At a glance: Lakers vs. Celtics
A capsule look at the NBA finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, which begins Thursday night:\nBoston Celtics (66-16, 12-8) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (57-25, 12-3):
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A capsule look at the NBA finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, which begins Thursday night:\nBoston Celtics (66-16, 12-8) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (57-25, 12-3):
NEW YORK – Mike D’Antoni has agreed to coach the New York Knicks, bringing his entertaining offensive style from the Phoenix Suns to a team coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history.\nThe Knicks released a statement Saturday night saying they had agreed in principle with D’Antoni and that a press conference would be held once the contract had been completed.\nD’Antoni had two years and $8.5 million left on his Phoenix contract. Suns owner Robert Sarver wouldn’t confirm that D’Antoni had taken the New York job earlier Saturday, but said, “Mike called me this morning to thank me, so I figured this was up.”\nThe offer is reportedly for $24 million over four years, making him one of the NBA’s highest-paid coaches. The Chicago Bulls also interviewed D’Antoni for their coaching job.\nMessages were left for D’Antoni and his agent, Warren LeGarie.\nD’Antoni replaces Isiah Thomas, who was fired in April after the Knicks went 23-59, tying the franchise record for losses in a season. D’Antoni will become the Knicks’ sixth different coach since the start of the 2002-03 season.\nThe 57-year-old D’Antoni led the Suns to a 55-27 record last season and was coach of the year in 2005. He had a 232-96 regular-season record the past four years, but the Suns were eliminated in the first round by San Antonio last month. The Suns then gave D’Antoni permission to pursue other openings.\n“We appreciate all of Mike’s efforts and contributions these past five years and wish him well in his next challenge,” Suns president and general manager Steve Kerr said in a statement. “We will now be methodical in the process of finding our next head coach and we’re excited about the potential candidates.”\nNew Knicks president Donnie Walsh had been looking for a coach since removing Thomas on April 18. Walsh previously met with former Knicks guard and television analyst Mark Jackson and Knicks assistant Herb Williams. But Walsh took his time to see what coaches would become available during the postseason.\nHe found one who won at least 54 games each of the last four seasons. The Knicks, meanwhile, are coming off their seventh straight losing season and haven’t won a playoff game since 2001.
Donnie Walsh is in. Now he needs a little time before deciding if Isiah Thomas is out.\nWalsh was hired Wednesday as the New York Knicks’ president of basketball operations, taking one of Thomas’ jobs. Sometime soon he will decide if Thomas keeps his other job: head coach.\nThat won’t happen yet, though. Thomas is in Memphis, where the Knicks continued a five-game road trip Wednesday night, and Walsh won’t determine the coach’s future until they have met in person.\n“I need to sit down with Isiah and have a meaningful basketball conversation,” Walsh said.\nThomas was asked if he thought he would need to save his job when they do meet.\n“If that’s necessary, you know I think with any new boss you have to sell your program,” Thomas said. “There’d be some things that hopefully he’ll like, and I’m sure there will be some things he wants to change.”\nWalsh hired Thomas to coach the Indiana Pacers in 2000, and both say they enjoy a good relationship. Walsh said they spoke Tuesday, adding that Thomas has a “great basketball mind” and believes he can still help the organization in some way.\n“Whatever I can do to make the Knicks better, that’s what I’ll do,” Thomas said.\nWalsh will have complete power to decide. Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan gave the longtime Pacers executive full autonomy to shape everything from the team’s roster to the organization’s media policy.\n“His mandate is clear – do whatever is necessary to turn this team around,” Dolan said.\nThere is so much to fix.\nThe Knicks (20-54) are finishing their seventh straight losing season and are just as dysfunctional off the court. Thomas and Dolan were found to have sexually harassed a former team executive, Thomas has feuded with some players this season and fans at Madison Square Garden frequently chant for him to be fired.\nBut Walsh, a New York native, said he is not returning home to be a savior.\n“I’m not the great new hope. I’m just a guy who’s going to come in and try to create a team,” Walsh said. “And it’s not going to happen overnight, so I don’t want any illusions. But I think it has to get better right away.”\nStill, there are high hopes that Walsh can turn around a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2001. He isn’t sure if he will bring in someone to serve as his general manager.\n“In Donnie, the Knicks have secured the services of a seasoned basketball professional who is held in high regard throughout the league and to whom I have often turned for input on basketball matters over the years,” commissioner David Stern said in a statement.
