Plea bargain in works for Jay Vincent
August 31, 2010
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP)—Court filings show a plea bargain is in the worksfor ex-Michigan State basketball star and retired NBA player Jay Vincent, whoappeared in court Tuesday on charges in a $2 million Internet scam.
Vincent was silent in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids as a not-guiltyplea to fraud and tax charges was entered on his behalf. But a judge also set aSept. 28 hearing for him to change that plea.
Defense lawyer Charles Ford said there could be a guilty plea if it is inhis “client’s best interest.” He declined further comment. The U.S. attorney’soffice declined to comment.
Vincent and an associate are accused of defrauding people by charging themto become certified as home inspectors.
He and Magic Johnson played on the 1979 Michigan State national championshipteam. From 1981-90, Vincent played for Dallas, Washington, Denver, San Antonio,the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia in the NBA.
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Lithuania rallies to beat Spain 76-73
August 31, 2010
IZMIR, Turkey (AP)—Lithuania rallied from an 18-point second-half deficitto beat Spain 76-73 Tuesday in a game between the two Group D favorites at thebasketball world championship.
Lithuania used a 23-5 run to tie the score at 66 with 5:25 left in the game.Linas Kleiza(notes) scored four points in the last 35 seconds to clinch the win.
After Kleiza made two free throws with four seconds left, Raul Lopezscrambled down the court to try to give Spain a last look from behind the arc,but Martynus Pocius deflected his pass out of bounds as time expired.
Kleiza finished with 17 points, while Pocius and Jonas Maciulis added 13each.
Marc Gasol(notes) and Juan Carlos Navarro(notes) led Spain with 18 points each.
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Ilyasova helps Turkey beat Greece 76-65
August 31, 2010
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)—Ersan Ilyasova(notes) scored 26 points to help Turkey clincha 76-65 win over Greece on Tuesday at the basketball world championship,essentially securing to place in the second round.
Turkey improved to 3-0 and can secure top spot in the six-team Group C whenit plays Puerto Rico on Wednesday. Greece won its first two games and likelywill finish in the top four in the group and advance to the single-eliminationround.
Ioannis Bourousis led Greece with 15 points, while no other Greek playerscored more than nine points. Omer Asik(notes) added 12 for Turkey.
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US needs more from reserves at worlds
August 31, 2010
ISTANBUL (AP)—The last U.S. basketball team was so stacked that DwyaneWade(notes) was the sixth man. Chris Paul(notes) and Chris Bosh(notes) were also part of that secondunit, one good enough to beat any starting five in the world.
When Mike Krzyzewski looked down at the bench he has now Monday, it suredidn’t seem he liked what he saw.
After the reserves faltered, the U.S. coach stuck with the starters fornearly the entire second half to pull out a 70-68 victory over Brazil that keptthe Americans unbeaten in the world championship.
Krzyzewski and his players said they learned something from their first testin this tournament. But was one of those lessons this: All these youngsters onthe U.S. roster can’t be trusted when times get tough.
“I don’t know if they tensed up, but they honestly didn’t play as muchtonight as they did in the last few games,” veteran guard Chauncey Billups(notes)said. “But they’ll have more opportunities and they’ll do a better job nexttime.”
After Group B’s off day Tuesday, the reserves should get plenty of time inthe Americans’ final two group games. They face the bottom two teams in thepool, starting with Iran on Wednesday before closing against winless Tunisia.
Things should become more difficult with the arrival of the knockout round,which means the starters are going to need some help. Krzyzewski believes allhis players now see what it takes to provide it.
“We’ve only been together for a few weeks. I don’t know until you’re inthese situations if we’re going to have the character to win when you can’t hita shot, when someone is playing such good defense,” he said after the game.“Tonight I found that and that’s a good thing. That’s a really good thing tofind out about our team.”
Krzyzewski made his normal early substitutions in the first half, but thesubs struggled to defend Brazil’s pick-and-rolls. Realizing the game was goingto be won with defense, he had starters Billups, Kevin Durant(notes), Derrick Rose(notes),Lamar Odom(notes) and Andre Iguodala(notes) on the floor for at least 15 minutes apiece afterhalftime to win a thriller.
“Wow what a game USA vs Brazil. Way to find a way to get that W y’all. Keepit going,” LeBron James(notes), a starter on the Olympic team, wrote on his Twitterpage.
To do so, the guys who were on the floor realize they’ll need the ones onthe bench. After all, depth is supposed to be one of this team’s strengths.
“We just have to take the last two games again one at a time try to getsomething done,” Iguodala said. “Give everybody some key minutes in the nexttwo games and everybody get their confidence where it needs to be going into theelimination round.”
The Americans are inexperienced internationally beyond Billups, Odom andTyson Chandler(notes). They’re still adjusting to the nuances of the game, such as thetraveling violations they’ve repeatedly committed.
The entire Olympic team had competed previously and was well-versed in FIBAplay. The current group lags far behind a team such as Brazil, which playedtogether last summer while winning the regional qualifier for the worldchampionship.
“It is a different team. It is a lot of young players, I think the firsttime that they come to the world championships,” said Brazil guard LeandroBarbosa(notes), citing everything from the ball to the calls as differences from theNBA game.
“I think that causes a little problem for them, being different games. Soin that situation, we’ve got a little advantage, so it’s good for us.”
Neither of the remaining pool opponents has the talent to exploit that. Themain interest in the Iran game comes from local journalists trying to hype itbecause of the political tensions between the countries, but Krzyzewskidownplayed that.
“This is a sporting event,” he said. “We have respect for Iran. Iactually played in Iran in the 1970s when I was on the U.S. Armed Forces team. Ihave great feelings for their country. They’re sportsmen and so are we. We’llhave a great game.”
It shouldn’t be close, but another might be later in the tournament. TheOlympic team never had that concern, but these Americans say they don’t mind.
“We can’t worry about how much we win by, winning the same fashion as otherUSA teams. All of that’s out the window,” Billups said. “All we need to do isget wins. Win every game we can and we’ll worry about everything else later.”
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Nuggets devising plan to keep Anthony
August 31, 2010
DENVER (AP)—Now that the Denver Nuggets have their management team in place,they’re developing a strategy to keep All-Star Carmelo Anthony(notes) in powder blueand gold.
At his introductory news conference Tuesday, Masai Ujiri, the team’s newvice president of basketball operations, said he’s been in contact with Anthonyand will meet with him soon.
The Nuggets offered Anthony a three-year, $65 million extension through2014, but if he rejects it, the team will have to consider trading the forwardwho has guided them to seven straight playoff berths.
Josh Kroenke, who is taking over the ownership duties from his father as acondition of Stan Kroenke’s purchase of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams, said he’s hadcordial conversations with Anthony and his agents, disputing reports of a recentcontentious meeting.
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France now 3-0 at worlds, tops Canada
August 31, 2010
IZMIR, Turkey (AP)—Nicolas Batum(notes) and Mickael Gelabale(notes) each hit a pair of freethrows in the final 17 seconds to help France clinch a 68-63 win over Canada onTuesday at the basketball world championship.
France center Ali Traore blocked a running hook by Denham Brown with 18seconds left in the game that would have cut the lead to one.
The victory puts France (3-0) in a position to win the six-team Group D whenit plays Lithuania on Wednesday. It was Canada’s third straight loss, andcrippled its chances to finish in the top four in the group and advance to thesingle-elimination round.
Batum led France with 24 points, while no other French player scored morethan eight points. Canada’s Levon
Kendall led Canada with 15 points, and Gonzaga forward Kelly Olynyk added13.
In a game that included 11 lead changes and 12 ties, the teams were level15-15 after the first quarter and 28-28 at the half. Canada then took a 48-46lead into the fourth quarter but were undone by poor shooting at the end.
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Puerto Rico earns first win at worlds
August 31, 2010
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)—Puerto Rico earned its first win at the basketballworld championship by beating China 84-76 Tuesday, using its strong transitiongame to overcome China’s big men.
Angelo Vassalo scored 22 points and Denver Nuggets forward Renaldo Balkman(notes)had 10 points and 13 rebounds for Puerto Rico. Nathan Peavy and Jose Barea added13 points each as Puerto Rico (1-2) bounced back from losses to Greece andRussia in Group C games over the weekend.
China (1-2) relied heavily on 7-footers Yi Jianlian(notes) and Wang Zhizhi to stayin the game, as the duo scored 20 of the team’s 21 first-quarter points. PuertoRico countered with fast breaks, repeatedly beating their opponents intransition to take a 44-37 halftime lead.
Yi finished with 24 points, while Wang had 17.
