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Good news? Duncan lost 25 mil to financial adviser

Tim Duncan has earned $220 million playing 19 years for the San Antonio Spurs, but he claims $25 million of it went to a financial adviser who scammed him.  The Washington Post reported that Duncan filed suit against Charles Banks, who the player said steered him into investing in companies selling sports merchandise, beauty products and wines — without disclosing his ownership in the companies.  Duncan became aware of the alleged malfeasance during a review of his financial records as part of his divorce proceedings of 2013.  Spurs fans see this financial setback as good news.  There’s more incentive now for Duncan to keep playing, at 39.  He made $10 million this past season but is now an unrestricted free agent.  Duncan insists he can easily withstand the financial losses he’s suffered to divorce and scamming.  Which is more good news for Spursfan.  He’s not desperate, so perhaps he won’t be lured to the open market.  More likely he will try to help the Spurs stay within their $34 million cap space that must accommodate nine free agents.  Spurs point guard Tony Parker said he expects the team’s Big Three – Duncan, Manu Ginobili and himself — will all be back for one more season.

Kings’ owner vetoes Karl’s effort to trade Cousins

Sacramento Kings coach George Karl makes no secret of wanting to trade his star player, DeMarcus Cousins.  The coach and player reportedly have not spoken with each other since mid-April.  The LA Lakers are interested in Cousins, who at 24 is only the eighth player in NBA history to average at least 24 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 blocks.  He’s 6-11, 270 pounds, and Kings owner Vivek Ranadive insists there will be no trade.  He told USA Today:  “We feel he’s a one of a kind player.”  Karl feels he’s a Dominique Wilkins/Allen Iverson kind of player who’s more interested in stats than wins.  So Karl is trying to force a trade by souring his relationship with Cousins.  He’s used this tactic before.  To let Joe Barry Carroll – and everyone else — know what he felt about his effort at Golden State, the coach put a bag of dogfood in his locker.   A few weeks later Joe Barely Cares was traded, with Sleepy Floyd, for Ralph Sampson.   It was widely thought at the time to be a blockbuster but would prove insignificant. Utah Jazz GM Dave Checketts was prescient.  His reaction to the trade:  “My first thought was ‘Wow!’  My second thought was ‘Bow-wow.’”

LeBron ‘emasculated’ Cavs coach David Blatt

Sideline reporter Marc Stein wrote for ESPN.com that LeBron James during the NBA Finals treated coach David Blatt like “a bench ornament.”  Stein said James “openly barked at Blatt about decisions he didn’t like.  . . . We saw LeBron emasculate Blatt in ways that are simply unbecoming of a player of James’ legend-in-the-making stature.”  Stein said that in Game 5 Blatt drew up a play and James showed so much disgust that the coach felt compelled to “wipe the board clean and draw up something else.”  James preferred to confer with assistant coach Tyronn Lue – “often looking at anyone other than Blatt.”  Blatt has had difficulty transitioning from foreign leagues to the NBA, and James lacked patience to let him work through his rookie errors.  James had a similar awkward beginning in Miami with Eric Spoelstra, but their relationship improved after their first season together.  Most Cavs insiders expect Blatt to get a second chance, but Stein sees a possibility of Lue replacing him.

Bookie’s notebook: Rose bet on games he PLAYED

After years of denying he bet on baseball, Pete Rose admitted, in an autobiography, that he did bet on baseball games when he managed the Cincinnati Reds.  But he still insisted he never bet on games he played.  However, new evidence has emerged contradicting him.   Multiple sources have reported that a 1986 notebook from Rose’s former bookmaker, Michael Bertolini, exists which records bets by Rose of $2,000 and more on games he was playing, although there is still nothing suggesting he ever bet against his team.  Rose has submitted a request to Rob Manfred to have his lifetime ban from baseball lifted, and the first-year commissioner said he will consider it.  But this latest revelation may be too much for Rose to overcome.

Panda benched for in-game Instagram  

Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval was benched for one game after admitting he “liked” some Instagram photos of women he observed during the middle innings of a game in Atlanta.  “I didn’t send a message,” he said.  “I hit a ‘Like.’  I punched the button at the wrong time, so I’ll learn from the mistake.”  He did not come clean until the incident was initially reported by Jared Carrabis, blogger for Barstool Sports.  Carrabis saw on the Instagram activity tab that Sandoval had been registering his “likes” while the Sox were losing 5-2 to the Braves.  Carrabis tweeted (8:41 p.m. Wednesday):  “Not to be blowing up this dude’s spot, but uh . . . is Pablo Sandoval on Instagram during the game?”

Manziel bids goodbye to Johnny Football, money sign

Out of rehab and determined to be a pro quarterback, Cleveland’s Johnny Manziel called his rookie season “a disaster” and said he doesn’t want to be Johnny Football, that he regrets he ever “bought into it.  . . . It overtook who I was as a person.”  He’s sworn off social media and says we won’t see him giving his trademark money sign with his fingers.  He’s changed residences and is now living with his high school coach.  In a media conference during the Browns’ minicamp, Manziel was cordial with reporters and apologetic for the “immaturity” he showed as a rookie.  “I didn’t do my best to hush things down, push down the hype,” he said, adding that he regrets the burdens he placed on teammates who were constantly asked about his perplexing behavior.

Between the Lines:  He sounds like an honor graduate of a 12-step program.

49ers allow time for social media during practices

In an effort to connect with millennials on his team, San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Tomsula divides his practices into 30-minute segments, so that every half hour the players get a 10-minute break to use their cellphones and I-pads and whatever they want to conduct social media.  He told the players:  “Go grab your phone, do your multitasking and get your fix.”

Oher says The Blind Side brought him unfair criticism

Michael Oher would like for people to turn a blind eye to The Blind Side, the movie based on his childhood as a homeless black teenager who was taken in by a white family in Mississippi and developed into an All-America offensive tackle.  But his pro career, which has included stints with Baltimore, Tennessee and now Carolina, has been disappointing.  He feels the movie has had a negative impact, raising expectations and subjecting him to more scrutiny than is typically accorded offensive linemen.  “I get downgraded for something off the field,” he told ESPN.  “This stuff, calling me a bust, saying if I can play or not . . . that has nothing to do with football. . . . That’s why I don’t like that movie.”

Galette latest NFL player cited for domestic violence

Junior Galette, starting linebacker for the New Orleans Saints, will be interrogated by the NFL office concerning two alleged incidents of domestic violence.  A You Tube video, Spring Break 2013 South Beach Brawl purportedly shows Galette swinging a belt that struck a woman (and men) during a melee.  Galette denies he’s in the video. But there was an incident last January in which Galette was arrested for simple battery involving domestic violence at his home in Kenner, La., after a 22-year-old woman called police and alleged that he beat her.