Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams practiced fully Thursday, a team spokesman confirmed.
It's the first time Williams has done so since spraining his right ankle during an offseason workout in Utah.
Williams had been limited in practice and has yet to play in a preseason game. He finally did some 5-on-5 half-court contact stuff Tuesday, then made it through the team's morning shootaround without any setbacks Wednesday.
The Nets are less than a week from their Oct. 30 regular-season opener in Cleveland. It has been Williams' goal to play in that game.
The Nets have not announced whether Williams will play in the team's preseason finale Friday night in Miami.
TheMiami Heraldreports that Miller has drawn up a complaint to be filed in court asking theHeatfor over $1.7 million in damages related to a scam he fell victim to. The head of the scam was introduced to Miller by a team employ. It's a long story. Take it away,Herald:When Mike Miller was waived last summer using the amnesty clause by Miami, it was thought there would be no bad blood. He helped them win two championships, they needed the financial relief, Miller wanted to keep playing, these things happen. But it appears that there is an emnity from Miller's side that has nothing to do with basketball.
Miller, who now plays for the Memphis Grizzlies, lost $1.7 million in a scam allegedly orchestrated by Haider Zafar, a South Beach bling king who presented himself as a member of a wealthy Pakistani family.
According to Miller's complaint that has been drawn up but not yet filed, a Heat employee introduced Miller to Zafar, and Zafar used $700,000 of the money he stole from Miller to pay for courtside Heat tickets.
Settlement talks between Miller and the Heat have stalled. Miller asked for that $700,000 back from the Heat, plus attorney's fees, but “the parties were far apart,” Miller's attorney, Andrew Fine, said.
In the potential lawsuit, Miller is seeking a lot more: the entire $1.7 million that he lost in Zafar's scam.
The paper notes that the "bling king" is in custody in Ohio on an unrelated fraud case, that teammates James Jones and Rashard Lewis were also victims of the fraud, that the Heat employee who introduced the two left the team during the playoffs, and most disturbingly, that meetings involving the two were held at the Heat's offices.
The paper notes that Miller hasn't filed the complaint yet, but he very clearly takes the situation seriously.
Carmelo Anthony said he had a "heart-to-heart" with longtime teammate J.R. Smith when news surfaced that Smith had been suspended five games for violating the NBA's anti-drug policy.
Anthony delivered a dose of tough love to Smith during the conversation.
"The time is now," Anthony said he told Smith. "You've got to want to help yourself. Everybody else wants to help you, but if you don't want to help yourself, that defeats the purpose."
Smith was suspended in early September for violating the league's anti-drug policy. He is expected to make his preseason debut Friday when the Knicks take on the Charlotte Bobcats.
Smith had been rehabbing from offseason surgery to repair his left patella tendon and a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee.
"We've been looking forward to him coming back all offseason," Anthony said before delivering school supplies to more than 100 New York City teachers and classrooms in what was dubbed a "Tools for Teachers Initiative" on behalf of his foundation and a real estate development company. "I'm pretty sure he's been looking forward to coming back. We're looking forward to it.
"We wish the suspension didn't happen but it happened and we move forward from that. He had a long offseason, thinking about what's been going on, trying to get back. Hopefully he turns over that new leaf."
Smith had a strong regular season in 2012-13. He was named the NBA's Sixth Man Award winner after averaging 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
But he struggled mightily in the playoffs, making just 33 percent of his field goal attempts. A turning point in Smith's postseason seemed to be his one-game suspension for elbowing Jason Terry in Game 3 of the Knicks-Boston Celtics series. He shot 43.5 percent from the field before his Game 4 suspension and 29 percent after that.
Smith re-signed with the Knicks for three years and $18 million shortly before his surgery. His success on the court is vitally important for the Knicks, who have relied on Smith to complement Anthony as the team's secondary scorer.
Earlier in the preseason, Knicks coach Mike Woodson said he'd like to see the 28-year-old Smith "grow up and do the right things."
