Oregon's Cliff Harris In The Fast And The Furious

Here's another story involving an Oregon Ducks football player.

Star cornerback Cliff Harris was clocked going 118 mph in a 65 mph zone with a suspended license by Oregon State Police. Harris, who was driving a rented 2011 Nissan Altima, was cited for driving while suspended and exceeding the speed limit in excess of 100 mph. Two other teammates were in the car with Harris but weren't cited for anything.

Harris, who will be a junior next season, was spotted at 4:32 a.m. by an off-duty officer, who contacted a trooper patrolling the area, according to a statement from the OSP.


Harris wasn't drunk and no one was hurt. That was the best news that came out of this story.

Oregon needs to be careful before the NCAA starts sniffing around wondering where players are getting rentals cars from. Of course coach Chip Kelly is disappointed.

"We are obviously very disappointed in the lack of judgment exercised by Cliff and feel it's unacceptable," Oregon head football coach Chip Kelly said in a statement issued Monday afternoon. "I've said from the beginning that it should be a privilege to play football at the University of Oregon. With that said, individuals must bear the responsibilities for their own behavior. Once we have finished collecting all the information in this situation, we will determine the appropriate action."

If the Ducks aren't careful Kelly will have more disappointment than speeding tickets.






 


 

Dallas Mavericks Are Honorary Ohioans

It seems everyone is jumping on the Dallas Mavericks bandwagon. I know the supposed superteam Miami Heat were the villains and all but the bandwagon is usually reserved for fans and not government officials.

Ohio Governor, John Kasich, has declared the Dallas Mavericks honorary Ohioans after their NBA Finals win over the Heat. It's complete with a document with a state seal.

You can read the full large size version here.

I guees this soothes the natives in Ohio since they do seem to be a snakebitten state when it comes to sports.

 

A Wild Ejection

Norfolk Tides manager Gary Allenson doesn't go ballistic, but an umps call does drive him up a wall, literally.



It was over a controversial ground rule double call where the ball has to clear the fence and not the wall. If the ball clears the wall and lands short of the fence it's a ground rule double and not a home run.

No one could really tell and the ump gave a lame excuse that the ball was dry so that it's not a home run. That made Allenson go Spiderman and go over the fence that led to his ejection.

Kerr: "LeBron Is More Pippen Than Jordan"

When the Miami Heat vanquished the Chcago Bulls to get to the NBA Finals, Scottie Pippen came out and said that LeBron James would be a greater player than Michael Jordan. It was blasphemous to say the least.

Now that Miami has been whacked by the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals, LeBron's shortcomings as a player have been exposed, magnified, and picked apart. Former Suns GM and current TNT analyst Steve Kerr did that and then some. In the process he told Pippen that his assessment was dead wrong.

"The irony to me is that LeBron is not Michael. LeBron is actually Scottie," former Bull and current television analyst Steve Kerr said Monday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "He's so similar to Scottie in that defensively he was just a monster, could guard anybody, really more of a point forward than scoring guard. Scottie always loved to distribute the ball. That's really where LeBron's preference is.



"Phil Jackson used to call Scottie a 'sometimes shooter.' Sometimes they would go in, sometimes they wouldn't. That's how it is with LeBron. He's a great talent and a great player but you can see his flaws as a basketball player. He doesn't have an offensive game that he can rely on: no low-post game, no mid-range jump shot so when the game really gets tough he has a hard time finding easy baskets and getting himself going. That's what Michael did in his sleep so that's why the comparison is wrong."

I would say just wait and see until his career plays out. I hate it when we start saying that a player is this and that. How about he reminds me of him. That would be a lot better.

I do agree with Kerr's point that James does need to work a little more on his game. Most notably his jump shot.

"Michael had three years at North Carolina with Dean Smith. That makes a big difference," Kerr said. "I think he was brought up at a time when there was probably better development at a young age in terms of coaching. I think LeBron is a product of the AAU system where you rely on your athleticism, you go and play 100 games a year but maybe you don't focus on your weaknesses and what you need to lock in on.



"As a result, fundamentally and technically LeBron has some flaws. He has to address those. If I were him I would spend all summer down on the low block shooting jump hooks and turnaround jump shots -- the entire summer."

College doesn't neccessarily benefit everyone, but it could've made James more media savvy than what he is.



 


 

Ray Edwards Has His Next Fight Canceled

Minnesota Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards' boxing career might be brief. His next fight that was set for June 24 against Larry Butler was canceled because Butler backed out for reasons unknown. He might have gotten a peek of Edwards' last fight and changed his mind.

Edwards and Butler both won their respective first pro fights on May 20. Edwards is now trying to line up a fight in late July or early August, but that might not matter if the NFL lockout comes to an end. That's only if he signs somewhere or returns to Minnesota.

Edwards says that he doesn't want to return to Minnesota, unless he gets a nice deal because money talks. He currently gets less than his backup (Brian Robison).

Quote Of The Week: Ron Artest

Everyone knows that Ron Artest says and does some crazy things. He's done it again recently when he was kind of praising new Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown.

“I think it’s good,” Artest said. “Mike Brown is a guy who got LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers to the championship with just LeBron and a bunch of old ladies in canes. I don’t know how he did that, I don’t know how he did that, but he’s a great coach — I played for him in Indiana. He was a great defensive mind. Rick Carlisle did all of the offense, and Mike Brown did all of the defense.”


Ouch! I know the Cavs were limited around LeBron but damn. That's worse than what ESPN's Doug Gottlieb labeled Michigan State before the NCAA Tournament, when he called the Spartans "Kalin Lucas and those other dudes". At least they got the distinction of being called dudes.

 (Thanks, Larry Brown Sports)

Bonzi Wells Trying For A Comeback

The New York Knicks have a void at shooting guard that needs to be filled. Right now it looks like they're grasping for straws. The Knicks had a two day free agent tryout camp that ended yesterday which drew 17 players that auditioned for a possible spot with the NBA team.

One player that seemed to stand out was former Portland Trailblazers guard Bonzi Wells. Yes that Bonzi Wells that was forgotten by many since the New Orleans Hornets cut him back in 2008. Personally, I thought he just stopped playing since then. Well he did "retire" in 2009 after playing in China and Spain. The former Ball State standout was back home in Muncie, Indiana before the playing bug bit him in the rear.

"I had a great camp," said Wells, a former Ball State standout and Central graduate. "I'm a 34-year-old guy and I got up and down the court excellent. I shot the ball great. I played pretty good defense. I did the best I could to keep those little 20-year-old guys in front of me."

Wells has been coaching AAU and I guess staying in shape. The Knicks are considering bring in Wells for a tryout. Signing him may be a different story. There is a possible lockout looming ahead so that might derail Wells' comeback. Either that or thoughts about his perceived attitude problems in the past. Wells is trying to change people's minds about those thoughts.

"With the interview process, they kind of ask you what you've been doing," Wells said. "I just told them, 'I've been playing with the local Y for the last couple years and I've been coaching AAU, so that's been my life the last couple years.' I just stayed straight forward and was very honest. Hopefully they understood my sincerity.



"(D'Antoni) said, 'I remember how young you were, and I thought you were a good guy. You were just in a bad situation, and I'm glad you're at this point in your life.' It makes you feel good when guys understand, because they've been 23 or 24 before. They know what it's like to grow up and they see my maturity."

 Good luck on this venture Bonzi.