Lawsuit targets Alonzo Mourning, claiming hit-and-run crash

Mike Clary of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

A Miami college student filed a lawsuit on Wednesday claiming he was injured and nearly killed three days ago, when a sports car driven by Alonzo Mourning smashed into his car on the Julia Tuttle Causeway and then fled the scene.

William Candelario, 21, was driving home from Miami Beach early Sunday morning when a blue Porsche the former Heat star was driving slammed into Candelario’s 2010 Audi, causing the car to flip over several times, according to Coral Gables attorney Spencer Aronfeld.

Sgt.Tom Pikul of the Florida Highway Patrol confirmed that Mourning, 41, was involved in the second of two separate crashes involving Candelario’s car.

He said Candelario’s car and another vehicle apparently had collided and were “stopped on the roadway” when the Porche that Mourning was driving struck Candelario’s car.

In Israel, Derrick Sharp retires as a player

Euroleague.net reports:

A legendary Euroleague career has come to an end with Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv announcing on Wednesday that captain Derrick Sharp has retired as a player to take a position as assistant coach on David Blatt’s coaching staff. Sharp, 39, has spent the past 15 seasons playing for Maccabi. During his time in yellow-and-blue, Sharp has amassed 27 titles. He is a three-time continental champion, having won the Euroleague in back-to-back season in 2004 and ’05 and the Suproleague in 2001. He has also collected 13 Israeli League championships and 11 Israeli Cups. He walks away from the game with his name entrenched in the Euroleague record books. His 195 games played are fifth most since the turn of the century. His 219 career three-pointers made are 13th most and his 42.8% three-point accuracy ranks 16th. He is seventh all-time in free throw accuracy at 88.9%. For his career he amassed 1,162 points in the Euroleague and took part in six title games and eight Final Fours, which ties him for the most of the Final Four era. Sharp, who played alongside 104 different players in his time with Maccabi, finishes his career in seventh place on Maccabi’s all-time list of scorers in European play (1,749 points).

Team France concerned with health of Bulls center Joakim Noah

FIBA.com reports:

Joakim Noah

One pressing concern for France, however, is the status of Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah.

While giving all the players medical examinations at INSEP in Paris last week, Team France doctors viewed an old injury of Noah’s dating back three months.

The FFBB said in a statement: “In an act of transparency, the FFBB sent the medical reports to his club and his agent.”

The federation said that the latter had wanted to study the situation and take stock in Chicago with the player.

The medical staff of Team France has proposed a rehabilitation protocol for treatment so the player can resume training with the Blues as soon as possible.

Matt Bonner still trying to get dual American-Canadian citizenship

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (blog) reports:

Matt Bonner

Canadian national basketball coach Leo Rautins really, really wants Matt Bonner to play for his team. One problem: Bonner is still not Canadian.

The Spurs forward has been trying for years to gain dual citizenship, and he would seem to have a cut-and-dried case considering he’s married to a Canadian, has a Canadian daughter and grandfather and lives most of the offseason in Toronto.

His nickname — “The Red Rocket” — is decidedly Canadian,  homage to Toronto’s public transit system.

But Bonner is still not Canadian, and thus ineligible to play for Canada in various Olympic qualifying tournaments. The feet-dragging has left Rautins almost apoplectic, according to the London Free Press (h/t to Project Spurs for the find).

“I see a lot of Canadians who are less Canadian than Matt Bonner,” Rautins told the Canadian newspaper. “His daughter’s Canadian. His wife’s Canadian. His grandfather’s Canadian. He’s got a home here. When he’s not playing for the San Antonio Spurs, he’s here (in Toronto).”

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