Good news for Chicago Bulls fans on Monday as general manager Gar Forman confirmed that Derrick Rose’s MRI shown no structural damage to his back.

In a statement about Rose’s condition Forman announced:

“Derrick saw a specialist this morning. And it reconfirmed what we had thought previously and what the MRI had shown in that there is nothing structurally wrong with his back. It’s muscular.”

Forman goes on to note:

“So at this point, we will continue with what we’re doing, which is we’ll continue with his therapy, continue to get rest, and it will be day to day. Seeing how he responds to the therapy. And when we feel, he feels, that he’s well enough to go back on the floor [he'll return].”

Rose missed the past two games because of back spasms and had an MRI completed last week to rule out any serious damage.

Forman as the team’s GM has always left playing up to a players own decision when no serious injury is discovered and he said of Rose’s want to return:

“Derrick’s a competitor. He always wants to be out there competing and playing. That’s what you love about Derrick Rose. At the same I think he realizes that until he’s back to 100 percent that he needs to get his rest and continue with therapy to try to get him back where he’s healthy. We’re always cautious with any injury, and we want to evaluate all the information and have our medical staff keep tabs with what’s going on.”

The leagues reigning MVP has missed five games this season because of turf toe and two games because of his recent back spasms.

Rose was voted to start the All-Star game on Feb. 26 and the Chicago Bulls are hoping he’ll be available to play for the team by then.

Chicago Bulls Guard Derrick Rose Confirmation: No Structural Damage To Back is a post from: The Inquisitr

LeBron James reportedly lost his cool during the fourth quarter of his teams win over Washington when he allegedly threatened to beat up a spectator who had been heckling him.

Bob Moore mentioned a years-old urban legend involving James’s former teammate Delonte West and LeBron mom’s Gloria which led to LeBron firing back at Moore.

Here’s the story according to NBC Washington’s Sarah Kogod’s Twitter timeline:

LeBron was waiting alone in the backcourt when fan Bob Moore made a comment to LeBron about Delonte West and LeBron’s mom…

…Accrding to Moore, LeBron said “The only reason you talk [expletive] is because you know I can’t come off the court right now and beat your ass”…

…Also according to Moore, LeBron continued “But if I had a free pass, I’d kick your ass right now.”…

…Moore replied “I’m right here baby. Let’s go” before security stepped in.

Kogod  added:

“It’s not acceptable for ANY athlete to engage a heckling fan in this way.”"

I personally disagree with Kogod, if someone’s yelling at me and trying to spread rumors about my family I’m going to shoot back at them. The pathetic part of the exchange is that Bob Moore was too much of a wimp to accept back what LeBron was slinging back at him.

Furthermore I hate attending sporting events where some drunken idiot is screaming at players the entire game, at least when their heckling has nothing to do with the game. If you want to make fun of LeBron’s or any other players lousy performance during a game that’s fine, but don’t be the idiot who’s screaming the entire time about their mom or some other heckle that’s been used a million times.

LeBron James Threatens To Beat Up Heckling Spectator is a post from: The Inquisitr

Derrick Rose sat out of the Chicago Bulls loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday after suffering from back spasm and the Bulls point guard now plans to visit with a back specialist in Chicago on Monday.

Rose admitted to suffering from back issues for the last several weeks:

“The first time I remember (the back problems) happening were in high school,” Rose revealed. “But college I didn’t have it. First couple of years (in the NBA) I didn’t have it. All of a sudden it just happened now. Hopefully, (Monday) I’ll meet with some people and try to figure something out.”

According to Rose his back was giving him issues since the Chicago Bulls started their nine-game road series on Jan. 29 in Miami.

“It was the whole trip,” Rose said. “I just played through it and the more I played through it, it tended to get worse after every game. At the time I was really worried about it, but (I’m) just trying to stay positive and hopefully I’ll be all right.”

Rose also revealed that he has had a lot of pain when trying to handle even small tasks including walking.

