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The AP reports:
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Miami Heat forward LeBron James has now scored 2,000 points in seven straight seasons.
James entered Wednesday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks with 1,998 points this season. He made a pair of free throws with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter to reach the 2,000 milestone.
The NBA’s two-time reigning MVP is the eighth player to score 2,000 points seven times. At 26, he’s the youngest member of that club.
Duke freshman guard Kyrie Irving will enter the 2011 NBA Draft with plans to hire an agent, head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced Wednesday. The 2011 NBA Draft will be held on June 23 in New York City and Irving is expected to be among the top picks in the draft.
“Our whole program is overjoyed with having Kyrie here for one year and that he has the chance now to pursue a dream of being a high draft pick and a great player in the NBA,” said Krzyzewski. “We are totally supportive of Kyrie, his family and his decision. We look forward to continuing to work with him during the upcoming months leading to his entry into the NBA and afterwards while he is an NBA player. He is a great young man, a terrific student, and a truly amazing representative for our program and for Duke. We love him and are very happy for him and his family.”
Irving, a 6-2 guard from West Orange, N.J., played in just 11 games this season, sitting out 26 contests with a toe injury on his right foot. He averaged 17.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting .529 (55-of-104) from the field, .462 (18-of-39) from behind the three-point line and .901 (64-of-71) from the free throw line. Irving started the first eight games of the year, averaging 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game during that time frame. He returned to action in the NCAA Tournament and averaged 17.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in Duke’s three outings.
“I want to thank the entire staff at Duke, especially the coaches,” said Irving. “It was a great experience playing for Coach K. He taught me a lot about the game. Even when I was hurt, I learned a lot. Also a special thanks goes to the medical staff for getting me back on the court for the NCAA Tournament and my teammates for sticking with me throughout the entire year. Duke offered me an experience I could never have imagined.”
He scored a game-high 31 points to go with six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals against No. 6 Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It was just the fourth time in school history a freshman scored 30 or more in a game. He was selected the CBE Classic MVP after averaging 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.5 steals in the four games. He had 17 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals in the finals against No. 4 Kansas State. Irving also dished out nine assists against both Princeton and Colgate. In the NCAA Tournament, he scored team highs of 14 points against Hampton and 28 points against Arizona in the Sweet 16.
“This was a special year for me. I love everything about Duke and I’m going to miss it,” added Irving. ”Duke has a special place in my heart. Even though I’m leaving this year, Duke will always be in my mind and my heart. I’m going to miss putting on that No. 1 jersey.”
– Duke Sports Information
Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal reports:
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Basketball star LeBron James is joining forces with renowned hedge-fund manager John Henry and veteran Hollywood producer Tom Werner in a deal that brings together one of the biggest stars in sports and two of the world’s most renowned teams.
The deal between Mr. James and Fenway Sports Group will give Mr. James a minority stake in the soccer club Liverpool, which FSG owns. FSG, which also owns the Boston Red Sox, is partnering with Mr. James’s sports-marketing firm, LRMR Branding & Marketing to become the exclusive world-wide representative for Mr. James.
The deal marks the first time that a professional athlete at the top of his game has taken an ownership interest in a team with the size and reach of Liverpool, which is one of the most popular and powerful sports franchises in the world.
It also adds yet another dimension for Boston-based FSG, which became a global operation last October when it bought Liverpool for $488 million. The company was founded as New England Sports Ventures nine years ago after Messrs. Henry and Werner bought the Red Sox and 80% of regional sports channel New England Sports Network. In 2007 Fenway became 50% owner of the Nascar auto-racing team Roush Fenway Racing.
ESPNsoccernet reports:
James is also going into business with the Boston Red Sox, as FSG is also the parent company of the Red Sox and a co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing.
“What FSM does for Roush Fenway, Liverpool and the Red Sox, we will now do for LeBron James,” Fenway Sports Marketing (a sister company of FSG) president Sam Kennedy said. “We will aggressively pursue business opportunities for him.
“We are fortunate to have blue-chip brands like the Red Sox, Liverpool and Roush Fenway. This represents the next step in our evolution, to represent one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet.”
The AP reports:
Despite blowing a 23-point lead, the Cavs battled back and beat the Miami Heat 102-90 on Tuesday night, getting a dose of revenge against [LeBron] James, who was making his second homecoming visit to Cleveland since leaving the city as a free agent last summer.
