LeBron James, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player who left Cleveland for Miami last month, will make his debut for the Heat in Boston on Oct. 26 in the NBA season opener, the league announced on Tuesday.
James joined pals Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Heat roster and was joined by Lithuanian center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, another former Cavaliers star, on a Heat squad that is expected to challenge for the championship next season.
Miami will meet the reigning Eastern Conference champion Celtics — led by Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen. They pushed the Los Angeles Lakers to the seven-game limit, before losing the NBA Finals last June.
James and the Heat will visit Kobe Bryant and the Lakers on Dec. 25 in a Christmas showdown that tops five NBA games to be played on the holiday.
The Lakers will also play on the NBA’s opening night, starting their quest for a third consecutive league crown at home against Houston in what is expected to Yao Ming’s return for the Rockets after missing all of last season.
Chinese star center Yao was sidelined after foot surgery, but a healthy return could signal a resurgence for the Rockets, who will be spectators as the Lakers raise a championship banner to the rafters of their home arena.
The night after the season openers will feature games between some of the NBA’s most talented young players, with NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant leading the Oklahoma City Thunder against visiting Chicago and top draft pick Blake Griffin debuting at home for the Los Angeles Clippers against Portland.
The Orlando Magic will open a new home arena on Oct. 28 when the Washington Wizards visit. The same night will see Canadian star Steve Nash lead the Phoenix Suns in Utah.
The next night, James and the Heat will play host to Dwight Howard and the Magic, while the Lakers visit the Suns in a rematch between last season’s Western Conference finalists.
Houston will play host to Denver on Oct. 30, with Utah in Oklahoma City the following night and Portland traveling to Chicago on Nov. 1.
Christmas games in addition to the marquee Miami-Lakers game include Orlando in Boston, Chicago in New York, Denver in Oklahoma City and Portland against Golden State.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB