NBA cancels first two weeks of season
NEW YORK, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The first two weeks of NBA regular-season games have been canceled due to the lack of a collective bargaining agreement, the league announced Monday.
NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said the move was made after negotiators for team owners and locked-out players couldn't reach a deal after last-minute bargaining sessions held Sunday night and Monday in New York.
"Despite extensive efforts, we have not been able to reach a new agreement with the players' union that allows all 30 teams to be able to compete for a championship while fairly compensating our players," Silver said in an issued statement.
Contests originally scheduled to be played through Nov. 14 were canceled. The league said season-ticket holders could obtain refunds plus interest for all pre-season and regular season games that have been called off.
The cancellations mark the first time the NBA has called off games since the labor troubles of the 1998-99 season, when the season was reduced to 50 games.
The main unresolved issue is the division of the league's $4 billion revenue pie. Team owners have offered a 50-50 split -- a significant decrease from the 57 percent the players were receiving under the expired contract.
Players reportedly aren't willing to go below 53 percent.
The current lockout began July 1 when the former contract expired.
With the two sides still at loggerheads over a new contract, the players took to Twitter Monday to drum up some fan support.
"LET US PLAY" was the tweet NBA players were sending to fans at the behest of National Basketball Players Association President Derek Fisher, CBS Sports reported.
Fisher said in a letter to players obtained by SI.com the idea of the tweets is to show the players "are united and want to get back to work under a fair deal."
He said he would be using the hash tag #StandUnited after all his messages until the owners' lockout ends and suggested players do the same.
Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Jarrett Jack, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Marquis Daniels, Eric Maynor, Devin Ebanks, Nazr Mohammed, Serge Ibaka and Anthony Tolliver were among the players to jump on the Twitter campaign bandwagon. -0-
TCU announces move to Big 12
FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Texas Christian University announced Monday it will join the Big 12 Conference, accepting an invitation offered to it last week.
TCU was set to leave the Mountain West Conference for the Big East, but will instead fill one of the Big 12 slots left open by the defections of Nebraska and Colorado and the future departure of Texas A&M.
TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini announced the school's board of trustees had accepted the Big 12's invitation.
"We're excited to be there," he said.
He said the move will allow the Horned Frogs to compete against several natural rivals in the conference.
The current member schools are Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech and Texas A&M.
Report: Owens hospitalized last week
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- NFL star receiver Terrell Owens was hospitalized in Los Angeles last week after authorities received a medical emergency call, TMZ.com reported Monday.
The celebrity news Web site said an ambulance was sent to an apartment where the 37-year-old receiver was staying on the night of Oct. 6.
Police were also sent to the scene, although it was unclear why, the report said.
The Web site it "was told" Owens -- who ranks second on the NFL's all-time list with 15,934 receiving yards -- was rushed to a hospital via the ambulance and was later released.
Owens' representatives hadn't responded to calls for comment.
The 15-year veteran, who is recovering from a torn knee ligament, racked up 983 yards and nine touchdowns for the Cincinnati Bengals last season but remains without a team this season.
Texans lose linebacker Williams for year
HOUSTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Houston Texans linebacker Mario Williams has a torn pectoral muscle and will miss the rest of the season, the team announced Monday.
Williams will undergo surgery on the muscle after sustaining the injury during the first quarter of Sunday's 25-20 loss to Oakland, Texans head Coach Gary Kubiak said.
The linebacker -- the first overall pick by the Texans in the 2006 NFL Draft -- has 241 tackles and 53 sacks in his career, having missed only three of a possible 85 NFL games during the span.
Rookie linebacker Brooks Reed will take Williams' place in the starting lineup, Kubiak said.
