NFL Player’s Surprising Gift To His Parents, Morris Claiborne reportedly purchased this unique, Cowboys-themed present for them. Morris Claiborne’s tricked-out present to his parents, Morris Claiborne signed a $16 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys in July. One of his big purchases with his money? A shiny, custom car for his parents telling the world where their son works.

According to Busted Coverage, this car has been spotted around Shreveport, La., Claiborne’s hometown. The design makes it quite clear to any viewer that someone who really loves Mo Claiborne is driving it.

And what a nice gift to give to the parents who have supported him through his football career before he was drafted by the Cowboys in April. Of course, as soon as this is published, I expect a call from my mother asking why I haven’t bought her a Yahoo! Sports-themed car.

Onetime Power Enters Near-empty Stadium, Enthusiasm apparently has dampened for a program that used to be a national juggernaut. Thanks for showing up, Miami fans (PHOTO), The University of Miami would like to thank all 300 people who came out today to support the Hurricanes.

This is how the stadium looked when the Hurricanes came out of the tunnel for Saturday’s game against Bethune-Cookman. And it didn’t get much better as the game went on. Everyone out tailgating stayed in the parking lot instead of watching what was ultimately a 38-10 Miami win.

What fans missed was freshman running back Duke Johnson scoring four touchdowns in three different ways, including a 95-yard kick return, a 50-yard touchdown reception and runs of 1 and 28 yards.

Unknown College Player’s Remarkable Day, Cal’s Brendan Bigelow rarely touches the ball, but he looks like a star in the making. Excuse me, Cal RB Brendan Bigelow would like to introduce himself (VIDEO), Before Saturday’s game, no one really knew the name Brendan Bigelow.

But after Cal’s 35-28 loss to Ohio State, Bigelow was all anyone could talk about.

Bigelow, who had two carries coming into the game and just six total in his career, rushed four times for 160 yards and two scores.

Yep, that’s a 40-yard average if you’re scoring at home.

Bigelow appeared to be stopped for about a four-yard gain, but spun out of it, used his hand on the ground to keep his balance and ended up streaking down the sideline for an 81-yard score.

It was clear that Ohio State had given up on the play thinking Bigelow was down. But Bigelow showed great balance and determination to stay on his feet and keep going.

Goalie Admits To Ridiculously Lucky Save, A goalkeeper is completely fooled but makes an awesome move he calls “incredibly dangerous.” Cagliari scored in the 88th minute against Palermo to salvage a 1-1 draw, but goalkeeper Michael Agazzi’s “dangerous” save early in the match was just as impressive as Marco Sau’s late equalizer.

A swerving Fabrizio Miccoli free kick from considerable distance in the 27th minute caught Agazzi falling towards the post as the ball curled behind him. Agazzi reacted quickly though and managed to make the save with a falling backheel.

After the match, Agazzi had a sense of humor about it. From Football Italia:

“It’s a save I study in training,” joked Agazzi on Sky Sport Italia.

“I was incredibly lucky! Would I be able to repeat it? Certainly, but I’d wreck my knee! I already snapped one cruciate ligament in my career.

“It really was an incredibly dangerous save to make.”

These Stars Are Getting A ‘Dream’ Teacher, The New York Knicks will receive some hoops training from one of the greatest big men of all time. The Knicks are keeping Hakeem Olajuwon all to themselves, hiring the legend to work with the team’s big men, In recent years, Basketball Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon has acted as a sensei-for-hire of sorts for stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwight Howard. All have taken the summer trek down to Olajuwon’s Texas home to work through the same sort of low-post tutelage that Moses Malone gave Olajuwon as a young buck some 30 years ago.

The New York Knicks are desperately trying to find a way to mesh the formidable talents of Tyson Chandler, Amar’e Stoudmire and Carmelo Anthony, turning a star-studded frontcourt into a championship-level core. They’ve yet to find consistent chemistry while on the court together, the team plays far better with Anthony taking Stoudemire’s place up front, Chandler and Carmelo could still use some footwork tips, and Stoudemire has already worked under Olajuwon this summer.

Then there’s the upcoming NBA training camps, which mean players can’t individually fly to Texas to get that one-on-one work. Olajuwon (a former teammate of current Knicks coach Mike Woodson) wants to help, for a price, and the Knicks need the tutelage. Why not make Hakeem the guy who is flying in this time. Eh? Eh. Go New York, go New York, go.

From ESPN’s Chris Broussard:

Hakeem Olajuwon, one of the greatest players in NBA history and the architect of the legendary “Dream Shake” post move, will spend several days next week training some of their players at the team’s practice facility in Greenburgh, N.Y.

