Sports Morning Headlines - Thursday, 12/15/11

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Created on Thursday, 15 December 2011 07:07

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 May 2013 07:51

Written by MVPTexas Morning Sports Report

Manu: ‘Who is this Tim Tebow?’ - Manu Ginobili, the Spurs All-Star guard from Argentina, loves his fútbol (soccer), but he is no fan of American football.  Forgive him, then, for asking, “Who is this Tim Tebow?”  Ginobili and Tebow, the Denver Broncos quarterback who has become a phenomenon for his fourth-quarter heroics, were linked Tuesday when Nuggets coach George Karl was asked which NBA player had traits similar to those that have allowed Tebow to achieve beyond his skills.  “With the will to win, Manu Ginobili is the type of guy. He has this exuberance of, ‘We’re going to win the (darn) game with effort, passion and commitment,’?” Karl told reporters at his team’s media day interview session. “He’s the first guy that came to mind.”  When the comparison was pointed out on Twitter, Ginobili posted this on his account: “Is this a good thing?”  “I don’t follow the NFL,” Ginobili said after practice on Wednesday. “But I know a lot of the guys are talking about Tebow.”  After Ginobili was told of Tebow’s uncanny ability to rally the Broncos when it seemed all hope was lost, Ginobili seemed satisfied with the comparison.  “I saw the quote from George,” he said. “It was a very nice thing for him to say.”   READ MORE

Spurs hope stability equals edge post lockout - Wednesday was media day at the Spurs’ practice facility, and Tim Duncan knew the drill.  For the 15th consecutive year, Duncan donned his white No. 21 jersey and smiled awkwardly while the cameras click, click, clicked away.  For Tony Parker, it was Spurs media day No. 11. For Manu Ginobili, it was No. 10.  In a post-lockout NBA world, with players still shuffling from team to team well into training camp, the Spurs hope to use their core players’ familiarity with each other to their advantage once the 66-game regular season begins.   READ MORE

Between the shoulder blades - where the Rockets like it. - You can say this pre-season has brought a keen sense of frustration, anxiety, and betrayal but you can't say it hasn't been memorable.  Looking at this pre-season through the lens of the past few years it is almost as if Daryl Morey and the Rockets front office had been composing a symphony. Beginning at the jangled, broken wreckage of the careers of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady the Rockets executed trades that passed by the consciousness of NBA fans with little notice.  But all those trades had been building a theme out of odd phrases, off notes and cast offs - that the Rockets burgeon with good, if not great, veteran players, and young players with untapped potential. There was a foundation of reliable, and not aged, veterans. There was a brace of talented young players written off too soon. Added to that were a few enigmas with equal potential to be waived, or yet become genuine stars. Where could it all lead?   READ MORE

If there's no NBA season, Rockets may consider overhauling roster - Players can dunk their way through All-Star games. Lawyers can file lawsuits and bill clients. David Stern, commissioner of a league with no games, and Billy Hunter, leader of a union downgraded to a trade association, can spew sound bites and blame one another.  The NBA is in its "nuclear winter" of discontent. Coaches and general managers and all those who answer to them can fill their time trashing their plans for the season that might never come to begin the painfully slow process of preparing for the next season.  For the Rockets, the potential demolition of the 2011-12 season could change everything.   READ MORE

Mavericks' Delonte West can help fill void left by Barea, Stevenson - Delonte West worked at a furniture store during the NBA lockout. The job he has now will be much more challenging.  Signed to a one-year, $1.1 million contract by the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, West was called in to be the backup to Jason Kidd at point guard, and also to showcase his skills at shooting guard.  In a sense, he's taking the roles held last season by J.J. Barea and DeShawn Stevenson.  "Pound for pound he's one of the toughest guards in this league,'' guard Jason Terry said of the 6-foot-3, 185-pound West. "He'll fill the void that DeShawn and J.J. left, because he can penetrate like J.J. and he can shoot like DeShawn.  "And he can defend like DeShawn. So it was a great pickup."   READ MORE

NBA won't let Cuban spend $200,000 on each ring - Some Dallas Mavericks players wanted owner Mark Cuban to spend as much as $200,000 on each of their NBA championship rings.  But commissioner David Stern stepped in and said, not so fast.   READ MORE

 

 

 

 

Rangers talking extension with Derek Holland - The Rangers are moving toward a big expenditure on a front-line pitcher.  He is not Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish.  According to major league officials, the Rangers have approached left-hander Derek Holland about a contract extension that could buy out his arbitration-eligible years and delay free agency. Holland, 25, will be eligible for arbitration after next season and for free agency after the 2016 season.  Holland was 16-5 with a 3.95 ERA this past season. He tied left-hander C.J. Wilson for the club lead in wins. Wilson jumped to the Los Angeles Angels as a free agent.   READ MORE

Ian Kinsler: ' I want to be a Ranger' - Second baseman Ian Kinsler, one of the core players whom Daniels wants to keep, acknowledged very preliminary discussions with the Rangers on a contract extension. Kinsler is receptive to the idea.  "I want to be here, and I think they know I want to be here," said Kinsler, who participated in the club's holiday visit to Children's Medical Center of Dallas. "The thing I want them to know and the fans to know is I want to be a Ranger. I'm going to try to do whatever I can to stay a Ranger."   READ MORE

