Quick Notes: Terrelle Pryor Update; Stay Classy, NYG; Seahawks and the Rooney Rule; UConn Upset; Nat’l Signing Day; Pinstripes for Clemens?; Shaq Fact; Vegas Loses on SB XLII

Terrelle Pryor update

The number one high school football player in the country, Terrelle Pryor (pictured at right) of Jeannette High School in Jeanette, Pensylvania said simply that he is not making a decision on a college at the moment. Pryor, a 6’6″, 207-pound quarterback also said that because he led his team to a state championship and was playing basketball two days later, he needed more time to make a decision. Beyond his head coach Ray Reitz, Pryor has also had the benefit of consultation with Pittsburgh Steelers QB, Charlie Batch.

Shaq to be Traded to Phoenix for Marion, Banks? It Appears to Be Done; Lakers Handle Nets in Pau’s Debut

Update: Shaquille O’Neal is on his way to Phoenix tonight. If he passes the physical, the trade goes through…. it is done.

Miami Herald writer Barry Jackson reports that the Phoenix suns are in serious trade talks with the Miami Heat. The object of the Suns’ desire is Shaquille O’Neal. According to Jackson Phoenix is willing to swap oft-disgruntled forward Shawn Marion and backup point guard Marcus Banks to the Heat for O’Neal:

Asked for confirmation, one of O’Neal’s representatives said O’Neal has been made aware that discussions with Phoenix are serious and ongoing, but that a deal was not definite.

Dallas also has been mentioned as a potential destination, though the Heat had not immediately informed O’Neal of that possibility.

Spotes Notes, 9.06.07: “Pros”; We Won; Randy Shannon; Robbery in Black & White; Roddick-Federer and Wertheim; Shaq’s Divorce

Prostitution rules the day

Former NFL player Bob Buczkowski, 43, was sentenced to only 90 days house arrest for helping to run a multi-million dollar prostitution ring. Buczkowski, who was a former first round draft choice of the then-Los Angeles Raiders in 1986 and also played for the Cleveland Browns, apparently provided the muscle behind the operation, while his girlfriend Amy Schifano, was the madam – and the brains – behind the operation:

A former NFL player from the University of Pittsburgh was sentenced to house arrest for 90 days for helping run a million-dollar prostitution ring with his girlfriend out of his parents’ home.

Flip Saunders: A De Trois Eulogy

The Flip Saunders era of Deeee-troit Bas-ket-ball! officially ended at approximately 11:50 EST last evening. This season, Saunders’ second, ended in the Eastern Conference finals just like last year did in more ways than just in games won and lost. Last season ended with in-fighting among teammates. Then, Ben Wallace was named as the locker room cancer and jettisoned to Chicago. This season it was Chauncey Billups. No, it was Rasheed Wallace. No, it was Richard Hamilton. No, it was that known bad guy, Chris Webber.

No.

It was Flip Saunders.

Saunders has a reputation as being a low-key head coach; not the pissed off, about to have an aneurism lookin’ type of head coach Larry Brown was. Oddly, that’s one of the reasons Joe Dumars brought him into the Pistons fold. After being verbally pistol-whipped by Brown for two years, Detroit appeared psychically beaten by the time Game 7 against the San Antonio Spurs rolled around. Dumars also felt that, through Brown, the Pistons realized exactly how much personal commitment it took and would take in the future to win future championships. To lighten the reins, Joe D. smartly – or so he thought – brought in Flip.

And boy did the team flip on Saunders.

Spotes Notes: The Lakers Tuning Out Phil?; Asante Wants to Get Paid; Arenas Faces Surgery, The Wiz are Done; The Bulls Look Nice but Not the Knicks; Billy D Stays at Florida – But What of the Juniors?

“Spotes” = Sports, as in, “You play spotes? Which ones? I play cricket myself.”

**The Los Angeles Lakers are fading fast. After reading Roland Lazenby’s piece on Smush Parker, I’m going to lay off the Lakers PG. And of course the question is, what the hell is wrong with resident NBA sage Phil Jackson’s team?Fortunately, the answer is easy – defense. In the moth of March LA endured a seven-game losing streak where they gave up an astounding 110.1 ppg. After righting themselves momentarily and embarking on a five-game winning streak, the Lakers lost their final two games of the month. In those seven games the Lakers still surrendered 106.4 ppg, a ridiculous average even for the Phoenix Suns.

