Terreno Deportivo

In the CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Shannon Ryan writes “Candace Parker would rather grab a diploma this week than a rebound. The Naperville native will not be with the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday when they play against the Sky in a WNBA exhibition game. Instead, the league’s No. 1 draft pick will be picking up a diploma from Tennessee in sports management and psychology. Parker isn’t too upset about missing the homecoming. She will return to Chicago for a regular-season game on June 3.?

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In the DESERET NEWS, Tim Buckley writes “he smiled. Laughed. Darn near cried. With the first anniversary of a young child’s cancer surgery and his own playoff heroics for the Jazz fast-approaching, Derek Fisher stood at the Los Angeles Lakers’ practice facility and relived a gamut of gut-wrenching emotion. For more than a half-hour Monday, moving no more than a step or two the entire time, Fisher talked about twists and turns, pains and gains, spirit-crushing lows and faith-boosting highs. He spoke as a Laker, but slipped in an occasional “us” and “we” when referencing last season’s Jazz. It’s the day after Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference semifinal series between Utah and L.A., two days before Wednesday’s Game 2, and there’s a lot on Fisher’s mind.”

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In the L.A. TIMES, Mark Heisler writes “now his career lays out perfectly, on a rising power that should only be better when Andrew Bynum returns, with everything — multiple MVPs, multiple titles — possible. For all Bryant’s mistakes and all his luck, this isn’t anything anyone gave him. Only a few players were ever as gifted and not even Michael Jordan matched Bryant’s 24/7/365 commitment. The hardest off-season workout Jordan ever put in would be Bryant’s average.?

latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-heisler6-2008may06

In the BOSTON GLOBE, Bob Ryan writes “the Next Great Thing never turns out to be quite that, unless, of course, it does, and then it has a distinct, unforgettable name: LeBron.”Le” means “the” in French. We don’t know whether she had any grand designs for this baby boy, but after watching him play basketball for several years, I hereby declare that “Bron” means “Chosen.” Check out that birth date. LeBron has embedded himself into our consciousness so deeply that we feel as if we’ve known him for at least a decade. But LeBron James is only 23, and if you’d like to put his accomplishments in perspective, consider that Larry Bird turned 23 a little under two months into his rookie year. And at the end of that season, as great as he was, we knew he had a lot to learn.?

boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/05/06/singular

The Orlando Magic’s flight from Detroit to Orlando was diverted because of a mechanical problem.

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Go Around the Association presented by T-Mobile for a recap of Monday’s playoff action.

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With razzle-dazzle dribbles and a driving floater that couldn’t miss, Chris Paul had 30 points and 12 assists, leading the New Orleans Hornets to a 102-84 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night and a 2-0 lead in their second-round series.

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Chauncey Billups scored 28 points, three on a disputed shot at the end of the third quarter, and the Detroit Pistons got past Orlando Magic for a 100-93 win Monday night and a 2-0 lead in the second-round series.

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Can the Hornets maintain their perfect home record in the postseason and take a 2-0 series lead, or will the Spurs even it up and take away home court advantage? NBA.com’s John Schuhmann is live blogging Game 2.

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In the LOS ANGELES TIMES, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes “here we are 40 years later and we are once again about to send our young athletes overseas to compete in games while we send our young soldiers overseas to fight in war. And, as before, there is a social agenda attached to the Olympic Games. Should we boycott the Olympic Games to protest China’s arrogant human rights performance, its political imperialism, its shoddy exports that recently have left some Americans ill or dead? The answer is no. While it may seem disingenuous to be playing games with countries that aim weapons at us, the same claim can be made about us by many other countries.”

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The Phoenix Suns President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr issued the following statement. “As we have continued to convey, we value Mike D’Antoni as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns and would like him to continue leading this basketball team. Because he has requested to speak to other teams about their head coaching vacancies, we have granted him permission. We will have no further comment until this process further evolves.”

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“Taking the first step in what may clear the path to parting ways, the Suns have changed course over the weekend and given coach Mike D’Antoni permission to speak with other teams,” reports Jerry Brown of the EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE.

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Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons is the 2007-08 recipient of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award presented annually by the Professional Basketball Writers Association. The award is named for the second commissioner of the league and honors an N

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On EUROLEAGUE.NET, “one of the highlights not only of the 2008 Euroleague Basketball Final Four, but perhaps in the history of European basketball took place on Friday evening at the Community of Madrid Sports Palace between the two semifinal games as 50 legends of the past 50 years of European club basketball were honored on center court. The historic season-long celebration of 50 Years of European Club Basketball peaked as a sell-out crowd wildly cheered 38 of the most important personalities in the history of the game as they took the floor for a once-in-a-lifetime event.?

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The Hornets aren’t sure they can lock down Tim Duncan again in Game 2 on Monday night, but they certainly intend to try.

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Kobe Bryant had 38 points, six rebounds and seven assists Sunday, and the Lakers made it five straight playoff wins by beating the Utah Jazz 109-98 to begin the second round.

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Go Around the Association for a recap of Sunday’s action, including the first Game 7 of the 2008 postseason.

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The Boston Celtics turned back the pesky Atlanta Hawks with a 99-65 victory Sunday in Game 7 of their playoff series, earning a second-round matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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If you were told two weeks ago that one First Round series would go to seven games, it would probably take you eight guesses before you got the right one. But the Hawks are still alive, and the Celtics need more from Kevin Garnett in order to move on. A look at that series, as well as one at the Lakers and Jazz and epitaphs for some of the teams that have been eliminated, is in this week’s Sunday Click.

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