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NBA Headlines
January 28
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
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The Miami Heat finally are whole. And for a while there Friday night, they were in a whole lot of trouble against an opponent that was living by the 3-pointer to an absurd degree. But with Dwyane Wade back, and a semblance of reality eventually returning to a New York Knicks offense that somehow was over-the-top thriving in the injury absence of Carmelo Anthony, the Heat held on for a 99-89 victory Friday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. For Wade, this was no subtle return, with 18 of his 28 points coming in the first half, a start that included a Euro-step layup, a dunk and a nifty reverse layup off a feed from LeBron James. "It's a nice welcome back for that young kid, number three,""
January 28
Pro Basketball Talk
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The official report on Andrew Bogut's fractured ankle is out and well, it's not good if you had visions of the Bucks in the playoffs. Andrew Bogut will be out 8 to 12 weeks with his fractured ankle, the team announced on Friday. Bad news. That is essentially the rest of the season. Bad news. Why bad? That means more Larry Sanders, more Jon Brockman, more Tobias Harris and Jon Leuer and Drew Gooden and Mike Dunleavy. Argue all you want that Andrew Bogut is overrated, he scores 11.3 points and grabs 8.3 rebounds's per game — Bobut is not underrated compared to the guys who take his minutes."
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The Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks are pursuing free-agent forward Kenyon Martin, according to league sources. Martin has spoken with executives from each of the clubs and is hoping to make his decision next week. The veteran of 11 NBA seasons will be eligible to sign and begin playing with a team as soon as the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers complete their season in the Chinese Basketball Association. Martin signed a $2.6 million deal with Xinjiang during the lockout, but left the team in late December in hopes of returning to the NBA. The CBA's rules, however, prohibit him from joining an NBA team until Xinjiang's season ends,"
January 28
Orlando Sentinel
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If this isn't rock bottom, what is? The Orlando Magic completed a forgettable week Friday night, falling to the hapless New Orleans Hornets 93-67 on Friday night at New Orleans Arena. Continuing to have trouble scoring even when not playing against the Boston Celtics, the Magic (12-7) are suddenly, desperately looking for answers after losing three of their last four games. After two devastating losses during the week to the Celtics --- one an offensive brown-out, the other a monumental collapse --- the Magic expected an easier time against the Hornets. They came in at 3-15 and lugging a nine-game losing streak. "It's the whole thing. We were awful…three worst losses we've had since I've"
NFL Headlines
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Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is still slated to play during Super Bowl XLVI against the Giants, but the damage to his left ankle is significant. A source with knowledge of his condition described the injury as a high-ankle sprain, corroborating what his father, Gordy, told WIVB-TV in upstate New York. The ailment, which arose while Gronkowski was being tackled by Ravens safety Bernard Pollard last week, generally requires 4-6 weeks of recovery time. Instead, Gronkowski rested it this week, sitting out two days of practice and receiving treatment. The expectation is that the game's most productive tight end will receive a numbing shot but that he'll play. After the season, however,"
January 28
Indianapolis Star
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Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and quarterback Peyton Manning have talked and made up, at least publicly. After four days of exchanging comments through the media that made the Colts sound like a house of dysfunction, the team released a statement Friday to "dispel any misperception that there might be any hard feelings between us." The joint statement from Manning and Irsay continued, "Since 1998, we have enjoyed a great relationship, based upon mutual respect and trust. We have always been able to talk and address matters we've faced over the years, not just as owner and player, but as friends. "We had a long talk and we want to assure Colts fans everywhere that we are both committed"
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John Fox dug into his coaching past to find a new defensive coordinator. The Broncos on Friday hired Jack Del Rio to replace Dennis Allen as the team's defensive coordinator, reuniting Fox with his first defensive coordinator from Carolina. Denver also hired strength and conditioning coach Luke Richesson, who spent the last three seasons on Del Rio's staff in Jacksonville. Richesson replaces Rich Tuten, whose contract was not renewed after 17 seasons with the Broncos. Del Rio, a former NFL linebacker, joined Fox's first staff in Carolina in 2002. After one year in that role, in which the Panthers' defense improved from the No. 31-ranked defense in 2001 to No. 2 in the NFL, Del Rio was"
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Chad Ochocinco was inactive last week, doesn't have a catch in the playoffs and has been pretty much a big-name flop in his first season with the Patriots. Ochocinco also has been uncharacteristically quiet with the New England media all season before finally opening up to the Boston Herald yesterday to say he has no regrets about talking his way out of Cincinnati and becoming invisible as a Patriot. "No, there's no bittersweetness," he told the paper. "There's a competitive side to me that is angry, the competitive nature in me that it didn't go the way it normally has. I routinely produce a certain way every year. So when that routine goes astray like it did this year, it feels funny."