NBA Trade Deadline Update: Looks Like Kidd and Carter Staying Put with Nets; More Trade News

Barring some unforeseen last minute finagling, Jason Kidd is going nowhere – well, certainly not to the Los Angeles Lakers. According to Newark Star-Ledger Nets beat writer Dave D’Alessandro, Nets GM Rod Thorn will have no further communication with the Lakers unless they include Andrew Bynum in their trade talks:

…there were a few developments in the trade scenarios involving Jason Kidd yesterday — not necessarily surprising, but noteworthy:

· Thorn essentially told the Lakers to stop calling him. Or, more specifically, he has told Los Angeles general manager Mitch Kupchak not to call unless he is prepared to include New Jersey native Andrew Bynum in any deal; or to go out and involve a third team that could deliver a package of players that would make the Nets take his next call.

“That’s probably the truth,” Thorn confirmed, matter-of-factly.

· The Lakers were “not necessarily” the team that was “most eager” for Kidd, Thorn said. Although virtually every team in the league has called — mostly on the hope they could make a killing the way the Nets stole Vince Carter in 2004 — only one is actually willing to put together a deal that includes a frontline player.

That team is believed to be Golden State, which has been offering Jason Richardson to virtually everybody, but the Nets are unwilling to take on his contract (which runs through 2011) or that of Adonal Foyle (which runs through 2010), who has to be added to make the salaries match Kidd’s $18 million.

And remarkably, even the Phoenix Suns called Thorn yesterday, according to a Western Conference official who did not want to be identified because GMs don’t comment publicly on other teams’ operations. Ostensibly, the Suns are worried about Steve Nash’s chronic back problem, and even though they don’t have the kind of salaries it would take to land Kidd, they wanted to get involved — even if it was only to keep him away from the Lakers.

The bottom line?

“I had discussions with a whole bunch of teams about a lot of different things. Some of them new teams,” Thorn said. “Anything productive? Probably not.”

Any scenarios involving Carter were also a dead end, as teams are unwilling to trade for a player who can opt out of his contract. Not even the Clippers, who could use the perennial All-Star, are in pursuit anymore: “I don’t see anything happening with them,” Thorn said.

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In other major trade talk, Chicago Bulls GM John Paxson isn’t optimistic that the Bulls can acquire coveted Memphis Grizzlies center/power forward Pau Gasol. According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune:

The NBA’s deadline, which arrives at 2 p.m. Thursday in Chicago, will force Bulls general manager John Paxson to increase his offer for Pau Gasol, which is unlikely, or try to engineer any number of deals that might slightly upgrade talent—as well as payroll.

Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim is the most prominently mentioned possibility in the latter scenario, though a late rumor Wednesday had the Bulls trying to pry Bonzi Wells from the Rockets.

A Bulls team source said Paxson wasn’t optimistic but had to wait until Thursday to see if Grizzlies general manager Jerry West would lower his asking price for Gasol. That chance has been rejected categorically in public comments from West and Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley.

In addition to Abdur-Rahim, Paxson has turned his attention to the possibility of trading for Houston Rockets swingman Bonzi Wells.

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Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee is reporting that the Sacramento Kings continue to actively entertain trade offers for Kings point guard Mike Bibby. As this is written, ESPN’s Chris Broussard is reporting on the Mike and Mike Morning Show that the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the improved play of Anderson Varejao, appear willing to include Drew Gooden in a trade with the Kings:

With the trading deadline at noon PST today, the Kings have been actively trying to exchange point guard Mike Bibby for the right building pieces, and Cleveland continues to appear the most likely option. The Cavaliers have been aggressively trying to acquire Bibby in what they see as a vital piece toward a title run. Trades have been discussed involving three or more teams, though a Kings official said none of the talks had reached the point where deals were being turned down.

And should Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry wake up this morning willing to offer the Kings the right mix of youth, draft picks and/or expiring contracts they want, an 11th-hour deal might be made. (Ferry and Bibby share the same agent, David Falk.) A trade is unlikely, however, without involving another team.

