Stingy Celtics stifle Bucks in Boston
Ray Allen and the Boston Celtics take a lot of pride in their defense, so this one was a gem. For Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles, it was embarrassing.
Allen scored 17 points in just three quarters and the Celtics set a franchise record for fewest points allowed in the shot-clock era, routing the Bucks 87-56 on Sunday.
“I think playing defense perfectly is our goal,” Allen said. “That’s what we shoot for, but a team can still score while you’re doing that.”
Not this time.
It was the lowest score against the Celtics since they beat the Milwaukee Hawks 62-57 at Providence, R.I., on Feb. 27, 1955. The Bucks, who joined the NBA before the 1968-69 season, set a franchise record for fewest points.
“That’s about as humiliating a defeat as you’ll ever see,” Skiles said. “They got us on our heels and took our competitive fight away from us. We pretty much just gave into it.”
Milwaukee was coming off 102-74 home win over Philadelphia on Saturday. When the Bucks flew east to Boston, they lost an hour to the Eastern time zone and then another hour to daylight savings time. And when the 6 p.m. EDT start arrived on Sunday, they plodded their way to all of nine points in the first quarter.
“You could see they were tired,” Boston coach Doc Rivers said. “So, we took advantage and that was great, but a lot of it had to do with their schedule.”
The Celtics held the Bucks to just 38 points through three quarters—an NBA record, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. They clinched the new franchise low when Milwaukee’s Keyon Dooling missed a pair of free throws with 22 seconds remaining.
Nenad Krstic had 11 points and 14 rebounds and Paul Pierce scored 14 for the Celtics, who rested their starters throughout the fourth quarter.
Earl Barron was the only player to score in double figures for the Bucks, finishing with 10 points. Andrew Bogut and Brandon Jennings led Milwaukee’s starters with eight points apiece. Guard John Salmons was shut out altogether in 21 minutes.
It was Milwaukee’s most dismal performance since an 88-58 loss to Seattle on Feb. 21, 2003—the day after the Bucks traded Allen to the SuperSonics in a multiplayer deal for Gary Payton.
Eight years later, Allen had a light workout with 30 minutes for the Celtics, who also got Glenn “Big Baby” Davis back after missing four games with a strained tendon in his left knee. Davis finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Troy Murphy added 12 points and seven boards and Jeff Green scored 11 for Boston.
The Bucks, who had won three straight, barely avoided the NBA record for fewest points in a half. Two field goals by Bogut in the final minute of the second quarter pushed Milwaukee’s score from 18 to 22—just three better than the league record for futility. It tied the Bucks’ franchise low and was the fewest scored in a half against the Celtics ever.
The Bucks had more turnovers (nine) than field goals (eight) in the half and were outrebounded by Boston 27-17 in the first two periods.
Bryant struggles and still leads Lakers over Mavs
Kobe Bryant went through an array of emotions, grimacing in pain and initially thinking his left ankle might be hurt bad enough to end his season. Then he realized things would be all right and even got back in the game.
Bryant now has a sore ankle and is still struggling with his shot, but was able to do plenty to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks 96-91 on Saturday night in matchup of Western Conference powers—and a potential playoff preview.
“I thought I was done, like done. I was praying that when I stood up, my foot was lined up straight,” Bryant said. “I thought I dislocated it.”
Late in the third quarter, Bryant came down awkwardly after having a shot blocked by Shawn Marion. While Jason Kidd converted the turnover into a layup that got Dallas within 65-63, Bryant remained on the floor in obvious pain.
When Bryant got up, he limped a few steps and called timeout. He went to the bench for a minute, then to the locker room before coming back out early in the fourth quarter and returning to the game with about 6 minutes left.
“I just walked around, let it settle in, then went back out. We were all pretty scared because it looked horrible and felt worse,” Bryant said. “When I stood up, I was happy it was still lined up. I walked around, my strength felt good. It was a little sore. But I had to stop being a chump, suck it up and go out and play.”
