Brandon Jennings lashed out about being singled out by the coach after getting benched in the second half against the 76ers, from Charles F. Gardner of Journal Sentinel: “This is the third time I’ve been benched in the second half and it hasn’t been under (former coach Scott) Skiles,” Jennings said after the game. “You always want to be out there to help your team. “I don’t see any all-stars in this locker room so I think everybody should be held accountable, like anybody else. There’s no maxed-out players in this locker room; there’s no all-stars. So don’t try to put me on a pedestal and just give everybody else the freedom to do whatever they want.” Jennings said he feels he is being singled out. “Of course,” he said. “This is the third time this has happened. We had a sluggish start but we still had a chance to win it. It was there for us to take.”… Asked how he would respond for the Bucks’ home test against the Los Angeles Lakers, Jennings said: “It’s up to him whether he’s going to put me in the game or not,” referring to coach Jim Boylan. “Just go with the flow.”
- Kobe Bryant did not speak to reporters after suffering a loss to the Bucks on Thursday, from Mike Bresnahan of Los Angeles Times:
Kobe Bryant is not talking to reporters tonight, the Lakers are saying.
@Mike_Bresnahan
Mike Bresnahan
- It turns out, Kobe has a foot issue that needs to be taken care of, from Kevin Ding of The OC Register:
Kobe has a bone spur in his left foot that has been bothering him for awhile. Will see foot specialist tomorrow in Sacramento.
@KevinDing
KEVIN DING
Kobe was putting various wraps around his left foot, with his shoe off, while on the bench in the fourth quarter, searching for relief.
@KevinDing
KEVIN DING
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports has the final update about Kobe’s status:
Kobe Bryant leaving Bradley Center with use of a crutch for bone spur in foot. "Inflamed on me," he told Y! "I'll be all right."
@WojYahooNBA
Adrian Wojnarowski
Mike D’Antoni suggested that Kobe Bryant needs to move the ball more, from Ding: “D’Antoni dropped several quotes — again — to suggest he wants Kobe to move the ball more. D’Antoni: “Just … play the game. We try to go a little bit too much one-on-one.” That was D’Antoni’s explanation for why the Lakers blew a 13-point lead in Milwaukee. D’Antoni also talked about how the Lakers “were doing some good stuff — moving the ball, running up and down, and the defense was pretty good. They probably missed some shots, but we got the rebounds. Then for whatever reason, we quit moving the ball. We took contested shots and we missed.”
Wall praised Russell Westbrook’s growth as a player, but believes he is faster than the Thunder’s point guard, from Michael Lee of Washington Post: “I think we are both young, athletic, fast point guards,” Wall said. “That’s very rare that you see that in this league. I’m trying to take the same steps that he took to become an all-star. I give a lot of credit to how he is working and how is helping his team win.”… Wall then flashed a playful grin and refused to bite when asked if Westbrook was at least the second-fastest player in the league. “It’s tough man,” Wall said. “There’s a couple fast guys in this league. He’s up there, Derrick [Rose] is up there, when he’s healthy. Mike Conley’s pretty quick. It’s different guys. Ty Lawson’s quick. So there’s a lot of guys, but I put myself first. Just for fun.”
Mike Woodson is not thrilled about Amare Stoudemire revealing his status on television, from Marc Berman of New York Post: “He’s been on TV?,’’ Woodson said before the Knicks’ 108-101 victory over the Grizzlies Wednesday night at the Garden. “News to me. I need to tell him to stay off the TV and talk to the coach. I really don’t know. I don’t know what the timetable is on Amar’e. If he’s telling you the rehab is going well, it’s a good sign. How close to playing, I don’t know.’’ Woodson said if Stoudemire does make it back, he probably would play in the 10-to-12 minute range. Stoudemire took eight weeks to heal after his first knee-debridement surgery. “I can’t get him on the court and going to play him 25, 30 minutes,’’ Woodson said. “It’s just getting him back comfortable, if it’s 12, 10 minutes, and feel good and comfortable about it.’’
Subsequent week inside soccer cathedrals across the world, qualifying
starts in earnest for FIFA 2014 World Cup Brazil , the biggest soccer event
on the world that guarantees to be one of the most watched — and most
collected — sporting functions of all time.
As has become customary, the buildup to following
year’s global soccer showcase will be earmarked by passion, pomp,
pageantry, patriotism, circumstance and stickers.
ROME When Italy gained the 2006 World Cup, then-coach Marcello
Lippi pointed to the team collective as his squad’s strongpoint — and the simple fact that every single ahead scored at the very least a single aim more than
the seven matches attested to that concept.
The leading four teams that qualify in the Premiership graduate
to play the UEFA Championship League. The top two teams enter team stage,
although the third and fourth teams enter the 3rd qualifying
spherical. The latter require to win a two-phased knockout tie
to improve. If the championship is won by a experienced group for Europe, then the League’s UEFA Cup place goes to
the subsequent maximum crew. The optimum staff that does not qualify for the UEFA
Cup can compete in the Intertoto Cup-UEFA, in the pursuing period.
UEFA policies include that the defending champions routinely qualify for the
pursuing year’s competitiveness, irrespective of rating.