Wednesday, December 31, 2014
LONZO'S SPORTS GEAR APP
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Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Source: Kenyon Martin to work out for Bucks
Veteran free-agent forward Kenyon Martin is scheduled to work out for Milwaukee Bucks coach and former teammate Jason Kidd on Tuesday, a source told Yahoo Sports.Martin was headed to Cleveland on Tuesday morning to meet with Kidd a day before the Bucks face the Cleveland Cavaliers, a source said. The Bucks have had injury issues at the forward position, especially with rookie forward Jabari Parker out for the season because of a knee injury. The Bucks have not offered a contract to Martin, who has not played this season. Free agents cannot be signed to 10-day contracts until Jan. 5.Kidd and Martin were a formidable duo with the New Jersey Nets from 2001-04, helping the team reach the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. They were also teammates with the New York Knicks during Kidd’s final season in 2012-13. Martin’s lone All-Star season in 2004 came while playing with Kidd.
AP Male Athlete of the Year: Madison Bumgarner
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Madison Bumgarner sat in the outfield alongside Jake Peavy before Game 7 of the World Series and told his teammate exactly what needed to happen: Tim Hudson would work a few innings and get the ball to Bumgarner, who would hand it off to the bullpen to finish the championship.
Peavy quickly offered his own prediction that Bumgarner would end it himself.
That's exactly what MadBum did, following up a pair of World Series wins with a save at Kansas City to close out San Francisco's third title in five years and cap a brilliant postseason that made him a household name — or, at the very least, a household nickname. He is the 2014 Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.
"I was sitting in the outfield with Madison and he was asking me how I thought this game was going to play out," Peavy recalled this month. "I said to him: 'Madison, when you get the ball, you're not coming out of the game. You're the best guy we've got.' ... He said, 'Man, that's exactly what I hoped you would say' and exactly what he wanted. He just needed some confirmation, somebody to believe in him as well. I said, 'Fight for that ball, man,' and what he did will go down in the ages as the best ever."
Friday, December 19, 2014
Former Angels No. 1 pick Ryan Bolden killed in fight over candy
In a tragic end to a baseball life that once showed promise, Ryan Bolden, a former first-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels, was shot and killed Wednesday night.
Bolden was just 23, and hadn't played baseball since 2013. He was drafted out of Madison Central High School in Mississippi by the Angels as the 40th overall pick in the 2010 amateur draft. His life ended after an argument broke out in an apartment complex in College Park, Ga.Bolden's baseball career, by all accounts, was a bust. He played in parts of four seasons, never advancing past rookie ball and never hitting above .200. In 2013, he played just seven games with the Orem Owlz of the Pioneer League, before retiring because of back issues.
Darko Milicic loses kickboxing debut, still declares his invincibility
I'm going to tread lightly here, since any one of the multitude of kicks and punches Darko Milicic threw opposite fellow Serbian Radovan Radojcic would knock me the hell out, but the NBA's failed former No. 2 overall pick lost his kickboxing debut, and that presents plenty of opportunity for jokes.
Famously picked by the Pistons immediately behind LeBron James and ahead of future All-NBA players Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in the 2003 draft, Milicic earned a bust label after playing for six teams over 10 seasons. His kickboxing career is off to a similarly inauspicious start.
As first reported by the Associated Press and later evident in video of the defeat, Milicic suffered a nasty cut on his left leg that forced officials to call the World Kickboxing Association fight in the second round. The man who once suggested he'd "kill someone on the court" if he had to couldn't do so in the ring.
Kendrick Perkins: Rajon Rondo wanted out of Boston
OAKLAND, Calif. – While Rajon Rondo continued to say publicly he was committed to staying with the Boston Celtics, Rondo's former teammate and close friend, Kendrick Perkins, knew he truly felt different.
"He wanted out, but he would never say that though," Perkins told Yahoo Sports.
Perkins and Rondo were teammates with the Celtics from 2006-11 and still remain close. Perkins said Rondo expressed his excitement about his trade to the Dallas Mavericks in a brief phone conversation on Thursday.
"Going to nice weather, a contender," Perkins said. "Hopefully, he will do what he got to do in terms of his contract extension. It's a great opportunity. I'm happy for him. I'm not happy he is in the West, but I'm happy for him. His time was probably up in Boston. He did his due.
"He was cool, happy. He was excited. He's going to a contender. He's 29 [years old] so rebuilding is out of the question now."
Thursday, December 11, 2014
College Football Playoff unveils national championship rings
For the vast majority of professional athletes, the ring is the thing. One of the spoils of winning a championship these days is being able to don some oversized bling on your finger, complete with an excessive amount of diamonds, as a symbol of the hard work that goes into capturing a title. But the pros aren't the only ones that get to enjoy the over-the-top hardware.
'Big 4' will be hard to topple in Champions League
MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- With nine different winners in the last 11 years, no one could ever accuse the Champions League of being predictable.
It does appear, however, that an established ''Big 4'' has been created in Europe's premier club competition - and this year's group stage backs up the theory.
Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, the last four winners of European soccer's top prize, were the top teams in group play, which finished Wednesday. In each of the last three seasons, at least three of that quartet has reached the semifinals of the Champions League. Madrid and Barcelona did so in 2011, too.
So, heading into the knockout stage that kicks off in February, it would be a big surprise if this season's champion didn't come from this small pool of juggernauts - teams who currently are playing football at another level to the rest.
Kevin Harvick named Driver of the Year
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick has been named Driver of the Year by a panel of broadcasters and journalists.
Harvick won the final two races of the season to earn his first career Sprint Cup title. He won five races in his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing, and it included three in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Harvick received 13 of the 16 votes cast by motorsports journalists who vote for just one driver. IndyCar champion Will Power, Nationwide Series champion Chase Elliott and World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz all received one vote each.
The Driver of the Year award is in its 48th season and encompasses all racing series in the United States. There are 17 journalists eligible to vote.
Tour to reduce volatility in FedEx Cup playoffs
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The PGA Tour is slightly reducing the volatility in the FedEx Cup playoffs by making those tournaments worth only four times more than the regular season.
It was the first change to the system since 2009. The value of playoff events previously was five times great.
The points will be reset going into the Tour Championship so that all 30 players have a mathematical chance to win the $10 million bonus, and the top five only have to win the tournament to claim the FedEx Cup.
Another change approved by its policy board this week was to eliminate the 54-hole cut during the playoffs. The 54-hole cut is used when more than 78 players advance to the weekend. That came into play at both full-field playoff events this year.
Wild's Ballard has facial fractures, concussion
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Minnesota Wild defenseman Keith Ballard has been released from the hospital, diagnosed with multiple facial fractures and a concussion after a collision with the boards.
The Wild announced Wednesday that Ballard will be out indefinitely.
Ballard was hurt Tuesday when he tried to turn away from Matt Martin as the New York Islanders left wing charged toward him. Ballard was driven face-forward into the dasher board, and his head bounced hard on the ice after he fell. At one point, Ballard appeared to be convulsing back and forth as medics hustled out a stretcher, but he was able to get up after a few minutes and walk slowly to the locker room with assistance.
The Wild recalled defenseman Justin Falk from their AHL affiliate in Iowa to fill in.
NBA reaches commercial deal with Brazilian league
SAO PAULO (AP) -- The NBA has reached a commercial partnership with Brazil's top basketball league, taking over its marketing, advertising and licensing deals.
The deal announced Thursday is expected to give a huge boost to the sport in Brazil and should help the NBA continue expanding its presence in the South American nation of more than 200 million people.
The NBA and Brazil's National Basketball League said the partnership has the ''long-term goal of increasing the popularity of basketball in Brazil.''
They said the leagues will work together - with the support of the Brazilian basketball confederation - to ''attract more fans and bring in new business ... through marketing strategies that will focus on enriching the product of basketball.''
Brazilian basketball officials said the partnership is the first of its kind for a sports league in Brazil.
