LOS ANGELES -- As Celtics coach Doc Rivers sat at the podium suggesting Rasheed Wallace might have played his final game of his career on Thursday, the 15-year veteran stood outside the locker room of the game officials trying to talk to a group that has been intertwined with much of his career.
It wasn't clear if he was trying to discuss the calls that went against Boston in its Game 7 loss to the Lakers in the NBA Finals or just say goodbye to a couple of veteran officials.
Wallace exited the Boston locker room before it opened to the media and navigated his way toward the team bus before diverting to the official's locker room nearby. He managed to open the door and talk with an unidentified person behind the door, before arena and NBA security ushered him back out.
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AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Doc Rivers said Rasheed Wallace (left) was "dying out there" in Game 7.
Wallace stuck his head into the locker room and appeared to say, "Danny, I just want to talk," possibly to referee Danny Crawford, but quickly got removed from the room.
Wallace, wearing sunglasses and carrying his gear, waited about five minutes outside the official's locker room guarded by arena security before departing for the team bus without talking to the officials or media nearby.
The veteran forward, who is the NBA all-time leader in technical fouls, did not appear confrontational. While waiting he muttered again about simply wanting to talk and that it was nothing bad.
But security would have no part of it, likely fearing he was angry about the way Game 7 played out.
The security guard outside the official's locker room declined to comment. Another security guard asked if Wallace had made contact with referee Joey Crawford and was informed that Joey Crawford had already left the area before Wallace arrived.
A spokesman for the NBA said Thursday night he was unaware of any incident involving Wallace and the officials.
Wallace, who made a spot start in place of injured Kendrick Perkins, registered 11 points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and two assists over 36 gutsy minutes. With Boston trailing, 79-76, Wallace fouled out with 25 seconds remaining when whistled for a shooting foul on Kobe Bryant.
Bryant made the free throws that proved to be the difference in an 83-79 triumph in the title contest.
The Lakers finished with a 37-17 edge in free throws.
Rivers heaped praise on Wallace for his efforts and noted it might have been his final NBA game, lending credence to the suggestion that Wallace simply wanted to offer goodbyes to veteran officials Danny Crawford and Joey Crawford.
"He was a warrior," Rivers said. "I don't know if Rasheed will ever play again. You know, he's one of them. I think he took that out on the floor with him. I think he is thinking about retiring, and I thought you could see that in his play. He was dying out there. When he got the cramps and the strains, he was just trying to figure out a way of staying on the floor.
"We had to keep subbing him for one minute and two minutes, and I thought the reason we got up early was because of Rasheed Wallace. We got it low in the post, he started scoring, and I thought what happened was late in the game he got tired and had the injuries and we couldn't go down anymore, and I think that had a huge impact on how we were playing. We had to go away from the post almost because of fatigue. It's the first time all year that you can actually say, at the end of the day, we were old at the end of the game because we didn't have a enough bodies. I thought it hurt us."
Wallace signed a three-year, $19 million contract last offseason. He stands to make $6.3 million if he returns next season and $6.8 million in 2011-12.
Asked about Wallace's future, Kevin Garnett didn't sound optimistic about his return.
"Not a good one ... I see a lot of myself in him and we have a lot of the same ties and a lot of the same characteristics. Both the class of '95 ... so for him to come in and give his thanks and his regards after a loss like this ... it was a difficult night."
Chris Forsberg covers the Celtics for ESPNBoston.com.
Michael Jackson had dozens of hits, but his most popular one wasn't a solo smash or a tune with his brothers. It was a song with another icon.
Billboard says "Say Say Say," his 1983 hit with Paul McCartney, is the most popular Jackson song. That was followed by "Billie Jean," the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There," "Beat It" and "Rock with You."
"Billie Jean" was at No. 1 for seven weeks, while "Say Say Say" held the top spot for six weeks. But the McCartney-Jackson hit stayed in the top 10 longer.
Billboard is releasing Jackson statistics ahead of the anniversary of the King of Pop's death. He died June 25, 2009, at age 50.
___
Online:
http://www.billboard.com/mj50
My first real job was as a junior enlisted member of the United States Air Force. I had great benefits, but as a low ranking enlisted member my take home pay wasn't worth bragging about. I was earning a comfortable living for a 19-year-old, but I didn't think I had enough money to invest. It turns out I was wrong.
A talk with one of my mentors, a senior enlisted member in my squadron, made me rethink the way I viewed investing. During one of our conversations I brought up the topic of investing and mentioned I would like to start in a couple years when I had more money. He listened to me give several excuses why I couldn't invest and then he said something that changed the way I think and act about investing.
[See Tax Breaks for Retirement Investors.]
He told me saving and investing wasn't hard, you just have to treat it like a bill. He said, "When your paycheck comes in each month, you pay your bills, right?" I nodded. "So treat investing like a bill. If you want to max out your Roth IRA, divide the maximum contribution by 12 and send that amount to your investment account each month. If you want to make it easier, then go to the finance office and set up an automatic allotment from your paycheck and you'll never think about it again."
It turns out he was right. It's not that I didn't have enough money to invest. I just wasn't prioritizing how I used my money. Treating investing like a bill forced me to make investing part of my budget. I followed his advice and set up an automatic withdrawal from my paycheck and I began investing in a Roth IRA. I maxed out my IRA contributions in each of the eleven years following our conversation. That 15 minute conversation literally changed my life and might just make me a millionaire by the time it's all said and done.
[See You Can't Borrow Your Way Through Retirement.]
This concept of paying yourself first applies to different types of investments as well. Perhaps the most common way to take advantage of automatic investing is through an employer sponsored retirement plans such as a 401(k) plan, 403(b), 457(b), or the Thrift Savings Plan. You can also apply this to savings goals, Roth or Traditional IRAs, or taxable investments. In fact, many brokerage firms will waive account minimums if you agree to fund your account with a minimum contribution each month. Some brokerage firms even offer lower transaction costs with automatic investments.
Here are three reasons you should consider automatic investing.
It's easy. You don't have to remember to do it. Just set it up once and you know it will get done.
[See The Six Biggest 401(k) Mistakes.]
There is no emotional barrier. It can be difficult to write a check each month for a future goal when you have current wants you could easily fulfill with those funds. Automatic investing makes it easier to stick to your long term plans.
You don't try to time the market. Market timing is almost always a losing battle. For the average investor, dollar cost averaging can be a great way to avoid market timing and ensure you get your money in the market for a longer period of time. Automatic investing gives you the greatest opportunity to realize the growth of compound interest.
Ryan Guina is a U.S. military veteran, writer, and professional in the corporate world. He blogs at Cash Money Life and Military Finance Network.
DRAPER, Utah – A death row inmate who had used a gun to fatally shoot two men suffered the same fate Friday morning as he was executed by a team of marksmen — the first time Utah used the firing squad to carry out a death sentence in 14 years.
A barrage of bullets tore into Ronnie Lee Gardner's chest where a target was pinned over his heart. Two minutes later an ashen Gardner, blood pooling in his dark blue jumpsuit, was pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m.
He was the third man to die by firing squad since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976.
Unlike Gary Gilmore, who famously uttered the last words "Let's do it" on Jan. 17, 1977, Gardner could muster few words before a black hood was fastened over his head. Asked if he had anything to say during the two minutes afforded him, Gardner said simply, "I do not, no."
The five executioners, certified police officers who volunteered for the task and remain anonymous, stood about 25 feet away, behind a wall cut with a gunport, and were armed with matching .30-caliber Winchester rifles. One was loaded with a blank so no one knows who fired the fatal shot. Sandbags stacked behind Gardner's chair kept the bullets from ricocheting around the cinderblock room.
Utah Department of Corrections Director Thomas Patterson said the countdown cadence went "5-4-3..." with the shooters starting to fire at the count of 2.
Gardner's arm tensed and jerked back when he was hit. As the medical examiner checked for vital signs the hood was pulled back, revealing that Gardner's head was tilted back and to the right, his mouth slightly open.
"I don't agree with what he done or what they done but I'm relieved he's free," said Gardner's brother, Randy Gardner, after the execution. "He's had a rough life. He's been incarcerated and in chains his whole damn life, now he's free. I'm happy he's free, just sad the way he went."
The execution was witnessed by media representatives who are separated from witnesses for the victims or the condemned in rooms on opposite ends of the execution chamber behind reflective glass so they can't be seen.
Gardner walked willingly to his execution, a stark contrast to the fatal escape attempt he undertook 25 years ago that resulted in his death sentence.
Gardner was sentenced to death after being convicted of murder in 1985 for the fatal courthouse shooting of attorney Michael Burdell during a failed escape attempt. Gardner was at the Salt Lake City court facing a murder charge in the shooting death of a bartender, Melvyn Otterstrom when he took a gun smuggled into him and he shot Burdell in the face as the attorney hid behind a door in the chaotic courthouse.
The execution process was set in motion in March when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from Gardner's attorney to review the case. On April 23, state court Judge Robin Reese signed a warrant ordering the state to carry out the death sentence.
At that hearing, Gardner politely declared, "I would like the firing squad, please."
He told his lawyer he did it because he preferred to die that way. Gardner was allowed to choose between the firing squad and lethal injection because he was sentenced to death before Utah eliminated the firing squad as an option in 2004. State officials did not like the negative publicity fire squad executions generated.
Gardner, 49, chose his manner of death and then worked furiously with his lawyers to prevent it. They filed petitions with state and federal courts, asked a Utah parole board to commute his sentence to life in prison without parole, and finally unsuccessfully appealed to Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gardner's attorneys argued the jury that sentenced him to death in 1985 heard no mitigating evidence that might have led them to instead impose a life sentence. Gardner's life was marked by early drug addiction, physical and sexual abuse and possible brain damage, court records show.
They also argued he could not get a "fair and impartial hearing" before Utah's Board of Pardons and Parole because lawyers that represent the board work for the Utah attorney general's office, which sought his death warrant and argued against the board commuting Gardner's death sentence
The firing squad has been Utah's most-used form of capital punishment. Of the 49 executions held in the state since the 1850s, 40 were by firing squad.
John Albert Taylor, who raped and strangled an 11-year-old girl, was the last person executed by firing squad on Jan. 26, 1996.
Historians say the method stems from 19th Century doctrine of the state's predominant religion. Early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believed in the concept of "blood atonement" — that only through spilling one's own blood could a condemned person adequately atone for their crimes and be redeemed in the next life. The church no longer preaches such teachings and offers no opinion on the use of the firing squad.
Gardner, who once described himself as a "nasty little bugger" with a mean streak, spent his last day sleeping, reading the novel "Divine Justice," watching the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy and meeting with his attorneys and a bishop with the Mormon church. A prison spokesman said officers described his mood as relaxed. He had eaten his last requested meal — steak, lobster tail, apple pie, vanilla ice cream and 7UP — two days earlier.
Members of his family gathered outside the prison, some wearing T-shirts displaying his prisoner number, 14873. None witnessed the execution, at Gardner's request.
"He didn't want nobody to see him get shot," Randy Gardner said. "I would have liked to be there for him. I love him to death. He's my little brother."
The American Civil Liberties Union decried Gardner's execution as an example of what it called the United States' "barbaric, arbitrary and bankrupting practice of capital punishment." And religious leaders called for an end to the death penalty at an interfaith vigil in Salt Lake City on Thursday evening.
"Murdering the murderer doesn't create justice or settle any score," said Rev. Tom Goldsmith of the First Unitarian Church.
Burdell's family opposes the death penalty and asked for Gardner's life to be spared.