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he wasn’t sure if Bryant would be able to play Monday night at home against Orlando.
The Lakers responded with eight consecutive points after Bryant went out, including two 3-pointers by Steve Blake, to stretch the lead to 73-63.
Andrew Bynum led the Lakers with 22 points and 15 rebounds, while Pau Gasol had 18 points and Ron Artest 12.
Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion had 25 points apiece for Dallas while both posting double-doubles. Marion had 12 rebounds and Nowitzki grabbed 10.
The LA Lakers beat Dallas 96 to 91.
Dwyane Wade wins custody fight for sons
When the Miami Heat ended practice Sunday, Dwyane Wade(notes) went home to his sons.
That will be a regular event going forward.
Ending a long and often-vengeful fight, a Chicago court has awarded Wade sole “care, custody and control” of his two sons. The boys arrived in Miami on Friday, shortly after the ruling was filed, and Wade told The Associated Press that “a huge weight is off my back.”
“My life changed in a huge way,” Wade told the AP. “Mentally, I’ve been preparing for it for over a year now. To me, it’s bigger than that. For me, it shows a lot of people that you need to fight to be in your kids’ lives sometimes. You fight until you can’t fight any more. That’s all I was trying to be, a father in his kids’ lives.”
Wade did not immediately announce the decision after receiving word Friday, trying to make sure that his sons fully understood what it meant first. Teammates, informed of the ruling in a locker room meeting on Saturday after Miami’s victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, gave him a rousing ovation.
Wade had one of his finest all-around efforts of the season Saturday: 28 points, nine assists, five rebounds and five blocked shots.
It may not have been a coincidence.
“I heard the best news I could possibly hear,” Wade said. “So I was like, ‘I’m going to go out there and play free and enjoy it.”’
Wade’s divorce was granted last June, after a lengthy separation. The financial portion of the divorce remains unsettled.
The boys’ mother, Siohvaughn Wade, will have what the court described as “regular parenting time” on alternating weekends in Miami, as well as several other times during the year, including Mother’s Day. Dwyane Wade has also repeatedly said that he wants his sons to have healthy relationships with their mother.
Still, the 102-page ruling had some sharp words for Wade’s ex-wife.
“This court finds that (Siohvaughn Wade) has embarked on an unstoppable and relentless pattern of conduct for over two years to alienate the children from their father, and lacks either the ability or the willingness to facilitate, let alone encourage, a close and continuing relationship between them,” read a portion of the ruling entered by Judge Renee G. Goldfarb.
Wade’s attorney, James Pritikin, said the custody trial “was one of the longest ever in Cook County history.”
Wade filed the motion asking for sole custody nearly a year ago, though the legal tussle has gone on considerably longer.
He and his ex-wife separated in August 2007 and it took Wade years to get the divorce, a process that was slowed by his ex-wife often changing attorneys. He also sued Siohvaughn Wade for defamation after she made unfounded allegations against him in 2009—claims she eventually withdrew.
More claims against Dwyane Wade followed during the custody case, including that he was abusive to his children. The court found them all to be baseless.
“The court agreed the best home is with Mr. Wade and that he is also willing to foster a relationship with the children’s mother,” Pritikin said. “I know he will continue to be a phenomenal parent.”
The court acknowledged that Wade’s schedule as a professional athlete is “demanding,” given the rigors of training camp, preseason, an 82-game regular season and then the playoffs.
“Is every day the same? No. Is it consistent? No,” Goldfarb’s ruling read. “But, to posit that (Dwyane Wade) does not have the time to be a primary parent is incorrect. He has the time if he makes the time.”
Wade said all the measures are in place for as smooth a transition for his sons as possible. A school for the boys has been selected, and a plan for child-care was presented to the court, which found it acceptable.
“We had to have that, nanny care, everything already booked and planned out,” Wade said. “That’s the easy part.”
The court ruling also had some other interesting items, including Siohvaughn Wade’s contention that Dwyane Wade could have found employment in Chicago, where she has lived with the boys.