''The partnership can expand in the upcoming years to include new areas such as basketball operations and player development,'' the local league said in a statement.
Financial details of the deal were not immediately disclosed. The length of the contract also wasn't available, although both sides said it was a ''long-term'' agreement.
''Basketball is very popular in Brazil and one of the fastest-growing sports in the country,'' said Arnon de Mello, the NBA's managing director in Brazil. ''The NBA is very happy with this partnership. It allows us to dream bigger. We will help with the growth and the development of the sport.''
A few NBA executives were in Sao Paulo for the official announcement, which comes two months after the league was in Rio to host a high-profile preseason game between the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers of LeBron James. It was the second year in a row that the NBA was in the country. The Chicago Bulls and the Washington Wizards played in the first-ever NBA game in Brazil in 2013.
The NBA has a significant number of fans in Brazil, to the point that it's common for local tourism agencies to offer travel packages that include tickets for games in cities such as Orlando, Miami and New York. There are seven Brazilian players in the NBA this season, the most ever.
Women's groups blast NFL's new personal conduct policy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women's advocacy groups on Thursday excoriated NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's changes to the league's personal conduct policy, saying it does not do enough to help victims and hold players who commit domestic violence accountable.
National Football League owners voted on Wednesday to accept Goodell's revised program, hoping to stem criticism that has tarnished the league's image.
"It's an exercise in public relations," National Organization for Women President Terry O'Neill told Reuters. "Roger Goodell's idea of leadership is to fake out the public.
"And he thinks if he can fake it long enough, the spotlight on this issue will go away. That's his whole plan."Under the new policy, Goodell will no longer make initial ruling in misconduct cases but will remain in charge of appeals.
Goodell's toughened disciplinary guidelines announced in August for domestic violence were maintained: six games for a first offense and a lifetime ban, subject to review after one year, for a second.
O'Neill wants economic support for the victim and a system to correlate the danger of the offense with the length of the suspension.
"This is not one-size-fits-all," she said. "The automatic six-game suspension might be dangerous. Where's the commitment to the victim and the dangerousness of the situation?"
Marlins GM Dan Jennings deals pitcher Dan Jennings
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Dan Jennings traded Dan Jennings.
On the final day of the winter meetings, the Miami Marlins sent Jennings, a 27-year-old left-handed reliever, to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday for 26-year-old right-hander Andre Rienzo.
Dan Jennings, the Marlins' 54-year-old general manager, laughed about the deal.
''On the road, sometimes he'd get to the room and say to me, 'I think I got the wrong room. They put wine in my room,''' the GM said.
The pitcher was 3-6 with a 2.43 ERA and 84 strikeouts over 100 innings in 116 relief appearances with the Marlins from 2012-14.
''When it happened, I had to question which Dan Jennings we were trading,'' said Mike Hill, Miami's president of baseball operations.
The two men aren't related.
''We used to have running jokes, he and I,'' the general manager said. ''A box would come in and it would go upstairs to me. Different mail would come in and go to the wrong guy.''
The GM, who joined the team in 2002 as vice president of player personnel, said the Marlins' Manny Colon would be a beneficiary of the trade.
''Our traveling secretary is certainly glad it happened, because it was a mess on the road,'' the elder Jennings said.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Messi yellow card appeal rejected by Spanish federation
MADRID (Reuters) - Barcelona's appeal against Lionel Messi's yellow card for time wasting after he was hit on the head by a plastic bottle in Sunday's La Liga game at Valencia has been rejected by the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF).
Messi was celebrating Barca's 94th-minute winner with his team mates near the corner flag at the Mestalla stadium when the bottle was thrown from the stands.
Messi was examined by a member of Barcelona's medical staff after the final whistle and did not appear to be injured, giving the thumbs-up as he walked off the pitch.The RFEF's competition committee confirmed the caution in a statement published on the federation's website (www.rfef.es) on Wednesday, rejecting the appeal Barca lodged on Tuesday.
The referee said in his match report the card was shown because Messi "delayed his return to his half of the pitch after the goal was scored with the intention of wasting time".
