Loading ...Dick Jerardi of The Philadelphia Daily News: “Gerry Donaghy was the ultimate old-school referee. He applied the rules. He saw the action on the court. He reacted to what he saw. He made his calls. He did not socialize with coaches. He just did his job. He did it well enough to officiate for 40 years, ref 19 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and four Final Fours. He retired in 1997. After that, he was seen regularly at Villanova or Saint Joseph’s or the Palestra for games where he would talk with coaches, media and his many friends in basketball. He was at practices. He still loved the game. And he was very proud of his son Tim, who had become an NBA official. Then, as it became apparent last summer that Tim had been providing information to associates who were gambling on NBA games, his father’s world changed forever. Gerry had to hear his son called a “rogue official.” And that was among the kinder things said about Tim.”
Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times: “Tim Donaghy will not meet with the N.B.A.’s investigator who is examining the league’s antigambling policies and officiating program. Donaghy’s lawyer, John Lauro, said Wednesday that his client would not meet with Pedowitz because Stern had called his client a “traitor” and accused him of fabricating information about game-fixing. Stern said Donaghy made up a story about how referees fixed a playoff game in the hopes of gaining a lighter sentence. Donaghy was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months in prison. “At this point, based on comments made by the league, we do not believe that the N.B.A. will fairly evaluate Tim’s cooperation,” Lauro said in a telephone interview. “We have no plans to meet with Mr. Pedowitz. However, we would consider cooperating with a completely independent investigation of the N.B.A.’s practices.””
Brian Hanley of the Chicago Suns-Times: “The Bulls remain far apart in negotiations with guard Ben Gordon, also a restricted free agent. Gordon’s agent, Raymond Brothers, has told the Bulls that Gordon should be the highest-paid player on the team because he has led the team in scoring each of the last three seasons. Gordon averaged 18.6 points last season, down from a career-high 21.4 in 2006-07. Deng’s scoring also declined from 18.8 points per game to 17 in an injury-shortened 63-game season.”
Jay Mariotti of The Chicago Sun-Times: “The Bulls should interpret that as an invitation. With Rose on his rookie deal and Deng the only contracted player approaching a maximum level, Reinsdorf and general manager John Paxson should begin the complex process of clearing out cap space so they can pursue Wade in earnest. Assuming he recovers fully from his knee surgery — and knowing his mental and physical toughness, he’ll be good as new, beginning in the Beijing Olympics — this is a scorer and leader who would maximize Rose’s ballhandling talents and allow Deng to be a second-option scorer and eventual lockdown defender. Advance planning forces diff icult decisions, of course. Meaning, Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich must be among the purged.”
Fran Blinebury of The Houston Chronicle: “For some reason, I like (Artest). Because in the games we play against him, I hate him. When I text messaged with Luis, we talked about team chemistry. That’s only what worries us. We worry about the new attitude to the team. We are adding talent to the team and we need that, but building team chemistry is important. This is not bad. I don’t mean he is not welcome to Houston. But a new player always needs some time.” - Yao Ming
Sam Amick of The Sacramento Bee: “This is Tracy and Yao’s team, you know. I’m not going to take it personal. I understand what Yao said, but I’m still ghetto. That’s not going to change. I’m never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black players, but I don’t think he’s ever played with a black player that really represents his culture as much as I represent my culture. Once Yao Ming gets to know me, he’ll understand what I’m about. Sometimes it’s hard to get to know Ron Artest because I’m so down to earth to a fault.” - Ron Artest
Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty: “Watching Ron-Ron mouth off, skip games with no notice, scream at his point guard to “get him the f—ing ball,” complain about his contract, throw Mama Maloof under the bus, throw his teammates under the bus … I’m not saying those things are going to turn Jason Thompson into a bad man. But they have an effect, however subtle. They weaken the franchise’s authority, they weaken the team’s chemistry (however immeasurable and mythical the concept might be). Ron-Ron repeatedly demeaned Reggie Theus this season. Coach may be a blowhard at times, but he ain’t no dummy. He knew he had to avoid confrontation to survive. (And what do you know? He did.) The Kings will do more than just survive — they will thrive without Ron-Ron.”
Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com: “However, even if Artest can learn to mind his manners, the Rockets will still face some problems. Since Yao and McGrady are volume scorers, and Alston tends to be shot-happy, how will Artest get sufficient ball-time to scratch his itchy hands? Moreover, Battier is the ultimate team player who will stay out of the spotlight and do more than his share of off-the-ball dirty work. Yao is a mite tougher than he used to be yet is still a gentle giant. Alston, who only shot 39 percent last year, is Houston’s Mister Bad Shot. And T-Mac is not-so-secretly plagued by self-doubts — rightly so since there’s not enough starch in his game. All of which indicates that Artest could easily impose his fractious, impulsive, and confrontational personality on the team.”
Kurt of Forum Blue & Gold: “The market has been set by the Bogut and Okafor deals, those guys are worth $12 million a year. Now look at the numbers again — Bynum shoots at a 10% higher percentage, grabs a higher percentage of rebounds and scores a little more. Plus, when you think about potential future growth, Bynum is way ahead of those two. Does Mitch have a choice other than to offer a max deal?”
Pounding The Rock: YouTube Highlights of Argentina
Mary Schmitt Boyer of Cleveland.com: Links to LeBron’s Facebook page and blog
