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The Boston Celtics announced today that they have signed guard Sam Cassell. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
A terrific aging point guard with an engaging personality and sweet mid-range jump-shot, Cassell is expected to play back-up behind starting point guard Rajon Rondo.
Cassell, a 6
Chris (Birdman) Andersen is back in the NBA, and he plans to fly with the Hornets.
The NBA's decision to approve Andersen's reinstatement after a two-year suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy clears the way for the 29-year-old forward to rejoin the Hornets for the regular-season homestretch. He is expected to sign once he passes a physical on Tuesday. "Chris is incredibly excited to be back," his agent, Steven Heumann, said. "He's grateful to the NBA and the union for reinstating him and for giving him the opportunity to resume his career."
Known for his wild hair styles and pogo-stick jumping ability, the 6-foot-10 Andersen could help the Hornets as they try to hold onto a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The high-energy forward holds career averages of 5.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 16.6 minutes. He had his best season with the Hornets in 2004-05, averaging 7.7 points, 6.1 boards and 1.5 blocks in 21.3 minutes.
When the Celtics traded last summer for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, it made an optimist of Paul Pierce. The same was true for Boston coach Doc Rivers, Wyc Grousbeck and his fellow Celtic owners ... and Chauncey Billups. "I love it, I love it, I love it. I really do,'' says Billups, who will lead the Pistons into Boston on Wednesday in a renewal of their rivalry. "They deserve the credit they're getting. That team has been dominant, so they're not just getting the credit because they have three great players. They're playing their butt off.''
That part is obvious. So how is it a good thing for Detroit that it remains the No. 2 team in the conference behind the Celtics? "I enjoy somebody else getting that limelight,'' Billups said. "We can be who we've always been. We can be the hunter. We can be hunting people down as opposed to everybody hunting us.''
By surging to the top of the Eastern Conference, Boston has enabled the Pistons to regain their identity as the underdog, the B-list contender. They've tried it the other way by winning the regular-season East title outright the last two years, and the unfortunate result each time was a collapse in the conference finals -- against Miami (after the Pistons won an East-leading 64 games) in 2006 and Cleveland (after taking a 2-0 series lead over the Cavaliers) last season.
The Phoenix Suns signed forward Linton Johnson to a second 10-day contract yesterday, the team announced.
The 6-8, 205-pound Johnson signed his first 10-day contract with the Suns on Feb. 22, 2008. The four-year NBA veteran has averaged 2.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 10.0 minutes in four games with Phoenix.
The Suns (39-20) sit just 2.5 games out of the top spot in the highly-competitive Western Conference and tonight kick-off their two-game road swing through Portland and Denver by taking on the Trail Blazers (31-29) at the Rose Garden.
The Jazz on Tuesday practiced without starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko, who sprained his right hip in the opening quarter of Monday night's win over Dallas.
Kirilenko was reexamined this morning, and afterward the Jazz said they still believe the extent of the injury is the same as was diagnosed Monday
Rockets guard Tracy McGrady on Tuesday said Dirk Nowitzki's flagrant foul on Utah's Andrei Kirilenko on Monday should earn a suspension and keep him out of Thursday's game against the Rockets. "He should be (suspended)," McGrady said. "That was a pretty hard foul. Not only that, to slam a guy to the ground like that, it was a hard foul. It should have been a flagrant-2.
Rockets coach Rick Adelman said he was not sure what penalty, if any, would come, though the league does consider whether a flagrant foul floored an opponent."I don't know what their criteria is," Adelman said. "They said if you bring a guy down
Chinese officials are hoping to speed NBA star Yao Ming's recovery with a secret remedy -- traditional Chinese medicine. The Houston Rockets center underwent surgery on Monday to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. Doctors in the United States said after the surgery that he was expected to recover in time to play for China at the Beijing Olympics in August.
However, back home they're taking no chances with Yao's health. "After the surgery, Chinese medicine will be used to help Yao Ming's recovery," Hu Jiashi, deputy director of the Chinese Basketball Association, told the Beijing News. "We've hired medical experts to diagnose Yao Ming's condition and communicate with American doctors and we've reached agreement."Chinese remedies are widely believed across China to be effective, usually made of herbal compounds that have been used for centuries. Hu also urged caution.
"Yao Ming's absence from the Olympics is something nobody wants to see," Hu said. "However, we have to listen to the doctors advice. We also need to face reality. If Yao doesn't fully recovered from the injury, he can't give his best performance plus it could hurt his career." Yao is China's best-known athlete and has contracts with several Olympic sponsors including McDonald's and Coca-Cola. He is believed to earn about $25 million alone in sponsorship deals and is being heavily marketed across China in the run-up to the Games.
The first Baylor-Texas A&M meeting was the best game of the season that nobody saw on TV. Baylor outlasted Texas A&M on Jan. 23, winning 116-110 in five overtimes behind a career-high 36 points from Curtis Jerrells. But if you weren't there, you didn't see it, thanks to an unlikely set of circumstances that left the game with no television coverage.
The rematch Wednesday night will be on national TV, and finally, so will the original. ESPN Classic has pieced together a complete game telecast using footage from Texas A&M's in-arena cameras that the school uses to show games on its Jumbotron. The network then matched the game footage with play-by-play and commentary from the Aggies' radio broadcasters.
The original game will air on ESPN Classic at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the rematch at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Pistons play-by-play announcer George Blaha joined Bret Bakita "On the Bench" on WBBL-AM Grand Rapids on Tuesday and talked about how Detroit has kept its championship core mostly intact.
George Blaha interview in the link above on WBBL-AM. ^^^"Everybody really realizes the future is now. Whatever you can do to win right now you should do," Blaha said. "The beauty part of what the Pistons have done is that they're almost defying the odds by leaving that championship window open as long as they have. And I believe they've got a couple of more years."