In brief: Warner says goodbye to NFL career
NFL: Kurt Warner thanked God, hugged his children and wife and said goodbye to an NFL career that seems the stuff of sports fiction.
The 38-year-old quarterback announced his retirement Friday after a dozen years in a league that at first rejected him, then revered him as he came from nowhere to lead the lowly St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls.
Then, as if going from stocking groceries to winning NFL MVP awards wasn’t improbable enough, Warner was written off as a has-been and rose again to lead the long-suffering Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl.
A man of deep faith who carried a Bible to each postgame news conference, Warned walked away with a year left on a two-year, $23 million contract, knowing he still had the skills to play at the highest level.
“It’s been an amazing ride,” Warner said. “I don’t think I could have dreamt it would have played out like it has, but I’ve been humbled every day that I woke up the last 12 years and amazed that God would choose to use me to do what he’s given me the opportunity to do.”
NBA takes exception to gun reference in ad
NBA: An advertisement featuring the NBA’s two biggest superstars includes a gun reference, the same week two players were suspended for carrying firearms to the locker room.
The Nike ad, which appears in several publications including Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine, has LeBron James on one page and Kobe Bryant on the other. Along with the slogan, “Prepare For Combat,” is a quote from each player showing how tough he is.
Bryant’s blurb says: “I’ll do whatever it takes to win games. I don’t leave anything in the chamber.”
NBA commissioner David Stern is sensitive to the issue of gun violence, and the NBA criticized the ad.
“We had no prior notice of this ad,” spokesman Tim Frank said. “We think it is inappropriate.”
Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton were suspended for the remainder of the season Wednesday by Stern for having guns in the Washington Wizards’ locker room.
Bryant agreed with the league’s stance on the advertisement, but James defended Bryant, saying the words were taken out of context.
“That has nothing, zero, to do with guns,” James said, raising his voice at reporters. “At all. At all. Zero. That’s very simple. For somebody to even say that – that’s a basketball term. To try to highlight Kobe and say that he was referencing guns is totally ridiculous.”
•James just misses triple: LeBron James finished with 22 points, a season-high 13 assists and nine rebounds in Cleveland’s 94-73 win over Indiana in Indianapolis. It is the third time in six games that he missed a triple-double by a single rebound.
Shaquille O’Neal tied a season high with 22 points for the Cavaliers, who won their seventh straight and maintained the league’s best record (37-11).
•Brooks too much for Blazers: Aaron Brooks scored 33 points, Carl Landry added 21 and the Houston Rockets snapped a three-game losing streak at home with a 104-100 victory over Portland. Brooks reached 30 points for the fifth time this season.
•Hawks sweep Celtics: Joe Johnson scored 16 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and the Atlanta Hawks beat Boston 100-91 to complete their first season sweep of the Celtics in 11 years.
•Thunder stalls Nuggets: Kevin Durant scored 30 points and host Oklahoma City snapped Denver’s nine-game winning streak by limiting the Nuggets to their lowest scoring output of the season in the 101-84 win.
Points, Imada tied for Torrey Pines lead
Golf: D.A. Points saved his best golf for the tougher course at Torrey Pines in San Diego and wound up in a share of the lead with Ryuji Imada in the Farmers Insurance Open.
Points avoided a shaky start with a series of good par saves, then finished strong with an eagle and a birdie over the final four holes on the South Course for a 7-under-par 65. Imada also played the South and shot a 68.
Phil Mickelson didn’t go as low as he wanted, but he also finished with a flourish for a 67 that left him only four shots behind.
Spokane’s Alex Prugh is six shots back after following up his 67 on Thursday with a round of 71.
•Daly quits, again: John Daly missed another cut and said he was done with golf.
Daly shot 71 at Torrey Pines and missed the cut by nine shots. Stopped in the parking lot by a crew from Golf Channel, which is filming his reality show, Daly said in a series of clipped responses, “I’m done. … I can’t compete. … Just can’t play like I used to.”
It was the second time in six months Daly has said he was retiring.
Modano moves up career scoring list
NHL: Mike Modano scored his 554th and 555th career goals to lead Dallas to its fifth consecutive home victory, a 3-2 win over Colorado. The 39-year-old Modano has 1,351 points, moving past Mats Sundin into sole possession of 25th place on the career list.
•Caps win ninth straight: Mike Knuble and Nicklas Backstrom fueled Washington’s high-powered offense with three points apiece, and the host Capitals pulled away to their ninth consecutive victory, 4-1 over Florida. The winning streak is the second-longest in franchise history, one short of the 10 straight won by the 1983-84 team.
Vonn 3rd, extends lead in World Cup
Skiing: Lindsey Vonn extended her lead in the overall World Cup standings at St. Moritz, Switzerland, skiing a cautious slalom run to finish third in a super combined won by Sweden’s Anja Paerson.
Vonn earned 60 World Cup points to build a 116-point lead over Germany’s Maria Riesch, who skied out of the super-G in the first run.
Ligety wins giant slalom: At Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Ted Ligety won a World Cup race for the first time this season, capturing a giant slalom. The American finished the Pokoren 3 course in a combined time of 2:22.02 to win the event for a third straight year.