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Free NBA Picks- (associated press). former nba player to announce he is gay in upcoming book.
John Amaechi, who played at Penn State and for five seasons in the NBA, will announce he is gay in an upcoming book.
The book, published by ESPN Books (owned by the Walt Disney Company, parent company of ESPN), is entitled "Man in the Middle." It is due to be released later this month.
Amaechi, born in Massachusetts but raised in England, would be the first NBA player to come out publicly. Few other men's professional major sport athletes have announced they are gay. Among them are football player Esera Tuaolo, baseball player Billy Bean and baseball umpire Dave Pallone.
Amaechi, a 6-10 center, played for Cleveland, Orlando and Utah during five NBA seasons. He averaged 6.2 points and 2.6 rebounds before retiring from the league in 2003.
He is currently known in Britain as a television personality and for helping fund the Amaechi Basketball Center in Manchester.
He played collegiately at Penn State after transferring from Vanderbilt.
Amaechi will also be the subject of ESPN's "Outside the Lines" on Sunday (9:30 a.m. ET). The book will also be excerpted next week on ESPN.com and in the next issue of ESPN The Magazine.
NBA PLAYOFFS- (associated press): Thomas slammed after saying contest about money.
The Chicago Bulls fined forward Tyrus Thomas $10,000 on Tuesday, one day after the rookie said he only was interested in the prize money at the NBA's slam dunk contest.
He later apologized "for any negative feelings that may have been caused by my comments."
The first Bulls player since Scottie Pippen in 1990 to participate in the event, Thomas was quoted in Tuesday's editions of the Chicago Tribune as saying: "I'm just going to go out there, get my check and call it a day."
When asked if being around some of the game's greats could be beneficial for a rookie, he responded, "I'm just into the free money. That's it. I'll just do whatever when I get out there."
The winner of the Feb. 17 event in Las Vegas gets $35,000. The runner-up earns $22,500, with the third and fourth-place finishers getting $16,125. Joining Thomas are defending champion Nate Robinson of New York, Orlando All-Star Dwight Howard and Boston's Gerald Green.
"This fine is an appropriate response to the remarks Tyrus made concerning his participation in the slam dunk contest," Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said in a statement. "It is a poor reflection on Tyrus individually and a poor reflection on the Bulls organization, and I am certainly disappointed."
Thomas apologized in a statement issued through his agents Tuesday night.
"I truly feel honored to be invited to participate in this year's slam dunk contest during next week's NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas," Thomas said. "The opportunity to represent the Bulls and the city of Chicago on a global stage is a privilege that I do not take lightly. I regret the extent to which my comments indicate otherwise."
Thomas has appeared in 41 games, averaging 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds.
NBA PLAYOFFS- (associated press): Healing ankle has Iverson hoping to play Wednesday.
Allen Iverson can run just fine on his sprained right ankle.
Now if the Denver Nuggets point guard could only cut on it.
Iverson made it through the entire practice Tuesday afternoon on the tender ankle and remains optimistic he'll be ready for the game against the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets on Wednesday night. Iverson has missed four straight games with the ankle injury he suffered against Charlotte on Jan. 29.
"[The ankle] bothered me on a couple cuts and drives to the basket [in practice], but that's to be expected," Iverson said. "Hopefully [Wednesday] it won't stiffen up on me or swell up on me and I'll be able to go."
A limited Iverson is better than no Iverson, at least in Denver coach George Karl's opinion. Iverson is still listed as a game-time decision.
"Allen knows we're in a position where his presence is going to help us, whatever it is, 70 percent, 80 percent," Karl said. "I think his presence on the court will help us. He's a pro. He knows how to figure out what he can do, what he can't do. I think we could use him."
The status of center Marcus Camby may be a different story. He's listed as doubtful for the Hornets game with a strained left groin.
"It feels a little better," said Camby, who suffered the injury against Sacramento last Saturday.
