NBA Finals 2011, Gary Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Wednesday's Sports News

The 2011 NBA Finals got under way on Tuesday night, and it was the Miami Heat coming away with the opening victory over the Dallas Mavericks, taking Game 1 by the final of 92-84.

As those who watched the game can attest, neither team put forth the prettiest of efforts.

Both the Heat and the Mavs shot less than 40 percent from the field, but the Heat were able to put the game away thanks to a strong run late in the fourth quarter. LeBron James had his customary strong game, scoring a team-high 24 points. Dwyane Wade chipped in with 22, and Chris Bosh had 19.

As per usual, Mavericks big man Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers with 27 points. Unfortunately, he also tore a tendon in his left middle finger in the fourth quarter. He will be able to play in Game 2, but he will be wearing a splint for the rest of the series.

If he is at all limited, the Mavs are in trouble.

Meanwhile, the baseball world got a bit of sad news on Wednesday. Baseball Hall of Famer Gary Carter was diagnosed with brain tumors in May, and it was found earlier this week that surgery is not an option.

To save the 57-year-lod Carter's, doctors are going to try a treatment plan of chemotherapy and radiation.

It is another busy day in the world of sports. For all the latest news and notes, just keep it here and wait for updates.

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The Inspirational Speech America Needs (The One)

Filed under: Videos, Animals, The One

If you're a diehard Urlbot you probably already know about the monkeys that ride dogs and herd goats at minor league baseball games, but unless you watched seven minutes into the YouTube video, you probably missed the important speech trainer Tim "Wild Thang" Lepard made. Don't worry, though, because someone's put together a video of just his speech and it's getting a lot of attention.

It makes perfect sense, honestly. It's like I've always said: if you're gonna take advice from somebody in this world, it should be a man who owns an American flag pickup truck and a bunch of tiny saddles.

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Tim Tebow: From Heisman Trophy to Author?

Generally when an NFL player or coach is known to be writing their memoirs we all get excited for the juicy details about parties, affairs and locker room fights.

When Tim Tebow writers a memoir, you're not going to get the same material.

Why does a 23-year old need to write a memoir? We're not sure either, but the book is receiving considerable buzz in certain circles.

Tebow, love or hate him, has been uncannily successful in his two decades on Earth and he does have a good story to tell, just know going in to it that his faith will play a central role in the book's theme.

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Red Sox Trade Rumors: Reach out to the New England Patriots?

Sports websites are awash with trade rumors for the Boston Red Sox, as though something could be wrong with the Olde Towne Bean team.

With many top-notch athletes soon to be available because of the NFL labor troubles, the Red Sox and aging boy wonder Theo Epstein may want to look for a flea market deal with players soon to be collecting unemployment checks.

With the looming NFL lockout, professional athletes need to maintain their cost of living with a paycheck. That means, the Red Sox may be able to make a few free agent signings with the New England Patriots. An outright trade would be even better.

At the least, it could be time to pick up, as Danny Ainge would say, the best athlete for the buck.

Always in the market for a shortstop, the Patriots can offer Theo Epstein many short players who seldom are stopped. Danny Woodhead and Wes Welker are among the signings Theo should consider. After all, he has gone through every other professional athlete, signing most for millions to no avail. It’s time to look at reliable short men right here in New England.

Catching has also been controversial this season for the Red Sox, but a few natural squatters will soon be looking for an opportunity to perform as a backstop. Who else would serve a better catcher than Vince Wilfork? There is no way any ball will pass him, and we defy any baseball player to try to score from third on a fly ball with Vince standing there.

Pitching is a problem. We propose that the Red Sox trade Dice-K for Logan Mankins. The money may not equal out, and Belichick would have a quarterback who can throw the football in a gyro motion that will have defending teams utterly confused. We also suspect that Belichick would enjoy having a cryptic and anti-social player on his team.

The best trade of all would be Jonathan Papelbon for Tom Brady. Not only would this bring a crowd-pleasure to the Red Sox, Brady’s Yankee baseball cap would guarantee that the Bronx team would be utterly confused by the strategy of a Boston player wearing the enemy’s headgear.

We think these deals would end the labor problem for the Patriots and the NFL and guarantee the Red Sox sell-outs at Fenway for the foreseeable future. And, this speculation is not nearly as ridiculous as some other suggestions.

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Chris Jericho, Kharma, Alex Riley and Wednesday's WWE News

The opening segment on Raw was a complete mess—with the audio not working properly, it was just R-Truth walking around like a madman backstage. Not surprisingly this caused a huge freak out from Vince McMahon.

We will have the latest on what happened during that opening segment.

In some non-wrestling-related news, in 2013, Chris Jericho is going to have a third book released. He is turning into the Mick Foley of this generation. We will have the news on his announcement and what we might be able to expect from this third chapter in the life of Y2J.

The wrestling world is still in mourning over the loss of the most relevant diva WWE has had in years with Kharma taking a year off because she is pregnant. It's reportedly a very high-risk pregnancy, and she has to be extremely careful with what she does.

Hopefully everything goes well for her and she is able to get back in the ring next year. It takes a lot (all?) of the interest out of the divas division, but there are much bigger things going on than WWE here and we wish her the best of luck.

We will have the latest news, notes and information from WWE throughout the day.

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Wilson Phillips at Work on Reality Show About 20-Year Reunion

Filed under: TV News

Hot off their surprise 'Bridesmaids' cameo, Wilson Phillips is heading to TV with a new reality show.

In an interview with our sister site AOL Music, the female pop group divulged the news.

"We're starting a record and a new TV show," Carnie Wilson said. "It's exciting."

Wilson Phillips, known for their 20-year-old super hit "Hold On," is comprised of rock royalty. Sisters Carnie and Wendy Wilson, daughters of Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson teamed with their childhood friend Chynna Phillips, daughter of The Mamas and the Papas members John and Michelle Phillips, to form the female group.

 

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NBA Trade Rumors and Free Agents 2011: 10 SGs to Help Fill Chicago Bulls Void

Charles Barkley literally said this every time the Chicago Bulls played during these playoffs: Derrick Rose is the only guy on the Bulls who can create his own shot.

In other words, Chicago lacked a reliable shooting guard, at least on the offensive end.

Gar Forman and John Paxson decided not to part with young big men Taj Gibson and Omer Asik at the trade deadline to get the likes of Courtney Lee or O.J. Mayo. Even though Gibson and Asik have become fan favorites as part of the “Bench Mob,” teams have to give up talent to get talent in return.

In my last article, I highlighted 10 possible players the Bulls could select with their three picks in the upcoming 2011 NBA draft. While it is certainly probable that Chicago will try to package its draft picks to get a shooting guard, the Bulls would likely have to part with the same two big men as they would have at this year's trade deadline.

However, without Kurt Thomas necessarily available as a backup next year and the history of injuries between Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, it seems unlikely the Bulls will be more willing to send their frontcourt depth away.

Instead, Forman and Paxson should turn to the free-agent market, where several potentially helpful shooting guards are available. The Bulls have enough cap room to make a mid-level contract offer. Assuming that still exists in this offseason, that’s ideally enough to pick up one of the following veterans.

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