LAS VEGAS – Jerry Colangelo insists he was not out to build a team of All-Stars when he created the USA Basketball national team program.\nBut maybe an All-Star team is exactly what the United \nStates needed.\nThe Americans brought a strong one into their FIBA Americas tournament opener Wednesday night against Venezuela, one that looked more like the dominant U.S. teams of the 1990s than the ones who struggled so much in this decade.\nCarmelo Anthony was on U.S. teams that managed only bronze medals in their past two events, and likes the way this one stacks up.\n“I think it’s better than both teams just because we have more experience now,” he said. “We have guys who have been in situations, tough situations. Even though we lost last year, I think we took a step further toward where we want to be at.”\nOr, where the Americans used to be.\nWhen the United States started using professional players for international events with the Dream Team in 1992, the roster was usually stacked with top pros. Players such as Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen all made multiple appearances in USA uniforms during the ‘90s.\nThe expected U.S. starting five in this tournament of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Anthony, Jason Kidd and either Amare Stoudemire or Dwight Howard are all players who someday could join their predecessors in the Hall of Fame.\n“All those guys playing at once like they did in 1992, the first Dream Team, we just haven’t had that opportunity to put all those guys together,” Kidd said. “But this team is just as talented as any team that’s been put together, and we look forward to the challenge.”\nTop NBA players started blowing off international play after the 2000 Olympics, and the United States paid for it with a horrendous sixth-place showing in the 2002 world championships, before the bronze medal performances in the ‘04 Olympics and ‘06 worlds.\nAnthony was a late addition when the ‘04 team was scrambling to add players, and acknowledges that he shouldn’t have been on a team that was supposed to be America’s best.\n“No, not at all,” he said. “I was a rookie, I was just finishing up my rookie year. I didn’t know what to expect over there honestly. I just knew I wanted to play.”
NEW YORK – David Stern has seen college basketball and German soccer overcome point-shaving scandals. He never imagined his own league would be thrown into one.\nThe NBA commissioner blamed “rogue, isolated criminal” Tim Donaghy for that, creating a betting scandal that has devastated the league and threatened the credibility of every referee.\n“My reaction was, I can’t believe it’s happening to us,” the commissioner said Tuesday.\nToday those other sports remain popular, and Stern thinks the NBA will also eventually recover from the “most serious situation and worst situation that I have ever experienced either as a fan of the NBA, a lawyer for the NBA or a commissioner of the NBA.”\n“It is my hope that the NBA will be similarly accorded the benefit of the doubt based upon what we have done, what we stand for and what we pledge to continue to do,” said Stern, who has held the top post for 23 years.\nA subdued Stern said he felt betrayed by the former referee – the target of an FBI investigation for allegedly betting on games, including some he officiated, over the last two seasons.\nStern said he believed no other officials or players would be implicated in the betting scandal.\nPausing often and carefully choosing his words during the packed, 1-hour, 10-minute news conference, Stern compared Donaghy to someone who’s committed treason.\n“I feel betrayed by what happened on behalf of the sport, regardless of how protective I’ve been,” he said. “This is not something that is anything other than an act of betrayal of what we know in sports as a sacred trust.”\nBesides allegedly placing his own wagers, investigators also are examining whether Donaghy provided inside information to others, including referees’ schedules, according to a person familiar with the investigation.\n“Not only aren’t they permitted to either gamble or provide information to people,” Stern said, “they may not even provide other than to their immediate family the details of their travel schedules or the games they are going to work.”\nThe FBI first contacted the NBA on June 20 to talk about a referee alleged to be gambling on games, and the two sides met on June 21, Stern said. Donaghy resigned July 9, though Stern said he would have fired him sooner but was told it might affect the investigation.\nAlthough Donaghy has not yet been charged with a crime, Stern said the referee’s lawyer told the league his client is contemplating a plea.\nHowever, as far as Stern is concerned, “If you bet on a game, you lose the benefit of the doubt.”\nDonaghy’s attorney, John Lauro, declined comment when reached by telephone. Donaghy is expected to surrender late this week or early next week.