New York Knicks head coach Mike Woodson gives Carmelo Anthony instruction in the second half of Game 2 of their NBA basketball playoff series in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden in New York, May 7. The Knicks won 105-79. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

:10 I’ve put it off as long as I can cause I just can’t stand the pain, but here’s the final rundown for the NBA playoffs.  In the East, it’s sad, but true, I’ve got Miami beating New York…but…but…but New York could serve the upset???  In the West, I predict San Antonio steals it from OKC and this You Can Take To The Bank.  San Antonio will beat Miami for the crown!  All hail the King …the King will be dead…King James that is.

:09 I know ya’ll don’t think I know this stuff, but I am a well rounded sports writer with serious skills. “ORB” won the Kentucky Derby…what?…what?

:08 All the best to former Notre Dame basketball coach and ESPN analyst Digger Phelps as he fights bladder cancer. Phelps underwent surgery last month and says he’s in the fight to win it. Thanks to the “Ice Man” Dwight “D.C.” Clay and the legend that was “The Silver Streak” I had the pleasure of meeting Coach Phelps at his home of the Fighting  Irish about 25 years go.  Best road trip ever.  “Nobody Me” got to hoop with D.C. and the other Irish legends during a grand reunion weekend.  Adrian Dantley, Duck Williams and the fellas in Knucke Rockney Gym.  All was good till I broke my foot. The rest is no history at all. Reminder Note: The Iceman is the owner of the greatest shot in NCAA history to snap UCLA 88 game win streak.

:07 In case you haven’t been paying attention, Serena Williams is the #1 tennis player in the world once again.  But the season is young and she will be pushed by #2 ranked Maria Sharapova. Oh shut up and just listen to what I tell ya.

:06 Yea, Mayweather won the fight. Unanimous decision over Robert Guerrero as a matter of fact. Although I thought Floyd would have been tested more, it just shows you how good Mayweather really is. He’s head and shoulders above the rest. But the real fight is yet to come cause Guerrero’s dad told Mayweather’s dad he was gonna kick his xxx!  Floyd Sr. and Ruben Guerrero…book that fight!

:05 I ran into Good Brother Jim Clancy down at the Consol Arena.  He’s one of the keeper’s of the castle.  Hey, Jim keep reading man I need all the support I can get to beat those     pretenders at the Post and Trib.  Jim, you’re now in the Locker Room. Get your gear and suit up man!

:04 Jason Collins is a Black gay basketball player…OK.  Back to the game!

:03 OK, so you haven’t been to Ray’s Barber Shop in Penn Hills next to the Lawn and Garden Center?  C’mon man, “It’s all about you!” So that means you haven’t been downstairs to the sweetest joint in town, “CCM” aka Creamy Creations and more.  Let me tell ya this, their stuff is good. I mean put on your new white PF Flyer sneakers and don’t get um dirty good. What ya’ll waiting on? Get there. And please, don’t tell Stephan Broadus I gave them free P.R. You know how he is about that!

:02 Speaking of the Locker Room, my Jamaican brother Steve Miller is a Starbucks cat and reader of Overtime.  Yea mon…you’re now in the Locker Room you lazy bum mon! Hey what kind of Jamaican name is Steve Miller?  I thought that was a Rock & Roll band…Steve, welcome home.

:01 Ya’ll know the new cameras in Homewood ain’t just only for guns and shooters don’t  ya?  You—Down—With—OPP?  I am just saying.

:00 Double Overtime—At the Buzzer.  HHHHEEEERRRREEEE WE GO. Saturday, May 11, Ms. Rita Gregory and Champion Enterprises bring you the 38th Mother’s Day/Celebrating Women Awards, Fashion Show and luncheon starring the fashion legend Ms. Debbie Norrell—2-5 p.m.—St. James AME Church – tickets $30 in advance, $35 at the door.  If there are any left – fashions by “cache”—call 412-628-4856 for info—you keep saying you don’t know, well here.  The next and best Harlem Nights Old School Par-tay is coming Friday, May 31—3 Lakes Golf Course—8-1 p.m.—the line dance master Roland Ford will be there—music by the legend Sly Jock—free parking – cash bar—cash kitchen till 11 p.m.—50/50—best dressed man and woman—cash prize—the Corvett Club and their cars will be out on display and yes, it’s dress to impress—this is the big one to kick off Memorial weekend and the summer—we need ya’ll on this one. It raises money for the 38th Annual Connie Hawkins Youth Development Summer Basketball League. Starting June 15 at the Penn Hills YMCA—come out and meet former world heavyweight kickboxing champion Jacquet Bazemore and WISH light heavyweight champion Rayco “War” Saunders Weil as he gets ready for his title fight—remember, don’t miss the Spring Cabaret brought to you by “Happy Feelings” and my man former Penn Hills football star, Kenny Lewis, Saturday, May 18, 8 p.m.–2 a.m.–The Moose Lodge, 120 51st Street in Lawrenceville.  Call 412-512-9873 for more info. It’s a BYOB affair with a bar as well…say what!?!
~ GAME  OVER ~

Stephen C. Robinson

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Rutgers University is changing the law firm leading the review of how the school handled to the dismissal of head basketball coach Mike Rice.

