Sports

Cavs and Bulls Recovering, Clippers Aiming to Oust Rockets

Published

9 years ago

May 12, 2015

Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, second from left, celebrates with Tristan Thompson, left, J.R. Smith, center, Matthew Dellavedova, and Kyrie Irving, right, after scoring the game-winning basket during the second half of Game 4 in a second-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago on Sunday, May 10, 2015. The Cavaliers won 86-84. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

TIM REYNOLDS, AP Basketball Writer

There’s been former MVP’s winning games with dramatic buzzer-beating jumpers. There’s been injuries to stars. There’s been a coach getting questioned by his own team.

And now this Chicago-Cleveland series is going to get really intense.

Game 5’s have arrived in the second round of the NBA playoffs, with the Bulls visiting the Cavaliers in their knotted-up series to start tonight’s doubleheader. The nightcap features the Los Angeles Clippers — a franchise that has never won two playoff series in the same year — looking to change that and advance, as they take a 3-1 lead into Houston.

“This is the ultimate adversity right now,” Houston guard James Harden said. “We’ve got Game 5 back at the house and it’s really win or go home. Our backs are against the ball, and we’ve got to show up.”

He’s right, it’s win-or-else time for the Rockets.

It only seems that way for the Bulls and Cavaliers.

Here’s a look at tonight’s games, all times Eastern:

___

Bulls at Cavaliers, Series tied 2-2, 7 p.m., TNT

There’s been more injuries than buzzer beaters in this series, which actually says a lot.

Cavs guard Kyrie Irving has injuries to both legs now, LeBron James is getting treatment on a twisted ankle and the Bulls sound very concerned about forward Pau Gasol’s availability for Game 5 as he tries to overcome the hamstring strain that kept him out of Sunday’s lineup.

“We’re 2-2, we’re back on our home floor, that doesn’t guarantee us nothing,” James said Monday, back home in Cleveland. “But we went up there, we gained back home court, which we wanted to do.”

He’s swearing off replays of highlights, but said he repeatedly watched the play where he turned the ankle in Game 4. It’s achy enough that he needs treatment but isn’t bad enough to keep sideline him.

Then again, James still has one good leg. Irving apparently doesn’t. He’s dealing with a bad foot on one side, knee tendinitis now flaring up on the other.

“It’s just about finding ways to be more effective, especially being out there,” Irving said. “I still can shoot. You still have to respect me out there. It’s not like they can just leave me or anything like that. But I just try to use myself as a decoy and make plays as best I can.”

The Bulls didn’t practice Monday, other than some shooting that didn’t include Gasol.

They’ve already won once in Cleveland in this series, so confidence shouldn’t be lacking. And Derrick Rose has been great, particularly in the last two games — winning Game 3 with a banked-in prayer at the buzzer, then a 31-point effort in Game 4.

But all anyone remembers from Sunday is James capping a 10-for-30 shooting performance with a corner jumper to win Game 4 and knot the series on a play that he called. Cavaliers coach David Blatt wanted James to be the passer, not the shooter.

The Bulls probably wanted that as well.

“We’re disappointed that we lost the game,” Chicago forward Joakim Noah said. “We had our opportunities. LeBron hit a great shot at the end of the game. But we’re right where we want to be and we’re really excited for Game 5.”

___

Clippers at Rockets, Los Angeles leads 3-1, 9:30 p.m., TNT

Modest as this sounds, it’s still significant: The Clippers have already tied a franchise single-season record with seven playoff wins, set in 2006.

If that gets the blood of super-excitable Clippers owner Steve Ballmer pumping a bit more than usual, just imagine what his celebration after the next win could be like.

The Clippers — doormats no more — have three chances to reach the Western Conference Finals. The first crack at reaching the NBA’s Final Four comes Tuesday in Houston, against a Rockets team that looks to be reeling after losing the last two games in Los Angeles by a combined 58 points.

“It’s an accomplishment, but it’s not like our goal,” Clippers forward Blake Griffin said, asked to address what a West finals appearance would mean. “I mean, it is a goal on the way to the bigger goal, the biggest goal.”

Before this past weekend, the Rockets had endured only three blowouts by 25 or more points all season. Then — in the biggest games of their season no less — they got drubbed at Staples Center by 25 and 33 points in a span of about 48 hours.

And while so much of the attention has been on the Hack-a-Somebody scheme that sent DeAndre Jordan to the foul line 28 times in the first half alone in Game 4, the much bigger story is that the Rockets are in major trouble. They need three straight wins over a Clippers team that had one such slide all season — a four-game losing streak in February.

“Now the only thing to do is just go out there and battle,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “We’ve got to win a game at home on Tuesday, and then go from there.”

___

AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Independence, Ohio and AP freelance writer John Jackson in Chicago contributed.

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Rajah Caruth: Young Trailblazer of NASCAR

Imagine you’re only 22 years old and already making a name for yourself in NASCAR, one of the most thrilling sports in the US. That is the life of Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver.

Published

20 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver. (File Photo)

By Tamara Shiloh

Born June 11, 2002, in Washington, DC, he was drawn to the sport as a child after seeing the Disney Pixar film “Cars.”

Caruth dreamed of tooling around the track like the main character in “Cars,” Lightning McQueen. His enthusiasm grew when his parents surprised him with a trip to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway when he was 12.

In 2018, while keeping busy with school, sports and a summer job, Caruth and his family held fundraisers so that he could buy an iRacing simulator. Then, at age 16, he traded a real driver’s license to race virtually in the eNASCAR Ignite Series, which led to him being recruited by the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program.

