Adopted
By the NBA, a policy that will fine players for flopping. The league has yet to determine how much players who dive will be fined or whether there will be an escalating series of fines and suspensions, as there are with technical fouls. While the policy is bad news for such noted embellishers as San Antonio's Manu Ginóbili and Cleveland's Anderson Varej√£o (above), it will be welcomed by many, including Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons forward gave an expletive-laden opinion of floppers during the Eastern Conference finals last week. "The cats are flopping all over the floor, and they're calling that s---," he said. "That s--- ain't basketball."
Died
At age 21 from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident, Canucks defenseman Luc Bourdon (right). The accident happened near his hometown of Shippagan, New Brunswick, when Bourdon's bike hit a tractor-trailer. He was the 10th pick of the 2005 draft and appeared in 27 games with Vancouver last year, scoring two goals.
Died
Of complications from heat illness, North Carolina A&T offensive lineman Chad Wiley, 21. A two-year starter, Wiley, who would have been a fifth-year senior, collapsed after voluntary drills on May 27—when the high temperature in Greensboro, N.C., was 86°.
Donated
By NASCAR driver Tony Stewart to the Louisville Zoo, his pet monkey, Mojo (right, with Stewart). When the three-year-old patas monkey became too aggressive to keep as a pet, it became apparent that Stewart would have to lose his Mojo. The monkey has actually been in Louisville since August; he was put on display for the first time last week. "I know Mojo is in terrific hands," Stewart said.
Qualified
For the Arena Football League playoffs, the Arizona Rattlers, fulfilling a $2.2 million pledge the team made to its season-ticket holders. Before the season the team, which went 4--12 last year, promised its season-ticket holders a full refund if the Rattlers missed the playoffs. (After the offer, season-ticket sales rose 44% to 7,200.) Arizona beat the Orlando Predators 60--53 last Saturday to improve to 7--6 and clinch a postseason berth.
Finished
Sixth, in his first major NASCAR race, phenom Joey Logano (SI, Feb. 6). Eligible to race in the Nationwide Series after turning 18 on May 24, Logano made his debut in Dover, Del., last Saturday in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. His JGR teammate Denny Hamlin won the race, which was worth $47,595. But Hamlin took home another $200: He bet fellow drivers Michael Waltrip and Kyle Busch that Logano would come home in the top seven.
V-a-n-q-u-i-s-h-e-d
Nearly 300 foes to win the National Spelling Bee, Sameer Mishra. The 13-year-old from West Lafayette, Ind., won the competition by spelling guerdon (which means something that one has earned) after his opponent stumbled on prosopopoeia (a rhetorical device). Sameer—who practiced with his older sister—amused the audience with several wry oneliners. After his victory, which was worth $40,000, he deadpanned, "I'm not used to people laughing at my jokes, except my sister."
Questioned
By the FBI about Roger Clemens, country singer Mindy McCready. According to the New York Daily News, she was asked about her relationship with the pitcher. They reportedly met when she was 15, in 1991, and sometime later began an affair that continued until 2006. In February the FBI opened an investigation into whether Clemens lied when he and his former trainer Brian McNamee testified in front of a House committee investigating steroid use. "She's relevant because she ... probably knows a lot about Roger's associates and activities," Richard Emery, one of McNamee's lawyers, told the Daily News.
They Said It
BRENT BARRY
Spurs guard, after the NBA admitted a foul should have been called on his last-second miss in Game 5 against L.A.:
"That's awesome, because Doc Brown is waiting for me outside, and we're going to get in the DeLorean and fire up the flux capacitor and we're going to go back and shoot a couple of free throws."
SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE
A veteran sumo wrestler faces a 30% pay cut for attacking another wrestler with a soup ladle.
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STEPHEN DUNN/GETTY IMAGES (BARRY)
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©UNIVERSAL/EVERETT COLLECTION (BACK TO THE FUTURE)
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JEFF VINNICK/NHLI/GETTY IMAGES (BOURDON)
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TOM COPELAND/CIA STOCK PHOTO (STEWART)
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JEFF GROSS/GETTY IMAGES (VAREJAO)