Valencia vowed to ban the bottle-throwing fan from the Mestalla for life once the person had been identified.
Barca's 1-0 win kept them hard on the heels of leaders Real Madrid who are two points clear of their arch-rivals after 13 matches thanks to Saturday's 2-1 victory at Malaga.
Tony Stewart has 4th surgery on right leg
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Tony Stewart has undergone a fourth surgery on the leg he broke last year during a sprint car race in Iowa.
Stewart was released from a hospital on Wednesday. He was then headed to Las Vegas to celebrate Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick's championship.
Stewart broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg during the Aug. 5, 2013, crash and underwent two surgeries immediately after the accident, including one to insert a metal rod inside the tibia.
A third surgery last year was to close a wound on his shin. Stewart spokesman Mike Arning called Monday's surgery in Charlotte, North Carolina, the equivalent of routine maintenance.
Tiger signs four-year deal with India company
Tiger Woods is no longer the world's top endorsement moneyspinner, but the golf star's backing remains solid enough to land a four-year deal announced Tuesday with India's Hero MotoCorp.
The world's largest maker of motorcycles and scooters with 6.3 million sold in the 2013-14 business year will rely upon Woods as a pitchman as it tries to expand its brand globally, into Europe late next year and the United States in 2016.
"It gives me extreme pleasure and pride to associate our brand with Tiger Woods," said Pawan Munjal, Hero's chief executive officer. "We believe Tiger's brand, Tiger's recognition, Tiger's attributes will also lift and make the brand Hero as recognizable as Tiger."
Woods, a former world number one and 14-time major champion, was the world's highest-paid athlete from 2001 to 2011 according to Forbes magazine, based largely on his endorsement deals.
But in 2009, at the same Isleworth gated community where the Hero World Challenge tees off Thursday, a traffic accident involving Woods set off a chain of events that unveiled Woods' secret sex life with multiple mistresses. That would lead to his divorce from wife Elin and the destruction of his once-perfect image as a corporate endorser, several firms dropping him in the wake of the sex scandal.
Since then, Woods has rebuilt his brand name with such backers as Nike standing beside him. Last June, in the latest Forbes rankings, Woods ranked sixth in athlete income with $61.2 million (49.4 million euros), 90 percent of it from endorsements.
Munjal calls Woods "an icon for millions around the world" and adds, "He is indeed a phenomenon, a symbol of humility in victory and grace in adversity. An achiever par excellence, Tiger's appeal and charisma spans across continents cutting through barriers of geography, age, language and nationalities."
Woods met Munjal at Isleworth at a dinner following the Tavistock Cup, a showdown between private country club teams of golf stars. That led to Woods playing at Delhi GolfClub and to the latest partnership, which benefits Woods' charity foundation that supports youth educational opportunities.
TCU jumps Florida St into 3rd in playoff rankings
The top four in the College Football Playoff rankings going into the final weekend of the regular season is as follows: Alabama, Oregon, TCU and Florida State.
The question is: Short of a loss by one of those teams, is there anything a team on the outside can do to get in on Sunday when the final rankings are announced and the field for the first playoff is set?
''We're at the point, we're waiting for results now,'' selection committee chairman and Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long said Tuesday night. ''We're waiting for teams to complete their body of work. Again, we don't project out. We've all seen games that have different outcomes than we expect.
''We focus on what has been accomplished to this point, and with that regard, the top four teams to this point are ranked where the committee believes they should be.''
LA Kings sign Alec Martinez to 6-year extension
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Los Angeles Kings have agreed to a six-year, $24 million contract extension with Alec Martinez, the defenseman who scored two series-ending overtime playoff goals last June.
The Kings announced the deal Wednesday with Martinez, signing another two-time Stanley Cup champion to a long-term deal.
Martinez is a dependable defenseman who became an NHL playoff folk hero with two clutch goals last summer.
His Game 7 overtime goal off Nick Leddy's torso sent the Kings past the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference finals, and his shot into an open net in Game 5 against the New York Rangers handed the Kings their second Stanley Cup title in three years.