Speaking of his star players turn for the worse Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau revealed:

“You’re always concerned. It’s something that he’s had before. He had it when he was in high school. So we’re hopeful that it gets cleared up shortly, but we want to make sure … back are tricky, so that’s why he’s going to see a specialist (Monday).”

Also out of Sunday’s game was Rip Hamilton who was attending to a personal matter. Rip has missed all but 11 games this season because of injuries, his last game occurring on Jan. 29.

With 22 points and 7 assists per game Derrick Rose will be missed if an extended leave is required.

Chicago Bulls Point Guard Derrick Rose To Meet With Back Specialist is a post from: The Inquisitr

It’s no secret that Orlando Magic star Dwight Howard wants to leave the team after his contract expires at the end of this season but he could stay in place if Magic owner Richard Devos has anything to say about it.

The 85-year-old wheel-chair bound Devos made an unexpected visit to the teams dressing room on Wednesday where in no specific terms he said:

“I don’t want to trade him.”

He continued by revealing that talks with Dwight’s reps have been progressing:

“We like to think we’re making headway. But I don’t know. He probably won’t know until the end and I won’t either.”

While his sentiments may be true he didn’t receive a warm reception from Howard who virtually ignored the owner’s presence in the locker room while players Jason Richardson and Daniel Orton both headed over to greet their boss when he entered the room.

When asked if he would be willing to give a percentage to the chance that Howard will stay with the Magic he said ”I don’t gamble on that, I just plan on him staying.”

In the meantime it’s the owners younger son Richard Devos Jr. who is in charge of negotiations with Howard and he says of current talks:

“You never give up. We’ve got a great talent, a great young man. He’s got to look at his options (and) what’s best for him and I have to tell him what I think is best for him. I’m selfish.”

At just 26-years-old Howard still has a good amount of basketball ahead of him and with an average of 20.9 points per game with 15.1 rebounds it would be a shame for the Orlando Magic to lose him.

Do you think Dwight Howard will stay in Orlando or leave for another team at the end of the current season?

Orlando Magic Owner Wants Dwight Howard To Stay In Florida is a post from: The Inquisitr

Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng had an MRI performed on Sunday to determine the extent of his injured left wrist. According to team officials his write will be re-evaluated by team physicians on Monday.

The forward’s left wrist was injured in fourth quarter play during the Bulls win over the Charlotte Bobcats. It was Deng who asked head coach Tom Thibodeau to take him out of the game in order to be examined by team physicians.

An initial x-ray following Saturday nights game was negative but Deng continued to hold a large ice pack on his wrist in the locker room.

Deng didn’t seem over worried about the injury stating:

“I just got hit on it, but it will be fine.”

Luol isn’t the only Chicago Bulls player to be suffering from injury, point guard Derrick Rose has been nursing a turf toe injury which caused him to miss the teams last four games. Also out on Saturday night was Joakim Noah who missed Saturday night’s game with an ankle injury he sustained on Friday night in the teams win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In more serious condition is Taj Gibson who injured his ankle on Friday night and was spotted wearing a walking boot during Saturday nights game.  Speaking about his injury Gibson noted:

“We can’t even put a timeline on it,” while adding, “Hopefully this thing goes away in the next couple of days, or I can get some feeling back so I can play. But right now it’s about icing. That’s the best thing I can hope for right now.”

Also out on Saturday night was John Lucas III who has been suffering a groin injury.

In a shortened season an injury that keeps a player out for even a few games can be costly, for the Chicago Bulls it’s turning into a domino effect yet they continue to win games and stand 2.5 game ahead at the top of their division.

Do you think the Chicago Bulls can continue to win games as injuries become a regular occurrence during the shortened season?

Chicago Bulls Forward Luol Deng Undergoes MRI For Wrist, Team Plagued With Recent Injuries is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Atlanta Hawks have lost center Al Horford for up to four months after tearing his left pectoral muscle.

