Wednesday, Jul. 04, 2012
2-Minute Warning
Davis taken No. 1 by New Orleans in draft
Kentucky became the first program with the top two picks in the NBA draft Thursday and tied a record with six players taken overall. The New Orleans Hornets took forward Anthony Davis with the overall No. 1 pick, and the Charlotte Bobcats followed with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at No. 2.
The SEC was represented well as Florida’s Bradley Beal was taken third by the Washington Wizards. Each of those three players were freshmen last season.
The Hornets seemed to stock up well for the future at this year’s draft, after losing star point guard Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers before the season began.
The Hornets also had the 10th pick in the draft, and took Austin Rivers out of Duke.
Controversy ensues after All-Star selections The best team in baseball is sending the most players to the All-Star Game in Kansas City. The Texas Rangers had six players selected, including slugger Josh Hamilton, third baseman Adrian Beltre and catcher Mike Napoli, all of three of whom will start for the American League.
The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels each had four players selected. Meanwhile, a lot of question marks remained after the selection of the National League team, which will be managed by Tony LaRussa, who retired as the Cardinals’ manager last year. Players on teams that are rivals to the Cardinals, such as the Reds and Brewers, were left off the list. Among them were Zack Greinke, Johnny Cueto and Brandon Phillips.
Statistically, the complaints are just. Greinke is 9-2 with a 3.08 ERA, and Cueto is 9-4 with a 2.28 ERA. Phillips is batting .283 with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs. However, it will be Atlanta’s Dan Uggla starting for the NL. Uggla has similar numbers for home runs and RBIs but is batting only .234.
Nets could wind up with a Big Four Speaking of All-Star teams, let’s talk about the NBA. Another super-team may be forming, but this one may have a Big Four, instead of a Big Three.
The Atlanta Hawks traded Joe Johnson to the newly-named Brooklyn Nets. Now, the Nets will seek to re-sign free agent All-Star point guard Deron Williams, and Dwight Howard has already publicly announced his desire to play in Brooklyn. The Nets also re-signed Gerald Wallace to a four-year deal.
The Nets may have to compete with the Dallas Mavericks for Williams and Howard, who expressed interest in acquiring both players to join Dirk Nowitzki.
