Someone Get Michael Beasley A Red Jersey

In football, the quarterbacks get to practice in a red non-contact jersey to make sure that everyone on defense knows not to injure the guy. Unfortunately, someone on the Miami Heat didn't get the same message, and apparently gave number two overall draft pick Michael Beasley an elbow shot that ended his practice early.

Rookie forward Michael Beasley did not finish his first practice with the Miami Heat summer league team Wednesday after being struck in the chest by a teammate's elbow.

The Heat said Beasley, the No.2 overall pick in last week's NBA draft, was being taken for evaluation and had no further details on the extent of the injury.

Geez. Coach Spoelstra needs to let these guys know that injuring Beasley is a great way to end up with another 15 wins next season.

Do You Want Me To Pass It? No! Do You Want Me To Save Your Homes From Foreclosure? Yes!

It's amazing how far we have come from the "Shaq Diesel" days. Now, instead of dropping rap tracks or thunderous dunks, The Big Aristotle wants to drop some cash to help Orlando homeowners avoid foreclosure. Fortunately, Shaq has been much more successful at real estate investing than he ever was at free throw shooting.

Shaquille O'Neal says he wants to build a legacy -- literally -- in Orlando.

The NBA star said he is working on plans for real-estate-development projects in Orlando, with an eye toward helping those who are facing foreclosure on their homes.

"I want to come in not to kick them out, but to work with them and save them so they can stay in their homes," O'Neal told the Orlando Sentinel during an impromptu stop Tuesday at Orlando City Hall.

Attorney Mark NeJame, who arranged the visit along with longtime friend and Realtor Curtis Cooper, said the star center wants to buy the mortgages of homeowners who have slipped into foreclosure because of high interest rates. He would sell the homes back to those troubled buyers with more affordable terms, hoping to make a small profit.

So the homeowners get better terms, and Shaq effectively becomes their bank? Sounds like a good deal to me! Seriously, if he can help out the economy in Orlando by providing some relief to struggling homeowners, then I'm all for it. Besides, it's apparent that Shaq has a pretty good idea of what he would be getting into.

It wouldn't be O'Neal's first foray into real estate. In 2006, he announced the formation of The O'Neal Group to pursue commercial and residential development. At the time, the new company said O'Neal had amassed a real-estate portfolio valued at $50 million during his time in the NBA.

His ventures range from carwashes and strip malls to a financial stake in Metropolitan Miami, a luxury development under construction in downtown Miami that will include what's billed as the tallest residential tower south of New York.

He is also a partner in the 24 Hour Fitness chain, and there are plans for one of the gyms to anchor part of the SoDo mixed-use development being built south of downtown Orlando.

He's got the experience and the capital to assist with a serious problem that cities all over the country are facing. Hopefully, his plan holds up, and he can implement it in the somewhat near future. Otherwise, Orlando residents might add this to a list that already includes "poor free throw shooting" and "bolted to Los Angeles" as reasons they're not big fans of The Big Cactus.

Not Even Sandbags Could Have Saved The Blue Devils

Last night, the Miami Hurricanes basketball team accomplished something against Duke that they couldn't in the last 10 tries that spanned over 45 years.

They beat the Blue Devils.

That's right, the last time that Miami defeated Duke was on December 21, 1962. In the 10 games since that victory, the Hurricanes had lost by single digits just three times('86[7pts], '04[9pts], '05[4pts]), and they had been blown out by 20 or more five times('85[22pts], '87[38pts], '04[24pts], '05[21pts], '06[22pts]).

Series History, Hurricanes vs. Blue Devils
Year, Miami Score, Duke Score
'62-'63: 71 vs. 69
'85-'86: 82 vs. 104
'86-'87: 67 vs. 74
'87-'88: 69 vs. 107
'88-'89: 102 vs. 117
'04-'05: 83 vs. 92
'04-'05: 59 vs. 83
'05-'06: 71 vs. 92
'05-'06: 76 vs. 80
'06-'07: 63 vs. 85
'07-'08: 73 vs. 88
'07-'08: 96 vs. 95

But now the losing streak has been halted, and the 'Canes have handed the Blue Devils a shocking second straight defeat. Miami outshot Duke from the floor, 57.4% to 45.5%, and built a 20 point lead at one point in the second half.

And exactly how long ago was the last win for Miami against Duke in men's basketball?

On the date of that last win, the Bay of Pigs Accord was signed. I guess it's fitting that the Hurricanes beat the Blue Devils the same week that Fidel Castro stepped down then.

Could The Gators Be Dateless For The Big Dance?

It hasn't happened since the '97-'98 season, but the Gators are on the verge of doing it again. The "it" in this case is failing to secure an NCAA Tournament berth. And there's a real possibility that they might miss the "Big Dance" this season.

Heading into February, the Gators looked like they would be a pretty solid lock to make the tournament. They were ranked 20th as they went into their first game of the month against Arkansas. They ended up getting blown out by 19 points. Three days later they were looking to rebound against the then ranked #7 Tennessee Volunteers. They lost by 22 points, and fell even farther away from the Top 25. They were able to get their first win of the month against Georgia on February 9th, but lost two more straight against LSU and Vanderbilt. Last night, they picked up just their second win of February against South Carolina, putting their record for the month so far at 2-4. Overall they're 20-7 with an SEC record of 7-5.

Interestingly enough, the last Gator squad to miss the tourney also struggled in February. That '97 team went 3-6 through the month after having lost just seven games all season up to that point. That team finished the regular season with a 13-13 record, and got knocked out of the SEC Tournament in the second round against South Carolina. They finished the season with a loss in the NIT Tournament against Georgetown.

So, what are the Gators' chances of making the tournament? Pretty good actually. Currently, the teams towards the bottom of the Top 25 rankings have similar records, though Florida's conference record is a bit weaker. However, the Gators do have a shot at finishing up their conference schedule with some much needed wins, and the game on March 5 versus Tennessee has become extremely important. Getting a win against a top ranked team late in the season could be just what this young Gators team needs to carry them through the SEC Tournament.

Right now, though the Gators look to be on the proverbial bubble. Their RPI ranking is #56, and one or two more losses, especially against unranked opponents, could seal their fate. Coach Donovan is a master at motivation, and he's going to need to do all that he can to get this Gators team to pull out some very important wins as the season winds down. Or else they'll quickly be remembered as the first Gators team in 10 years to miss the NCAA Tournament, and not the one that was doing its best to defend back-to-back NCAA titles.

The Orlando Magic Need A Pyramid Scheme To Play Better At Home

In sports, you usually think that the home team has somewhat of an advantage over their opponent. However, this season the Orlando Magic's opponents probably can't wait to face them in the Amway Arena. The reason? The Magic are 15-5 on the road, and just 7-7 at home.

And how has this happened? Well, when they hit the road the Magic average 104 points per game, and shoot an average of 73% from the charity stripe. At home, they average 102 points, and make an average of 68% of their free throws. For the most part, their other statistics are pretty close no matter where they're playing.

In examining the four home losses that were in the double digits we can see that the Magic didn't shoot particularly well from either the floor or the free throw line. Their field goal averages in those four losses were 40%, 47%, 39% and 45%. The corresponding free throw averages were 66%, 42%, 60% and 62%. You can see that even in the one loss where they shot ok from the floor their poor free throw shooting doomed them.

I know that a number of people have raised questions about the Magic's struggles at home, but after looking at the statistics it appears that they should be able to achieve more success at the Amway Arena in the future. The first step is to raise their free throw percentage to what it is when they play on the road. Doing that will instantly better their odds of winning more home games. The Magic have the pieces in place to win a considerable amount of games, as their away record shows. They just have to put it together more consistently when they play at home so they can match the intensity and success that they've had on the road.

It's Like High School Basketball In The 50's

We all know that sporting events can get rather heated. Players talking trash, fans elbowing boobs and parents rushing the court are just part of the excitement. But waving a Confederate flag? Come on, who invited David Duke?

Moments after the 48-47 Port St. Lucie victory, students and fans followed the visiting team out of the gymnasium to their bus, the report said.

Students yelled at the bus and blocked its path. Some students were waving a Confederate flag at the bus, Florida Today reported.

This unfortunate incident has caused increased police presence at Satellite Beach High School basketball games, and the principal considered the Confederate flag waving "inciting" and stated that it was handled "very severely". Hopefully there won't be any retaliation when the teams face each other again in January, and everyone keeps their "Battle Flags" at home.

The NBA Feud

Family Feud that is. That's right, the Family Feud has signed up some NBA players and their mothers to appear on the show.

Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard will be playing the Feud.

He's one of several NBA stars taking part in the Family Feud special NBA Players vs. NBA Mothers Week. Also playing will be former Orlando Magic star and Orlando resident Grant Hill (now with the Phoenix Suns), former Magic player Cuttino Mobley (now with the L.A. Clippers) and former University of Florida star David Lee (now with the New York Knicks), as well as the Toronto Raptors' Chris Bosh and New Jersey Nets' Richard Jefferson.

The six players will face their moms -- Sheryl Howard, Janet Hill, Jackie Mobley, Susan Lee, Frieda Bosh, and Meekness LeCato.

The show, hosted by Dancing With the Stars and Seinfeld alum John O’Hurley, will air on its syndicated channels Monday through Friday, Nov. 12-Nov.16.

The money that's won goes to the nonprofit organization KaBOOM!, and the episodes should be somewhat entertaining. To do my part, I've come up with a few questions that they could use.

-Name something you ask your team's interns to do.

-What are the most popular firearms for carrying to nightclubs?

-Name the top tailors for sideline apparel.

And Tim Hardaway's personal suggestion...

-Name some NBA players that live an "alternative lifestyle".

It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere - Prince Is A Balla Edition

Since it's Friday, and the end of the workweek for most people, we think that you should be provided with a post that takes the edge off so to speak. Because it's going to be random and hopefully humorous, that means that it won't always be sports related. It will also pop up at any time on Friday.

This week we get to "rediscover" one of the greatest TV experiences of all time. The "Chappelle Show". Seriously, what else could have ever brought us "I'm Rick James, bitch!", "I'm rich bitch!", "I bought this baby straight cash!", or a ton of other colorful one liners? In addition to all of that hilarity we also got to hear Charlie Murphy's(darkness everybody!) account of playing Prince and The Revolution in a game of basketball. The NBA might want to look into scheduling some exhibitions with Prince and his crew if they ever want to attempt to attract viewers. I know I would watch if there was a chance to see Prince "cross cats up like Iverson".



Happy Friday!

Vernon Maxwell Still Doesn't Grasp That Whole Child Support Thing

Vernon Maxwell has been arrested again in part because of his failure to pay child support. Apparently he turned himself in to authorities in Alachua County, Florida on Sunday because "he violated probation by not paying the state for his supervision, possessing a controlled substance and failing to pay court-ordered child support".

In case you were wondering, no, this isn't the first time he's had problems keeping up with his child support duties.

Maxwell was jailed in Jan. 2005 in Washington state after his arrest as a fugitive on an outstanding arrest warrant from Florida. He was transferred to Alachua County from Georgia in 2004 to face a felony charge of failure to pay more than $160,000 in child support.

Maxwell was later released on bond and told to stay in the county until the case was resolved. A warrant was issued for his arrest in Dec. 2004 on when he failed to appear for a hearing.

From NBA champion to child support delinquent. Though, it could be worse, he could have Michael Vick type legal problems.

Donaghy Scandal Continues To Damage The NBA's Credibility

Yesterday, I wrote a post regarding the NBA hiring a private investigator a year ago to look into referee Tim Donaghy's gambling habits. One of the most potentially damaging aspects of this incident is not whether the NBA knew of Donaghy's problems, but when they knew. Obviously they had some idea that there was a problem before the regular season started.

I believe that we can assume the NBA was watching Donaghy for the entire season(or longer), and that they were keeping a close eye on any game that he officiated. If that's the case, then why did they continue to allow him to referee games, including the playoffs, when the numbers relating to his games showed an obvious bias?

What bias you ask? Check out the numbers from gambling expert RJ Bell, president of PreGame.com:

"Over the last two seasons (reportedly the focus of the FBIs investigation into this matter), the games refereed by Tim Donaghy scored more points than Las Vegas expected over 57 percent of the time (79 of 138 games). The odds of that happening randomly are 19 to 1.

Premise #1: The more fouls a referee calls, the more he affects the game.

Premise #2: There is an absolute correlation between the number of fouls a referee calls in an NBA game and the number of points scored by the teams. (The logic being that fouls result in free throws, which stop the clock and add points).

Conclusion: An NBA ref who intended to illicitly influence a game would do so by calling more fouls, and thus his games would be higher scoring than average.

Not only have Tim Donaghys games the last two seasons been higher scoring than average, they have been so to a degree that would happen naturally only quite rarely. Which means it can be stated fairly that Tim Donaghys on-court behavior the last two seasons has an over 95% probability of being abnormal!

Maybe Tim Donaghy has always called lots of fouls, some may suggest. In the two years prior to the two years the FBI is investigating, Tim Donaghys games scored more points than Las Vegas expected only 44% of the time!

Assuming 44% "over" is Donaghy's natrual tendency, the odds of being "over" 57% for two full seasons are about 1000-1 against!"

Bell is putting this detailed summary together with the statistics that are readily available to him, so imagine what the NBA concluded with the information that they had gathered.

Either they didn't go very deep, or they didn't like what they found and hoped that this would never be made public. Unfortunately I have to go with the latter because it's been reported that Donaghy was forced into retirement due to these allegations. It appears that the NBA wanted to keep this quiet, and now that it's a full-blown scandal they're going to have a hard time convincing people that what they discovered over the course of last season wasn't enough to pull Donaghy off of the court.

NBA Commissioner David Stern is holding a press conference at 11AM this morning, and it will be interesting to see if he discloses exactly when the NBA became aware of Donaghy's problems. Personally, I think that's more important with regard to the NBA's image than Donaghy's own actions.

The NBA's Biggest Problem With The Donaghy Scandal

Now that the details are starting to come out regarding referee Tim Donaghy's scandal involving gambling and organized crime, we're getting a good idea of how bad it could turn out to be for the NBA.

Forget the games he reffed, or that now the NBA has to have a hand in keeping this guy alive. Think about this tidbit of info that was made public over the weekend.

"The NBA assigned a private investigator on disgraced referee Tim Donaghy more than a year ago, the New York Daily News reported, but then let him work games all season long anyway, friends and neighbors said Sunday."

1 year? One year ago the NBA was suspicious enough about this guy that it hired a private investigator to check up on him. He even went so far as to interview Donaghy's neighbors about his gambling habits.

"Officials had the investigator question neighbors and friends of Donaghy about what they knew about his gambling habits -- especially his penchant for the Borgata in Atlantic City.

"[The investigator] asked, 'Does he gamble?' " said Kit Anstey, 60, of West Chester, Pa. "I said, 'Yes.' "

So someone within the NBA knew that Donaghy was involved with gambling, and that there was a possibility that it was affecting his work for the NBA.

Then, they not only let him referee the regular season, but the playoffs as well. Whether or not his calls in the Game 3 matchup between San Antonio and Phoenix were because of his gambling habits doesn't matter much now because perception is reality, and right now the perception is that Donaghy fixed games to help organized criminals make money. And the worst part is that the current perception is that the NBA knew there was a problem, but they let Donaghy continue to referee games. Hopefully, for the NBA's sake, that perception doesn't become reality.

College Recruits, We Get Older But They Stay The Same Age(Or Get Younger)

For the second year in a row, the University of Southern California has locked up a talented eight-grade prospect. Yes, that's right, Tim Floyd went all to "Catch A Predator" again and sweet talked Ryan Boatwright, a kid who hasn't even played a game on a high school court. Oh, what's that, you didn't realize that Tim Floyd was the middle school version of a "basketball predator"? Well, last year he persuaded Dwayne Polee Jr. to give him a little oral commitment. I guess someone's going to have to tell Floyd that he has to re-register as a predator since he moved from New Orleans. Chris Hansen is a good option.


Seeing as how two eighth-graders have committed to playing college basketball in the past two years, and how competitive recruiting has become, I thought it would be a good idea to examine some of the other prospects that could be committing in the upcoming months. So, here are five recruits that are currently terrorizing the sandbox, swingset and recess street hoops games.

Jonathan Moses, 6th grade, 5'10"/135lbs. Prospective colleges: Florida, Washington, Duke. Moses is a gifted "big man". He already dwarfs most of his classmates at close to six feet tall, and he never gets picked last in any pickup games. He has to improve his footwork, and work on quitting sucking his thumb between timeouts. Florida is the leading candidate because they believe that they've found a player with Joakim Noah's..ahem.."skills".

Donnie "Double QP" Walters, 7th grade, 5'3"/155lbs. Prospective colleges: St. John's, Syracuse, Pittsburgh. Walters is the definitive "lane clogger". Hell, he's been clogging school toilets since 2nd grade. His conditioning is poor, and he doesn't have a very good jumpshot. However, he can box out and bang down low with the best of them, and his ability to snatch rebounds is impressive given the amount of weight he has to move. St. John's is the current leader in the recruiting race due to Manhattan having the highest concentration of McDonald's in the world. Yeah, that "QP" stands for quarter pounder, a staple of Donnie's diet.

Winston "Wrist Rocket" Madison, 5th grade, 4'9"/80lbs. Prospective colleges: Duke, Texas A&M, Ohio State. Madison has excellent court vision, and supreme passing skills. He's garnered the "Wrist Rocket" nickname because of the way he can thread the needle with passes during one recess session, and then knock out the entire class in dodgeball during the next one. He's also got good quickness, and can take every challenger he's faced off the dribble. Though, he's only competed against a pretty weak selection of private school opponents. Duke is favored to grab him because of his equally impressive academic achievements, and his propensity to drink too much apple cider, pop the collar on his Polo shirt, and drive his Little Tykes Hummer H2. Welcome to Durham, J.J. Redick Jr.!