Ellis, Mavericks outlast Bulls in double overtime
CHICAGO (AP) -- Normally, taking 35 shots to score 38 points is not a production level that any NBA coach would embrace.
Game Leaders
But no one in the Dallas Mavericks' locker room had a problem with Monta Ellis' line in the boxscore Tuesday night.
''His shooting numbers were a little unusual, but every time we needed a big shot or a big play, he made it,'' Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.
Ellis hit three free throws with 1.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie it, then made his only 3-point shot of the game for a go-ahead basket in the second overtime that lifted the Mavericks past the Chicago Bulls 132-129.
Ellis finished with 38 points, including his trio of free throws to make it 108-all. He was fouled by the Bulls' Kirk Hinrich soon after crossing half-court, and kept the Mavs in the game.
''I saw out of the corner of my eye that he was about to do it, so I went into shooting mode,'' Ellis said. ''He ended up grabbing me and they called a foul.''
Because the Mavericks had no timeouts at the end of regulation, the Bulls wanted to foul intentionally - just not in that spot.
Longtime MLB umpire Dale Scott comes out as gay
NEW YORK (AP) -- Dale Scott figures he'll hear plenty of foul language from angry hitters next season. Such is life for a Major League Baseball umpire.
''They'll still yell at me when a 3-2 slider doesn't break their way,'' he told The Associated Press. ''But they'll be yelling at me because they didn't like my call, not because I'm a gay umpire.''
Two weeks after Jason Collins retired as the NBA's first openly gay player, Scott added his name Tuesday to a growing list of gay and lesbian sports figures taking similar public steps. St. Louis Rams draft pick Michael Sam, NBA official Violet Palmer and WNBA star Brittney Griner are among those who have come out in recent years.
Scott didn't want to make a huge announcement heading into his 30th big league season.
The trade magazine Referee did a profile on the veteran crew chief in October, and didn't mention his sexuality. But the 55-year-old Scott wanted to share an important part of his life, and made the choice to include a picture of himself with partner Michael Rausch. They've been together for nearly three decades and married in November 2013 in Palm Springs, California.
The caption in Referee said: ''He and his longtime companion, Michael Rausch, traveled to Australia for the 2014 season opener between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers.''
Twins announce $10.5M deal with Torii Hunter
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- When Torii Hunter first came up to the major leagues in 1997, Paul Molitor was bringing a Hall of Fame playing career to a close with his hometown Minnesota Twins.
Molitor could still swing the bat, and the impression he made on a talented group of youngsters, including Hunter, helped lay the foundation for the long-struggling team's renaissance.
Almost two decades later, Hunter is returning to Minnesota, his home away from home, to play for Molitor and return the favor.
''This is where I needed to be,'' Hunter said Wednesday after signing a $10.5 million, one-year contract with the Twins. ''This is home for me.''
Hunter spent the first 11 years of his career with the Twins. He was a first-round draft pick as an 18-year-old in 1993 and looked up to Kirby Puckett and Molitor, among others, as he made his way up through the system.
He watched how Molitor, who hit .341 in 161 games as a 39-year-old designated hitter with the Twins in 1996, went about his business, studying opposing pitchers for weaknesses and pouncing on blunders in the outfield to take an extra base.
New Falcons stadium now to cost $1.4 billion
ATLANTA (AP) -- The cost of the new Atlanta Falcons stadium has climbed to $1.4 billion.
The initial cost of the retractable-roof facility, which will replace the Georgia Dome in 2017, was estimated at $1 billion. That was later raised to $1.2 billion.
Now, it's gone up again by $200 million. The final budget was approved Tuesday by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. NFL ownership is expected to follow suit next week.
The new budget includes $1.078 billion in construction costs, with the remainder going to design, development and other non-construction costs.
''More detailed design plans allowed us to more accurately budget the cost of the stadium,'' said Greg Beadles, the team's chief administrative and financial officer. ''At the same time, construction costs across the board continue to increase as the economy improves and demand grows. ''
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