Celtics have bigger problems than just Pierce's early Game 1 ejection
The facts of postseason life were turned inside-out by the Heat here Sunday. One team lacked cohesion and trust, and it wasn't Miami. One second unit played as if it's still learning how to blend in, and it wasn't Miami's. One contender acted like it had never been here before, and it wasn't Miami.
Was it arrogance or uncertainty that undid the Celtics throughout their 99-90 Game 1 loss? All they knew was that Paul Pierce (19 points and four turnovers) had himself thrown out after being outsmarted by Dwyane Wade with seven minutes remaining in the game. This as Wade overcame four horrible regular-season showings with 38 points (14-of-21), five assists, two blocks and but two turnovers in 37 terrific minutes.
Pierce made two mistakes uncharacteristic of a future Hall-of-Famer who should know better. Just 59 seconds before his ejection, he was clobbered around the shoulders by James Jones, who had been upfaked and wanted to prevent him from releasing the jump-shot for a three-point play. Pierce responded by nuzzling his nose into Jones' cheek, which was a more aggressive move than it sounds here. Jones responded as if Pierce was trying to spread some kind of horrible contagion, which was not only a bright move, but also possibly the first nose-to-cheek flop in league history. Each was assessed a technical foul.
"I thought it was a flagrant foul,'' said Boston coach Doc Rivers in his team's locker room after the game. "He came down like bam and chopped (Pierce) on the neck.''
Pierce left without speaking with reporters, and Rivers was unwilling to absolve him. "Now you still walk away,'' said Rivers. "Because it's like we told them before the game, all they were talking about was being physical. So you knew what they were going to do. That's not physical. They were going to be chippy. Because they're not physical. If you know that, then you've got to walk away from it, you've just got to take it. And we didn't do a good job of taking it.''
Wade and Jones (25 efficient points) had dumped the Celtics in a deep 87-74 hole at the time of Pierce's ensuing run-in with Wade, which makes Pierce's ejection less the cause and more a symptom of Boston's opening-game downfall. Wade was running the baseline defensively when he bore through a Pierce screen. Referee Ed Malloy instantly called double technicals on both stars, and then pointed Pierce to the locker room.
"I was trying to get through a screen,'' said Wade. "I ran through it. He (Pierce) followed me. Paul had some words for me and the referee thought it was a little too much.''
What did Pierce say?
"It was a bunch of jibberish,'' said Wade without a smile.
"I don't think he said anything that was at the referee or was even focused on Dwyane Wade,'' said Ray Allen, whose 25 points (9-of-13) made him the only Celtic to excel. "It was Paul just (acting) I'm tough, I'm tough and that's not going to faze me. So anything to tick a referee off -- that's why we say, you have to make sure you're being smart out there.
"I don't think he did anything over the top. But it's us learning how to get out of those situations, back away from him. That was his second tech. You have to talk about the first one now, because if he never got that one, he'd never be in that predicament.''
Officiating crew chief Danny Crawford said Wade earned his technical by walking toward Pierce after the contact -- a brilliant move by Wade to bait him. "He directed profanity toward Wade,'' said Crawford of Pierce's reaction. "In the rule book, that is a verbal taunt, and it just so happened to be Pierce's second technical foul.''
"Him and Wade, they both were talking,'' said Rivers. "But now, listen, the guy got one tech. You got to know. Come on.''
In other words, how could Pierce have made such a youthful mistake? The Celtics find themselves the road underdog against a hungry favorite that is younger and more athletic and has a bench that has been together longer than Boston's.
The Celtics need to make everything go their way, but the mistakes of this game echo the frustrations of their 10-11 stumble over the concluding seven weeks that downgraded a potential No. 1 seeding to No. 3. Point guard Rajon Rondo, who has been under pressure to pull together the numerous loose ends created by a flurry of February moves and the absence of Shaquille O'Neal, earned three early fouls, played eight first-half minutes and was unable to respond to the first halves of Wade (23 points and three assists in 18 minutes) and Jones (4-of-5 from three-point range in the second quarter).
