NBA back in action as season finally arrives

NEW YORK — Finally, the conversation changes.

Up for grabs: Clippers forward Blake Griffin jumps for a rebound as Lakers center Andrew Bynum looks on during a preseason game. The NBA's regular season begins Christmas Day. AP

It's time for the NBA to ditch the dollars and nonsense of the lockout for the alleys and oops in Lob City, the new nickname for the suddenly exciting Los Angeles Clippers.

For months, all the talk was about lockouts, salary caps and mediation. Now there are games that count as a new season begins Christmas Day.

For all practical purposes, Clippers fans have been locked out of competitive basketball for the better part of three decades. Now they get entertainment of the highest order — watching Blake Griffin throw down lob passes from Chris Paul.

The 2011-12 season, shortened to 66 games, debuts Sunday when five marquee games will be played from morning deep into the night. This marks a first step for the league as it looks to bury a damaging offseason marred by a five-month labor dispute and several stars trying to force their way out of town.

The day begins with Boston and New York and then goes to an NBA Finals rematch with Miami at Dallas. Next up is Chicago at the Lakers, followed by the small-market special — Orlando at Oklahoma City — before CP3 makes his regular-season debut as a Clipper at Golden State.

"The lockout was hectic for everybody," Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley said. "We were bored! Now we feel like we've got a purpose in life. We can do what we do best."

It's time for Derek Fisher to be seen in Lakers gold, not Brooks Brothers gray.

It's time for postgame news conferences with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, not post-meeting sessions with David Stern and Adam Silver.

It's time for Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks to defend their title on the court, not for Jeffrey Kessler and the players' union to defend their decision to disband in the courts.

"I don't even want to talk about the lockout any more, man!" Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant said. "It was just so frustrating to go through that and everything that went on, us meeting and not meeting and not coming to an agreement and fans getting upset with us. It was tough. But I'm glad we got through it."

It didn't look so good for a while. Once the dispute was finally settled, a whole new drama broke out with Paul and Dwight Howard looking for trades out of New Orleans and Orlando.

Howard eventually softened his stance, but his future is still the focus in Orlando.

"I don't think our situation is going to go away," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "But I think it'll be a lot more focused on the games than there has been (focus) on the lockout."

The Lakers thought they had a deal for Paul, but Stern, acting as the owner of the Hornets, nixed that, and another crisis was born. The Clippers swooped in at the end, seizing some of the spotlight from Kobe and the Lakers for the first time since, well, ever.

"Hey, that's got to be driving Kobe," Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson said. "That should drive (Pau) Gasol and (Andrew) Bynum and those guys and Derek Fisher to say, 'Hey, no way I'm going to let them take over L.A.' "

The Timberwolves are also flying high after finishing their second game against the Bucks with a 12-0 run to finish the preseason 2-0, while in Orlando, James and Quentin Richardson were seen trading shoulder blocks all the way down the floor in Miami's preseason finale.

The Heat are hoping for another run at the title. James, Wade and Chris Bosh had the whole league against them after a presumptuous welcome ceremony on South Beach. But the spotlight hasn't been quite as bright while everyone has been looking toward the Clippers and Magic, where Howard's wishes seem to change by the day.

"It's good to see other guys around the league get that attention," Wade said. "I think they got enough of us last year. It's good to see other teams, other franchises, get that spotlight for a while. Hope they enjoy it."

View the original article here

McIlroy arrives on world stage after surviving rollercoaster 2011 season

LONDON — A year that witnessed the passing of one European golfing legend may have heralded the arrival of another.

The death of Spanish great Seve Ballesteros in May following a three-year battle with a brain tumor hit the golfing fraternity hard, although the outpouring of grief for the popular winner of five majors extended far beyond sport.

It was fitting, then, that the player who did so much to revive a flagging European game in the 1980s, thanks to his flamboyant style and good looks, should die in a year in which the continent's leading players maintained their hold over the Americans.

By becoming the first player to officially top the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic in the same year, England's Luke Donald comfortably ended a breakthrough 2011 as the world's top-ranked player.

However, it was Rory McIlroy, a mop-haired Northern Irishman, who triggered frenzied talk of becoming a genuine successor to Tiger Woods by powering to an eight-shot win at the U.S. Open at Congressional. At 22, he was the second-youngest player to win a major since 1934.

What made McIlroy's first Grand Slam success all the more remarkable was that it came two months after he blew a four-shot lead in the final round of the Masters, shooting a closing 80 in one of golf's more memorable meltdowns.

"He's a breath of fresh air for the game," said Graeme McDowell, McIlroy's close friend who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2010. "Perhaps we're ready for golf's next superstar and maybe Rory is it."

One of the sport's cleanest hitters, McIlroy has every shot in his bag and the clinic he produced at Congressional brought back memories of Woods' 15-shot win at Pebble Beach in 2000.

The American's haul of 14 majors — four short of Jack Nicklaus — is now in the sights of McIlroy, who finished the year as the world's second-ranked player.

"I was trying to go out there today and emulate him in some way," McIlroy said of Woods after his final round at the U.S. Open.

So what of the former No. 1? By his very high standards, it was another year to forget.

No major wins, more injuries (leg, knee, Achilles tendon) and even a fine for spitting on the green during the final round of the Dubai Desert Classic in February, further tarnishing his name almost a year after vowing to improve his behavior following the sex scandal that ended his marriage.

What's more, he fired longtime caddie Steve Williams — much to the New Zealander's dismay.

Woods did at least break a winless streak of 107 weeks by capturing the Chevron World Challenge in December, lifting him to No. 22 in the rankings.

Now, it is Donald who is leading the way.

Shrugging off his "underachiever" tag, the 34-year-old Englishman won four titles, demonstrated amazing consistency by compiling 20 top-10 finishes from 26 tournaments played and topped both money lists.

Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer held the No. 1 spot early in the year, but were soon topped by Donald, whose imperious short game often made up for a lack of distance off the tee.

A failure to land that elusive major will still dog Donald, however, especially when players are capitalizing on Woods' troubles.

All four major winners in 2011 were first-timers — and no champion was more popular than 42-year-old Darren Clarke at a wet and windy British Open.

Puffing away on a cigarette as he ambled along the undulating fairways of Royal St. George's in often stormy conditions on the southeast coast, Clarke was a picture of contentment as he sealed a three-shot win, adding another name to the roll call of recent major champions from tiny Northern Ireland.

Charl Schwartzel of South Africa profited from McIlroy's misfortune to win at Augusta.

In the final major of the year, rookie Keegan Bradley finally gave the U.S something to shout about by winning the PGA Championship to end the longest American drought in the majors.

View the original article here