Jermaine Jordan, 8th grade, 5'5"/125lbs. Prospective colleges: UNC, Texas, Arizona. Jordan is the consumate slasher/scorer, and his career average to date of 18ppg reflects that. He can take opponents off the dribble, and utilizes screens and picks effectively. He can be lazy on the defensive end at times, and relies on his athletic ability too much instead of sharpening his skills as a defender. Because of his last name he draws obvious comparisons to MJ. UNC is in the lead because they see a future "Air Jordan".


James "Old Man" Olsen, 5th grade, 5'9"/130lbs. Prospective colleges: Ohio State, LSU, UMass. Yes, that's Olsen's class photo from 5th grade. He can post-up down low, and has enough mobility to move in and out of the paint with the ball. He also has to shave twice a day. Ohio State is currently leading the recruiting battle due to their strength in recruiting players that look 50 years older than they actually are.

So there you have it. Just a few of the recruits that you could see signed by D-1 schools in the next few months as the recruiting wars heat up. However, the colleges better be careful not get caught up by Chris Hansen.

I'm Chris Hansen with NBC Dateline, exactly what were you looking for by coming here...

Could Billy D Pull A Disappearing Act On The Gators?

The newest Billy Donovan-to-the-NBA rumor involves the newly head coach less Orlando Magic. It's a rumor that, at first glance, seems plausible due to Orlando's proximity to Gainesville and Donovan's success at the college level in Florida, but not extremely likely.

It's unlikely that Orlando would grant Donovan anything near "full control", and GM Otis Smith hasn't seemed that intent on getting Donovan since the rumors first started. However, there are a few intriguing thoughts that make the Donovan to Orlando move seem possible.

First, he still hasn't signed any type of new contract, extension, etc. It's been almost two months since Florida won their second straight national championship, and UF hasn't been able to get Donovan locked up in a long term deal. Each side is talking about it, but there's still no ink on a contract.

Second, like I mentioned in my post about Vince Carter possibly heading to Orlando, the Magic need to energize the fan base in order to rally support for a new arena. Right now, their part of the three piece project seems to be the most unpopular. Adding Billy Donovan and possibly Vince Carter would immediately draw in fans.

Third, the NBA predraft camp is happening right now in Orlando. If the Magic are going to make a push, then this is their best chance. Donovan's two time championship point guard is playing in the camp, and Noah, Horford and Brewer will be attending for the physical portion.

Fourth, while Noah, Horford and Brewer will most likely be off the board when the Magic pick at #44, Green probably will still be available. He isn't the top point guard prospect in the draft, but Donovan knows how to use him better than anyone. Although, Orlando does seem sort of set at the PG position. However, adding Green to a line-up of Dwight Howard and possibly Vince Carter would inject some optimism, and help with the solution to point #2.

Obviously, Donovan heading to Orlando is a long shot. There are more than a few examples of successful college coaches that couldn't duplicate anything near their college success at the pro level. And, Donovan is poised to become the king of men's basketball in Gainesville for years to come. Some might believe that trying to maintain a successful basketball program at an historically football rabid school would be difficult, but I think it's actually easier because the football program can help "absorb" any negativity in down years.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks as Florida AD Jeremy Foley focuses on getting Donovan signed. What seemed like a one-time thing with Kentucky calling has snowballed into other rumors that has some Gators thinking Donovan really might not be back next year. Though, those back-to-back national championship trophies would help ease the pain of losing "Billy The Kid" for this Gator.

Ok, We'll Give You A Get Out Of Detention Free Card But That's Our Final Offer

Recruiting high school athletes is against the rules, but I'm sure we've all heard stories about certain kids playing for certain high schools that seem a bit "suspicious".

Well, Monteverde Academy in Lake County, FL is being investigated by the FHSAA for possibly breaking the rules by recruiting athletes. The FHSAA has launched a probe(insert joke here) into whether Monteverde coaches "induced" athletes, specifically ones from Puerto Rico, to come to the school and play sports for them. According to the information gathered regarding Monteverde's baseball roster, the team played in(and lost) the Class 2A championship game last weekend, things aren't looking too good.

"The Montverde baseball team reached the Class 2A state championship game last week in Sarasota. According to the roster supplied by Kesselring, the 18-player team included 17 from Puerto Rico."

Yeaaah, having Puerto Rican students playing baseball for your school isn't against the rules, but having a roster that's 94% Puerto Rican students when you're being investigated for recruiting from Puerto Rico surely isn't going to help your cause.

Oh yeah, their basketball team went 30-0 last year, and finished ranked #4 in the nation by USA Today. Somebody might want to check that roster for a "Carlos Arroyo".