NBA fines Cavs' owner over LeBron remarks
LAS VEGAS, July 12 (UPI) -- The NBA fined Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert $100,000 Monday for harshly criticizing LeBron James' decision to leave the team as a free agent.
Commissioner David Stern told NBA.com Monday at an owners meeting in Las Vegas that Gilbert's open letter to Cleveland fans -- released last week after James' move to join the Miami Heat -- was "a little bit extreme," and as a result, the owner been fined.
After James announced his decision Thursday as part of an elaborately produced hourlong special on ESPN, Gilbert posted an open letter on the Cavaliers' Web site accusing James of a "cowardly betrayal" and a "shocking act of disloyalty."
That in turn prompted U.S. civil rights advocate Jesse Jackson to respond Sunday by blasting Gilbert, saying his letter indicates he "sees LeBron as a runaway slave. This is an owner employee relationship -- between business partners -- and LeBron honored his contract."
"Those engaged in this public arena must look upon workers with respect and shared dignity," Jackson told the Detroit Free Press during a visit to United Auto Workers' headquarters Monday.
"I strongly disagree with Rev. Jesse Jackson's recent comments and we are not going to engage in any related discussion on it," Gilbert said in a statement Monday.
Stern said Jackson's "slave" comment went too far.
"However well-meaning Jesse may be in the premise on this one, he is, as he rarely is, mistaken," Stern told NBA.com. "And I would have told him so had he called me before he issued his statement, rather than this morning. But he is a good friend of the NBA and our players."
Revelers jam Madrid to welcome soccer team
MADRID, July 12 (UPI) -- Hundreds of thousands of revelers lined the streets of Madrid Monday to welcome home the World Cup champion Spanish national team.
The players passed through choked streets in an open-top bus parade that capped nearly 24 straight hours of partying in celebration of the soccer-mad country's first World Cup title, a 1-0 overtime victory over the Netherlands Sunday in Johannesburg, South Africa, The New York Times reported.
Before the parade, the players were officially recognized and congratulated by King Juan Carlos and his family at the Royal Palace of Madrid as well as by the Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero at Moncloa Palace, the newspaper said.
"You have shown the capacity of Spain to reach united the successes that we aim for," Juan Carlos told the players Monday.
Zapatero hugged the players as they stepped off their bus and appeared on a platform alongside them, singling out winning goal-scorer Andres Iniesta for praise in a speech, the Times reported.
Fisher stays with Lakers under new deal
LOS ANGELES, July 12 (UPI) -- Veteran point guard Derek Fisher will return to the Los Angeles Lakers under a new contract, the team said Monday.
Fisher, 36, opted to stay with the team he helped lead to the last two NBA titles after reportedly listening to an offer from the Miami Heat, which last week signed star free agents LeBron James and Chris Bosh to lucrative deals.
While terms of the contract were not revealed, the Los Angeles Times reported it is for three years.
"At the end of the day, there's one person I could not turn away from," Fisher said in a statement. "Kobe Bryant asked me to stay but supported whatever decision I made. He and I have played together for 11 seasons, came into the league together as kids, and has been loyal to me even when others had doubts."
The 14-year veteran averaged 7.5 points and 2.5 assists in the 2009-10 regular season, but bumped up those figures to 10.3 points and 2.8 assists in the playoffs.
NCAA reveals new basketball tourney format
INDIANAPOLIS, July 12 (UPI) -- Eight teams will play early in the opening week of the NCAA Basketball Tournament starting next year under new a format revealed by officials Monday.
The new format takes into account an expanded 68-team field and includes a "First Four" round of games early in Week 1, with the winners advancing to the second round on Thursday or Friday, the Division I Men's Basketball Committee said.
Speculation over who would participate in the early games was resolved when the committee revealed that two games will include the last four at-large teams selected to the tournament, while the other two will feature teams ranked 65 through 68 on the overall seed list.
Under the new rules, at-large teams winning their opening game will be seeded where they would normally be placed in the bracket. For instance, a game between a pair of No. 12 seeds would see the winner advancing to play a No. 5 seed.
The winners of early games involving teams seeded 65 through 68 will advance to take on a No. 1-seeded team.
