The Miami Heat are heading back to the NBA Finals for a third straight season.

Next up, the San Antonio Spurs. It’s a chance at redemption for LeBron James, who watched his Cavaliers get swept away by the Spurs back in 2007. Let’s not confuse the Heat with those Cavaliers. Still, the experience left an impression on a 22-year-old James.

“I’m a much better player [now],” James said. “I’m 20, 40, 50 times better than I was in the 2007 Finals. My Cleveland team, we were very young, and we went up against a very experienced team, well-coached team. And they took advantage of everything that we did.”

James and the Heat routed the pesky Pacers Monday night in a decisive Game 7. Now, they’ll put the big boy pants right back on in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Thursday night against San Antonio.

Miami swept San Antonio in the regular-season series.

“They’ve got a bunch of Hall of Famers,” said James, “so I look forward to the challenge.”

The post LeBron James, Heat prepping for NBA Finals appeared first on Metro.us.

One of the greatest point guards of all time has hung it up for good.

The Knicks announced Monday afternoon that Jason Kidd will retire from the NBA. Kidd spent the last season with the Knicks, but will be remembered most for his time in Phoenix, New Jersey and Dallas.

Kidd, 40, was signed to a three-year deal by the Knicks last offseason, but struggled badly in the postseason despite a solid regular season backing up Raymond Felton. He averaged 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game this season.

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  PHOTOS: Oldest active players in the NBA

“My time in professional basketball has been an incredible journey, but one that must come to an end after 19 years,” Kidd said.

The future Hall of Famer was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1994 draft by the Mavericks and became one of the greatest all-around guards in league history. He came into the league without the best reputation, and spent just two and a half seasons with Dallas before being traded to Phoenix. Despite his reputation, he performed well at every stop in his career.

He won Co-Rookie of the Year in 1994-95 with Pistons forward Grant Hill, who also announced his retirement this week.

He reshaped his career in Phoenix, but became a legendary player after being traded to New Jersey on July 18, 2001, for Stephon Marbury. It was there he teamed up with Kenyon Martin, Keith Van Horn, Kerry Kittles and later Richard Jefferson to form one of the best teams of the 2000s. He led the Nets to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003, losing to the Lakers and Spurs respectively.

Kidd finally got his title in 2011 after a return to Dallas. They defeated the Heat in six games, led by star Dirk Nowitzki and future Knicks teammate Tyson Chandler.

Kidd finishes his career with 107 triple-doubles, third-most in NBA history. He led the league in assists per game five times, made 10 All-Star games and was All-NBA First Team five times. He also won gold medals in the 2000 and 2008 Olympics.

Follow Metro New York Sports Editor Mark Osborne on Twitter @MetroNYSports.

The post Jason Kidd announces retirement from NBA appeared first on Metro.us.

LeBron James responded to comments from Pacers coach Frank Vogel Sunday. Vogel had referred to the Miami Heat as “just another team.”

“We’re not just another team,” James said. “I don’t understand what he’s saying. But we’re not just another team. That’s not true. He said we’re just another team in their way. We’re a great team. If we’re just another team, you really don’t prepare for just another team. You have to prepare for us.”

The Heat and Pacers begin their playoff series Wednesday night. The two teams have a contentious history having met in the postseason last year. Miami won that series in six games.

“We’ll be ready for them,” James said.

The post LeBron James responds to ‘just another team’ comments appeared first on Metro.us.

It’s the age-old question: Jordan or Kobe?

Everyone debates it, usually during a late night bar crawl with friends — everyone, that is, except the man that coached both players … until now.

Phil Jackson, who coached Michael Jordan to six titles and Kobe Bryant to five, finally touches on the greatest debate in basketball in his new book, “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success.” The 339-page book hits bookshelves Tuesday.

In it, Jackson paints the portrait of two very different players. Jordan was a born leader, whereas Bryant learned how to lead along the way. He also delves into their contrasting styles of play on the court.

“One of the biggest differences between the two stars from my perspective was Michael’s superior skills as a leader,” Jackson wrote. “Though at times he could be hard on his teammates, Michael was masterful at controlling the emotional climate of the team with the power of his presence. Kobe had a long way to go before he could make that claim. He talked a good game, but he’d yet to experience the cold truth of leadership in his bones, as Michael had in his bones.”

Of course, Jackson had his issues with a young Bryant. Many have speculated that those issues had to do with Jackson stepping away from the Lakers briefly in 2004.

“Kobe is different. He was reserved as a teenager, in part because he was younger than the other players and hadn’t developed strong social skills in college,” Jackson wrote. “When Kobe first joined the Lakers, he avoided fraternizing with his teammates. But his inclination to keep to himself shifted as he grew older. Increasingly, Kobe put more energy into getting to know the other players, especially when the team was on the road.”

Jackson described Jordan as “more charismatic and gregarious than Kobe.”

These are just observations, though. Jackson went out of his way to heap praise on both players as two of the greatest to ever do it. In fact, Jackson felt the need to send out this tweet as more and more news outlets begin to run commentary from the book.

“Listen friends of bball; don’t get hung up on words,” Jackson tweeted. “I was most fortunate to have the chance to coach two of the greatest gds. EVER MJ/Kobe”

The post Phil Jackson compares Kobe and Jordan appeared first on Metro.us.

One of the NBA’s smallest, yet most respected franchises in staying put. The city of Sacramento rallied and somehow convinced the NBA’s Board of Governors not to move the team to Seattle next season.

The final vote was 22-8 in favor of staying in Sacramento. The Kings had a $625 million deal on the table from a Searrle-based group.

