At 20, MJ was no LeBron: King James has succeded Kobe as the bearer of the next Jordan burden and perhaps the greatest tribute to that kid is that you don't hear that question anymore.

posted by LROD to basketball at 02:39 PM - 34 comments

Canseco disputes news story on book: "I don't know where all that came from," Canseco said. "They may or may not be true. Yeah right Canseco like you didn't mention Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez already.

posted by LROD to baseball at 10:00 AM - 15 comments

Will Phil Jackson come back to the Lakers?: "It's unfinished business," says Lakers executive VP Jeanie Buss. "Kobe has a throne to take. Phil has something to prove. There's more to their story."

posted by LROD to basketball at 03:50 PM - 23 comments

Pittsburgh's Kevin McClatchy fears some Baseball clubs could face bankruptcy : McClatchy, the Pirates' managing general partner, warned of a growing division between big-payroll and small-market clubs that could lead to contentious owners meetings and a much harder stance during the next labor negotiations. The current labor deal with players runs until December 2006.

posted by LROD to baseball at 08:34 PM - 7 comments

Is Tim Duncan Better than Kevin Garnett?: So here's this guy, Tim Duncan, who's got credentials galore — including six All-Star game appearances, five All-NBA citations, three MVPs, two gold rings, and probably even a partridge in a pear tree.

posted by LROD to basketball at 09:27 AM - 16 comments

Marion Jones on the hot seat: The International Olympic Committee joined the investigation yesterday into allegations that Marion Jones, the American gold-medal sprinter, had used anabolic steroids and other illegal bodybuilding drugs. In a statement from its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, the I.O.C. said that its president, Jacques Rogge, had appointed a disciplinary commission of three members to look into the matter. Jones and other track and field athletes and baseball players have testified before a federal grand jury in San Francisco, and the United States Anti-Doping Agency has been investigating Jones and other track figures.

posted by LROD to other at 09:29 AM - 14 comments

McCain Wants MLB to Tighten Drug Policy : WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain on Saturday demanded immediate action by representatives of major league baseball's players and owners to tighten the sport's drug-testing policy "to restore the integrity of baseball" or face possible congressional action. "I warned them a long time ago that we needed to fix this problem," McCain told reporters after attending the Army-Navy football game with President Bush. "It's time for them to sit down together and act. And that's what they should do. If not, clearly, we have to act legislatively, which we don't want to do."

posted by LROD to baseball at 07:00 PM - 18 comments

Report: Bonds Admitted to Using Substances : SAN FRANCISCO - Baseball star Barry Bonds testified to a grand jury that he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by a trainer who was indicted in a steroid-distribution ring, but said he didn't know they were steroids, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. The Giants' slugger told the federal grand jury last year that Greg Anderson, his personal trainer, told him the substances he used in 2003 were the nutritional supplement flaxseed oil and a rubbing balm for arthritis, according to a transcript of his testimony reviewed by the Chronicle. The substances Bonds described were similar to ones known as "the clear" and "the cream," two steroids from the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, the lab at the center of the steroid scandal.

posted by LROD to baseball at 08:18 AM - 55 comments

Mets join Martinez chase: The Mets have joined the table in the hunt for Pedro Martinez. Over the weekend, the Mets conveyed to the free agent that they had significant interest in signing him, multiple baseball sources said yesterday. Now that the Mets' internal interest, which was first learned from a National League executive late last week, has become known to Martinez, it makes them the third team to be identified as a suitor for the three-time Cy Young award-winner. Other teams contacted Martinez soon after he filed for free agency earlier this month, but the Mets' recent entry introduces a wealthy candidate for Martinez' services in a market that has been slow to develop and has been relatively quiet until the Yankees got into the action last week. In addition to positive comments about Martinez from manager Joe Torre, catcher Jorge Posada and shortstop Alex Rodriguez, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner met personally with Martinez in Tampa.

posted by LROD to baseball at 06:03 PM - 15 comments

Union Appeals Suspensions in NBA Brawl: NEW YORK - The NBA players' union filed an appeal Tuesday on behalf of Indiana Pacers Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal, who were suspended for their roles in a brawl with Detroit Pistons fans last week. The union also is considering has said another avenue of appeal it was considering taking the case to U.S. Federal Court, although a similar strategy failed in 1997 when the union contested the suspensions handed out to four members of the New York Knicks for leaving the bench during a fight in a playoff game against the Miami Heat

posted by LROD to baseball at 02:01 PM - 36 comments

Artest Calls Season Suspension Too Harsh: INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana Pacers (news) forward Ron Artest said Tuesday he wishes he hadn't gotten into a fight with fans but feels his season-ending suspension was too harsh. I don't think it was fair — that many games," Artest said in an interview with NBC's "Today" show. "I respect (NBA Commissioner) David Stern's decisions, but I don't think I should have been out for the whole season."

posted by LROD to basketball at 10:31 AM - 40 comments

NBA Suspends Artest for Rest of Season : NEW YORK - The wrath of David Stern was unleashed, giving Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal a long time — extremely long in Artest's case — to ponder the error of their ways. NBA commissioner suspended Artest for the remainder of this season Sunday and disciplined eight other members of the Pacers and Pistons, sending a strong message that the league won't tolerate the type of unprecedented violence displayed Friday night.

posted by LROD to basketball at 11:13 AM - 5 comments