Page 14 - 4-21-15 Tuesday's Edition

Sports
LeBron’s Jersey Is The Most
Aaron Hernandez Placed On Suicide Watch
Aaron Hernandez is on sui- cide watch.
Aaron Hernandez has been placed on suicide watch at the prison where he is tem- porarily being held.
After Hernandez was convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd, he was transported to MCI Cedar Junction in Massa- chusetts ... where he will stay until he is transferred to his permanent prison.
He has been isolated from the general inmate population — not only for his own protec- tion (since he’s a high profile inmate), but so officials can evaluate him ... and determine where he will stay at the prison.
As far as the suicide watch goes, we’re told it’s not that un- common for someone who just got sentenced to life behind bars. Unclear how long Aaron will stay on suicide watch.
He’s Baaaack! Adrian Peterson Reinstated On Friday
Adrian Peterson at a re- cent press conference.
Adrian Peterson is offi- cially back in the NFL.
The NFL announced Thurs- day that Peterson has been reinstated effective Friday as an active NFL player and may participate in all scheduled ac- tivities with the Vikings.
A statement released by the league read:
"Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings was advised today that effective tomorrow he is reinstated as an active NFL player and may partici- pate in all scheduled activities with the Vikings.
"In a letter from Commis- sioner Roger Goodell, Pe- terson was informed that he is expected to fulfill his remain- ing obligations to the authori- ties in Minnesota and Texas, as well as the additional commit- ments Peterson made during his April 7 meeting with the commissioner regarding main- taining an ongoing program of counseling and treatment as recommended by medical advi- sors.
NBA Playoff Schedule
Popular For The 6th Time
MONDAY
(2)Chicago Bulls vs. (6) Milwaukee Bucks
Game 2 - Mon. April 20, Milwaukee at Chicago, 8:00 PM, TNT-
Chicago Lead 1-0
(1) Golden State Warriors vs. (8) New Orleans Pelicans Game 2 - Mon. April 20, New Orleans at Golden State, 10:30 PM , TNT- Golden State Lead 1-0
TUESDAY
(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (7) Boston Celtics Game 2 - Tue. April 21, Boston at Cleveland, 7:00 PM, TNT - Cleveland Lead 1-0
(4) Toronto Raptors vs. (5) Washington Wizards Game 2 - Tue. April 21, Washington at Toronto, 8:00 PM, NBA TV- Washington Leads 1-0
(2) Houston Rockets vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks Game 2 - Tue. April 21, Dallas at Houston, 9:30 PM, TNT- Houston Lead 1-0
WEDNESDAY
(1) Atlanta Hawks vs. (8) Brooklyn Nets
Game 2 - Wed . April 22, Brooklyn at Atlanta, 7:00 PM, NBA TV- Atlanta Lead 1-0
(4) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (5) Memphis Grizzlies Game 2 - Wed. April 22, Portland at Memphis, 8:00 PM, TNT - Memphis Lead 1-0
(3) L.A. Clippers vs. (6) San Antonio Spurs
Game 2 - Wed. April 22, San Antonio at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 PM, TNT- L.A. Clippers Lead 1-0
The NBA released its ranking of most popular jer- seys for the 2014-15 season, and for the sixth straight year, LeBron James topped the list.
Rankings are based on overall retail sales on NBAS- tore.com since the beginning of the season.
Top 15 Most Popular NBA Jerseys:
1. LeBron James, Cleve- land Cavaliers
2. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
3. Kobe Bryant, Los An- geles Lakers
4. Kevin Durant, Okla- homa City Thunder
5. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
6. Kyrie Irving, Cleve- land Cavaliers
7. Tim Duncan, San An- tonio Spurs
8.Carmelo Anthony,
LeBron James’ jersey is the most popular in the NBA.
14. Dirk Nowitzki, Dal- las Mavericks
15. Chris Paul, Los An- geles Clippers
A few surprises here:
James Harden is hav- ing an otherworldly season that has him neck-and-neck with Stephen Curry in a two-man MVP race, yet he’s noticeably absent from the list, perhaps due to his foul- drawing ways not always being aesthetically pleasing.
The team merchandise list is interesting, too, mainly because the Knicks and the Lakers are in the midst of their worst seasons in fran- chise history, yet fans still had no problem buying up their gear at a volume higher than that which was sold by 23 of the league’s 30 fran- chises.
New York Knicks 9. Dwyane
Wade,
Miami Heat 10. Blake
Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
11. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
12. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
13. John Wall, Washing- ton Wizards
Threats Sent To NCAA Committee After
Report Reveals How They Went After
USC And Reggie Bush’s RB Coach
Clippers Win Game 1 Over NBA Champ Spurs
Chris Paul (right) led his team with the help of Blake Griffin.
Thanks to botched investi- gations and inexplicable deci- sions, the NCAA and its Committee on infractions (COI) has had a target on its back for quite some time now.
Now, it seems, that target has turned literal.
The NCAA late last month released 500 pages of documents– including damn- ing internal dialogue – related to the Reggie Bush investi- gation as part of a defamation lawsuit involving former USC running backs coach Todd McNair. The documents revealed those in- volved stepping well beyond the bounds of normal investi- gation protocol – including value judgments on the pro- gram’s hiring of Lane Kif- fin as head coach — and seemingly showing bias against the USC football pro- gram in meting out near-his- toric sanctions that crippled the Trojans for years.
The case against running backs coach Todd McNair is extraordinarily weak. Indeed, McNair is now suing the NCAA for millions of dollars in damages because the COI singled out McNair for spe- cific punishment (above that handed to USC). There is vir- tually no evidence of “knowl-
Reggie Bush and his USC running back coach Todd McNair in 2006. McNair is suing the NCAA for defama- tion.
edge” on the part of McNair. The COI rested its findings on four telephone calls between the cell phones of McNair and Lloyd Lake, and really nothing else. The first three calls were failed connections in a one-minute time frame on an October night in 2005 when Reggie Bush was host- ing Percy Harvin on a re- cruiting trip to USC.
The sanctions didn’t sit well with either the university or the fan base, with both sides becoming more enraged after Penn State’s sanctions were rolled back; then the re- lease of the documents. Some fans, though, took that out- rage a step further. The NCAA has alleged, threatening vio- lence against COI members.
The 2015 playoff series be- tween the West's No. 3 Los An- geles Clippers and No. 6 San Antonio Spurs has been tabbed by nearly all observers as the most competitive of the first round, with one of two contenders going home after just a few weeks.
That expectation played out over the first half and much of the third quarter of Sunday's Game 1 at Staples Center before one team pulled away for a major opening- game victory.
After playing each other to a standstill for roughly 30 minutes, the Clippers used a 20-7 run over roughly five minutes of the third quarter to open up a double-digit lead and take Game 1 by the even-
tual score of 107-92. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were tremendous for the Clip- pers while the Spurs shot poorly nearly across the board.
The Clippers got out to a quality start on the strength of their excellent starting lineup, ending the first quarter with a 30-18 lead. But the Spurs al- most wiped out that deficit with a 10-0 run in the first two minutes of the second quarter, proving their massive advan- tage in the matchup between the team's two benches and forcing the swift return of key Clippers like Paul, Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and J.J. Redick. It's that disparity that caused many pundits to pick the Spurs in this very tight se- ries.
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