Neuigkeiten » mer League play), but Wiggins has the physical gifts to bec

LAS VEGAS -- The pot wasnt real. Neither, admitted Floyd Mayweather Jr., was much else that went on in the cable television shows promoting his latest fight. Not the joint rolling parties with a bevy of female friends in his Las Vegas mansion. Not the 31 minute fights without a break in the "Dog House" of his gym just off the citys glittering Strip. Not even the betting that went on between Mayweather and others over who was going to win. "I dont want to just sell a fight," Mayweather said. "I want to sell a lifestyle." Called before Nevada boxing regulators Tuesday to explain what went on in the Showtime "All Access" shows aired earlier this month before his rematch with Marcos Maidana, Mayweather said it was all just made-up entertainment to sell the fight. It worked, he said, bringing in enough of an audience for him to sell more pay-per-views for a fight in which he was guaranteed a $32 million payday. "It wasnt real marijuana," Mayweather said. "Its all about entertainment." Mayweather, who earlier this year was licensed as a promoter in Nevada, was summoned by Nevada State Athletic Commission Chairman Francisco Aguilar to explain scenes in the "All Access" show that ran a few days before the fight. Mayweather is listed as the executive producer of the show, which bills itself as a reality series filming boxers before their bout. Turns out it wasnt so real after all. "Its a new generation, a young generation," Mayweather said. "We believe in going outside boxing and doing something different. Because we did something different we got better pay-per-views this time around." Showtime does not release pay-per-view buys but various reports say the rematch with Maidana did slightly better than the first fight, which did not reach 1 million buys. Mayweathers fight last year with Canelo Alvarez was boxings richest, drawing some 2.2 million buys. Mayweather appeared before the commission with longtime adviser Leonard Ellerbe and one of his attorneys. Notably missing were his normally large entourage and the very large bodyguards who usually trail him everywhere. Aguilar and the other commissioners were most interested in two fights shown on "All Access." which was presented as going on for more than a half hour without break, ending only when the beaten boxers quit. On the show, Mayweather is shown arranging the bouts and cheering the fighters. "The dog house -- the rules are you fight till whoever quits," Mayweather said on the show. Appearing before the commission, though, Mayweather said the fighters got three to four long rest breaks during the sparring sessions. "We do take breaks when we spar. I make sure," Mayweather said. "Im not going to let anyone get hurt because safety is very important to boxing." Attorney Shane Emerick said scenes showing cash exchanging hands in bets on the fight also didnt happen, and Mayweather knows gambling in the gym is illegal. He also said Mayweather doesnt smoke marijuana or drink alcohol, and wouldnt be around secondhand marijuana smoke because it could show up in drug tests for the fight. Mayweather is shown in "All Access" at his mansion while joints are being rolled and smoked. At one point he tells an assistant to go get some more rolling papers. Commissioners said they were happy with Mayweather appearing before them, and satisfied with his explanations. "You accomplished your goal," Aguilar said. "I think you represented yourself well." Asked as he was getting on an elevator to leave why anyone would want to watch the show if they knew it was all staged, Mayweather smiled and said: "You know I love you guys. Keep up the good work." New Orleans Pelicans Jerseys . Prado stuck his glove down with Colorados Charlie Blackmon sliding into the bag, and quickly jumped back in pain after applying the tag. Prado held his left wrist as trainers came out of the Diamondbacks dugout to check him. 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ETwaun Moore Jersey . -- Felix Girard scored on the power play in the third period to lift the Baie-Comeau Drakkar past the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Friday.The Cleveland Cavaliers altered the NBA landscape when they re-acquired LeBron James earlier this summer and there were rumours that James would be getting help. Numbers Game breaks down the big trade to bring LeBron a running mate, as the Cavs acquired Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves, along with a follow-up deal that included the Philadelphia 76ers. The Cavaliers Will Get: PF Kevin Love. Love, 25, is one of the games premier frontcourt players, coming off a season during which he scored a career-high 26.1 points per game, grabbed 12.5 rebounds per game and had a career-best 4.4 assists per game. The 6-foot-10 power forward has averaged double figure rebounds for five straight seasons, joining Dwight Howard as the