Astros obtain Lowrie and Weiland - The Boston Red Sox have acquired closer Mark Melancon from the Houston Astros for infielder Jed Lowrie and right-hander Kyle Weiland.  The deal on Wednesday brings the Red Sox a potential replacement for closer Jonathan Papelbon, who signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies. Melancon is a 26-year-old righty who had 20 saves last season with an 8-4 record and 2.78 ERA in 71 relief outings.   READ MORE

Astros Trade Away Melancon for Lowrie, Weiland - The Houston Astros traded reliever Mark Melancon to the Boston Red Sox for infielder Jed Lowrie and pitcher Kyle Weiland.  "I've scouted all three of these players from college and I've seen them throughout their professional careers," said Jeff Luhnow, Astros general manager, in an interview with FOX 26 Sports.   READ MORE

 

 

Texans' Phillips on medical leave for 7-10 days - The worst-case scenario is the same as always.  "The worst case is I'd die," Wade Phillips said.  But he was joking. He was speaking in general. And isn't death the worst-case scenario for all of us, every day?  Phillips, the Houston Texans' 64-year-old defensive coordinator, was not overly concerned Wednesday with the medical procedure which will keep him away from football for the next seven to 10 days and, frankly, neither were the Texans. The defense is installed, the players know what they're doing, and if there is one defining platitude for this team, this season, it is this:  "It's the next man up," Phillips said.   READ MORE

Yates confident as Texans head to Carolina - The Panthers know if they want to get back on the winning track Sunday against the Houston Texans they'll need to do something nobody has managed to accomplish -- beat T.J. Yates.  Yates has rewritten the history books this month, becoming the first former North Carolina Tar Heel to start a game at quarterback in the NFL and the first rookie in 43 years to lead his team to come-from-behind wins the fourth quarter or overtime of his first two starts.  Yates, who led the Texans to wins against Atlanta and Cincinnati and the franchise's first playoff berth, will be hard to stop in the mind of Panthers coach Ron Rivera, whose team gave up four touchdown passes last week to Matt Ryan.   READ MORE

Can Felix Jones shoulder Cowboys' load? - Felix Jones played the part of Santa Claus on Tuesday, taking underprivileged children from southern Dallas on a shopping spree at Walmart.  Now, if only he can deliver the Cowboys another 100-yard game.  DeMarco Murray had three 100-yard games in his 13-game rookie season. Jones has only four 100-yard games in his four NFL seasons, though one came last week against the New York Giants after he replaced Murray.   READ MORE

Dallas Cowboys Football Forecast For The Tampa Bay Game - It's time for Dallas Cowboys fans to put the gastric-distress-causing New York Giants game behind them and start looking to the upcoming trip to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. To help make the transition, here is my weekly Football Forecast where I try to figure out what the issues are going to be for the Cowboys going into this match.  Oddly enough, despite the loss and a couple of areas where there are obvious concerns, there are also some parts of the team that actually have me feeling a little better. Part of that is undoubtedly influenced by the fact that the Bucs may be the most inept team Dallas has faced this year. I have already gone through the video of the game for my review of the last Tampa Bay game, and it was just sad. Dallas matches up well across the board. If they don't win this game (and a bizarre upset is never impossible in the NFL), I don't see how they can possibly win the last two.   READ MORE

Stars-Islanders preview: Stars face cold goalie in Al Montoya - 6 p.m. today TV: FSSW Radio: KTCK-AM (1310) -- Key matchup: M. Moulson vs. R. Bachman.  Matt Moulson tallied four goals against Andrew Raycroft when the Islanders beat the Stars in Dallas Dec. 5. Richard Bachman has a 2-0-0 record with a 0.43 GAA and .986 save percentage since getting his first NHL start.  Key stat: 3.25.  The Islanders rank 27th in goals-against average at 3.25 per game. Former Texas Tornado goalie Al Montoya has been great for most of the season (and got a win in Dallas on Dec. 5), but has allowed 10 goals in his past two games.   READ MORE

Scouting the enemy - NY Islanders - Lots of decisions for Isles - The New York Islanders are at a crucial point in their season. In addition to coming off two straight losses in which they allowed a combined 11 goals, they also have some tough choices to make.  First of all, goalie Al Montoya has allowed 10 goals in the last two games and might be hitting his first real slump of the season. Montoya came on in relief of an injured Rick DiPietro and beat the Stars, 5-4, on Dec. 5. But, veteran goalie Evgeni Nabokov is apparently recovered from a groin injury. So do the Islanders play Montoya or Nabokov against the Stars on Thursday at Nassau War Memorial Coliseum?  What's more, defenseman Steven Staios is out with a possible concussion, so that means Aaron Ness or Calvin deHaan will be called up from the minors and will get his NHL debut. Which comes in could be a huge decisions, as Staios has been one of the Islanders' best defensemen.   READ MORE












---Staff and Wire Reports contributed to this story