NBey6's Blog

Updated: June 21, 2010, 11:38 AM ET

Doc: Wallace hinted career was ending

By Chris Forsberg
ESPNBoston.com
Archive

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers reiterated Monday his belief that Rasheed Wallace will walk away from basketball this summer, revealing that the 15-year veteran told him before Game 7 of the NBA Finals that he thought it would be his final NBA contest.

 

Wallace

 

Making his last appearance of the season on Boston sports radio WEEI (850 AM), Rivers discussed Wallace's future and all the things that went wrong in the Celtics' Game 7 loss to the Lakers last week.

"I think you have [seen Wallace's last game]," Rivers said. "He was so emotional right after the game, but Rasheed told me the night before that, 'I'm going to give you everything I've got. I really believe this is my last game that I'm going to play.'

"He said this year was very difficult for him, physically, and that he never felt like, even the conditioning part of it hurt, and he doesn't think he wants to go through that again. And he wants to watch his kids. I do think that's the last time you see him in a Celtics' uniform."

Starting in place of injured Kendrick Perkins (right knee), Wallace registered 11 points and eight rebounds over 36 minutes in Game 7, while battling through a balky back that limited his minutes throughout the Finals.

The 35-year-old Wallace still has two years and $13 million on the three-year deal he signed with Boston last offseason, but could facilitate a buyout to walk away.

If Wallace does change his mind and is lured back by the $6.3 million salary that awaits him, he'd likely be a starter at least initially, with Perkins potentially sidelined for the start of the 2010-11 season as he prepares for surgery to repair two torn ligaments after injuring himself in Game 6 of the Finals.

Wallace's decision could force the Celtics to look to the draft or free agency to replenish their frontcourt that already appeared thin against the Lakers.

Open your ears and listen carefully.

TIW 6-20-10 FL Evening

Winning Numbers: 822 & 9107

 

529, 632, 765, 724, 793, 946, 810, 354
4052, 3406, 5813, 6280, 6793, 2349, 2659
7845, 7146, 7132, 7350, 8419, 0159, 9807

 

529, 630, 741, 852, 963, 074, 185, 296, 307, 418

793, 804, 915, 026, 137, 248, 359, 460, 571, 682

946, 057, 168, 279, 380, 491, 502, 613, 724, 835

0052, 1052, 2052, 3052, 4052, 5052, 6052, 7052, 8052, 9052

4050, 4051, 4052, 4053, 4054, 4055, 4056, 4057, 4058, 4059

0793, 1793, 2793, 3793, 4793, 5793, 6793, 7793, 8793, 9793

6790, 6791, 6792, 6793, 6794, 6795, 6796, 6797, 6798, 6799

0349, 1349, 2349, 3349, 4349, 5349, 6349, 7349, 8349, 9349

2340, 2341, 2342, 2343, 2344, 2345, 2346, 2347, 2348, 2349

 

07, 24, 28, 48, 83, 05, 52, 79, 73, 93 and/or 94 pairs

TIW 6-20-10 SC Evening

Winning Numbers: 782 & 8038

 

483, 578, 154, 180, 137, 305, 296, 740
5961, 4593, 6704, 3179, 3284, 1458, 1368
2756, 2053, 2041, 2469, 7508, 9068, 8792

 

296, 307, 418, 529, 630, 741, 852, 963, 074, 185

0792, 1792, 2792, 3792, 4792, 5792, 6792, 7792, 8792, 9792

8790, 8791, 8792, 8793, 8794, 8795, 8796, 8797, 8798, 8799

 

74 and/or 29 pairs

Updated: June 20, 2010 10:30 PM ET
McDowell holds off Havret for title

---

Associated Press

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- In a U.S. Open with golf's biggest stars on the leaderboard, it was Graeme McDowell who played like one.

 

McDowell seized control after a shocking collapse by Dustin Johnson, then failed to get flustered with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els lined up behind him. The 30-year-old from Northern Ireland wasn't perfect, but he was good enough.

 

Open Door

Graeme McDowell is the first golfer from Northern Ireland to win the U.S. Open. However, he is the fifth non-American to win the event in the last seven seasons.

