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Jazz workouts
In preparation for Wednesday night's draft, the Jazz will work out four players at the team's practice facility this morning.
Participating in the session will be Gonzaga center-power forward J.P. Batista, Bradley center Patrick O'Bryant, center Saer Sene of Senegal and Ukrainian power forward Oleksiy Pecherov.
For O'Bryant and Sene, it will be their second pre-draft workout for the Jazz. Along with Pecherov, they are considered likely first-round picks. Shaquille O'Neal had the microphone, which meant the public address announcer had little chance of getting a word in edgewise.
This was Shaq's moment, the one he promised two years ago. He rapped. He led cheers. He chanted ''one more year'' to Alonzo Mourning, who'll contemplate retirement. And he wasn't done, either.
''Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,'' O'Neal said when someone tried to interrupt him as the Miami Heat's championship rally started Friday afternoon. ''We all know Coach Riley's a great motivator. Who wants to see Coach Riley dance? Who wants to see Coach Riley dance?''
With that, Pat Riley danced.
Miami's newly crowned NBA champions hoisted the trophy in South Florida on Friday in front of an estimated 250,000 fans, fulfilling an 11-year quest by Riley and the vow O'Neal made when, as his first formal act as a member of the Heat, he said, ''I will bring a championship to Miami.''
''That's something you can't experience until you win it all,'' Finals MVP Dwyane Wade said after the parade. ''Our fans have been great. That experience right there was, just like Zo said, overwhelming. I wanted to go again.''
Knicks bash Brown
The Knicks contend Larry Brown broke Madison Square Garden policy with his roadside interviews, a decision the team believes could wind up saving them millions.
The Knicks fired Brown on Thursday after one season as their coach and replaced him with team president and general manager Isiah Thomas. Brown has four years and a reported $40 million left on his contract, but the Knicks say the Hall of Fame coach is not entitled to all of it because of his disregard for team policy.
Since James Dolan became owner of the Knicks and Rangers, Madison Square Garden policy specifies that any interviews must be done with a public relations official present - with no exceptions, according to a person familiar with the policy, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because this matter has not been resolved.
After reports surfaced in May that Dolan was considering buying out Brown's contract, the Knicks made neither Brown nor Thomas available after they worked out potential draft prospects.
Reporters soon began waiting near the entrance to the Knicks' training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y. On a few occasions, Brown pulled his car over to speak, saying during one interview he felt like a ''dead man walking.''