J.J. Hickson scored 21 and Anthony Parker scored 20 for the Cavs, who were embarrassed by James and the Heat 118-90 on Dec. 2—a night when Cleveland fans unleashed their hatred on the superstar.
InsideHoops.com notes: LeBron had a triple-double in the loss, putting up 27 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Dwyane Wade shot just 8-of-20 for 24 points, four rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks. Mike Bibby shot 7-of-11, all three-pointers, for 23 points but just one assist. And no other Heat players stepped up. Chris Bosh was quiet, shooting 5-of-14 for 10 points and little else. The entire Heat bench had six points.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports:
There was a time when LeBron James’ friends and associates were welcomed throughout Quicken Loans Arena. That apparently is no longer the case.
James was delayed in getting into the arena for the Miami Heat’s shootaround Tuesday morning when he arrived with a driver and a second car at the entrance of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ underground parking garage.
Cavs officials said James eventually was cleared to enter the building, but several people with him were not. The two cars then left, and James alone returned a short time later and was allowed in, officials said.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Generally, when you don’t work for a company anymore, you don’t get to enjoy the perks that company offers its employees. In this case, it’s a question of if LeBron (or someone on LeBron’s behalf) asked for permission in advance to bring extra people in.
What’s your opinion? Read fan reaction or share your view in this forum topic.
Dana O’Neil of ESPN reports:
Here, then, Ohio State fans is your silver lining: Jared Sullinger says he is coming back.
Sitting in the Ohio State locker room following the top-seeded Buckeyes’ 62-60 loss to Kentucky, the freshman said he would not be entering his name for the NBA draft and would return for his sophomore season.
“I’m going to be an Ohio State Buckeye next year,” he said. “This isn’t why I came here, to come in here and see my seniors in here crying. I came here to win a national championship.”
Plenty of people make pledges in the rubble of an emotional loss only to change their mind later, when the sting and suddenness of the season fades and the promise of the NBA looms.
Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:
Since a 4-4 stretch following their league-record 26-game losing streak, the Cavs have lost four straight by an average of about 16 points. They were barely competitive in the last three.
Coach Byron Scott admits his young team has regressed.
“I think the last two games, yeah, think so,” he said. “We discussed that this morning as coaches. That’s one of the most frustrating things for us is that we’ve regressed instead of progressed — especially when you see progression coming and all of a sudden the last two games you take a couple of steps back.
“That’s very frustrating for me and for all our coaches — and, hopefully, for the players as well. We’ve got to figure out a way to get back to where we’re taking small steps forward instead of taking big steps backward. It just can’t happen.”
This young team has confounded its coaches and fans all season, and Scott admitted almost anything could be behind this latest swoon. With eight players age 24 or younger — four are 22 or younger — the Cavs have a roster full of guys who have never played this many games before. This far out of the playoffs, it’s possible the players are just counting down the 17 games to the end of the season.
The AP reports:
An Atlanta nightclub has dismissed a lawsuit against Miami Heat star LeBron James.
The Opera nightclub had filed a complaint Monday in Fulton County Superior Court accusing James of canceling a March 17 appearance for which he was supposed to be paid $25,000. It also accused the owners of the rival Gold Room nightclub in Atlanta of instead arranging a visit there.
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Cavaliers guard Baron Davis’ grandmother Lela “Madea” Nicholson passed away Monday in Los Angeles. Baron did not accompany the team to Milwaukee Tuesday night following the Cavaliers home game against the Warriors and he will now return home to L.A. to be with his family.
As many already know, Baron selected number 85 for his Cavaliers jersey number in tribute to Madea, as her house was on 85th Street.
No specific date for his return to the team has been established.
Rhonda Cook of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:
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Basketball star LeBron James is taking his talents to one local club, which has left a competing bar feeling stiffed. As a result, the offended club has called out the lawyers.
Atlanta’s Opera nightclub is suing the Miami Heat player and the Gold Room over an appearance James is scheduled to make later this month. A hearing on the request for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction is set for Thursday in Fulton Superior Court.
In a complaint filed Monday, Opera accuses James of reneging on a promise to appear for one hour on March 17, for which he was to be paid $25,000, or $417 a minute.
James, who last summer infamously jilted his longtime team the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Heat, will be in town the night before Miami is scheduled to play the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena.
The Opera Nightclub said in its suit if the Midtown Atlanta bar can’t have him — at least on that night — no one should, especially the Gold Room on Piedmont Avenue.
“We want to make sure LeBron doesn’t show up any place else,” Yasha Heidari, the attorney for the Opera, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday.