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  • Jason Collins Says He Has Been Taunted With Gay Insults From One NBA Player

    After receiving tons of positive support following his coming out, it seems that Jason Collins is still feeling negativity from at least one person. He is the first openly gay player in the NBA, and is a center for the Brooklyn Nets.

    Another player in the NBA, from an opposing team, has reportedly been taunting Jason Collins because of his sexuality, something that people may have feared, but others might not expect at this time.

    Collins recently revealed that he has received negative comments from another player during a game. He has not let it get to him during the game, and will not reveal who it is, but it is not something that he should have to tolerate as a player.

    He said that he chose not to retaliate during the game when it happened because he is entitled to his opinion, and he did not want to let it ruin his focus on the game. Collins is a 13-year veteran in the NBA, but had been a free agent until the Nets signed him just over a month ago.

    The NBA veteran should feel at home with the Nets since coach Jason Kidd is a former teammate of his on the Nets several seasons ago, and he also played with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett on the Celtics.

    In a recent interview with ESPN, Jason Collins explained the situation when saying “In the flow of the game, you have emotions going. It goes back to controlling what I can control — having self control and having the discipline to recognize it for what it is and keep the focus on the game.”

    He did reiterate that he has received positive support overall, and after facing over 100 players and coaches, he was bound to interact with at least one player who would choose to act in a negative way toward him.

    Due to his courage as an athlete, and fans who want to support him, his jersey has been a top seller on NBAstore.com since he signed with the team. The Brooklyn Nets are currently 36-31, and in 6th place in the Eastern Conference.

    He originally explained the situation to the New York Daily News, and said ““He’s a knucklehead. So I just let it go. Again, that goes back to controlling what you can control. That’s how I conduct myself just being professional.”

    Jason Collins signed a second 10-day deal after his first one expired, and on March 15, he was signed for the remainder of the season. Since joining the Brooklyn Nets, he has played in 10 games, averaging only 8.4 minutes.

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  • Sasha Vujacic Signs With Los Angeles Clippers With 10-Day Contract

    In a search to obtain more depth for their roster, the Los Angeles Clippers have signed Sasha Vujacic. He is a native of Slovenia, and will join a group of talented veterans that are continually being added to the Clipppers roster.

    It will be homecoming for Vujacic in terms of location, as he was once a star for the Los Angeles Lakers, but he has not played in the NBA since the 2010-2011 season. He spent time overseas and last played for the Turkish Euroleague team Anadolu Efes Istanbul in 2012-13.

    The 29-year-old veteran guard will join the Clippers with a 10-day contract, who will look to add him as yet another shooting option on a team that continues to build. While playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Sasha Vujacic was on a team that won the NBA Championship in 2009 and 2010.

    The Clippers have continued to look to find more options to assist at the point guard position with Chris Paul injured, although luckily they have not gone on a losing streak as a result of that injury. In fact, the Clippers are 11-4 since their star player was sidelined with a separated shoulder. He has been out since January 3rd.

    In recent weeks, Stephen Jackson, Maalik Wayns and Hedo Turkoglu were also signed, although Turkoglu is the only player who has remained with the team.

    Sasha Vujacic’s is simply another addition to a team that continues to rebuild, and started with the signing of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, along with Doc Rivers, who hopes to continue to turn the team around and make a run at a championship with his new squad.

    The Los Angeles Clippers are currently 34-16 and sit at the No.4 spot in the western conference, behind the Thunder, Spurs and Blazers, respectively. Sasha Vujacic is just one of several other guards who have recently been signed, although whether he will stick around is yet to be determined.

    The Clippers continue to sign old veterans, and are going with the immediate solution as they fill the space that Chris Paul has left. Turkoglu is a 34-year-old veteran who has played with several teams, and Sasha Vujacic joins the pack of older players on the team, possibly making them one of the oldest teams in the league.

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  • Rajon Rondo Will Likely Return To The Celtics By Friday

    Rajon Rondo is finally nearing his return to the Boston Celtics after his injury. He could be ready as soon as Friday, and there is no doubt that he is needed on the floor with him being one of the top point guards in the league.

    The Celtics have struggled without him, and after injuring his right knee about a year ago, he may be ready to return to the lineup.

    The Celtics clearly need Rajon Rondo back after currently being on a nine-game losing streak, and while maintaining a record of 13-26. The loss of their other star players and the inexperience on the team has been hurting the Celtics.

    He tweeted a message on Monday that could suggest that he is ready to return to the lineup on Friday, with the tweet being a number of seconds.

    He posted a number that is equal to about 338 days, and would stretch from the time he was injured, February 13th, to this Friday.

    Rajon Rondo would not give a specific date, but he has previoulsy said that he planned to make it back to the floor before the All-Star break, and the Celtics’ last game before the All-Star break is on February 12th.

    He recently said “It’s just a feeling. ‘I’ll probably just wake up (one) morning and play.” He may be making the return before fans expected, and would be a great surprise for the Celtics franchise.

    Rondo and the Celtics will be host to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Rajon Rondo’s return to the court is much-anticipated after the team lost him to the injury last year, which ended his season, and the Celtics were later eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

    Following their loss in the playoffs, the Celtics went into the rebuilding stage, and traded away Jason Terry, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets, while also losing Doc Rivers to the Clippers. Brad Stevens took over as the head coach. There were also reports recently of Rondo possibly heading to the Knicks, and being recruited by Carmelo Anthony.