“I’ve talked to Cleveland, (but) it’s just conversation,” Petrie said from his office before he left at approximately 5 p.m. “In general, it’s not right now realistic that there’s some sort of magic bullet out there for us, I think, in terms of some immediacy. I think if we do anything, it would be more geared toward the future and some combination of things that give us some flexibility potentially and hopefully some talent, too. It still remains to be seen. Right now, there’s nothing of any substance to really talk about.”

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, Brian Windhorst and George M. Thomas of the Akron Beacon-Journal are reporting:

With the trading deadline fast approaching at 3 p.m. today, the Cavaliers are in an aggressive scramble to make a blockbuster trade.

General Manager Danny Ferry has eyed Sacramento Kings point guard Mike Bibby for weeks, and the team stepped up its efforts to put together a deal for him during the past 48 hours.

League sources said Ferry is willing to do something risky to land a player of Bibby’s stature, despite the Cavs winning five of their past six games and reaching a high-water mark of 10 games better than .500.

The Kings’ main target on the Cavs’ roster is Drew Gooden. But more pieces are needed, including a point guard to replace Bibby and expiring contracts that the Cavs don’t have.

The Cavs have been scrambling to find the right pieces. Sources have said that they’ve spoken to the Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Toronto Raptors, among others, about putting a package together.

It must be said that neither Ferry or Petrie are optimistic about the possibility of a trade, both continue to work to make the trade happen.

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Also according to Broussard, the Houston Rockets are coveting disgruntled Los Angeles Clipper Corey Maggette. However, Jason Reid of the Los Angeles Times reports this morning that the clips are making no major moves today (is trading Maggette a minor or major move?):

With a Western Conference playoff berth at stake, the struggling Clippers would prefer to make a trade in an attempt to improve, many in the organization said, but completing a deal is not as easy as many seem to believe. Moreover, most of the rumored trades involving the Clippers couldn’t happen because of the league’s salary-cap rules.

“No one has made any of these offers that we’ve been reading about and hearing about,” General Manager Elgin Baylor said Wednesday. “The only valid offers that have been made are offers that would not improve our team. We would be giving up more than we would be getting, but you never know what could happen. You never stop trying until the deadline.”

The Clippers are not expected to make a major deal today, though not for lack of effort, Coach Mike Dunleavy said.

“There are lots of dynamics involved with trying to get a deal done,” Dunleavy said. “Obviously, there are the salary-cap dynamics and long-term dynamics as far as the direction of your team.”

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Though the Orlando Sentinel’s Ira Winderman reports that Pat Riley is said not to be in a trading mood, with the seriousness of Dwayne Wade’s dislocated left shoulder as of yet unknown, it is rumored that the Heat are attempting to acquire Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Mike James:

“There’s a lot of buzz, a tremendous amount of buzz,” Riley said of phones ringing around the league, with General Manager Randy Pfund taking the calls for the Heat. “Right now, in having conversation with Randy, there’s a lot of panic.

“I think some teams really want to do something. You’re 20 hours away from the deadline, and to be able to put together multiple, multiple deals is not easy and you’ve got to get in line.”

Riley offered his comments Wednesday night before guiding the Heat against the Rockets at the Toyota Center, his first game back after knee and hip surgeries in early January.

I wonder how Riles feels about a trade this morning?

Riles Steps Down for Awhile; Saban Heads West – to Alabama

This is what I get for running errands. I come back and find out Pat Riley is stepping down as head coach of the Miami Heat for medical reasons. Why Riles didn’t have the surgery sooner, like during the off season is a question only Riley can ask – maybe like asking why Jason Williams didn’t have knee surgery until late July instead of having it a month earlier:

A team spokesman confirmed Wednesday that Riley would hand over the team to assistant coach Ron Rothstein because of health issues.

The spokesman said the departure is open-ended, with Riley recently suffering from knee pain, in addition to ongoing hip problems.

Riley was not immediately available for comment, but spoke earlier in the week about the knee pain that had him hobbled in recent days.

“I’ve got floating chips,” he said. “I’ve got three or four things that have been floating in there for years. If I get it done, it’ll be a day. There’s just going to scope it and flush it out.

“I had an MRI the other day. It showed all these loose parts in there. Lately it’s been locking up and staying there.”