Last 7 U.S. Open Winners

From
'10 Graeme McDowell	N. Ireland
'09 Lucas Glover	United States
'08 Tiger Woods	United States
'07 Angel Cabrera	Argentina
'06 Geoff Ogilvy	Australia
'05 Michael Campbell	New Zealand
'04 Retief Goosen	South Africa

 

He closed with a 3-over 74 to become the first European in 40 years to capture the U.S. Open, getting an embrace on the 18th green from his father.

 

"You're something, kid," Kenny McDowell said, speaking for thousands who watched this unlikely Open unfold along the Pacific coastline.

 

It was a final round no one expected.

 

Johnson took a triple bogey on the second hole to lose all of his three-shot lead, and a double bogey on the next hole ended his hopes. Three of the biggest stars of this generation were right there, ready to continue the lineage of great champions at Pebble Beach, only to play far below their expectations.

 

McDowell made only one birdie -- an eight-foot birdie putt on the fifth hole -- and his final round was the highest score by a U.S. Open champion since Andy North in 1985.

 

No matter. It added up to a one-shot victory over another surprise contender, Gregory Havret of France, who shot 72.

 

U.S. Open Leaderboard

1. McDowell (E) - $1.35M
2. Havret (+1) - $810K
3. Els (+2) - $480K
T-4. Woods (+4) - $303K
T-4. Mickelson (+4) - $303K
• Scores

 

"I can't believe I'm standing with this right now," McDowell said, posing with silver trophy. "It's a dream come true. I've been dreaming it all my life. Two putts to win the U.S. Open. Can't believe it happened."

 

Woods couldn't believe it, either.

 

Poised to end six months of bad publicity over a shattered personal life, he bogeyed five of his first 10 holes and took himself out of contention with a 75.

 

Els and Mickelson hung around a little longer, and both had opportunities, but neither could capitalize.

 

Els had a brief share of the lead on the front nine but came undone along the coastal holes -- including one stretch of bogey-double bogey-bogey -- and never quite recovered. His hopes ended when he missed his target with a sand wedge on the par-5 14th and took bogey, then missed a four-foot birdie putt on the 15th.

 

 

He closed with a 73 to finish alone in third.

 

Mickelson, with another great chance to end a career of disappointment at the U.S. Open, holed a birdie putt from just off the green on the first hole, then didn't made another birdie the rest of the day. He also shot a 73 and tied for fourth with Woods, missing a chance to supplant Woods at No. 1 in the world.

 

Woods made only two birdies, but was more troubled by his mistakes.

 

"I made three mental mistakes," Woods said. "The only thing it cost us was a chance to win the U.S. Open."

 

Even so, nothing compares with what happened to Johnson. The 25-year-old American looked so unflappable all week, and came apart so quickly. On the final hole of a round he won't forget, Johnson missed a two-foot birdie putt and wound up with an 82. It was the highest closing round by a 54-hole leader in the U.S. Open since Fred McLeod shot 83 in 1911.

 

McDowell finished at even-par 284 and ended 40 years of questions about when a European would capture America's national championship. England's Tony Jacklin was the last one, in 1970 at Hazeltine.

 

McDowell had to work harder than he imagined.

 

Even under overcast skies and a stiff breeze, the course was firm and dangerous as ever. Davis Love III, with a 71, was the only player among the final five groups who matched par.

 

"I can't believe how difficult this golf course was," McDowell said. "No matter how good you play ... good golf got reward, and bad golf got punished really badly."

 

McDowell got into the U.S. Open by narrowly getting into the top 50 in the world at the deadline to avoid qualifying. He wound up with his first victory in America to go along with five European Tour victories, most recently the Wales Open last month at the home course for the Ryder Cup in October. He is sure to be part of the European team now, moving up to No. 13 in the world.

Sunday, June 20, 2010
Turner remains in critical condition

---

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Police say an Ohio State football recruit remains in critical condition a day after he was shot multiple times and a teenage girl was killed at a house in Youngstown.

 

Police say they have a suspect in Saturday's shooting of Jamel Turner but no arrest has been made. Authorities declined to provide additional information Sunday.

 

Seventeen-year-old Tracy Banks died in the shooting. A 4-year-old girl found inside the house was unharmed.

 

It wasn't immediately clear who owned the house. A message was left Sunday at a phone listing.

