Dwight Howard Faking Injury????

 

Dwight Howard does not want to set foot on the court again this season for the Orlando Magic if Stan Van Gundy remains the team’s head coach, WKMG-TV reported.

NBA and Magic sources told the station Howard is still upset about Van Gundy telling reporters he went to the team’s front office asking for the 52-year-old coach to be given the boot.

Howard, who is already out indefinitely because of a herniated disk in his lower back, reportedly traveled to Los Angeles for treatment Friday, but when he asked to rejoin his teammates in Cleveland on Sunday, the team reportedly insisted he go back to Orlando.

The All-Star center did make it to Cleveland but watched Orlando’s game from a hotel room instead of joining his teammates and Van Gundy on the bench, insiders say.

“It was strange since Howard wanted to go to Cleveland and offer support but never made it to the game,” one source told WKMG.

Howard’s camp, however, maintains he wants to recover from his injury in time to make it back for the postseason, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The Magic, 36-25 with five games remaining, already clinched a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Van Gundy revealed earlier this month he was informed that Howard had asked management to fire him, sparking speculation he would not be back at the helm next season.

End of an Era at Tennessee

 

Pat Summitt is stepping aside as Tennessee’s women’s basketball coach and taking the title of ”head coach emeritus” with long-time assistant Holly Warlick being promoted to replace the sport’s winningest coach.Tennessee released a statement Wednesday announcing the move.

The 59-year-old Summitt will report to the athletic director and help the women’s program she guided to eight national titles. She says she supports Warlick, her assistant for 27 years and a three-time All-American playing for Summitt, as her replacement and wants to ensure the stability of the program.

The move comes less than a year after her diagnosis with early onset dementia-Alzheimer’s type.

”I’ve loved being the head coach at Tennessee for 38 years, but I recognize that the time has come to move into the future and to step into a new role,” said Summitt.

”I want to help ensure the stability of the program going forward. I would like to emphasize that I fully intend to continue working as head coach emeritus, mentoring and teaching life skills to our players, and I will continue my active role as a spokesperson in the fight against Alzheimer’s through the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund.

Madden Curse Anybody???

 

The race to grace the cover of “Madden 13” has been narrowed down to two of the NFL’s brightest stars in Cam Newton and Calvin Johnson.Weeks of online voting has whittled down the pool of 32 players to a head-to-head between the Panthers quarterback and Lions wide receiver.

Johnson is coming off a stellar season in which the 26-year-old wideout led the league with 1,681 receiving yards. Newton, 22, ranked 10th among NFL quarterbacks last year with 4,051 passing yards, adding another 706 yards rushing.

Voting ends April 25, with the winner appearing on the 24th installment of the EA Sports franchise, which first hit shelves in 1988.

The honor of having your picture on the best-selling game has had its drawbacks through the years, however, with several cover stars having gone on to suffer poor form or injury — something that has become known as the “Madden Curse.”

Johnson, however, is not concerned about the prospect of replacing last year’s Madden pick, former Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis, who subsequently had an injury-plagued 2011.

“No, I don’t worry about it,” Johnson told ESPN.com Tuesday. “All things come to an end.”

 

Seahawks Season Schedule Released….It Goes Down next Season!!!!

 

Week 1: Sunday, September 9th, at Arizona Cardinals, 1:15 PM PT, FOX

Week 2: Sunday, September 16th, vs. Dallas Cowboys, 1:05 PM PT, FOX

Week 3: Monday, September 24th vs. Green Bay Packers, 5:30 PM PT, ESPN

Week 4: Sunday, September 30th, at St. Louis Rams, 10 AM PT, FOX

Week 5: Sunday, October 7th, at Carolina Panthers, 1:05 PM PT, FOX

Week 6: Sunday, October 14th, vs. New England Patriots, 1:05 PM PT, CBS

Week 7: Thursday, October 18th, at San Francisco 49ers, 5:20 PM PT, NFL Network

Week 8: Sunday, October 28th, at Detroit Lions, 10 AM PT, FOX

Week 9: Sunday, November 4th, vs. Minnesota Vikings, 1:05 PM PT, FOX

Week 10: Sunday, November 11th, vs. New York Jets, 1:05 PM PT, CBS

Week 11: Bye

Week 12: Sunday, November 25th, at Miami Dolphins, 10 AM PT, FOX

Week 13: Sunday, December 2nd, at Chicago Bears, 10 AM PT, FOX

Week 14: Sunday, December 9th, vs. Arizona Cardinals, 1:15 PM PT, FOX

Week 15: Sunday, December 16th, at Buffalo Bills, 1:05 PM PT, FOX

Week 16: Sunday, December 23rd, vs. San Francisco 49ers, 1:15 PM PT, FOX

Week 17: Sunday, December 30th, vs. St. Louis Rams, 1:15 PM PT, FOX

 

The (K-5) going Pro!!

 

Kentucky’s starting lineup of three freshmen and two sophomores did most everything together en route to the school’s eighth national title. Now, they will each go their separate ways in the NBA.Freshmen Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague, and sophomores Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb declared for the draft in a nationally televised news conference Tuesday night.

The group came into the season largely untested before ascending to No. 1, winning the Southeastern Conference in dominating fashion and capping an NCAA tournament run with a 67-59 victory over Kansas in the title game.

The five join seniors Darius Miller and Eloy Vargas leaving the program.

The departures mean only freshman Kyle Wiltjer remains from the rotation with a new class of highly touted recruits joining coach John Calipari next season.

Antonio Cromartie ….preparing for a Dozen????

Antonio Cromartie is about to add some depth to his family roster.The wife of the Jets cornerback posted a sonogram photo on Twitter that suggests the pair is expecting twins. That would make it 12 kids for Cromartie, with four from his wife, and eight others with seven different women.

Terricka Cason, who goes under the Twitter handle @iluvTERRICKA, has been receiving congratulations from followers since posting the photo Tuesday. That included one from Jets linebacker Bart Scott’s wife.

“Identical twins run in my Family,” Cason wrote alongside the photo.

“Without the lies i’ll tell u anything u want to kno just ask me.. Ive always been an up front person.. Oh yea we are expecting twins in NOV,” she wrote in another tweet.

Cromartie and Cason recently had a son, Jagger, who joined sister Jurzie. Cromartie has not mentioned the news on his Twitter account, but did wish Jurzie a happy second birthday.

Cromartie has been criticized for his large brood, and that has only grown since he seemed to struggle to remember the names of some of his kids when the Jets were on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” in 2010.

He defended himself after the show’s airing, saying producers had asked him to pause between each name.

The Post reported on Sunday that some of Cromartie’s other baby mamas are interested in doing a reality television show featuring the kids, but Cromartie has balked at the possibility.

Seahawks Intrested in another QB??

 

 

 

 

According to Peter King of SI.com, if Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill falls out of the top ten, the Seattle Seahawks would love to take him, even though they signed Matt Flynn as a free agent.

“At Tannehill’s workout,” one source told King, “[coach] Pete Carroll was giggling like a schoolgirl watching him throw. His attitude was like, ‘What are we even doing here? He’ll never be there for us.’ ”

If the Seahawks ended up landing Tannehill, it would give them two potential franchise quarterbacks and they could let Tannehill sit while Flynn tries to prove himself.