What’s next? Well, NBA commish David Stern is putting pressure on the Kings’ owners to sell the franchise to a Sacramento-based ownership group within the next 48 hours. That group has pledged to build a new $447 million arena in downtown Sacramento.

The post NBA news: Kings staying in Sacramento appeared first on Metro.us.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn praised basketball star Jason Collins for opening up about his sexuality. Collins is the first major male athlete to come out as gay.

In his coming-out statement in an upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated, Collins says, “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”

Quinn, an openly gay public figure herself, said Collins’ decision will “literally… save lives.”

“It takes a great deal of courage to be who you are, and it is not easy to come out of the closet on any day, in any profession,” Quinn noted. “And we know that professional sports have never been a particularly welcoming place to the LGBT community.”

The first female professional athlete came out 32 years ago.

Tennis players Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King both came out in 1981. Navratilova was a seven-time Women’s Tennis Association player of the year, and King won 12 Grand Slam titles.

Most recently, basketball player Brittney Griner, the number one WNBA draft pick this year, came out a few weeks ago. She has also signed an endorsement deal with Nike.

In an interview about two weeks ago, Griner recounted how she was bullied as a child.

“It was hard, just being picked on for being different, just being bigger, my sexuality, everything. I overcame it and got over it,” she said, noting that it’s “definitely something [she is] very passionate about.”

“I want to work with kids and bring recognition to the problem, especially with the LGBT community,” she added.

Quinn anticipates that Collins’ coming out will help LGBT youth as well.

“There will be a day soon when a young boy or young girl is sitting watching the NBA finals or the Super Bowl or the World Series,” Quinn said. “ANd there on the screen will be an openly gay athlete. And that little boy, maybe he thinks he’s gay or maybe he knows he’s fay, and maybe he sat all alone in his room with that.”

“But there will be that athlete on TV, proving to the world that stereotypes don’t matter, but showing others who you are and being true to yourself does.”

While many expressed appreciation and support for Collins after his coming-out, Miami Dolphins receiver Mike Wallace reportedly tweeted: “All these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys SMH…”

He followed up that tweet with: “I’m not bashing anybody don’t have anything against anyone I just don’t understand it.”

He later deleted those tweets and apologized: “Never said anything was right or wrong I just said I don’t understand!! Deeply sorry for anyone that I offended.”

Follow Danielle Tcholakian on Twitter @danielleiat

The post Christine Quinn hails Jason Collins’ ‘bravery and honesty’ in coming out appeared first on Metro.us.

There’s a lot more to summer camp than bunk beds and campfires. Mason Griffin, head of YMCA camps in New York, has the encouraging spirit and enthusiasm that seems to embody everything that camp represents. He answered some of the most common questions that parents have about summer camp.

How can parents choose the right camp for their children?
It’s important for parents to go to the camp and meet the camp director — they should meet the people that will be caring for their child. That’s a great way to make the decision as to whether or not the kid should go to sleep-away camp, actually. Many times, the child will have a reaction that they’re going to have fun and are ready to take the plunge with sleep-away camp after visiting.

What do children take away from camp?
One of the biggest things we do for kids is have them demonstrate that they can learn. They learn that they can develop archery skills, that they can make more baskets in basketball than when they first arrived, that they can climb up a really scary-looking tower and go through their fear. The child may not be doing well in school, but in camps they are taught that you can learn, you can do things that are hard for you.
There is very little bullying at a good camp, it’s a really corrective emotional experience.

How can parents decide whether sleep-away camp or day camp is the right option?
Often, the child knows what he or she is ready for, so listening to the child is a good idea. Often a precursor is that the child feels secure staying with friends. Does the child have experience sleeping away from home, away from mom and dad? If the child is not comfortable doing that, then they wouldn’t be comfortable at a sleep-away camp just yet.

The post Be a summer camp know it all appeared first on Metro.us.

With the Final Four taking place in Atlanta in just a few days, one would think that the sport of basketball is being celebrated. Quite the contrary.

Money grabs and shady dealings are all the rage this week when it comes to hoop talk.

WFAN sports radio reported this morning that Erick Murdoch (the guy with all the dirt on now-fired Rutgers head coach Mike Rice) tried to blackmail Rutgers for $1 million to not release the tapes of Rice abusing his players and that Rutgers may have countered with a $200,000 offer at some point.

You think this type of behavior could land Rutgers in some hot water with the NCAA? If they even engaged in those type of talks it’s a guarantee that Rutgers basketball won’t see the NCAA tournament until about 2078 (lame joke alert: the same would have been true even without this Mike Rice stuff).

Elsewhere in “Basketball & Benjamin Franklins” drama, we had the Pac-12’s referee boss Ed Rush “joking” around with his officials that if they gave Arizona head coach Sean Miller a technical in the Pac-12 tournament, he would give them $5,000 or a free trip to Cancun. Of course, there was a controversial technical foul given to Miller in the Pac-12 tournament (one that made Miller a SportsCenter star for a day due to his postgame press conference tirade about the call) … nothing to see here! Still, Pac-12 commish Larry Scott believes that Rush is doing a fine job and that he did nothing to warrant a firing.

Finally, we turn to the pros where the Los Angeles Lakers (the NBA’s marquee franchise and biggest money maker) are battling out West for the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference. There is a strange trend happening in which the Lakers are getting most EVERY call from the stripes down the stretch, so much so that someone was kind enough to make the following, brilliant YouTube video about it.

Take it sleazy!

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  Basketball & Money: Lakers 2013 playoff conspiracy video

The post Playing the Field: With Mike Rice, Ed Rush, Lakers – follow the money appeared first on Metro.us.