But Otterstrom's family lobbied the parole board against Gardner's request for clemency and a reduced sentence.
George "Nick" Kirk, was a bailiff at the courthouse the day of Gardner's botched escape. Shot and wounded in the lower abdomen, Kirk suffered chronic health problems the rest of his life.
Kirk's daughter, Tami Stewart, said before the execution she believed Gardner's death would bring her family some closure.
"I think at that moment, he will feel that fear that his victims felt," she said.
___
Associated Press Writers Paul Foy and Rich Matthews contributed to this report.
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Limited Supply of FREE Laptops STILL AVAILABLE!
At this moment in time, we have confirmed that various companies are holding onto a limited supply of absolutely FREE laptops. These FREE laptops are being sent out to anyone who claims one!
I'm already in the process of claiming a $2000 FREE laptop for myself! Read on to find out how you can get yourself one too.
How to get a FREE laptop
My goal is to make this as easy as possible to complete, so I have laid out the entire process of getting a FREE laptop into 3 easy to follow steps.
Click one of the following links and participate in the program requirements to claim your Free Laptop.
What kind of FREE laptop do you want? Acer, Sony, Apple(Macbook)? It is up to you!
U.S Visitors:
Sony: Achieve maximum mobility. Participate now for a Free* Sony(R) VAIO(R) Laptop.
Apple Macbook: CLICK HERE to Claim Your FREE* Macbook NOW
Feel Free to go after all 3 if you want to try and get 3 free laptops.
Canadians/International: Click Here to Claim your Free Gift
- U.S Visitors must first enter their e-mail or zip on the next page to start.
- Once you have your FREE laptop picked out click on the continue button.
- Choose your country and enter a valid e-mail address as well as a password of your choice. (NOT YOUR E-MAIL PASSWORD) - click the sign up now! button.
- Fill in all of the information required. DO NOT use fake information here, they will never give out your information to anyone but they do need it so they know where to send the FREE laptop.
- Once again click the sign up now! button.
- At this point your account with a company of your choice should be made. (You may only sign up once to each site and you may not sign up multiple people from the same computer).
Step 1 Complete!
Gain ONE credit by completing Trial offers.
This is the step most people do not understand. I recommend checking out my freebie info site, to understand why you have to complete an offer.
When you have made your account, click the "My status" button and it will bring you to a new page with a button "complete offer" Click that button and you will be brought to a big list of various offers. They range from 1% credit all the way to 100% of a credit. You must complete 1 or more offers to reach 100% credit to be eligible for your FREE laptop.
The companies make it very easy to follow and you should have no trouble completing this step.
- At this point you should have your offer requirement completed
Step 2 Complete
Simply spread the word! - Get your friends to do exactly what you just did.
With your offer requirement completed, simply refer as many friends as needed for the FREE laptop you chose. Your referral link will be located on the "My Status" page. Let your friends use that link to sign up and you will get credit every time you sign-up a new person and they complete an offer.
Getting referrals
There are many EASY ways to gather the referrals needed to get your FREE laptop. Here are a few suggestions I have.
- Get your friends and family to sign up under you. Depending on how large your family is, this could take care your requirements completely.
- Advertise on the internet. (NOT spamming) - Try letting people know about this amazing offer via forums or ezines or anything you can think of. As long as you are not spamming your referral link you should be okay.
If the above suggestions don't work, you could always try offering an incentive to your friends or anyone else you know. (Cash, Food, Beer?) It is up to you.
Step 3 Complete
Ending notes...
If you have followed all the steps above, then CONGRATULATIONS! Before you know it you'll be using a brand new FREE laptop.
In case you didn't notice, these FREE laptops retail for over $2000 at a regular store, so make sure you show it off proudly and tell everyone you got it FREE. I guarantee you'll be swamped with people wanting to know how you did it. Guess What? You can repeat the site again and again without completing another offer for yourself! That means when you are showing off your FREE laptop, you can get even more people to join you and get even more cool stuff!
If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will respond asap.
