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02/13/2009 - Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former NBA superstars Michael Jordan, David Robinson and John Stockton are among the 16 finalists for the 2009 class of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Joining the three members of the NBA's 50th Anniversary Team as finalists in their first year of consideration are current Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and former WNBA star Cynthia Cooper.
Other finalists include former players Chris Mullin, Bernard King, Dennis Johnson and Richie Guerin; NBA coach Don Nelson; NBA contributor Al Attles; legendary high school coach Bob Hurley Sr.; women's college coach C. Vivian Stringer; contributor Johnny "Red" Kerr; and international candidates Vladimir Kondrashin and Pereira Maciel Ubiratan.
The Class of 2009 will be announced Monday, April 6 in Detroit, Michigan prior to the NCAA men's championship game. A finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Enshrinement festivities in Springfield, Massachusetts are scheduled for September 10-12.
Widely considered one of the best to ever play the game, Jordan starred first on the collegiate level at North Carolina, where he hit the game-winning shot in the 1982 national championship game against Georgetown as a freshman. He then helped transform the NBA game in 15 seasons with Chicago and Washington.
Jordan led the Bulls to six NBA titles and was named MVP of the Finals each time. He was the Rookie of the Year for the 1984-85 season and captured five season MVP awards, while being selected to the All-Star Game 14 times. In addition, he was an All-NBA First-Team choice 10 times and won Olympic gold medals in 1984 as a collegian and in 1992 as a member of the original "Dream Team."
In 1,072 NBA games, Jordan averaged 30.1 points, the best in NBA history. He led the league in scoring average 10 times during his first 13 seasons with the Bulls, taking a full year and part of another campaign off to pursue a baseball career. He retired after the last of Chicago's six titles in the spring of 1998, then returned with the Wizards for the 2001-02 and '02-03 seasons.
Robinson spent each of his 14 NBA seasons with the San Antonio Spurs after being selected with the first overall pick of the 1987 draft. After a two-year commitment to the Navy, he joined the Spurs for the 1989-90 season and averaged 21.1 points with 10.6 rebounds in 987 games.
"The Admiral" was the Rookie of the Year for the 1989-90 season, the league MVP for the 1994-95 campaign and helped the Spurs to NBA titles in 1999 and 2003. He played in 10 All-Star Games, was a First-Team All-NBA choice four times and won a pair of Olympic gold medals -- one with the "Dream Team" in 1992.
At the Naval Academy, Robinson was the Wooden Award winner and Naismith Player of the Year in his senior season of 1986-87 when he averaged 28.2 points with 11.8 rebounds.
Stockton played his entire 19-year NBA career with the Utah Jazz and finished as the all-time leader with 15,806 assists and 3,265 steals. He led the league in assists for nine straight years from 1987-88 through 1995-96.
A first-round pick out of Gonzaga in 1984, Stockton played in 10 All-Star Games and was the MVP of the contest in 1993. He was a First-Team All-NBA selection twice and a Second-Team choice six times.
Stockton played 1,504 games over his career, averaging 13.1 points, 10.5 assists and 2.2 steals. He won gold medals in the Olympics as a member of the original "Dream Team" in 1992 and again in 1996.
Mullin, a finalist for the second year in a row and another member of the "Dream Team," was a five-time NBA All-Star and collegiate standout at St. John's, where he is still the all-time scoring leader and was named Big East Player of the Year an unprecedented three times. He also won Olympic gold in 1984 and played 16 NBA seasons for Golden State and Indiana, amassing 17,911 points.
King spent 15 seasons in the NBA with New Jersey, Utah, Golden State, New York and Washington after an All-American career at Tennessee. He averaged 22.5 points in the NBA, was selected for the All-Star Game four times and was chosen as First-Team All-NBA twice.
Johnson was previously a finalist in 1999, 2003, 2005 and last year. Considered one of the best defenders of his era, Johnson earned nine straight NBA All-Defensive Team honors during his 14-year career with Seattle, Phoenix and Boston. He led the Sonics to the 1979 NBA title, earning Finals MVP honors, and helped the Celtics to NBA crowns 1984 and '86.
Guerin, in his third year as a finalist from the Veterans' Committee, was a six-time NBA All-Star (1958-1963) and accumulated 14,676 points, 4,278 rebounds and 4,211 assists during a pro career with the Knicks (1956-63), St. Louis Hawks (1963-67) and Atlanta Hawks (1968-70).
Kerr, also a finalist from the Veterans' Committee, is up for election for the fifth time in the past six years. He has dedicated more than 60 years of his life to the game of basketball as a player, coach, executive and broadcaster. A three-time NBA All Star (1956, 1959, 1963) and a member of the 1955 NBA champion Syracuse Nationals, Kerr has served as color commentator for the Chicago Bulls since 1975.
Sloan was an assistant coach with the Bulls before beginning his long career with the Jazz. He is the only coach in NBA history with more than 1,000 wins with a single team and is currently fourth on the NBA's all-time wins list.
Nelson, still coaching with the Golden State Warriors, was previously a finalist in 2006 and 2008. He is also a three-time NBA Coach of the Year winner and is currently second in NBA coaching victories.
Attles has contributed over 50 consecutive years of service to the Golden State Warriors as a player, player-coach, coach, general manager, vice president and consultant. He led the Warriors to the 1975 NBA championship, and is currently the team's vice president and assistant GM.
Hurley is a New Jersey high school coaching legend, having compiled more than 900 wins as head coach at St. Anthony's in Jersey City since 1972. He has led the school to 25 state parochial titles and all but one of his players in 36 years has gone on to college. If elected, he would become only the third person elected exclusively for their service to high school basketball, joining Morgan Wootten and Bertha Teague.
