TIGER PGA KING WOODS IS BACK (CONGRATS)

TIGER PGA KING WOODS IS BACK (CONGRATS):

TIGER OVERCOMES SCANDAL, DISGRACE & ILLNESS TO TASTE VICTORY AGAIN.

ALL OF HIS JEALOUS HATERS CAN KICK ROCKS.

I’M PROUD OF YOU TIGER.


Post Sources: ABC News, ESPN, PGA, Youtube


***** How Tiger Woods overcame pain, scandal and age to triumph again


He was bigger than an NFL Sunday, which seems perfectly apropos. In his prime, Tiger Woods was bigger than everything and everyone. Why not win a head-to-head with America's modern pastime in his return to the winner's circle as an aging, balding man?

Whether you were in Lincoln Financial Field to watch the return of Carson Wentz, or in any other stadium where outsized athletes in helmets and pads took turns pancaking each other, you had to keep one eye on the nearest TV, the other on your phone. Why? Woods was doing far more in Atlanta than finishing off his 80th PGA Tour victory, that's why.

He was becoming Eldrick Tont Woods again, Tiger to you and me and the rest of creation. He was becoming the best of the best one more time, protecting a 54-hole lead of at least 3 shots for the 24th time in 24 tries. He was returning as Mozart and Michelangelo in a red shirt and spikes, all the way back from the golfing dead.

The scene on the 72nd hole was stunning, as a huge parade of fans at East Lake marched up the fairway behind Woods, nearly inspiring him to cry. The crowd around the green chanted "U-S-A ... U-S-A" for a golfer who never thought he had a prayer of being part of this year's Ryder Cup team. Then Woods hit his bunker shot onto the green that sealed the deal. He tapped in his second putt, raised his arms to the sky, and hugged Rory McIlroy and then his own caddie, Joe LaCava, as the fans started chanting his name.

We never thought we would see the artist return to the peak of his powers, and for good reason: Tiger never thought he would see the artist return to the peak of his powers, either. But in July he held the lead at The Open with eight holes to play, and in August he quieted his old, achy bones in ice baths at the PGA Championship and beat all the younger, fresher stars who grew up idolizing him -- well, all except Brooks Koepka.

And now in September, NFL season, the 42-year-old Woods wasn't going to let Rory McIlroy or Justin Rose or anyone else deny him his Tour Championship triumph. All those back surgeries and an everyday life of searing pain had made the vision of Tiger holding another trophy seem almost unfathomable.

"Oh God," Woods had said at the PGA Championship, "I didn't even know if I was going to play golf again."

He played golf in Atlanta like he played it in his dynastic prime. The better news? Woods nailed down No. 80 as a different human being, as a kinder and gentler update on the programmed assassin he used to be. Tiger has mellowed some with age, offering the head nods and eye contact he rarely bothered with during his scorched-earth prime. Back in the day, the legend Tiger has spent his life chasing Jack Nicklaus, altering his act, too, after growing tired of playing the villain while his neighborly rival, Palmer, basked in the gallery's love.

Woods? He didn't change because the fans had fallen hard for someone else. He changed because parenthood always changes young dads and moms, and because his staggering physical and personal breakdowns inspired him to reassess his tee-to-green purpose. Many of Tiger's wounds were self inflicted, and a fan is entitled to feel about the man the way he or she sees fit. But no matter how you judge his character, Woods is indisputably one of the finest athletes this country has ever produced. And what he has pulled off in the early stages of recovery from what he called "some really dark, dark times" ranks among the greatest sports comebacks ever.

Do you remember the last time Tiger won any tournament? Do you? It was only five years ago, yet it feels like 15. Woods dominated the field at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone, claiming his eighth title at Firestone and his fifth victory of 2013 before almost immediately wondering aloud how often he'd won at least five times on tour in a single season.

Tiger Woods shoots a 71 in the final round of the Tour Championship to win by two strokes for his first win in five years.

"Eight or nine?" he asked.

Ten, he was told.

"That's even better," he said. "That's something I'm very proud of, is how many tournaments I've been able to win consistently, year in and year out."

Tiger's sheer volume of victories made people forget just how hard it is to win just once on the PGA Tour. Golf might be the world's most maddening game -- just ask any recreational player dumbfounded by his or her standard two-way miss -- and yet Woods regularly reduced it to a springtime walk in the park. He conquered a game thought to be unconquerable, and flattened dozens of opponents he wasn't allowed by the sport's bylaws to blitz, tackle or defend in any way.

For the very first time, a golfer was arguably the world's most recognizable athlete. He bargained for himself an entirely new and unwanted level of global fame and infamy over Thanksgiving 2009, of course, when he drove his Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree in the dead of night and ended up in the street unconscious and bleeding, his then-wife Elin standing over him with a golf club in hand. Woods' serial infidelity was about to be exposed, and so were his vulnerabilities as a man and an athlete.

Woods ultimately lost his marriage. After checking into a treatment center for sexual addiction, he returned to the sport a far less intimidating force. He would win eight more times on tour over the 2012 and 2013 seasons, but he couldn't recapture the major championship aura he lost at the PGA in 2009, when he finally stumbled on a Sunday (he had been 14-0 in majors when holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead) and fell to a self-taught South Korean journeyman named Y.E. Yang.