Wade met with the Chicago Bulls twice last summer when he was a free agent, but according to the ruling, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf never met with Wade, nor did the team ever present the 2006 NBA finals MVP with a contract offer.
The ruling also states that Wade is on the U.S. roster for the 2012 London Olympics. Wade played with the U.S. team at the Athens Games in 2004 and the Beijing Games in 2008, but has not yet said publicly if he definitively plans to play at the London Games.
Wade told the AP that the waiting for the ruling has been difficult, and expressed again Sunday a desire for his ex-wife to “play a healthy role” in the boys’ lives.
“I’m not going to say, ‘OK, I won,”’ Wade said. “I think them living here, being here, it’s a great opportunity for them and I’m looking forward to it for them, to grow up with me and us learning together, how to be father-son. So I’m excited.”
Another million-dollar heist
Gunmen in Jamaica on Saturday morning held up an Atlas vehicle and made off with more than a million dollars in cash.
According to a commander in the St Andrew North Police Division, the incident unfolded outside the Western Union outlet at Washington Plaza in the parish, about 10:30 am.
The officer, who declined to be named, said the gunmen seemed to have waited until two of the security guards had entered the premises before they held up the driver, who was sitting inside the vehicle, at gunpoint.
The driver managed to escape the vehicle before the gunmen drove it from the scene, police said.
The vehicle was later discovered abandoned nearby, however, the cash was missing.
Up to late yesterday evening, police were still trying to ascertain how much money was taken by the robbers but estimate in was in the millions of dollars.
"I cannot say the exact amount of money that was stolen because I have not received (all) the preliminary details of the investigation as yet. I can confirm, however, that the incident happened," said the police officer.
The incident follows last month's brazen daylight hold-up of another security company's courier vehicle along East Road, off Hagley Park Road in Kingston. In that incident, hoodlums made off with more than $50 million after hijacking the car in which three security guards were travelling.
In that incident, the hoodlums also relieved one of the security guards of his .38 Smith & Wesson revolver and 12 rounds of ammunition before escaping.
Police reported that in that instance, the bandits, travelling in a blue Honda motor car, rammed the Suzuki Liana motor car in which the security guards were travelling, forcing it to stop.
They then ordered the guards away from the vehicle and fled the scene in it. The stolen vehicle was later abandoned on Greenwich Street, in the Kingston 12 inner-city community of Rema.
It was not immediately clear yesterday, whether or not their was any connection between the two incidents.
St Lucia braces for gay attack
As St Lucia braces for the possible fallout from an attack on three gay men from the United States as they showered together in a cottage in the west coast town of Soufriere, tourism officials are this week arranging meetings with the visitors to do some damage control.
“One of the sensitive issues in this regard is that… there were some discriminatory remarks which were made to them, and which obviously offended them tremendously,” Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet said.
“Given the fact that homosexuality is against the law in St Lucia, the visitors harboured concerns about going to the police.”
Chastanet said that one of the men who had become very attached to St Lucia was in the process of raising funds to help slow learners in the various schools on the island.
In another reaction to the incident Foreign Minister Rufus Bousquet told reports Friday that there was more to the incident that meets the eye.
“Sometimes in government we are privy to information which we can’t necessarily release and which in some cases is speculative because you can’t actually prove it, so while there may be more to this the fact of the matter is it is a most unfortunate incident and not the kind of thing that we like to see in St Lucia,” he said.
“Generally the government will never condone such a thing as we find it reprehensibly and should be condemned in every circle in which there is a facility to condemn it.”
One of the men has taken his story to several leading gay publications in the United States and has also documented his ordeal on various social networks, suggesting that the incident represented a hate crime directed at gays.
The local organisation United and Strong, which has in the past advocated on behalf of gays and lesbians, has condemned the incident and said that the risk to the men increased once the criminals recognised their sexual orientation.
United and Strong, a representative of which is currently in the United States, is seeking a meeting with the victims.
The three visitors said that in addition to being attacked, robbed and beaten, they were subjected to certain discriminatory remarks.
