Latest Sports Buzz

Los Angeles Lakers Parade: Throngs of Lakers Fans Support Squad’s 16th NBA Championship
Wimbledon 2010: Venus, Jankovic, Henin Win Openers; Djokovic Moves Ahead
Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers Receiver, Breaks Arm Playing Flag Football
Missouri State Increases Basketball Coach Cuonzo Martin’s Contract
Nick Saban, Alabama Coach, says sorry For “Professional Mishandling Of Job Switch”
At 85, Ravens Owner Art Modell Has Yet To Make Hall of Fame
Wimbledon: Federer Survives In Five; No. 6 Schiavone Ousted
North Korea vs Portugal Result of Soccer World Cup: North Korea Smashed By Rampant Portugal
Wimbledon Champions: Federer Survives In 5; No. 6 Schiavone Expelled
John Force Scores NHRA 130th Career triumph At Bristol

Los Angeles Lakers Parade: Throngs of Lakers Fans Support Squad’s 16th NBA Championship

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 10:02 PM PDT

Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, US – Around 65,000 admirers came out in support of the LA Lakers, who paraded from the Staples Center down Figueroa Street Monday in celebration of the franchise’s 16th NBA Championship.

Los Angeles avenged a loss in the 2008 NBA Finals by taking down arch-rivals the Boston Celtics in a dramatic seven-game series that ended Thursday.

Lakers players rode in a specialized float and answered questions from interviewers broadcasted on loud speakers along the route.

Phil Jackson, who captured his 11th NBA title as a coach, was forced to miss the parade for medical appointments he had scheduled that could not be changed.

Other team executives rode in a double-decker bus along the route, which ended on Jefferson Ave by the USC campus.

The parade cost approximately $1.5 million for the police and transportation workers needed, as well as the installation of barricades.

There were nine arrests and two momentarily missing children reported, but no serious injuries.

Wimbledon 2010: Venus, Jankovic, Henin Win Openers; Djokovic Moves Ahead

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 09:58 PM PDT

Wimbledon, UK – Previous world No. 1′s Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic & Justine Henin advanced to the next stage of the 2010 Wimbledon after disposing of their individual1 1st-round foes Monday.

The second-seeded Williams, who turned 30 last week, blitzed past Rossana de los Rios of Paraguay 6-3, 6-2 to improve to 47-3 for her career in opening matches at Grand Slam tournaments.

Five-time champion Venus, who lost to younger sister Serena in last year’s fourth all-Williams final here, unleashed six aces and pummeled her veteran foe with 31winners four by the 34-year-old De Los Rios, seeded 91st.

Venus, owner of seven major titles, will next face Ekaterina Makarova of Russia.

Fourth-seed Jankovic also booked a second-round berth at the All England Club after overcoming the home crowd and a spirited challenge from rising British teen Laura Robson, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).

Jankovic, a former U.S. Open runner-up, will be tested next by Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.

Also Monday, seven-time major winner Henin, who came out of retirement at the start of the year, plastered No. 56 seed Anastasija Sevastova 6-4, 6-3 to advance into the round of 64.

Henin, seeded 17th at Wimbledon, will continue her bid for her first title here when she squares off against German Kristina Barrois in the next round.

In men’s play, No. 3 Novak Djokovic joined the other first-round winners after overcoming a gritty test from Olivier Rochus, 4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, in a match that ended almost midnight.

Other advancers included Tomas Berdych (12) and Lleyton Hewitt (15).

Meanwhile, Marin Cilic, seeded No. 11, was the highest casualty in Day one of the Wimbledon, losing to Florian Mayer, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1).

Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers Receiver, Breaks Arm Playing Flag Football

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 09:54 PM PDT

Charlotte, NC, US – Carolina Panthers star wide receiver Steve Smith could miss nearly all of training camp after breaking his left arm while playing flag football this previous weekend.

On Sunday, the 31-year-old Smith, the Panthers all-time leader in touchdowns with 52, underwent surgery to have a plate inserted in his arm to help the healing process.

It will mark the second time in six months that the three-time All-Pro injured the same arm.

Late last season, he broke a bone during a 41-9 victory over the Giants near the area of the latest injury.

Smith sustained the latest fracture during a flag football at his annual youth camp Saturday.

