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Former Seminoles football star and former university 24 7 air max 2011 Board of Trustees member Derrick Brooks said on national radio that the Big 12 Conference reached out to FSU, not the other way around.
Brooks was speaking on the Tim Brando show when he made the comments.
• STORY: Big Tren backing playoff using bowl games
"From my understanding, it is the Big 12, you know, wanting to talk to us," Brooks said. "Again, that's from my understanding. That appears to be the case."
Brooks, whose term on the Board of Trustees expired last summer, also said "this is no new discussion for Florida State in terms of leaving the ACC, whether it be the SEC talk, Big 12, whatever conference. It's nothing new."
"The Big 12 is coming after us," Brooks added. "There's no doubt we're going to listen. If anyone comes in and talks, there's no harm in listening to what the pitch is. There's been no commitment at all."
FSU and Big 12 officials have both denied any contact has taken place.
Randy Spetman, FSU's director of athletics, said Wednesday from the ACC meetings in Armelia Island he was unaware of Brooks' comments. And surprised.
"I don't know what Derrick said," Spetman said. "I don't know where Derrick got that."
During the radio interview, Brooks also responded to criticism about the mixed messages coming from FSU's leadership team - namely Andy Haggard, the chairman of the Board of Trustees, and university president Eric Barron.
Haggard said last weekend he was in favor of FSU exploring other conference affiliations; Barron issued a statement late Saturday night saying Florida State was committed to the ACC.
"Chairman Haggard can have a different opinion than President Barron," Brooks said. "That's not to say that either one represents the right one for the university because it still has to be voted on by all of the trustees.
"There is going to be a difference of opinion. This isn't the first time the president and the chairman have different perspectives on an issue. To say they are not on the same page, I would slightly disagree. They could be on the same page but have a difference of opinion."
Swofford: FSU, ACC have bright future together
Though he said it didn't interfere with his conference's spring meetings, which concluded here Wednesday morning, ACC Commissioner John Swofford confirmed Wednesday that he has spoken with Florida State officials about the scuttlebutt regarding the Seminoles considering a move to the Big 12.
Swofford said he spoke informally with the FSU delegation that attended the meetings - that group included athletic director Randy Spetman and senior associate athletic director Monk Bonasorte, as well as coaches Jimbo Fisher, Leonard Hamilton and Sue Semrau - and he also has chatted with FSU president Eric Barron.
"I've had a conversation or two with Dr. Barron, which was very positive," Swofford said.
Swofford said Barron affirmed men air max 2011Florida State's commitment to the ACC in much the same way that he did in a statement to the media over the weekend. That statement followed comments from FSU Board of Trustees chairman Andy Haggard and Fisher, both of whom suggested that the Seminoles would listen to overtures from other conferences.
When asked if there was a real concern that the Seminoles might bolt the ACC, Swofford simply shrugged.
"I don't deal in hypotheticals," he said. "I deal with what's tangible. ... You read a lot, you hear a lot that is inaccurate and unfounded information."
Swofford, who was making his first public comments about the situation, said he "anticipates" that FSU and the ACC will have a bright future together.
"Florida State has been, for 20 years, an excellent member of the ACC," Swofford said. "And we're looking now at a league that is currently 12, soon to be 14 (universities), in nine contiguous states that covers the entire Eastern seaboard, that has just extraordinary potential. We've got 14 valuable members, and Florida State is certainly one of them.
"As an A.D. in this league (at North Carolina), I was on the site visit in 1991 on behalf of the conference when Florida State joined the league. I think that it has been, and I would anticipate that it will continue to be, a very beneficial relationship to both parties. Which is what it should be.
"Florida State's program has emerged across the board during that period of time. That's been good for Florida State, and it's been good for the Atlantic Coast Conference."
Recommendations for BCS playoffs
One of the main topics during this week's ACC meetings was the proposed BCS football playoffs, which would call for two semifinals and a national championship game, and Swofford said the league schools did reach consensus on where the games should be played.
"Where we generally came out is a strong preference to use the bowl games as those sites for those games - at least the semifinals, if not all three games," Swofford said. "But I think certainly there could be an acceptance of the semifinals in the bowls and the championship game being a standalone."
Swofford said the ACC also would recommend that conference champions receive preference over other highly ranked schools. Whether that means all four teams 24 7 air max 2011be conference champions, or have three conference champions and one wild card.
Swofford added that the conference would not take a hard-line approach on any of its recommendations.
