Fast Break
NBA
NBA strips James of triple-double
LeBron James never saw this steal coming.
Two days after Cleveland’s superstar recorded an apparent historic triple-double in a 107-102 win against the New York Knicks, the NBA on Friday stripped James of one of his 10 rebounds after reviewing game tape. The league said the rebound with 39.3 seconds left should have been credited to Cavaliers center Ben Wallace, who tapped a loose ball that James grabbed.
Wallace finished with two rebounds but probably should have had more as several tip-outs were not scored as rebounds by the stats crew at Madison Square Garden.
A release from the league said: “All NBA games are reviewed to ensure the accuracy of the game statistics.” Wallace benefited from a review in a game at Charlotte on Dec. 6, when a blocked shot originally credited to Zydrunas Ilgauskas was changed to Wallace.
James finished with 52 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.
If his triple-double had stood, it would have been the first 50-point game in a triple-double since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975. Instead, James lost it and the Cavaliers were dealt a second slap from the league as point guard Mo Williams was not picked as an All-Star reserve on Thursday.
Men’s soccer
Hey doll, here’s a hex on the U.S.
A Mexican newspaper began encouraging fans to cast a voodoo hex on the United States ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier in Columbus, Ohio.
Readers of the Record could trade in coupons for voodoo-doll likenesses of U.S. players at Blockbuster video stores in Mexico City. Fans were instructed to use the doll to wish for a Mexico goal.
“Hold a needle firmly between your thumb and index finger and prick slowly the part of the doll where you want to affect the opponent,” the instructions say. The back of the doll’s jersey read, “Gringos.”
Record calls the dolls Mexico’s “secret weapon.”
U.S.-based electronics retailer RadioShack dropped out as a distribution partner last week after learning details of the campaign. But Record managed to find U.S.-based Blockbuster as a new co-sponsor.
Men’s basketball
Brockman makes top 30 on list
University of Washington senior Jon Brockman is one of 30 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award for college’s top player, as announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club’s Wooden committee.
The 6-foot-7 forward has averaged 15 points and 11 rebounds per game while leading the Huskies to a 16-6 overall record and 7-3 in the Pac-10 Conference.
Returning Wooden Award winner Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina heads the list. Also among the final 30 are returning Wooden All-Americans Stephen Curry of Davidson and Luke Harangody of Notre Dame.