Smith’s agent, Derrick Fox, said the four-time Pro Bowl selection should miss the start of training camp, but should be available for the season opener against the Giants on Sept. 12, Charlotte Observer.com reported.

Smith, who also ranks first in Panthers’ history with 32 games of 100 or more yards receiving, led the NFL in catches, yards receiving and TD catches in 2005.

Last year, the former Utah standout caught 65 passes for 982 yards.

He also had seven touchdowns in 15 contests for the Panthers, who picked him in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft.

Missouri State Increases Basketball Coach Cuonzo Martin’s Contract

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 09:50 PM PDT

Springfield, MO, US – Missouri State, in an attempt to harden the Bears basketball coaching staff for the future, increased the agreement of men’s basketball head coach Cuonzo Martin. The Missouri State Board of Governors accepted the 5-year deal addition Friday.

The 38-year-old Martin’s guaranteed contract extension locks him up through the 2014-15 season.

Martin, who took over the post vacated by Barry Hinson on April of 2008, originally signed a five-year contract.

Martin’s base salary of $140,000 will remain the same, under the terms of the extension.

His total compensation package could reach an estimated $300,000 through income generated from television and radio shows and promotional compensation.

A significant change in the Martin’s new contract is the cancellation clause, which provides a $250,000 cancellation fee on the part of Martin in case he cancels the contract and take another head coaching job.

Likewise, should Missouri State cancels Martin’s contract without a cause, it will be obligated to compensate him with a monthly base pay times the number of months left on the contract.

Martin spent eight seasons at Purdue before coming to Missouri State.

He is credited for the fifth-best turnaround in college basketball last year.

Martin guided a Bears team, which posted an 11-20 mark, into national spotlight. Missouri State recorded an impressive 24-12 record and even tied Kansas for the national lead in home victories.

Meanwhile, the school also announced that pay raises will be given to all of Martin’s assistant coaches.

Nick Saban, Alabama Coach, says sorry For “Professional Mishandling Of Job Switch”

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 09:45 PM PDT

Tuscaloosa, AL, US – Alabama football head coach Nick Saban, recognized for never backing off & having to have things in a confident way, allegedly apologized for the “professional mishandling” of his notorious exit from the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

Saban, one of only two coaches to win a SEC championship at two different schools, indicated that he could have probably done a better job of being upfront and not so evasive when he made his NFL exit after the 2006 season.

“Well, honesty and integrity is an important part of our character, my character,” the 58-year-old Saban told the Sporting News as reported by Profootballtalk.NBCSports.com.

“Those are words that we use all the time. I think that in an effort to protect our team at Miami – because I had not talked to Alabama and did not talk to them until the season ended – I express that (character is important) to (Alabama) through my agent and said it was up to them whether they wanted to wait and that I would not make any promises. I would talk to them then, I would only reassess my circumstances and our situation as a family at the end of the year.”

Looking back, Saban added that he could have handled himself more professionally with respect in dealing with the issue about the vacant head coaching post at Alabama that was kept being “asked over and over and over.”

Saban said: “I had a responsibility and obligation to the players on that team, the coaches on the staff, and I didn’t want that to be the focus of attention. So would I manage it differently? Absolutely. I would still have the same integrity for our team, but I just would not answer any questions relative to Alabama … I do apologize for any professional mishandling that might have occurred.”

After spending four years at LSU (2000-’04) and leading the Tigers to the 2003 BCS national championship, Saban accepted the Dolphins head coaching job on December of 2004.

The Dolphins kicked off the start of the Saban era with a 34-10 rout of the Denver Broncos, but struggled down the stretch. Miami finished the 2005-06 campaign with a 9-7 mark.

With quarterback Daunte Culpepper placed on the injured list, the Dolphins struggled the following season, eventually ending with a 6-10 record.

Saban became the 27th football head coach of the Crimson Tide on January of 2007.

He guided Alabama to the BCS national championship in 2009.

In his three seasons at Alabama, Saban is 124–50–1.

At 85, Ravens Owner Art Modell Has Yet To Make Hall of Fame

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 12:31 PM PDT

Baltimore, MD, United States (AHN) – Art Modell will turn 85 Wednesday, marking another birthday without the present some say should have been gift-wrapped long ago.