News of the centers stoppage came from a tweet by Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports:

Hawks center Al Horford expected to be out 3-4 months with torn left pectoral muscle

Horford suffered his injury after being blocked by Roy Hibbert during his teams Wednesday loss to the Indiana Pacers.

While Horford will be missed by the Hawks he hasn’t exactly been having a career season, averaging 15.3 points per game with 9.3 rebounds and 55 percent shooting.

During his last full game on Monday against the New Jersey Nets Horford was showing true to form however with 14 points, nine rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block.

Taking over at the center position will be ZaZa Pachulia who scored 11 points with seven rebounds in 30 minutes during his teams loss to Indiana on Wednesday.

The move is a big one for Pachulia who has only had two seasons in his career where he has averaged more than 20 minutes per game. With ZaZa on the court the Hawks lose their shot-blocker and are left with a center who struggles to finish at the rim. They do however gain an aggressive player who may help them wear down opponents over four quarters of play.

Do you think ZaZa Puchulia will be able to step up and take over for the injured Al Horford or has his placement hurt the Atlanta Hawks for the rest of the shortened NBA season?

Al Horford To Miss 4 Months After Tearing Left Pectoral Muscle is a post from: The Inquisitr

The NBA front office banked on the fact that basketball fans would be willing to tune in on Christmas day for delayed season openers  following the NBA lockout and it turns out they made the right decision.

The league scored a Sunday average of 6.2 million viewers, besting last years 6 million viewers.

According to Nielsen Ratings the Bulls-Lakers game was the third most-watched regular-season game ever on ABC, falling just behind last years Heat-Lakers match and the Miami-L.A matchup in 2004.

Also scoring well was the Chris Paul led Clippers match against the Warriors which ended with a 2.2 rating, up by 69 percent from last years Portland-Golden State telecast which played in the same time slot.

The first game of the day between the Celtics-Knicks on TNT also scored well with  4.0 rating, up 48 percent from last years Bulls-Knicks game.

Also up by 29 percent from last season’s Denver-Oklahoma City matchup was ESPN’s Magic-Thunder game which drew a 1.8 rating.

Even mid-afternoon games were on a hot stream with ABC reporting a 4.9 share for the Mavericks-Heat game, up 7 percent from the same Boston-Orlando timeslot last year.

The over-night ratings system measures the countries largest markets, likely areas for NBA game watching activity.

Did you tune in to watch your favorite NBA team open their season on Christmas Day?

[Image via Eric Broder Van Dyke / Shutterstock.com]

NBA Season Openers Bring In TV Viewers On Christmas Day is a post from: The Inquisitr

NBA players will return to the courts from Dec. 25 through April 26 in a shortened season that will last just 66 games.

League sources on Sunday confirmed that the season would be limited to 48 conference games and 18 matches against teams from other conferences. Because of those numbers NBA teams will not visit every NBA city as they would during regular season play.

The shortened season timespan also means NBA players will be forced to play two more games per month while each team will have at least one stretch in which they play in games for three straight nights.

Teams that are forced to play in three straight games will have those stretches limited to a maximum of three times in one season.

To consolidate time NBA officials and players have also agreed to limit ‘off days’ during the second round of the playoffs.

Are you excited to see the NBA season return or have they cannibalized the league schedule too much to make a difference.

NBA Season Set At 66-Games, Out Of Conference Events Limited is a post from: The Inquisitr

The talks are serious and with the NBA Players Association headed by Billy Hunter rejecting the offer from team owners, we can only expect that the 2011-2012 season is over.

Despite the seriousness of the matter, the NBA Players Association showed the entire situation in a lighter mode with its website showing an Error 404.

It reads:

“Please be patient as we work on resolving this. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”

It’s okay, there are other exciting sports around anyway.

Error 404 Found on NBA Players Association Website is a post from: The Inquisitr

139-days of talks have not been able to yield a deal between NBA players and Team owners and with David Stern’s most recent deal rejected by players they are now looking to decertify the players union.