President Barack Obama has discussed his love for basketball on many occasions. As a former State Senator from Illinois he supports the Chicago Bulls. He even filled out a March Madness tournament bracket on ESPN.com.

The man loves the game, but can he play it?

In the past his basketball skills were described as “above average” but on a sunny day in April, President Obama was Two for 22.

Playing host to the annual Easter Egg Roll, President Obama shot some hoops with kids and some Washington Wizards. He hit the rim, he air-balled and he hit the dashboard. Only two shots went in.

It was so bad even little kids trashed talked him, the most powerful man in the United States.

“He couldn’t make one,” said Kahron Campell, a 10-year-old from Maryland who hit a lay-up after President Obama passed him the ball. “I had to help him out.”

The White House fielded a question about the president’s performance at the daily press briefing.

“The president probably doesn’t get to practice as much as he’d like to,” said press secretary Jay Carney.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post VIDEO: President Obama plays basketball, misses most jump shots appeared first on Metro.us.

The injury that Kevin Ware suffered in Sunday’s NCAA regional final between Louisville and Duke was, arguably, the most sickening sight in sports television history.

If you get queasy when watching someone roll an ankle or have a finger popped back into place, do not, I repeat, DO NOT watch this video:

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  Louisville’s Kevin Ware breaks leg (gruesome)

If you are an under-the-weather puppy that DOES like to watch this type of stuff, with one eye closed at least, then you will want to compare Ware’s injury with these disgusting breaks:

The gold standard

The video is grainy and it’s tough to tell just how bad he got it, but every sports fan over the age of 40 swears that Joe Theismann breaking his leg against the Giants is the the most gruesome sports injury of all-time. There is breaking your leg and then there is BREAKING your leg like Theismann did that night.

Theismann’s name is so synonymous with this type of injury that his tweet Sunday was agreed to be the most relevant tweet of all: “Watching Duke/ Louisville my heart goes out to Kevin Ware.”

Your knee isn’t supposed to bend like that

The world was watching when University of Miami running back Willis McGahee had his knee bashed in during the 2002 National Championship game. Most in the world wished that ABC never showed the replay 500 times.

Who says wrestling is fake?

WCW was in a ratings war with WWE at the time of this hideous leg injury. Things were so ridiculous at the time that many thought that the injury was just a ploy by WCW to grab more viewers. Nope. It was all too real for Psycho Sid that night.

The post Kevin Ware leg injury was disgusting – you sick puppies will like these too appeared first on Metro.us.

Former Manhattan and Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez knows a thing or two about playing in the postseason. Twice named MAAC Coach of the Year, Gonzalez took his teams to two NCAA tournaments and three NIT appearances during an 11-year coaching career.

Currently, Gonzalez is a media figure doing interviews and providing analysis while coaching at the prestigious Five-Star Basketball Camps. He spoke to Metro about his thoughts on this year’s tournament.

Unlike last year when Kentucky was head and shoulders above the rest, there is no clear-cut favorite this year. Is this tournament wide open or will the top seeds still make a push?

I still believe there will be some upsets as always in the first few rounds but the deeper into the tourney we go the favorites and high seeds will prevail. If you look at the numbers, 30 of the last 34 national champs were a No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seed.

Has the Big 10 eclipsed the Big East and the ACC as the best conference?

Well, right now I do feel the Big 10 is the best conference, but the Big East did get eight bids which was the most [of any conference]. But with the conference realignment going on, I feel the ACC will be the best going forward.

Do you have an upset pick right now? Any team that will surprise and go deep?

My upset pick is Davidson over Marquette in the No. 3 versus No. 14 matchup. Also, I think UCLA will get knocked out early to Minnesota.

This year’s Cinderella will be St. Louis. I believe Syracuse will go on another run and at least get to the Sweet 16, maybe even the Elite 8.

Follow Kristian Dyer on Twitter @KristianRDyer.

The post Former Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez breaks down NCAA tourney appeared first on Metro.us.

Even though St. Johns won’t be a part of this year’s March Madness tourney (they lost to Villanova in the second round of the Big East tournament on March 13), the team has impressed New Yorkers over the years with its winning ways. We had Dixon show us some of the moves he has his players do, all of which can be done on a basketball court or at the gym.

Depth Jump
Why: In order to prepare your knees and lower body to handle the repeated jumps and increase knee stability
How: Start in an elevated position 3 to 6 inches off the ground with your feet hip width apart. “Bunny hop” off the edge and as you drop, transition your feet to just outside your shoulders and absorb the impact with your quads. Allow your knees to bend so you end up in a squat position. The trick is to keep your chest upright and allow your legs and hips to do all the work.
Tricks: Think of your body as a shock absorber so that rather than fighting the landing, you welcome it. Keep your feet flat and work on your balance as well.

Push-Up
Why: It’s a great upper-body strengthening exercise that doesn’t require any equipment and can be done anywhere.
How: Laying flat on your stomach with hands placed just outside your shoulders, push against the floor to lift your body. The real trick here is to suck your belly button in so that your core stays engaged and your entire body moves like stiff board. Your elbows should bend and follow a 45-degree arc between your side and arm. If you find your arms staying close to your body, your tricep is doing more work. If you elevate your elbows more toward your shoulder, it works your deltoids more.
Tricks: If the push-up is too difficult, try placing your hands on an elevated box or bench to place more weight on your feet. For more of a challenge try an unstable surface, like a foam roller, or adding a rotation to the movement.