Asked in 2015 why his vanquished foe had lost the eye of the Tiger in the majors, Yang told ESPN.com, "I, amongst many other players, believe that it has to do with his personal issues and that it is none of our business. Tiger is not a machine and is a person like all of us. I think once he gets his focus back, he will be fine."

As it turned out, Tiger's body was more fragile than his focus. One back injury after another left him bedridden at times, and at others unable to perform the basic physical functions of your average middle-aged dad. "I couldn't even go out for dinner," Woods said. "I couldn't sit. I couldn't get from Point A to B in the house."

Woods couldn't chip because of the pain he felt running down his leg when he bent over, causing his hands to shake. The cortisone shots and the epidurals didn't give him relief. He couldn't play pickup golf with his friends, and he couldn't even play backyard ball with his kids.

"Coming back and playing golf was never in my thoughts," Woods would tell ESPN in March. "It was just, 'How do I get away from this pain? How can I live life again?' That was driving my life. I felt like I couldn't participate in my own life."

Woods said the pain and sleeplessness caused him to over-medicate himself and led to his late-night DUI arrest near his Jupiter, Florida, home on Memorial Day in 2017, when he was found asleep at the wheel of his damaged car with the engine running. The mortifying roadside video of Woods' interaction with police suggested the golfer was literally and figuratively lost, and maybe for keeps. The toxicology report would show that Tiger had Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien and THC -- the active ingredient in marijuana -- in his system at the time the cops arrested him. Woods would seek professional help, he said, to "manage my medications and the ways that I deal with back pain and a sleep disorder."

Woods could have killed himself, or someone else, after he started his car that night. He seemed almost irretrievably broken, and a million miles removed from the epic champion he used to be.

But the in-patient treatment that followed his arrest -- along with his Hail Mary of a fourth back surgery, the spinal fusion surgery -- ultimately changed his entire life. He arrived at the Masters in April calling himself a "walking miracle." His smile was back, and so was his astonishing swing speed.

Woods decided he wanted to win for daughter Sam and son Charlie; he had joked of his children seeing him almost exclusively as a "YouTube golfer." Sam and Charlie were forever asking him, "Daddy, when are you going to win the tournament?" and for good reason. Sam hadn't seen her old man win a major since she attended the U.S. Open in 2008, when Tiger beat Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole playoff on one leg. Charlie had seen his old man win only once, as a 4-year-old, when he attended the WGC-Bridgestone in 2013.

And then 1,876 days later, Sam and Charlie's dad finally ended the biblical drought. By clinching victory No. 80, two shy of Sam Snead's record, Woods made Atlanta in September feel like Augusta in April.

The world has changed so much since Tiger won on tour for the first time, at age 20, in the fall of 1996, but its fascination with the golfer who is equal parts artist and assassin has remained very much intact. The game has never seen a force quite like him, and chances are it never will again.

Maybe this is the last time Tiger Woods will hold the winner's trophy high, maybe not. Either way, the man in red outplayed the NFL on Sunday and, of greater consequence, delivered a vintage Tiger triumph as a new and improved man.

MUHAMMAD "THE GREATEST" ALI IS DEAD AT AGE 74 ("Ali Bomaye")

MUHAMMAD "THE GREATEST" ALI IS DEAD AT AGE 74 (Ali Bomaye):

HOWARD COSELL HELPED TO MAKE ALI WORLD FAMOUS.

HE LOST & WON BACK HIS TITLE THREE TIMES.

ALI WAS THE MOST INTELLIGENT BOXER IN HISTORY.

HE WAS PROUD TO BE A BLACK MAN.

Sources: CNN, NBC News, Youtube

****** Muhammad Ali, 'The Greatest,' dies at 74

Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer who proclaimed himself "The Greatest" and was among the most famous and beloved athletes on the planet, died Friday in Arizona, a family spokesman said.

Ali had been at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center in Scottsdale since Thursday with what spokesman Bob Gunnell had described as a respiratory issue.

"After a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74.

The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening," Gunnell said in a statement. "The Ali family would like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and support and asks for privacy at this time."

Ali's daughter Hana Ali said her father was a "humble mountain."

"And now he has gone home to God. God bless you daddy. YOU ARE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!" she tweeted.

"When he came into the hospital, we thought, 'OK, it will be a brief stay'... I think it took a turn for the worse," he told CNN's Dan Simon Saturday. "But it was unexpected."

Ramsey said he didn't actually see Ali in the hospital Friday. The people who were with Ali when he died were "the kids, family only, and I respected that... it's a very private matter."

Ramsey said Ali's wife, Lonnie, called him Friday morning saying Ali's health was deteriorating.

"She said 'You might want to come out,' which I decided to do," he said.

Tributes from around the world

While touching tributes to Ali were pouring in from world leaders, fellow athletes and just regular folk, the boxing great had already addressed how he wanted the world to think about him after his death.

In his book "The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey," Ali said he wanted to be remembered as "a man who won the heavyweight title three times, who was humorous, and who treated everyone right. As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him, and who helped as many people as he could. As a man who stood up for his beliefs no matter what.

As a man who tried to unite all humankind through faith and love."