Should Modell be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

The question seems odd to ask about the visionary (his critics might use villainous) former owner of the Cleveland Browns and owner emeritus of the Baltimore Ravens. Sort of like a trivia question that might be better answered as true or false … Is Art Modell in the Hall of Fame?

Amazingly, he is not. But there is no denying the role Modell played in making the NFL what it is today.

He was a key player behind the merger of the AFL and NFL. He was the driving force behind the deal that brought Monday Night Football into the country’s living rooms. He helped break the front office color barrier by hiring Ozzie Newsome to be the NFL’s first black general manager.

If Modell wasn’t at the table for every big moment in the NFL’s past 50 years, he was certainly in the room.

Modell owned the Cleveland Browns for 35 years, and moved the team to Baltimore in 1996 after being denied a new stadium — a decision that many see as costing him Hall of Fame votes and the reason he has yet to be enshrined.

“I’ll never be able to erase the anger in Cleveland,” Modell recently said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun. “And I owe that to the … politicians who betrayed me.”

Modell has suffered two heart attacks and two strokes and needs a wheelchair to get around. Wednesday, he turns 85 — another year passed without that Hall of Fame present.

Wimbledon: Federer Survives In Five; No. 6 Schiavone Ousted

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 12:29 PM PDT

Wimbledon, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – Maybe Roger Federer wanted to add spice and drama to Wimbledon’s first round. Or maybe the defending champion needed a serious wake-up call.

Federer got the latter in the form of Colombia’s Alejandro Falla. The top-seeded Swede has won six titles here, and should he go on to a seventh, he’ll look back at Monday’s near-colossal upset with even more relief.

Federer lost the first two sets to the 60th-ranked Falla, before kicking into gear for a 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-0 victory.

On the women’s side, French Open champion and No. 6 seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy was ousted by Russian Vera Dushevina 6-7 (0), 7-5, 6-1.

The defending champion traditionally opens on Centre Court, but this was anything but a formality for Federer, who has made the Wimbledon finals seven consecutive years.

Falla, who had never won a set in 11 tries against Federer, served for the match in the fourth set and was broken, finally giving Federer the momentum he needed.

“I live another day,” Federer told reporters afterward. “This one is one I should have lost. That’s sometimes how grass-court tennis works.”

Also avoiding an upset was Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko, the No. 7 seed, who prevailed over K Anderson 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 9-7.

Fifth-seed Andy Roddick cruised past Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

Also Monday, Kim Clijsters made her first appearance at Wimbledon since 2006 and cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Maria Elena Camerin.

Clijsters, seeded eighth, came out of a 2-plus year retirement last August and won the U.S. Open a month later.

North Korea vs Portugal Result of Soccer World Cup: North Korea Smashed By Rampant Portugal

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 12:05 PM PDT

Fifa world cup

Cape Town, SA – North Korea’s 2010 World Cup confront is ended following a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Portugal in World Cup City, South Africa.

After an impressive showing and a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of Brazil in its opening game, expectations were rising that North Korea may just prove more capable than mere minnows in the 2010 World Cup ‘Group of Death’.

Those expectations doubled after another impressive half-hour against Portugal, in which the side from Asia more than held its own and created a couple of chances.

Expectations which were dampened, but not extinguished by Raul Meireles’ expertly taken right foot drive to make it 1-0 to Portugal.

With only one-goal in it at halftime, the game was still tight, but three goals in just 7 1-2 second half minutes blew North Korean expectations out of the water.

Simao got Portugal’s second on 53 minutes, before Hugo Almeida and Tiago added their names to the scoresheet on 56 and 60 minutes respectively.

Down 4-0, the energy and passion went out of North Korea and it looked to be waiting for the final whistle.

Sadly for the North Koreans the final 10 minutes were to contain another triple helping of pain as Liedson made it 5-0 after 80 minutes.

Ronaldo volleyed home the seventh after 88 and Tiago put the Portuguese in seventh heaven in the closing moments.

Wimbledon Champions: Federer Survives In 5; No. 6 Schiavone Expelled

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 12:01 PM PDT

Wimbledon, England, UK- Maybe Roger Federer looked to add spice & drama to Wimbledon’s 1st round. Or maybe the defending winner needed a serious wake-up call.