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Report: ESPN Suspends Bill Simmons from Twitter

Similar to regular websites, blogs, Facebook, YouTube and other online destinations, Twitter is part of the Internet. The purpose of all of them is basically the same, to present online content.

So, if someone works for a company with rules dictating what type of content employees can post on the web, logically it applies to Twitter, too.

The rumor is that Bill Simmons is suspended from Twitter, except for posts involving his book tour.

Jay Yarow of Business Insider reports:

ESPN is suspending its hotshot writer Bill Simmons from Twitter for two weeks.

The reason: He started mouthing off at Boston sports station WEEI on Twitter. WEEI is an ESPN partner.

Steve Krakauer of MediaIte reports:

So here’s what did him in. On November 11, Simmons tweeted an angry message to Boston radio station WEEI: “Hey WEEI: You were wrong, I did a Boston interview today. With your competition. Rather give them ratings over deceitful scumbags like you.”

Harsh – and since WEEI and ESPN have a partnership, this apparently is a no-no when it comes to ESPN’s much-discussed social media guidelines.

Rob King of ESPN reports (via his blog):

While it’s unfortunate — and sometimes painful — that not everyone outside of ESPN chooses to play by such rules, we choose to hold ourselves to higher standards. Regardless of the provocation, Bill’s communication regarding WEEI fell short of those standards. So we’ve taken appropriate measures.

You have to follow your company’s rules. Even if you’re atop your field. Usually.

Warriors sign Chris Hunter

The Golden State Warriors have signed forward/center Chris Hunter to a contract, the team announced today. Hunter, who is being called up from the NBA Development League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants, will be in uniform for tonight’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Oracle Arena.

Hunter, 25, was a D-League All-Star last season with Fort Wayne, where he averaged 19.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.19 blocks and 32.7 minutes per contest in 47 games. The 6-11, 240-pound Hunter ranked fourth in the D-League in rebounding and ninth in scoring, while shooting 55.1% (353-641 FG) from the field and 81.1% (197-243 FT) from the line. With his signing, Hunter becomes the first player to receive a Gatorade Call-Up from the D-League this season.

An All-NBA Development League Second Team selection last season, Hunter was signed by the New York Knicks on April 14, 2009, for their final regular season game, but did not play. He also appeared in two games with the Knicks during the 2009-10 preseason. Hunter played four seasons at the University of Michigan (2002-03 thru 2005-06) before beginning his professional career overseas in Poland and Belgium.

Golden State’s roster now stands at 16 players. The Warriors are able to add Hunter to the roster under the NBA’s hardship rules, which allows a team that has 15 players on its Active and Inactive Lists and is unable to meet the minimum number of players requirement (8), the ability to sign an additional player.

Hunter will wear uniform #31.

Discuss your Warriors opinions on the InsideHoops Golden State Warriors forum.

Maloofs no longer operating Sacramento Monarchs; team looking to move

The WNBA is in active discussions with potential investors to relocate the Sacramento Monarchs to the Bay Area in time for the start of the 2010 WNBA season, league President Donna Orender announced today. Going forward, Maloof Sports & Entertainment will no longer operate the Monarchs.

“The Bay Area has been a desirable market for the WNBA and the availability of the Monarchs provides an opportunity to move a well-known franchise and broaden its fan base within Northern California,” said Orender. “Maloof Sports & Entertainment, owner of the Monarchs, has deemed it essential to focus all of its resources on the Sacramento Kings at this time. We understand this decision was a difficult one for them and appreciate the vision, leadership, and support of the Maloof family over the past 10 years.

“The Maloofs have shown a passion for women’s basketball and seen the WNBA as great entertainment that has a positive impact on the way society views women and sports. They take great pride in the Monarchs’ players, both for their contributions on the court and in the Sacramento community.”

One of the league’s original eight teams in 1997, the Monarchs won the WNBA championship in 2005 and the Western Conference crown in 2006. Featuring former Stanford player and WNBA All-Star Nicole Powell, Olympic gold-medalist and WNBA All-Star Kara Lawson, and Piedmont, Calif. standout Courtney Paris, the team also holds the second pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft.

“We enjoyed our time with the WNBA and the Monarchs,” said co-owner Joe Maloof. “We are extremely proud of an amazing run that included six straight playoff appearances and the 2005 WNBA Championship. All of our resources are now dedicated to bringing the Sacramento Kings back to championship caliber form.”

Have WNBA opinions? Share them on the InsideHoops WNBA message board.

No Allen Iverson for Knicks

The Memphis Grizzlies and guard Allen Iverson recently came to an understanding that things simply weren’t going to work out. Iverson was waived, and became a free agent.

There have been rumblings that the Knicks were strongly considering adding the former All-Star and league MVP, but apparently it isn’t going to happen.

Howard Beck of the New York Times reports:

The Knicks’ pursuit of Allen Iverson is dead.

In an abrupt reversal, Knicks officials decided late Thursday not to offer Iverson a contract, putting an end to their brief flirtation, according to a person close to the deliberations.

Although team officials were highly intrigued by Iverson, a four-time scoring champion, they finally decided that he posed too great a risk because of his long history of problems on and off the court.

Team officials spent three days weighing the potential merits and pitfalls of signing Iverson, and alternately talked themselves into and then out of making the move.

Iverson is obviously seen by most teams as more trouble than he’s worth right now, but it still made sense for the Knicks to consider adding him. Although he’s best as a scorer, Iverson could have been used as a starting point guard, since Chris Duhon and rookie Toney Douglas are best suited as reserves. The Knicks currently aren’t winning very often. And they don’t really have a lot of top-level youth that would be affected by Iverson being there.