There were a few minutes in the second quarter when the ball moved without Rondo, and a few minutes more in the third when he was able to push the tempo to his liking and steer Boston within 60-53. But that was that: The Heat ground out a 16-6 run that exposed Boston's tensions after Jermaine O'Neal committed a regrettable flagrant foul against Jones. Rondo responded by yelling at O'Neal and then staring him down, forcing Pierce to call an impromptu team huddle on the court. Pierce was reaching out to touch each of his angry teammates as O'Neal yelled back at Rondo.
But then Pierce's common sense vanished, and with it went a major advantage. For Miami has now beaten Boston twice within the month by a combined 32 points. Wade, who had played horribly (12.8 points, 28.1 percent shooting and 5.3 turnovers) while enabling Boston to win three of their four regular-season meetings, has earned newfound confidence against the Celtics. LeBron James (22 points, five assists, two blocked shots) looked most comfortable in his playmaking role, while Chris Bosh (seven points, 12 rebounds) realized he doesn't need to approach perfection in order to contribute to a win against this team.
Do the Celtics have them right where they want them? Will we look back on this opening game as a setup that led to a surprising Boston rebellion? The Celtics will believe they can respond in Game 2 on Tuesday. But they need to worry that Miami, sensing weakness, might be inspired to build to a higher level too.
Boxing legend Sir Henry Cooper dies aged 76
Heavyweight boxing legend Sir Henry Cooper has died at the age of 76 at his son's house in Oxted, Surrey.
The former British, Commonwealth and European champion fought 55 times and is revered for his 1963 knockdown of Muhammad Ali - then Cassius Clay.
In a statement, Ali said he would miss his "old friend", calling him "a great fighter and a gentleman".
London-born Cooper, who won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award twice, was knighted in 2000.
Alongside Frank Bruno, Tommy Farr and Lennox Lewis, Cooper is considered one of the great British heavyweights.
After an amateur career that included an appearance as an 18-year-old in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Henry and his twin brother George, who died last year, both turned professional at 20 in 1954.
He went on to enjoy a hugely successful professional career, but never won a world title and retired, aged 36, in 1971 after losing to Joe Bugner, a year after becoming the first person to be named BBC Sports Personality of the Year on two occasions (1967 and 1970).
Cooper, who is the only British boxer to have won three Lonsdale belts outright, is best remembered for his two famous clashes with Ali in the 1960s.
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What a sad day. May your memory live on
Your tributes to Sir Henry Cooper
He floored the American in the fourth round with 'Enry's 'Ammer - his trademark left hook - but Ali eventually won the 1963 non-title fight at Wembley.
Ali later said on British television that Cooper "hit me so hard that my ancestors in Africa felt it".
Responding to the news of Cooper's death, Muhammad Ali said he was "at a loss for words" over the death of his friend.
"Henry always had a smile for me; a warm and embracing smile", he said. "It was always a pleasure being in Henry's company. I will miss my old friend. He was a great fighter and a gentleman."
Ali triumphed again when they boxed three years later but Cooper remained a favourite with the British public.
Following his retirement he pursued a successful career in television as a pundit and was also a published author. He was a popular captain on the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport.
Britain's world heavyweight champion David Haye used his Twitter feed to pay tribute to Cooper, who would have celebrated his 77th birthday on Tuesday.
"One of Britain's greatest sports man Sir Henry Cooper passed away today. A true warrior and great human being. Rest in Peace," Haye wrote.
Ireland's former world featherweight champion Barry McGuigan told the BBC: "He was a lovely fella, and I was a personal friend of him and his wife.
"It really is tragic news for the world of boxing. What a great man he was."
Z-Bo, Gasol power Grizzlies past Thunder, 114-101
Zach Randolph and the Memphis Grizzlies powered their way to another playoff upset - not that he considers it one.
Randolph had a playoff career-high 34 points and 10 rebounds, Marc Gasol added 20 points and 13 boards, and the Grizzlies outmatched the Oklahoma City Thunder inside for a 114-101 victory in the opening game of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday.
"We believe," Randolph said. "We definitely believe. Our confidence is up high. I tell the guys we can compete and play with anybody."
Just as they did in a first-round upset of top-seeded San Antonio, Randolph and Gasol provided enough punch to give eighth-seeded Memphis a road victory in Game 1.