He added, " And if all that's too much, then I guess I'd settle for being remembered only as a great boxer who became a leader and a champion of his people, And I wouldn't even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was."

President Barack Obama said he and first lady Michelle Obama mourn Ali's passing.

"But we're also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him, if just for a while; for how fortunate we all are that The Greatest chose to grace our time," the Obamas said in a statement Saturday.

The President said he has a pair of Ali's gloves on display in his private study off of the Oval Office, just underneath a photograph of the legend.

Obama said Ali "fought for us."

"He stood with King and Mandela; stood up when it was hard; spoke out when others wouldn't. His fight outside the ring would cost him his title and his public standing. It would earn him enemies on the left and the right, make him reviled, and nearly send him to jail. But Ali stood his ground.

And his victory helped us get used to the America we recognize today," the President said in a statement issued by the White House.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, at a ceremony honoring Ali Saturday, said the boxer "lived a life so big and bold, it's hard to believe that any one man could do everything he did, could be all the things that he became in the course of just one lifetime."

He added, "Muhammad Ali belongs to the world, but he only has one hometown. The 'Louisville Lip' spoke to everyone, but we heard him in a way no one else could -- as our brother, our uncle, and our inspiration."

Don King, the boxing promoter who was every bit as brash as Ali, told CNN that in his mind Ali will never die.

"His spirit will go on forever," he said. "He's just a great human being, a champion of the people, the greatest of all time."

Even as the former champ battled Parkinson's, he had the same love for life and people, King said. Parkinson's disease, which primarily affects a patient's movement, is a "progressive disorder of the nervous system," according to the Mayo Clinic.

The Ali sense of humor was displayed in an old photo tweeted by Oscar De La Hoya, who won titles in six weight classes.

"RIP @muhammadali, a legend who transcended sport and was a true champion for all. ‪#‎thegreatest‬ ‪#‎MuhammadAli‬," De La Hoya wrote above an image of Ali whose mischievous eyes proudly watched as his right hand made rabbit ears behind the "Golden Boy's" head.

Hours before her famed father passed away, Laila Ali posted a throwback photo of him with her daughter, Sydney, who was born in 2011.

"I love this photo of my father and my daughter Sydney when she was a baby! Thanks for all the love and well wishes. I feel your love and appreciate it!!" Laila Ali, herself a former world champion boxer, wrote.

George Foreman, who Ali defeated in 1974 for the world heavyweight title, wrote on Twitter, "It's been said it was rope a dope Ali beat me with. (N)o (it was) his beauty that beat me. Most beauty I've know(n). loved him."

Famed promoter Bob Arum wrote on Twitter: "A true great has left us. @MuhammadAli transformed this country and impacted the world with his spirit."

Mike Tyson, the youngest heavyweight champion in history, said, "God came for his champion. So long great one. @MuhammadAli #TheGreatest‪#‎RIP‬."

In recent years, Ali had largely stayed out of the public spotlight.

In his last known appearance, he appeared at a Parkinson's fundraiser April 9 in Phoenix, according to the Arizona Republic. A photo posted by the newspaper showed Ali wearing dark sunglasses.

On the website of the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the actor -- who also has Parkinson's -- said: "Muhammad was a true legend -- a champion in the boxing ring, and a champion for millions of Parkinson's families. We looked up to him as an example of grace and courage in the face of great challenges."

Ali was known not only for his athletic prowess but also for his social activism.

He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, as Cassius Clay in January 1942. He began boxing as an amateur when he was 12 years old and in 1964 became heavyweight champion with a knockout of Sonny Liston. That year he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name.

Ali's sparkling career was interrupted for 3½ years in the 1960s when he refused induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was convicted of draft evasion. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction.

Ali was prepared to go to prison, King said.

"He stood his ground on who he was," King said. "He'd rather go to jail than break what he believed in."

During his boxing hiatus, Ali spoke out about racism in America.
NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called Ali a friend and a mentor.

"At a time when blacks who spoke up about injustice were labeled uppity and often arrested under one pretext or another, Muhammad willingly sacrificed the best years of his career to stand tall and fight for what he believed was right," Abdul-Jabbar wrote on Facebook.

Ali went on to win the heavyweight title twice more before retiring for good in 1981.

Ali also was hospitalized in January 2015 with a urinary tract infection.

He was hospitalized in December 2014 with pneumonia.

Funeral services will be held in Louisville, Gunnell said.

Serena Williams Captures Her 5th Wimbledon Title! You Go Girl! There Are NO 2nd Place Winners!

Serena Williams wins her 5th Wimbledon title

Serena Williams won her fifth Wimbledon title, and 14th major championship, by beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 Saturday.

The 30-year-old American had little trouble at the start on Centre Court, using her hard serve and powerful groundstrokes to win the first five games and run Radwanska all over the grass.

Radwanska, who was playing in her first Grand Slam final, has been ill with a respiratory problem, making it difficult for her to speak. In the second set and already down a break, the third-seeded Pole was coughing and blowing her nose during a changeover.

But she broke Williams in the next game to even the score at 4-4, and then broke again to win the second set.

Williams responded in the third set, breaking twice and serving out to win another major title.