only players to reach that threshold in each of the past five seasons. Already a dangerous offensive threat because of his ability to pass and score, Love has raised the bar as he increases his shooting range. He attempted a career-high 6.6 three-pointers per game last season (making 2.5) and his 37.6% from beyond the arc was the second-best of his career, leading to the highest effective field-goal percentage (.524) of his career. He has played in three NBA All-Star games and ranked third in the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating (26.9), behind Kevin Durant and LeBron James, last season. Joining forces with LeBron in Cleveland does seem to set Love up for continued success, though there is going to have to be some accomodation made to get players enough touches. For example, Love has had more than 17 field-goal attempts per game for the past three seasons, topping out at a career-high 18.3 per game last season. LeBron has actually seen his shot attempts go down -- last seasons 17.6 per game in Miami was a career-low -- but thats 36 shots per game coming into the Cleveland rotation. How will those shots be allocated while still placating PG Kyrie Irving (17.4 attempts per game last season) and SG Dion Waiters (14.2 attempts per game last season)? Take out Luol Deng (12.7 attempts per game in Cleveland) and Spencer Hawes (11.0 attempts per game) and it becomes a matter of balancing an extra dozen or so attempts per game among the primary shooters. Expect LeBron and Love to be the leaders, so that likely means Irving and especially Waiters, will have to get used to a lesser role offensively. The price to pay if youre going to be a championship contender instead of a 33-win lottery team, but thats going to be a challenge for first-year coach David Blatt to navigate. While hes a tremendous offensive player who should complement the rest of the Cavaliers talent well because hes a real upgrade as a scoring big man, Love hasnt been much of a defender. He doesnt have the hops to block shots (0.5 per game for his career) and while he holds his own against power forwards, Love isnt as effective defensively when hes forced to play in the middle. (There is some trade-off, however, as Love scored an outrageous 41.7 points per 48 minutes while playing centre last season). Love makes more than $15.7-million this season and has a player option worth in excess of $16.7-million for 2015-2016, which he has reportedly agreed not to exercise in order to sign a five-year, $120-million deal with Cleveland. Thats a long-term commitment to play for the Cavaliers, and presumably that means playing with LeBron for those years, but its at least worth noting that James is under contract for 2014-2015 with a player option for 2015-2016. Having accumulated a supporting cast that makes the Cavaliers the front-runner in the Eastern Conference, presumably LeBron will be inclined to stick around (he has said hes not going anywhere), but there are some contract details to get worked out. In any case, Love is the big piece that the Cavaliers need in order to rise up and contend immediately, making the most of their championship window with LeBron. The Timberwolves Will Get: F Thaddeus Young, SG/SF Andrew Wiggins, F Anthony Bennett and a protected 2015 first-round pick. Young, 26, was one of the few legitimate NBA players remaining on the Sixers roster, coming off a season in which he scored a career-high 17.9 points, with career-bests in assists (2.3) and steals (2.1) per game. His 6.0 rebounds per game counted as the second-best mark of his career. While Young was getting plenty of opportunities on a terrible team in Philadelphia, he was largely inefficient, posting career-low field-goal percentage (45.4%) and True Shooting Percentage (51.2%). Furthermore, Young isnt much of a defender either, so its not like hes going to help the Timberwolves in that respect. What Young will do for the Timberwolves is allow them to take time developing Bennett. Young is signed through next season, making a little more than $9.4-million, with an early-termination option before the 2015-2016 season. With a season to put up decent numbers as a starter for Minnesota next year, Young is likely to opt-out and cash in on a longer term deal. 19-year-old Andrew Wiggins was the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft following a freshman season at Kansas when he showed flashes of brilliance, but was also criticized for not producing on a more consistent basis. Consider the end of the season, for example. Wiggins dropped a season-high 41 points on West Virginia in his final reggular-season game before scoring 52 points in two games in the Big 12 tournament and 19 in his first NCAA Tournament game before falling flat, scoring four points (on 1-of-6 shooting from the field).ddddddddddddIts not the end of the world, by any means, but the contrast over merely a few weeks shows the ups and downs