Why signing Greg Oden is a great move for the heat

GregOden is back in the NBA. On Friday, he agreed to a two-year deal with the Miami Heat that will pay him the veteran’s minimum. 

The former Ohio State center once destined for greatness is getting close to playing shape, and wants to take another crack at an NBA career.

 Luckily, he’s found himself in a perfect situation on a contract that makes sense for both sides.

The average person knows two things about Oden:

1. He was drafted first overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2007, ahead of Kevin Durant.

2. His career has been ruined by repeated injuries to both knees, and he hasn't played in an NBA games since 2009.

So why is it a big deal that the Heat picked him up? Can he even contribute? Will he be able to stay healthy?

The beauty of his new situation with the Heat is that all three of those questions have the same answer: It doesn’t matter.

The Heat’s attempt to become the first team to three-peat as NBA champions since the 2000-02 Los Angeles Lakers won’t depend on Oden. They’ll be the most-covered team in the league, but almost none of that media attention will be focused on Oden. It will be focused on LeBron James’ impending free agency. It will be focused on Dwyane Wade’s health. It will be focused on the difficulty of winning three titles in a row. Oden can take his sweet time getting healthy enough to play, and then Erik Spoelstra can ease him into the rotation.

Miami is also an ideal situation for Oden, basketball-wise. Absolutely nothing will be expected of him offensively. Between James, Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers, the Heat have plenty of players capable of scoring inside and out.

Oden’s role, once he’s ready to play, will be closer to that of Chris “Birdman” Andersen. All the Heat will need him to do is come off the bench for 10 or 15 minutes a game, rebound, block shots, score on putback dunks and use his six fouls. And the Heat won’t even be relying solely on him to do that, considering they re-signed Birdman earlier this summer.

Talking about Oden’s potential when he was drafted six years ago is pointless in 2013. Everyone knows how dominant he was at Ohio State, and we’ve all seen the flashes of brilliance he showed in parts of two seasons with the Blazers. The Heat aren’t getting that player — Oden is a few knee surgeries beyond having that kind of athleticism. But the Heat don’t need that player, and Pat Riley had no delusions about getting it when he recruited Oden.

Getting Oden for the veteran’s minimum makes this essentially a no-risk move for the Heat. Consider that the Cleveland Cavaliers recently gave Andrew Bynum a contract guaranteed for $6 million that could be worth as much as $24 million over two years. Bynum has played much more recently than Oden, but the Cavs also need him more than the Heat need Oden.

Cleveland has been a lottery team for three seasons since LeBron’s departure, and they’re trying to get back to the playoffs after having the first pick in the draft for the second time in three years. How far they go will depend at least a little bit on Bynum and Anderson Varejao staying healthy.

The Heat, on the other hand, are the Heat. They’re the two-time defending champions. They have the best player in the world and they’ve brought back virtually their entire team from last season. There’s no reason to believe they won’t be dominant again this year, and if they are, there will be no questions about why Oden isn’t contributing. If they’re not, well, LeBron conveniently happens to be coming up on free agency next summer. Oden will be invisible even if the Heat struggle.

Oden is doing this for himself. No matter what happens, he’s never going to be able to shake the “bust” label. Kevin Durant is already a lock for the Hall of Fame, and Oden has been injured too many times to be able to get back to his previous level of play. The ship has sailed on the first paragraph of his Wikipedia page.

But he had two choices here. The book on Oden could have been “He was drafted ahead of Durant, couldn’t stay healthy, and disappeared off the face of the earth,” or it could be “He was drafted ahead of Durant, couldn’t stay healthy, and made a comeback in a limited role and at least helped the Heat win a couple more championships.”

That second option sounds pretty good.

Source: usatoday

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Judge sentences Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro to life, plus 1,000 years

In handing down a sentence of life in prison plus 1,000 years to Ariel Castro, an Ohio judge told the kidnapper on Thursday that there was no place in the world for his brand of criminal.

Castro pleaded guilty to 937 counts, including murder and kidnapping, in connection with the kidnapping and abuse of Michelle Knight, Georgina DeJesus and Amanda Berry, whom he held captive for a decade in his Cleveland home. As part of the plea deal, the death penalty was taken off the table.

"You don't deserve to be out in our community," Cuyahoga County JudgeMichael Russo said after an hours-long hearing in which Castro, at times, appeared to defend his actions. "You're too dangerous."

In his oft-disjointed statement to the court, Castro referred to himself as "very emotional" and "a happy person inside."

Despite his repeated insistence that he wasn't making excuses for his conduct, Castro played the victim, saying he was addicted to porn and masturbation.

The judge appeared to be unmoved by Castro's words and matter-of-factly handed down a severe sentence that will likely make Castro a prisoner for the rest of his days.

"Excuses don't take away the harm that's involved," Russo said. "You have extreme narcissism and it seems rather pervasive."

Russo handed down the stiffest sentence allowed as part of the deal after investigators, psychologists and one of the victims painted a horrifying picture of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Castro, including brutal beatings and repeated rapes that resulted in pregnancies that he would terminate by punching the women in the stomach.