Speaking about the player’s decision to disband the union executive director Billy Hunter said:

“We’re prepared to file this antitrust action against the NBA.”

Hunter added

“That’s the best situation where players can get their due process.”

David Stern and team owners had offered NBA players 51 percent of league revenues (realistically 50.2% based on variables), down from 57% from their previous collective bargaining agreement that expired, create a nearly $300 million loss annually for NBA Players.

Stern for his part has warned players that decertifying the union was not the right decision while Union President Derek Fisher said:

“This is the best decision for the players,” and “I want to reiterate that point, that a lot of individual players have a lot of things personally at stake in terms of their careers and where they stand.”

Once the union has been converted to a trade association they plan to file a class-action lawsuit against the NBA.

With decertification expected to take months and a lawsuit likely dragging on through the remainder of the season it’s likely that the proposed 72-game season starting on December 15 will be abandoned and the NBA season will draw to a close before it ever began.

Given the showmanship and “me first” attitude of many NBA players these days I can’t say it surprises me that they didn’t appear to be concerned about abandoning their fans, the very fans who buy tickets and merchandise that pays them millions of dollars per season. In the meantime the very same players who claim they are securing their own futures are slated to lose billions of combined dollars in salaries and endorsements over the failed NBA season.

It will be interesting to see how well the league rebounds once a new season begins.

Are you upset that players and team owners couldn’t come to an agreement? Will absence make your heart grow fonder for the league?

[Image via ShutterStock.com]

Goodbye 2011-2012 NBA Season, Lockout Deal Rejected As Players Look To Decertify Union is a post from: The Inquisitr

Are you looking forward to the NBA’s upcoming 2011-12 season? Then be warned: it might be starting a little later than you thought.

Originally scheduled to begin on November 1st (and with training camps scheduled for October 3rd), new reports suggests the National Basketball Association’s lockout will cause the season to start late. According to National Basketball Players’ Association (NBPA) Executive Director Billy Hunter, at least half of the upcoming season could be lost.

However, the stalemate between the two sides involved, the NBPA and the NBA owners, is no longer so cut and dry.

NBPA President and Los Angeles Lakers point guard Derek Fisher has now reported a division among the owners, who have different viewpoints on the two core issues, implementation of a hard salary cap and an improved revenue-sharing model.

Last week saw a meeting take place between the NBPA and the owners, in which the NBPA offered a new proposal. While the NBA Commissioner David Stern is refuting there has been a split, Fisher stated there was a “fundamental divide between the owners internally.”

Apparently the Phoenix Suns’ owner Robert Sarver and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert weren’t so keen on the new proposal from the players, while Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss and New York Knicks owner James Dolan supported the proposal.

Essentially, an extra hurdle to getting the season started on time has been created by this new disagreement. The clashing between owners is understandable – the players’ proposals will mean different things for small and large teams – but it’s not inconceivable that the entire 2011-12 NBA season could be lost.

[Image]

National Basketball Association Lockout is Here to Stay is a post from: The Inquisitr

The offering will however come with a catch: games will only be streamed to local markets via team websites. Teams will also be able to offer online interactive TV and video-on-demand coverage. There is no word yet as to whether the streams will be offered for free or payment, or even if this will be decided by each individual team.

The move follows the decision by the NFL to offer Sunday night football online in July. It’s also further proof that the end result, a live sporting event, is not dependent on broadcast media to be distributed.

Alone I thought that maybe the NFL was being progressive, but with the NBA now accepting the reality that more and more people are switching to the internet to consume content, we could see a trend emerging. More sports will follow the NFL and the NBA online, because ultimately the content goes where the people are. The more live content offered online, the less reason people have to consume broadcast television, and the more the death spiral accelerates. Sure, this might not be HD yet, or even easily viewable on a television so you get the big screen experience, but as the tech catches up, internet access continues to be embedded into television and cable boxes, and the costs come down, it will happen.

NBA to offer live internet streaming is a post from: The Inquisitr