Sports news...

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2422255

 

 

PHOENIX -- Steve Nash will win his second straight NBA Most Valuable Player award, according to reports on several area newspapers.

 

Nash

Nash

 

The announcement may not come for two weeks, according to the Arizona Republic. But the paper, and others, report that the voting shows Nash edging LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Chauncey Billups and Kobe Bryant for the MVP.

 

This season, Nash had career-highs in points (18.8 points per game), rebounds (4.2 per game), field goal percentage (51.2 percent) and free throw percentage (92.1 percent -- best in the league). He was also the league-leader in assists (10.5) and shot nearly 50 percent from three-point range.

 

The Suns are currently playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

 

A year ago, Nash edged Shaquille O'Neal in what was the fourth-closest balloting in history.

 

 

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i think he deserved

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2006...tory?id=2422069

 

 

DENVER -- Kenyon Martin was unhappy about his limited playing time in Denver's playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers. Now, he won't be suiting up for the Nuggets at all.

 

Kenyon Martin

Martin

 

The Nuggets suspended their forward indefinitely Tuesday night for what they called detrimental conduct.

 

"This is an internal matter that we will deal with in-house," coach George Karl said in a statement.

 

Sources told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that Martin went into a profanity-laced tirade against Karl during halftime of Game 2 on Monday night.

 

Martin, who has been bothered by knee tendinitis all season, was dejected over his limited playing time. He played sparingly in the first half and sat out the second half of Denver's 98-87 loss to the Clippers.

 

Martin didn't get to the Nuggets' bench until several minutes into the third quarter and then sat with a towel over his head. He left the arena without comment, but teammate Ruben Patterson suggested Martin felt he could have played and was frustrated that he had been held out.

 

Hours before suspending him, Karl seemed miffed that Martin was upset over his benching.

 

"I will talk to him and see what's happening," Karl said Tuesday afternoon. "He told me and the staff at halftime that he couldn't go. Now, there's stuff filtering out that there's frustration there. We'll see."

 

Martin apparently banged his bothersome left knee in the first half while going against Elton Brand.

 

"He's got a heck of a matchup," Karl said. "The guy is a very physical player. I don't think people understand how big that man is. He's 260, maybe 270 pounds. I'm sure he not only hit Martin's knee, but probably hit a lot of other parts of the body."

 

Besides, "it's been a year of frustration for everybody," said Karl, who watched forward Nene go down for the season with a knee injury in the opener, then had to juggle his lineup all season with injuries to Martin and center Marcus Camby.

 

"We've always worked through it. We've always picked ourselves up," Karl said. "I trust this team is going to do the same thing on Thursday."

 

Before deciding to suspend Martin, Karl was asked why he wasn't giving him more minutes.

 

"Well, it is hard for me to visualize him actually playing 20 minutes of basketball again because he doesn't participate in practice very often. He just wants to play in the games," Karl said. "That philosophically doesn't make any sense to me. I think he has a big-time heart. I think he is a big-time competitor and he did a heck of a job in the second half against Brand for Game 1.

 

"Right now I evaluate all my players. I think Carmelo [Anthony] is going to go a lot of minutes, Andre [Miller] is going to get a lot of minutes, Marcus is going to get a lot of minutes. After that, I have no idea who is going to get the minutes. It's the guy who earns the minutes and who plays the way we want him to play."

 

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday night at the Pepsi Center.

 

The Nuggets are accustomed to playing without Martin, who has been bothered all season by his surgically repaired left knee and began regularly sitting out games over the last month in hopes he'd be better for the playoffs, where he has traditionally stepped up his game.

 

He had six points and two boards in the Nuggets' 111-109 loss in Game 1, and was scoreless with one rebound in just under seven minutes in Denver's loss in Game 2.

 

The Clippers arrived in Denver on Tuesday to acclimate themselves to the mile-high altitude.

 

"I guess it's true," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said of the effect of the thin air on visiting teams. "But [as a player] I never felt it. I was in great shape. I never thought about it."

 

He's not taking any chances, however, as the Clippers seek their first playoff series win since moving to California in 1978.

 

The Clippers will practice in Denver on Wednesday to get used to the elevation.

 

"It's different," point guard Sam Cassell said. "But if you're going to use that as an excuse, you shouldn't play. Is it that big of a difference? We'll see."

 

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

 

 

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dumb move at the worst time.....now he's gonna have a worst reputation than he already had

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http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2421774

 

 

 

 

Williams suspended one year

ESPN.com news services

 

Dolphins halfback Ricky Williams lost his appeal with the NFL for violating the substance abuse policy and will be ineligible for the 2006 season.

 

The appeal was of his fourth violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy, a ruling that places his football career in jeopardy.

 

Two sources said Williams was told of the ruling earlier Tuesday. This will mark the second time in three years that Williams will sit out a full season. Williams missed the 2004 campaign when he abruptly retired days before the start of training camp that summer, following his third violation of the substance abuse policy.

 

SportsNation

Will Ricky Williams ever play in the NFL again?

