NBA fines Mobley $5,000 for criticizing officials

NEW YORK (AP) Houston guard Cuttino Mobley was fined $5,000 Friday for publicly criticizing the referees following the San Antonio Spurs 86-77 win Tuesday over the Rockets.

The fine was announced by Stu Jackson, the NBA's vice president of basketball operations.

Mobley described the officiating as ``retarded'' and said the officials were incompetent.

Via Associated Press

Houston Rockets

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Nona Gaye sings national anthem with late father

LOS ANGELES (AP) Nona Gaye gave one of the most impressive performances at All-Star weekend _ and she did it with a little help from her late father.

Gaye, the daughter of legendary singer Marvin Gaye, sang a stirring rendition of the national anthem during the All-Star Saturday festivities at Staples Center. It was a duet with her father, who changed the nation's perception of ``The Star-Spangled Banner'' with his performance at Los Angeles' last All-Star game 21 years ago.

Images of Marvin Gaye's performance played on a screen behind Nona as she sang along with an enhanced recording of the performance. The crowd whooped and cheered throughout the song.

Before the 1983 All-Star game at the Forum, Marvin Gaye stole the show with a soul-flavored rendition of the national anthem. Though a few purists, including former commissioner Larry O'Brien, were unimpressed with the unique arrangement, the players and most of the fans recognized a watershed moment in the history of sports and music.

``It was the prettiest and the most soulful national anthem I've ever heard,'' said former Lakers guard Michael Cooper, who attended the 1983 game. ``I've never seen so many people tear up or feel the way they felt after someone sang the national anthem.

``That national anthem brought everyone together. ... You have some good renditions by different people, but nothing ever sounded, or compared to, or made you feel the way Marvin Gaye sang that one.''

There was nearly as much music as basketball on All-Star Saturday: Tamia, the wife of Orlando's Grant Hill, sang the Canadian anthem, while Ruben Studdard and the Beach Boys also performed.

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YAO HOMECOMING:@ The Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings will play two exhibition games in China in October, and Yao Ming expects to hear from a lot of friends and relatives in his hometown of Shanghai.

Asked how many might be on his list for free passes, Yao grinned and said: ``We may have to hold out the entire stadium.''

The Rockets' All-Star center, speaking through an interpreter, added: ``I'm very, very happy to get a chance to play in Shanghai again.''

The first game will be in Shanghai Stadium on Oct. 14. The teams play again at Capital Stadium in Beijing on Oct. 16.

Yao's Houston teammate, Steve Francis, already is excited about the trip.

``One of the things you hear about China, even when you're young, is about the Great Wall,'' Francis said. ``Maybe Yao and I can go run along the Great Wall.''

Both games _ the first to be staged by an American pro sports league in China _ will be televised by ESPN.

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JAY WILLIAMS:@ A year ago, Jay Williams played in the Rookie Challenge at All-Star weekend. The Chicago guard seemed headed for an outstanding NBA career until his motorcycle accident last June, which has put his career in jeopardy.

But Williams was back at the All-Star game this weekend as a correspondent for the NBA's TV network. Williams, who received a generous contract buyout from the Bulls last week, bantered with former Duke teammates Mike Dunleavy and Carlos Boozer before speaking about his future.

``Rehab is coming well,'' said Williams, the second overall pick in the 2002 draft. ``It's something I do every day of my life. They say it's going good. I think I'll be running by summer. Then we'll work on cutting, and then trying to get back out here.''

The accident severed a main nerve in Williams' leg, fractured his pelvis and tore three of the four main ligaments in his left knee. He spent two weeks at a Chicago hospital and several more weeks at a hospital in North Carolina.

Williams still walks with a pronounced limp, and doctors have cautioned him to remain realistic about his rehab schedule. He realizes he might never play again, but refuses to give up.

Said Williams: ``It could happen. You never know.''

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LOOSE BALLS:@ California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will appear on TNT's pregame show before Sunday's All-Star game. ... Both All-Star teams held practices Saturday at the nearby convention center housing the NBA's interactive fan pavilion. At the end of the East practice, Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson, Kenyon Martin and Baron Davis threw their shoes into the crowd. ... Most of the All-Stars attended Saturday's proceedings. Iverson cheered loudly for Kyle Korver, his Philadelphia teammate, in the 3-Point Shootout. ... Lennox Lewis, who retired as heavyweight champion earlier in the month, sat next to actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Via Associated Press

General Basketball, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls

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Cassell finally gets his All-Star turn

LOS ANGELES (AP) At 34, he finally made his first NBA All-Star squad.

