beat the the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-1, but Jim didn’t look too happy.

Marcel Kittel wins first stage of Tour de France

PORTO VECCHIO, Corsica (AP) — The first stage of the 100th Tour de France ended in chaotic scenes with riders crashing and a bus parked on the finish line until moments from the end on Saturday.

German rider Marcel Kittle escaped the mayhem to win the stage on Corsica. Kittel beat Russian sprinter Alexander Kristoff in a sprint finish.

"I'm speechless, so, so happy. This is by far the greatest day in my whole life," Kittel said. "It's by far (my) biggest victory. I hope I can sleep, I'm going to be pretty excited about tomorrow."

But what happened behind them was far more incidental.

The decision was initially taken late on to shorten the flat stage by three kilometers (two miles) because a bus from the Orica Greenedge team was stuck on the finish line. But organizers managed to move the bus just in time.

OOPS: Bus gets stuck in finish line

Kittel did not even know about the bus, and was lucky enough to avoid the crash to win the flat 213-kilometer (132-mile) trek from Porto Vecchio to Bastia in just under 5 hours. Kristoff and third-place Danny van poppel clocked the same time.

"It feels like I have gold on my shoulders," Kittel said about wearing the famed yellow jersey. "I didn't know about the bus. I'm glad they were able to move it."

Kittel would have faced stiffer competition if more than a dozen riders hadn't fallen close to the end, among them two-time former champion Alberto Contador and sprinter Peter Sagan. They got back up, with Contador's shoulder cut and bruised.

British sprinter Mark Cavendish did not crash but was stuck behind those who fell and could not challenge for his 24th stage win. He was hoping to wear the prestigious yellow jersey for the first time in his career.

But Cavendish and Sagan were nowhere to be seen as the main bunch turned for home, and Kittel held off Kristoff as they dipped for the line.

"I saw the crash happen to my right," said Kittel, who also finished the day with the best sprinter's green jersey. "I knew it was serious. I knew that Mark and Andre (Greipel) were no longer in contention and it was a good chance for us."

Cavendish's Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammate Tony Martin was caught in the fall and later taken to hospital after losing consciousness.

Contador had a bad day, too.

Returning from a doping ban after testing positive on the 2010 Tour — a title he has been stripped of — the Spaniard grimaced in pain as he crossed the line with his clothing torn and his left shoulder grazed.

"I am fine, I'm OK," Contador said through a translator. "Someone didn't brake in front of me and then there was a crash. I will have to rest now."