Thunder's Robinson cited for public urination

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Oklahoma City Thunder guard Nate Robinson is apologizing to fans after police caught him urinating in public in a New York City suburb.

Robinson

White Plains police say an officer spotted Robinson urinating on a sidewalk outside a bookstore just before 2 a.m. ET Friday.

Authorities told reporters that Robinson was taken to police headquarters, issued a summons and ordered to show up in court June 22. The offense normally carries a $50 fine.

Robinson posted a message on Twitter on Friday saying he made a "silly mistake." He promised it wouldn't happen again.

Robinson had played for the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics before going to the Thunder in 2010.

Thunder spokesman Brian Facchini says the team is aware of what happened but would have no comment.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

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NBA will further review altercation after Game 6

NBA commissioner David Stern joins ESPN Radio's Mike Tirico during halftime of Game 6 of the NBA Finals to update the state of labor negotiations in the NBA.

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MLB talks switching NL team to AL, sources say

A simple form of realignment being seriously considered has been raised in the labor talks between Major League Baseball and the players' association, according to four sources: two leagues of 15 teams, rather than the current structure of 16 teams in the National League and 14 in the American League.

ESPN.com's Jim Bowden has a radical plan to make baseball make sense geographically and expand the postseason pool. Blog

As the realignment discussion goes forward, it's the union that is viewed as the driving force behind the idea of two 15-team leagues, writes ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney. Blog

According to a highly ranked executive, one consideration that has been raised in ownership committee meetings is eliminating the divisions altogether, so that 15 AL and 15 NL teams would vie for five playoff spots within each league. Currently, Major League Baseball has six divisions.

A source who has been briefed on the specifics of the labor discussions says that the players' union has indicated that it is open to the idea of two 15-team leagues, but that the whole plan still hasn't been talked through or presented to the owners.

Sources say the talks are serious, and while one executive believes the odds of change are less than 50-50, another says this is the type of discussion that can gather momentum and become a reality.

A sticking point involves interleague play. Because of the odd number of teams in each league, it is possible that a team in contention late in the season will have to be playing its final games in interleague play.

One of the biggest issues that would have to be resolved in any realignment resulting in two 15-team leagues is which of the National League teams would switch to the American League.

Two highly ranked executives believe the Houston Astros would be a possibility, because a switch to the AL for Houston would foster a rivalry between the Astros and the Texas Rangers.

The Marlins could be another candidate, a source suggested.

"There are still a lot of details that would have to be discussed," one source said.

Buster Olney is a senior MLB writer for ESPN The Magazine.

 

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Liriano flirts with perfection as Twins stay hot

Francisco Liriano got off to a rough start, but since throwing a no-hitter on May 3, he's turned his season around and been lights out.

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NFLPA's Smith yet to talk to NFL Alumni leader

Updated: June 12, 2011, 9:12 PM

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- George Martin spent the weekend catching up with his former New York Giants teammates from the 1986 Super Bowl team.

But he also had his current job on his mind as well, as he checked on how many of his old teammates are feeling these days. Martin is the president of the NFL Alumni and he is frustrated that he has not been able to sit down with DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the decertified NFL Players Association, to talk about issues and concerns relating to retired players.

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"There's strength in unity," Martin told reporters at the 25th anniversary celebration of the 1986 Giants Super Bowl team at the Meadowlands Expo Center on Sunday. "Apparently Mr. DeMaurice Smith feels that there isn't. I think it's an absolute shame when you have a person with my accomplishments and my commitment to not only active players but retired players, the fact that we can't sit down and at least discuss not only our similarities but our differences if there are any. I think that's a travesty."

Martin says he has reached out to Smith "on countless occasions to sit down."

"It's been either no response or no," Martin said. "That's really unacceptable. He has a very difficult challenge, I understand. But there should not be any prohibitions why we shouldn't sit down and talk about some of the things we have in common."

Martin was asked what degree of confidence he has concerning Smith having the best interests of NFL retired players in mind.

"I would have to say it is questionable at this point," Martin said. "When you do not have a conversation at this point with the recognized leader of NFL Alumni, how can you say you have the best interest of retired players at heart when you won't even sit down and talk to their leadership. That to me flies in the face of rationale."

Martin and teammate Harry Carson both said that some of their teammates are suffering from injuries suffered during their careers. Some retired players are feeling the lingering effects of concussions suffered during their playing days with loss of memory or, in some cases, depression.

"I thought the health of guys on the surface was pretty good," Carson said of the '86 Giants. "I do know, personally, that there are a couple of guys that have some issues. There are a couple of guys who have reached out to me in the past with these issues. There are some issues there and there are some issues with guys that probably don't know there are issues."

Martin praised NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for being proactive about addressing the concussion situation and helping retired players deal with any issues they may have.

"It seems as if though in the past we have been treated like second-class citizens," Martin said. "We refuse to have that label placed upon us now. Thank goodness that we have had some welcome embrace by Roger Goodell and the current owners. We like the fact that that we are part of the overall discussion and I'm very optimistic we will obtain some significant quality of life issues relative to retired players -- most significant is the pension.