With Williams becoming healthier, with Shaquille O’Neal’s imminent return and the emergence of Dorrell Wright and Jason Kapono, Riley, should he return, will make the Heat the odds-on favorite to repeat as Eastern Conference champion and perhaps as NBA champion.

The “other” main event in South Florida is Nick Saban’s leaving the Miami Dolphins and taking the head coach job at Alabama. Saban, who just a month ago said there was no way he was leaving the Dolphins, is suddenly gone. Unlike most of the Miami sports media, Dolphins’ owner Wayne Huizenga was not bitter over Saban’s departure:

Saban and Huizenga met at the coach’s home early today and the decision was finalized. Saban never did show up at the Dolphins’ Davie training facility at 10 a.m. today, as was originally planned. Huizenga arrived at the training facility shortly after 10:30 a.m. Saban informed his coaches via speaker phone. He did not talk to players.

Huizenga said, “There’s a lot of reasons why decisions get made in life but the net is he’s not coming back. He’ll be leaving this afternoon to go to Alabama and we have to move forward.”

Was Huizenga upset with Saban? “The answer is no, I’m not upset because it’s more involved than what you think. I’ve been through this with Nick for quite some time and I feel the pain of Nick and Terry and it’s not a very simple thing. I am not upset with Nick. I think Nick’s great.”

Though they haven’t provided sufficient updates in the online versions of their newspapers, I’m sure folks in Alabama are now definitely happy Rich Rodriguez turned down the Crimson Tide’s offer, which paved the way for Alabama to pursue Saban.

NBA Random Notes: Ron Artest is Not About to Blow up the Kings; T-Mac Might Return Tonight; Shaq “The Big Buffet” on Phil

* It looks like T-Mac might be on the floor for the Houston Rockets when they play the Indiana Pacers tonight.

McGrady did travel with the team Monday and a decision about playing tonight will be made after Tuesday’s shootaround.

* The latest and greatest from the fat dude on the Miami Heat’s bench masquerading as Shaquille O’Neal. LA Laker’s bench chief Phil Jackson, in reply to a question about Kobe Bryants’ work ethic had this to say about the injury-plagued “Big Hurtable”:

“I know [Heat coach] Pat [ Riley] got him working in Miami, but we had a hard time getting him to work.”

The “Big Buffet” responded as only a man who just had his last box of Kraft Mac-and-Cheese box stolen from him could:

”How can Benedict Arnold be reliable in what he says?”

Whatever.

Get in shape, Buffet. Come back and carry your squad so that D-Wade can play fewer minutes and won’t be spent by playoff time. If that’s not the plan then, as great as you’ve been, you’re ensuring that these are the last days of Miami as an elite team.

* The rumors that Ron Artest is about to detonate the Sacramento Kings appears to be exaggerated. Though Ron Ron might be a bit peeved at the Kings’ recent losing spate, he says it’s only his knees and his back that are the real problem.

“I actually was supposed to have an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) test on my left knee earlier this season, but it didn’t happen,” Artest said from the team’s practice facility. “My back and my knee were hurting at the same time. That was back when people were questioning if I was really hurt.

“I heard people talking about me having a ‘mysterious back injury.’ I had the MRI (on my back) and it didn’t show anything, but my back was still hurting me. Then I had a CT scan, and that showed one of my discs was out of place. I wasn’t faking, although I knew some people thought I was.”

Artest said he’s heard and read how he and Bibby are allegedly battling for control of the team.

“That’s not true at all,” Artest said. “This is Mike’s team. Mike and Brad (Miller). They’ve been here the longest. I don’t know that it has to be anybody’s team, but there has to be a leader. With Michael Jordan, it was his team. In San Antonio, it’s Tim Duncan’s team, even though Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are great players.

“Mike has been here, he’s made big shots during the playoffs, it’s his team.

“But we have leaders. Kevin Martin is a leader here because he’s leading with his play. He kind of reminds me of (former Indiana Pacers star guard) Reggie Miller. I kind of look at myself as the guy who will speak honestly to everybody. If anybody isn’t working hard enough, I’ll tell them. Just like if Corliss (Williamson) sees me not doing what I’m supposed to do, he’ll tell me and ask me why I’m not doing right.”