But, Iverson reportedly won’t be heading to New York.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Chris Bosh wants respect

Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh tends to be left out of conversations involving top players in his draft class. He’s noticed, and gotten annoyed about it, and used the motivation to make himself better.

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reports:

“It’s mentality, mentality,” [Bosh] said when asked where the numbers come from, a mentality buried and finally brought to the fore by being held out of conversations about the game’s greats.

“Was it hidden? Yeah, I guess so,” he said after Toronto had dropped a 104-91 decision to the Utah Jazz. “I always thought of myself as a good basketball player, but after a while I really wanted to turn the corner. I looked at all the other guys who are considered top guys and I was tired of not having my name mentioned.

“I wanted to do the necessary work to make sure I put myself in a situation to be successful.”

This season Bosh is putting up monster stats. In 35.9 minutes per game he’s averaging 26.8 points and 12.3 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field.

Share your Raptors opinion on the InsideHoops Toronto Raptors forum.

Manu Ginobili out 7-10 days

Manu Ginobili underwent an MRI examination this afternoon in San Antonio. The exam confirmed that he has a mild left groin strain and showed that he has no structural damage in the area. Ginobili will begin his rehabilitation process tomorrow. He is expected to miss seven-to-ten days.

Ginobili suffered the injury in the first quarter of last night’s Spurs-Mavericks game.

This season in nine games the 6-6, 205-pound shooting guard is averaging 14.1 points and 4.2 assists in 23.4 minutes per game. He’s shooting just 37.8 percent from the field.

Have Spurs opinions? Share them on the InsideHoops San Antonio Spurs forum.

Dwight Howard asks Stan Van Gundy to stop the negativity

The Orlando Magic are off to a pretty good start, with a 9-3 record despite playing the season’s first 10 games without Rashard Lewis and also enduring injuries to Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson.

The team faces an even bigger challenge now that starting point guard Jameer Nelson is injured once again and out for weeks.

Aside from great coaching, Dwight Howard wants a bit less negativity coming from Stan Van Gundy.

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports:

Orlando Magic superstar Dwight Howard told the Sentinel on Thursday that he asked Stan Van Gundy in a private meeting to quell what he perceived as the coach’s recurring negativity.

The fiery, demanding Van Gundy confirmed that he met with Howard, who was speaking on behalf of the team.

“I think, as a team, there was a lot of negativity and it’s not like Stan’s a negative guy,” Howard said before the Magic left for Boston to face the Celtics on Friday night. “But it’s like there’s always some clashes and focusing so much on our mistakes. Instead of bringing each other down, we have to pull each other up.

“That’s the only thing I wanted from coach.”

Van Gundy told the Sentinel that his negativity was “draining the enthusiasm” from his team. He vowed to change his tactics — from practices to press conferences to the bench on game nights — after listening to Howard’s concerns.

A ton of pressure now rests on the aging shoulders of backup point guard Jason Williams, who with Nelson out will start and play a very key role on the team. And old Anthony Johnson must regain some youth and contribute as well.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Andrew Bogut out 2-4 weeks with leg injury

Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond announced today that Andrew Bogut (7-0, 260) suffered a lower left leg strain and contusion in Wednesday’s 99-85 win against New Jersey that is expected to sideline the fifth-year center for two-to-four weeks. Bogut scored team-highs of 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win and left the game late in the fourth period and did not return to action.

Bogut, 24, was examined by Bucks orthopedic physician Dr. Michael Gordon, M.D., and underwent an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) exam this morning, which revealed the injury.

In nine games this season (all starts), Bogut has averaged 16.1 points, 9.2 rebounds (19th in NBA), 1.9 assists and 1.44 blocked shots (22nd in the NBA) in 33.6 minutes per game. Bogut ranks 11th in the NBA in field goal percentage (.565), connecting on 65 of 115 attempts from the floor.

Have Bucks opinions? Share them in the InsideHoops Milwaukee Bucks forum.

Pistons shooting guard spot is crowded

Two of the best Detroit Pistons players are shooting guards Ben Gordon and Richard Hamilton. Both are too small to play small forward, and neither one is a true point guard. While they can play together for stretches, it isn’t an ideal, permanent solution.

So far this season, an injury has caused Hamilton to miss all but one game, leaving plenty of two-spot minutes for Gordon. But Rip returns soon. Will there be a rotation issue?

Ian Thompson of Sports Illustrated writes:

Both Gordon and Hamilton have insisted there will be no friction when Hamilton returns from a badly sprained ankle. Gordon will be willing to come off the bench, which was something his predecessor, Allen Iverson, wasn’t willing to do for Detroit last year.

“It’s about winning,” said Gordon, who was a sixth man in half of his games with Chicago over his five years there. “At the end of the day I know Rip is a winner, and you’re not able to say that about a lot of other guys. I don’t think he sees me as a threat; I think he sees me as someone to help win games.”

At the same time, Gordon’s job, as he sees it, is to continue to push Hamilton for the starting position. “It’s always positive to have some competition out there, and have somebody [who], if you’re not performing well, they can come in and challenge you. Even though we have an understanding that we want to win, we’re also going to challenge each other and that’s going to make both of us better.”

Both players have good attitudes and care about winning, so there’s likely no big problem looming.

Have Pistons opinions? Share them on the InsideHoops Detroit Pistons forum.

Pooh Jeter signs in Israel

The Hoop, a blog quoting hapoel.co.il, reports: Hapoel Jerusalem signed Pooh Jeter(1.79-PG) until the end of the season and they announced it via their official website.

Jeter started the season with Malaga but they released him and so he found the new step in his career in Hapoel Jerusalem. He has already passed with medical examinations so he is ready to play in the next game of Hapoel.