 

Turner, a defensive end, signed with the Buckeyes in February. Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel issued a statement saying that he's praying for Turner. University spokeswoman Shelly Poe said the school had no further comment Sunday.

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection."

- Sigmund Freud -

TIW 6-19-10 SC Evening

Winning Numbers: 111 & 5578 

 

418, 521, 754, 716, 782, 865, 309, 246
1709, 2173, 0852, 3987, 3462, 9216, 9306
4810, 4513, 4529, 4207, 8156, 7506, 6874

 

521, 632, 743, 854, 965, 076, 187, 298, 309, 410

754, 865, 976, 087, 198, 209, 310, 421, 532, 643

309, 410, 521, 632, 743, 854, 965, 076, 187, 298

2170, 2171, 2172, 2173, 2174, 2175, 2176, 2177, 2178, 2179

0173, 1173, 2173, 3173, 4173, 5173, 6173, 7173, 8173, 9173

4520, 4521, 4522, 4523, 4524, 4525, 4526, 4527, 4528, 4529

0529, 1529, 2529, 3529, 4529, 5529, 6529, 7529, 8529, 9529

9300, 9301, 9302, 9303, 9304, 9305, 9306, 9307, 9308, 9309

0306, 1306, 2306, 3306, 4306, 5306, 6306, 7306, 8306, 9306

 

76, 09, 85, 84, 54, 21, 30, 39 and/or 09 pairs

Saturday 6-19-10 Saturday

841, 885, 413, 630, 970, 006, 175, 732

110, 125, 168, 057, 147, 327, 777, 888

4974, 1869, 4470, 5763, 2309, 4701

I just saw this on the tele today, for the first time, and decided to share as there may be others who are 'late' like me. LOL!

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday in the United States honoring African American heritage by commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. State of Texas in 1865. Celebrated on June 19, the term is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, and is recognized as a state holiday in 36 states of the United States.^[1][2]

The holiday originated in Galveston, Texas; for more than a century, the state of Texas was the primary home of Juneteenth celebrations, and since 1980, Juneteenth has been an official state holiday in Texas. It is considered a "partial staffing holiday", meaning that state offices do not close, but some employees will be using a floating holiday to take the day off.^[3] Its informal observance has spread to some other states, with a few celebrations even taking place in other countries.^[4][5]

As of March 2010, 36 states^[1] and the District of Columbia have recognized Juneteenth as either a state holiday or state holiday observance; these are Alaska,^[5] Arizona, Arkansas, California,^[5] Colorado, Connecticut,^[5] Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,^[2] Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan,^[6] Minnesota,^[7] Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey,^[5] New Mexico, New York,^[5] North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,^[1] Vermont,^[1] Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.^[8] In some areas, however (particularly those with their own emancipation dates), there is resistance to celebrating what is, in essence, a Texas holiday.^[9]

Though Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, with an effective date of January 1, 1863, it had minimal immediate effect on most slaves’ day-to-day lives, particularly in Texas. Texas was resistant to the Emancipation Proclamation, and though slavery was very prevalent in East Texas, it was not as common in the Western areas of Texas, particularly the Hill Country, where most German-Americans were opposed to the practice. Juneteenth commemorates June 18 and 19, 1865. June 18 is the day Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its slaves. On June 19, 1865, legend has it while standing on the balcony of Galveston’s Ashton Villa, Granger read the contents of “General Order No. 3”:

That day has since become known as Juneteenth, a name derived from a portmanteau of the words June and nineteenth.

Former slaves in Galveston rejoiced in the streets with jubilant celebrations. Juneteenth celebrations began in Texas the following year.^[10] Across many parts of Texas, freed people pooled their funds to purchase land specifically for their communities’ increasingly large Juneteenth gatherings — including Houston’s Emancipation Park, Mexia’s Booker T. Washington Park, and Emancipation Park in Austin.^[10]

 

^{This information is courtesy of wikipedia}

Artest apologizes for Palace brawl

 

Saturday, June 19, 2010
Report: Referee rated poorly in review

---

ESPN.com news services

IRENE, South Africa -- FIFA will not address the performance of referee Koman Coulibaly, the embattled official from the Americans' 2-2 draw with Slovenia, before Monday, a spokesman has said.

 

Coulibaly was given a poor rating in an expedited performance review Saturday, according to a Yahoo! Sports report, which cited an unnamed FIFA source.