Randolph and Gasol each scored 20 points in the same regular-season game only once this season, but did it in Game 1 against the Spurs and again to negate the Thunder's home-court advantage right from the start.
"I think we always try to do that. The thing is that it's not always possible," Gasol said. "We always try to come out and execute and play the right way. It's not always possible. Teams are going to adjust, and they're going to do something different.
"We've got to keep being hungry, keep being unselfish offensively and defensively and keep playing the right way."
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.
Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 33 points and 11 rebounds. Russell Westbrook scored 29, but the All-Star tandem couldn't overcome a big advantage in the paint for Memphis.
Randolph had two games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the regular season against the Thunder, as Memphis won the series 3-1. And he was at it again from the tip, scoring the Grizzlies' first seven points to provide them a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"You can't stop him. You've got to make them shoot tough shots like he's been doing, but if he's making them, he's tough to stop," Durant said.
"He's an animal."
Durant went on to say that he considers Randolph, a 10th-year veteran who's bounced around the league with no postseason success until this year, to be "the best power forward in the league."
"I've got to agree with that. Thanks, KD," Randolph said with a smile. "I appreciate that."
Before this year, Randolph hadn't made the playoffs since his second year in the league with Portland in 2003 and - like the Grizzlies - had never won a postseason series before.
All that is changing now for Randolph, an All-Star choice last season who was left out of the showcase this year.
"I've felt like I don't get a lot of respect I deserve. It's nothing personal or nothing," Randolph said. "I just try to come out and be the same player, consistent during the regular season and during playoffs. I just try to be this way all the time, play my way all the time, and not be up and down.
"The good players be consistent and stay consistent, not just playoffs but during the regular season, also."
The only player in the league to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds each of the last three seasons, Randolph teams with Gasol to make the Grizzlies the NBA's most productive team in the paint with a 51.5-point average.
The Grizzlies racked up 52 against the Thunder, who had bolstered their interior defense with their trade deadline pickup of Kendrick Perkins from Boston.
That move allowed Serge Ibaka - the league's top shot blocker - to move from center to power forward and give Oklahoma City two top defenders inside.
"They're not an easy matchup," Gasol said. "They're big and strong, kind of how we are. But we've got different ways to play. We don't just throw the ball in there and try to bang, bang."
Randolph started out with short jumpers to give Memphis the lead for good in the opening 2 minutes, then he followed a 17-5 run fueled by the bench with the Grizzlies' lone first-half 3-pointer to make it answer Durant's two-handed alley-oop and make it 54-38 with 2:26 left before halftime.
The Thunder used a 20-7 charge that spanned intermission to get back within 61-58 before Randolph steadied the Grizzlies again. He hit two free throws, a putback, a tip-in and then a jumper that caromed high off the rim before going in during a key stretch to keep Oklahoma City at bay.
"The one thing that I admire in his game is he's relentless. He's always playing the game. You just know that the loves the game," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "We have to do a better job of controlling him and making him miss some shots.
"It's not going to be easy, and we know that going into it, and we knew that going into this game. He scores, and he scores in bunches, and we have to do a better job with that."
Then, Shane Battier hit a 3-pointer from the right wing when Oklahoma City failed to get back in transition, and Gasol added three straight jumpers - the last one coming at the start of the fourth quarter to make it 86-71.
The advantage reached 91-74 when Battier followed O.J. Mayo's 3-pointer with a layup with 10:22 left.
Brooks called timeout and got Durant back in the game, and the NBA's scoring champion immediately hit a 3-pointer to stop the bleeding. He added a putback on Westbrook's miss and Ibaka had a two-handed slam as Oklahoma City rallied with nine straight points to get within 93-86 after Westbrook's driving jumper with 7:09 remaining.
Mike Conley stopped the comeback with a floater in the lane, and Memphis scored five straight points to bump the lead up to 100-88 after Randolph's jumper with 4:26 left.
The Grizzlies made 12 free throws in the final 3 minutes to close out another win for the underdogs - if you can even call them that anymore.
"We don't call ourselves anything. We believe we can compete against anybody in this league, and that's how we really think, because we've done it all season," Gasol said.
"It's no surprise for us that we can compete and play good against good teams."
