“It’s hard when you say something and you’re quoted accurately to back up and say, ‘I didn’t mean it that way,’ but that’s honestly the case”
Miami Coach Pat Riley backed Dwyane Wade for zinging Shaquille O’Neal then yanked O’Neal 58 seconds into a game in New Jersey. via Los Angeles Times
“I was pulled aside and told it was an emergency, and I had to go see Coach”
Heat Coach Pat Riley made it clear Saturday that the conditioning of aging C Shaquille O’Neal likely will be key to whether the Heat can rebound from a slow start and have a successful season.
‘The whole thing is keeping him fit. We have this incredible maintenance program for him,’ Riley said. ‘We have 75 physical therapists that do this pu-chi, kum-chi, I-chi , tongue-chi, whatever it takes to try and keep him limber at age 35. His body has been beaten up pretty good.
‘Getting him on the court and starting every night is a major goal for us, and to make sure we have him and Dwyane [Wade] at 100 percent for the playoffs. If we do, I don’t care where we are.’ Read more
“They’re under-talented this year”
True to form, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy isn’t making a big deal about tonight’s matchup against his former team, the Miami Heat. via Palm Beach Post
“Who came up with that dumb name?”
KNOXVILLE JOURNAL EXPRESS KNOXVILLE, Iowa - The Iowa Energy opened its home season Monday night against the Albuquerque Thunderbirds. via Oskaloosa Herald
Observations from Saturday’s 120-99 loss to the Magic at Amway Arena: These are the types of opponents that will present the most trouble, teams that can fill it up. via Miami Heat
“I’m fully healed and fully healthy for the first time in years. I’m grateful for the opportunity that Pat Riley has given me and I’m thinking about coming back to Orlando to live here when I retire. I never thought I’d be able to say that.”
Shaquille O’Neal laid on the trainers table in the Miami Heat locker-room making small conversation with several passersby, receiving a Ben Gay massage and covering his nose in reaction to the pungent odor. via The News-Journal
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy isn’t ready to count the Heat out of the Eastern Conference mix just yet. via Miami Herald
“I thought that’s the closest we’ve come to putting 48 minutes together.”
Saturday night was a religious experience at Amway Arena. There is a God. Or for you atheists out there, call it proof that there is such a thing as karma. via The Orlando Sentinel
“We have the mentality of trying to hit home runs all the time.”
Of all the comments Pat Riley offered Thursday, one particularly resonated. “It can’t be home runs,” he said. via Miami Heat
Hedo Turkoglu scored 27 points, Rashard Lewis added 19 and Orlando beat the Miami Heat 120-99 Saturday night, handing Magic coach Stan Van Gundy’s former team its Eastern Conference-leading 10th loss. via Seattle Post-Intelligencer
“Rivalries are made are made in the playoffs and in finals”
FORUMS MULTIMEDIA Familiar sights and sounds in NBA action 11/24/2007, 3:28 a.m. PST - A dominant duo in Miami. via The Oregonian
“I was just really trying to focus on playing defense”
Center finishes with 21 points BOSTON- Yeah, beating Shaquille O’Neal and the Heat was satisfying and the two most important victories so far were probably the two over Atlantic Division rival New Jersey. via Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Maybe it’s opportunistic math. But by Heat center Alonzo Mourning’s calculations, his team’s record should be no worse than 7-4. Instead, the Heat is off to one of the worst starts in its history entering … via Miami Herald
“Even though we’re all over 60, there’s nothing too hard if you really attempt, and step out and do it.”
Yvonne Serecigni throws her hands in the air as she bounces across the floor in rehearsal, strutting and thrusting to blaring rap music in unison with her 12 teammates.
‘Use your pelvis!’ the choreographer shouts. ‘Pelvis! Pelvis! Pelvis!’
Serecigni, 82, is not embarrassed that thousands of Miami Heat fans will see her embracing the beat this year _ and neither are the younger members of her family.
‘My grandkids think I’m cool. That’s the word _ cool,’ she said. ‘I think I dance for them, for their reaction. They go around telling everybody ‘My grandmother’s a Golden Oldie.'’ Read more
Joe Johnson scored 22 points and the Atlanta Hawks rallied from a 10-point deficit entering the final quarter to beat the Miami Heat 82-79. It was Atlanta’s first win in its past 18 road games dating back to … via KVIA-TV El Paso
