Author: Inside Hoops

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No legal sports betting for Delaware

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: In the latest legal ruling on sports gambling in Delaware, the four major sports and the NCAA came out clear winners. A federal appeals court in Philadelphia ruled yesterday that sports betting in the First State would violate a 1992 federal ban on such wagering. Delaware had planned to offer betting next week; it may still try to do so on a limited basis in the near future. “We were hoping the court would rule on the merits,” said Kenneth Nachbar, an attorney representing the NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA, and Major League Baseball. The plan was opposed by the pro leagues and the NCAA, which claimed it would harm their reputations and expose young people to gambling. They also said the plan violated the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

Former Dirk Nowitzki girlfriend gets 5 years in prison

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: Cristal Taylor, the former fiancée of Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, was sentenced Monday to five years in prison for violating probation in a decade-old forgery and theft case. The sentence virtually ensures that Taylor, 38, will still be incarcerated when Nowitzki and the Mavericks open the regular season in late October. What was not made clear Monday is whether Taylor is carrying Nowitzki’s child, an assertion she and her attorneys had held since late May. If the tall, still-slender Taylor is pregnant, it wasn’t plainly evident as she stood before Circuit Judge Nancy Schneider’s bench in loose-fitting orange prison garb.

Tim Donaghy back in jail

The AP reports: Disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy is back behind bars. According to Hillsborough County jail records, Donaghy was being held without bond Tuesday for a federal rule violation. Details were not available. A message left early Tuesday at the office of Donaghy’s attorney was not immediately returned.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I just hope somewhere along the way, he gets punched in the face a few times for harming the sport I love. Anyway, this blog entry will be updated when more is known.

Suns name John Shumate assistant coach

The Phoenix Suns today named John Shumate an assistant coach.  Shumate, a one-time Suns draft pick and 30-year veteran of basketball on the professional and collegiate levels, joins Bill Cartwright, Dan Majerle and Igor Kokoskov on head coach Alvin Gentry’s staff.

Having just completed his 12th season as a member of the Suns’ front office, Shumate makes the move to Gentry’s staff after serving in the club’s scouting department for all but one of the last eight seasons.  Shumate served as the head coach of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in 2003.

Shumate’s wealth of basketball experience was formed over the last 30 years as a player, coach and college scout.  Originally the fourth overall pick of the 1974 NBA Draft by the Suns, Shumate was named All-NBA Rookie First Team in 1975-76 after sitting out his rookie campaign with a blood clot injury.  The Notre Dame product played seven NBA seasons and averaged 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds in 318 games with the Suns, Buffalo, Detroit, Houston, San Antonio and Seattle.

Following his playing career, Shumate coached 17 consecutive years at the college and pro level at Notre Dame (assistant coach, 1981-83, 1986-88), Grand Canyon College (now Grand Canyon State, head coach, 1983-86), Southern Methodist University (head coach, 1988-94) and the NBA’s Toronto Raptors (assistant coach, 1995-98).  The 57-year-old rejoined the Suns organization as a community relations representative in 1998 before moving to the scouting department in 2000.

The team also announced today the addition of Bruce Fraser to the scouting staff.  Elvis Valcarcel has been promoted to video coordinator after one season as assistant video coordinator.

Talk Suns basketball in the InsideHoops Phoenix Suns forum.

Michael Beasley checks into rehab center

The AP reports: The Miami Heat forward checked into a Houston rehabilitation facility last week and is being treated for various issues, including depression, a person briefed on the situation told the Associated Press yesterday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns, and could not say whether the other issues included drug or alcohol treatment. “Based on what I’m getting right now, there’s a bit of concern,’’ Bruce Shingler, Beasley’s manager, said in a telephone interview. “I don’t really know what’s going on. I just know his mom is on her way to go see him in Houston. That’s it. I’m still collecting a lot of information.’’ It’s unknown how long Beasley, 20, will remain at the facility, or whether he will be available when the Heat open training camp Sept. 28.

Renaldo Balkman arrested for suspicion of DUI

The Denver Post reports: Nuggets forward Renaldo Balkman was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to a police report on the Hillsborough (Fla.) County Sheriff’s Office website. The 25-year-old Balkman was arrested by Temple Terrace, Fla., police at 4 a.m. Saturday, after he refused a blood-alcohol content test.

