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Wednesday April 12, 2017
The Egalitarian www.HCCEgalitarian.com
Sports
Intrigue on tap for NBA finale The Associated Press There will be final-night intrigue in the NBA. The two remaining playoff berths will be decided, along with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the site for Game 1 of the series that starts this weekend between the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers. Most individual stat races are already sewn up, barring something that would be most improbable. Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook will become the 16th player in NBA history to win two scoring titles, Houston’s James Harden will lead the league in assists for the first time and Miami’s Hassan Whiteside should be able to wrap up his first rebounding crown. Golden State’s Stephen Curry is a lock to lead the league in 3-pointers made for the fifth straight year, and his Warriors teammate Klay Thompson will finish second in that category for the fourth consecutive season. ——— TOP OF THE EAST Boston controls the race for the top seed in the East playoffs. The Celtics will be No. 1 in the East if they beat Milwaukee, or if Cleveland loses to Toronto. The Cavaliers won’t have LeBron James on Wednesday night, and are 0-7 this season when he doesn’t play. Depending on perspective, James will either be resting, recovering or revving for the start of the playoffs. It’s part of his usual playoff preparedness, since he hasn’t appeared in a regular-season finale in a decade.
AP Sports Writer
DALLAS — Tony Romo couldn’t say no when Dirk Nowitzki asked the retiring Dallas Cowboys quarterback to join the Mavericks as an honorary teammate for a day. Now it’s turned into a scene, with dozens of media members showing up for a morning shootaround before a meaningless final Dallas home against Denver on Tuesday night, with both teams eliminated from the playoffs. Romo’s “Mav for a day” experience came exactly a week after it was announced that he was leaving the Cowboys and joining CBS as the No. 1 NFL analyst. He lost his job as the Dallas starter to Dak Prescott last season and chose TV over pursuing a starting job with another team with his 37th birthday approaching next week. “At first, I was just feeling like I didn’t deserve any of that,” Romo said of his initial first reaction to the offer. “Standing here today,
Sports Briefs Rain washes out matches at US Clay Court Championship
Rain washed out all scheduled matches at the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship on Tuesday. The postponed first-round matches were pushed to Wednesday. Among the seeded players now scheduled to be in action Wednesday: No. 5 Fernando Verdasco, No. 6 Feliciano Lopez and No. 7 Donald Young.
Bill legalizing daily fantasy sports in Texas heads to House Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo Houston Rockets guard James Harden, right, passes against Sacramento Kings guard Ty Lawson during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday in Sacramento, Calif. Cleveland can still be No. 1 with a win and a Boston loss. ——— BOTTOM OF THE EAST Dwyane Wade helped Miami win three championships. Now, he might help keep the Heat out of the playoffs. It’s three teams — Indiana, Chicago and Miami — for the last two spots in the East field. Indiana (which plays Atlanta) and Chicago (which plays Brooklyn) control their destinies. If the Pacers win, they’re in. If the Bulls win, they’re in. If either loses, the door opens for Miami. The Heat would reach the playoffs with a win over Washington, and a loss by either Indiana or Chicago.
——— EAST MATCHUPS The 1-8 and 2-7 matchups in the East cannot be finalized until Wednesday. Toronto is the No. 3 seed and will face either Milwaukee or Indiana. Washington is the No. 4 seed and will open the playoffs against either Atlanta or Milwaukee. Everything else is still up in the air. Depending on results Tuesday and Wednesday, any of four teams — Indiana, Atlanta, Chicago or Miami — could wind up getting the No. 7 spot. And the Pacers might be No. 6, No. 7, No. 8 or out of the playoffs entirely at No. 9. ———
CLIPPERS-JAZZ Utah hasn’t started the playoffs at home since 2001. The Jazz could change that this year, if they beat San Antonio on Wednesday while the Clippers lose at home to Sacramento. That’s the only scenario where the Jazz would be seeded No. 4 in the Western Conference playoffs. Otherwise, the Clippers will get home-court for the firstround series against Utah. All the other seeds and matchups out West for the first round are set: No. 1 Golden State vs. No. 8 Portland, No. 2 San Antonio vs. No. 7 Memphis, and No. 3 Houston vs. No. 6 Oklahoma City.
Romo’s honorary Mav day turns spectacle Schuyler Dixon
@HCC_Egalitarian
I feel a little embarrassed to be honest in the sense that you’re lucky enough to be in position, that someone cares enough to do something to honor you.” But Romo said it was a “nobrainer” to accept the offer of a tribute from Nowitzki and Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. He will be in uniform in his football No. 9 and go through pregame warmups and introductions. Carlisle said Monday that Romo wouldn’t play. When the shootaround was over, a member of the Mavericks staff whistled a circus theme song while walking past reporters. On the court, Romo was playing with his youngest son, Rivers. A long line of media members followed Romo off the court, then filled the room where Carlisle does his game-day interviews. “I had close to 600 text messages that I’m still working on,” said Romo, the all-time leader in yards passing and touchdowns for the storied Cowboys franchise
AUSTIN, Texas — A bill exempting paid online fantasy sports sites from Texas antigambling laws is headed to the full Texas House. Last year, state Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a non-binding opinion that paid online daily fantasy sports constituted gambling by offering chances to win money based on the performance of teams selected online. One such site, FanDuel, subsequently stopped accepting paid entries for cash prizes in Texas. Laredo Democratic Rep. Richard Raymond’s proposal seeks to “legalize” those sites, arguing they offer games of skill rather than chance — meaning they aren’t gambling. His bill was approved 6-1 in House committee, though it’s not yet been scheduled for a floor vote. The measure may still face a tough road since Texas legislators have traditionally opposed proposals that might be seen as gambling.
Purdue says player recovering from offcampus shooting
Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo drives to the basket for a shot as he warms up with the Dallas Mavericks before an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets in Dallas Tuesday. but lacking a Super Bowl title. “And 100-some calls and a bunch of other stuff. “I guess it just makes you feel that you accomplished something
in some ways. I feel like I left something out there that I always wanted to accomplish. I’ve got to live with that and that’s part of playing sports.”
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University says a football player was wounded in an off-campus shooting over the weekend. West Lafayette police say 20-year-old Andrew Chelf of Southlake, Texas, suffered a single gunshot wound to the torso about 3 a.m. Sunday. The sophomore safety was hospitalized for treatment. Police Capt. David Van Vactor tells the (Lafayette) Journal & Courier investigators believe someone shot Chelf but that no arrests were immediately made. The Purdue athletic department said in a statement it was grateful Chelf was recovering and had offered assistance to his family. Chelf played little during his first two seasons at Purdue, but had seven tackles in the Boilermakers’ spring game the day before the shooting.