"He's got to do the right thing by J.R., and his teammates and me as a coach in this organization and the fans that support him. That's what it's all about," he said.
Anthony has spent seven seasons with Smith between his time in Denver and New York. He said he hopes his recent message to Smith will sink in.
"It seemed like he took heed to what I was saying," Anthony said. "So we shall see."
After reading that tweet from LeBron James, and this article from Bleacher Report's Ethan Grant, I decided to ask three NFL scouts their opinion on James as an NFL prospect. The scouts have decades of experience projecting NFL players. The answers, well, surprised me.
My question was simple: How would James fare in the NFL? Not from five years ago, but now. How would he do right now?
/Getty Images
Scout One: "I really believe that in a matter of a few months, after some serious practice and contact, he'd be the best non-quarterback player in football. He'd play tight end, and he'd be better than [Rob Gronkowski] or any other tight end. He'd be better than Megatron. LeBron James would dominate the NFL."
I thought: Wait, what? James could come into the NFL and after a month of practices dominate the hardest sport in the world? Thought my scout friend had one too many margaritas. Then came the following from a second NFL scout.
Scout Two: "My question would be, what would happen once the hitting started? I also don't think he'd be able to block, which would be a liability to some degree—but there have been great tight ends who couldn't block. In today's game, blocking by the tight end isn't as huge a deal as it once was.
"He'd be an impossible matchup. He'd draw a pass inference penalty every play. You couldn't cover him with one guy. The Megatron comparison is a good one. Megaton is what [6'5"], and LeBron is [6'8"] and can run probably faster. He's young, still (28). He'd be in that Megatron mold, only bigger, stronger, faster. Think about a [receiver] that would be better than Megatron, better than [Gronkowski]. A lot better. That would be LeBron."
Oh. Snap.
The third scout had a different take: "He wouldn't be able to take the physical abuse. A guy that tall crossing the middle of the field would get killed. I don't think he would last a single game."
Then the scout made an interesting point.
"He would be a huge target, because every player would want to knock the piss out of LeBron James."
There is some middle ground here.
James' physical gifts would make him one of the more unique players in NFL history. Yet it is also true that James' body would be shell-shocked by the violence of professional football. He's not posting up Kevin Garnett. He'd be going up against some of the most vicious athletes in all of sports. His frame just isn't ready for that type of punishment.
But if James were ever serious and ended up spending an entire training camp with a team, he'd be formidable. He'd be beyond formidable. He'd be Jim Brown formidable. That's how good he could be.
2. A nasty day in the NFL
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
This story from ESPN's Jason Wilde details the frightening moments in the immediate aftermath of Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley's violent collision. It was a collision that left some of Finley's teammates wondering if he'd walk again.
Said teammate Andrew Quarless:
He couldn't move at the time. So I just told him, "Just stay here, just lay here, don’t move." That look he had in his eyes, that was something that stuck with me. It really hurt me just to see him like that. My brother was out there on the ground.
I was the first one there, I tried to help him up, and he just couldn't get up. That was tough to see, for me to see my brother out there on the ground and I couldn't do anything about it.
If he does, the NBA is due for some strange twists and turns over the next few years. Here's what Rose had to say in a recent installment of his 2013 NBA preview with Bill Simmons:Apparently, Kevin Durant is going to return to his old stomping grounds in Texas and join the Houston Rockets, teaming up withDwight Howard and James Harden to form one hell of a Big Three. And when that happens—which would be 2016, based on current contracts—there's more movement to come.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love, who were once teammates at UCLA, will also return to their former homes and team up once more—this time for the Los Angeles Lakers. Maybe they'll even stay in their college dorms.
The basis for these predictions is nothing more than the desire to play with former teammates (Westbrook and Love, Durant and Harden) and the college-town connections. Seriously. That's it.