Single Leg Split Squat:  
Why: This exercise strengthens the quad and hip as well as adds a balance and stability component for the ankle.
How: Standing upright, take one leg and place it in an elevated position behind you. Then bend your front leg until your femur is parallel to the ground. Make sure that your front knee always stays over your shoelaces. As you move you may have to squeeze your hip to keep everything in line.
Tricks: If your knee goes in front of your toes, you either need to lengthen your stance or sit back more and keep your chest upright.

Single-Leg Dead Lift:
Why: This exercise strengthens the hamstrings and glutes as well as adds a balance and stability component.
How: Standing in place, lean forward and reach an arm down to your opposite toe while hinging from the hip and simultaneously raising the opposite leg. As you move, there should be a straight line between your shoulder and the heel that is moving.
Tricks: Squeeze your butt cheeks together. All of the movement should come from your hips. Also, make sure that your hips stay straight and level. Think of them as a door hinge.

Post-workout fueling
We asked celeb nutritionist and fitness trainer Diana Le Dean to help us navigate our food choices after a tough session.

What types of food and drink are ideal to consume post-workout and why?
After a workout, a small meal of protein and carbohydrates is ideal for restoring glycogen levels and building muscle: Try a piece of fruit and a whey-protein shake. It’s also a good idea to stick with water, since most of us don’t get enough during the day.

How long after a workout should you start eating?
Don’t wait longer than an hour to eat once you workout. Your body needs to star digesting food as quickly as possible for maximum effect to take place.

What should you do if you’re not hungry right after a workout?
Wait fifteen minutes. You’ll probably start to feel a little appetite. Try at least to get some whey-protein and water down. Your body needs them no matter what your brain is telling you.

Our pick: TruMoo Chocolate Milk
Research has shown that chocolate milk is a great post-workout drink because it replenishes your muscles with carbs and protein. TruMoo’s reformulated drink now has 35 percent less total sugar than the leading competitor and 40 percent less added sugar than its previous recipe.

The post Follow the St. John’s Red Storm workout appeared first on Metro.us.

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament field of 68 was announced Sunday and, for once, much of the snub controversy seemed subdued.

The four No. 1 seeds are Louisville (29-5), Kansas (29-5), Gonzaga (31-2) and Indiana (27-6). The Cardinals are the top overall seed and landed in the Midwest region (Indianapolis), meaning they get to play the first few rounds in their own backyard. No. 4 Saint Louis (27-6, champions of Atlantic-10), and No. 3 Michigan State (25-8), appear to pose the biggest challenge to Louisville making a return trip to the Final Four.

The top opening game during the tourney’s first two days could very well be No. 8 Colorado State vs. No. 9 Missouri, two teams that dominate on the glass. Higher seeds on upset alert should be No. 5 Oklahoma State, which faces No. 12 Oregon (who won the Pac-12 tournament) and No. 7 Creighton, which opposes No. 10 Cincinnati. Creighton junior forward Doug McDermott (23.1 ppg, 7.5 rebs) might be the best player in the country and could have landed the Wooden Award if his team didn’t have a tailspin late in the regular season.

Gonzaga has a nice path to the Sweet 16 in the West region (Los Angeles), starting in Salt Lake City, although a matchup with No. 5 Wisconsin looms and the Badgers are always a tough out. No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 New Mexico also appear on a collision course.

Once again, an 8-9 game provides a great matchup with Pittsburgh taking on Wichita State – two under-the-radar but very solid teams. No. 10 Iowa State has a great chance to beat No. 7 Notre Dame and maybe this is the year that No. 11 Belmont finally gets a win (they’ll meet No. 6 Arizona).

The Jayhawks were rewarded with arguably the toughest region (South), in terms of the other high seeds. Kansas begins in Kansas City and No. 2 Georgetown, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Michigan and even No. 5 VCU all have the capability to reach the Final Four.
Michigan vs. South Dakota State should be highly entertaining as Big Blue sophomore guard Trey Burke (19.2 ppg, 6.7 asts), the likely Wooden Award winner, takes on senior guard Nate Wolters (22.7 ppg, 5.8 asts, 5.6 rebs).

The Hoosiers looked like the top team for much of the season but they kept losing whenever they were ranked No. 1. They are in the East region (Washington D.C.) and will start things off in Dayton. Other than No. 2 Miami, which had a legitimate case for a No. 1 seed, the rest of the East looks pretty weak. It is definitely Indiana’s to lose but there could be plenty of juicy upsets. No. 11 Bucknell meets No. 6 Butler, No. 14 Davidson could scare No. 3 Marquette and No. 10 Colorado is basically a pick ’em against No. 7 Illinois.

The post Metro’s NCAA tourney bracket breakdown appeared first on Metro.us.

For the next several weeks, we’ll be inundated with news about college basketball. We might as well embrace it and enjoy some beer specials.

Whether supporting your alma matter or just partaking for the love of the game, check out these deals around the city.

1. The Sea Fire Grill
The Sea Fire Grill isn’t your average sports bar. This spot boasts a more high-end clientele. Think businessmen looking to enjoy some college basketball. During the games, all draft beers will be half off. Draft beers include Blue Point, Magic Hat IPA on Tour, Eurotrash, Pacifico, Duvel Belgian Golden Ale and more.
The Sea Fire Grill
158 E. 48th St.
212-935-3785
www.theseafiregrill.com

2. Ainsworth Park
With more than 65 televisions to watch the games, March Madness is taking over the Ainsworth Park as well as its sister locations in Chelsea and 121 Fulton Street in the Financial District. The Ainsworth is your one-stop-shop for food, drink and basketball madness.
111 E.18th St.
2212-673-2467
www.ainsworthparknyc.com

3. Virgil’s Real Barbecue

Things are heating up at Virgil’s barbecue throughout March Madness. In addition to great barbecue, Virgil’s will be offering up a special Magic Hat Happy Hour and tasting events. Game day specials include $15 pitchers of Widmer, Hefewiezen and Bud Light.

