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paul george - respect

Paul George has gained the respect ...

All-Star Paul George has grown in the past year. Almost a year ago when the US Olympic team was preparing for the games, Paul George was being use...

Indiana Pacers vs Miami Heat - Game Two

Pacers prove to be worthy opponents...

Lebron shot 70% from the field for 36 points and it still wasn't good enough to go up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference final series versus the Pace...

Lakers Suns Basketball

Steve Nash doesn’t want ex-wi...

When Steve Nash was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers last year, aside from the obvious opportunity of playing alongside Kobe Bryant, he liked the ...

tim duncan - divorce2

Tim Duncan and wife Amy are getting...

Women. Tim Duncan and his wife Amy's relationship appears to over. Amy filed for divorce in March and the proceedings have been dragged along unti...

Celebrities

Kris Humphries - sweater

Divorce Settlement Approved Between Brooklyn Nets Forward Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian

It wasn’t the greatest season for Brooklyn Nets forward Kris Humphries. After making so much progress in 2011-12 on the basketball cou...

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paul george - respect

Paul George has gained the respect of LeBron James

All-Star Paul George has grown in the past year. Almost a year ago when the US Olympic team was ...

Trending Players

MLB: Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers

TRENDING PLAYER: ANIBAL SANCHEZ

Anibal Sanchez signed a massive extension with the Tigers in the off-season for $80 million over the next five years. While the contract...

TRENDING PLAYER: ANIBAL SANCHEZ

MLB: Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers

Anibal Sanchez signed a massive extension with the Tigers in the off-season for $80 million over the next five years. While the contract was rather big for a guy that has only had two seasons of 30 plus starts, Sanchez is looking like he’s worth every penny right now. On Friday versus the Twins, it was looking like Sanchez was about to become the league’s first pitcher on the season to throw a no hitter, but Joe Mauer singled in the ninth to break up the bid.

”He’s nasty, and he had everything working tonight,” Mauer said. ”Obviously, you know exactly what is happening, and you don’t want to get no-hit. I’m just up there trying to put the bat on the ball. He threw me a really good cutter and I was just able to square it up.”

sanchez mauer

With a handful of one-hit performances already this season, Sanchez can now be added to the list. He finished the game allowing three walks and struck out 12.

”He called me out to the mound. In the middle of a no-hitter,” Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. ”I’ve been in the middle of a no-hitter a few times, in the sixth, seventh inning, I don’t think a pitcher’s ever called me out to the mound. … He just forgot what signs we were using when there’s a guy on second base.”

This was the second really dominant performance by Sanchez over the last month. On April 26th versus the Atlanta Braves, he threw eight innings of shutout ball, allowing only five hits. He also struck out a franchise record 17 batters.

So he’s definitely earning his large salary this season with 80 strikeouts (second in the American League) in 64 innings of work to go with a 2.38 ERA and 1.12 WHIP.

Paul George has gained the respect of LeBron James

paul george - respect

All-Star Paul George has grown in the past year. Almost a year ago when the US Olympic team was preparing for the games, Paul George was being used as a practice pylon for team’s superstars (LeBron, Bryant, Anthony, Durant) to run circles around. George didn’t mind it at all actually and used the experience to grow as a player.

Grow he did.

He was named the NBA’s most improved player this season and made his first ever All-Star appearance. Now, he’s trying to prevent LeBron and the Heat from winning a second straight NBA championship. After putting up 22 points and six assists in Game 2 of the series, George is gaining the respect of Lebron.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, here is the sequence that occurred late in the third quarter Friday night which validated George as not just another player in the league anymore.

After George leaped into the rafters to impale the 6-foot-10 Chris Andersen with a dunk, James rushed the ball down the floor and hit a 30-footer at the buzzer of the third period. It was a magnificent sequence, two spectacular plays within a 5.1-second window that inspired James to change direction on his way to the Heat’s huddle.

James chased down George, reached out his hand and pressed palm on palm.

“I got you back, young fella,” James told him.

For a moment, George had to gather himself. Here unfolded a most surreal scene in a surreal rise out of mid-major college basketball, the evolution of James’ dutiful understudy into James’ problem.

“That was a moment for me,” George said, “that I’ll always remember.”

paul george - respect2

When you go toe-to-toe like that with LeBron to make for some of the most exciting basketball sequences of the postseason, you’ll be looked at differently as a player.

George has the respect of LeBron now following these first two games of the series.

“He’s going to be a great one.” said James.

If you’re Paul George you’re abviously feeling good right now. You got the respect and you got the win. However the war is still going on and he needs to make sure this validation doesn’t mess with his head. The series is tied 1-1 and the Pacers still have to win another three games.