"I think eventually the vast majority of retired ball players will be pleasantly surprised by what will come out of this (new) CBA."

Ohm Youngmisuk covers the Giants for ESPNNewYork.com.

 

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Drew, Diamondbacks down sagging Marlins

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MIAMI -- Arizona starter Daniel Hudson spent most of Sunday afternoon getting himself in and out of trouble.

Hudson allowed one run in six-plus innings, Stephen Drew had three hits and two RBIs, and Arizona beat the struggling Florida Marlins 5-1. "I just couldn't seem to get that third out of the inning a bunch of times," Hudson said, "but I was able to throw some pitches when I needed to with guys on base." Hudson (7-5) won for the seventh time in eight decisions since starting the season 0-4. He gave up eight hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Hudson gave up a hit after retiring the first two batters in four of the first six innings. He left the game with a 4-0 lead after Florida loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh. Hudson had singled in the top of the inning, but had to sprint to first base to beat the throw from right fielder Mike Stanton. "I told him, 'Hey, you don't have to run that hard,' " said Arizona manager Kirk Gibson. "Then he ran hard on a double play ball, so I think after that he was pretty much toast." David Hernandez got out of the seventh inning allowing only one runner to score, and he was followed by two other Arizona relievers. "We were right in the meat of their order, so he did a great job in an inning and two-thirds," Gibson said of Hernandez. "It was big." Drew hit a two-run double in the first inning and Ryan Roberts homered for the second consecutive game for the Diamondbacks, who have taken two of the first three of a four-game series that wraps up Monday. Hitting cleanup, Drew was the only left-handed batter for Arizona against lefty starter Brad Hand. "Stephen had an awesome day out there today," Gibson said. "He came through for us again today in that No. 4 slot. That's what you want from your No. 4 guy." The Marlins lost for the 10th time in 11 games, falling to .500 for the first time since they were 5-5. Florida had at least one hit in every inning but left 13 runners on base. The Marlins have stranded 98 runners in their past 11 games, batting .149 (14-for-94) with runners in scoring position during that span. They were 0-for-12 on Sunday. "The timely hitting is not there," manager Edwin Rodriguez said. "We're failing with runners in scoring position. But we're battling there. I'm sure if they keep pushing the way they're doing right now that we're going to get out of this. "There's not too many options. Yeah, I can shuffle the lineup; I already did that. They have to go out there and keep battling and everything else will start going our way." Hand (0-2) struggled in his second major league start after holding Atlanta to one hit in six innings in his debut Tuesday. He pitched five innings and gave up four runs, three of them earned, on five hits and five walks. Stanton, who had homered in the previous three games, came up with runners on first and second in his first four at-bats but popped out three times and struck out against Hernandez in the seventh. Stanton went 3-for-3 against Hudson when the teams met in Arizona on June 1. "I threw some good pitches to him last time but he just put some good swings on the ball," Hudson said. "I left a few pitches out over the plate, so I really wanted to get inside on him today. It's nice when you can hold his bat in check." Hand walked two before Drew ripped a double into the right-field gap. Roberts added his 10th home run in the third, and Arizona made it 4-0 later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Xavier Nady. Gerardo Parra's pinch-hit double in the ninth drove in Arizona's final run. Game notes
Florida rookie RHP Steve Cishek pitched the seventh and eighth and extended his club record for most consecutive scoreless innings at the start of a career to 14 2-3. ... Florida 3B Greg Dobbs, who entered the game in a 6-for-31 slump, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. ... Arizona RHP Esmerling Vasquez served the second of a two-game suspension for his actions June 5 against Washington. He was ejected for hitting a batter after warnings had been issued. ... Arizona RHP Sam Demel, who is on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, had a bullpen session cut short Sunday when he couldn't get loose. Demel, who then threw from flat ground, is scheduled to throw in the bullpen again Tuesday. Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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Cavs owner hails Mavs for beating James to title

CLEVELAND -- Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert got in one final shot after LeBron James fell short of an NBA title.

About 15 minutes after the Dallas Mavericks defeated James and the Miami Heat in Game 6 on Sunday night, Gilbert sent a message on his Twitter page to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban -- a statement that included a jab at James.

“

Congrats to Mark C.& entire Mavs org. Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings. Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE.

” -- Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert

"Congrats to Mark C.& entire Mavs org.," Gilbert wrote. "Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings. Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE."

Last summer, after James announced he was leaving the Cavs as a free agent after seven years to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, the superstar was lambasted by Gilbert, who accused him of quitting in the playoffs the past two seasons. Gilbert also promised that karma would prevent James from winning a championship and predicted his Cavaliers would win their first title before "the self-proclaimed King" won one.

So far, Gilbert's pledge is holding up.

Gilbert wasn't the only one stung by James' decision. Cleveland fans, who haven't celebrated a major professional sports championship since the Browns won an NFL title in 1964, spent the past year coping with James' departure, which the Akron native announced in a one-hour long TV special.

Some of James' former teammates were also hurt by him leaving.

Guard Mo Williams, who was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in February, said the Mavericks' victory has helped ease some of his pain.

On his Twitter page, Williams wrote, "Dallas just healed my HEART."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

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