Blog

NORMAN, Okla. — Griffin announced Tuesday that he will give up his final two years of eligibility and head to the NBA after a sophomore season in which he was honored as college basketball’s top player.

Although Griffin said it took some serious thought, coach Jeff Capel called a “no-brainer,” with Griffin establishing himself as a likely candidate to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft this June.

“This has been a dream for me. It has been a dream for a lot of guys. I was really comfortable with the decision this time around.”

Griffin helped the Sooners win 30 games in a season for only the fifth time in school history, shattering the school records for double-doubles and rebounds along the way. He said it was now time to take his game to the next level.

Home

SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili will miss the rest of the season and playoffs after tests Monday revealed that his surgically repaired right ankle has gotten worse.

Ginobili sat out the fourth quarter in Sunday’s blowout loss at Cleveland as he felt serious pain in the ankle. Both he and the Spurs dreaded to see the MRI the following day.

Ginobili missed 19 games after the All-Star break to heal a stress reaction in his right distal fibula. He returned March 25, but tests showed the stubborn injury is now a fracture.

The Spurs said Ginobili wasn’t expected to need surgery. But either way, Ginobili is out and the Spurs are hobbling with less than two weeks before the playoffs begin.

This is a serious blow to a team that already lacks scoring to compliment and hobbled Tim Duncan and the speedy Tony Parker.

Home

Jeff Garcia finds his way back to the Bay Area after 5 seasons with 4 different teams.

The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback has signed with the Oakland Raiders agreeing to a one-year deal to be JaMarcus Russell’s so called “BACKUP.”

Garcia claims to love playing in the Coliseum as he said: “One of the proudest moments in my NFL career was when I led the 49ers to a 23-20 overtime victory over the Raiders.” In November 2002 Garcia passed for 282 yards and completed 17 of his 19 passes after halftime while San Francisco ran the game’s final 30 plays in a remarkable display of ball-control offense to eventually win the game.

Look for Garcia to be inserted immediately at the first sign of struggles for the young JaMarcus Russell

Home

After passing on the Arizona job yesterday Xavier University men’s basketball coach Sean Miller has accepted the head coaching job at the University of Arizona just a few moments ago.

Over his five seasons at Xavier, Miller led the Musketeers to a 120-47 record. He has been very successful In the NCAA men’s tournament taking his team to the “Elite Eight” last season and the “Sweet Sixteen” this season.

Miller wasn’t the first choice for Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood, whom he met Sunday in Albuquerque, N.M. Arizona tried in vain to convince Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Pitt’s Jamie Dixon and then-Memphis coach John Calipari (before he went to Kentucky), and even went as far as to bring USC’s Tim Floyd on campus for an interview and offer, but couldn’t get any of them to take the job. They found a willing partner, after much haggling, in Miller.

Miller will have his hands full now that the Wildcats have missed out on two recruiting classes. Incoming recruit Brandon Jennings went to Europe, freshman Jeff Withey transferred to Kansas and top signee for next season Abdul Gaddy got out of commitment to go to rival Washington. If Budinger, Hill and Wise leave as expected, then the Wildcats will likely be picked to finish last in the Pac-10 next season.

Home

The Chicago Bears acquired disgruntled Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler in a trade on Thursday afternoon, giving up quarterback Kyle Orton and first-round picks in 2009 (18th overall) and 2010, along with a third-round pick (84th overall) in 2009 to do it.

To complete the trade, the Broncos had to give back a fifth-round pick (140th overall) in 2009.

The Bears out bid the likes of the Redskins, Buccaneers, Lions, Titans and other teams in the race to land the 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback. The Broncos had made it clear they were asking for at least two first-round picks and wouldn’t settle for less.

Jay Cutler had asked to be traded when he found out first-year coach Josh McDaniels tried to acquire Matt Cassel in a trade with the Patriots. This didn’t sit well with Jay, and to further complicate things Denver coach McDaniels as per Cutler lied to him numerous times.

Although Cutler is 17-20 as a starter, he’s been victimized by dismal defenses in Denver, and he was an impressive 13-1 when the Broncos held opponents to 21 points or fewer. Last year, Cutler threw for a franchise record 4,526 yards, 25 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. In his 37-game career in Denver, he completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 9,024 yards, 54 TDs and 37 interceptions.

Jay got his wish to be cut lose from Denver but, only time will tell if the windy-city brings him what he was looking for.

Home

John Calipari will accept the head coaching job at the University of Kentucky, according to Memphis television report.

After days of talks, it is official Calipari will take the job in Lexington and most likely bring 3 of the nations top recruits with him.

Calipari will be the highest-paid coach in the country by a substantial margin. The total package is expected to be worth $35 million to $40 million spread over seven or eight seasons.

Calipari will replace Billy Gillispie, who was fired last Friday. It’s possible Calipari will take Memphis recruits DeMarcus Cousins and Xavier Henry — as well as the nation’s top unsigned player, John Wall — with him to Lexington, which could have Kentucky competing for a national title if Jodie Meeks and/or Patrick Patterson return.

Expect Memphis to target Missouri coach Mike Anderson or Southern California coach Tim Floyd as Calipari’s replacement.

Calipari was at Memphis nine seasons, leading the school to six NCAA tournaments — including one Final Four.

Sources have told CBSSports.com that Tyreke Evans will enter the NBA Draft and Wesley Witherspoon will likely transfer to Kentucky. Shawn Taggart won’t return to Memphis because he has already graduated. Combine that with the fact that Robert Dozier and Antonio Anderson have exhausted their eligibility, and it’s possible the next Tigers coach could inherit a roster featuring only Doneal Mack (8.7 points per game), Roburt Sallie (5.8 ppg), Willie Kemp (2.9 ppg) and Pierre Henderson-Niles (2.4 ppg), meaning Memphis could go from dominating Conference USA to missing the NCAA tournament in a matter of 12 months.

Home

Kevin Garnett will miss at least the next four games with a sore right knee and may return for the final three games of the Boston Celtics’ regular season.

The emotional leader and defensive star of the defending NBA champions has missed 15 of the last 19 games, including the last two. The Celtics hope the rest will help him get healthy for the playoffs.

Coach Doc Rivers said after practice Tuesday that the team would be “shutting down” Garnett for most of the remaining seven regular-season games because of continued soreness in the knee, first injured Feb. 19 at Utah.

“After watching him move today, we’re just going to shut him down,” Rivers said. “It probably won’t be for the year. He’ll probably play by the end, last couple of games or last three games. It’s just not progressing the way we anticipated it would progress.”

“We assumed we were going to practice him, and right now, we’re not even going to do that,” Rivers said. “We’re going to shut him down until the soreness goes away and the swelling goes away and then we bring him back up.”

Without a healthy Garnett the Celtics will have a tough time defending the NBA title.

Home

The Detroit Tigers released nine-time All-Star Gary Sheffield on Tuesday, leaving him without a team as he closes in on becoming the 25th player to reach the 500 Home Run milestone.

ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney reported that Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. said the team contacted Sheffield after his release.

Sheffield left Tigers camp as the rest of his former teammates were reporting for an afternoon game against the Washington Nationals.

“I wouldn’t say I’m shocked, but I am surprised,” Sheffield told The Oakland Press of Pontiac. “To do this when somebody is one home run away … I don’t know how to react to it.”

Leyland, the Tigers manager, said he had a hard time sleeping Monday night, knowing he was going to release a future Hall of Famer.

“I lit two Marlboros at the same time,” Leyland said. “I couldn’t sleep. But I feel better that it’s over with than I did at 3 in the morning.”

The slugger’s stay in Detroit was a disappointing one. The team was hopeful Sheffield would be a powerful presence at the plate in the final season of the $28 million, two-year contract extension it gave him after acquiring him from the Yankees for prospects.

But Sheffield failed to deliver in large part because he often was injured. Any team can sign him for the $400,000 minimum, with Detroit paying the rest of his $14 million salary.

“It’s one of those things where you move on, you know?” Sheffield told the Detroit Free Press. “I was surprised. I thought I was getting ready for the season. I never thought that I wasn’t going to be playing with the Detroit Tigers this year. It’s probably a blessing.”

Seth Curry, younger brother of Davidson star Stephen Curry, has decided to transfer to Duke after playing his freshman season at Liberty.

Curry, who was named the Big South’s Freshman of the Year, visited the Durham, N.C., school over the weekend and told Liberty coach Ritchie McKay of his decision Sunday evening.

“I received a call from Seth today and he told me he decided on transferring to Duke,” McKay said in a statement.

“I am excited that Seth will be able to fulfill his desires at a place as prestigious and successful as Duke. We are thankful for Seth and the time he spent at Liberty, helping with the foundation of what we are building.”

During the 2008-09 campaign, Curry led all freshmen in scoring with 20.2 points per game, recording the sixth-most single-season points (707) in Big South history and breaking the Liberty single-season record for 3-pointers with 102.

Home

Billy Gillispie is out as coach of Kentucky in his second season at the helm.

School officials had been quiet about Gillispie’s job status after the Wildcats tumbled through the second half of the season to finish 22-14, but today the school has called a 4:30 p.m. ET news conference to announce the change.

On Wednesday, Kentucky’s postseason ended with a loss to Notre Dame in the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals.

Kentucky’s 20 regular-season wins weren’t enough to get a bid into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991.

When asked after the loss to Notre Dame if he expected to be back, Gillispie said the decision wasn’t up to him.

“You’re asking the wrong guy,” he said. “All I know is to go to work, recruit, coach and that’s what I did, that’s what I’ve done and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

After the University of Kentucky inked Gillispie to a 7-year, 2.3-Million dollar deal they will be buying him out just after full seasons completed. It will come with a 6-Million dollar buyout.

Home