Enjoy the moment Paul and then get right back to work.

“I’ve got the most respect for LeBron,” George said. “I look up to him.”

Pacers prove to be worthy opponents versus Heat, pull even in series and steal home court advantage

Indiana Pacers vs Miami Heat - Game Two

Lebron shot 70% from the field for 36 points and it still wasn’t good enough to go up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference final series versus the Pacers. The Heat barely walked away from Game 1 with the win and now the series is all tied up going back to Indiana. Leading the way  for the Pacers on the offence making 10 of his 15 shots for 29 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds was the big man, the monster, Roy Hibbert.

”We haven’t done anything yet,” Hibbert said. ”We haven’t closed the series out. We won one game. A lot of us feel we should be up 2-0.”

Pacers coach Frank Vogel was careful with his choice of words following the game, knowing that this still a team that has only lost 4 out of their past 50 games. You want to give credit to your men, but you also don’t want to take anything away from your opponent because Lebron is still Lebron and you know he’s going to come back hard.

”It’s one of the best basketball games I’ve ever been a part of,” Vogel said. ”It wasn’t about LeBron making mistakes down the stretch. He played one of the best basketball games I’ve ever seen anybody play. We were just able to make a couple plays late in the game.”

Indiana Pacers vs Miami Heat - Game Two

Power forward David West only went 2-for-9, but he made 9 out of 10 free throws and was key on the defensive end in the final seconds of the game, preventing James from more late game heroics.

”We’ve been able to maintain our composure throughout the year,” West said. ”That’s helped us throughout these playoffs and especially in environments like these.”

Big series. Pacers are good and are making life difficult for the Heat.

Steve Nash doesn’t want ex-wife to relocate to Los Angeles

Lakers Suns Basketball

When Steve Nash was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers last year, aside from the obvious opportunity of playing alongside Kobe Bryant, he liked the fact that he would remain close to his three children who live in Phoenix with ex-wife Alejandra Amarilla. If he would have been playing for an east coast team like a Toronto of a New York, the travel to Arizona would have more challenging.

Steve Nash with wife Alejandra Amarilla and daughter Lola walk around SoHoNash has been in an ongoing custody battle with his ex-wife. Amarilla is complaining about the lack of child support by Nash according to TMZ.com. 

When the two divorced immediately following the birth of their third child in 2010, Amarilla received millions in the settlement. Not bad for a 5-year marriage that began in 2005. The laws of Arizona have not entitled Nash to pay child support because the settlement from the divorce more than covers it. However, California laws are more strict on child support, which is why Amarilla wanted to re-locate to Los Angeles with the children back in December (and of course so the children can be closer to their father, of course). Nash refused it and has put a restraining order on her to prevent that from happening.

Their trial is scheduled for next week so the restraining order is simply to prevent her from re-locating until a more permanent arrangement can be established.

Tim Duncan and wife Amy are getting a divorce, while the San Antonio Spurs chase title…

tim duncan - divorce2

Women. Tim Duncan and his wife Amy’s relationship appears to over. Amy filed for divorce in March and the proceedings have been dragged along until now. The news had come out this week regarding Duncan’s personal life and the First Team All-NBA center had said he wanted to put off the proceedings until after the playoffs were over as it was clearly becoming a major distraction.

That was yesterday. Today, according to ESPN, Duncan and the Spurs have confirmed the news.

tim duncan - divorceMEMPHIS, Tenn. — San Antonio Spurs All-Star Tim Duncan is getting divorced.

Amy Duncan apparently filed for divorce in March according to court documents obtained by the San Antonio Express-News. Spurs spokesman Tom James confirmed Saturday that Duncan and his wife are divorcing.

Duncan did not speak to reporters after Saturday morning’s shootaround, but James says the center will not be discussing his family situation.

The Duncans got married in July 2001, and they have two children.

The last part of the statement (two children) is most likely why Duncan has been “delaying” the proceedings. Facing that music can’t be easy, clearly his wife had grown tired. Duncan will have to rise above this distraction in order to close out the Memphis Grizzlies. His teammates will need him.

This is where basketball can be used as a form of therapy.

Penguins finish off Senators, move onto Conference final; Neal Hat Trick

neal hat trick

It comes as no surprise that the Pittsburgh Penguins are advancing one step closer to the Stanely Cup finals. Game 5 was settled by a score of 6-2. James Neal potted three goals and added an assist, but the offence has come from a number of weapons in the series. The Penguins have scored 13 goals in the last two games versus the Senators.

”We gave them the respect they deserved and we came out and I think we surprised ourselves,” Neal said. ”We played with a lot of speed and got it behind them and got to the net.”

When Jarome Iginla joined the team (and Brendan Morrow) the Penguins got a major facelift in terms of scoring depth. Sidney Crosby is surrounded by talent and that is scary if you’re the rest of the league.

James-Neal--2013-playoffs-

”We got to our game a lot,” said Crosby. ”The depth we showed, different guys chipping in. The whole way through we didn’t have many lulls where we lost momentum at any point.”

It doesn’t matter who their goaltender is (could be Vokoun or Fleury), chances are they will score more than their opponent.

”I hope (the Penguins) don’t bill us for the clinic,” Ottawa coach Paul MacLean said. ”But they really showed the step you have to take to continue to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”

With the Rangers living to die another day, the Penguins will either rest up or prepare for a battle with the Bruins and that will be a good series. The Bruins bring that defensive edge, toughness and Stanley Cup winning experience that could make for a difficult challenge. Or hey, maybe the Rangers become the once in a lifetime team that limbs all the way back from a 3-0 deficit. Doesn’t seem very likely though.

The next coach for the Brooklyn Nets will have some pressure on his plate to win a championship

brooklyn-nets

With a billionaire owner who is serious about winning a championship and doesn’t mind opening his chequebook to get it, patience is not apart of the vocabulary. For that reason, P.J Carlesimo, who took over for Avery Johnson last year as the team’s head coach, believes winning a championship will not be realistic.

Carlesimo went 35-19 after taking over the job, but following the Nets Game 7 loss to the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, was told he wouldn’t be returning next year to coach the team.

That is a mighty short leash, but perhaps Carlesimo was always a short term solution in Brooklyn. We do agree with him that it is a challenging situation for a coach.

”I also think the expectations are maybe not totally realistic, but you’d rather have that from your owner, and then he’s got the wherewithal to back it up,” Carlesimo said. ”That’s his goal. We talked about that from day one. He doesn’t make any bones about it. He doesn’t want to have a nice team, he doesn’t want to just sell tickets in Brooklyn and make the team competitive. He wants to win an NBA championship, and as a coach you can’t ask for more that. So if what comes with that is a short leash, well, so be it.”

Money can’t buy a championship team in the NBA. Maybe in Baseball, but not the NBA.

Phillies Chase Utley heads back to the DL with an oblique strain

chase utley

Chase Utley will be sidelined 2-4 weeks with a right oblique strain. The 5-time All Star second baseman has been hitting the disabled list almost as much as he’s been hitting baseballs over the past couple years, but the Phillies are hopeful this is just a minor setback.

”We do believe and hope that Chase will be ready to play in Philadelphia within 15 days,” said GM Ruben Amaro Jr. ”We are being cautious with this injury as it is a tricky one and want to make sure it isn’t an issue for him throughout the season.”

Utley’s career peeked from 2006 to 2007 when he was arguably the best hitter at the second base position in the game. He would hit for both power and average and has been a leader offensively for the Phillies over the last decade. Since 2009, we have seen a drop in Utley’s production due to injury plagued seasons. He had gotten off to a decent start this year with seven home runs, seven doubles and .272 batting average but at this stage of his career, the disabled list is not somewhere you want to be on a regular basis.

Phil Hughes mocks Derek Jeter, orders Starbucks coffee as “Sanderson”

Derek+Jeter

Pranks on pranks when it comes to teammates Derek Jeter and Phil Hughes. After a day’s worth of pranks with photos taken by Derek Jeter spreading across the internet, Hughes realized it was payback time.

Jeter had initially ordered a Starbucks coffee under his alter-ego name “Phillip”. Hughes took to twitter Friday, a payback picture that included a starbucks coffee under the name “Sanderson”. As you all know “Sanderson” is Derek Jeter’s never-heard about middle name.

It’s okay Jeter, we understand the time you have on your hands, especially when you’re making close to $28 million this year.

New England Patriots Agree to deal with Josh Boyce

josh-boyce

Early Friday morning, the Patriots agreed to a deal with the rookie Josh Boyce. His contract is reportedly for four years and worth up to $2.6 million with a $477,000 signing  bonus.

Boyce was the fourth-round draft pick for the Patriots, and second as a receiver. The New England Patriots are excited to have Boyce under their belt. Though they have yet to practice or do any organized activities with the infamous Boyce due to surgery on his fractured right foot. There are two rookies left unsigned with the Patriots before they fill up their team.

Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun was the first to report the news by tweeting it on his very own twitter.