Yes

No

"I'm disappointed with the decision but I respect it," Williams said in a statement issued through the Dolphins. "I'm proud of my association with the National Football League and look forward to returning to the Dolphins in 2007."

 

Williams can apply for reinstatement to the league after one year. He will not be allowed to train at the Dolphins' facility for the next year.

 

But even if he were to be reinstated in 2007, Williams would return as a 30-year-old running back who had appeared in just 12 games in three years. Life is difficult enough for a running back in the NFL once he turns 30. It would be especially difficult for Williams, given the rust he would have accumulated. And there are no guarantees that he will want to resume his career when eligible for reinstatement.

 

"Ricky is obviously disappointed," his agent, Leigh Steinberg, told The Associated Press. "He'll need to work hard to get back to the league in 2007."

 

The four-time 1,000-yard rusher returned to the Dolphins in 2005, served a four-game suspension for his past drug-related offenses and forfeited an additional four game checks as part of the sanctions against him. He then ran for 743 yards and six touchdowns while serving as the backup to rookie tailback Ronnie Brown, the team's first-round pick. Williams played in 12 games, starting three.

 

League officials have yet to comment on the resolution to Williams' appeal, which was heard April 10 in a session presided over by league counsel Jeffrey Pash. There had been no indication of when a resolution might come on Williams' appeal, but in the hearing, the Dolphins requested an expedited decision. That was because Miami wanted to go into the draft the weekend with a clear picture of their tailback situation.

 

Decisions on such appeals can often take months, but the league clearly viewed the Williams situation and the proximity to the draft as a mitigating circumstance and made a quicker determination.

 

According to various reports, Williams tested positive, likely in December toward the end of the 2005 season, for a substance banned by the league. In at least three other violations, Williams tested positive for marijuana. Several sources have claimed that the substance in the latest positive test was not marijuana.

 

News that Williams had failed another drug test surfaced in February, while he was in India studying yoga and holistic medicine.

 

In the lengthy appeals hearing, it is believed that attorney David Cornwell, who represented Williams, claimed that the positive test was inconsistent with his client's behavior over the past year. A former league counsel, Cornwell helped craft the NFL's substance abuse guidelines, is eminently familiar with the policy and has represented many players in the past in the appeals process.

 

"We raised substantial and legitimate issues arising out of the application of the NFL's policy and program for substances of abuse," Cornwell said in a statement. He urged the players' union and ownership to "review the issues we raised on the appeal ... and restore the original intention of the NFL's policy to put equal focus on helping NFL players as is put on testing and suspending them."

 

One of the witnesses who testified in support of Williams in the appeal was Dolphins coach Nick Saban, who has repeatedly praised Williams' conduct and performance last season.

 

"This is a league decision, and we are disappointed in what it means for Ricky and the team," Saban said in a statement. "Ricky did an outstanding job for the Dolphins, not only as a player but also what he added as a person to the team's chemistry and to our overall success."

 

For his career, Williams, the first-round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints who was traded to Miami in 2002, has rushed for 7,097 yards and 47 touchdowns on 1,757 carries. The former University of Texas star has appeared in 82 games and started 73 times.

 

The suspension represents a financial blow for Williams, who owes the Dolphins $8.6 million for breaching his contract when he retired in 2004. His return to the NFL was motivated partly by the need for a paycheck.

 

The Dolphins recently re-signed backup tailbacks Sammy Morris and Travis Minor, but neither figures to provide them the kind of productivity that Williams did in 2005.

 

Information from ESPN.com senior writers Len Pasquarelli and John Clayton and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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TEXANS DON'T TAKE BUSH THEY SIGN MARIO WILLIAMS

 

Who's No. 1? Texans, Williams sign contract

ESPN.com news services

 

The Houston Texans have signed North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams to a six-year, $54 million deal, making him the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft Saturday.

 

 

 

Of the $54 million, Williams is guaranteed $26.5 million.

 

Texans general manager Charley Casserly had cautioned earlier in the week that anyone concluding the team had decided on Southern California tailback and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and was only using Williams as leverage was mistaken.

 

"This is a decision that took a lot of time to make, but at the end of the day we felt this was the best player for our football team," Casserly said. "Both players, Reggie Bush and Mario Williams, are going to, I think, be great pros. We made the decision to go with defense."

 

The choice of Williams by the Texans could dramatically alter the landscape of the early segment of the first round. The New Orleans Saints, with the second choice, have indicated they would snap up Bush if he fell to their slot. But the Saints had hinted, in general, that they might entertain trade offers for their pick.

 

The availability of Bush at the No. 2 spot would almost certainly elicit trade offers.

 

ESPN's Sal Paolantonio reported that other teams are interested in trading up and trying to get Bush in the draft. Among five teams that have contacted the Saints are the Raiders and the Packers. The Cardinals might be interested in trading up to No. 2, also, but they are not interested in drafting Bush.

 

Williams becomes the first defensive end taken No. 1 overall since Courtney Brown went to the Cleveland Browns in 2000. He also becomes the 12th defensive lineman to be picked at the top of the draft.

 

The 6-foot-6½, 292-pound Williams, who left school a year early to enter the draft, has been described as a cross between Julius Peppers and Lawrence Taylor.