 

FIFA's Nicolas Maingot said the governing body would not discuss Coulibaly before a scheduled session, when the 30 World Cup officials and members of the FIFA Referees Committee will meet with the media.

 

Coulibaly, of Mali, has been criticized for disallowing what could have been the winning goal for the U.S. off a free kick in Friday's match.

 

Second-half sub Maurice Edu appeared to put the U.S. ahead in the 86th minute, poking in a close-range shot after Landon Donovan's free kick to him. But the goal was waved off by Coulibaly, though it was not clear on whom the foul was called or what the foul was.

 

 

FIFA refereeing rules state: "The referee shall hand over to the FIFA general coordinator a match report at the stadium immediately after the match. On the report form the referee shall note all occurrences such as misconduct of players leading to caution or expulsion, unsporting behavior by supporters and/or by officials or any other person acting on behalf of an association at the match and any other incident happening before, during and after the match in as much detail as possible."

 

Coulibaly could still appear as a line judge or other supporting role, but is unlikely to be given assignments to referee further matches, according to a Friday report from Yahoo! Sports, which cited unnamed sources.

 

"If he is found to have made a serious mistake, especially one that affected the outcome, then he would be highly unlikely to play any further part in the tournament," Yahoo! Sports quoted a source Friday as saying. "FIFA is determined to keep refereeing standards high and does not want high-profile mistakes."

 

For its part, the U.S. is moving on, with no way to appeal the disallowed goal.

 

"There is no process for appeals for a decision on the field," team spokesman Michael Kammarman said Saturday. "We have not asked for any official comment from FIFA in regards to the call."

 

Replays show that more Slovenes were holding Americans than vice versa. Aleksandar Radosavljevic held Michael Bradley in a bear hug,

 

Bradley had his own theory: Coulibaly might have regretted his decision to award the free kick. Valter Birsa had been called for a foul on Steve Cherundolo.

 

United States team page

For more about the U.S. and its chances in South Africa this summer, click here.

 

"I think it's a good goal, first. I think the only things really that could be called would be penalty kicks for us," coach Bob Bradley said. "There are times when a referee, for whatever reason, blows a foul and now thinks either he didn't make the correct call on the foul or from a previous play, and then literally as soon as the free kick's taken, he blows his whistle, OK?

 

"So you can speculate all you want about which guy and everything, I think it's a waste of time. All right? I think there was nothing there. I think it's a good goal. And that's that."

 

The U.S. team has been besieged with questions why soccer referees don't publicly explain controversial decisions, as umpires and referees do in U.S. sports.

 

"We're all accustomed to the fact that if it's an NFL playoff game and there's a call that's in question, there will be a statement by the league from the referees, but FIFA operates differently," Bradley said. "There are some aspects of it that are not made 100 percent clear. That seems to add to the discussion about the game. So from our end we get used to that. And we all have friends and family who ask us the same questions that most of you ask, and you end up saying that's just how it is sometimes, and then you move on and you get ready for the next game."

Saturday, June 19, 2010
Bol dies after battle with disease

---

ESPN.com news services

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An associate of former NBA player Manute Bol says Bol has died at a Virginia hospital, where he was being treated for severe kidney trouble and a painful skin condition known as Stevens-Johnsons Syndrome.

 

Sudan Sunrise executive director Tom Prichard said in an e-mail that the 7-foot-7 Bol died Saturday morning at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville.

 

The 47-year-old Bol played 10 seasons in the NBA and later worked closely with Sudan Sunrise, a humanitarian group based in Lenexa, Kan., that promotes reconciliation in Sudan. Bol played professionally with Washington, Golden State, Philadelphia and Miami.

 

Selected in the second round of the 1985 draft by the Washington Bullets, Bol was a shot-blocking force in the NBA despite his slight build. In his rookie season in Washington, he averaged a league-leading five blocks per game and ranks 14th in NBA history with 2,086 blocks.

 

For his career, Bol averaged 2.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game.

 

Bol was hospitalized in mid-May during a stopover in Washington after returning to the United States from Sudan. At the time of Bol's hospitalization, Pritchard said it was believed the medication he took in Africa for his kidney problems resulted in the disease.

 

Prichard said Saturday that Sudan "and the world have lost a hero."