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The Daily Digest: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 |
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February 06, 2008 |
≡ The Daily Digest ≡
 O'Neal: new leader of the Shaq-sun Five? |
= To Our Readers =
We signed an agreement last August to place a daily audio show on a new Internet site to be called TheGoodSportsNetwork.tv. It was supposed to launch September 4, then September 24, but the site is still not live. Maybe some day it will launch, but we’re not optimistic.
We are delighted to say that our readership has never been stronger and our Web statistics program shows that TheSportsExaminer.com had more than 1,000,000 page views in December. Since you seem to like what we’re doing, we’ll continue for now, posting a weekday note and sending out the Tip Sheet to keep you informed. Thanks so much for your support.
= Tonight’s Menu =
>> The 31-16 Lakers, now 3-1 on their nine-game road trip, are in Atlanta tonight to face the 21-24 Hawks at Phillips Arena. While Pau Gasol was throwing in 24 points and taking in 12 rebounds in his Lakers debut last night, Kwame Brown played as a reserve for Memphis and had four points and four rebounds. In Atlanta, the Hawks have won two straight, but the Lakers are a 3 1/2-point favorite tonight. With an over-under of 204, the final is supposed to be Lakers 104, Hawks 100.
>> The sagging 15-30 Clippers are in Boston tonight to take on the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics (36-9), coming off a 114-113 loss at Cleveland (33 points for LeBron James). The Clippers have three straight wins over the Celtics, but Tim Thomas is questionable tonight, as are Ray Allen and Paul Pierce for Boston and Kevin Garnett is out. Even so, the Celtics are a 7 1/2-point favorite over Los Angeles, with an over-under line of 183. So, the final is supposed to be 95-88 for the home team.
>> Tonight’s college basketball showdown has no. 2 Duke (19-1) at no. 3 North Carolina (21-1) in the “Dean Dome.” It will mark the return of Dick Vitale to an ESPN microphone after throat surgery, but more importantly, UNC guard Ty Lawson is unlikely to play for the Tar Heels. Carolina has three straight wins over Duke and is favored by four, with an over-under of 164. Translation: Carolina 84, Duke 80.
= L.A. Stories =
>> What’s Bruin: See our daily blog on UCLA sports at LATimes.com!
>> The Clip Joint: The Phoenix trade of Shawn Marion’s expiring contract for Shaquille O'Neal brought this chilling note from Miami Herald columnist Dan LeBatard:
Miami had to do something with O’Neal’s bloated contract because the team needs to ensure it can keep Dwyane Wade here long-term. Marion is a rental - rent to buy, possibly. But now [Pat] Riley will be able to have the money to woo someone like Elton Brand this offseason in what is an overwhelming free-agent class.
It becomes a quick fix for Riley amid yet another overhaul. Wade, Brand and possibly the upcoming no. 1 pick make up a young and formidable core, and you can rest assured that Riley is just getting started once a tumbling Shaq triggers the start of this avalanche. Riley has the expiring contracts of Ricky Davis and Jason Williams, plus a valuable chip in Udonis Haslem, with which to play.
Brand would love to be here. He already signed here once before Wade. He was mesmerized by South Beach and the classy way he arrived at a recruitment dinner without a belt, and Riley immediately sent in an assistant with an assortment of Gucci options.
That would be the worst possible end to what has been a very disappointing season.
= Panorama =
>> NBA Hoopla: Say hello to Shaqazona!
Miami center Shaquille O’Neal is in the process of being traded to Phoenix today and is reported to already be taking a physical examination in Arizona. The Suns will sent shooting forward Shawn Marion and reserve guard Marcus Banks to Miami, just about balancing out the $20 million per year that O’Neal is being paid this year, next year and for the 2009-10 season.
The deal makes sense from the standpoint that Marion has a player option at $17.2 million for next season, so the salary difference isn’t much and the Suns would have had to pay Marion that much or more to keep him beyond the 2008-09 season. But will the run-and-gun Suns be able to maintain their scoring edge with Amare Stoudamire at forward and a 35-year-old, 325-pound center in the middle? That’s the question.
O’Neal has been suffering from a hip injury and has played in only four games since December 27. But the Suns felt they had to do something since (1) they haven’t had an answer for San Antonio’s Tim Duncan in the playoffs and (2) they’re now worried about the Lakers with Andrew Bynum coming of age and Pau Gasol giving them major (dependable) scoring in the frontcourt.
Several new nicknames are being projected for O’Neal: The Big Saguaro, Shaqtus and our favorite from Bruce The Moore: “The Shaq-sun Five.” Get it?
>> College Hoopla: One of the recurring views about the retirement of Bobby Knight from Texas Tech was well expressed by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti:
How typical – how sad – that this would be the exit strategy for the old ogre, a hypocrite who doesn’t expect the same qualities from himself that he demands from others. He has been a walking, shouting, cursing contradiction for more than four decades, unable and unwilling to control his ire when he required complete poise and focus from his players.
Mariotti’s bottom line: “Consider it final confirmation that he has always been his own worst enemy. Instead of lauding him as the brilliant teacher and strategist who never broke an NCAA rule, graduated most of his players and gained accolades from virtually all the coaching masters, history will remember him as the counterproductive bully and blowhard who thrust himself into perpetual controversy.”
One last note: it should not be forgotten that as recently as December 26, the Big 12 reprimanded Knight for comments about the officiating in a December 15 loss against New Mexico.
>> NFL Ticker: The hearts of Washington Huskies supporters dropped a little today and not because of Washington’s recruiting class. Former Husky player Jim Mora, Jr., who has said he’s covet the Washington head coaching job currently held by Tyrone Willingham, has reportedly agreed on a five-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks that will make him the successor to Mike Holmgren after the 2008 NFL season.
Mora will serve as assistant head coach and secondary coach next season, then move in as head coach, as he was for the Atlanta Falcons from 2004-07.
>> College Gridiron: With so much excitement surrounding “National Signing Day,” the first day on which high school football players can sign letters of intent for specific colleges, a very different story is emerging in Fernley, Nevada.
Fernley offensive lineman Kevin Hart announced in front of a packed school assembly that he was going to attend California, but in fact the Golden Bears had never recruited him. Neither had Oregon. Instead, the offers had been relayed by a paid recruiter named “Kevin Riley” who had told the Hart family that such offers had been made. Hart himself said he had spoken with Cal coach Jeff Tedford multiple times, but in fact, the player had been duped. “We have not been recruiting him,” said Cal’s associate director of media relations, John Sudsbury.
The fraud has led to an investigation by the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, which does not yet have a suspect. The Lyon County School District issued a statement which read in part, “the district’s investigation to date has been unable to verify that Kevin Hart was ever offered an athletic scholarship or letter of intent to play football.” Hart was ranked as a two-star player by Rivals.com and now, instead of his college planning being over, it has to start.
~ Rich Perelman
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