MLB Headlines
January 28
Chicago Tribune
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Baseball appears ready for an extra round of wild-card playoffs by this fall, according to commissioner Bud Selig. "I really believe we'll have the (extra) wild card for this year," Selig said Friday at SoxFest. "Clubs really want it. I don't think I've ever seen an issue that the clubs want more than to have the extra wild card." The extra round would be one-game elimination in both the National and American Leagues to the teams who would have missed the playoffs as they are set up now. Some have argued for a best-of-three, but that appears impossible with the scheduled all but set for 2012."
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Free-agent pitcher Roy Oswalt has elected to remain in the National League and is likely to sign with theSt. Louis Cardinals "soon," a major league source said late Friday night. Presumably, any agreement would be pending a physical for Oswalt, who has a history of back problems. "It's not yet 100 percent," the source said. Oswalt, one of the last of the big-name free agents still on the market, had been ardently pursued by the Boston Red Sox, among others. Another team reportedly in the mix for Oswalt was the Texas Rangers, while CBSSports.com reported late Friday night that Oswalt had rejected an offer from the Detroit Tigers."
January 28
Los Angeles Times
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The owner of the reigning NBA champions will not be the next owner of the Dodgers. Mark Cuban was eliminated from the Dodgers' ownership sweepstakes Friday, along with baseball executive and former agent Dennis Gilbert, according to two people familiar with the process but not authorized to discuss it. At least eight bidders advanced to the second round Friday, including a group led by Magic Johnson and veteran baseball executive Stan Kasten and another headed by local developer Rick Caruso and former Dodgers manager Joe Torre. East Coast hedge fund giant Steven Cohen, former Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley and St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke also are believed to have advanced, as well as a"
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The Phillies and Hunter Pence avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $10.4 million contract Friday. The deal is at the halfway point between the $11.8 million Pence was seeking through arbitration and the $9 million the Phillies offered. Pence is not eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season."
NHL Headlines
January 28
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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The hockey world is focused on Canada's capital city for All-Star Game festivities, but Penguins fans can also turn their attention to Los Angeles. That is where center Sidney Crosby has resumed skating as he pursues a second comeback this season from concussion-related symptoms. Crosby is conducting on-ice workouts -- the specifics of which are not known -- at a Los Angeles-area rink, the Penguins confirmed Thursday. Though not diagnosed with a second concussion, Crosby has not played since Dec. 5 because of concussion-like symptoms that include balance issues. The Penguins said Sunday that Crosby had traveled to California for treatment under Dr. Robert S. Bray, a neurological spine"
January 28
Chicago Tribune
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General manager Stan Bowman made a move Friday night to strengthen the Blackhawks up the middle when he acquired veteran center Brendan Morrison in a trade with the Flames. The Hawks sent minor-league defenseman Brian Connelly in exchange for Morrison, who has appeared in 923 career NHL games over parts of 14 seasons and could be the answer to the void at second-line center. "When you can bring a player of Brendan's caliber into your group, and you didn't have to really tear your team apart, is important for us," Bowman said. "(Morrison) having the experience and having the ability to play with skilled players gives us a lot of options. He has been a point producer in the past and he also"
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Day 5 of the Tim Thomas controversy rolled on here at All-Star weekend as the players met the press at the Ottawa Westin, and it's clear the Bruins goalie is ready for the whole brouhaha to go away. "I think it should. Why? Because it's all media-driven right now, and it has been from the start," Thomas said yesterday. "Everything I said and did was as an individual and not as a representative of the Boston Bruins. All it has to do with is me. It's separate from hockey. That's my personal life. Those are my personal views. Those are my personal beliefs, It has nothing to do with hockey. It has nothing to do with the All-Star Game. It has nothing to do with the Boston Bruins." Thomas"
January 28
Washington Times
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As a suspended player, Alex Ovechkin didn't want to be a distraction at NHL All-Star weekend. He succeeded in avoiding that role and the bevy of questions that would have inevitably come with his appearance in Ottawa, but that didn't mean his absence wasn't a topic of conversation. Most players brushed off the importance of Ovechkin pulling out, but Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen voiced opposition to the Washington Capitals star's choice. "I always think this is kind of your personal choice, but for the fans, I don't think it's right. Still, the fans are the ones who pay our salary and that kind of stuff," Timonen said. "They wanted to see him; he's one of the best players in"