North Carolina could be considered again
WINSTON-SALEM, NC, April 4, (RTRS): The National Collegiate Athletic Association said on Tuesday it will again consider allowing North Carolina to host championship games after the state replaced a law it deemed discriminatory against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
The NCAA had stripped North Carolina of championship events to protest the law, which required transgender people to use bathrooms matching the sex on their birth certificate rather than their gender identity and limited protection against discrimination of LGBT people.
Last week, state legislators in Raleigh passed a new law that repealed the bathroom measure. But they also banned cities from enacting their own anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people until 2020 and permanently blocked local legal protections for transgender people in restrooms.
The NCAA said those restrictions concerned its board of governors, who had preferred a full repeal of the yearold law known as House Bill 2.
A majority of the board “reluctantly” voted to permit the state to be considered for championship games in light of the new measure, the NCAA said.
“This new law has minimally achieved a situation where we believe NCAA championships may be conducted in a nondiscriminatory environment,” the governing body for US college athletics said in a statement.
The announcement came hours after the North Carolina Tar Heels’ men’s basketball team clinched the national title Monday night. Coach Roy Williams had opposed HB 2, which prompted the NCAA to move two rounds of the Division I men’s tournament out of hoops-crazed North Carolina.
Critics of the new law, signed by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper after being approved by the Republicancontrolled legislature on Thursday, called the NCAA’s announcement disappointing. They argue the state is continuing to discriminate against LGBT people with a measure they have dubbed “HB2.0.”
“After drawing a line in the sand and calling for repeal of HB 2, the NCAA simply let North Carolina lawmakers off the hook,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in a statement. on Monday night.
It was the second game for Portland without Nurkic, who galvanized the team after coming over in a trade from Denver at the deadline.
He will miss at least the rest of the NBA regular season with a fractured right leg, leaving the Blazers to battle big frontcourts in San Antonio, Utah and one more time against Minnesota without him and just a 1-1/2-game cushion on Denver for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
“There’s a lot of good bigs out there and we’re thin right now. We’ve got Meyers (Leonard) and (Al-Farouq Aminu), who’s not really a five,” C.J. McCollum said. “So we’re in a tough position, but it’s not an excuse. We’ve got to go out there and play and make the best of it.”
Damian Lillard scored 25 points but made just 7 of 21 shots, including 3 of 11 3-pointers. His potential gamewinning pull-up jumper at the buzzer glanced off the rim.
Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points and Ricky Rubio had 11 points, 16 assists and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves, who bounced back from an ugly home loss to Sacramento that eliminated them from postseason contention on Saturday.
“They’re playing small, we have a big who can guard smalls and play like
Houston Rockets’ Lou Williams (left), looks to pass the ball around the defense of Phoenix Suns’ Ronnie Price during the second half of an NBA basketball
game on April 2, in Phoenix. The Rockets defeated the Suns 123-116. (AP)
a big at the other end,” Rubio said of Towns. “That’s big for us.”
Aminu scored 20 points and Maurice Harkless had 17 points, eight rebounds and a big block of a Rubio drive that gave the Blazers the ball back with 4.9 seconds to play.
Lillard got a clean look, but couldn’t knock it down and Portland missed a golden chance to pad its lead on Denver in a tense race.
The Blazers beat lowly Phoenix in their first game without Nurkic and went super-small on Monday against the Wolves with Aminu and Harkless seeing some time at center.
The sleek lineup put the Blazers in control with a 34-point second quarter, but the 7-foot (2.13-meters) Towns had his way in the fourth. He scored 14 points in the period, including a big dunk for a 110-106 lead with 35 seconds WASHINGTON, April 4, (AP): With just over a week left in the NBA regular season, there’s still a ton to be decided before the playoff field is set.
With just over a week left in the NBA regular season, there’s still a ton to be decided before the playoff field is set.
In the East, four spots remain unclaimed. In the West, two are up for grabs. And while some seedings look wrapped up, none are officially clinched. Want drama? It’s not hard to find. “To be in competition like this, it’s a privilege,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Monday was a most-needed day for most of the NBA to catch its breath. The league always tries to avoid scheduling games on the day of the NCAA men’s championship game and would have done so this year if a Portland-Minnesota game didn’t have to be postponed because of floor conditions earlier this season.
Things pick up in earnest again Tuesday.