that are part of Wiggins game at this point. Nevertheless, there is still ample reason that he was the number one overall pick in the draft this year. Wiggins has rare athleticism, with tremendous speed when he breaks out in the open floor and spectacular leaping ability when he attacks the rim. Wiggins athleticism should allow him to become a quality defender and, while ball-handling and shooting are areas for improvement, Wiggins has a chance to be great. It should take some time (considering he averaged 15.5 points on 40.5% shooting in NBA Summer League play), but Wiggins has the physical gifts to become a star player in the league and thats an exciting prospect for the Timberwolves, who sacrificed an already-established star in Love. With Wiggins signed for two years, plus two more team option years, on his rookie deal, the Timberwolves have time to watch Wiggins grow. There arent a lot of options in the T-Wolves rotation right now, so Wiggins should start on the wing, alongside veteran shooting guard Kevin Martin. With Love leaving, there will be lots of touches available offensively, and Martin, C Nikola Pekovic and Wiggins figure to be the players getting the most looks. Anthony Bennett, 21, was also the first overall pick, in 2013, but went through a miserable rookie season, finishing with 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, shooting 35.6% from the field. Those numbers were undeniably terrible, but he doesnt have to be a lost cause altogether. He was out of shape at the start of last season, as he recoverd from shoulder surgery and, following the season, had surgery to help with his sleep apnea. A healthier, leaner Bennett put up 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, shooting 42.6% from the field in NBA Summer League play. Thats a far cry from being ready to start, or fill a rotation spot in the NBA, but Bennett should have a chance to compete for rotation minutes in Minnesota, where there isnt a whole lot, aside from Young, in terms of competition for minutes. It should also be noted that Bennett did start to come around a little bit, late in his rookie season, averaging 6.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game from February through the end of the season. With the T-Wolves a long way from contending, they can afford to give Bennett the reps he needs to improve and its kind of important that he does because, after the 2014-2015 season, Minnesota will have to decide what they are going to do about the team options on Bennetts contract. The first-round pick, reportedly Miamis, is protected. If its a pick that ends up in the bottom 10 of the first round, it provides a little value, but is no difference-maker. From the 2003-2012 Drafts, picks 21-30 yielded, give or take a bit in each category, maybe two stars (Rajon Rondo, Kyle Lowry, David Lee?), 18 starters and 31 rotation players. That results in at least a rotation player slightly better than half (51) the time. Young offers some value, though he may be little more than a stopgap measure in the wake of Loves departure. If Bennett turns out to be a solid NBA player and Wiggins is an above-average starter (with star potential), then the Timberwolves get an adequate return for a player that they were potentially going to lose for nothing following next season. Its never ideal giving up the marquee player in an NBA trade, but rolling the dice on the potential of Wiggins and, to a lesser degree, Bennett, is a fair approach for Minnesota under the circumstances. The hard truth, though, is that its nearly impossible to win an NBA trade that sends a star player away, so doing their best under the circumstances still leaves the T-Wolves in a worse spot. The 76ers Get: F Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, SG Alexey Shved and a first-round pick. Mbah a Moute is a 27-year-old journeyman who had some relative success in a defensive role earlier in his career, but he struggled to handle power forwards last season. In a reserve role, defending on the wing, he could be useful, but hes mostly a warm body who can fill minutes in Philadelphia. Shved, 25, is a shooting guard who has trouble with the shooting portion. Hes one of two NBA players to log more than 2000 minutes over the past two seasons, shooting under 40% from the field (35.8%) and under 30% on three-pointers (29.5%). But, like Mbah a Moute, Shved really just fills a spot on the Philadelphia roster. Hell make a little less than $3.3-million next season, which is the final year of his current contract. Winning seems like an afterthought for the 76ers at this point. Adding the first-round pick will help them stock talent, but Philadelphia keeps taking steps away from being competitive. While giving up Young isnt disastrous to the long-term fate of the franchise, theyre worse without him and that, unfortunately, is probably part of the plan. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '