News sport : Villanova wins Big East and bolsters case for No. 1 seed against Xavier

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No. 6 Villanova started slow Saturday on the road at Xavier where more than a few ranked teams have struggled in recent years.


But guard Ryan Arcidiacono scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half and Villanova won the Big East regular season title while bolstering its case for a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a 78-66 victory over the Musketeers.


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The Wildcats trailed by seven at halftime and allowed Xavier to shoot nearly 60 percent in the first 20 minutes. The Musketeers sank seven 3-pointers in the half hoping to notch their best win of the season and give the selection committee something to consider when doling out at-large berths, but they couldn’t pull off the upset.


It’s not that Xavier is lacking quality wins. It had four victories over ranked opponents entering the game, but a victory over the Wildcats would have been impressive.


Credit goes to Villanova returning to form on the defensive end in the second half and Arcidiacono making timely shots. Dylan Ennis led Villanova with 16 points and made four of his nine 3-point attempts and Kris Jenkins came off the bench with 14 points, including four more threes.


Forward Jayvaughn Pinkston scored just four points and grabbed only three rebounds less than 24 hours after a report that he had violated the terms of his probabtion from a 2010 assault case


The Wildcats earned their 27th win with just two losses, both of which came in Big East games. They also won their eighth road game of the season and won by a double-digit margin for the fourth straight game.


As long as the Wildcats don’t slip up in their final two conference games at Creighton and at home against surging St. John’s and then go deep in the Big East tournament, it will be difficult to keep them out of one of the top seeds next month.


Xavier is now sliding toward the bubble at 18-12 and 8-9 in conference play after missing a chance to secure a first-round bye in the Big East tournament. Unless the Musketeers can find a way to win their final two regular season games and the conference tournament, they will have at least 13 losses on their resume when the selection committee looks their way.


That certainly isn’t a disqualification, but things would look a bit better had Xavier pulled off the upset on senior day.


Myles Davis did provide this memorable highlight in the first half when things were going the Musketeers’ way.





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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : No. 44 car reported stolen has been found

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The reported stolen No. 44 Team Xtreme car was found Saturday morning.


The team tweeted a picture of the car's owner with the car, which was found in suburban Atlanta. The Morrow Police Department confirmed to the AP that the car had been recovered.



The hauler the car was in was reported stolen from the parking lot of a Drury Inn on Friday morning. According to police, the hauler was taken from the parking lot at 5:34 a.m. and was reported stolen at 5:52 a.m.


The team was forced to withdraw from Sunday's Sprint Cup race because it was the only car it had prepared for the weekend.


Surveillance video from the hotel showed a silver Jeep enter the hotel parking lot. A man then walked across the lot and seconds later, the hauler drove off in the opposite direction. The car was in the hauler because the team sent its transporter to the track to be parked for Thursday's test session at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the car wasn't ready for the race when the transporter left.


Team Xtreme qualified for the Daytona 500 and finished 32nd despite a crash in front row qualifying. The team has said it plans to attempt next week's race in Las Vegas.


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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : Jose Bautista would trade personal stats for a trip to the postseason

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DUNEDIN, Fla. – Thanks to the Kansas City Royals’ miracle playoff drive to the World Series last season, baseball’s longest active playoff drought now belongs to the Toronto Blue Jays. It has been 22 years since Joe Carter hit his World Series-winning walkoff homer off Mitch Williams and the Blue Jays have not been to the postseason since.


It’s actually the longest playoff drought in professional sports, and team brass, fans, and players want to see it end. None more than All-Star slugger Jose Bautista.


Bautista is the longest-serving current Blue Jay, about to enter his eighth season with the club. In that time he’s been a part of four winning seasons but the team has never finished higher than third in the tough America League East. He has also become a perennial MVP-candidate during his time in Toronto, having gone to five consecutive All-Star Games and twice leading the majors in home runs. But during his first appearance at Blue Jays spring training on Friday Bautista said he would give it all up for a taste of the postseason.





The Blue Jays fancy themselves contenders in the AL East this season, but will in fact need Bautista to have a great year to end the drought, especially with their outfield recently being depleted. Bautista is also in the last year of his five-year deal with the Blue Jays, though there is a team option for 2016. But Bautista, 34, wants to win now and shake the title of best active hitter never to make the playoffs. He has been vocal in the past about Blue Jays brass not doing enough to get them over the hump.


[Baseball is back! Check out Yahoo For Spring Training for great spring training pics.]


The Blue Jays made a big move this offseason when they acquired third baseman Josh Donaldson from the Oakland Athletics. Bautista approves, and sees it as a move that could help the Jays take the next step.





With Donaldson on board and a healthy Edwin Encarnacion, the Blue Jays have a potent 3-4-5 in the batting order. If it all works out, Bautista may be able to do less of the heavy lifting and get his wish for a postseason berth.


More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:





Ian Denomme is an editor and writer for Yahoo Sports. Email him at denomme@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter.






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Palace outplay West Ham

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Glenn Murray scored twice and was sent off as resurgent Crystal Palace registered a 3-1 Premier League win against a toothless West Ham United.


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London - Glenn Murray scored twice and was sent off as resurgent Crystal Palace registered a 3-1 Premier League win against a toothless West Ham United at the Boleyn ground on Saturday to heap further misery on the stuttering east London side.


Murray's header gave Palace a fortuitous lead in the 41st minute before Scott Dann doubled their advantage in the 51st minute with a powerful header.


Murray, in the thick of the action all afternoon, added his second in the 63rd minute but was dismissed six minutes later for a second yellow card before Enner Valencia scored a 76th minute consolation goal for the hosts.


Eighth-placed West Ham have won just two of their last 12 league games since climbing to fourth in mid-December while Crystal Palace, up to 12th, have won four of their seven games since Alan Pardew joined the club last month. – Reuters






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IFAB rejects fourth substitution

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Football's rule-making body, the International Football Association Board, rejected the idea of a fourth substitution in extra time.


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Belfast - Football's rule-making body, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), rejected the idea of a fourth substitution in extra time on Saturday but is considering dropping the one-match ban for so-called “triple punishments”.


The body, which consists of the four British associations and four from world governing body FIFA, also wants more time to discuss video trials being carried out in the Netherlands by the Dutch FA (KNVB).


The fourth substitute proposal did not get approval but will be referred back for further analysis because there were concerns it would lead to demands for an even greater number of substitutions during matches.


However, IFAB agreed that the triple punishment was too strong a sanction, and agreed in principle that the one-match ban could be dropped, pending further investigation.


The sanction of the controversial triple punishment rule is when a player is sent off, concedes a penalty and is then banned for one match for stopping a clear scoring chance to the opposition in the penalty area.


The Dutch FA wanted to extend their experiment, which involves a video assistant, watching a TV monitor and liaising with the referee via a headset to help him make the right decision on crucial plays.


They hope to use the system in their FA Cup competition but the idea was referred back for further discussion.


IFAB, formed in 1886, pre-dates FIFA's founding by 18 years, and is the game's ultimate law-making body with proposed changes needing a 75 percent majority to make it into the statute book. – Reuters






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United lacking prolific striker

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Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says his expensively assembled squad has not challenged for the Premier League title this season because they do not have a prolific striker.


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London - Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says his expensively assembled squad has not challenged for the Premier League title this season because they do not have a prolific striker like their rivals.


Despite spending more than 150 million pounds ($231.48 million) in the close season, including a six-million pound season-long loan deal for Colombia striker Radamel Falcao, United have looked uncharacteristically subdued when going forward during the campaign.


Van Gaal has come under scrutiny for implementing a number of different formations and playing forward Wayne Rooney in central midfield as United have struggled to keep pace in the title race, with his team in fourth.


The Dutchman claims the club are 13 points adrift of leaders Chelsea and eight behind local rivals Manchester City in second because his strike force have failed to match the scoring exploits of Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero, who have 17 league goals each for their respective teams.


Netherlands captain Robin van Persie is United's top scorer with 10 league goals, while Rooney and Falcao have struck eight and four respectively.


“We cannot deny that at this moment we don't have a striker who scores 20 goals in the season,” Van Gaal told reporters ahead of Sunderland's visit to Old Trafford in the league on Saturday.


“Robin van Persie cannot deny it, Falcao cannot deny it and Rooney - but he is not playing there so much any more.”


United will have to make do without injured Van Persie for Saturday's match.


Van Gaal sold England striker Danny Welbeck to Arsenal and loaned Mexico's Javier Hernandez to Real Madrid as part of a summer overhaul after taking over at Old Trafford, putting his faith in 19-year-old James Wilson as the fourth striker.


However, the Dutchman said a lack of goals from the current quartet did not mean he would look for more attacking reinforcements at the end of the season.


“This doesn't tell anything about next year,” Van Gaal said on Friday.


“They can be having an unlucky year and I have to take account with these aspects and I have to decide, with my staff, if it is these aspects or other aspects.” – Reuters






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Nigeria coach laments ‘slave contract’

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Coach Stephen Keshi has said a new deal offered him by Nigeria amounted to a “slave contract”.


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Coach Stephen Keshi has said a new deal offered him by Nigeria amounted to a “slave contract”.


A debate has raged whether 52-year-old Keshi should be given a new contract after he failed to qualify the Super Eagles for the recent Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.


His initial contract of three years ran out after last year's World Cup in Brazil, where Nigeria reached the last 16 knockout stages.


After a long wait, Keshi, who triumphed with Nigeria at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, said he had received his new contract from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), but had been far from impressed with what was on offer.


“From the clauses I have seen so far, I don't know what words to use but the contract can be described as a 'slave contract'“, he said, probably in reference to clauses which make him answerable to several persons and committees.


It was learnt that Keshi has now been offered a two-year contract effective from March 1, 2015 with him to meet several targets or else the deal was off.


He is also required to sign a code of conduct.


Keshi himself revealed that he will be paid five million Naira (less than $25,000), which was what he also received during his initial contract.


This week, the former Togo and Mali coach lost out to Franco-German Gernot Rohr in the race to handle Burkina Faso.


In March, Nigeria are billed to play two friendly matches against Bolivia and Ghana.– AFP






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Reds will cope without Gerrard - Rodgers

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Brendan Rodgers believes Liverpool’s young players have proven they will be able to handle life without Steven Gerrard.


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Brendan Rodgers believes Liverpool’s young players have proven they will be able to handle life without Steven Gerrard.


Liverpool’s talismanic captain will move to LA Galaxy at the end of this season but Rodgers is adamant Gerrard will continue to put his stamp on big games and hopes the 34-year-old will recover from a hamstring problem to face Manchester City tomorrow.


Gerrard was injured against Tottenham on February 10 and while his recovery has gone smoothly, he has been forced to sit out games against Southampton, Crystal Palace (in the FA Cup) and the Europa League double header with Besiktas. Rodgers, however, has been impressed by the way some key figures have started to emerge in Gerrard’s absence, most notably Emre Can.


‘Steven is still a big influence,’ said Rodgers. ‘But you have to prepare the team going forward. Stevie has made his decision, and if you look around the squad there are a lot of young exciting talents.


‘For us, life will go on but he still has an influence on this team. Stevie is a still a wonderful player but we have got a lot of young talented players that want to step up and take on that mantle for the future.’


Rodgers is sure that the penalty shoot-out loss to Besiktas will not leave a mark on the squad. He said: ‘You can’t afford to dwell on it. This phase of the season is very much psychological as well as physical so I try to prepare the players mentally for this period.’


The manager also expects Daniel Sturridge to feature, even though the England striker left the field gingerly in Turkey. ‘He is getting game time and you could see late in the game against Besiktas, his legs had gone,’ said Rodgers. ‘But this is part of his rehabilitation. He is fine.’


As if going out on penalties was not bad enough, a delay at Istanbul Airport meant Liverpool didn’t get back to John Lennon Airport until 4.20am yesterday.


That was good news for City boss Manuel Pellegrini. ‘Of course it’s an advantage to us,’ admitted the Chilean.


‘When you arrive back on Friday it is not the best way to prepare. But if we think we are going to win the game only because Liverpool arrive late, that is not the reason. We must play very good because they also have a strong squad.’– Daily Mail






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Pressure no issue for Spurs’ Eriksen

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If Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Christian Eriksen gets his hands on the League Cup after the final with Chelsea he can thank his father who coached him.


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London - If Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Christian Eriksen gets his hands on the League Cup after the final with Chelsea on Sunday he can thank his father who coached him and was his harshest critic.


The 23-year-old Danish international will walk out onto the Wembley turf with the hopes of trophy-starved Spurs fans on his shoulders.


The free-kick specialist with the knack of scoring late goals has been to Wembley before but did not play having been injured when his country faced England in a friendly last March.


This time he will have a key role for Spurs as they try to lift silverware for the first time since their 2008 League Cup triumph over Chelsea.


Tottenham have struggled against Chelsea in the league in recent years but thumped them 5-3 at White Hart Lane on New Year's Day which has given them belief they can repeat the feat.


“We showed that we can play against them and beat them, having played a few games before that where we tried but couldn't succeed, and I think it gives us a lot of confidence that we are able to do it again,” said Eriksen.


The softly-spoken classic number 10, who wears 23, is the most important player to come out of Denmark since Michael and Brian Laudrup but he is comfortable with the pressure.


“A lot of players who start young always get the comparison from other people who are a bit older or from the Danish newspapers,” he told a pre-League Cup final news conference.


“With the Laudrups that started early, so they began to put a bit of pressure on me. I've been used to it since I started playing. Luckily I'm starting to make my own (reputation).”


Eriksen has been Denmark's footballer of the year for the past two years and was his country's youngest debutant since Michael Laudrup when playing against Austria in March 2010.


The midfielder joined Ajax Amsterdam from Denmark's OB Odense in 2008, scoring 33 goals in 161 games as they won three straight Eredivisie titles through to the 2012/13 season.


Eriksen joined Spurs before the start of last season for 11 million pounds on the recommendation of the club's Belgium central defender Jan Vertonghen who played with him at Ajax.


His influence at Tottenham has grown steadily under manager Mauricio Pochettino and he is now their key outfield player. He has scored 11 goals in 34 games in all competitions this season.


“If you have a plan from your manager you know what to do and what you're capable of and you just want to show it and you get the confidence from the manager to do what you're good at. I think that definitely helps you,” he said.


Eriksen has also had the support of his father Thomas, a former player who coached his son as a youngster and was not afraid to tell him some home truths when things went wrong.


“He was a footballer as well so he knew a lot of things and he knew what he wanted. But of course there were some times when I had a bad game and he would tell me to do better.


“After I spoke to him sometimes I've locked the door to my room but he has the discussion with me and I'm listening and after that it's a new day. That's football.”


Eriksen was speaking at a Tottenham Hotspur Foundation event highlighting the club's Education and Football Development Centre programme. For more see http://ift.tt/1DjbY8x – Reuters






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Liverpool cleared of FFP breach

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Liverpool has been cleared of breaching Uefa's financial fair play rules, European soccer's governing body said.


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London - Premier League Liverpool and Czech club Sparta Prague have been cleared of breaching Uefa's financial fair play rules, European soccer's governing body said.


A Uefa statement said both clubs had been found “to have satisfied the break-even requirement and are no longer under investigation”.


Premier League Hull City, Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Greek outfit Panathinaikos and Poland's Ruch Chorzow, however, have agreed settlements of 200,000 euros ($223,860) for failing to comply with regulations.


Those four clubs will now be subject to ongoing monitoring, Uefa said.


Financial fair play rules, which limit club spending in relation to revenue, were introduced to prevent rich owners from pumping unlimited amounts of cash into teams and distorting the market.


Critics, however, say the new regulations have cut off any opportunity for smaller clubs to challenge the established teams for European dominance. – Reuters






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Ajax ease past Chippa

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Ajax Cape Town made easy work of Chippa United in a 2-0 win at the Cape Town Stadium.


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Johannesburg – Ajax Cape Town made easy work of Chippa United in a 2-0 win at the Cape Town Stadium.


It was a first win in eight league games for the Urban Warriors, while the Chilli Boys have now gone nine matches without a win.


Ajax were 1-0 up after only 11 minutes of action, Zimbabwean Milton Ncube scoring from close range after Chippa keeper Mbongeni Mzimela had spilled Franklin Cale's free kick.


The hosts extended their lead just eight minutes later when Erwin Isaacs got his first goal for the club after his loan move from Bidvest Wits, and a real beauty it was as his crisp first time shot from 25-yards out rifled into the back of the net with Mzimela still rooted to the spot.


While Chippa at times played some nice neat football, they were lacking in application and imagination when it came to the final ball in towards the Ajax box; there was very little in the way of goalmouth action or clear-cut chances for the last 25 minutes of the opening stanza.


The Port Elizabeth side started the second half in a positive vein, and had the first opportunities after the restart, but from 20-yards out, William Twala was twice denied by Ajax keeper Anssi Jaakkola, the second save seeing him at full stretch.


With the Urban Warriors happy to use numbers to defend their lead, the visiting side became increasingly frustrated at their failure to create chances.


There was a decent opportunity for George Akpabio on 75 minutes when he broke into the right hand side of the box, but although his shot carried some venom, it was too close to Jaakkola, who made a good save.


It was the Cape Town side however who ended the match strongly, and they could have added to their tally if Robin Ngalande had shown a bit more composure after sending a lob wide of the target when he had been put clean through on goal in added time. – Sapa






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News sport : Cat Zingano on what to expect from her in UFC 184 title bout: 'Just watch"

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LOS ANGELES -- Champion Ronda Rousey and No. 1 contender Cat Zingano each made weight on Firday at LA Live, making official their bout on Saturday for the UFC women's bantamweight title at Staples Center in the main event of UFC 184.


Rousey, who appeared more gaunt in the face than usual, weighed at the bantamweight limit of 135 pounds. Zingano, who weighed first, was 134 1/2.


She was asked by UFC broadcaster Joe Rogan for a comment about the fight following the weigh-in. She said simply, "Just watch," and then turned and headed to the locker room.


Rousey (10-0, 10 finishes) praised Zingano (9-0, 8 finishes) as her most dangerous opponent, which she said is a good thing. As her hometown crowd cheered her, Rousey said, "I'm going to show you guys the most fantastic win ever."


Holly Holm, a former boxing champion making her UFC debut in the co-main event, weighed in at 135 1/2, the same as her opponent, Raquel Pennington.


Two fighters missed weight. Jake Ellenberger came in a half-pound over the 171-pound limit for his fight with Josh Koscheck. But he dropped his shorts and was immedately re-weighed and hit 171.


Mark Munoz came in at 187 1/4, a pound-and-a-quarter over the limit for his middleweight bout with Roan Carneiro. He has two hours to make the weight, and still hasn't gotten back on the scale.









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News sport : The 10-man rotation, starring what it's been like to be Larry Sanders

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A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.


C: ESPN.com. A fascinating read from Kevin Arnovitz on what's been going on with Larry Sanders — what precipitated his December departure from the Milwaukee Bucks, how his substance abuse suspension short-circuited a grand statement the young big man aimed to make, how he pushed for a buyout against his representatives' advice, what led him to his first-person explanation, and so much more.


PF: The Sporting News. Sean Deveney sees National Basketball Player's Association executive director Michele Roberts' recent jabs at the way some media members conduct themselves in NBA locker rooms as another piece of evidence that she's looking to succeed in one major area that Billy Hunter failed: "She is seeking the utmost loyalty of the players she has been assigned to represent."


SF: Posting and Toasting. In which Joe Flynn argues that Miami Heat forward Henry Walker, formerly known as New York Knicks forward Bill Walker, is just the latest instance of Pat Riley haunting the Knickerbockers, and that Riles has another few former-Knick signee-reboots up his sleeve.


SG: Sports Illustrated. On a more serious tip, here's David Vertsberger's chat with Walker about falling out of the NBA, traveling around the world and finding himself back in the bigs, taking game-defining shots in South Beach.


PG: Quirks and Quiddities. Dimitri Thalakada considers Goran Dragic's departure from the desert through the lens of another circumstance in which the Phoenix Suns moved on from an All-NBA-caliber point guard: "Suns fans feeling stung by the loss of Dragić would be wise to remember [...] that sometimes you have to give up on a good team before you can create a great one."


6th: Regressing. In which Kyle Wagner argues that the rising tide of discussion about analytics that considers the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Astros to represent the vanguard of analytically focused teams is doing a disservice to, well, everything: "[...] talk about teams' 'commitment to analytics' disingenuous by definition if the examination of that commitment ends at How much are they trying? without touching upon how much they're succeeding."


7th: ESPN.com. Michael Wallace on Luol Deng, who "can forgive because he never forgets," and how he became the man he is.


8th: VICE Sports. Matt Osgood on the itinerant and decidedly un-big-league life of a D-Leaguer, which carries with it a certain patent unfairness: "They are better at their jobs than we are at our own. Yet they occupy some ledge of perpetual almost-ness."


9th: RealGM. Brett Koremenos goes deep on the nature of play-calling in the NBA, and we get smarter as a result. Coaching!


10th: San Antonio Express-News. The San Antonio Spurs don't look very much like the San Antonio Spurs right now, and a big reason why is that Tony Parker doesn't look very much like Tony Parker. You know who knows that, and knows it needs to change? Tony Parker.


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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!



Stay connected with Ball Don't Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, "Like" BDL on Facebook and follow BDL's Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.






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News sport : Watch: Video from hotel where hauler containing Travis Kvapil's car was

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The video from the hotel where Travis Kvapil's No. 44 car was located isn't too revealing.


TMZ obtained the security footage from the Drury Inn where the hauler containing Kvapil's car for Sunday's race at Atlanta was reported stolen.


The video shows a silver Jeep, identified in previous reports as belonging to the person(s) suspected of taking the truck. The Jeep is shown going into the parking lot and then backing up. A man then walks across the screen from the right to the left.


However, it's inconclusive if the man shown in the video gets in the truck or not. He disappears and then headlights appear as the truck and hauler drive off to the left.


The alleged theft took place shortly after 5:30 a.m. From USA Today:



According to the police report, surveillance footage captured part of the theft. At 5:25 a.m., a newer model silver or grey Jeep Cherokee was observed driving into the Drury Inn parking lot. It was seen returning at 5:32 a.m.; two minutes later, the trailer and the car inside were seen leaving the property.




Team Xtreme crew chief Peter Sospenzo called police at 5:52 a.m. to report the trailer missing.



The No. 44 team withdrew from Sunday's race and team owner John Cohen has said the team plans to be at Las Vegas.


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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!







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News sport : Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving out vs. Pacers after MRI reveals left shoulder strain

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Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving has been ruled out of Friday's meeting with the Indiana Pacers after a magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed a left shoulder strain.


[Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]


It's not clear precisely when Irving suffered the injury, but he did begin favoring his shoulder after this drive with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter of Thursday night's nationally televised matchup with the Golden State Warriors:





Irving seemed to move more gingerly and look less active immediately after that possession, during which he sparred with defenders Shaun Livingston and Draymond Green before losing the ball out of bounds. He stayed in the game for another couple of minutes before exiting for reserve Matthew Dellavedova at the 1:07 mark of the third.


After a trip back to the locker room to get checked out, Irving returned to the bench and, later, to the game with 8:32 remaining in the fourth quarter to help the Cavs close out their impressive 110-99 win over the West-leading Dubs. Irving finished with 24 points on 6-for-17 shooting and a 10-for-10 mark at the foul line to go with three rebounds, two steals and an assist in 38 minutes of work.


"It's a little sore right now," Irving said after the game, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. "Obviously it's uncomfortable. We'll see how it feels tomorrow and go from there."


After the MRI came up less-than-rosy, Irving didn't travel with the Cavs to Indiana on Friday. He will be re-evaluated before Sunday's game against the Houston Rockets, according to the team. He's considered day-to-day, as are we all.


Frank Vogel's Pacers, then, catch a little bit of a break — another one for them, as Jared Wade noted at 8 Points, 9 Seconds — in the absence of Irving. The No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA draft has averaged 19.4 points and five assists against Indiana in nine career meetings and had a pair of strong outings — 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in November, 29 points, five assists and four rebounds just three weeks ago — against the Pacers earlier this season. Then again, they still have to face a very scary version of LeBron James with their own shorthanded crew. Not exactly a light evening's work, with or without Uncle Drew.


More NBA coverage:





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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!



Stay connected with Ball Don't Lie on Twitter @YahooBDL, "Like" BDL on Facebook and follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr for year-round NBA talk, jokes and more.






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