/Getty Images
I suppose Durant's support of the bearded shooting guardmight play into this as well. He recently told Noah Coslov ofCineSport that he believes Harden has carved out a place among the league's top 10 players.
Even if Rose does have some inside scoop on what's being discussed around the league, it's not like teams are planning for the 2016 offseason already. Instead, they're currently focused on the upcoming 2013-14 season, and some squads are already thinking about what they can do next offseason, especially since both the free-agent class and the draft are set to be quite stacked.
No one is thinking about 2016.
Well, except Rose. Apparently, he's clairvoyant.
I'm not going to say definitively that his predictions won't come true. There's a possibility that Durant does become a member of the Rockets, and there's also a chance that Westbrook and Love usher in a new era of Lakers basketball.
Sure, why not?
But let's not pretend that we have any degree of certainty here. 2016 is a long way off, and a lot changes each and every offseason.
What if the Lakers re-sign Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol to three-year contract extensions and then land Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James over the offseason? Well, there goes the cap space that would be needed to sign either Love or Westbrook, much less both of them.
It's fun for Rose to make these bizarre, off-the-wall predictions, largely because he doesn't have to be held accountable for them. He can spew whatever nonsensical projections he wants, and it's not like anyone is going to remember them down the road if they don't come to fruition. And if he's right, he gets to look like a psychic.
But hey, at least this is better than predicting Michael Jordan will play a game for the Charlotte Bobcats this year.
The 2014 White Infrared 6 release date is fast approaching, and with each week we see more and more leaked photos of early production pairs. Unlike the "Varsity Red" Retro back in 2010, the 2014 pair will have the true Infrared Colorway.The addition of a blue translucent sole will make the older retro pairs distinguished from the 2014 retros, which otherwise are identical. Are you amped to the release?
For the first session, six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson laced up a cleated version of the Air Jordan 12 "Playoffs." Johnson is one of five wideouts on the Jordan roster, which recently added Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys.
Those of you gearing up for a new football season — would you like to see the Jordan Brand put cleated retros back on the market? Check out a few shots of Andre at Houston's OTAs and share your thoughts below.
Miss those old Air Jordan PE cleats that the likes of Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick use to lace up? You’re in luck. Jordan Brand has just announced the official induction of Dez Bryant and Earl Thomas to the JB family. The wideout and the defensive back will be lacing up cleated versions of the Air Jordan 12, as will veteran JB athlete and Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks. Take a look at the player’s PEs in their respective team colors below. Would you rock the Air Jordan 12 on the gridiron? Would you like to see these launch in turf or basketball form? Let us know in the comment section.
Yo Gotti and Meek Mill keep their middle fingers up for a revamped version of “Fuck You”. Yo Gotti’s Nov 9th mixtape drops on Labor Day and his I Am EP drops November 19.
Although Young Scooter is still in the clink, DJ Swap Izzo keeps his buzz alive with his latest mixtape. Features from Gucci Mane, Webbie, Future, YG and Wale.
01. Young Scooter – Probation 02. Young Scooter – Caught Up In The Streets (Feat. Future) 03. Young Scooter – Relationships 04. Young Scooter – Pass Around (Feat. Gucci Mane & Wale) 05. Young Scooter – Street Tides (Feat. YG) 06. Kortney Money (BMG) – Word On The Street (Feat. VL Deck, Dee & Young Scooter) 07. Young Scooter – Hood Memories (Feat. Webbie) 08. K Blacka (BMG) – Doin’ What I Want (Feat. Young Scooter) 09. Young Scooter – Roadrunner (Feat. Lil Phat) 10. Young Scooter – Diamonds An Money (Feat. Future) 11. Shyst Red – Like Me (Feat. Lil Boosie & Young Scooter) 12. Young Scooter – I Remember (Feat. BMG Chester) 13. BMG – Round Of Applause (Feat. Dee, Ty, VL Deck & Young Scooter) 14. Movie Malice – Everybody Fake (Feat. Young Scooter) 15. Kris Kelli – Should’ve Known (Feat. Young Scooter) 16. Young Scooter – Phone Freestyle (Outro)
When asked about whether or not he deserved to be in the Hall, the former Rocket said, "I think my numbers match up with some of the guys that are in the Hall of Fame. Whether or not I get in or not, it really doesn'tup with some of the guys that are in the Hall of Fame. Whether or not I get in or not, it really doesn't matter to me. I'm a guy from Auburndale, Florida (with) a population of 10,000 people, grew up in a pretty bad neighborhood, so to me, I'm Hall of Fame just by making it through my career. That's Hall of Fame to me."
McGrady also talked about how he's leaving the door open for more basketball, saying there's no question he can still contribute.
"I'm retiring from the NBA," McGrady said. "My options are still open - going back to China. I mean, my brand is so huge over there, so I might continue to expand on that."
Over his 15-year NBA career, McGrady averaged 19.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. Making the jump to the NBA straight from Mount Zion Christian Academy, McGrady was the ninth overall pick in 1997 by the Raptors. After leading the league in scoring with the Magic in both the 2003 and 2004 seasons, McGrady was traded to the Rockets from the 2004-'05 season until the 2009-'10 season. Over this time, he helped lead the Rockets to three playoff berths. His best year with the Rockets was his first season with the team, when he averaged 25.7 points during the regular season and then averaged 30.7 points during the playoffs that same year.
The 2013-14 NBAregular season is shaping up to be one of extraordinary proportions. Countless superstars are looking to make one last title push with their current team before entering free agency and the rookie class of 2013 has something to prove.
The NBA has announced that it will release the 2013-14 regular-season schedule next week.
NBA fans will now collectively begin to count down the hours.
The storylines are endless entering the revealing process, as the landscape of the NBA has changed after some of the moves in free agency. From superstars signing in new cities to high-profile names returning from injuries, we're preparing for a monumental season.
Here's a full breakdown of when you'll know what's coming next.
Date: Tuesday, Aug. 6
Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV: NBA TV
What We're Waiting For
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers, Feb. 19
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
The Houston Rockets will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 7. This will mark the first time that Dwight Howard plays his former team since leaving to sign with Houston in July.
With that being said, our eyes are set on a different date: Feb. 19.
Something tells me the Lakers will have no trouble selling out the Staples Center that night, as D-12 returns to Los Angeles for the first time. This may be the most intriguing game of the season, as both teams will be in form and Howard will have to answer to his former home fans.
Keep in mind, Howard went for 39 points and 16 rebounds the first time he played a road game against the Orlando Magic.
Watching Kobe Bryant take it to his former teammate-slash-nemesis will be fun to watch, especially if Pau Gasol bounces back. It'd also be interesting to see Howard dominate at the Staples Center to remind the Lakers of what could have been.
If there's any game that you need to mark down on your calendar, it's the Rockets at the Lakers on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014.
Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat, Oct. 29
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Perhaps the most notable storyline entering the 2013-14 NBA regular season is the return of 2011 MVP Derrick Rose. After missing the entire 2012-13 season as he recovered from a torn ACL, D-Rose will now look to prove he's still elite.
The Chicago Bulls will travel to play the Miami Heat on Oct. 29 whenLeBron Jamesand company receive their rings. If anything could possibly influence Rose to come out and shine, it'd be watching his rivals hang their championship banner.He'll be granted his first opportunity to do so against the defending NBA champions.
Outside of Rose's influence, who isn't excited for yet another physical clash between these two teams?
Even with Rose injured, the Bulls took the Heat to the limit on more than one occasion in 2012-13. With Rose and Luol Deng returning from injuries, tensions will be at an all-time high between these two Eastern Conference rivals.
Over the course of his 14-season NBA career, Shawn Kemp covered most every status on the basketball spectrum. As a young star with the Seattle SuperSonics, he stood out as one of the most ferocious and athletic power forwards in league history. Then, after several controversies, including his fathering of several children out of wedlock by different mothers, Kemp fell out of favor. His reputation arguably reached its nadir after the 1998-99 lockout, when he became the poster-boy for players who failed to stay in shape when the league was out of service. Like many once-beloved players of his era, Kemp left the NBA with little fanfare.
What's one G-rated or PG-rated story about an athlete that you've heard but haven't had an opportunity to share?
Shawn Kemp was late for a flight back in his Cleveland days, as he often was. He was beginning to run out of excuses. The one he gave the Cavs this time was, "My dog fell asleep in front of my car and I had to wait until he woke up."
No s---.
Poor Randy Wittman was the coach and he just took it. That's when we knew Randy was in big trouble. He was a rookie coach and Kemp worked him over. It actually said a lot about a bunch of things that were going on with the team at the time. Kemp was losing control of his life and Randy was overwhelmed. The best thing Jim Paxson did was find a way to hoist Kemp on Portland, which set it up for the Cavs to eventually get LeBron.
So Kemp's lame excuse about his dog falling asleep in front of his car in some way can be traced to the LeBron era?
Yeah.
Look, I think this is a perfectly acceptable excuse and not something Kemp concocted after encountering Clifford the Big Red Dog. He was just taking the old saying "let sleeping dogs lie" literally, like the NBA's version of Amelia Bedelia.
The weirdest part of this story is the idea that Kemp's tardiness eventually led the Cavs to be bad enough to obtain LeBron James through the draft. The timeline here is a bit vague, but the argument makes sense. Kemp last played for Cleveland in the 1999-2000 season, after which they completed three seasons of 30 wins or fewer on their way to the 2003 draft. While Kemp was not the star he once was, the Cavs also failed to replace him with a player of equal value. When the 2002-03 season came around, it was logical to lose as much as possible in the hope of winning the lottery.
The lesson here, I guess, is that any front-office executives looking for cover to unload a team's best player should carefully place a sleeping dog in front of that player's SUV. Then, in three years, that team will draft the best player of his generation. This plan may sound ridiculous, but it's just as likely to work as any logically organized rebuilding process.
The 2014 Pro Bowl, presented by McDonald’s, will feature a new format for the NFL All-Star Game based on major changes proposed by NFLPA President DOMONIQUE FOXWORTH designed to make it the ultimate fan-friendly celebration of the game, the NFL and NFL Players Association announced today.
Gone is the familiar AFC vs. NFC match-up that has existed since 1971. Instead, players will be selected without regard to conference in voting by fans, coaches and players. For example, the top six quarterbacks following voting will earn distinction as All-Stars, regardless of how many are from AFC or NFC teams.
Players will be assigned to teams through the Pro Bowl Draft, in which two leading vote getters will join two NFL.com fantasy football champions – who will attend the Pro Bowl – to draft players. One of these champions will earn their spot as part of Lenovo’s Fantasy Coach of the Year program, which provides NFL.com fans a chance to be rewarded for their fantasy football skills. The other champion can compete for a Pro Bowl role by playing at NFL.com/fantasy.
The fantasy football champions will have Hall of Fame help. Pro Football Hall of Famers JERRY RICE and DEION SANDERS will serve as alumni team captains, assisting the Pro Bowl team captains and fantasy football champions in the draft process.
“As players, we wanted to keep the Pro Bowl to honor excellence in individual performance and connect with the fans in a different environment,” Foxworth said. “To do that, I worked with a group of players to map out new ideas.”
The Pro Bowl player draft will air on Wednesday, January 22 on NFL Network. Players will practice with their teams on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The coaching staffs will be from the losing teams in the AFC and NFC Divisional playoffs with the best regular-season record. The 2014 Pro Bowl takes place on Sunday, January 26 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii, and will be televised by NBC.