After hitting a backhand winner on match point, she fell onto her back to the grass. She then rose with a grin as big sister Venus - another five-time Wimbledon champion - smiled and applauded, along with the rest of the crowd.

After shaking hands with Radwanska, Williams climbed into the box where her family was seated. She hugged her father, Venus, their mother and others.


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Sources: AP, CBS News, CNN, ESPN, Youtube, Google Maps

Tiger Woods Rebounds! AT&T National! 74th PGA Tour Win!

Tiger triumphs again at AT&T

Tiger Woods has a very long memory. On Sunday evening after earning his 74th career PGA Tour victory in a 2-shot win over Bo Van Pelt in the AT&T National, the 14-time major champion reminded us of what many people had predicted about him at the beginning of the year.

"I remember there was a time when people were saying I could never win again," Woods said. "Here we are.

"A lot of media people didn't think I could win again, and I had to deal with those questions for a quite a bit. It was just a matter of time."

Yet many of his doubters were also average golf fans. Since I joined ESPN.com in August, I have received an avalanche of mail from readers who have grown impatient with Tiger. Nearly every day for the past three years, people from all walks of life have drilled me with questions about Tiger's future.

Many of the fans or commenters generally fall into three camps. The first group abhors any mention of Tiger unless he's winning the tournament. On Saturday night, when Brendon De Jonge held a 1-shot lead over Tiger and Van Pelt, a reader pelted me for barely mentioning the 31-year-old Zimbabwe native in my column.

The second camp, the practical kind of people who recognize that Tiger is one of the most exciting athletes to watch in the world, appreciates the 36-year-old former Stanford star as one of the most extraordinary transformative figures of our times. Fans of Tiger, like the average Joe who wouldn't watch golf otherwise, could be lumped into this group.

Then there are the Tiger haters. For these people, he can't do anything right. They often remind us of every bad choice that he's made in his life. They don't like him because of the color of his skin or his choice of women or any number of his imperfections.

Over the past several months, I've pondered often about Tiger's abilities to get back to the golfer he was in 2000 and 2001. I have never been a Tiger hater or a major doubter of his ability or will to win, but I have considered that he might never again be a dominant player.

To paraphrase a line from Matthew McConaughey's character in "Dazed and Confused," Tiger has seemed to be getting older while all the kids have stayed the same age. Rory McIlroy and a host of young bucks are emerging every year with an aim to unseat Tiger from his throne.

At times recently, Tiger has looked brilliant. His winning performances earlier this year at Bay Hill and the Memorial, after a nearly three-year winless drought, showed a glimpse of his former genius. But then there were his failures at the Masters and the U.S. Open. Still, it was foolish of any of us to think he would never win again. And it's not because of what he had done in the past but really because of how hard he's continued to work on his game through injuries and a very public divorce.

"Give me a little bit of time, and I feel like this is what I can do," Tiger said Sunday night. "When you're changing systems and have a totally different release pattern, it's going to take some time, and there are times when, yeah, I revert back, but that's happening less and less, and my ball striking is getting better and better."

Tiger has earned our patience with him. He's not promising to win the next two majors or even this coming week in West Virginia at the Greenbrier Classic, where he will be playing for the first time.

All he did this week at Congressional was pass Jack Nicklaus on the all-time wins list and take over the top spot on the money list for the first time in three years. He's brimming with confidence after winning three of his past seven tournaments.

It sounds good to say, Tiger is back. And for the next several news cycles until he has another disappointment at a major or regular tour event, we'll be talking about his slow ascendance back to No. 1 in the world. But Tiger has warned us time and time again that this is all a progression, and that perhaps our expectations of him are sometimes unrealistic despite his otherworldly success.

Does it matter that he's still No. 4 in the world despite being the only three-time winner this year other than Brandon Grace, who has achieved the feat on the European Tour? Not really. In Nicklaus' prime, there wasn't an Official World Golf Ranking.

Whether we like Tiger or not, he's in the business of hard work and winning.

"I try hard," Tiger said. "I try everything I possibly can and give everything I possibly can, and sometimes I don't quite hit the ball well or not putt well and do everything right. ... Welcome to golf."

So wherever you fall on the Tiger spectrum from the lovers to the haters, try to do what those 25,000 fans did on Sunday afternoon at Congressional and just take in the moment for what it is.

Tiger's game will never be perfect. But we can always be sure that he's trying his best. The world of golf had better take notice.


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Sources: ESPN, Reuters, Google Maps

Miami Heat Gets A Call Congratulatory Call From Obama

President Obama congratulates Heat

President Barack Obama has called Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra to congratulate the team on its NBA championship.

Obama made the call from Air Force One while traveling in Florida for campaign events. The White House says the president complimented Spoelstra on the performance of the players and coaches and said the team seemed to get stronger as the playoffs wore on.

The Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night to win the best-of-seven series.

Obama says he looks forward to celebrating with the Heat during the traditional visit by championship-winning teams to the White House.


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Sources: ABC Sports, ESPN, LA Times, Google Maps

Lebron "King" James Finally Did It! "Its About Da__n Time!"

"Its about Da__m Time" "Its about Da__m Time!"
June 21, 2012; Lebron James after winning the 2012 NBA Championship.
Congrats! God Bless the Heat!


LeBron James wins Finals MVP

LeBron "King" James is the MVP of the NBA Finals.

LeBron James has finally won his first NBA championship. Is it just the start of many for the regular season and Finals MVP?

James finished with 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in Game 5 of the title series Thursday night, leading the Miami Heat to a 121-106 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Miami won the second title in franchise history, and James won for the first time in three finals appearances.

James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007, then he and the Heat fell in six games to the Dallas Mavericks last season.

Asked Thursday what the title meant, James said, "It means everything."


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Sources: ESPN, Google Maps

LeBron James Or Kobe Bryant? Michael Jordan Says Kobe (Video)

Sources: Bitten & Bound, Huffington Post, Youtube

James, Bosh & Wade: Miami's "Dream Team"! Ready To Win!

Miami Heat Fans Welcome LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh


Dressed in a white Heat uniform for the first time, LeBron James took a look at his new home crowd, folded his arms across his chest and nodded.

"It feels right," James said. "To be in this position, to wear the Heat uniform, everything is nice. We're going to make the world know that the Heat is back."

Naturally, James promised championships. Multiple championships.

"That's the only reason I'm here, man," James said.

With 13,000 fans chanting "Yes We Did!" amid an atmosphere more suited to a rock concert than a basketball game, the Miami Heat welcomed the NBA's newest trio of superstars at AmericanAirlines Arena Friday night for a celebration unlike just about any other in team history.

James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all arrived accompanied by plumes of smoke, lifted into the air on a forklift for their grand arrival.

Keys to the city were set to be awarded to each star, and Gov. Charlie Crist was in the stands.

But not all of Florida was impressed.

Orlando Magic GM Otis Smith said Friday he was surprised James went to Miami because he thought the two-time MVP was "more of a competitor."

Smith said the "great ones" do it on their own and "usually stay in one location."

It was rare public criticism from the usually coy Smith and perhaps a move to motivate his Magic.

Asked if James' move to Miami will cause a power shift in the NBA, Smith responded, "Is Kobe retiring?"

"He's proven he can do it on his own," Smith said of Lakers star Kobe Bryant, smiling over the comments. "Oops. My bad."

Smith also said the Magic "still hold the crown" as the best in the Southeast Division, having won three straight titles.

Meanwhile, Cleveland continued to fume over losing its former hero. The sports memorabilia business Fathead Inc., a company owned by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, offered LeBron James wall graphics online at price reduced from $99.99 to $17.41. The significance? Benedict Arnold was born in 1741.

"He quit," Gilbert told The Associated Press on Thursday night after roasting James in an open letter online. "Not just in Game 5 (of the Cavs' second-round loss to Boston this year), but in Games 2, 4 and 6. Watch the tape. The Boston series was unlike anything in the history of sports for a superstar. ... People have covered up for him for way too long."

BULLS
A person familiar with the situation says Kyle Korver is following Carlos Boozer from Utah to Chicago after agreeing to sign with the Bulls, reportedly for $15 million over three years.

SPURS
Matt Bonner reached a tentative agreement to return to San Antonio.

WIZARDS
No. 1 draft pick John Wall was held out of practice Friday morning with a groin injury from Thursday night's session, but returned for the night session.



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Sources: ESPN, NY Daily News, Google Maps

Kobe Bryant & Phil Jackson Do It Again In 2010! Lakers Win! 83-79 (Highlights Video)

Bryant, Artest Rally Lakers To 16th Championship



Purple and gold confetti raining down upon him, Kobe Bryant hopped up on the scorer's table, shook his fists and extended five fingers.

When he hopped down, Boston's legendary Hall of Fame center Bill Russell was waiting to shake his hand.

A Game 7 classic -- and this time, it finally went the Lakers' way.

Beating Boston for the first time in a Game 7, the Lakers came up champions again after trailing in the last quarter of the last game of their season.

Kobe Bryant, the finals MVP, scored 23 points despite 6-of-24 shooting and the Lakers won their 16th NBA championship Thursday night, dramatically rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA finals.

Bryant earned his fifth title with the Lakers, who repeated as NBA champions for the first time since winning three straight from 2000-02.

"This one is by far the sweetest, because it's them," Bryant said. "This was the hardest one by far."

"I wanted it so bad, and sometimes when you want it so bad, it slips away from you. My guys picked me up."

Ron Artest added 20 points for the Lakers, who shot terribly while trailing for most of the first 3 1/2 quarters. Yet they reclaimed the lead midway through the fourth quarter and hung on with big shots from Pau Gasol and Artest.

"Well, first all I want to thank everybody in my hood," Artest said in an ABC interview right after the game. "I definitely want to thank my doctors ... my psychiatrist, she really helped me relax a lot."

With their fifth title in 11 seasons, the Lakers moved one championship behind Boston's 17 banners for the overall NBA lead.

Amid the confetti and streamers after the final buzzer, Magic Johnson rushed the court to congratulate Bryant, who now has the same number of titles, and to hug Artest, the only new addition to the Lakers' championship roster from last season. Artest has been a liability for much of the postseason, but the former head case came up with a remarkable game on the Lakers' biggest night, playing sturdy defense along with his scoring.

Paul Pierce had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who just couldn't finish the final quarter of a remarkable playoff run after a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Kevin Garnett added 17 points, but Boston flopped in two chances to clinch the series in Los Angeles after winning Game 5 back home.

After three quarters of mostly terrible offense, the Lakers tied it at 61 on Artest's three-point play with 7:29 left. Bryant's free throws 90 seconds later gave the Lakers their first lead of the second half, and the Lakers went up by five points before Bryant and Sasha Vujacic hit free throws in the final seconds to keep Los Angeles ahead.

The Lakers will relish this title because they took it from the Celtics, their greatest rivals, with fourth-quarter poise and defense. The teams have met in 12 NBA finals, but the Lakers won for just the third time.

Exactly two years to the day after Boston beat the Lakers by 39 points to clinch the 2008 title, Los Angeles got revenge for perhaps the most embarrassing loss of Bryant's career -- even if he did little more than grab 15 rebounds for most of the night.

But forget how it looked, because history will. Bryant even did something Jerry West and Magic Johnson never could: He beat the hated Celtics in Game 7 of the finals.

The Celtics had never lost a seventh game in the finals. Despite nursing a lead through most of the night while holding the Lakers to ridiculously low shooting percentages until the final minutes, Boston couldn't close it out on the coast, becoming just the seventh team to blow a 3-2 finals lead after winning Game 5.

Los Angeles had lost a seventh game to Boston four times previously -- but those teams didn't have Bryant, who's just one title shy of Michael Jordan's six rings after winning his second title without Shaquille O'Neal, his partner in the first three.

With that fourth-quarter escape act, Bryant and fellow five-time champion Derek Fisher even earned the right to celebrate a title at home for the first time since winning their first rings in 2000.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson won his 11th title overall, his fifth in Los Angeles -- and perhaps the last for the winningest playoff coach in NBA history. Weary of the regular-season grind and facing a likely pay cut with the Lakers, Jackson hasn't determined his future, though he previously said another title would make him more likely to chase an unprecedented fourth threepeat next season, when he'll be 65.

With his hands already full, maybe Jackson will follow Russell's lead and put that 11th championship ring on a chain around his neck -- and Bryant isn't likely to settle for just one handful of rings.

The Celtics had much more poise from the opening tip in Game 7, playing vicious defense that forced Los Angeles to miss 21 of its first 27 shots. Bryant and Gasol were a combined 6 for 26 in the first half while the Lakers made just 26.5 percent of their shots, and only Ron Artest's 12 points and relentless effort kept the Celtics' halftime lead to six points.

The Lakers are the first team to rally from a 3-2 deficit to win a finals since Houston did it in 1994, beating the New York Knicks. Boston did it twice to the Lakers, including an infamous 1969 finale in which thousands of celebratory balloons never were released from the Forum rafters in Inglewood.

Staples Center had no such problems, unleashing a downpour of streamers and confetti when the Lakers finally finished it off. Although Los Angeles stumbled to the brink of elimination for the first time in these playoffs last weekend in Boston, Bryant's teams still are spectacular finishers: They've closed out their playoff opponents on the first try 10 times while winning three straight Western Conference titles over the last three years.

Bryant further cemented his place in the NBA's highest circles by leading the Lakers to back-to-back titles, something no other NBA superstar has accomplished since he and O'Neal did it nearly a decade ago. He also picked up a unique bit of Lakers credibility by sending home the Celtics in a Game 7, which West failed to do in three tries and Johnson couldn't manage in 1984.

Game notes:

Home teams improved to 14-3 in Game 7 in the finals.

No road team has won a title in Game 7 since 1978. ... The Lakers are 14-1 in a seventh game at home, losing only the 1969 finale to Boston. ... Garnett nearly flattened Jack Nicholson when he chased a loose ball into the front row in the second quarter, but the Lakers' most famous fans got back up smiling. Other fans near courtside included Jake Gyllenhall, Kirsten Dunst, Ryan Seacrest, Timbaland, director Todd Phillips and George Lopez in purple-and-yellow plaid pants.


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Sources: ESPN, NBA.com, NBC Sports, Google Maps

Tiger's Sex Scandals Foiled 2010 Masters Win, Mickelson Shines

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Its true Phil Mickelson came in first place @ the 2010 Augusta Masters 16-under par.

Mickelson is an awfully good player but he's not a Great Golfer like Tiger Woods.

Tiger tried to focus on his game but ghosts from his past repeatedly taunted him, thus he handed the championship over to Mickelson on a silver platter.

I pray Tiger will seek God for future guidance and that he bounces back in full force next year.


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Sources: NBC Sports, MSNBC, Tiger Woods.com, Google Maps

Mickelson Beats Tiger @2010 Masters! 16-Under Par!

Mickelson Wins 3rd Masters Title


Phil Mickelson kept yanking balls into the trees, and even had an unexpected brush with nature right on the green.

Still, he had what it took to win his third Masters championship on Sunday.

Already a fan favorite and sentimental pick with his wife and mother battling breast cancer, Mickelson rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the signature 12th hole. He then managed a stunning shot off the pine straw and around a tree to set up another birdie at the next hole.

Lefty wrapped it up with yet another birdie at the 18th, then headed to the side of the green to hug wife Amy.

Mickelson finished at 16-under par and three shots ahead of 54-hole leader Lee Westwood and four shots in front of hard-charging Anthony Kim, who finished with a 7-under 65 that sent him to the clubhouse clinging to hope Mickelson would falter.

The other contenders faded away, most notably Tiger Woods, who struggled all day with a shaky swing off the tee and never made a serious push for the lead.

His big highlight was holing out from the seventh fairway for an eagle, and he had another eagle at the 15th, but an inexplicable three-putt bogey from about 6 feet at the 14th doomed his chances. He finished with a final-round 3-under 69 to stand at 11 under.

Woods wasn’t the only one to feel Augusta’s bite. Fifty-year-old Fred Couples dumped a shot in the water at the 12th, leading a double-bogey that stifled his bid to become golf’s oldest major champion. K.J. Choi looked steadier than anyone until two straight bogeys knocked him from a share of the lead. Choi tied Woods at 11 under.


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Sources: NBC Sports, Fox Sports, Google Maps

Coach K's Legacy, He Comments On Duke's 4th NCAA Title (Videos)

Coach K Cements Place Among The Greats


After a coaching career that has spanned more than three decades, and includes multiple national championships and an Olympic gold medal, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski had nothing left to prove in Monday night's national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

But Coach K once again showed what we learned a long time ago: There aren't many coaches better than him, regardless of the sport.

Krzyzewski won his fourth national championship after the Blue Devils defeated Butler 61-59 in one of the more epic finals of all-time.

The first three titles came much easier than this one, as the upstart Bulldogs had two chances to win the game in the final seconds. When Butler star Gordon Hayward's final half-court heave bounced off the rim, Coach K cemented his place among college basketball's greatest coaches.

If there was an expanded Mount Rushmore for college basketball, Krzyzewski's face would be next to those of UCLA's John Wooden, North Carolina's Dean Smith, Kentucky's Adolph Rupp and Indiana's Bob Knight.

"I've been fortunate enough to be in eight national championship games, and this was a classic," Krzyzewski said afterward. "This was the toughest and the best one."

This championship season might have been Krzyzewski's best coaching job. Two years after he led the U.S. Olympics team to a gold medal in Beijing, he guided a Blue Devils team short on depth and frontcourt stardom to a 35-5 record and a share of the ACC regular-season championship. Duke won 18 of its final 19 games and took home the league tournament title.

Then there was the biggest title of them all. After guiding Duke to its first national championship since 2001, Krzyzewski joined a very select few in college basketball history:

* His four national championships tie him for second with Rupp. Only Wooden won more national titles, winning 10 at UCLA from 1964-75.

* His 11 Final Four appearances are tied with Smith for second-most among coaches. Wooden guided UCLA teams to 12 Final Fours.

* He has coached in 19 Final Four games, tied with Smith for second-most, and his 12 Final Four wins are second only to Wooden's 21 victories.

* He holds the NCAA tournament record for winning percentage (.778, 77-22) and is first in tourney history with 77 victories and 99 games coached.

* He is the first coach to win national championships in three consecutive decades (1991, '92, '01 and '10).

* Under his guidance, Duke has played more games ranked as the No. 1 team (190) than it has as an unranked team (144).

* At some point in the next two seasons, Krzyzewski will probably surpass Knight as major college basketball's winningest coach. His 868 career victories are 34 behind Knight, his coach at the United States Military Academy from 1966 to '69.


But after guiding Duke to another national championship, Krzyzewski wasn't ready to reflect on his accomplishments.

"Tonight is not about that," he said. "That's like 10 years from now or whatever. Tonight is all about these guys."

Krzyzewski's team probably wasn't the most talented in the NCAA tournament. No. 1 seeds like Kansas and Kentucky had more NBA-ready players.

But the Blue Devils were the team cutting down the nets at season's end.

"It's hard, you know?" Krzyzewski said. "I've said throughout the year they were good, then they were really good, then they were really good with great character. Before coming to the press conference, I told our team that. It's because we always wanted to keep them chasing something. But I told them before we came here and before we said a prayer, 'You are a great team. You are a great team.'"

As told by a great coach.


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Sources: ESPN, Google Maps

Duke Re-Claims NCAA Title 61-59! Coach K Delivers!

Duke Ends Butler’s Dream, Claims 4th Title


The ball sailed from halfcourt with the buzzer sounding — bounced off the backboard, the rim, the floor.

Most of the 70,000 fans on Butler’s side let out an “Ohhhhhh,” and the Duke players piled onto forward Kyle Singler at center court. What a game! And what a way to end the season, even if America’s favorite underdog came up a little short.

Duke beat Butler 61-59 for the national championship Monday night, a win that wasn’t secure until after the buzzer sounded — when Gordon Hayward’s half-court, 3-point heave for the win barely missed to leave tiny Butler one cruel basket short of the Hollywood ending.

Singler scored 19 points and Brian Zoubek rebounded Hayward’s miss with 3.6 seconds left — the first of two chances Butler had to win it — to end the overachieving underdog’s try for a real-life “Hoosiers” sequel.

“We just came up a bounce short,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said.

That bounce went in favor of the Blue Devils (35-5), who snapped Butler’s 25-game winning streak and brought the long-awaited fourth national title back home to Carolina and the Cameron Crazies.