Artest was asked if he and Bibby need to sit down and talk.

“We could do that so we could say we’ve done it for the public, but there’s no need,” he said. “Me and Mike are on the same page. We just both want to win and we both haven’t been healthy, Brad, too. If we’d all been 100 percent and we were 10-14, then I’d say we were a very, very bad team. But I’m not panicking.

“I know people are saying Ron Artest is buggin’. But that’s all right. We’re going to be all right. We just have to keep playing.”

Sac Bee reporter Sam Amick was simply informing the public what was going down at the moment. Sure, Artest was being cryptic but been Ron Ron’s M.O. since he was a pup. This may be one of the few times the phrase, ‘nothing new here, move along,’ can be taken literally.

AI Trade Talk House – Miami Heat

Allen Iverson in Miami. Nah, can’t be. Allen Iverson in Miami. I wonder what the odds in Vegas would be for this trade? However, this is the latest and greatest news on what for all the world seems like a long waiting game. The question I have is, how can Heat head coach and President Pat Riley swing this?

Dan LeBatard of the Miami Herald is spec-a-latin’ right along with the rest of us:

I’d trade Jason Williams, James Posey, Udonis Haslem, Dorell Wright and a future No. 1 for Iverson. You can’t get him cheap. It has to sting a little to outbid other contenders. But you have to do this with your head, not your heart. Never mind that no one wants to lose the hustle of Haslem, the grit of Posey or the future of Wright. You can’t get Iverson for Michael Doleac and Chris Quinn. We tend to fall in love with what we have instead of the unknown — that’s why too many people thought Caron Butler and Lamar Odom for O’Neal was too much once upon a time — but you are getting the best of any basketball trade that brings you back the best player in said trade.

That’s a lot to swallow. And I can’t believe Riley would do it. Haslem is Shaq’s inside buffer, plus he pops out and regularly cans the 12-15 footer. James Posey? His length makes him a dangerous defender and he strokes the three. Jason Williams can go, but the Sixers may not want him and his bum knee. And Riley didn’t draft Dorell Wright to be D-Wade’s future sidekick for nothin’.

But LeBatard’s argument is definitely persuasive:

And let’s not overvalue what Miami‘s spare pieces are worth, either. Posey and Haslem and the rest look like champion jewels because of O’Neal and Wade, who make every teammate look better than he actually is. It isn’t a coincidence that everyone who plays with them puts up career highs in efficiency.

Anyone can win around those two. Anyone did win around those two last year, as Williams and Walker chucked and missed from three-point range in Game 6 of The Finals and Miami took the trophy anyway. Miami came within a bounce of The Finals with Eddie and Damon Jones around those two, for the love of God. Shaq and Wade’s equivalent — Kobe Bryant — won three championships with has-beens such as Ron Harper and Rick Fox and Brian Shaw, all of whom tumbled right out of the league the moment they left the side of Shaq….

There is only one time this season, only one, when the Miami Heat felt like defending champions. It was on opening night, when the rings were handed out. Then the basketball was thrown up in the air for the first time, Miami lost by 42 and one of the most flawed champions in the history of this sport has spent the past two months trying to get back up without success.

There is a huge bolt of electricity available for a franchise suffering from a temporary power outage.

How invigorating would it be if Riley could get him?

Yes it would be invigorating, but at what cost?

Let’s gear down on all this potential craziness. For Riley’s comments we turn to the Herald’s Israel Gutierrez:

”I would be delinquent in my responsibilities if I wasn’t interested in Allen Iverson,” Riley, the Heat’s coach and president, said. “That’s all I’m going to say. Just like when Shaquile [O’Neal] came out there, I was frothing at the mouth. So my level of interest can be gauged on that comment.”

And just to sober up any of you out there who are pipe-dreaming at this very moment, consider this:

The likelihood of the Heat landing a second megastar in three years remains a long shot, however.

But given what the Heat has to trade, it’s unlikely the Sixers will give serious thought to any offer. A trade for Iverson, who will make about $18 million this season, would most likely have to include any two of either Antoine Walker, James Posey, Jason Williams or Udonis Haslem, and then probably include a young talent such as Dorell Wright, with a future first-round draft pick thrown in.

Ahhh, yes. Reality.