So to get ready for the final nine days of the season, here’s a primer on playoff chases. Top of the East Boston (50-27) Cleveland (49-27) The Celtics host the Cavaliers on Wednesday, with the winner assured of leaving that night with the No. 1 spot in the East standings. If Cleveland wins, it essentially becomes two victories since the defending champions will also own the headto-head tiebreaker with Boston . ... LeBron James got his first ring in 2012 as a No. 2 seed in the East with Miami, so it’s not as if he’ll be deterred even if the Cavs don’t get that top spot . ... Boston is trending up, going 9-2 in its past 11 games. The Cavs have nine wins in their past 20 games. Best of the West Golden State (63-14) San Antonio (59-17) The Warriors have won 11 straight, might get Kevin Durant back this weekend and face only one playoff-bound team in the final five games. It’s only a matter of time before Golden State wraps up the No. 1 seed in the West and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. ... San Antonio can’t be caught for No. 2, and coach Gregg Popovich has two full weeks to get his players rested and his rotation ready. East no. 3 Toronto (47-30) Washington (46-31) Toronto took the season series 2-1, so it’s like the Raptors have a two-game lead with five left. But the Raptors play four of their last five on the road, and still don’t have Kyle Lowry back from wrist surgery . ... Washington still has to play Miami twice, Detroit and Charlotte, teams very desperate right now to get in . ... Both the Raptors and Wizards have wrapped up home-court advantage for the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. West no. 3-4-5 Houston (52-25) Utah (47-30) Los Angeles Clippers (47-31) to go.
“We just had a hard time,” Lillard said. “Guys competed hard on him. We made it as hard as we could on him, but he’s very good and he’s going to score points. That’s what happened.”Russell Westbrook has been stacking up triple-doubles like no one in half a century and producing late in games like few players in recent memory.
The Rockets’ magic number for clinching the No. 3 spot is 1, and the only mystery is if MVP candidate James Harden will get some rest . ... The Jazz are in the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and now have to hold off the Clippers in order to host Game 1 of the postseason for the first time since 2001, when John Stockton and Karl Malone were still starters in Utah . ... The Clippers won the season series against Utah 3-1, big if tiebreakers are needed. East no. 5 Milwaukee (40-37) Atlanta (39-38) Milwaukee’s schedule is brutal with four road games in the final five, including ones at Oklahoma City, Indiana and Boston — teams all playing for something . ... Atlanta took the season series 3-0, but the Hawks have a three-game, four-day stretch this week that goes Boston, at Cleveland, Cleveland. Rest of the West Oklahoma City (43-33) Memphis (42-35) Portland (38-39) Denver (36-40) New Orleans (33-44) The Thunder are in, the Grizzlies are on the brink of getting in, and the No. 6 seed might come down to the winner of the Oklahoma City at Memphis game on Wednesday . ...
But the historical stats and heroics have somewhat overshadowed one other Westbrook transformation: The national perception he wasn’t a good teammate. There were questions about Westbrook the teammate when Kevin Durant left for Golden State in free agency last summer. Then the huge questions about what kind of team would the Thunder have with Westbrook as their unquestioned leader. Portland’s six-game winning streak was snapped in Minnesota on Monday, though the Trail Blazers still own the No. 8 spot for now . ... Denver still has to go to Houston, plus plays Oklahoma City twice in the final three games . ... New Orleans is alive only in the mathematical sense. East no. 7 Chicago (38-39) Miami (37-40) Indiana (37-40) Charlotte (36-41) Detroit (35-42) The Bulls won’t play another playoff team until the playoffs, if they get in. Chicago’s final five games are at New York, at Philadelphia, at Brooklyn, then home for Orlando and home for Brooklyn again . ... Miami goes to Charlotte on Wednesday, in an enormous game for both teams . ... Indiana’s next two games are against playoff-bound Toronto and Milwaukee, and the Pacers go to Orlando on Saturday to face former coach Frank Vogel . ... All five of Charlotte’s remaining opponents are playoff-bound or hoping . ... Detroit needs a miracle. To the lottery New York, Philadelphia, Orlando, Brooklyn, Dallas, Minnesota, Sacramento, the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix have been eliminated.
Derwer Nuggets, Gary Harris (14) defends against Miami Heat’s Goran Dragic (7) during the second half of an NBA basketball game
on April 2 in Miami. The Nuggets defeated the Heat 116-113. (AP) Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue yells instructions to players during the second half of the team’s NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers on April 2, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 135-130
in double overtime. (AP)