Memorabilia auctions offer old-timers chance to cash in
Bloomberg Jul 15, 08 12:26 PM CDT
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When it comes to souvenirs, some athletes are as memorabilia-hungry as fans. Albert Pujols has great success stockpiling mementos—for his son, or so he says—but even megastars experience slumps: Tiger Woods won’t sign for Roger Federer. “It is more important for me to talk to them and remember the moment,” says Woods. Bloomberg looks at celebrity autograph hounds.
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After 34 years of Final Fours, controversial broadcaster is out
Miami Herald Jul 14, 08 11:57 AM CDT
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For the first time in 34 years, Billy Packer won’t be calling the Final Four, the Miami Herald reports. CBS won’t renew the 68-year-old’s year-to-year contract, an exec confirmed, but will replace Packer with veteran announcer Clark Kellogg. Packer has been a controversy magnet, most famously for calling Allen Iverson “a tough monkey” in 1996.
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Olson calls NBA rule "farce," plans to push for changes benefiting college basketball
Los Angeles Times Jul 11, 08 2:55 PM CDT
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Lute Olson is sick of an NBA rule that results in top basketball prospects spending just one year in college, the Los Angeles Times reports, and says he'll no longer recruit such players for his University of Arizona program. Olson, who's seen the rule cost Arizona two top players this spring alone, calls it a "farce" and say he'll push for changes.
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OPINION
Some fault NBA age rule in driving Jennings abroad; others rip teen
Wall Street Journal Jul 10, 08 4:18 PM CDT
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The decision by a top high school basketball prospect to ditch his commitment to college and play professionally in Europe—thus thumbing his nose at the NBA, which bars players under 19—has observers up in arms, the Wall Street Journal 's Daily Fix blog notes. Camps appear split into those ripping the NBA's age rule and those criticizing Brandon Jennings for a selfish, youthful misstep.
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Athletes must keep agency up to speed on their whereabouts
USA Today Jul 1, 08 1:59 PM CDT
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Many US professional athletes aren't accustomed to giving blood and urine samples during their off seasons, but with the Olympics approaching, that's all been changing, writes USA Today . The US Anti-Doping Agency requires all potential competitors to comply with a "whereabouts program" and submit to random screenings for HGH and illegal blood transfusions.
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Cavs star knows Knicks, Nets ready to court him
ESPN Jul 1, 08 10:18 AM CDT
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LeBron James knows how much Knicks fans would love to see him suit up in Madison Square Garden come 2010 or 2011, but the Cleveland star isn't committing to anything yet, writes ESPN. What he is saying might have New York coach Mike D'Antoni worried, though: LeBron's favorite borough is Brooklyn, possible future home of the Nets.
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Review
Beastie Boy produces shallow but pleasing documentary
Rotten Tomatoes Jun 27, 08 5:25 PM CDT
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Gunnin’ for That #1 Spot, the second documentary from Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, is no Hoop Dreams , but critics predict a slam-dunk with roundball and hip-hop aficionados. The film follows eight high school phenoms through a high-profile Harlem pick-up game and “offers a snapshot of the kind of top players who one day hope to have a shoe named after them,” writes Variety’s Ronnie Scheib.
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OPINION
Chicago has waited long enough, and this 19-year-old is ready
Chicago Sun-Times Jun 27, 08 9:29 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Chicago Bulls GM John Paxson said after last night's NBA draft that he thinks the team should give Derrick Rose some time to settle in, but he seems to be the only person who thinks so, writes Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times . The No. 1 draft pick says he wants to focus on "being a point guard and coming in and starting."
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Rose goes first, in glut of college freshmen
ESPN Jun 27, 08 8:33 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Bulls grabbed Derrick Rose with the first overall pick last night in a wild NBA draft dominated by college freshmen. For the first time in history, the top three picks all were first-year wonders, ESPN reports. The Timberwolves then traded that third pick—OJ Mayo—for No. 5 pick Kevin Love, who was, you guessed it, a freshman.
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Rapper/director's Gunnin' For That #1 Spot opens tomorrow
Radar Jun 26, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Though by his own admission, he's "just terrible at watching basketball on television," Beastie Boy Adam Yauch—aka MCA—has directed a documentary about the nation's top prep players. Gunnin' for That #1 Spot opens tomorrow, and Radar catches up with Yauch, whose fight for his right to party is trickier now that he's a gray-haired soccer dad. Among the highlights:
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Cocaine killed the athlete 22 years ago, but the impact lingers
ESPN Jun 26, 08 2:45 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Twenty-two years ago, Celtics legend Larry Bird called the sudden death of new Boston draftee Len Bias "one of the the cruelest things I've ever heard." The legacy of the Maryland basketball great, whose NBA career ended with cocaine use just two days after it began, retains its nuance and potency even now, writes Michael Weinreb for ESPN.
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Boston's championship watched from London to Shanghai
Boston Herald Jun 18, 08 7:24 AM CDT
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As the buzzer sounded last night, giving the Boston Celtics the NBA Championship over the Los Angeles Lakers, it wasn't heard only in Beantown. All over the world, from London to Shanghai, basketball fans watched the Celtics take home their 17th Larry O’Brien Trophy. "It’s a global world," said a team partner and investment banker. "So when a team does so well like this with such a storied franchise, people know right away."
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OPINION
Celtics still have advantage and momentum, say columnists
Boston Globe Jun 16, 08 6:15 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Lakers showed last night that Boston doesn't have the NBA title wrapped up yet, but columnists say they still face an uphill battle. Los Angeles, tr