Wolves Player Watched Porn, Caused Crash

Minnesota Timberwolves center Eddie Griffin was drunk and masturbating when he crashed his luxury SUV into a parked Suburban outside a store in Minneapolis, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by the man whose Suburban was hit in the crash.

The WCCO-TV I-TEAM obtained copies of 911 calls and store surveillance video of the incident, along with an accident report the police submitted to the state.

Several of the 911 callers that night said Griffin was drunk. One witness said Griffin told him he was watching pornography in a DVD player mounted on the dashboard of his Cadillac Escalade SUV when he struck a Chevy Suburban parked on University Avenue Southeast.

The location where Griffin crashed is located a couple miles from the Target Center where Griffin had played with his team several hours earlier.

Abed Hassuneh, who is the brother of the victim, said Griffin told him, "That he was masturbating himself going down that street. That's how the accident happened because he was not paying attention. He's paying attention to that video and all of a sudden he's shoveled somebody's car on the top of the sidewalk."

Interim Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan ordered an internal affairs investigation of the conduct of the two officers who responded to the scene, after the I-TEAM made Dolan aware of allegations about the incident.

Key questions are why Griffin wasn't tested for alcohol and why the officers drove him out of the city to his home in St. Paul. Griffin also received tickets for not having a license and inattentive driving.

Griffin's damaged SUV was towed to the Minneapolis impound lot.

Dolan told the I-TEAM he expects impartial policing. Dolan also said officers must get permission to leave the city.

"Obviously, if somebody is drunk and they are driving we want that dealt with by the police officers of Minneapolis," Dolan said.

In the video, Griffin can be heard pleading with witnesses to not call police saying, "I can't go to jail."

The video also shows Griffin admitting he is drunk and doesn't have a driver's license.

The video shows him struggling for minutes to put on his sweatshirt and offering to buy a car for the man who's SUV he crashed into in front of Santana Foods.

Griffin was not available for comment. When he was interviewed by reporters after the crash happened, he said he had dropped his cell phone as he drove.

The two officers involved in the incident, Daniel Anderson and Matthew Lindquist, have been with the Minneapolis Police Department since October 2001. The officers remain on duty pending the outcome of the internal investigation.

Bogut produžio ugovor sa Baksima


Prošlogodišnji prvi pik sa drafta, Australijanac Endrju Bogut produžio je do leta 2008. ugovor sa Milvoki Baksima.

"Izabrali smo prošle godine Endruja sa željom da on dugo vremena ostane u ovom klubu, a ovo produženje ugovora je samo još jedan korak u tom procesu“, navodi se u saopštenju generalnog menadžera BaksaLerija Herisa.

Bogut je u svojoj prvoj NBA sezoni prosečno po utakmici beležio 9,8 poena i sedam skokova.

Izvor: MTS-Mondo

koliko je tuzno i sramotno da ti ljudi toliko nemaju pojma... "produzio ugovor" 

Koliko se samo posebnost NBA shvata ovde... Čast izuzecima

Raptors trade Villanueva to Bucks for T.J. Ford

The Toronto Raptors traded PF Charlie Villanueva to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night for PG T.J. Ford.

Andrew Bogut can now move to center and Villanueva will occupy the four spot in the lineup. "Acquiring Charlie takes care of a primary need we had going into the summer," Bucks' GM Larry Harris said. Villanueva was the seventh overall pick in the 2005 draft and averaged 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in 81 games for the Raptors. Mo Williams will take over point guard duties for the Bucks and this trade looks like a good deal for both teams.

Cavs offer LeBron a max contract

The Cavaliers have offered LeBron James a five-year extension worth about $80 million, the Associated Press reports.

LeBron has indicated that he intends to sign the deal, but Cavs fans may have to hold their collective breath until the end of the free-agent moratorium on July 12. Now the Cavs are just waiting for James to say "Yes."

Stojakovic, Radmanovic look to be on move

It appears that the first two shocks in NBA free agency will emanate from Serbia.

Indiana forward Peja Stojakovic, widely considered a lock to re-sign with the Pacers, is on the verge of a jump to the upstart New Orleans Hornets, ESPN.com has learned. NBA front-office sources indicate that the Hornets are offering Stojakovic a five-year deal in the $60 million range.

Peja Stojakovic
Small Forward
Indiana Pacers

Profile
2006 SEASON STATISTICS
GM   PPG   RPG   APG   FG%   FT%
40   19.5   6.3   1.7   .461   .903



"The Hornets are setting their cap room aside for Peja, and Peja is taking himself off the market," Stojakovic's agent David Bauman told the Associated Press.

Sources also tell ESPN.com that the Los Angeles Lakers are close to swiping a player from their co-tenants in the Staples Center, but it's not Clippers guard Sam Cassell. The Lakers, sources said, were inching closer Saturday night to a verbal agreement with Clippers sharpshooter Vladimir Radmanovic on a five-year deal starting at the $5 million mid-level exception and worth in excess of $30 million.


The Hornets have never been known as offseason spenders with George Shinn in charge, but the owner has hinted recently that he was chasing "a big-name free agent," and his club does possess two crucial advantages in their bid to tempt Stojakovic away from the Pacers -- more than $15 million in available salary-cap space and a coach who knows the player well. Byron Scott, who received a three-year contract extension from the Hornets earlier this week, played against Stojakovic in Greece before the 29-year-old made the jump to the NBA in 1999 and later worked with him in Sacramento as a Kings assistant coach.

"This was not just a money deal," Bauman said of Stojakovic's decision. "He chose this deal because he thinks the team has a chance to win."

The Lakers' cause is also undoubtedly helped by a Serbian connection in attempting to convince Radmanovic to switch locker rooms at Staples. Serbian legend Vlade Divac, a former national-team colleague of Stojakovic and Radmanovic and now a member of the Lakers' front office, can explain to Radmanovic better than anyone how badly they need a dependable shooter to help space the floor for Kobe Bryant.

Divac has been hoping to bring Stojakovic to the Lakers ever since leaving Sacramento in the summer of 2004, but that would require a complicated sign-and-trade arrangement because L.A. can't offer more than the $5 million mid-level exception. Radmanovic, like Stojakovic a 6-foot-10 perimeter specialist, is a more realistic mid-level target after averaging 10.7 points (on 41.8 percent shooting from 3-point range) and 5.7 rebounds in 30 games with the Clippers.

"The decision was obviously a tough one for Vlade," said Bauman, who is also the agent for Radmanovic. "On the one hand, he had strong interest from the Clippers to entice him to remain. (Coach) Mike Dunleavy, (general manager) Elgin Baylor and (executive) Andy Roeser did everything conceivable to make Vladimir feel comfortable and convince him to return.

"At the same time, the Lakers and numerous other teams called just after 12 midnight Eastern time to express to Vladimir their strong interest in getting his services."

Bauman, who is also the agent for Stojakovic, added: "When Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson call your number at 6 o'clock on the morning of free agency, and you've got Vlade Divac, who's one of his idols, and Magic Johnson on standby, you tend to perk up and listen real hard and clear."

Vladimir Radmanovic
Power Forward
Los Angeles Clippers

Profile
2006 SEASON STATISTICS
GM   PPG   RPG   APG   FG%   FT%
30   10.7   5.7   2.1   .417   .731



The Clips, craving a big forward who could stretch the floor for Elton Brand, dealt Chris Wilcox to Seattle on Feb. 14 for Radmanovic. The Clippers, according to multiple newspaper reports, have completed terms with Phoenix Suns forward Tim Thomas, who would replace Radmanovic, on a four-year deal in the $24 million range.

Re-signing Cassell and Radmanovic were the Clippers' top two offseason priorities and Cassell, in an ESPNEWS appearance Saturday, indicated that the Clips still have the inside track on retaining the 36-year-old point guard.

"It's looking pretty good for them," said Cassell, who recently hired high-powered NBA agent David Falk to secure him a two-year deal.

Stojakovic averaged 19.5 points and 6.2 rebounds in 40 games with Indiana after the Kings sent him to the Pacers on Jan. 25 in exchange for the mercurial Ron Artest. But a knee problem limited Stojakovic to two games in the Pacers' six-game, first-round series with New Jersey, and his departure would leave Indiana without anything to show for the Artest trade.

NBA signings and trades can't advance past the stage of verbal agreement until July 12.

Izvor: ESPN

shto je najbolje od svega clippersi su za manje pare potpisali boljeg igracha nego shto je radman i zadrzali cassella, tako da ce opet biti gadni igrachi na zapadu...

pih. lakersi su se fino ispalili...

Samo da mi neko jos objasni kako mogu Hornetsi da se smatraju kandidatom za titulu?! 

Možda je Peđa mislio da mogu da pobede nekoga

Pa valjda "Jezerčani" znaju šta rade... 

ipak tolike pare za Radmana koji samo stoji van linije za 3 p. i šutira, neznam koliko je to pametno.

A što se Pedje tiče to je čist poslovni potez bez ikakve pretenzije za prstenom.