Camby missed four games earlier in the season with a fractured right hand and has been playing for more than a month with it taped up.
"My hand is healing and getting better, but with groins and stuff like that you've got to be careful," said Camby, who's currently leading the league in blocks (3.13) and is second in rebounds (12.2). "You've got to be smart about it."
And while Carmelo Anthony (left wrist sprain) and Steve Blake (stitches in his lip and a hyperextended elbow) both received treatment Tuesday, neither is expected to miss the game against the Hornets. Anthony, who recorded his first career triple-double in a loss to Phoenix on Monday night, reported experiencing some soreness in his left wrist but still practiced Tuesday.
The Nuggets have dropped three of four in Iverson's absence. What's more, injuries -- not to mention the suspensions to J.R. Smith and Anthony -- are making it difficult for this team to build any sort of chemistry.
"We wanted to see how it would've been with all of us there, but we can't cry over spoiled milk," said Iverson, who's averaging 28.9 points a game. "We've got to move on to the next game."
Iverson, who was recently named to his eight straight All-Star team, may have to adjust his game while the ankle heals. Either that or he's hoping adrenaline kicks in and he won't notice the pain when he cuts hard toward the basket.
"As far as running straight, I think I can do that all night long," Iverson said. "But just cutting the way I usually do, that's the main part of my game. I'm limited in that."
NBA PLAYOFFS- (associated press): barkley admits huge gambling loses.
Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley admits he has a gambling problem, but said Monday that he's several thousand dollars richer after returning from Las Vegas.
Charles Barkley dished on a number of hot topics Monday, including his gambling and winnings from the Colts' victory in Super Bowl XLI. More
In an interview with Phoenix television station KTVK, Barkley said he won "about $700,000" over the weekend.
"That was all profit [from] blackjack and I bet on the Super Bowl. I had the Colts," Barkley added. "I played a lot of blackjack."
Barkley did not say how much he bet on Sunday's game in which Indianapolis beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Miami.
In an ESPN interview in May 2006, Barkley estimated that he'd lost about $10 million gambling over the years.
He said Monday that he lost $2.5 million "in a six-hour period" one night last year.
"It's a stupid, bad habit. I have a problem," Barkley said of his gambling. "But the problem is when you can't afford it. I can afford to gamble. I didn't kill myself when I lost two and half million dollars … I like to gamble and I'm not going to quit."
Barkley, who lives in the Phoenix area, was elected to the Hall of Fame last year.
He averaged 22.1 points and nearly 12 rebounds in a 16-year career that included stops in Philadelphia, Phoenix and Houston. He was the league's MVP in 1993 with the Suns, and he won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as part of the original U.S. Dream Team.
NBA PLAYOFFS- (covers.com): warriors stck with with third string guard.
The Golden State Warriors may be without their top two point guards tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Starter Baron Davis puts his chances of playing below 50 percent because of of a bruised left knee. Backup Monta Ellis ruled himself out because of a left knee contusion suffered during Monday's game.
Oddsmakers have the Warriors as 7 1/2-point underdogs in Minnesota tonight.
Sarunas Jasikevicius, acquired in the trade with the Indiana Pacers, should get the start at point guard if both Davis and Ellis don't play.
"Right now, I just don't have a lot of faith in him," Warriors coach Don Nelson told the Contra Costa Times on Tuesday. "I've given him a lot of opportunities to play, and he just hasn't looked good to me."
Jasikevicius is shooting just 26.7 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from 3-point range since joining Golden State.
NBA PLAYOFFS- (associated press): bulls forward out.
The Chicago Bulls will likely be without Andres Nocioni until after the All-Star break.
Coach Scott Skiles says the third-year forward needs seven to 10 days of rest to recover from plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
The Bulls have three games left on a seven-game trip.
Nocioni - who is averaging 15 points and six rebounds a game - will stay with the team on the trip.
The Bulls takes on the Kings Thursday night in Sacramento. Oddsmakers have yet to release a line.
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