Stringer is also a current coach in New Jersey at Rutgers University and is a first-time finalist. Already a women's basketball Hall of Famer, she has a career record of 777-260 and has led three different schools to the women's Final Four, including Rutgers, Iowa and Cheyney State.
Cooper won a pair of NCAA women's titles at Southern California and captured four WNBA crowns with the Houston Comets. She was twice the league's MVP and won an Olympic gold medal in 1988.
Kondrashin was known as the founder of basketball in Leningrad, where he would compile an overall record of 727-365. He led the Soviet Union National Team to the Olympic Gold Medal in 1972 and the Olympic Bronze Medal in 1976.
Ubiratan, a finalist for the second year in a row, is widely considered one of the greatest players in South American basketball history. A member of three Brazilian Olympic teams, Ubiratan led his countrymen to the bronze medal at the 1964 Olympic Games.
<< Brewers' Hall sidelined with torn calf
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Bill Hall
suffered a partial tear of the left calf muscle that will keep him sidelined
during spring training for at least four weeks.
The Brewers said Hall was hurt duri
<< Killie suffers another injury blow
Kilmarnock, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kilmarnock have had their selection
headaches doubled by the loss of striker Allan Russell, who was stretchered
off the training ground on Friday morning.
Russell had been expected to partne
<< Hibs lose Murray to groin injury
Edinburgh, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hibernian will be without Ian Murray
for the next month, starting with Saturday's trip to Kilmarnock.
Murray, who is joined on the sidelines by Ross Chisholm, has undergone surgery
to solve a long-
<< Vidic proud to be part of record-breaking defense
Manchester, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nemanja Vidic has revealed his pride at
being part of Manchester United's water-tight defense and is hoping their
record-breaking run can continue.
United have kept 13 successive league clean sheet
NBA - Be Careful When You Wager >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Lakers are the 3-2 favorites to win
the NBA Championship, with a slight gap between the second and third choices,
Boston at 5-2, and Cleveland at 3-1, respectively. More important than the
odds is the dis
Antar walks out on Koln >>
Cologne, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lebanon international Roda Antar's Koln
career appears to be over after he walked out on the club.
The 28-year-old, who made 15 Bundesliga starts for the club in the first half
of the season, disappe
Llorente out for Bilbao's weekend match with Recreativo >>
Bilbao, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente is
set for a short injury lay-off.
He picked up an injury during Spain's international friendly success against
England on Wednesday.
Llorente headed a superb
Heat's Marion heading to Toronto in exchange for O'Neal >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors have
reportedly agreed to a four-player swap that will send center Jermaine O'Neal
and forward Jamario Moon to Florida and forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus
Banks t
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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Chicago, IL - New Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and star linebacker Brian Urlacher shot down reports of a rift, saying they're simply not true.
"There's nothing between us," Cutler said Thursday, when he reported to training camp. "I just want to put that to rest. There never has been anything between us."
Urlacher added: "I never said what I was quoted as saying and that's it. I have a lot of respect for Jay. I think Jay knows that."
Former Bears receiver Bobby Wade caused a stir when he told Minneapolis radio station KFAN-AM that Urlacher used a profanity while questioning Cutler's manhood during a conversation in Las Vegas last weekend. Wade, who now plays for the Vikings, said Urlacher used a profane version of the word "wimp" during the interview that had to be edited out.
go radio station WSCR-AM also reported that Urlacher had to be restrained from confronting Cutler during organized team activities.
"I wouldn't go face-to-face with Brian, anyway," Cutler said. "No, that's never happened. I've hung out with Brian away from the facility numerous times and we've always gotten along."
Urlacher, noting he was limited by a groin injury, denied the reports in an interview with the Chicago Tribune and did it again when he reported to camp.
"I didn't practice this summer, so I don't know how I would fight the guy if I didn't practice," Urlacher said. "We have no problems. I'm excited about football starting. I'm excited to have him as our quarterback."
Why would Wade say that?
"I don't know," Urlacher said. "Maybe he's jealous because we have a good quarterback now."
Cutler said the first he heard of any friction was when he got a call from Urlacher to clear the air. Urlacher, however, said he had already taken several calls from teammates wondering if the reports were true when Cutler phoned.
"He called me and I said, What's up (expletive), what are you doing?'" a grinning Urlacher said, uttering the same word he allegedly used with Wade. "It's so dumb to me that this even got to this point, but it did and then here we are."
better place after going 9-7 and missing the playoffs for the second straight year. They have a franchise quarterback for the first time in decades after acquiring Cutler in an offseason trade with Denver. But there are questions about his attitude following a fallout with Broncos management and new coach Josh McDaniels.
His critics include former Bears coach Mike Ditka and former Indianapolis and Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy, one of Smith's mentors. Smith, however, said Cutler has been a model teammate so far while denying any animosity with Urlacher.
"There's no issue with Jay and Brian, except Brian and Jay are both excited about being teammates for our club this year," coach Lovie Smith said. "No more than that. We can't spend a whole lot of time on something that isn't true. I have talked to the players. Whenever something comes out, you have to address it, but it's a non-issue."
In some ways, Cutler is getting a second chance in Chicago, an opportunity to repair his reputation.
Smith said another quarterback - Michael Vick - deserves one, although he doesn't see it happening with the Bears, who lack an experienced backup. The former Atlanta Falcons star, who served a 23-month sentence for running a dogfighting ring, said Thursday he is getting close to signing with a pro football team.
"A second chance, like everyone in society who has paid their debt to society," Smith said. "He deserves a second chance. As far as we're concerned, we like this team that we have right now."
Particularly the new quarterback.
"Me and Brian have been on a good relationship since I've been here, and I expect it to continue that way," Cutler said.
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