Police said they have captured two of the five men involved in the incident and have found most the stolen items which have since been returned to the tourists.
They said the search is continuing for the other three.
Cuba Releases Prominent Dissident
Cuba has released from prison one of its most prominent dissidents.
Oscar Elias Biscet was freed Friday and returned to his home in Havana. The 49-year-old physician was serving a 25-year sentence.
Biscet was part of a group of 52 dissidents arrested in a 2003 Cuban government crackdown on opponents.
Most of the 52 dissidents have been released in an accord reached with Cuba's Catholic Church last year. Many are living in exile in Spain, which agreed to accept them. Three of them remain imprisoned.
Cuban authorities view dissidents as mercenaries working for their archenemy, the United States.
For Biscet's opposition to Cuba's government, then-U.S. president George W. Bush awarded him the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in absentia in 2007.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
US Targets Mexican Drug Gang
U.S. law enforcement officials announced Wednesday that 10 Mexican nationals associated with a notorious criminal gang have been charged in last year's murder of a U.S. consulate employee and two other people in Juarez, Mexico.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and other law enforcement officials at a Washington news conference.
Holder said 35 people with links to the international criminal gang known as "Barrio Azteca" have been charged with various counts of murder, racketeering, drug trafficking and money laundering.
The murder charges stem from last year's killing of a U.S. consulate employee and two other people, when gunmen opened fire in Juarez, Mexico as the victims left a birthday party.
Holder said his office is working with Mexican officials to have those charged in Mexico extradited to the United States.
"Of the 35 defendants, 10 Mexican nationals were charged in last year's murders in Juarez, Mexico, of United States consulate employees Leslie Ann Enriquez Catton, her husband, Arthur Redelfs and Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, the husband of another United States consulate employee," said Eric Holder. "Seven of the 10 defendants charged with these murders and two other indicted defendants are in custody in Mexico."
Holder said 12 of those arrested were taken into custody on Wednesday by law enforcement agents in Texas and New Mexico.
FBI Executive Assistant Director Shawn Henry says the joint U.S.-Mexico crackdown targets an international criminal organization known for what U.S. officials call its "militaristic command structure."
"This takedown is an important step in disrupting and dismantling one of the most powerful and brutal gangs operating along the U.S.-Mexico border," said Shawn Henry. "As the attorney general noted, the Barrio Azteca gang has transformed from a prison gang to a sophisticated transnational organized criminal enterprise. Its members have committed unspeakable acts of violence, terrorized communities on both sides of the border and murdered the innocent."
Mexico's deputy attorney general was on hand for the announcement at the Justice Department. Despite the ongoing violence along the U.S.-Mexico border, Attorney General Holder said U.S. and Mexican officials are working more effectively than ever in the fight against criminal gangs.
Japan quake: Explosion at Fukushima nuclear plant
A second explosion has hit the nuclear plant in Japan which was damaged in Friday's earthquake, but officials said it had resisted the blast.
TV footage showed smoke rising from Fukushima plant's reactor 3, a day after an explosion hit reactor 1.
Japan's nuclear safety agency said the blast was believed to have been caused by the build-up of hydrogen.
However, the agency said it could not confirm whether there had been an uncontrolled leak of radioactivity.
Technicians have been battling to cool three reactors at the Fukushima 1 plant since Friday, when the quake and tsunami combined to knock out the cooling system.
The natural disaster killed hundreds and left thousands missing, sparking a huge rescue operation.
The government has pumped 7 trillion yen ($86bn; £54bn) into the economy to prop up the markets - which slumped on opening.
Japanese broadcaster NHK says the total number of confirmed deaths caused by the disaster now stands at 1,596.
Japan's Nikkei falls 4.5% in first session after quake
Japanese shares have tumbled on the first trading day after the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the country's northeast shore.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index fell 4.5%, while the broader Topix index was trading 6% lower.
At one point the Nikkei dropped by almost 6%, knocking more than $150bn off its total market value.