\nStern said there was nothing suspicious about the frequency of Donaghy’s foul calls, the size of his bank account or anything else that would have tipped off the league. And though the NBA stresses its system of monitoring referees gives it the best officials in sports, Stern said he wasn’t shocked Donaghy slipped through the cracks.\n“If you’re intent upon engaging in criminal activity, and if you are acting alone in many cases without the knowledge of even your family, it’s possible,” he said. “Our (country’s) history is replete with examples of that. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that you could go undetected.”\nAn NBA referee for 13 years, Donaghy was rated in the top tier of officials, Stern said. Still, this isn’t the first time he has been in trouble with the league.\nIn January 2005, Stern said, the NBA investigated a dispute between Donaghy and a West Chester, Pa., neighbor.\nThe neighbors, Pete and Lisa Mansueto, sued Donaghy for harassment and invasion of privacy, and accused him of vandalizing their property and stalking Lisa Mansueto. In their lawsuit, the Mansuetos also alleged that Donaghy set fire to a tractor they owned and crashed their golf cart from Radley Run Country Club into a ravine.\nDuring the NBA investigation, there were allegations that Donaghy was gambling – not on sports – in Atlantic City. Stern said the league contacted every casino in Atlantic City and Las Vegas and found no evidence of gambling by Donaghy.\nNBA referees aren’t even allowed in casinos. Stern said the only betting they can do is at the racetrack in the summer.\nDonaghy wasn’t allowed to officiate the second round of the 2005 playoffs because of the incident with the neighbors, but after he moved to Florida, Stern said there were no other complaints or allegations that turned up in NBA background checks.\nTuesday, Stern vowed to review the league’s procedures to make sure this wouldn’t happen again.\n“This is something that is the worst that could happen to a professional sports league,” Stern said. “And I want to say on the other hand that we are going to make good on the covenant that we believe we have with our fans, and I pledge that my involvement will be as intense and complete as it can possibly be.”\n– Associated Press writers Pat Milton in New York and Bob Lentz in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
NEW YORK – Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson are in trouble with the NBA again.\nThe central figures in the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills were each suspended without pay by the league on Saturday for the first seven games of next season because of their most recent legal problems.\nAnd their history of headaches was likely the reason they were slapped with stronger penalties than other players who have been suspended in recent years for getting in trouble with the law.\n“Both were serious offenses and each are repeat violators of NBA rules,” spokesman Tim Frank said.\nThe NBA’s collective bargaining agreement calls for a minimum 10-game suspension when a player is convicted of or pleads no contest to a violent felony. While the league felt these crimes fell short of that, it came down hard on both players – who are already used to hearing from the league office.\nArtest and Jackson were Pacers’ teammates in November 2004 when they were involved in a brawl with fans during a game against the Detroit Pistons. Artest was suspended for 73 games and the playoffs – the NBA’s harshest punishment for a fight – and Jackson was suspended for 30 games.\nArtest pleaded no contest in May to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge stemming from a March 5 dispute with his wife, the latest in a string of off-court problems.\nPlacer County Superior Court Judge Francis Kearney sentenced Artest to 100 hours of community service and a 10-day work project through the county sheriff’s department. The Sacramento Kings forward also was fined $600 and ordered to get extensive counseling.\nArtest was in Africa on a humanitarian mission at the time his penalty was announced. He is with union director Billy Hunter taking part in the players association’s “Feeding One Million” campaign in Kenya and could be unaware of his suspension.\nA response from Artest and the union, including whether they plan to appeal, might not come until they return to the United States.\nJackson of the Golden State Warriors pleaded guilty last month to a felony count of criminal recklessness for firing a gun outside an Indiana strip club last fall, when he was with the Pacers. He was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service.\n“I accept the suspension, believe it is fair and definitely look forward to having this entire process come to a conclusion in November,” Jackson said in a statement released by the Warriors. “Additionally, I apologize to my teammates, our fans, our ownership and the NBA for the negativity this has created and the poor example that I set.”\nArtest will lose nearly $471,000 in salary, about $50,000 more than Jackson.
