October 2011 – Page 11 – NBA Blog

Two stars from Psych on USA network give InsideHoops shoutouts

The show Psych on USA Network is an InsideHoops.com favorite. I watch it, and tons of our message board members love it as well. Several pro-Psych forum discussions exist and it’s almost all positive. The general consensus is that it’s an extremely fun show.

So it was cool when InsideHoops.com was recently invited to cover a USA network event called “Psych Fan Appreciation Day,” celebrating the upcoming new Psych season with dedicated fans of the show. We were treated to an advance preview of the season premiere, and met virtually the entire cast.

We’ll post some interview quotes in the next day or two, but right now we’ll jump right to the extra good stuff and present video clips of two Psych stars welcoming you to InsideHoops.com:

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Carmelo Anthony hopes for November all-star exhibition game in NYC

Carmelo Anthony talked late Saturday night about playing a basketball game in New York City in mid-November, but not at the Garden and not in a Knicks uniform.

Anthony emerged from the FIU locker room at midnight Saturday pretty certain the NBA will cancel the first two weeks of the season today — no matter the last-hour meeting being arranged for last night between the two sides in the league’s labor dispute.

Nothing is set in stone, but Anthony believes he, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and friends will stage a big exhibition in the Big Apple.

“We’re going to keep giving back,” Anthony said.

On his Twitter account yesterday, Anthony started banging the drums for his Big Apple charity-fest.

“Working on an epic exhibition charity game in NYC,” he wrote. “Showtime. I’m comin’ home.”

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Yi Jianlian will play in China, with out-clause for NBA return

Until the NBA and its players’ union can come to a resolution on a new collective bargaining agreement, Yi Jianlian is returning to the place where his professional basketball career started.

Jarinn Akana, one of Yi’s representatives, confirmed that his client has signed a contract with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association which will have an NBA out for whenever the labor dispute is settled.

The CBA allowed its teams to sign only free agent NBA players, and Yi is an unrestricted free agent after the Wizards declined to extend his $5.4 million qualifying offer for next season. Wilson Chandler, J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin have all signed to play in China since the league decided to lock out its players on July 1, but the CBA does not allow foreign players to leave until the conclusion of the season.

Akana explained in a telephone interview that since Yi is a local player, the CBA and the Southern Tigers have both afforded him the privilege of leaving whenever he signs another deal in the NBA.

— Reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post blog

Man arrested in Romania over death of American player Chauncey Hardy

Romanian prosecutors say a man has been detained over the killing of American basketball player Chauncey Hardy.

Ionut Adrian Tanasoaia surrendered to police early Monday. He is accused of beating up Hardy in a bar in the southern Romanian city of Giurgiu on Saturday night.

Mediafax news agency reported that Tanasoaia attacked Hardy because he wanted to dance with his girlfriend.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Owners and players union end Sunday meeting shortly before midnight, agree to meet Monday

Around 6:15 p.m. (give or take 15 minutes) Sunday in New York City, representatives of the NBA owners and players union met for an unexpected get-together in very late attempt to avoid losing regular season games. The league has said that Monday, if no labor agreement has been reached, the first two weeks of 2011-12 regular season games will be canceled.

Around 11:50 p.m. ET, several reporters covering the meeting commented on Twitter about the results:

Howard Beck of the New York Times: Meeting over. Stern says no comment, except that they’re meeting again tomorrow afternoon… Needless to say, LA union meeting is canceled. But Billy Hunter just confirmed, anyway… Fisher says not necessarily any closer to deal now than when night began, but back at it tomorrow.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports: Stern and Silver just emerged unannounced at 11:50 p.m. and Stern gave that brief statement… Stern said the no-comment was by mutual agreement with the players… Fisher says two sides “not necessarily any closer,” but, “We’re going back at it tomorrow.” Player meeting in L.A. postponed.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: Stern has no comment, except to say they’re breaking for the night and meeting again on Monday afternoon… Stern said NBA and NBPA agreed to have no comment on the five hour-plus meetings in New York on Sunday night… Billy Hunter says he isn’t going to LA for players meeting, and will return to meet with NBA at 2 pm on Monday… Fisher has nothing to say, except that players meeting in Los Angeles on Monday will be rescheduled.

Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated: Stern just came out, said no comment. Will reconvene tomorrow afternoon… Now waiting for union reps to come out. Suspect they won’t have much to say either… Billy Hunter says he is not going to LA tomorrow… Fisher: “We’re not necessarily any closer than we were tonight.”

J.J. Redick feels great as he recovers from abdomen injury

J.J. Redick is eager to find out if he has recovered completely from surgery in late May to repair two muscle tears in his lower abdomen.

The Orlando Magic guard says he feels great, and he’s gone full-speed with his workout regimen for a couple of months now. But even Redick acknowledges that he’s looking forward to seeing how he feels during and after a full-speed competitive situation.

“I haven’t tested myself in a competitive situation to say whether or not I’m 100 percent,” Redick said. “But I’m feeling great. I really am. I don’t know what percentage I’m at, but I’m really, really, really happy with where I’m at right now.”

It’s been a strange summer for Redick — and for all of his Magic teammates — because of the NBA lockout.

— Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel blog

Mario Chalmers hopes to stick with Heat

Mario Chalmers participated Saturday in the South Florida All-Star Classic, scoring 10 points for Team Wade.

After the game, the restricted free agent spoke of his desire to continue playing with Wade — Chris Bosh, LeBron James and the rest — whenever next season starts.

“I want to get back to where I was at the end of last season,” Chalmers said.

At the very end, he was the starting point guard.

— Reported by Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post blog

Read NBA fan opinion or share your views in this basketball forum topic.

WNBA-champion Minnesota Lynx have a bright future

Looking ahead was not high on the priority list late Friday night as the Minnesota Lynx basked in their three-game sweep of the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA championship series at Philips Arena.

And really, why should it?

Celebratory cheers and toasts lasted well into the early morning Saturday in tribute to a whirlwind season of dominance that led to the ending of a 20-year championship drought by major professional sports teams in Minnesota.

Perhaps equally impressive, the Lynx’s 27-7 regular-season record and 7-1 run through the postseason brought heightened awareness throughout the region, so much so that it was difficult to get through a day without hearing about the Lynx on sports radio or on television news.

The Lynx averaged nearly 9,000 fans a game this season, and during their playoff run, they sold nearly 1,000 season tickets. Crowds of more than 15,000 attended the first two games of the championship series.

“Next year?” point guard Lindsay Whalen asked incredulously. “I’m not even thinking about that right now. We deserve this (celebration) and are going to enjoy it.”

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve refused to look ahead as well.

“That’s not necessary right now,” she said.

— Reported by Tim Leighton of the St. Paul Pioneer Press

Utah Jazz have roster moves to make

The Jazz will need to pick up at least two free agents — and as many as four — to reach the minimum roster size when that window opens up.

They need another point guard or two.

They need to decide whether or not to continue their Andrei Kirilenko relationship.

And so many more questions, O’Connor recognizes.

The Jazz are even getting ready for the 2012 draft — one of the reasons they recently hired international scouting director Rich Sheubrooks — and planning on which upcoming college games they’ll be attending for scouting purposes.

“What we can control right now,” the Jazz GM said, “is ourselves. … When the ball drops, we’ll go from there.”

— Reported by Jody Genessy of the Deseret News

Saturday night after charity game, Dwyane Wade calls meeting to talk lockout

A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Dwyane Wade called an hourlong meeting with players after his Team Wade pulled out a 141-140 overtime victory over Team LeBron. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because talks were to remain private, saying Wade, Chris Paul and Miami Heat player representative James Jones fielded questions about the status of negotations.

The person also said Wade has taken “a more active role” in talks about a new labor deal of late and that he urged players to be “informed rather than accept any deal.”

Before the meeting, Carmelo Anthony said the lockout is “sad all the way across.”

“It’s sad for us as players. It’s sad for the whole NBA. It’s sad for the fans of the NBA. It’s sad for our personal fans. So we want to keep giving back like this,” Anthony said.

Virtually all the players in Saturday’s game shared a similar sentiment. The game drew a sold-out crowd of 4,000 to Florida International University, where Basketball Hall of Famer — and past NBA players’ association president — Isiah Thomas is the Panthers’ coach.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press