The Bank of Japan will inject 7 trillion yen ($85bn; £52.9bn) into the banking system to stabilise markets.
Immediately after the quake, the central bank pledged to "do its utmost" to limit its impact, including providing liquidity to money and banking markets.
The deadly quake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan just before the markets closed on Friday.
"The recent major earthquake is bound to exert downward pressure on Japanese equities as a whole over the near term," Nomura said in a note to investors.
Elsewhere in the region, the main markets have also fallen on Monday, though the declines were smaller than those seen in Japan.
South Korea's Kospi share index slid 0.9%. Singapore's STI index shed more than 0.4% and Taiwan's main index dropped 0.8%.
Production troubles
Japanese carmakers and electronics firms led the declines on Monday.
Early trading was complicated because many sellers of shares struggled to find buyers. As a result, a number of stocks remained untraded once the markets had opened.
Shares of Toyota Motors, the world's biggest automaker, fell 8.9% after it suspend operations at all of its 12 Japanese factories.
Japanese factories account for 38% of Toyota's overall production.
Honda, Japan's third-largest automaker, fell 9.1%. The company makes about a quarter of all its cars in Japan.
Electronics companies including Hitachi and Toshiba also dropped, shedding more than 15%.
Japanese Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano was quoted by the Jiji news agency saying that he was keeping a close eye on the movement of Japan's currency, the yen, which has strengthened.
Economists said that a stronger yen may make it harder for companies to sell their goods abroad, further hurting their earnings.
'Weakened Japan'
Analysts said that there were concerns about the speed with which Japan's economy could rebound from the problems.
Last month Japan was overtaken by China as the world's second-largest economy.
"In the short term, the market will almost surely suffer and stocks will plunge," said Koetsu Aizawa, economics professor at Saitama University.
"People might see an already weakened Japan, overshadowed by a growing China, getting dealt the finishing blow from this quake."
Some analysts have forecast that Japan's economy may lose as much as a percentage point in growth this year because of the quake.
Japan's economy contracted by a more-than-expected 1.3% in the final three months of 2010.
Rebuilding effort
However, while there are concerns about the short-term impact on the economy, there are industries where investors are looking to increase their holdings.
Shares in Japanese construction firms have surged in value on Monday as they are expected to play a central role in rebuilding the country in coming months.
Foreign firms have also been in focus, notably technology producers and carmakers, where shares have been gaining.
Investors, for example, are expecting an increase in orders for Korean goods because production has been suspended in many of Japan's factories.
Chevron appeals against Ecuador Amazon pollution fine
US oil giant Chevron has launched a legal appeal against a $9.5bn (£5.9bn) fine by an Ecuador court for polluting much of the country's Amazon region.
Chevron accused lawyers and supporters of the indigenous groups who brought the case of "corrupting" the trial.
It said the judgement contained "numerous legal and factual defects".
The oil firm Texaco, which merged with Chevron in 2001, was accused of dumping billions of gallons of toxic materials into unlined pits and rivers.
Protesters said the company had destroyed their livelihood. Crops were damaged, farm animals killed and cancer increased among the local population, they said.
Drawn-out fight
An appeal by Chevron had been widely expected. A statement by Chevron said the firm would pursue efforts at an international tribunal and in the US courts to prevent the ruling from being enforced.
No payment can be made during the appeals process, which could drag on for years.
The appeal is the latest twist in the case, which was brought on behalf of 30,000 Ecuadoreans nearly two decades ago.
Ecuadorean Indian groups said Texaco dumped more than 18 billion gallons (68 billion litres) of toxic materials into the unlined pits and rivers between 1972 and 1992.
The plaintiffs said the company's activities had destroyed large areas of rainforest and also led to an increased risk of cancer among the local population.
The trial began in 2003 after almost a decade of legal battles in the US. At that time, a US appeals court ruled that the case should be heard in Ecuador.
Environmentalists hope the case will set a precedent, forcing companies operating in developing countries to comply with the same anti-pollution standards as in the industrialised world.