Virgil’s Real Barbecue
152 W 44th St
212-921-9494
www.virgilsbbq.com

4. Amigos
Looking for some Mexican food while catching the game? Amigos has an offer you can’t refuse. During the games, the restaurant will offer ½ dozen jumbo chipotle wings and a Negra Modelo beer or a frozen margarita for $12.
Amigos
2888 Broadway
212-864-1143
www.amigosnyc.com

5. Brother Jimmy’s BBQ
You can’t go wrong at Brother Jimmy’s. With more than 30 televisions at each location, it’s the perfect place to catch some basketball. All locations will be broadcasting games on their televisions during the entire tournament. Certain locations root for specific teams. The Union Square location is home to Michigan, Duke and Villanova fans; Lexington Avenue supports UNC and Miami and if you’re rooting for Syracuse, head over to the 8th Avenue location.
Brother Jimmy’s BBQ
Multiple locations
www.brotherjimmys.com

6. Hudson Common
One of the city’s newest burger joints is teaming up with ESPN analyst Jay Williams for a March Madness kick-off party. Have a beer with the former Blue Devils player while watching the games. Hudson Common will also feature regional burgers such as “The Midwest Region” (pickle relish, sports pepper, tomato, celery salt) and “The West Coast” (daikon, napa, bean sprouts, preserved lemon mayonnaise) in honor of the tournament.

Hudson Common
356 West 58th St.
(212) 554-6000
hudsoncommonnyc.com

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post Slam-dunk deals in NYC during March Madness appeared first on Metro.us.

That’s it. I’m convinced.

The 1997-98 Chicago Bulls are going to overthrow Kim Jong-un and take over North Korea within the next five months. (For the record: Jordan as president, Pippen as VP, Luc Longley as CIA head and Joe Kleine as speaker of the house.)

Two weeks ago Dennis Rodman was “touring” the People’s Republic with the Harlem Globetrotters (wow, that’s still fun to write) and now we learn that a young Kim Jong-un took a photograph with former Bulls small forward Toni Kukoc years ago. Kukoc seemed VERY defensive when asked about the photo (likely taken in France in the ’90s when the Bulls were touring there in the preseason).

“It’s Paris, the McDonald’s tournament, we’re world champions,” Kukoc told ESPNChicago.com. “Every place you went, people were trying to take pictures. What am I supposed to say? I don’t really know what to say. I don’t remember what I had for lunch today and I can remember that? It ended up a crazy thing.

“I consider myself pretty well-traveled but I don’t know at least 50 percent of the countries and I’m supposed to know some kid who (was going to) take over his dad’s dictatorship?” Kukoc said. “I don’t think if there were seven bodyguards around him with guns I wouldn’t have noticed.” 

It’s pretty obvious by now that the ’98 Bulls are just roping in Kim Jong-un (Rodman saying he’s his friend) and the U.S. media (Kukoc’s deny, deny, deny strategy) while this whole time there’s an “Argo”-like plot (or at least an episode of “Looney Tunes” when Bugs Bunny dresses up as the hot girl rabbit) being hatched.

We can now all expect a title like “Penetra-Bull: How a former basketball dynasty invaded and overthrew a Stalinist dictatorship” to win motion picture of the year in 2039.

Sapp fatigued with Patriots talk

Speaking of Stalinist dictatorships, Bill Belichick’s name was being tossed about on NFL Network Tuesday night as former Patriots GM Scott Pioli sat down with NFL Red Zone spaz Scott Hanson. Warren Sapp had no idea his microphone was on when he said this over the NFL Net airwaves:

“It’s the same f—ing spew we had (Mike) Lombardi doing,” Sapp whispered in the creepiest way possible. “The f—ing Bill Belichick f—ing angle.”

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  Warren Sapp forgets to turn off microphone

Matt Burke is sports editor and a columnist at Metro Boston. Follow him on Twitter: @BurkeMetroBOS

The post Playing the Field: The Chicago Bulls’ plot to overthrow Kim Jong-un appeared first on Metro.us.

The Lingerie Football League is undergoing an extreme makeover of sorts.

In January, the league announced plans to switch to less revealing uniforms, beefed up with bigger shoulder pads, and change the “sexy” team logos. The lovely ladies won’t be required to wear bras, panties or garters in the newly-named Legends Football League.

One woman’s loss is another woman’s gain.

As such, re-introducing the Bikini Basketball Association (BBA), a little league we first noticed last summer. The BBA debuts June 1 with six teams: Atlanta Peaches, Miami Spice, Orlando Lady Cats, Minnesota Mist, Illinois Heat, Philadelphia Diamonds. (By the way, the Philadelphia franchise is holding an open tryout Saturday).

The bikini ballers are drawing quite well from the semi-celebrity pool of athletes, too. Deion Sanders daughter, Deiondra, signed up with Atlanta, while former Sixers center Samuel Dalembert’s sister, Melissa, is set to play for Miami.

Personally, if that WNBA career doesn’t work out next year, we would like to see Notre Dame star Skylar Diggins put her G-string in the mix. We’d also settle for Bernie Kosar’s offspring, or perhaps Paulina Gretzky can dribble a basketball. We can hope anyway.

Super Bowl blackout solved

Roger Goodell’s long nightmare is over. The NFL’s investigation on the Super Bowl blackout revealed that a a relay, a device used to protect the stadium’s power supply, actually was the culprit.