 

He saw his stock soar after his amazing performance at the NFL combine in February, running the 40-yard dash in 4.73 seconds and doing 35 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press.

 

There were some questions about his work ethic after getting sacks in 11 of his last 23 games, but he has the potential to dominate.

 

"I have the size and the speed and the athleticism, and to find that in a defensive end is rare," Williams said earlier this week at an interview session in New York. "You just don't see it all the time. I think the last time was Julius Peppers and you know what kind of player he is.

 

"Everywhere I went, they said, 'We want you,'" he said.

 

Williams will surely help a Texans defense that ranked 31st total defense last season, 32nd against the rush and 24th against the pass. Team officials like Williams because the Texans have lacked a legitimate pass rusher the last two seasons with the declining health and productivity of two-time Pro-Bowl defensive end Gary Walker. Houston recently released the 11-year veteran.

 

But the Texans may have already filled that need by signing former Baltimore defensive end Anthony Weaver last month. Weaver had 117 tackles and 14.5 sacks in four years with the Ravens.

 

The Texans, who haven't had a winning season in their four-year existence, got the first pick after going 2-14 this past season.

 

They need a playmaker on offense, too, and Bush would have given that to them.

 

The 6-foot, 200-pound Bush, who wore San Diego's 619 area code painted underneath his eyes during USC games, had 1,740 yards rushing and 2,890 all-purpose yards this past season for the Trojans as a junior. He decided to leave school early to enter the draft after USC lost to Texas in the national championship game.

 

Bush averaged 8.9 yards per carry this season, caught 37 passes for 478 yards and led the nation in all-purpose yards with 222.3 per game. Bush shared the tailback position for three years with LenDale White, and the two combined for 99 career touchdowns to break the NCAA record of 97 set by Army's Glenn Davis and Felix "Doc" Blanchard from 1943-46.

 

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Suns run past Lakers, complete 3-1 series comeback

 

PHOENIX (AP) -- So much for the nail-biting suspense of a Game 7. The fast, feisty Phoenix Suns won in a 121-90 laugher over the listless Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.

 

Leandro Barbosa led the layup parade with a career playoff-best 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting and the Suns became the eighth team in NBA history to win a series after trailing 3-1.

 

That all-L.A. second-round series that looked so probable a few days ago vanished in a blur of Suns' fast breaks and repeated drives to the basket.

 

Instead, the Clippers will come to Phoenix for Game 1 of the second-round series on Monday night.

 

The Brazilian Barbosa and Frenchman Boris Diaw led the way. Diaw had 21 points and nine assists as seven Suns scored in double figures. Shawn Marion had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Steve Nash 13 points and nine assists.

 

Kobe Bryant scored 24 points of 8-of-16 shooting, but the rest of the Lakers starters were 17-for-50. Bryant scored only one point and took just three shots in the second half.

 

Raja Bell returned to a hero's welcome from a one-game suspension for throwing Bryant to the floor in Game 5. He scored 13 points and drew three offensive fouls against Bryant.

 

Los Angeles' Phil Jackson lost a first-round series for the first time as a coach, and lost for the first time in 45 series where his team had the lead.

 

The Lakers -- after losing 126-118 in overtime at home in Game 6 Thursday night -- barely offered resistance Saturday night, cutting the lead to single digits only once after falling behind 28-13 in front of a raucous packed house.

 

The Suns started the first quarter with a 16-6 run and ended it with a 12-2 spurt. They made 14 of 20 shots for 70 percent, while the Lakers were a bumbling 6-for-20.

 

With the Suns leading 20-13, Barbosa sank a 13-footer and a layup, then dished off to Marion for a stuff in an 8-0 surge that put Phoenix ahead 28-13 with 1:15 left in the first.

 

After Kwame Brown, who was 1-for-5 in the first quarter, made two free throws, Bell made a 20-footer and Barbosa two free throws to put Phoenix ahead 32-15 after one.

 

Barbosa's layup to start the second quarter made it 34-15. Bryant cut the lead to single digits, 45-36, with a 3-pointer 6:21 before halftime. But Bell followed with a 3, then Bryant was called for an offensive foul. Replays showed Bryant elbowed Bell to the face, the kind of play the Suns' guard had complained about throughout the series.

 

Thomas' stuff with 5:32 remaining in the half put Phoenix ahead 50-36.

 

Bryant's 21-footer as the shot clock expired cut the lead to 50-40, but the Suns scored the next six with Diaw's two free throws making it 56-40 with 51 seconds to go.

 

Nash left the court with a slight limp after stepping on Marion's foot on the play but returned in the second half.

 

Bryant made a 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining, then Diaw sank a 20-footer with 1.1 seconds to play and Phoenix led 60-45 at the break.

 

Game notes

The Clippers and Suns split their season series 2-2. ... Barbosa scored 48 in the final two games of the series. ... Brown finished 2-for-10 shooting. ... The Lakers' Smush Parker was 7-for-37 shooting the last three games.

 

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two things

 

1. i'm glad the lakers lost

 

2. can a mod change the name of this thread to sports news and i'll keep itupdated?