All three women kept diaries, with Castro's permission, that provided many of the details of their abuse.

Source: cnn

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Moto X: Motorola's CEO on 'self-driving phone'

Google-owned Motorola has unveiled a phone that is "always listening" for the owner's voice commands.

Saying "OK Google now..." will prompt the Moto X's TouchlessControl system to listen for instructions.

The device is the first to have been designed from scratch since Google's $12.5bn (£7.9bn) takeover of Motorola last year.

The CEO of Motorola, Dennis Woodside, spoke to the BBC's Samira Hussain about the unique features of the Moto X and its chances of standing out in an already highly competitive market.

Source: bbc

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Twit-pic begs the question is Hugh Jackman Wolverine? Or is Wolverine Hugh Jackman?

HUGHJackman's latest Twit-pic is INSANE, so much so that it's been labelled "the most terrifying selfie of all time."

The X-Men star tweeted a picture of himself dead lifting an almost humanly impossible amount of weight, leading many to lose their mind over it.

"If the bar ain't bendin, then you're just pretendin #xmen #daysoffuturepast," Jackman wrote alongside the pic.

By examining the colours of the weights on the end of the bar, it has been estimated that Jackman is lifting 210kg or "roughly the equivalent of four Shakiras".

Closerexamination of the pic reveals he is exerting so much effort that his "body is the colour of a summer ripe tomato".

And that protruding vein in his arm isn't in fact a vein at all, "it's a tunnel the government built that allows his awesome juice to travel throughout his body."

Buzzfeed also pointed out that he is wearing neon "toe shoes" in the pic. "Just perfect", they added.

So with this superhero-esque effort on show, it begs the question "is Hugh Jackman Wolverine? Or is Wolverine Hugh Jackman?"

We're not so sure anymore.

Source: news

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Powerball Lottery Jackpot Rises to $290 Million

The Powerball lottery jackpot soared to an estimated $290 million after no one won the grand prize in Wednesday's drawing, according to the game's website.

The winning numbers for the July 31 drawing were 8, 24, 39, 49, 59 and the Powerball number was 5.

The next drawing will be Saturday, August 3.

Though there were no jackpot winners, two players, one in Oklahoma and another in Oregon, won $2 million each for the Match 5 Power Play, according to the game's website. The Power Play option, which increases the size of the prize, costs an additional $1 to play.

In May, 84-year-old Gloria C. Mackenzie won the largest Powerball jackpot in history. With the jackpot coming in at $590 million, Mackenzie decided to take a lump sum cash payout of $370.8 million, according to ABC News.

The chances of winning the Powerball grand prize are 1 in 175,223,510.

Source: huffingtonpost

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Source: A-Rod reps talk settlement

After Alex Rodriguez's lawyer said his client would fight any discipline from Major League Baseball, a source familiar with discussions told ESPN's "Outsidethe Lines" Wednesday that A-Rod's representatives are now negotiating a possible settlement that could result in a lengthy suspension.

The source said MLB officials have told Rodriguez's attorneys that they are willing to ban him for life, although sources said it was not clear commissioner Bud Selig was prepared to make such a move, knowing Rodriguez would fight it in arbitration.

Several sources have told "Outside the Lines" that some MLB officials have pushed for a lifetime ban, saying they would rather force Rodriguez to defend himself than agree to a suspension that allows him play while he appeals.

Rodriguez was presented with MLB's evidence in recent days, detailing what sources said were "volumes" of documents establishing a connection between Rodriguez and Biogenesis clinic founder Tony Bosch.

Sources said MLB was also given evidence supporting accusations that Rodriguez attempted to coerce at least one witness in MLB's investigation. That accusation is the basis of MLB's argument that Rodriguez may be punished for his conduct, in addition to multiple violations of the game's joint drug agreement.

MLB is apparently hoping that Rodriguez will accept a lengthy suspension that could keep him off the field through at least next season, without the time and trouble of an arbitration hearing.

Rodriguez's attorney, David Cornwell, has consistently said they will fight any suspension. MLB is expected to issue suspensions for Rodriguez and other players connected to Bosch within the next few days.

Most players are expected to accept 50-game suspensions -- the standard punishment for a first PED violation -- without appeal.

Source: espn

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Michael Vick vs Riley Cooper : 'I forget him'

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick empathized when wide receiver Riley Cooper apologized to him during a 15-minute conversation Wednesday night, and then to teammates, for using a racial slur after a confrontation with an African-American security guard during a Kenny Chesney concert in June.

"What if your son or daughter made a mistake of this factor? How would you want people to perceive it? I've been there before,'' said Vick, who made the most of his second chance with the Eagles after serving a 21-month sentence for his role in a dog-fighting ring.

"Him being my brother, knowing him for so long, it's hard to defend him saying that. At the same, time, it happened. We talked about it man to man, one on one. We just know that we have to some way move on. It's a very delicate situation. But we all understand. Somehow we all have to find a way to get past it. That's maturity in itself.''

In a video that has gone viral after being published Wednesday on CrossingBroad.com Cooper said, "I will jump that fence and fight every (N-word) here, bro."

Source: usatoday

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