US Officials: Osama Bin Laden is Dead
Al-Qaeda founder and leader Osama Bin Laden is dead, US officials say.
The US is said to be in possession of Bin Laden's body. President Barack Obama is due to speak shortly.
The al-Qaeda leader was killed in a ground operation in a mansion outside Islamabad in an operation based on US intelligence, reports said.
Bin Laden is accused of being behind a number of atrocities, including the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001.
He is top of the US most wanted list.
Crowds gathered outside the White House in Washington DC, chanting "USA, USA" after the news emerged.
Caribbean Airlines-Air Jamaica deal hits snag
The finalisation of the Caribbean Airlines-Air Jamaica deal has again been delayed.
The deadline for the sale to be finalised, and transfer of assets to be completed, should have been tomorrow.
However, at a post-budget press conference today, Finance Minister Audley Shaw said a two week extension had been agreed on to allow both parties to resolve some issues.
Shaw would not elaborate on the issues which caused the delay in the signing, and was unable to give an exact date for when it will take place.
The deal had been subjected to a one-year transition period to allow Caribbean Airlines to secure the necessary licences and to properly integrate the operations.
EU investigates banks over credit default swaps use
The EU's competition authorities are investigating the activities of nine of the world's biggest banks over the market for credit default swaps (CDS).
CDS's are a form of insurance policy taken out on financial instruments, such as bonds, in case they lose value.
The banks include Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup.
The probe centres on whether preferential treatment - including special low fees - was given by a clearing house to drum up business.
The other five banks involved are Bank of America, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and UBS.
The EU's anti-trust commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, said in a statement: "CDS's play a useful role for financial markets and for the economy.
"Recent developments have shown, however, that the trading of this asset class suffers a number of inefficiencies that cannot be solved through regulation alone."
The value of CDS - said to be in the region of $28 trillion (£17tn) dwarfs the worth of the instruments they are based on.
As well as providing insurance against a bond going bad, CDS are also used for speculation, with banks and hedge funds trading in CDS to make money without actually owning the underlying bonds.
During the height of the financial crisis there were concerns that speculation in CDS for bonds was driving down prices and fuelling market panic.
The European Commission said it is investigating whether the nine big investment banks received special treatment from the clearing house ICE Clear Europe, and were therefore only giving their business to ICE.
The Commission said: "The effects of these agreements could be that other clearing houses have difficulties successfully entering the market and that other CDS players have no real choice where to clear their transactions."
The nine banks are shareholders in ICE's US clearing arm.
Preferential treatment?
In a separate case, the Commission said it was investigating whether those nine banks - and the seven others that act as dealers in the CDS market - give essential information on pricing and other daily activities only to Markit Group Ltd, which is the leading financial data provider for that market.
Such preferential treatment "could be the consequence of collusion between them or an abuse of a possible collective dominance" and could lock other data providers out of the CDS business, the Commission said.
Seven other firms are targeted in this probe: BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Wells Fargo, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale.
All 16 banks, which control around 90% of the market whereby banks deal with each other, are shareholders of Markit.
Markit holds a near monopoly on financial data, which the EU says could leave smaller competitors with worse information on pricing.
Market players, however, insist that there is no conclusive proof of such a link.
Markit said Friday it "does not believe it has engaged in any inappropriate conduct and looks forward to demonstrating that to the Commission".
A spokeswoman for IntercontinentalExchange said the company would cooperate with the investigation.
Gold hits new record high as US dollar weakens
The price of the precious metal hit a new record high for the third straight day of $1,569.30 on the back of a weakening US dollar.
The gold price has risen 7% over the last month as investors have sought a save-haven against inflation and the softer US dollar.
In late US trade the precious metal reached a record of $1,569.30 an ounce.
Traditionally, investors turn to gold at times of uncertainty and rising prices.
But analysts also said the falling US dollar had helped bolster the metal's value.
Over the past year, the US dollar has dropped against the euro and the pound by 12% and 9% respectively.
The dollar continued to slide against several major currencies after new economic data was released showing that US growth had slowed in the first quarter of 2011 to 1.8%.
As gold is priced in dollars, any fall in the currency means it becomes cheaper for investors using other currencies to buy.