NEW YORK – NBA referee Joey Crawford was suspended indefinitely by commissioner David Stern on Tuesday for his conduct toward Tim Duncan, who contends the official challenged him to a fight.\nCrawford, who has worked more playoff games than any active ref, ejected Duncan from a game in Dallas on Sunday. He called a second technical foul on the San Antonio Spurs star while he was on the bench.\n“He looked at me and said, ‘Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?’” Duncan said. “If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don’t have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, ‘Do you want to fight?’”\nCrawford’s suspension will last at least through the NBA finals. He apparently will have to meet with Stern after that to discuss reinstatement.\nThe NBA also fined Duncan $25,000 for verbal abuse of an official. Crawford said Duncan referred to him with an expletive.\nStern said Crawford’s actions “failed to meet the standards of professionalism and game management we expect of NBA referees.”\n“Especially in light of similar prior acts by this official, a significant suspension is \nwarranted,” Stern said in a statement. “Although Joey is consistently rated as one of our top referees, he must be held accountable for his actions on the floor, and we will have further discussions with him following the season to be sure he understands his responsibilities.”\nCrawford comes from an officiating family. His brother, Jerry, is a major league umpire, as was his father, Shag.\nJoey Crawford is in his 29th season as an NBA referee. He has officiated more than 2,000 games during the regular season and 252 in the playoffs, including 36 in the NBA finals.\nBut his temper has gotten him noticed before, especially in Game 2 of the 2003 Western Conference finals, a matchup involving the same teams as in Sunday’s game. Crawford called four technical fouls in the first 10-plus minutes, leading to ejections of then-Mavs coach Don Nelson and assistant Del Harris.\nCrawford also called a technical in a recent game against Duncan, who said Sunday that Crawford has a “personal vendetta against me.”\nDuncan was called for his first technical foul Sunday with 2:20 remaining in the third quarter for arguing about an offensive foul. Crawford hit him with the second technical 1:16 later after Duncan was on the bench laughing about a call that went against the Spurs.\nWith Duncan gone, the Mavericks rallied to beat the Spurs, ending San Antonio’s chance of earning the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
As the United States was rolling through play in the world championships, Dwyane Wade couldn't help but notice that something seemed missing.\n"No booing," he said.\nThe absence of those ugly sounds was a welcome change for Wade, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, who listened to them on a nightly basis while playing for an unpopular U.S. Olympic team two years ago.\n"We heard some real foul stuff back in 2004," Anthony said.\nBut it's been almost entirely cheers this time for the Americans, who headed into their quarterfinal matchup with Germany Tuesday as perhaps the biggest tournament favorites, both on and off the court.\nIn their first game here Sunday, the Americans were cheered on by a crowd that included one fan from the Philippines who was wearing a James Cleveland Cavaliers jersey and holding a sign that asked Wade for marriage.\n"You go out on the court, and you see all the fans chanting 'USA,'" James said, "and they're not from the USA."\nTerrorism fears following 9/11 kept many American fans -- not to mention some NBA players who were supposed to suit up for the U.S. -- from traveling to Athens. With little support from their own fans and declining U.S. popularity around the world because of the war in Iraq, the Americans felt like they were playing road games most of the time.\nIt was obvious how much things had changed starting in Sapporo, Japan, where the Americans closed group play amid chants for Wade, who sat out that game because the result was meaningless.\n"We weren't even expecting any cheers coming out here," Wade said. "It was a surprise to us, it was a great surprise, that we could come out here and gain some fans."\nActually, James had a feeling they were coming.