November 20
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"
Despite being linked to a late round of negotiations with Allen Iverson, the Miami Heat denied a report in Thursday's New York Daily News that it had made a pitch for the recently released guard. "The Iverson rumors are just that, rumors," a team spokesman said. "There's nothing to it." . . . The Heat is listing power forward Udonis Haslem and small forward Quentin Richardson as "day-to-day" for Friday night's game against the Raptors."
November 18
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins engaged in some good-natured trash talk at the end of Tuesday's practice at FedExForum. After challenging Rudy Gay to an impromptu 3-point contest, Hollins finished him off with a 25-foot hook shot that banged through the basket. He laughed his way off the court. "What'd I tell you about messing with me, Rudy?" Hollins asked. "Don't mess with me." At about the same time, across the plaza from the practice court, an employee at The Grizzlies Store was taping a sign to a big rack of Allen Iverson merchandise. Everything was 50 percent off, all 90 remaining replica jerseys slashed from $170 to $85, though there was one important disclaimer: All sales are final! ..."
November 16
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley says Allen Iverson's time is up. Heisley told Iverson's agent, Leon Rose, that his client must decide soon whether he'll play or retire because the Grizzlies won't deal with the uncertainty beyond this week. Iverson, 34, has been away from the Grizzlies for the past 10 days on a personal leave of absence. "I've treated this like Allen told me it was – a personal leave," Heisley said. "But either he's retiring or coming back to play. I'm not upset with Allen. We'll be happy to accommodate Allen. If he retires, then he retires. If he wants to come back, we'll gladly accept him back. But I have personally made it clear that there's going to have to be a ..."
November 10
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
As much as the Grizzlies are sympathetic toward Allen Iverson and are rooting for his return from a personal leave of absence, their last workout wasn't the first without him. The Griz had plenty of practice with Iverson away because of a hamstring injury during the preseason. Still, the team's time spent on the FedExForum practice court Monday was anything but a routine day at the office. The Griz return home to face the Portland Trail Blazers tonight with a five-game losing streak and a bit of controversy in tow. Iverson won't make his scheduled home debut in a Grizzlies uniform. Their defense is ranked last in the league. The Grizzlies' 1-6 record is the worst in the Western Conference. ..."
November 9
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
Allen Iverson is contemplating retirement if he doesn't rejoin the Grizzlies, according to a source with knowledge of the veteran guard's situation. Iverson left the team Saturday after receiving permission from Griz owner Michael Heisley to deal with a personal matter. The stress associated with a family issue plus Iverson's frustration over playing a reserve role might spell the end of his 14-year NBA career, according to the source. Heisley said he's not been given any indication that Iverson might be leaning towards retirement, and still is holding out hope that the 10-time All-Star will return to Memphis. "I just think if he was going to retire, he'd tell me first," Heisley said. "I ..."
November 9
Memphis Commercial Appeal
columnist Geoff Calkins
"
After three games with the Grizzlies, Iverson is contemplating retirement for "personal reasons." Mastering the comeback in their last three has gotten New Orleans off to its best start in the franchise's 43-year history. If one of those reasons doesn't involve Hollins nailing Iverson's personal butt to the bench, I have a blue and white Iverson jersey I'd like to sell you. Not as many as the team has, mind you. It's lined up 3,000 jerseys for Allen Iverson night on Dec. 4. Maybe they can change it to Hollins-is-the-boss night? Give out little figurines of Hollins sending Iverson to the bench? Iverson left the Grizzlies after playing 21 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers last Friday ..."
November 8
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
When Allen Iverson actually plays a game in FedExForum is anyone's guess. The disgruntled Iverson left the Grizzlies on Saturday after he asked for and was granted an indefinite leave of absence to deal with a personal matter, the team confirmed before its game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Instead of traveling to Staples Center, Iverson boarded a flight to Atlanta in the afternoon. Atlanta is where Iverson lives during the offseason. Griz owner Michael Heisley vehemently insisted that Iverson needed time off to handle an important family issue. A timetable for Iverson's return is unknown. The veteran guard did not ask for a trade or request to be waived. Heisley said the team knew ..."
October 30
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
Allen Iverson says he's ready to run with the Grizzlies if the trainers give him permission. And MRI results put Iverson closer to his goal Thursday morning when he was cleared to participate in a full-contact practice. But while Griz coach Lionel Hollins said the workout was encouraging, his understanding is that Iverson's return is targeted for Monday when the team plays at Sacramento. So the Griz are expected to be without the 10-time all-star guard for tonight's game with the Toronto Raptors at FedExForum. "I felt good," Iverson said. "It was a regular day of practice for me. I didn't feel any pain. I didn't feel fatigued to not be able to get through it. I'm ready to play. It's up to ..."