Our sources have indicated that said relay is now being suspended for a game and fined $100,000. After all, Goodell has to protect the safety of his players, right?

Call us Jim Garrison, but we’re not buying this explanation.

This sounds like an excuse borrowed from the movie “Ocean’s Eleven.” No, we’re still convinced Beyonce’s sexy stage stomping and soul-shaking vocals shattered the lights. It was all part of some Illuminati plan to rule the world.

Who runs the world? Girls. Girls. Girls …

Yes, that is exactly what happened.

The post Playing the Field: Bikini basketball and Beyonce appeared first on Metro.us.

Best player you probably know:
Harrison Barnes, UNC. The 6-foot-8 swingman is one of three projected lottery picks for the No. 1 Tar Heels. Barnes is the most NBA ready after leading UNC in points (17.4) and 3-point percentage (.377).

Best player you don’t know:
Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary’s. He’s the heart, soul and mind for the upstart Gaels. The Aussie import led the Gaels in points (15.6), assists (6) and carries a 3.61 GPA.

Second round matchup we want:
Temple vs. Michigan. The pace could be frenzied — so don’t blink — when two of the best backcourts in the country go at it, highlighted by Temple’s Juan Fernandez and Michigan’s Trey Burke.

Fun with names:
Staats Battle, NC State. The frosh guard probably won’t see any minutes but the name is legit. Plus, his bio tells us that his father and sister are UNC grads and his grandparents attended Duke. Awkward.

On upset alert:
Georgetown. The committee did them no favors with No. 14 (and trendy bracket-buster) Belmont. The Bruins enter on a 14-game winning streak and took Duke to the wire in a 77-76 defeat at Cameron Indoor.

South Region

Best player you probably know:
Anthony Davis, Kentucky.
Despite his unibrow, Davis is the leading candidate for Player of the Year. He’s a beast defensively and shows a nice face-up game for a 7-footer. If you’re an NBA fan, he’ll be this year’s top pick.

Best player you don’t know:
Nate Wolters, South Dakota St. He’s averaging 21 points, six assists and five rebounds per game. He’s gone for 30-plus six times this year, including 34 at Pac-12 regular season champs Washington. If you’re looking for this year’s Jimmer Fredette, Wolters is your man.

Second round matchup we want:
Kentucky vs. UConn.
UConn has to get by a game ISU squad, but Calipari and Calhoun in the second round is almost too much to handle. There are at least four NBA lottery picks in this game (Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, Drummond, Lamb).

Fun with names:
Shabazz Napier, UConn. His name is just like his game — stylish, but a little clumsy. He’ll play a big role if UConn is going to advance.

On upset alert:
Wichita St. VCU isn’t your average No. 12 seed. Shaka Smart’s team brings tournament experience and the confidence to beat a fellow mid-major in the first round.

West Region

Best player you probably know:
Phil Pressey, Missouri. The son of NBA great Paul Pressey usually plays Robin to Kim English’s Batman, but his 23-point outburst vs. Texas in the Big 12 tournament may have been his coming-out party.

Best player you don’t know:
Casper Ware, Long Beach St. He might be the best mid-major guard in the entire country. Ware, who resembles the Energizer Bunny, went 8-of-16 from beyond the arc in the Big West championship game.

Second round matchup we want:
Murray State vs. Marquette. The Golden Eagles are dangerous with Big East Player of the Year Jae Crowder, but the Racers (30-1) can shoot the lights out at 40.6 percent from
3-point land. Both these teams have Elite 8 potential.

Fun with names:
Trinity Fields, Iona. Senior guard can’t get any burn — played just 72 minutes all season — but this name has superstar written all over it. Leading man, perhaps?

On upset alert:
New Mexico. The Lobos are a defensive-minded bunch, something that doesn’t always turn out well in the NCAAs. They’ll face a streaking Long Beach team, led by four senior starters that put a scare into both Kansas and UNC.

East Region

Best player you probably know:
Jared Sullinger, Ohio State. Sullinger may be a little undersized to be a star in the NBA, but enjoy his time in college. He’s a prototypical college post player. He carves out space with the best of them. He averaged 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game this season after averaging a double-double as a freshman in 2010-11.

Best player you don’t know:
Michael Snaer, Florida St.
You may know him from his game-winning 3-pointer in Cameron Indoor versus Duke. But he’s more than just a big-time shooter. His defense on Austin Rivers in the ACC tourney won them the game over Duke and he’s averaging 14.5 points per game this season.

Second round matchup we want:
Syracuse vs. Kansas St. Would you believe that the Orange haven’t advanced past the Sweet 16 since 2003 — the year they won it all. Kansas St. is a competent team, that beat Missouri twice and won at Baylor.

Fun with names:
Charlan Kloof, St. Bonaventure. Mr. Kloof is a guard for the Bonnies and native of Suriname. Can you name what continent Suriname is on? Fun fact: Kloof went by the alias Charli Klein in prep school.

On upset alert:
Vanderbilt. The Ivy Leaguers at Harvard are no cupcake this year. We know they are smarter than Vandy (though maybe not by much), but they’ve beaten ACC champion Florida St. in
Tallahassee already this year.

The post 2012 NCAA Tournament: Breaking down the bracket appeared first on Metro.us.

Florida State
Athletics: B. This school is so ’90s it should have Zach Morris, Bell Biv DeVoe and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin heading the athletic department.
Academics: C. Ranked the No. 46 public school in US News’ rankings. That’s not great, but it’s damn good for Florida!
Talent: A-minus. Now we’re talking. FSU grabs all the Southern girls who want to have a career and want to have an ungodly amount of fun for four to seven years. Tan lines for all!
Weather: B-plus.Tallahassee ain’t South Beach. But it ain’t Buffalo either.