The “Big Three” — Singler, Jon Scheyer (15 points) and Nolan Smith (13) — won the Big One for coach Mike Krzyzewski, his first championship since 2001 and the fourth overall, tying Coach K with Adolph Rupp for second place on the all-time list.

“First of all, it was a great basketball game. I want to congratulate an amazing Butler team and their fans,” Krzyzewski said. “Fabulous year. We played a great game, they played a great game. It’s hard for me to say it, to imagine that we’re the national champions.”

Nobody figured this would be easy, and it wasn’t — no way that was going to happen against Butler, the 4,200-student private school that turned the tournament upside down and drove 5.6 miles from its historic home, Hinkle Fieldhouse, to the Final Four.

Butler (33-5) shaved a five-point deficit to one and had a chance to win it, when its best player, Hayward, took the ball at the top of the key, spun and worked his way to the baseline, but was forced to put up an off-balance fadeaway from 15 feet.

He missed, Zoubek got the rebound and made the first of two free throws. He missed the second one intentionally, and Duke’s title wasn’t secure until Hayward’s desperation heave bounded out.

“I can’t really put it into words because the last couple of plays were just not normal,” Singler said.

What a game to end one of the most memorable tournaments in history, filled with close games, upsets and underdogs; the kind of tournament that some fear could be history if the NCAA goes ahead with what an expansion to 96 teams — something very much on the table for next year.

“Both teams and all the kids on both teams played their hearts out,” Krzyzewski said. “There was never more than a couple, a few points separating, so a lot of kids made big plays for both teams.”

Nobody led by more than six.

Playing against the Bulldogs and working against a crowd of 70,930 with very few pockets of Duke fans, the Blue Devils persevered — never leading by more than six but never falling behind after Singler hit a 3-pointer with 13:03 left for a 47-43 lead.

The Blue Devils won with defense. They held the Bulldogs to 34 percent shooting and contested every possession as tenaciously as Butler, which allowed 60 points for the first time since February. Zoubek, the 7-foot-1 center, finished with two blocks, 10 rebounds and too many altered shots to count, but also came out to trap the Butler guards and disrupt an offense that was already struggling.

They won with some clutch shooting, including Singler’s 3-for-6 effort from 3-point range and 6 of 6 from the free throw line in the second half until Zoubek’s intentional miss.

They won with a mean streak, most pointed when Lance Thomas took down Hayward hard to prevent an easy layup with 5:07 left. The refs reviewed the play and decided not to call it flagrant — one of a hundred little moments that could have swung such a tight, taut game.

“They weren’t going to go away,” Singler said. “We needed every last minute of that game to get this win. It was a great game.”

In the true team fashion that has defined “The Butler Way,” the Bulldog scoring was distributed almost perfectly even. Hayward and Shelvin Mack had 12 each. Matt Howard, coming off a concussion in the semifinal win over Michigan State, finished with 11, and 2-point-a-game scorer Avery Jukes kept Butler in it with all 10 of his points in the first half.

But Butler’s 33-year-old coach, Stevens, was correct when he said his team couldn’t endure another 15-for-49 shooting night — what Butler shot Saturday in the semifinals. The Bulldogs went 20 for 58 this time — 34.5 percent. All the heart in the world couldn’t overcome that.

“I said yesterday that when you coach these guys, you can be at peace with whatever result you achieve from a won-loss standpoint because of what they gave — they gave everything we had,” Stevens said. “There’s certainly nothing to hang your head about. I told them in there, what they’ve done, what they did together, will last longer than one night, regardless of the outcome.”

A disappointing ending to those who wanted to see the “Hoosiers” sequel play out in real life. In that movie, based on the high school championship won by tiny Milan High in 1954, Jimmy Chitwood hits the game-winner at the buzzer to win one for the little guys.

Thankfully, that movie is still available on DVD.

This one, or some version of it, might be too, someday.

Despite losing, Butler may have proven its point nonetheless.

Mega-money and power conferences aren’t the only ones with a chance in big-time college sports. Nothing proves that better than the NCAA tournament — March Madness, a great event that stayed great into April this year.

Never better for Duke, which won a different way this year.

There were no superstars, just a bunch of solid players who may end up in the NBA — not with lottery-pick money in their pockets, but with a national title forever.

That’s always the goal in Krzyzewski’s program, and the fact that the Blue Devils hadn’t been to the Final Four since 2004 didn’t go unnoticed down on Tobacco Road, especially while North Carolina was winning two championships over that span.

But while last year’s champions, the Tar Heels, rebuild, Duke is this season’s standard-setter.

Everyone thought the perfect ending would be for Butler to win in its hometown, but the Blue Devils also like Indy — it’s the place where they won their first championship, with Christian Laettner at the helm, back in 1991.

It’s also the city where Smith’s late father, Derek Smith, led Louisville to a championship in 1980.

Some pretty nice symmetry there. Some might call that a Hollywood ending, too.

“I can’t explain how happy I am,” Smith said. “Like father, like son. This is so special to me right now.”


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Sources: Duke University, ESPN, McClatchy Newspapers, NBC Sports, Vodpod, Youtube, Google Maps