Chicago Sun-Times

Shane Larkin’s athleticism an eye-opener at NBA combine

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:34:01 -0500

Shane Larkin’s name always will trigger sadness and bitterness among DePaul fans. He broke a lot of hearts when he transferred from DePaul to Miami in August 2011, just before his college basketball career was about to begin. Larkin was the recruit who was supposed to change everything for coach Oliver Purnell, the blue-chip star who would return DePaul to basketball relevance. Instead, he did that for Miami, leading the Hurricanes to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament this season. When Larkin returned to Chicago this week to participate in the NBA draft combine, it was his first time …

Kevin Durant pledges $1M for Oklahoma tornado relief

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:12:00 -0500

Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant is pledging $1 million for tornado relief through his family foundation.

NBA Draft Combine: Winners, losers and Bulls’ prospects

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:24:11 -0500

As silly as it sounds, one of the most valuable parts of the NBA Draft Combine is the height and weight measurements. Players are often not what their college media guides portray them to be. Two of the top shooting guards, Kansas’ Ben McLemore and Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, ended up being two inches shorter than their 6-5 listed heights. Kentucky big man Nerlens Noel, the likely No. 1 pick, was on the other end of the spectrum. Listed at 6-10, he measured 6-10 without shoes and nearly 7 feet with them. But expect NBA general managers to have significant worries …

Brandon Paul’s NBA ticket could be people game

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:51:29 -0500

Brandon Paul’s secret weapon at the NBA draft combine is a little unorthodox. It involves his experience wearing a name tag and working an actual eight-hour day — not something most Big Ten basketball stars and potential NBA draft picks do. Paul was a ‘‘guest services agent’’ at the I Hotel in Champaign this spring, part of an internship required to receive his degree from Illinois in recreation sport and tourism. He thinks the experience will prove valuable over the next few weeks as he interviews for a spot with an NBA team. ‘‘I’ve had a job now, working at …

Klay Thompson helps Warriors shoot down Spurs

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:34:00 -0500

Klay Thompson had a career-high 34 points and 14 rebounds, Stephen Curry added 22 points and Golden State withstood another furious rally by the Spurs for a 100-91 victory Wednesday night to even their series and snap a 30-game skid in San Antonio.

Home of Heat forward Udonis Haslem burglarized

Thu, 02 May 2013 11:52:00 -0500

Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem’s home in South Florida has been burglarized, although authorities say it’s not clear if anything was taken.

Jim Boylan out as Bucks’ coach

Wed, 01 May 2013 12:28:01 -0500

ST. FRANCIS, Wis. — Jim Boylan will not return as coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. The announcement Wednesday, long expected, comes three days after the Bucks were swept out of their first playoff appearance in three years. General manager John Hammond says a search for a new coach will begin “immediately.” Boylan took over Jan. 8 after the Bucks and Scott Skiles parted ways. Though Milwaukee won its first two games under Boylan and eight of his first 11, the Bucks fell apart at the end of the season. They lost 12 of their last 16 games to finish with …

Jason Collins receives ‘incredible’ support after gay revelation

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:00:30 -0500

Jason Collins said he has gotten “incredible” support since coming out as the first openly gay player in one of the four major U.S. pro sports leagues, and hopes he may have made the path easier for others to follow.

Jason Collins honored Matthew Shepard by wearing No. 98

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:58:00 -0500

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — NBA veteran Jason Collins changed his jersey number to No. 98 this season. The number was in silent tribute to Matthew Shepard, a gay University of Wyoming college student who was killed in 1998 near Laramie. Collins this week became the first player still active in one of the four U.S. major pro sports leagues to announced that he was gay. Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard, says she is touched that Collins would honor her son that way. Shepard says she’s happy that Collins feels free to be himself and she’s relieved his announcement is …

Ex-NBA all-star accused of living in home that wasn’t his

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:22:00 -0500

PHOENIX — A former NBA All-Star is facing several criminal charges after a police report said he squatted in a Paradise Valley, Ariz., home and then tried to list the place for rent on Craigslist. KPHO reports Chris Gatling is accused of breaking into a key box and living in the home from July 2010 to August 2011. A police report says the homeowners lived in California but had left the power on. The TV station reports he later listed the four-bedroom house for rent for $800 and called it an “Ex-NBA” home online. Court records say Gatling got a …

Jason Collins gets support from White House

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:15:57 -0500

WASHINGTON — The White House is commending NBA veteran Jason Collins for becoming the first active male player in the four major American professional sports to come out as gay. White House spokesman Jay Carney called that decision courageous and says the White House supports Collins. He says he hopes the 34-year-old center’s NBA colleagues will also offer support. “We view that as another example of the progress that has been made and the evolution that has been taking place in this country,” Carney said. Obama announced his support for gay marriage during his re-election campaign last year. Organizing for …

MORRISSEY: Jason Collins leads the way for gay athletes

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:42:15 -0500

RICK MORRISSEY: There. That wasn’t so bad, was it? By coming out on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Jason Collins has become the first openly gay male professional athlete in the four major American team sports. The world didn’t end. No biblical plague arrived. People seemed … fine.

NBA’s Jason Collins becomes first openly gay athlete in major sports

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:38:00 -0500

NBA veteran center Jason Collins has become the first active male professional athlete in the major four American sports leagues to come out as gay.

MCGRATH: Information tops ‘branding’ any day of the week

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:17:06 -0500

The airport waiting area offered a television but no remote to change channels, so ESPN was the choice and old pal Stephen A. Smith my companion during a recent flight delay. With the self-assured zeal of a revivalist preacher, Stephen A. assured us Kobe Bryant WILL COME BACK from his ruptured Achilles tendon. Let there be no doubt. I have been accused, with some justification, of unleashing Stephen A. Smith on the world, but it’s more TV’s doing. He was an ambitious, hard-working prep reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer when I met him in the mid-1990s. The Temple University beat …

NBA playoffs: Feel the Thunder!

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 12:51:08 -0500

We dedicate the start of the NBA playoffs to the fabulous, fallen Kobe Bryant, whose bend-but-don’t-break body finally collapsed during his 48-minutes-or-bust attempt to carry the Los Angeles Lakers on his creaky back to the postseason. Over the second half of the regular season — particularly over the final couple of weeks, when he adopted his I-won’t-be-ordered-off-the-court-unless-you-get-a-court-order stance — Kobe transformed himself from Mamba to Moses. Somehow, after 40 games of wandering the desert, Kobe led the Lakers out of playoff exile — I believe he, too, parted the Red Sea, or at least Salt Lake — and led his …

Russell Westbrook out for Thunder; needs knee surgery

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:00:00 -0500

Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook will have surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and be out indefinitely. The Thunder announced the injury Friday.