Basketball tournaments
The top order of business in basketball was how to set up conference tournaments once Syracuse and Pittsburgh joined the ACC, either next year or in 2014.
Swofford said the league members agreed to include all 14 teams in the men's and women's tournaments, and have those games played between Wednesday and Sunday. He added that the tournaments will be played in Greensboro, N.C., for each of the next three years.
Like the Oklahoma nike free mens run City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs hadn't played in at least week.
Like the Thunder, the Spurs won in a landslide in Game 1 of their second-round series.
The almost ageless Tim Duncan, 36, had a game-high 26 points and 10 rebounds, rookie Kawhi Leonardcontributed 16 points, six rebounds and three steals and sixth man Manu Ginobili had his best game of the postseason with 22 points in a 108-92 blowout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
Duncan has 133 career postseason double-doubles.
The Spurs won the season series with the Clippers 2-1, and if the semifinal openers are any indication of what is to come for the favorites they'll coast to meet in the Western Conference finals.
The last time the Spurs made it that far was 2007-08 when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, the year after the Spurs' last NBA championship. They've won four in the Duncan era.
The dominance shouldn't be a surprise. The No. 1 seed Spurs and No. 2 have been head and shoulders above the West field all season. They closed out their first-round series with sweeps of the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks and had extended layoffs.
The Thunder hadn't played since May 5 before Monday's 119-90 thumping of the Lakers in Game 1. The Spurs hadn't played since May 7.
While the Spurs led by as many as 19 points against the Clippers and had that trimmed to eight in the fourth quarter, their slashing and shooting was too much to contain.
San Anrtonio shot 39-for-80 from the field and 13-for-25 from three-point range.
In their opening win vs. Los Angeles, Oklahoma City was 44-for-83 shooting for 53%, including 7-for-17 from three-point range for 41.2%
While the Clippers have shooters who can stretch the floor and compete, their two best players aren't 100%.
Point guard Chris Paul has an injured right groin and hip flexor and Blake Griffin has a sore left knee and hasn't play much in the fourth quarter in his last two outings.
Griffin has trouble getting rise when he jumps which severely limits his effectiveness against the defensive savvy of Duncan.
The Lakers simply have trouble with the overall team speed of the Thunder, who can get to the rim at will especially if Russell Westbrook is defended by Ramon Sessions.
The only caveat for the nike free mens run Thunder is the health of center Kendrick Perkins, who injured his right hip in Game 4 vs. the Mavericks.
Despite the long layoff, Perkins played 17 minutes before re-injuring it in the opener vs. the Lakers.
At this rate, it might not matter. Spurs point guard Tony Parker, their best player all season, only had seven points.
This series is already cheap air max shoes$65-78interesting. The Lakers trailed Oklahoma City by 15 at the half, but the Clippers are holding strong.
"We don't want to get in a track meet with them," Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro told TNT at the first-quarter break.
Through two quarters, though, the Clippers are knee-deep in the San Antonio relays. The pace is fast...is that good?
Things were going well until a 9-0 Spurs' spurt put the home team up, 50-42, at the 3:53 mark. This would have been a predictable moment for the Clippers to plead fatigue and fold. But Eric Bledsoe responded with a three and Griffin added a floater to cut the lead to three.
The Clippers got sloppy late though and allowed the lead to creep back to 57-49.
Mo Williams got banged in the head by the foot of teammate Reggie Evans at the 10:38 mark, but stayed in the game.
Del Negro said before the game he was going to manage minutes. Griffin played 10 minutes in the first quarter and returned at the 5:29 mark.
Del Negro and Spurs' Coach Gregg Popovich are not happy with the way their teams are playing defense. The Clippers are shooting 47.7% to the Spurs' 48.9.
Chris Paul has six points, six assists and two steals. The Clippers' bench of Bledsoe, Nick Young and Kenyon Martin has already scored 21. Tim Duncan leads the Spurs with 12.
Clippers 29, Spurs 29 (end of first quarter)
Pregame note to self: Don't bury the first-quarter lead. Get the score out and then update America on the Clippers' dynamic injured duo of Chris rPaul and Blake Griffin.
They look fine.
Make that more than fine.
Griffin, nursing a sprained left knee, looked downright spry. The guy who said he was only 80% scored his first basket on a jarring, break-away slam dunk.
Maybe Griffin's 80% is everyone's 30%. A healthy Tim Duncan, who would kill to have Griffin's 73%, watched helplessly with his feet planted on the ground.
Just to prove it was no joke, Griffin dunked again to put the Clippers up, 14-13.