Olajuwon worked out with Stoudemire earlier this summer, training the Knicks center for two-and-a-half weeks in the gymnasium on his 400-acre ranch outside of Houston. Olajuwon, who was able to excel alongside superstar teammates Ralph Sampson and Clyde Drexler, said there’s no reason Stoudemire and Anthony can’t have similar success playing next to one another.

“They both have to realize that the most important thing is not how great you are individually,” Olajuwon said. “You’re remembered for how many games you win. So to get to play with another great offensive player should help you. It should make your job easier. You have to work well together. You can’t be competitors with one another.”

Big Wallop In Lingerie League Game, This league’s women don’t get much credit for playing hard, but Nikki Johnson might change your view. Video: Nikki Johnson of the Lingerie Football League has the hit of the year so far, You may think that the Lingerie Football League is all about exploitation and silliness, and well … yes it is. Let’s not fool ourselves. But these ladies do love themselves some football, and if you think they don’t take it seriously when they’re in the arena, I give you this wallop laid by one Nikki Johnson of the Regina Rage.

I’m not sure what the formation is here, but it’s a standard quarterback option, and Ms. Johnson would not be denied. Veering around the left side in the direction of the end zone, Johnson took out defender Davine Burton of the Toronto Triumph to score with a hit that Cam Newton would be proud of — if Cam Newton ran over scantily-clad women on an indoor football field. And we’re not suggesting that he would.

Ms. Johnson is quite the passer in her league — through five games in the 2012 season, she’s completed 41 of 73 passes for 384 yards, 12 touchdowns and one interception. Her hero is Peyton Manning (at least that’s what her Facebook page said when she played for the Las Vegas Sin), but we doubt that Peyton could put a crusher on Darrelle Revis like Johnson did on Burton.

Watch Team Pull Off Incredible Hail Mary, It didn’t look like Auburn’s quarterback would even get a chance to throw this last-second pass. Auburn WR Sammie Coats makes an improbable Hail Mary catch (VIDEO), Auburn’s best offense against Louisiana-Monroe has been trick and lucky plays.

The Tigers used a throw-back to quarterback Kiehl Frazier for their trick play to tie the game at 14 and then took the lead off of a Hail Mary play at the end of the half.

Frazier worked his way out of trouble and found Sammie Coats in the back of the end zone. Coats outjumped several Louisiana-Monroe defenders to come down with the ball in one of the most improbable catches we’ve seen this season.

Updated NBA Draft 2012 Picks, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, alone, stepped from his car last June at the cemetery in Camden. He could not leave for Kentucky the next day until he had made a promise.He spotted the pond, and, moving across the grassy field of headstones and burial plots, he found Darrin Kidd’s gravestone, covered with flowers. He sat on the grass and talked to his uncle. He spoke of his excitement about starting his college career with the Kentucky Wildcats. He told him how badly he missed him.

Rest easy about your son, Deante, he told his uncle. He would safeguard him as his uncle had done for him, when he lost his own father many years ago.

The year has passed quickly.

At Kentucky, Kidd-Gilchrist became one of the nation’s top players. Deante, 12 years old, leapt in shared victory when the Wildcats won the national title this past spring. His bedroom walls are covered with posters of his famous cousin.

Tonight, Kidd-Gilchrist, 18, not much older than a boy himself, will hear his name announced at the Prudential Center, likely to be one of the top five players selected in the 2012 NBA Draft. Deante will be by his side.

“I’m just here for him,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “I understand a lot of things he’s going through. I have his back, all day, every day.”

A year after graduating from St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, Kidd-Gilchrist will become the youngest player in the NBA. He will turn 19 on Sept. 26. (NJ)

2012 NBA Draft Rumors, It’s the day of the 2012 NBA Draft and that means there are plenty of rumors and potential trades swirling around the league right now.The only certainty about tonight so far is that Anthony Davis will be the No. 1 overall draft choice. After that just about every team is open to trades involving their picks.

