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Sports
Dwight Howard Takes Over China With New Sneaker
Kevin Durant Gets Super Freak ‘Rick James’ Face Tatooed On His Thigh
KEVIN DURANT
Tat my face on your thigh so we know it’s real. At least that’s what Kevin Durant did. The newly-signed Golden State Warriors player got new ink of music legend, Rick James on his left thigh.
Cruise Control Studios’ tat- too artist, Steve Wiebe, up- loaded an image of the basketball star in his chair in Amsterdam Saturday (Sept. 3.) The full tattoo was later un- veiled showing the “Super Freak” artist in a pair of shades.
But Rick James isn’t the only icon to grace Durant’s limbs. Earlier this summer, KD also showed appreciation to Tupac Shakur and the Wu- Tang Clan by permanently stamping them on his leg.
Allen Iverson And Shaq O’Neal Inducted Into NBA ‘Hall Of Fame’ On Friday
Allen Iverson and Shaq O’Neal will be inducted on Friday night.
Dwight Howard trav- eled overseas to Beijing, China to unveil his latest foot apparel named the DH2, which was inspired by a his- toric practice that’s been in- grained in Chinese culture.
With an option for a black and white color way, the two prominent Chinese princi- ples, yin and yang, served as the inspiration behind the sneakers’ design.
In partnership with PEAK, the Atlanta Hawks
Dwight Howard with his new sneaker DH2.
center plans to release his lat- est kicks stateside in the near future.
Allen Iverson was more than a great player — league MVP, seven time All-NBA, 11 time All-Star — he was a guy who changed the game. The swagger, the hip-hop culture (which David Stern tried to fight for so long) rode into the game on the wave of Allen Iverson. And it was good for the league.
He belongs in the Hall of Fame, where he will be en- shrined this weekend.
Who will be there to pres- ent him? His coaches and a NBA superstar: Larry Brown, John Thompson and Dr. J, Julius Erving.
If you ask Shaquille O’Neal — the greatest creator and promoter of his own
mythology who this weekend is entering the Naismith Hall of Fame, he says,
There won’t be another (traditional center) like me, and like Yao (Ming, also en- tering the Hall of Fame), ever again. We feel the dearth of the real center. I believe the way that I dominated, I made guys not want to come inside and feel the pain. That’s why you have a lot of guys stepping out and shooting jumpers now. We’re all products of our environment, so when I was coming up, I saw big men playing in the middle.’
Shaq will be presented by Alonzo Mourning, Julius Erving and Bill Russell and Isiah Thomas.
Doc Rivers Feels Paul Pierce Must ‘Retire’ As A Celtic
Doc Rivers and Paul Pierce go way back.
Rivers was Pierce’s coach for years in Boston, in- cluding the Celtics’ 2008 championship. And he’s his coach again in Los Angeles, where Pierce appears set to return for one more season with the Clippers.
Once Pierce does retire, though, Rivers is adamant that the 2008 Finals MVP needs to sign a one-day con- tract with the Celtics so he can retire with that organiza- tion.
Doc Rivers tells why he’ll encourage Paul Pierce to sign a one-day contract with the Celtics before whenever he does retire: “I think it’s im- portant. I think we have to do that. And I think we will. Danny [Ainge] and Mike [Zarren], we’ve already
DOC RIVERS AND PAUL PIERCE
talked. The day he retires, he’s going to retire a Celtic. He has to. Paul’s a Celtic. So when he retires he’s got to re- tire as a Celtic. I don’t think anyone disagrees with me.”
Rivers is right. Pierce has played for the Nets, Wiz- ards and Clippers in the later part of his career, but his defining years were with the Celtics and he is undoubtedly going to have his jersey re- tired in Boston one day.
Colin Kaepernick Pledges $1Million To Organizations That Promote Social Change
Seahawks Vote Russell Wilson, Kam Chancellor Team Captains
Colin Kaepernick re- mains firm in his position to bring light to the racial ten- sion in America, and to take it a step further, the San Francisco 49er plans to do- nate $1 million to charitable organizations aimed at en- acting societal change.
Following a “Salute to the Military” game between the 49ers and the San Diego Chargers last week Kaeper- nick revealed his charitable plans.
COLIN KAEPERNICK
“I’m currently working with organizations to be in- volved, and making sure I’m
actively in these communi- ties, as well as donating the first million dollars I make this year to different organi- zations to help these commu- nities and help these people,” he stated. “I’ve been very blessed to be in this position and make the kind of money I do, and I have to help these people. I have to help these communities. It’s not right that they’re not put in the po- sition to succeed, or given the opportunities to succeed.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s team- mates voted him an offensive captain for the fourth straight season.
Safety Kam Chancellor was selected the defensive captain while punter Jon Ryan and defensive back DeShawn Shead were both voted special-teams captains. Wilson has been named a captain every year but his rookie season.
“Russell’s a great leader,” coach Pete Carroll said. “He makes great state- ments about who he is and who we are and represents us beautifully.”
Chancellor was the Sea- hawks’ defensive captain for the 2014 season, but he wasn’t voted a captain last season while he held out.
Cult of Chase Sapphire: Credit-card churners have a new love“I treat them like my brothers, like blood, so it
Cam Newton On Thursday Night's Opener Vs. Broncos: 'It's Not A Rematch'
BOBBY WAGNER, RUSSELL WILSON AND DESHAWN SHEAD
means a lot for them to hold me to a standard like that,” Chancellor said. “That’s kind of one of my things: I want to practice what I preach. I like to tell the guys the right things to do and mo- tivate them and be a living example. I think it’s big for them to announce me as a captain once again.”
“It means I’m the same dude,” Chancellor added. “Nothing’s changed.”
The Seahawks play the Miami Dolphins Sunday at 4:05 p.m. on CBS.
The last time the Carolina Panthers left a football field, Cam Newton's head hung following a loss to theDenver Broncos in Super Bowl 50, which seemingly wiped away a year's worth of fun in one swoop.
On Thursday the Panthers will undoubtedly revisit those memories as they step onto the field in Denver to take on the Broncos once again.
Just don't call it a Super Bowl rematch in front of Cam Newton.
“A lot of people want to make it a rematch. It's not a re- match," Newton said Sunday, via the Associated Press. "It's just our next opponent."
Let's quibble over the de- tails for a second: Technically, it is a rematch; sorry, Cam.
CAM NEWTON
The owners didn't change; the team names didn't change; the cities where those teams reside didn't change.
You can understand New- ton's point, though. A lot does change from one offseason to the next. One season has little bearing on the next. Huge swings can take place, sending a team from mediocre to the
championship game. In the course of nine months, an NFL player can go from celebrating triumph on the highest peak to curling up into a ball in the lowest tunnel.
The Panthers are certainly different than they were in the Super Bowl. Josh Norman is gone, with a gaggle of rookies and youngsters taking center stage in the defensive back- field. No. 1 receiver Kelvin Benjamin returns from an ACL tear; Devin Funchess is ready to make the leap in Year 2. And the lessons of the Super Bowl loss are certainly con- structive.
"No one likes losing, so I took it extremely personal," Newton said of the Panthers' 24-10 Super Bowl loss to the Broncos.
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