Tyson wants more fights and he’s tough, says Jones

Mike Tyson plans on fighting more exhibitions after a draw with Roy Jones Jr. on Saturday in his comeback at age 54 and Jones says he’ll be tough to beat.

“I’m happy I’m not knocked out or anything. I’ll be better the next one,” Tyson said after the eight-round exhibition at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

“I could have done everything better. God willing I’ll be better the next exhibition.”

The showdown of former heavyweight champions saw Jones, 51, thinking he won the fight but impressed at the stamina and strength showed by Tyson.

“It surprised me he could go eight rounds,” Jones said. “He could go with anybody. If he connects, you’ll have a problem. He can do anything he wants to do.”

A three-judge panel scored the bout a draw, with no details announced, but Jones didn’t mind that result so much.

“I thought I won the fight, jabbed better and controlled the fight, but I’m cool with a draw,” Jones said. “We both made it out cool and everybody got entertained.”

Tyson hopes to stage more bouts, as many as one every other month to stay in fighting shape, mentioning such possible venues as Monaco or France.

“Anything is possible. The sky is the limit,” Tyson said. “I’m capable of helping a lot of people all over the world.”

Tyson, who hadn’t climbed into the ring for a bout in 15 years, said he doesn’t see his return as an ego effort, having dropped 100 pounds to get himself into fighting shape.

“I don’t think it’s a mid-life crisis with me,” Tyson said. “I think it’s my ego and my ego tells me to do things I’m afraid of doing. I’m very happy I did this. I will do it again.”

Far from the “Iron Mike” of his dominating heavyweight champion days of the late 1980s, Tyson revels more in going the distance rather than aiming for knockouts.

“I was just happy to go the distance with him. That’s real fighting, having the endurance,” Tyson said. “You’re not going to knock everybody out. I used to go for the quick kill. I’m training for distance now.”

“I don’t expect to win. I expect to go eight rounds and entertain the crowd.”

Even with rounds cut to two minutes and bigger than usual gloves in safety moves ordered by state boxing officials, Tyson was able to produce more than enough punching power for Jones, who grabbed Tyson for much of the fight.

“I’m happy to scratch this off my bucket list,” Jones said. “Everything hurt when he made contact and it makes you so fatigued. I think I felt the uppercut the most. My jaw still feels it.”

Tyson says he has modest goals and simple needs these days, having long ago set aside the need for mansions, boats, cars, drugs and a wild lifestyle and now favoring his ability to raise funds for charities such as supporting needy youth.

“The old Mike Tyson no longer exists,” he said. “This is a better cause for me. I’m here for a purpose.

“I never liked who I was. I like who I am now.”

Agence France-Presse

NBA fines Suns’ Jackson $35,000 for ‘menacing gesture’

PHOENIX, Arizona — The NBA has fined Phoenix Suns rookie Josh Jackson $35,000 for “making a menacing gesture” on the playing court and “directing inappropriate language at a fan.”

The incident occurred in the Suns’ 130-88 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles last Saturday night.

Video appeared to show Jackson forming his fingers as a pretend gun and pointing it at the fan, but Jackson disputed that characterization.

Jackson said the fan had been heckling him loudly and aggressively throughout the game and that he wrongly decided to respond.

Jackson said at first he intended to flip his middle finger at the heckler but decided against it and that indecision led to his hand appearing to be a pretend gun.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Clippers Big 3 dominate Blazers

LOS ANGELES – Chris Paul had 28 points and 11 assists as one of three Clippers with a double-double, leading Los Angeles to a 115-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in the opener of their first-round playoff series Sunday (Monday Manila time).

Blake Griffin had 19 points and 12 rebounds, DeAndre Jordan added 18 points and 12 rebounds and J.J. Redick had 17 points. The Clippers are 6-0 with Griffin in the lineup since he returned from a 45-game absence two weeks ago.

Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 21 points, while backcourt mate CJ McCollum was held to nine points. They combined to average 45.9 points this season, third-highest by any duo in the NBA. Against the Clippers, they shot a combined 10 of 28.

Game 2 is Wednesday night at Staples Center.

Led by Paul and Griffin, the Clippers were their flashy Lob City selves – dunking, scoring in transition and diving after loose balls. The Blazers never got untracked while shooting under 40 percent for much of the game. Their only lead was by one point in the second quarter of the first postseason meeting between the teams.

The Clippers shot 54 percent, owned a 48-34 edge in the paint, and outscored Portland 30-13 over both halves to lead 65-48 in the third.

Griffin slammed down two dunks over Mason Plumlee early in the quarter, the second on a two-handed jam with Plumlee hanging off Griffin’s right side that drew a foul.

Midway through the second quarter, Paul scored 12 of the Clippers’ last 15 points to give them a 50-42 lead at the break. Their defense held Portland to seven points over the final 5:50 of the quarter.

Griffin dominated in the first quarter during a 16-7 run that gave the Clippers an eight-point lead, their largest of the first half. He scored eight points, dunking one-handed after knocking down Lillard and getting fouled hard by Plumlee on his way to the basket.

There was a mass exodus with the Clippers leading by 18 with 3:14 left in the game.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Kobe scores 60 points in unbelievable farewell victory

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant went out with a Hollywood ending to his remarkable career.

He scored 60 points in his final NBA game Wednesday night, wrapping up 20 years in the NBA with an unbelievable offensive showcase in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Bryant scored 23 points in the fourth quarter, posting his first 50-point game since February 2009 and rallying the Lakers from a 15-point deficit to win the final game of the worst season in franchise history.


With the entire Staples Center crowd standing, Bryant drained a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left. He hit another with 31 seconds to play, putting the Lakers ahead 97-96. He finished with an assist before checking out for good with 4.1 seconds left in just the Lakers’ 17th win of the worst season in franchise history.

Bryant took a career-high 50 shots to get there. He posted his highest-scoring performance since getting 61 against New York in 2009. It was the fifth highest-scoring game of his career, and he became the oldest player to score 50 points in an NBA game.

The entire night was a tribute to Bryant, who is retiring after 20 seasons, five championship rings and 18 All-Star selections with the Lakers, who honored him before and after the game. Bryant is just the fifth player in NBA history to play 20 seasons, and the first with just one team.

Between the whistles, Bryant and his teammates conspired for one last omnivorous scoring performance by the third-leading scorer in NBA history.

Bryant surpassed his previous career high of 47 shots, taken in a loss to Boston on Nov. 7, 2002.

It was daylong tribute with thousands of fans thronging the downtown streets around Staples Center and chanting his name from early afternoon. Fans lucky enough to get inside Staples Center greeted him with ovations at every opportunity. Magic Johnson anchored a brief pregame tribute by calling Bryant “the biggest and greatest celebrity we’ve had in this town for 20 years” and “the greatest to wear the purple and gold.”

After blowing kisses and pounding his heart before the game, Bryant got right to work on what the fans wanted to see. But he missed his first five shots before finally pump-faking and finally connecting on a jumper.

Bryant found a rhythm then, finishing the first quarter with 15 points on 13 shots. He kept it up after sitting out the first six minutes of the second, finishing with 22 points despite missing a last-minute shot, his 20th of the first half.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Tickets to Kobe’s last game won’t come cheap

HOLLYWOOD — Seeing Kobe Bryant wear the purple and gold for one last time won’t come cheap.

Resale tickets for Bryant’s final NBA game at Staples Center here Wednesday night come at a hefty price with seats at the uppermost level of the Arena going for over $700, and it doesn’t get cheaper from there.

Lower level tickets, where you have a better view of the playing court, are being sold up to $10,000 at TicketExchange.com.

Since the five-time champion announced he will retire at the end of the current season, Bryant has been given a fitting farewell at every arena during the Lakers’ road games.

It’s no surprise than in this sprawling city of Los Angeles, the anticipation to see its longtime basketball hero don the iconic Lakers’ jersey for the final time is much more intense.

According to a report from ESPN.com, LA will rename one of its train stations down to the “Kobe Station” and will start changing the signages to bear the Bryant’s name early Wednesday.

Wednesday’s game against the visiting Utah Jazz will also be the Lakers’ last this 2015-2016 season after failing to make the playoffs with a 16-65 record, the second worst in the league and good for dead last in the Western Conference.

The Lakers’ record will hardly matter, though, with all eyes on Bryant, who is one of the greatest and most thrilling players to ever set foot in the NBA.

source: sports.inquirer.net

LOOK: List of nominees in main Grammy categories

LOS ANGELES, United States — Rapper Kendrick Lamar leads nominations for Monday’s Grammy Awards with nods in a near-record 11 categories, although he faces stiff competition from Taylor Swift.

Here is a list of the nominees for some top categories at the 58th Grammy Awards, which will be presented at a gala ceremony in Los Angeles:  




 


Album of the Year

– Alabama Shakes, “Sound and Color”

– Kendrick Lamar, “To Pimp a Butterfly”

– Chris Stapleton, “Traveller”

– Taylor Swift, “1989”

– The Weeknd, “Beauty Behind the Madness”

Record of the Year (for single)

– D’Angelo and the Vanguard, “Really Love”

– Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk”

– Ed Sheeran, “Thinking Out Loud”

– Taylor Swift, “Blank Space”

– The Weeknd, “Can’t Feel My Face”

Song of the Year (for songwriting)

– Kendrick Lamar, “Alright.” Songwriters also include hip-hop producer Sounwave and pop star Pharrell Williams

– Taylor Swift, “Blank Space.” Songwriters also include Swedish production team of Max Martin and Shellback

– Country and folk songwriters Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose, “Girl Crush.” Song performed by group Little Big Town

– Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, “See You Again.” Songwriters also include hip-hop producer DJ Frank E and songwriter Andrew Cedar

– Ed Sheeran, “Thinking Out Loud”

Best New Artist

– Courtney Barnett

– James Bay

– Sam Hunt

– Tori Kelly

– Meghan Trainor

Best Pop Solo Performance

– Kelly Clarkson, “Heartbeat Song”

– Ellie Goulding, “Love Me Like You Do”

– Ed Sheeran, “Thinking Out Loud”

– Taylor Swift, “Blank Space”

– The Weeknd, “Can’t Feel My Face”

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

– Florence and the Machine, “Ship to Wreck”

– Maroon 5, “Sugar”

– Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk”

– Taylor Swift featuring Kendrick Lamar, “Bad Blood”

– Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth, “See You Again”

Best Rock Album

– James Bay, “Chaos and the Calm”

– Death Cab for Cutie, “Kintsugi”

– Highly Suspect, “Mister Asylum”

– Muse, “Drones”

Best Alternative Music Album

– Alabama Shakes, “Sound and Color”

– Bjork, “Vulnicura”

– My Morning Jacket, “The Waterfall”

– Tame Impala, “Currents”

– Wilco, “Star Wars”

Best Rap Album

– J. Cole, “2014 Forest Hills Drive”

– Dr. Dre, “Compton”

– Drake, “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late”

– Kendrick Lamar, “To Pimp a Butterfly”

– Nicki Minaj, “The Pinkprint”

Best World Music Album

– Gilberto Gil, “Gilbertos Samba Ao Vivo” (Brazil)

– Angelique Kidjo, “Sings” (Benin/Luxembourg)

– Ladysmith Black Mambazo with Ella Spira and The Inala Ensemble, “Music from Inala” (South Africa/Britain)

– Anoushka Shankar, “Home” (India/Britain)

– Zomba Prison Project, “I Have No Everything Here” (Malawi)

Best Dance/Electronic Album
– Caribou, “Our Love”

– The Chemical Brothers, “Born in the Echoes”

– Disclosure, “Caracal”

– Jamie XX, “In Colour”

– Skrillex and Diplo, “Skrillex and Diplo Present Jack U”

source: entertainment.inquirer.net