Michigan State
Athletics: B-plus. Painfully underrated. Tom Izzo gets his teams to the Final Four routinely and the football team at least competes in a true football conference.
Academics: B. Painfully underrated again due to rival Michigan’s brilliance in the books.
Talent: C. Too close to Detroit for comfort. That Midwest twang only goes so far.
Weather: D-plus. To think, they actually hosted a Super Bowl in Michigan? Hopefully the NFL learned its lesson.

Alabama
Athletics: A. Hate him or love him, Nick Saban wins national championships. Arguably the best football school in the world, the tailgate in Tuscaloosa is otherworldly as well.
Academics: C. That pseudosmart girl from your high school who strangely liked NASCAR and was badly in need of braces? She goes here.
Talent: B-plus. Southern belles aplenty. Plus, unlike Northeast girls, they actually understand football. No lie.
Weather: B-minus. Humid!

Murray State
Athletics: C-. Not bad for their lot in life. They routinely sneak into the Big Dance and make goons everywhere pick them because they think Bill Murray has something to do with the school.
Academics: C-minus. Not bad for Kentucky. A top-rated Southern school.
Talent: D. Their most notable alum? Ernest from the “Ernest Goes to Jail” enterprise.
Weather: B-minus. At least they’re a road trip away from the Kentucky Derby.

San Diego State
Athletics: D. Marshall Faulk, Tony Gwynn. And that’s about it. How can you not attract more athletes to San Diego? Who’s running this ship!?
Academics: D. Let’s just say SDSU won’t be confused with Princeton anytime soon. But being homeless in SD isn’t all bad, truth be told.
Talent: A-plus. There isn’t much silicone seen at, say, Wisconsin in February. In SoCal, every day’s a pool party.
Weather: A. We’ve covered this. But it does get below 60 degrees sometimes at night. Brrrr.

Final Four

At the risk of sounding like every greedy NBA star, weather matters when choosing a location to be the master of your domain.

Warm weather brings in hot girls and high quality athletes. No surprise there.

Therefore, in the Guy’s Guide pool, we have Florida State ousting Syracuse, San Diego State blasting Alabama, Duke besting UConn and Michigan State beating the surprising Racers. Your national champion? FSU parties like it’s 1997.

The post Guy’s guide to the NCAA tournament appeared first on Metro.us.

More often than not those players are obscure outside the dining hall until their big day in the Big Dance. Until they make a splash, here are some players we know will be factors as long as their team is still alive:

Anthony Davis, F, Kentucky
The favorite for National Player-of-the-Year honors, Davis led top-ranked Kentucky in scoring and rebounding and easily topped the nation in blocked shots with nearly five swats a game. The 6-foot-10 freshman can dominate on both ends for the top-ranked Wildcats, who went more than three months without a loss before falling in the SEC title game Sunday.

Kendall Marshall, G, North Carolina
Tyler Zeller, Harrison Barnes and John Henson get plenty of pub for the Heels, but Marshall makes them go and this event is rife with tales of great point guard play propelling a team to the top. As a freshman in last year’s tournament, Marshall averaged 9.8 assists to get UNC to the Elite Eight. He ranked second in the country in assists per game this season.

Thomas Robinson, F, Kansas
The top rebounder in the Big 12 and the Jayhawks’ leading scorer, Robinson is a double-double machine. He shot 46 percent from the floor in the Jayhawks’ six losses and 55.1 percent in their 27 wins.

Doug McDermott, F, Creighton
McDermott, a sophomore, has a grand total of 10 assists in his last 14 games. That’s another way of saying he is a pure scorer, the guy the Blue Jays want holding the ball in a tight game. He had 73 points in three days to lift Creighton to the Missouri Valley Conference crown.

John Jenkins, G, Vanderbilt
The SEC’s leading scorer made more 3-pointers than anyone in the country this season, averaging nearly four a game. If he gets hot, Vandy can cruise into the second weekend for the third time in nine years. Jenkins had 17 points in the Commodores’ upset of Kentucky on Sunday, including the game’s final four points from the line.

Jared Sullinger, C, Ohio State
Draymond Green of Michigan State won the Big 10 Player of the Year award, but Sullinger is the kind of interior force (like Davis and Robinson) who can control these tournament games. He had 21 points and 16 rebounds in a loss to Kentucky in the Sweet 16 last season and scored 54 in the first two rounds of the Big 10 tournament this year.

Tu Holloway, G, Xavier
Gained national fame, and plenty of criticism, when he uttered these words after a brawl-marred win over rival Cincinnati in December: “We got a whole bunch of gangstas in the locker room, not thugs but tough guys on the court. We went out there and zipped ‘em up at the end of the game.” The senior’s numbers dipped a bit this season, but he’s battle-tested and obviously has a little chip on his shoulder. Holloway averaged 20.8 points in four games in the A-10 tournament.

Tourney studs

Other names to watch this March:

1. Kevin Jones, F, West
Virginia Jones, a senior, had 21 double-doubles, leading the Big East in
scoring and rebounding. He helped WVU to the Final Four as a sophomore.

2. Isaiah Canaan, G, Murray State A member of the All-Biblical team,
Canaan can score in droves. He topped 30 points four times this year.

3. Four McGlynn, G, Vermont They may not make it past the play-in game
but watch out if the Catamounts do. McGlynn does severe damage from long
range.

The post Players to watch during the NCAA tournament appeared first on Metro.us.