October 27
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
Allen Iverson, wearing a white T-shirt and baggy blue shorts, sank seven straight set shots from the right elbow, each attempt eliciting cheers from an enthusiastic crowd before an open scrimmage at Memphis University School eight days ago. It was a rare public viewing of Iverson in action this preseason: He missed all eight of the Grizzlies' exhibition games, a partial tear in his left hamstring limiting him to the training room and a spot at the end of the bench. And that was where he planted himself when his teammates began playing without him at MUS, a good 40 feet of high school hardwood separating him from coach Lionel Hollins, who figures to own one of the most challenging jobs in ..."
October 14
Memphis Commercial Appeal
columnist Scot Cacciola
"
Allen Iverson called his wife after the second day of Grizzlies training camp and shared some unsettling news: His hamstrings were tight. He sensed something was wrong. At 34, he knew his body. And no matter how much he practiced at Birmingham Southern College, his legs refused to loosen up. He realized this was the result of a long summer of relative inactivity. Fearful of injury before he signed a deal, he had held himself out of pickup games and largely limited himself to shooting drills — a good idea, in theory. But on the sixth day of camp, during an open scrimmage that doubled as his public unveiling with his new team, Iverson felt his left hamstring pop when he tried to change ..."
October 8
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
Allen Iverson will miss three weeks with a partial tear in his left hamstring, the Grizzlies announced before Wednesday's preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That means Iverson will be sidelined for the rest of the preseason -- and his availability for the team's regular-season opener against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 28 is in jeopardy. "Very disappointing," said Iverson, a 10-time NBA All-Star and one of the team's key offseason acquisitions. "My whole thing is trying to make something positive out of a negative situation, and the way I see it is, I'm glad it's happening right now than during the season. So that's the only positive I can take out of the whole situation." ..."
October 7
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
Allen Iverson will have an MRI today because of a strained left hamstring that forced him to sit out Tuesday when the Grizzlies began their exhibition schedule against the Washington Wizards. Iverson's preseason debut will be delayed again tonight as the veteran guard will miss the Grizzlies' preseason home opener against Oklahoma City in FedExForum. Iverson said this is the first time he has experienced a strained hamstring. His absence is not simply a precautionary measure. "I can't go," Iverson said. "If it was Game 7 of the (NBA) Finals, I wouldn't be able to go." Iverson tweaked the hamstring during Sunday's scrimmage at the Grizzlies' training camp in Birmingham. He didn't practice ..."
October 6
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
Allen Iverson's preseason debut as a Grizzly has been delayed by injury. He'll miss tonight's game against the Washington Wizards in Richmond, Va., because of a strained left hamstring. The team says he'll also miss Wednesday night's preseason home opener against Oklahoma City at FedExForum. Tonight's game was a homecoming for the 10-time all-star, who grew up in Hampton, Va."
October 6
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
Allen Iverson had been wearing a Grizzlies practice jersey for all of two hours when coach Lionel Hollins, surrounded by television cameras and notebook-toting reporters, asked the media a question of his own: "Are you going to ask me about him after every practice?" That was eight days ago at Birmingham Southern College, where the Grizzlies held training camp and came to the slow realization that things were different now, that their anonymous existence as a struggling, small-market franchise was over. Iverson, a future Hall of Famer, has changed all that. It is a coincidence that Iverson's official public unveiling as a member of the Grizzlies will play out tonight in Richmond, Va., a ..."
October 2
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
Allen Iverson spent his third day of training camp with the Grizzlies being vocal on the court as the team held spirited scrimmages. Iverson, a 34-year-old veteran, delivered some choice words off the court, too. But Iverson's comments were directed at his former team. Iverson told ESPN columnist Scoop Jackson that former Detroit Pistons head coach Michael Curry "lied" to him about coming off the bench instead of starting. "They told me, straight up, 'Allen we would never disrespect you or your career like that' by making me come off the bench," Iverson said in an interview with ESPN.com. "That's what they told me to my face. And after that, I never thought about it again. I just went back ..."
September 29
Memphis Commercial Appeal
"
Allen Iverson showed up 20 minutes early for Grizzlies Media Day and strolled through the grand lobby at FedExForum with his business manager and right-hand man, Gary Moore. The place was empty, but the hallways that led to the court were blocked by locked gates. Moore got on his cell phone. "Where are we supposed to go?" he asked. "Is there an elevator?" And so the learning process begins for the new-look Grizzlies, who got poked and prodded by reporters and photographers before boarding a bus bound for Birmingham on Monday afternoon. Training camp starts today, which Iverson and his teammates expect to be all about business under coach Lionel Hollins. But there also seems to be some ..."