“We were very receptive to the ideas that Domonique and the players put forth,” said NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL. “From there, our office worked closely with him in developing the concept. The players made it clear that they wanted to continue the Pro Bowl and were committed to making it better than ever. We think these changes will enhance the game for both fans and players.”
In addition to these changes, several other aspects of the Pro Bowl will be new in 2014:
Game within the Game – A two-minute warning will be added to the first and third quarters and the ball will change hands after each quarter. This will increase the opportunities for quarterbacks to direct “two-minute drills,” which are especially exciting for fans.
No Kickoffs – The coin toss will determine which team is awarded possession first. The ball will be placed on the 25-yard line at the start of each quarter and after scoring plays.
Rosters – The rosters will continue to consist of 43 players per squad. The kick return specialist will be replaced by an additional defensive back.
Cover Two and Press Coverage – The defense will be permitted to play “cover two” and “press” coverage. In previous years, only “man” coverage was permitted, except for goal line situations.
Stopping of the Game Clock – Beginning at the two-minute mark of every quarter, if the offense does not gain at least one yard, the clock will stop as if the play were an incomplete pass. This rule will make the team with the ball attempt to gain yardage toward the end of each quarter.
Game Timing – The game clock will start after an incomplete pass on the signal of the referee, except inside the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half.
Play Clock – A 35-second/25-second play clock will be adopted instead of the typical 40-second/25-second clock.
Sacks – The game clock will not stop on quarterback sacks outside of the final two minutes of the game. Currently, the game clock stops in these situations outside of two minutes of the second and fourth quarters.
With Smack announcing that he plans to have Murda Mook on the Summer Madness 3 card, many people have been wondering who it will be against. Tsu Surf and Murda Mook recently discussed a potential battle between the two of them on twitter, which you can see below.
With Tsu Surf facing Hollow Da Don at URL’s Night Of Main Events 3 event, a battle between them could likely be dependent on how that battles goes. Most people seem to agree that if Murda Mook does another battle, it needs to be against one of the top battlers from the current era. With a big battle against Hollow Da Don leading up to Summer Madness 3, Tsu Surf would have to be considered one of the biggest names in battling.
Let us know in the comments if you’d like to see this battle, and if not, who you’d like to see them against at URL’s Summer Madness 3 event.
Adrian Peterson has his sights on Emmitt Smith's NFL career rushing record and said he expects to break the mark in 2017, even circling a date on the NFL calendar as to when he'll accomplish the feat.
Peterson, 28, finished just eight yards shy of Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record (2,105) last season, when he rushed for 2,097 yards. Peterson has said his goal is to reach 2,500 yards in 2013.
But he also has targeted Smith's record of 18,355 yards, and told the Star-Tribune that he expects to break the record in Week 16 of the 2017 season, even though his current pace would have him approaching the mark in Week 4 of the 2019 season.
Peterson currently has 8,849 yards. His estimate would mean it would take him 79 games to rush for the 9,507 yards needed to set the all-time rushing mark, which would require him to average 120.3 yards per game in that span.
"Whoo. That's pushing it, huh? But hey, pushing it is the only way to do it. You know it," he told the newspaper.
If Peterson does become the NFL's all-time leading rusher, he'll make history in another category as well.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Smith holds the record for most rushing yards after a player's 28th birthday with 8,195, meaning Peterson would shatter that mark if he vaults atop the all-time rushing list.
Meanwhile, Peterson is laughing off gripes by players about the rule making it mandatory to wear knee and thigh pads this season. Peterson wore the pads last season and shrugs off claims that the pads will slow players down during games.
"I'll call B.S. on that," Peterson told FoxSports.com, which reported that he gave his answer once he finished laughing at the suggestion.
"It's like, 'You're a National Football League player. If a pad that doesn't weigh but a couple of ounces slows you down, you don't need to be playing in this league.' Like, come on now. Seriously," he told the website, adding that the pads are valuable for the protection they provide.
.jpg)
