Byline: Michael Rand; Staff Writer
COMPILED BY MICHAEL RAND
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Mike James for Juwan Howard: It's going to take a series of swaps like this for the Wolves to show even marginal improvement. That said, they got rid of a 'small' for a 'big' and in a startling development received a less crippling contract (two years left for Howard vs. three for James) in return.
In a strange twist, Howard was suspended one game during the 2005-06 season for shoving a basketball into a player's face. That player? Mike James, then with Toronto. Here is how the AP described the play that led to the suspension: 'James drove toward the basket and was fouled by Howard. ... The players exchanged words before Howard approached James and shoved the ball into his face. James was restrained by his teammates. Both received a technical, and Howard was ejected.'
Are the Spurs a dynasty? Four NBA titles in nine seasons. Better yet, three in the past five. If people were willing to call the Patriots' run earlier this decade a dynasty or the Cowboys of the mid-1990s a dynasty, then the Spurs have to be in the mix - especially considering they play in the dominant conference.
Maybe Daunte Culpepper should just lay low for a while: His playing situation in Miami is such a mess that it's heading to arbitration on June 29. To make matters worse, he bruised his left hand in a car accident this week. A Rotation correspondent recently suggested all of Culpepper's troubles started in early 2005 when he gave a paralyzed high school football player a valuable diamond-encrusted necklace he was wearing before awkwardly taking it back later. Culpepper was at the FedEx Ground and Air Player of the Year awards as a finalist when the incident happened; needless to say, he hasn't been a finalist since then. Maybe he needs to get rid of that necklace?
Twins 3, Braves 2: One of the more enjoyable experiences one can have is being at a public place with TVs on when the home team is making a ninth-inning comeback. Thursday qualified as one of those nights, for sure. The kicker: Friday morning on the golf course, I heard a man tell the story of how the ninth inning unfolded. He made no fewer than four factual errors. And it didn't matter. Moral of the story: As much as the intricate details of sports can matter, it's the shared feeling from the end result that keeps people coming back for more.
