Saturday, March 26, 2011

Mo Williams Calls Derek Fisher Hines Ward Of The NBA

Call me out for this one. I guess I haven't paid much attention to Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher has done over the years. He's made big shots and has been a solid player, but I've never fashioned him as a dirty player.

Don't say that to Los Angeles Clipper guard Mo Williams. After being downed by the Lakers, again, 112-104, Williams called the Laker guard the Hines Ward of the NBA.

That came about because of center Chris Kaman's ejection with 28.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Kaman and Fisher collided on a screen near the three-point line, and Kaman ended up pointing angrily at Fisher, motioning for him to meet in the hallway after the game. Who does Kaman think he is Rasheed Wallace?

"There was no reason for that," Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Chris was just setting a good screen, a legal screen. Fisher came up high with the elbow. So the NBA will look at it, and they'll make those decisions."


Phil Jackson disagreed with Del Negro's assessment of the play. "Fish doesn't take kindly to that…" he said.

Kaman took the wise man's way out by not talking about it at all. "I'll get myself in trouble if I talk about it. I'd rather not do it", Kaman said.

Williams took to the Twitter route to get his two cents in.

"If yall didn't know, D Fish is the Hines Ward of the NBA," wrote Williams. "I don't know if that's a compliment or not. But don't let that nice guy fool u."

I don't think that's a compliment. Ward was called one of the dirtiest players in the NFL.

















  

Michael Beasley Shuts Down Twitter Page

Another day, another Twitter controversy. Not really a controversy, but someone backtracking on what they posted and going into denial about it.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley shut down his Twitter page after re-tweeting that head coach Kurt Rambis needs to let him 'play his game'. Message to Beasley, playing your game is why your in Minnesota and not Miami right now.

The post read, "I sure wish coach would just let @RealMIkebeasley play his game!"


After the message was out Beasley recanted and said he has no problem with Rambis. He also said the post was accidental.

"Nah, nah, nah, nah," Beasley said. "Kurt has given me all the opportunity in the world to grow as a player, as a leader. I really don't have anything against Kurt and my game."


Beasley says he finished with Twitter, for now.

"I just got tired of it. Somebody said something I didn't like. I just got rid of it. That was an accidental re-tweet," he said. I really don't know how to tweet well from my Blackberry. That was accidental. I didn't agree with it at all."

If you're gonna deny what you say about how you feel about something, it's best to keep it verbal or don't say it at all. At least you can deny it when it's verbal.

 










 

Michigan State Cuts Ties To Booster Club

Michigan State has suspended all activities with the Downtown Coaches Club, a football booster club, in the wake of an investigation of the club's activities by the Michigan Lottery Commission.


"For several weeks, we have been aware that the Downtown Coaches Club had some financial reporting issues as well the review being conducted by the Michigan State Lottery Commission," MSU athletic director Mark Hollis said in a prepared statement. "At that time, the Michigan State Athletics Department immediately suspended all activities with the organization."

The club is a nonprofit organization -- operating independently of the MSU Athletics Office -- that runs 50/50 raffles at MSU football games, among other activities.

WILX-TV in Lansing has reported the investigation is focused on whether club officials used raffle proceeds improperly.

Norman Gaffney, attorney for the Downtown Coaches Club, could not be reached for comment.

"While there are issues that I found concerning, I do not believe the organization was engaged in widespread abuse," Hollis said. "We will continue to review our relationship with these third-party booster groups because protecting all of our fans and supporters is our ultimate goal."

While the club is independent of the university, John Lewandowski, a school spokesman, said the club does provide funding for MSU's athletic program. In the 2010 calendar year, the club contributed $64,727.20 to the Spartan Fund, a fund-raising arm for MSU athletics, Lewandowski said.

The club had revenue of $171,935 and an ending balance of $86,235 for the tax year ending June 30, 2009, according to tax statements filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

With every connection being scrutinized by the NCAA I can see why Michigan State decided to act on this in a quick matter. They didn't want this to come back and bite them in the ass in the end.

 
Source: Detroit Free Press, Freep.com

Julian Wright Refuses To Enter A Game

It sounds as if there is a small problem brewing in Toronto. Raptors coach Jay Triano called for forward Julian Wright to enter the game in a 138-100 blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors. The problem was that Wright refused to enter the game. I don't know what the deal is but apparently Wright isn't too happy about the amount of playing time he's been getting.

There's one way to solve it Julian, play better.

Triano didn't seem to be too bent out of shape over what took place. "I just went to the next guy," Triano told the Toronto Star. "I wasn't going to ask him twice."

“I asked (Wright) to go in, and he didn’t go in,” Triano said. “I know he went to the washroom just before that. I don’t know if he wasn’t feeling well. I still haven’t talked to him.”

Wright hasn't been too happy lately and refused to answer any questiuons about what went on during last night's debacle.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Wright said. “Speculate on anything you want.”

This is another in a long line of situations where an athlete acts like a child. You get paid a few million to play a game. Sometimes a coach might want to try something different to make the team better. If you're not playing up to standards you spend time on the bench. That's definitely not the way to act, especially since Wright is going into free agency. Considering how his career has gone, it's gonna be hard for him to latch on to another team. He won't be back in Toronto and if he plays in the NBA next year he's gonna have to answer the question about why he didn't go in.

Hello Turkey!





  

DeSean Jackson Interns On Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has found a creative way to spend his time during the lockout. Intern on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.




Kind of humourous if you ask me. Maybe he's hoping to land a spot on a tv show. At least he's putting his time to good use.

Sullinger Says He's Coming Back To Ohio State

After putting the final nail in my bracket last night, Jared Sullinger is trying to ruin my dream of the Detroit Pistons drafting him. He says he's coming back to Ohio State next year.

The Big Ten freshman of the year and averaged 17.1 points and 10.0 rebounds and will probably be named to plenty of first team all american lists. Not to mention he's a possible player of the year candidate. He would be a top 5 NBA draft pick if he came out, maybe top 3. I know I would love to see him in a Detroit Pistons uniform.

After losing to Kentucky in a Sweet 16 matchup, he announced he would be coming back to Columbus.

“I did make a decision and I’m definitely coming back next year,” Sullinger said. “I need to work on a lot of things. I have to come back. I’m coming back to win.”


Whether he follows through on that promise remains to be seen. We've seen this one before. Star player says he's coming back and then changes his mind when those high dollar figures start getting thrown around.

If he does come back he'll be playing for a young Buckeyes team that will reload with top notch talent once again.

"I'm going to be an Ohio State Buckeye next year," he said at his post-game press conference following Friday night's tournament loss to Kentucky as reported by ESPN. "This isn't why I came here, to come in here and see my seniors in here crying."



"I came here to win a national championship," he added. ""I'm a man of my word. I don't change my word and no one changes it for me. This is what I want."

With the NBA's current labor situation in question that would be a good decision. For Ohio State fans they better hope this doesn't end up like Shareef Abdur-Rahim's press conference in a few weeks.