The following is a statement from Nuggets Vice President of Basketball Operations Mark Warkentien regarding Renaldo Balkman: “We are aware of a traffic violation involving Renaldo Balkman early Saturday morning in Tampa. As is team policy and out of respect for the legal process, we will have no further comment.”

InsideHoops.com editor says: Uh, pay for a cab. Or pay a sober buddy to drive you home in your car and then give that dude cab money to get himself home. Or stay in a hotel. Or sleep in your car. Or something. It’s really not that hard to avoid ever driving under the influence, especially if you make thousands of dollars per day.

Alex Acker signs in Italy

Euroleague.net reports: Armani Jeans Milano has kept adding to its firepower with the signing this weekend of swingman Alex Acker, a former top-ten scorer in the Euroleague. Acker (195, 26) has spent two years in the Euroleague and finished the first, with Olympiacos in 2006-07, as the Euroleague’s ninth-best scorer, with an average of 14.3 points in 33 minutes per game. Acker was ranked that season’s 12th overall player according to performance index rating while leading the Reds to within a victory of the Final Four.

Talk world hoops in the InsideHoops international basketball forum.

Trail Blazers sign rookie Dante Cunningham

The Portland Trail Blazers signed rookie forward Dante Cunningham to a multi-year contract, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.  Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“We are really excited about the versatility and determination Dante brings to our team,” said Pritchard. “Dante had a great summer league and we believe he has the potential to become a very good player in this league.”

Selected by the Trail Blazers with the 33rd overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, Cunningham led Portland’s 2009 NBA Summer League entry with 18.3 points to go with a team second-best 5.8 rebounds and 1.50 steals in four games (all starts).

“I am so grateful and happy to be a Trail Blazer,” said Cunningham.  “This is a dream come true and I can’t wait to get to work with my teammates.  I’m looking forward to moving to Portland and helping this team in any way that I can.”

Cunningham, 22, played in a school-record 139 games during his four-year career at Villanova and is one of six players in school history to reach 1,300 points and 800 rebounds. The 6-8, 230-pound Maryland native finished his collegiate career with averages of 9.6 points (52.4% FG), 5.9 rebounds and 1.17 steals.

As a senior, Cunningham was named the Big East’s Most Improved Player and was a member of the All-Big East Second Team after leading the Wildcats with collegiate highs of 16.1 points and 7.5 boards.

The signing of Cunningham boosts the Trail Blazers’ current roster to 12 players. He will wear jersey number 33.

University of Memphis basketball career of Derrick Rose erased from record books

Michael O’Brien of the Chicago Sun-Times reports: Bulls guard Derrick Rose’s college career at Memphis officially was erased from the record books Thursday. The NCAA Committee on Infractions concluded that a player on the 2007-08 team was ineligible to compete because of an invalidated SAT score. According to the NCAA, the athlete played for the Tigers only in the 2007-08 season and the 2008 NCAA tournament. Only one player — Rose — fits that description. The committee also found that Memphis provided a player’s brother with $1,713.85 in impermissible benefits. That person is believed to be Rose’s older brother Reggie. As a result of the infractions, Memphis will forfeit all 38 victories and its Final Four appearance. The school is on probation until Aug. 19, 2012, and must return all the money it received from appearing in the NCAA tournament. “I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” Rose said two weeks ago at his basketball camp in Deerfield.

Shannon Ryan of the Chicago Tribune reports: The Educational Testing Service’s cancellation of the player’s test score fit into the NCAA’s “strict liability” category and the infractions committee did not need to investigate further because it meant Rose already was ineligible before the season began. The NCAA attempted to contact Rose twice to attain proof he took the exam, according to the report, but he didn’t respond. The Memphis men’s basketball team also received punishment for failure to monitor itself because a player’s relative — thought to be Rose’s brother Reggie — received free accommodations and travel on several occasions. Memphis lost in the national championship game to Kansas and the Bulls made Rose the first overall pick in the NBA draft in 2008 after his freshman season. He was named the NBA’s rookie of the year.