His first big opportunity came in 2019 when he competed in a “Legends” car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Bojangles’ Southern Shootout and recorded two top-third in the semi-pro points.

People began to recognize Caruth’s talents. In 2020, he stepped up to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and became the first African American to win at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in a late model race. The next year, he won at Tri-County Motor Speedway and picked up his fourth overall late model victory.

Then, he became the first person of color to win at the South Carolina track.

In 2021, Caruth announced he would compete full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East for Rev Racing, where he finished third in the standings, including a series of top-five finishes. He made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut on a bigger stage as well.

Then, in 2022, thing really took off. A new chapter found Caruth at NASCAR’s unofficial Triple A league with GMS Racing, where he drives full-time for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, with a sponsorship from The Wendell Scott Foundation. After a few setbacks, he broke into the top 10 several times, finishing at a career-high 6th at Darlington Raceway.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Caruth’s took the third major step in his career. He is now driving full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Spire Motorsports and has been making the news for putting on stellar performances. Oh, and he won at Las Vegas: his first career victory.

From an impressionable young racing fan to a professional NASCAR driver, Caruth is charting a new path, creating history, and inspiring people to always remember that if you have the talent, the drive, and most of all, the heart, anything can be achieved.

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Salesian Coach Knew Angel Jackson Could Play in WNBA

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson. “If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said. That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Angel Jackson. Photo courtesy of Jackston State.

The Richmond Standard

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson.

“If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said.

That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Jackson’s success came as little surprise to Pezzola, who last year led the Pride to their 8th North Coast Section championship since he took over the program in 2008-2009. In 2019, Pezzola commended Jackson as “a very coachable kid” from the time she arrived at Salesian.

Tomekia Reed, her coach at Jackson State, shared similar sentiments, noting Jackson worked “very hard” to reach this moment.

“She came into our program doing great things and never looked back,” Reed told the Clarion Ledger. “She has trusted our leadership as we were able to develop her into an amazing player. I have watched her improve tremendously over the years.”

The 6’-6” Jackson played three seasons at the University of Southern California before transferring to Jackson State. She was ranked 10th in the NCAA in blocked shots and averaged 10 points per game in her final college season.

She finished her collegiate career with 1,047 points and was twice named Southwestern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

As the 36th pick, Jackson was the final pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In a television interview, Jackson said she didn’t expect to be picked, and called the moment “surreal.”

“It made me feel so appreciative that HBCU is getting back on the map again,” she said.

All she could do in that moment was cry.

“I called my mom immediately, and she started crying,” Jackson said. “It was the best moment you can feel as a young lady.”

There’s no stopping Jackson now. “The sky is the limit,” she said.

Her high school coach agrees.

“I knew that Angel could do it,” Coach Pezzola told the Richmond Standard this week. “We are so proud of Angel and what she has accomplished. It was an honor and joy to coach Angel at Salesian.”

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Oakland WNBA Player to be Inducted Into Hall of Fame

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February. Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo Courtesy of Alexis Gray Lawson.

By Post staff

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February.

Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

The banquet and ceremony will be held from 5:45 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the George P. Scotlan Convention Center at Oakland’s Marriott Civic Center Hotel.

“I am truly honored to receive this incredible nomination,” said Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, who, along with college teammate Devanei Hampton, lead Oakland Tech to its second consecutive state title in 2005. “It took a village to raise me and get me here, and I truly am excited to continue the legacy.”

Gray-Lawson, a “second team” Parade All-American and an All-State honoree, as a senior in ’05, was chosen for the California Interscholastic Federation sportsmanship award. She only lost one game throughout her four-year career in high school. Her jersey was retired at Oakland Tech and placed in the National High School Hall of Fame as a four-time All-City recipient, averaging 17.2 points per game during her career.

Gray-Lawson received scholarships in volleyball, softball, and basketball before deciding to travel up College Avenue to the University of California, Berkeley. There, she played in more basketball games (143) than any other player in Golden Bears’ history. She finished her career as the Bears all-time 3-point leader (211), and she is ranked third in scoring with 1,982 points.

An All-Pac 10 and honorable mention All-American in 2010, Gray-Lawson also was the top player at 5’8” or under for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award. Later that year, she was a third-round pick of the Washington Mystics in 2010 and played with the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association in 2011 and 2012. She also played professionally overseas in Turkey and Israel.

Other inductees are Clifford Ray (Basketball); Lee Lacy (Baseball); Spencer Haywood (Basketball); and Mohinder Singh Gil (Track & Field).

Organizers say the event promises to be a “historic and celebratory evening,” and iconic personalities from across the professional sports industry and its various disciplines will attend.

The no-host cocktail hour begins at 5:45 p.m.; dinner at 6:45 p.m.; and the ceremony at 7:45 p.m. All times are prompt. General tickets are $250.00; Seniors (65 and older) $150.00, and students $50. This includes dinner and the ceremony. Tables of 10 are available as well, and early purchase is recommended.

MESHOF is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring athletes from all corners of the globe who have made significant contributions to the world of sports and broadening the public’s understanding of the contributions people of color have made to professional sports; and to provide educational life skills and mentorship opportunities for deserving youth. Proceeds will help maintain the City of Oakland’s Curt Flood Field, Oakland Parks & Recreation, and MESHOF’s after school and mental health initiatives.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.multiethnicsportshof.com. For additional information, please contact: Arif Khatlib @ afrosportshall@aol.com or India Alston @ india@beamcreativehouse.com