The Houston Rockets have been making the most moves so far. They have acquired the 12th, 16th and 18th picks in the first round. Their ultimate goal is to somehow trade with Orlando for Dwight Howard. The first step towards getting Howard to Houston is trading with the Kings first. The Rockets first offered Sacramento Kyle Lowry and two of their first rounders for Tyreke Evans and the 5th overall pick. The Kings turned down that offer.
The Kings aren’t sold on any prospect yet at No. 5. They are hoping that Thomas Robinson could fall to that spot although that is pretty unlikely. Robinson is currently projected No. 2 overall to the Bobcats but the Bobcats reportedly have five offers on the table for that pick. The Kings were earlier rumored to have been eyeing Harrison Barnes with the fifth pick but now are possibly thinking Andre Drummond instead.
The Bobcats have been shopping their No. 2 overall pick for awhile now. We first heard of them targeting James Harden for the pick. The Thunder have expressed interest in Bradley Beal but would have to part ways with Harden to move high up enough to draft him making that very unlikely.
The Timberwolves have reportedly offered Charlotte Derrick Williams – last year’s No. 2 overall pick – for this year’s No. 2 overall pick. Williams wasn’t terrible this season but the idea of possibly pairing Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio alongside Beal or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is enticing.
The most likely deal to be made with Charlotte for the No. 2 pick would involve Cleveland and their No. 4 and No. 24 picks in the first round. The Cavs would most likely want to move up to jump Washington so they can pick Beal but it has been reported that Cleveland is considering Dion Waiters with the No. 4 pick as well.
Waiters has been shooting up draft boards a ton these past few weeks. Now the Toronto Raptors are also interested in moving up to pick Waiters. Toronto has the No. 8 pick and has been projected to select a shooting guard with that pick from day one. If Waiters is not there for them, they could choose between Austin Rivers and Jeremy Lamb with the pick.
Kidd-Gilchrist is considered by a lot of experts to have the second most potential of any player in this draft behind Davis. The Bobcats have showed little interest in him and he has been rumored to potentially slide as far down as No. 5 for Sacramento.
The Los Angeles Lakers have put Pau Gasol on the market the past few days and have expressed some interest in MKG as well.
The Atlanta Hawks are interested in dealing Josh Smith for Gasol but the Lakers haven’t shown much interest in that yet.
Drummond is another prospect with tons of potential but also considered a risk. He could go in the top five or drop as low as nine. The Rockets would like to use some of their picks to move up to No. 7 if Drummond is there and trade with the Warriors.
The Warriors are looking for a player to be an immediate impact. It would be hard to consider anyone other than Davis as an immediate impact player in this draft but if Barnes slips, the Warriors could try and move up to draft him.
The Portland Trailblazers have two lottery picks at No. 6 and No. 11 and they intend to use both as opposed to packaging the two to move into the top five.
The Boston Celtics would like to move into the lottery. They currently have the No. 21 and No. 22 picks in the first round. They were rumored also to have promised Royce White that they would draft him at that time if he is still available. (Thunderous Intentions)

US Open Surfing 2012, The Nike U.S. Open of Surfing got back underway in Huntington Beach, California, on Saturday, August 4, 2012. The weather was wonderful and so was the surfing. I had been looking forward to watching both the junior women’s final and the junior men’s final. Both were well worth the wait. Here’s a quick look at some of the results:

Junior Women’s Results

The junior women’s semifinals served up plenty of excellent wave scores to go around. In Heat 1, Quincy Davis fired off a gorgeous 8.17 point ride. She backed it up in the waning moments of the surf heat with an equally as stunning 8.83 point ride. It was enough to earn her a spot in the final.

Nikki Van Dijk was the stand out surfer in Heat 2. She managed to execute a brilliant 8.67 point ride and an 8.33 point ride. Then she served up the coup de grace in the final minutes of the heat. It came in the form of an eye-popping 9.67 point ride. If you ask me, her surfing showed an intuitiveness rarely seen in a junior surfer. Van Dijk ultimately won the surf heat with 18.34 points.

Other memorable moments during the semifinals were Kaleigh Gilchrist’s 7.67 point ride, Bailey Nagy’s 7.03 point ride and Tatianna Weston-Webb’s 7.90 point ride. Surfer Leila Hurst also managed to deliver a noteworthy 7 point ride and a 7.20 point ride.

The final surf heat was between Kaleigh Gilchrist, Quincy Davis, Leila Hurst and Nikki Van Dijk. The ladies started out by posting a few low to mid scoring rides. Then things quickly got intense. Quincy Davis delivered a 6 point ride. Nikki Van Dijk answered back with a 6.27 point ride and an 8.07 point ride. Gilchrist and Hurst unleashed a few solid rides of their own but it was to no avail. Nikki Van Dijik won the final surf heat with 14.90 points.

Junior Men’s Results

The junior men’s semifinals also had its share of incredible wave scores. Some of the best ones belonged to Conner Coffin, Filipe Toledo and Cooper Chapman. My favorite was Coffin’s 9.43 point ride. It was on point and powerful. All three surfers ended up surfing in the final along with Kanoa Igarashi.

Conner Coffin managed to keep his momentum going and delivered a superlative 8.17 point ride about mid way into the final heat. Then he backed it up with an 8.93 point ride. It all proved too much for the others to overcome. Conner Coffin won the surf heat with 17.10 points.