University officials announced Wednesday Stephen Robinson and Christopher Gunther of the financial law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom will lead.

Robinson is a former federal judge and U.S. attorney.

The law firm previously assigned to the review resigned May 3. University officials found a firm that represented the old counsel had issued a report to Rutgers about the coach's allegations.

Rice was fired after a video of him shoving and shouting anti-gay slurs in practice became public. Athletic director Tim Pernetti resigned, as did the school's top in-house lawyer, John Wolf.
Settlements with the three were worth about $2.1 million overall.

N

Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon, left, talks with Talib Zanna ina game on Nov. 9, 2012 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

 STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — In-state rivals Penn State and Pittsburgh are facing off again — on the basketball court.

MR. OLYMPIA PHIL ‘THE GIFT’ HEATH (Photo by Rossano P. Stewart)

Two-time Mr. Olympia champion Phil “The Gift” Heath and eight of the top ten IFBB Professional bodybuilders in the world was in attendance at the Muscle Tech 2013 NPC Pittsburgh Championships Saturday night at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall.
Some were expecting thrown chairs, verbal abuse—a nasty stage brawl of Jerry Springer-like proportions. Instead, Heath, Kai Green, Shawn Rhoden, Dexter Jackson, Branch Warren, Dennis Wolf, Jay Cutler and James Flex Lewis signed autographs, took pictures with the fans and showed respect for one another.
This is the only show in the world where the top-six from Mr. Olympia all come together to guest pose,” said Heath, the number one ranked bodybuilder in the world. “We come here every year because of Jim Manion,” Heath said.
Yes, we can put a man on the moon, map the human genome and weave a toupee for William Shatner, but nobody can figure out a way to beat “The Gift”.
Heath is huge, he’s hungry and his greatest gift of all is remaining the King of the Hill. That’s the only thing on his mind.
Heath said that his outstanding conditioning and small waist is the reason he spanked the big boys, some of whom has far more experience.
“Winning the Mr. Olympia, the Super Bowl of Bodybuilding and doing it back-to-back years, is like no other experience,” said Heath. “I’m only 33 years old. The best is yet to come.”
In recent years, we’ve been amazed when a bodybuilder manages to turn pro in his mid-20s, because for a while it definitely seemed as if guys were getting their pro cards’ later and later – sometimes at nearly 40 years old. But “The Gift” earned IFBB Pro status well before he hit 30.
Heath grew up in Seattle, and he tried several sports, but by junior high school it was clear that basketball was where he shined.
“I always loved basketball but I didn’t have any brothers or sisters to play with and one day I came home from school and my step dad put up a basketball hoop over the garage,” said Heath. “Basketball is a sport that you don’t need anyone else. All you need is a hoop and a ball. I developed a great 3-point jump shot.”
He attended Rainer Beach High School and led them to a state basketball title. One of his former teammates, Jamal Crawford, currently plays for the Los Angeles Clippers. Heath attended the University of Denver on a full athletic scholarship.
“My senior year in high school we were ranked No. 21 in the country by USA Today,” said Heath. “I was the first basketball player in my high school to receive a division I scholarship and Jamal Crawford was the second. Nate Robinson and Terrence Williams were after us.”
It was not until 2002 that Heath pursued bodybuilding and turned Pro in 2005.
“I played college basketball for four years at the University of Denver and began to lift weights with some bodybuilders,” said Heath. “I won every amateur contest that I entered and earned my Pro card after competing for only two years.”
Bodybuilding has a strange relationship with the mainstream. Everybody in America know—or thinks they know—what bodybuilding is, but only true fans really understand the sport and know who the top bodybuilders are. As professional athletes, bodybuilders receive very little exposure outside of contests, personal appearances and the magazines that support their sport.
“I wasn’t an amateur for very long, but part of the reason for my early success was my balancing act. I have things outside of bodybuilding that make me miss it to various degrees. I will never tire of bodybuilding, because I will never let it consume me. I’m exceptionally cultured in terms of music, stimulating friends and family ties, and I read to get a full assessment of what’s going on in the world. My wife also helps keep me balanced, because she’s in a field outside of bodybuilding.
At the same time, I’m a bodybuilding historian. I know who my predecessors were, where they came from, some of what their motivations were. It’s good to see the past, so you can study journey, know where it’s leading and have a firmer hand in directing it destination.
Don’t be a one-dimensional bodybuilder. Look beyond the protein bars and the weights, as well as beyond the competition. Make sure you have a life in concert with the physical aspect. Stimulate your mind, so your body can grow. We see so many guys limit themselves. As a result, they wind up bitter about the sport, broke because of the sport, and alone because of relationships they cannot maintain. Bodybuilding is fun, but at the end of the day, it’s a responsibility for leading a journey of exploration that can take you to the lowest lows or the highest highs.
  “My basketball coach use to tell us to “cut their head off” and that’s what I plan to do to my opponents everytime I step on the stage. I think I can do this for ten more years. So my gift to all of you will be all of my competitor heads. One-by-one.”