\nAs the NBA and its partners have found a thriving market in Asia, some players had already established a presence and recognition in the Far East. Posters and ads featuring James, Elton Brand and Kobe Bryant -- who isn't playing but is in Asia helping conduct clinics and is expected here for the gold medal game -- greet passengers getting off the subway stop in front of the Saitama Super Arena.\nJames has spent part of the last two summers in Asia making promotional appearances for Nike, with stops last year in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Beijing. His shoe marketed only in China sold out in two hours. More tours this year when the Americans had training stints before arriving in Japan convinced him that the crowd was going to be on the U.S.'s side -- even if he didn't let his teammates know it.\n"I was here last summer, so I kind of knew what to expect," James said. "So I was kind of just prepping the guys, letting them know, 'Well, it's not going to be that good.' Then when they got here it was all crazy, so it's been everything I've expected and more."\nU.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski attributed his team's popularity to the way his players have acted. More likely, it has to do with the way they play.\n"Japanese people are fascinated with strong teams," said Masa Oshima, a Tokyo resident who is working as a media conference interpreter for FIBA. "If it was a major league All-Star team, the same thing would be happening. But if it was the American soccer team, they wouldn't think twice. They would rather follow England and David Beckham.\n"They pretty much just want to see a good show, lots of dunks and stuff"
NEW YORK - Gary Sheffield hit a grand slam and drove in six runs, Jorge Posada added a three-run homer and the New York Yankees kept the pressure on in a pair of playoff races Tuesday night with a 12-9 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.\nAaron Small was not sharp, but didn't need to be to remain unbeaten. The Yankees gave him plenty of early support by scoring four runs in the first and five more in the second, taking advantage of some horrendous Baltimore defense.\nThe Yankees (87-63) have won eight of nine and climbed 24 games above .500 for the first time this season. New York remained a half-game behind first-place Boston in the AL East, and also entered play 1 1/2 back of Cleveland in the wild-card race.\nAlex Rodriguez hit his 45th homer, an opposite-field solo shot into the upper deck in right, and Sheffield added an RBI single in the eighth after the Orioles closed within three runs.\nSmall (9-0) allowed four runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings, the shortest of his eight starts this season. He became the first pitcher to win his first nine decisions for the Yankees since Tommy John in 1979.\nAlan Embree struggled in the ninth, so Mariano Rivera got the final three outs in a non-save situation.\nBaltimore rookie John Maine (2-2) didn't get an out in the second inning, and All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts also left in the second after his left elbow was dislocated in a collision with Bubba Crosby while covering first base on a bunt.\nSheffield's RBI double and Posada's 17th homer gave New York a 4-0 lead in the first, but Roberts delivered a two-run triple during a three-run second. The Yankees answered right back by batting around in the bottom half.\nBernie Williams singled leading off and was balked to second. First baseman B.J. Surhoff rushed in to field Crosby's bunt and his throw to Roberts arrived at about the same time Crosby did.\nCrosby crashed into Roberts' outstretched left arm, snapping it back. Roberts dropped the ball and went to the ground in tremendous pain, allowing Williams to jog home from third.\nInterim manager Sam Perlozzo was ejected by plate umpire Sam Holbrook, perhaps for arguing that Crosby ran inside the baseline, and missed his team's sloppy play that helped New York score four more in the inning.\nDerek Jeter bounced back to the mound, but instead of possibly starting a double play, Maine fumbled the ball for an error that put runners at first and second. James Baldwin relieved and got Rodriguez to fly out.\nJason Giambi hit a high pop into short left field that shortstop Miguel Tejada called for but couldn't come up with, and Sheffield followed with his 10th career slam, and first since May 17, 2003, with Atlanta.\nMaine allowed seven runs, six earned, and six hits.\nJay Gibbons hit a two-run homer, his 23rd, in the seventh. The Orioles had 18 hits but lost for the 20th time in 30 games.