Griffin also swatted a shot by the Spurs' Kawhi Leonard halfway back to San Diego State, where he played his college ball.
Whew. Griffin got banged cheap air max shoes$65-78 late on his RIGHT knee but is reported to be OK.
The start set up just like Lakers-Oklahoma City series, with the team from L.A. coming off a tough seven-game going against a well-rested team, at home, coming off a first-round rout.
While the Los Angeles Lakers were struggling nike free run shoes $50to save their season against the Denver Nuggets, the Oklahoma City Thunder were relaxing and enjoying the view. The Thunder took the court for the first time in nine days Monday night, and were they ready.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for 52 points
The Lakers had no rest, but the Thunder showed no rust.
Things were a lot more competitive Monday in the Eastern Conference.
The Philadelphia 76ers made six consecutive foul shots in the last 12 seconds to hold off the Boston Celtics 82-81 and tie their East semifinal series 1-1.
Notoriously bad in close games during the regular season, the Sixers are finding the tight ones are more to their liking in the playoffs.
Seventeen of the Sixers' 31 losses in the regular season were by seven or fewer points, but they are 4-1 in such games in the postseason after Monday's narrow win.
"All season long we couldn't win these games, and now our guys are believing they can do it," said Sixers coach Doug Collins.
Winners:
James Harden -- In his first game against Metta World Peace since the Lakers forward smashed him with an elbow, the sixth man of the year scored 17, leading the Oklahoma City bench to 50 points. Lakers subs scored 26.
Jrue Holiday -- On a night when fellow guards Evan Turner and Lou Williams missed 17 of 24 field-goal tries, Holiday came through with 18 points, including a huge 3-pointer to put the Sixers up 74-72. It was one of four three-pointers for him on the night.
Vinny Del Negro -- The Los Angeles Clippers coach, whose team will open a West semifinal series tonight at San Antonio, is having a good laugh at his critics, many of whom thought a few weeks ago he was on his way out. Del Negro told Yahoo! Sports after Sunday's series-clinching win against Memphis that he's tuning out the naysayers and just trying to get better at his job.
"Listen, I understand the business: I hadn't coached before, and my first job was in Chicago, where I had absolutely no [management] support," he said. "Then I came to this situation, where the history spoke for itself. But I knew it was important to keep working at the craft."
He also says he never lost the Clippers locker room, as some thought.
"You don't just lose a team. That's a copout. It was, 'Oh, they're losing. Let's pick on this guy,' '' he said.
"And then, guess what we did? We won."
Losers:
The Lakers -- World Peace is back, but this <a href="http://www.nikefreemensrun.com">nike free run shoes</a>$50team is only 4-4 in the playoffs after barely getting by Denver. They need some rest but won't get much, and they also need a much better effort against a young team that's primed to make its mark.
Devin Ebanks -- Lakers rookie sub was ejected with 2:18 leftand pulled off his jersey as he angrily stomped to the locker room. It was that kind of night.
Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett -- Pierce scored only nike free run shoes $50seven points and missed seven of nine field-goal tries for the Celtics, and teammate Garnett committed a damaging offensive foul while trying to set a screen with 10 seconds left, costing Boston a critical possession.
WASHINGTON – Brian cheap air max shoes McNamee gave graphic testimony Monday afternoon about injecting Roger Clemens with anabolic steroids for the first time in 1998.
McNamee, then a strength trainer for the Toronto Blue Jays, admitted he wasn't sure about what he was doing when he broke the top off of a glass ampoule filled with the steroid Winstrol and shot it into Clemens' right buttock.
"I knew what I was doing was illegal," said McNamee of the first injection which took place in Clemens' hotel room at the SkyDome in Toronto. "I wish to God I could take it back. It was a mistake. I was young."
McNamee said the first injection came days after Clemens had brought him a bottle of pills and a zip lock bag full of ampoules of steroids. "I told them they were no good – that they were toxic," McNamee said. "He said, 'Get rid of them.'
McNamee said he didn't asked Clemens where he had obtained the steroids.
"Don't ask, don't tell," McNamee said. "I didn't want to know."
But days later, McNamee said Clemens approached him again.
"He asked me if I was free that night," said McNamee, who was living in a portion of Clemens' suite at the SkyDome Hotel. "I knew what he was asking.
"When I got there, Roger had the needle, gauze, the alcohol all set up in his bathroom (laid out) on a towel. ... (The steroids) looked like skim milk. It was liquid, not a powder but a powdery white. … I irrigated the buttocks. I injected him. It looked like it was a clean strike. … I continued to inject him. (The next time) was very soon after because of the regimen (required) by that drug.""