2. Brawl for it all — Pick a team with some grit and a team that could very well show up in New Orleans ready to throw down with the opposition … literally. Yup, we’re looking at you Cincinnati.

3. Road trips — Get out of mom and dad’s basement. This is college. Have some fun on the road. Afterall, the drinks have that much more of a kick away from home. Sorry, BYU.

4. Sleaze it up — What fun is March without snake-oil salesmen like John Calipari? While Cal has yet to win the big one, his team of “one-and-doners” once again has some of the best talent in the field. So take the grease, in this case. Rick Pitino’s Louisville-squad might work as well. As we all know by now, sleaze wins in the NCAA. Sorry, Brad Stevens.

5. Geographically challenged — Is the middle of your bracket loaded with the usual suspects (Kansas, Duke, UNC, UConn, Syracuse etc.)? Try picking a couple of teams to advance to the Sweet Sixteen that you’ve never heard of or are uncertain as to where, exactly, they are from. The Belmont Bruins assuredly  await your selection.

6. History is on your side— The last time the Final Four was located in New Orleans, Syracuse brought home the trophy for Jim Boeheim. Kansas, Marquette and Texas were the three other teams to make it to “The Big Easy” back in 2003. ’Cuse has had nearly a week of prep work for their first rounder.

7. High stakes coaches — The heavyweight coaches in this field truly care about history. Coach K is chasing his fifth national championship, Jim Calhoun his fourth, Roy Williams his third, Jim Boeheim his second and Rick Pitino his second. Many members of this group are on their last legs in the coaching world and adding one more title to their résumé would work wonders for their legacies. Go with the legends.

8. East coast bias — Only one of the last 10 NCAA champions was located west of the Mississippi. The last true teams from the West to win were Arizona in 1997 and UCLA in 1995.

9. Screw GPAs — In the words of the immortal Dark Helmet from Spaceballs, “good is dumb.” In this case, dumb is good. So don’t pick a  Harvard to go farther than say, a UConn. The defending national champion Huskies’ academic progress rate scores were so low last season that the NCAA docked Jim Calhoun and Co. two scholarships.

10. Conference Jenga  — The Big East sent a record 11 teams to the dance last year but only two of the 11 teams made the Sweet Sixteen. UConn was the lone Final Four representative. The Big East once again lapped the field in getting teams into the dance but there’s certainly no guarantee that two or three will be around come Elite Eight time.

The post 10 ways to fill out your March Madness bracket appeared first on Metro.us.

“There has been a lot of speculation and anticipation based on the news of the last several weeks,” Marinatto said, an acknowledgement of Pittsburgh and Syracuse announcing they will join the Atlantic Coast Conference after the mandatory 27-month waiting period and rumors that the Big 12 may be interested in poaching Louisville and West Virginia.

“The leadership of our conference is working hard to solidify and, indeed, improve the long-term future of the Big East Conference. There is a glorious past to consider. As we plan for the future, nothing is going to happen to that legacy,” he said.

Marinatto announced in a conference call with reporters Tuesday that the 14 remaining member schools unanimously approved a motion that doubled the exit fee from $5 million to $10 million. He also said that the Big East has an expansion plan that will increase the number of football-playing schools to 12.

With the defections of Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the ACC, the Big East only has six football-playing schools. To retain its Automatic Qualifier status with the BCS, a conference must have a minimum of eight programs. Navy, Air Force, SMU, Houston, Central Florida and Boise State have been linked to the Big East expansion. While adding those schools would benefit the Big East as far as retaining its BCS AQ position, there is concern that a 20-team super conference would become too unwieldy for basketball and other sports.

The coaches’ reaction to Marinatto’s proposal was met by skepticism. Bob Huggins sarcastically suggested the Big East “go to 24, bring ‘em all in and let’s have two weeks at the Garden. That’ll be a lot of fun,” while Rick Pitino offered concerns about the practicality of conference expansion as it pertained to the travel of non-revenue sports.

“For football and basketball it’s easy, we fly charter,” Pitino said. “But the track and field person, for the women’s volleyball player, who have to get on connections and the connections are late. They have to miss more school. The number one thing of significance is aligning any league is geographics. That’s what made the Big East run so smoothly. But now, when you’re talking about people flying from the west to the east or the Midwest to east, and vice versa, the athletes aren’t being taken into consideration.”

Jay Wright reiterated Villanova’s desire to join the conference as a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program. Villanova is a member of the Colonial Athletic Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).   

“The bottom line is that Villanova wants to be in the Big East for football. Bottom line. We’ve said it. We’ve worked with the Big East on it. We understand the situation with the Big East right now,” Wright said. “We don’t like that we’re not in but we have to be loyal members and let the football schools do what’s best. They know what’s best.”

Wright acknowledged that the conference would be strengthened if Notre Dame football would join the Big East.

“I can’t speak for Notre Dame, but [it] would be great for the Big East. It would be great for Villanova,” Wright said. “Notre Dame-Villanova at [Lincoln Financial Field]? That’d be awesome. It’d be awesome. Everybody would love that.”

UConn and Syracuse tied for first in the coaches’ preseason poll. Pittsburgh senior guard Ashton Gibbs was named as the preseason player of the year, while UConn center Andre Drummond was picked as the conference’s rookie of the year.

St. John’s was the only school not to send its head coach as Steve Lavin is recuperating from prostate cancer surgery earlier in the month. Assistant coach Mike Dunlap and Special Assistant/Advisor Gene Keady attended in place of Lavin. St. John’s was picked to finish 12th and did not have a player selected to the conference’s first, second or honorable mention teams.

Follow Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.

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