"If the dollar continues to weaken, then it's only likely to boost gold as well as silver as the inverse relationship between the two assets persists," said Ong Yi Ling, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"I would say that for gold I am still looking for it to hit $1,600 this year."
Silver
Meanwhile, the price of silver remained in sight of record highs thanks to the weakening dollar as well as increased demand in Asia.
Earlier this week, the precious metal hit an all-time high of $49.793 and is up almost 60% on a year ago.
As the global recovery continues, some analysts expect demand for the metal, which is used in industry such as electronics, to rise further.
But others warn the metal's high price could come at a cost.
"In the long term, I think, if we see silver prices at such a high level, then it could hurt the industrial demand," added Ong Yi Ling.
In 2007, 455.5 million ounces of silver were used for industrial applications according to the Silver Institute.
China's yuan rises past 6.50 against the US dollar
China's currency, the yuan, strengthened past a key level against the US dollar on Friday, as part of wider efforts to contain inflation on the mainland.
The yuan broke past 6.50 against the dollar, a level not seen since 1993.
Traders and currency strategists believe the move is a sign that China's central bank is prepared to allow the currency to appreciate further.
A stronger currency means imported products become cheaper in China.
"The market is very excited," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, a Hong Kong-based strategist at Credit Agricole CIB.
"Clearly, the People's Bank of China is pushing for a stronger pace of appreciation."
China's central bank actively guides the level of the yuan, by effectively setting the rate at which it is allowed to trade.
Mr Kowalczyk said the yuan had gained by 0.9% against the dollar so far in April, roughly equivalent to its entire gain in the first three months of 2011.
Friday's gains mean the yuan has strengthened by 27.5% since 2005, when Beijing revalued the currency, effectively ending its peg against the US dollar.
That policy of gradual appreciation was temporarily frozen in the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008.
Now, the spectre of rising prices in China has prompted its leaders to speed up the pace of appreciation, according to analysts.
"High inflation means you need to do more than just raise interest rates," said Thio Chin Loo, a Singapore-based currency strategist at BNP Paribas.
"This just compounds the kind of dollar selling we've been seeing."
China imports a great deal of food and fuel.
A more valuable currency would help reduce those costs, making daily essentials more affordable for the country's 1.3 billion people.
Inflation is a growing social and political problem in China. It hit a high of 5.4% in March.
Mr Kowalczyk believes that if the yuan continues to appreciate at the current rate, it may gain as much as 10% by the year end.
Eurozone inflation rate increases to 2.8%
The eurozone's inflation rate edged up to to 2.8% in April from March's figure of 2.7%, according to official data from Eurostat.
The increase takes inflation further away from the European Central Bank's target of just below 2%.
The cost of raw materials and high energy prices have contributed to the increase.
The ECB started raising rates in April from their record low, with a quarter point increase to 1.25%.
The rise in the inflation rate will put pressure on the ECB to raise interest rates further.
"It's slightly higher than consensus but that wasn't a complete surprise. We saw from Germany and Spain, which already published numbers, that it could go this way," said Piet Lammens, economist at KBC.
"However, I can imagine that some market participants will expect the rate increase by the European Central Bank at an earlier date. We expected June, the market is still expecting July. I guess the consensus will now move to June," he added.
However, policymakers at the ECB will also be keenly aware of the austerity measures in countries such as Greece, the Irish Republic and Portugal.
If rates in such countries were to rise, on top of the austerity measures being implemented, the return to growth for the eurozone as a whole might be threatened.
Cuba to allow sale of private homes for first time since the revolution
Cuba plans to allow people to buy and sell their homes for the first time since the 1959 revolution brought Fidel Castro to power, the BBC reports.
The decision came during the first congress held by the ruling Communist party in 14 years.
No details were released on how the new property sales could work, but President Raul Castro is likely to elaborate on a wide-range of economic reforms during a closing speech he made today in Havana, The Miami Herald reports.
Cubans currently could only pass on their homes to their children, or work out complicated and often corrupt swaps, the BBC reports.
While loosening the power on sale of property, Castro warns that the concentration of property would not be allowed.
Fidel Castro, 84, wrote in an editorial in the party newspaper Monday that he embraces the economic reforms. He no longer holds an official government or party post.
(Published in USA Today)