McNamee said that although most injections took place in Toronto, he recalled another injection in particular.
"It was in the Tampa Bay Rays clubhouse on a getaway day," McNamee said. "Everyone was scrambling around to pack their bags. Roger set it up in like a utility closet … I shut the door. I kept one foot on the door so no one could open it while I was injecting Roger."
McNamee testified that his first conversation with Clemens concerning steroids came in during spring training in 1998. He said Clemens told him that when he was at the University of Texas he didn't want to take a shot in the thigh. "He asked me if I could help him out with a booty shot," McNamee said.
McNamee, who later worked with Clemens when he was with the New York Yankees and became his personal strength trainer classified his initial relationship with the seven-time Cy Young Award winner this way: "Me and Roger, it was all business," he said. "Then it turned into a friendship. … Roger cheap air max shoes had a high intensity that matched mine (when it came to) training. My job was to help these (players) and Roger was one of the best."
Clemens is on trial at U.S. District Court for lying to Congress in 2008 about his use of performance enhancing drugs.
Manchester City's nike free run shoes$50 players are champions of England -- yes, that is a phrase we're all going to have to get accustomed to -- because they believed in themselves like those at Manchester United used to.
Like the great teams that Alex Ferguson has produced in his quarter-century at United, City's players refused to accept that hope was lost, that they couldn't make the seemingly impossible possible.
Not only did they take a page out of Ferguson's never-say-die play-book to win the Premier League title on Sunday, they rubbed salt in the wound by trumping one of the Scot's greatest triumphs, too.
"Football, bloody hell," Ferguson famously exclaimed after United conjured two goals out of nowhere in injury time to crush Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final.
It was a moment that, for the people of Manchester, especially in those households that support the Reds, seemed like it could never be topped -- one of football's most spellbinding dramas.
Well, this was even more astounding. Two goals in two minutes that marked the beginning of a new era in Manchester, making this more significant than 1999, too.
As shell-shocked City manager Roberto Mancini said in a phrase that, like Ferguson's 1999 quote, now deserves to be on a T-shirt: "The football is incredible."
The more than $1 billion that the Abu Dhabi owners of City have spent to finance this revolution -- more of a hostile takeover, really -- in the best and most engrossing league in world football was vital, of course.
Putting a stop, perhaps a full stop, to Ferguson's winning ways at United couldn't have been accomplished, at least not by City, any other way.
But, in the 2 minutes and 6 seconds that really counted Sunday, it was the courage and the belief of City's players and not the size of their paychecks that made the difference. Sure, the money helped to lure the likes of midfielder Yaya Toure and striker Sergio Aguero from sunny Barcelona and Madrid and it will help to keep them and others in the less hospitable north of nike free run shoes$50 England. And, yes, perhaps that does make them mercenaries -- like so many others in football these days.
But they confounded the critics who opined that such an overpaid bunch of stars was unlikely to jell into an effective team and that they'd trip over their egos before winning a title.
"It's not us just coming here for money and all these stories that we've heard," said City captain Vincent Kompany. "We've dreamed of this all our lives, when we was kids and we had nothing, no money, nothing."
Although that last part has to be taken with a pinch of salt -- it's hard to believe that Kompany longed to play for what was then poor and sorry City when he was growing up in Belgium -- you get his point. Kompany, especially, played this season and again Sunday as though the blood in his veins has always run pure City blue. And he is not the only one. Continued...
MIAMI - The Miami Heat have lost forward Chris cheap air max shoes$65-78Bosh for the second half of their opening Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers with an abdominal strain.
Bosh, who had 13 points and was keeping the Heat close in a game the Pacers were controlling, was injured when he was fouled by Indiana center Roy Hibbert with 1:06 left in the second quarter.
Bosh converted the dunk, then fell to the floor after Hibbert fouled him. Bosh got up gingerly, favoring what looked like his left leg, and made his free throw.
Twenty-three seconds later, after Heat forward LeBron James grabbed a rebound on Hibbert's missed shot, Bosh went to the ground again.
The Heat called a timeout so they could sub out Bosh, who went straight to the locker room with 43.6 seconds left in the half.
It's a very tough loss for the Heat, who were already at a disadvantage against the Pacers in the low post.
Ronny Turiaf started the second half in Bosh's place.
The Heat trailed 48-42 at halftime, even though Indiana's Danny Granger and Paul George had not scored.