    Rajon Rondo is a four-time All-Star and a four-time All-Defensive selection, and a big contributor to the success that the Celtics have had in recent years. His return has been uncertain ever since the team announced that he would be having season-ending surgery following their win against Miami on January 27, 2013.

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  • Rajon Rondo Tweets About Possible Return

    Rajon Rondo Tweets About Possible Return

    If you’ve been wondering exactly how long Rajon Rondo has been out due to injury, he’s already taken care of that for you.

    In a recent tweet, the Boston Celtics point guard calculated the seconds from when he underwent ACL surgery on Feb. 13, 2013, to his anticipated return, which is rumored to be this Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

    Without writing anything else, Rondo tweeted 29,233,380, which equates to 338 days, thanks to the handy mathematics of Boston sports writer Chris Forsberg, who saved a lot of us from pulling out our calculators.

    Since Rondo’s injury, a lot has happened with the Celtics organization. Doc Rivers headed West and took a head coaching job with the Los Angeles Clippers. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce left Boston for Brooklyn, and the Celtics as a whole went from serious playoff contenders to a team just trying to muster up a few consecutive wins.

    But Rondo says all he can do is support his teammates during this tough transition and try to be the same person on the bench that he is on the floor–a team leader. “Just trying to keep guys confident and positive,” he said in an interview with The Boston Globe. “Just keep being a vocal leader out there, what I can do from the sideline.”

    So is Rondo worried about the Celtics not playing well as of late? Not at all he says, because losing is really nothing new to him, considering his team lost 18 games in a row during his rookie season. “I’ve been through 18 of this,” he said, recalling the painful 2006-2007 season.

    But Friday could be the start of a whole new beginning for the green and white, as its offense has been in complete disarray without Rondo’s coach-on-the-floor style of play, so undoubtedly the Celtics will be a better team as soon as number 9 steps on the court, and that’s whether he has a lot of points and assists or not.

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  • Kevin Garnett Swears At Refs, Fan Tries To Shield Younger Fan From Hearing [Video]

    Complaining to the refs about a call that is made on the court is something that Kevin Garnett has been known for doing throughout his career. He has certainly had plenty to complain about this season after joining the Brooklyn Nets with the hopes of possibly having an incredibly successful season, only to see it go downhill very quickly.

    The Brooklyn Nets are in their first year under coach Jason Kidd, and after he brought in Jason Terry, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce, the team had high aspirations for the season, and the opportunity to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and possibly the league.

    Instead, they now have a record of 9-19 after losing an ugly game to the Chicago Bulls yesterday. Although Kevin Garnett is well-known as one of the most foul-mouthed players in the NBA, it was a bit surprising to see him acting in the way that he did on Christmas day, with all of the fans close enough to hear.

    Garnett was letting the refs have it for a call that he thought was made incorrectly during the first quarter of the game, and as a result, a young boy in the audience was forced to shield his younger brother from the outburst and cover his ears. He was a Nets fan sitting close to the court as a young boy too, which makes things even more awkward for the veteran forward.

    The boy put “earmuffs” on what appeared to be his younger brother during the clip that saw Kevin Garnett flipping out at the refs. For those that are unfamiliar with the term, it has been popularized by popular culture since, but became common knowledge to most people after being used by Vince Vaughn’s character in the classic comedy, Old School.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Itn75dEorU

    The Brooklyn Nets are continuing to struggle during the 2013 season, and lost to the Bulls yesterday, ending with a final score of 95-78.

    There was simply nothing that the boy could do to shield his little brother from Kevin Garnett’s outburst, and the video has gone viral. Garnett has always been known for having fits like this one, but it is simply inexcusable in this situation, and he should know better by now.

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  • Brook Lopez, Center For The Brooklyn Nets , Out For The Season

    In the next chapter of the Brooklyn Nets’ nightmare of a season, Brook Lopez has been severely injured. Lopez is the center for the Nets, and as a team that recently acquired hot talent from the Celtics, they were being predicted to win a title this year. Instead, they are struggling in the Eastern Conference, and only have a record of 9-17.

    Brook Lopez broke his foot during their last game, and it is being reported that he may miss the rest of the season. The Stanford graduate also missed all but five games during the 2011-12 season after breaking the same bone in his right foot twice in quick succession.

    It is unclear when he sustained his injury, since he played throughout their last game against Philadelphia, and recorded 22 points and 7 rebounds, playing through the fourth quarter and overtime.

    The Nets ended up winning the game in overtime, 121-120, but that overshadows the fact that their star, Brooke Lopez, fractured the fifth metatarsal of his right foot during the game. Soon after, it was reported that he would be out for the rest of the season.

    Despite his past injuries, Lopez is a key member of the Brooklyn Nets, and losing him for the season will be a huge blow to the team. As their only real center, Brook Lopez plays much of the time, and as a leader on the team, he is averaging a team-high 20.7 points, six rebounds and two blocks per game this season.

    On a veteran team with stars such as Deron Williams, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, Lopez is also the only starter under the age of 29, and at age 25, he has been in the league for six years. He is the only true center on the team, and as a result, Kevin Garnett will be forced to play the center position, under their new coach, Jason Kidd.

    Lopez is 7 feet tall, and added muscle mass while rehabbing from injuries, getting him up to 290 pounds in the summer, which made him a completely different player than he was before.

    Brook Lopez played most of last year, but was again sidelined for eight games, due to his ongoing ankle injury. After breaking his foot for the third time in his career, this will raise questions about his future, and reminds fans of other centers who have had short-lived careers due to injures, such as Yao Ming and Zydrunas Illgauskas in recent years.

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