Sam Cassell has been one of the league's more consistent performers for more than a decade, but it took him 11 years to get All-Star recognition.

``I don't know why. I'm not a bad guy,'' Cassell said, laughing and shaking his head. ``Looking at stats, and my team winning, I thought it was all there for me.''

Cassell, a reserve on the Western Conference squad, is averaging a career-high 21 points and 7.8 assists in his first season with Minnesota.

Even more importantly for the Timberwolves, he has provided stability and leadership for the team's banged-up backcourt, and Minnesota's 37-15 record is its best ever at the All-Star break.

``I'm very, very excited to see Sam finally getting the recognition he deserves,'' said Timberwolves _ and All-Star _ teammate Kevin Garnett. ``He's done a great job, and I think he's being rejuvenated a little bit by the All-Star recognition.''

Garnett smiled and added, ``Of course, he'd deny that.''

Whatever the case, Cassell certainly seemed to be having a good time Friday afternoon as he held court with reporters at his designated table, just a few feet from where Garnett was sitting and answering questions.

Talking about playing with Garnett, Cassell said, ``A guy like Kevin Garnett is like Advil; he relieves the pressure.''

Cassell is the second-oldest first-time All-Star in NBA history, one month younger than New York's Sweetwater Clifton in 1957.

``It's amazing, everything that I expected,'' Cassell said. ``Some of the guys I battle with night in and night out, I can be friends with for a while.

``Afterward, I won't like them again.''

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BIG MEN:@ Asked if Shaquille O'Neal is the most physical player he's gone up against so far, Houston's Yao Ming nodded.

Then he smiled and added, through an interpreter, ``And I don't think there will be anyone more physical than him afterward, either.''

Yao finished ahead of O'Neal in the fans' All-Star balloting for the second consecutive year, so will start for the Western Conference.

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GIMME MY TROPHY:@ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made a record 18 NBA All-Star appearances, but the five-time regular-season MVP never won that honor in the All-Star game.

His most memorable All-Star outing, he said, is the ``one where they wouldn't give me the MVP'' in 1971, when he was still Lew Alcindor and played for Milwaukee.

He scored 19 points, including a 5-foot jumper and free throw with 48 seconds remaining to give the West a 108-107 victory in that game, and also had 14 rebounds.

Seattle's Lenny Wilkens, who scored a a game-high 21 points, was the MVP.

``They voted for the MVP at halftime, and I definitely won it in the second half,'' Abdul-Jabbar recalled. ``Then the writers came over and said they were sorry. But that was the worst.

``Lenny Wilkens had a great first half, but the game was really decided in the second half. Jerry West and I took over the game in the last two minutes and I scored six or seven points and we won it.''

Abdul-Jabbar grinned and added, ``I told somebody that now that Lenny's coaching again, I'm going to go to his house and steal the MVP trophy.''

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STAYING EMPLOYED:@ The Lakers' Derek Fisher would prefer that Kobe Bryant _ and Shaquille O'Neal _ hang around Los Angeles for at least a few more years.

``My job security depends a lot on those two guys,'' Fisher said.

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KIDS' DAY:@ Shaquille O'Neal showed up at the media session Friday with 3-year-old daughter Aimirah.

At first, she happily munched a cookie, then took off her shoe. Soon, she poked a curious finger into the fuzzy microphones stuck in her father's face. She undid a pin that secured bunting to the table before O'Neal took it away from her.

When Aimirah climbed into O'Neal's lap and started babbling, he shushed her with a smile. She had O'Neal and reporters laughing when she grabbed his lips with her tiny hands and squeezed them together, then covered his face with her hands.

T.J. Kidd is a preschooler, too, but worlds apart in media savvy. The son of New Jersey's Jason Kidd wore a black headband and mugged for the TV cameras at the slightest provocation.

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STAR SIGHTINGS:@ Celebrities came out to see rookies LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony team up in the rookie game Friday night.

Rapper Jay-Z, actress-director Penny Marshall, former Miami Heat coach Pat Riley, New Orleans guard Baron Davis, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell were among those in the crowd. Lakers teammates Shaquille O'Neal and Rick Fox each brought one of their kids.

Via Associated Press

Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets

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