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Kiwis rip Lebanon for first worlds win
August 31, 2010
IZMIR, Turkey (AP)—Kirk Penney scored 26 points and Thomas Abercrombie added23 on Tuesday as New Zealand beat Lebanon 108-76 for its first victory at thebasketball world championship.
Penney, the tournament’s leading scorer with 28 points per game, helpedsustain the Kiwis’ hopes of advancing to the next round in Istanbul.
Abercrombie scored 10 points, including two 3-pointers from the same corner,in the game’s first four minutes to spark New Zealand to a 32-16 lead going intothe second quarter. The Kiwis dominated inside early on, and scored five layupsin the last minutes of the first quarter.
Jackson Vroman had three fouls in the first half and the former Iowa StateUniversity center’s absence hurt Lebanon to start the second half. New Zealandscored eight points in the paint in the first four four minutes, and by the timeVroman returned the Kiwis had built a 65-40 lead.
Penny poured in four 3-pointers in the third quarter.
New Zealand expanded its lead in the fourth quarter. Three minutes in, FadiEl-Khatib missed a desperation runner with the shot clock running out, thenwalked to the sideline head down as New Zealand collected the rebound andstarted a fast break behind him. El-Khatib finished with 18 points, and RonyFahed Jean Abd El Nour scored 12 each.
Abercrombie’s one-handed alley-oop dunk over Elias Rustom with 30 secondsleft in the game invigorated the crowd after the outcome had long been decided.
It was the teams’ first meeting in a senior men’s tournament.
New Zealand plays Canada Wednesday, and New Zealand plays group favoriteSpain.
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Russia beats Ivory Coast to stay alive
August 31, 2010
ANKARA, Turkey (AP)—Russia routed Ivory Coast 72-66 in its third Group Cgame of the world championships Tuesday to recover from its loss to Turkey.
Timofey Mozgov(notes) scored 19 points to lead Russia, while Sasha Kaun(notes) of CSKAMoscow added 13 points to help Russia (2-1) keep its chances alive of advancingto the second round. It had lost to Turkey 65-56 on Sunday.
Russia scored 17 points in the first quarter and doubled it at halftime,leading with four points over Ivory Coast (0-3). It finished the third quarter53-44.
Russia made 7 of 20 three-pointers and 15 of 20 free throws. Russia scored15 points from turnovers while Ivory Coast had 14.
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Regulators probing Jordan son’s partying
August 30, 2010
LAS VEGAS (AP)—MGM Resorts International was under investigation after theunderage son of basketball great Michael Jordan bragged on Twitter aboutpartying at a Las Vegas Strip nightclub, Nevada gambling regulators said Monday.
Officials were examining whether the casino operator violated lawsprohibiting drinking or gambling by minors, Nevada Gaming Control Boardenforcement chief Jerry Markling said.
People under 21 often try to gamble or drink in Las Vegas, but punishmentfor casino operators depend on the circumstances, Markling said.
Jordan’s 19-year-old son Marcus Jordan tweeted Aug. 20 about spending$35,000 at Haze at Aria Resort & Casino.
“Last night was stupid… 35K at Haze,” the University of Central Floridasophomore guard said. “Totals 50K something the whole day.”
The tweet has since been removed from the site.
Jordan told a Fox Sports website last week that the tweet was a mistake andsaid he had conversations with both his parents about it.
“I didn’t mean it the way it came across,” he said. “My family andfriends know the type of person I am.”
Jordan was in Las Vegas for his dad’s fantasy basketball camp with hisbrother, Jeffrey, and teammate A.J. Rompza.
A video posted to Twitter by Jeffrey Jordan shows all three players hangingout at the Liquid Pool Lounge, the resort’s adults-only pool.
UCF basketball spokesman Doug Richards said the school had no comment.
MGM Resorts spokesman Alan Feldman declined comment. The Aria is thecenterpiece casino of CityCenter, the company’s joint venture with Dubai Worldthat cost $8.5 billion to build.
Markling said he could not comment specifically about the case. He said thecontrol board’s findings would not be made public.
Markling said punishments in general depend on the infraction’s scope, andcould involve verbal warnings, fines, or in extreme cases suspending anoperator’s gambling license.
Associated Press Writer Antonio Gonzalez in Orlando, Fla., and researcherBarbara Sambriski in New York contributed to this report.
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