The Heat were unable to take cheap air max 2012 shoes$65-78 advantage of Indiana's foul trouble in the first half. Granger, forward David Westand guard-forward George each had two fouls in the second quarter, but Indiana's bench was outstanding.
Miami shot 40% in the first half and went 0-for-4 on three-pointers.
Bosh had hit on 6-of-11 from the floor shooting. The rest of the Heat were 9-of-30 (30%). Bosh also had five rebounds.
DARLINGTON, S.C. - NASCAR is reviewing a postrace scuffle between the crews of Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch that left a Sprint Cup official splayed across the hood of Busch's Chevrolet.
The official had interceded in the shoving match and was trying nike free run shoes$50
to restrain Andy Reuger, the gas man for Newman's No. 39 Chevrolet of Stewart-Haas Racing. Video showed that Reuger lunged toward a Phoenix Racing crewmember, and the official fell backward.
NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pembertonsaid the sanctioning body was looking at film of the incident and had talked to Ryan Newman, Reuger andTony Gibson, Newman's crew chief.
"We're getting all the facts straight," Pemberton said. "Nobody said anything other than (the official) fell back on the hood. We didn't see anything aggressive toward one of our officials. ... There was a lot of people trying to occupy the same space."
Asked if punishment was forthcoming, Pemberton said NASCAR likely wouldn't know for a few days. Penalties usually are announced the Tuesday or Wednesday following a race.
The fracas began after Busch ran into Newman on pit road after the race. Busch was unavailable for comment after the race, but Newman told NASCAR what Busch told him was his side of the story.
"Ryan (said) Kurt said he didn't mean to hit him and was taking his helmet off, looked up and run in the back of him," Pemberton said.
In an interview with SI.com, Newman indicated he wasn't buying that explanation. Newman and his team also were upset with Busch because they said he had peeled through their pit at an unsafe speed on his last pit stop after crashing late in the race.
"It's easy to say that Kurt blew a fuse again," Newman told SI.com. "I'm not sure why he did it and tried to run over our guys and NASCAR officials. And nobody is. I think the chemical imbalance speaks for itself. Kurt drilled me in pit lane and said that he was taking his helmet off, and he didn't see where he was going. I'm pretty sure there were 42 other guys that are taking their helmets off and doing whatever for the last 10 years, and that's the first time that's happened to me.
"Circumstances I think are that he lied and was so frustrated that he doesn't know how to deal with his anger."
Tony Gibson, the crew chief for Newman, said several of his crewmembers had to jump aside to avoid being hit when Busch left the pits.
"Our guys were scared, hot and mad," Gibson said. "NASCAR sat and talked with them. They're going to handle everything. We have to keep our cool, stay focused and go on."
Gibson said the team had no qualms with James Finch's Phoenix Racing, which is a customer of Hendrick Motorsports chassis and engines just like Stewart-Haas is.
"Got nothing against Finch's bunch; we're friends with those guys," Gibson said. "We've worked with them. Can't do nothing about a driver.
"It's dangerous enough doing normal pit stops. When you come ripping through someone's pit box like that, (Busch) could have took out five or six guys, plus the officials, pretty easy. I don't know how someone didn't get run over. It's a miracle no one got hit."
Nick Harrison, the crew chief for Busch, said he could tell Newman's crewmembers were angry after "Kurt burned out of our pit stall" and was expecting postrace retribution.
"We were really just trying to finish the race," Harrison said. "The gas man come in wanting to fight Kurt, raising hell. I'm just trying to call the race and not worry about everyone's drama on pit road. After the race, the boys wanted to come down and raise Cain with Kurt, and that's what they did."
Harrison said Busch had said he was "plenty clear" of the crewmembers while leaving the pits.
"That's between them and Kurt," Harrison said. "As far as on-track racing, I don't know there's any hard feelings with (Newman's team) and us. We were trying to finish our day the best we could with our bad luck. They come down there with a bunch of drama.
"I think that's just great for our sport. If they're mad and want to fight, so be it. We're here racing with Kurt Busch. We're going to defend Kurt Busch, and that's our job. You go racing in any part nike free run shoes$50
of America, and you don't back your driver up, you don't deserve to be there with that driver."
Harrison said no punches were thrown in the altercation.
"Just one of those deals when people get bunched up, someone fell down," he said. "A lot of mouthing. Just frustration getting took out. It's Cup racing at its best. If people didn't get mad and didn't care, they wouldn't come here."
