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Sports Briefs: Mavs' Howard, former Wake Forest standout, in off-court furor again
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Published: September 18, 2008
DALLAS -- The battered reputation of Josh Howard took another hit this week when an online video surfaced showing Howard, a forward for the Dallas Mavericks, disrespecting the national anthem.
In a video posted on YouTube, Howard is shown on a football field at a charity flag-football game. As the national anthem plays in the background, Howard approaches a camera and says: "The Star Spangled Banner is going on right now. I don't even celebrate that (expletive). I'm black."
Howard's agent, Jeff Schwartz, did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment. Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks' president of basketball operations, directed questions to team owner Mark Cuban, who in an e-mail declined to comment.
The incident is the latest off-court problem for Howard, a fifth-year pro who played at Wake Forest and Glenn High School. Howard was arrested in Winston-Salem in July when police said he was drag racing at 94 miles an hour in a 55-mph zone. A court appearance was scheduled for next week.
Howard was criticized last season for saying in a radio interview during a first-round playoff series against New Orleans that he occasionally smokes marijuana. Later in that same series, he angered Coach Avery Johnson by throwing himself a birthday party after a Game 4 loss to the Hornets.
More basketball
■ Clemson coach Oliver Purnell is having his high-school jersey retired.
Purnell is a 1971 graduate of Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin, Md. Clemson said yesterday that Purnell would be presented a framed No. 22 jersey during halftime the school's home football game on Friday.
Purnell helped the school to a state championship in 1970. He also was part of Old Dominion's Division II national championship in 1975.
Purnell has been a Division I college head coach for 20 seasons, including the past five with Clemson. Last season, the Tigers went 24-10 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years.
■ Gilbert Arenas had a third operation on his bothersome left knee yesterday morning, once again throwing into doubt his status for the coming Washington Wizards season.
Arenas had a "moderate amount of debris" removed from the knee after experiencing swelling and discomfort during his rehabilitation. The Wizards offered no timetable for his return -- beyond the fact that he obviously won't be ready for the start of training camp next week -- but Arenas told The Washington Post that he plans to be back on the court in early December, which would rule him out for the first month of the season.
The surgery is the third on the knee in 17 months for Arenas, who missed 69 regular-season games last season.
Hockey
■ Right wing Justin Williams of the Carolina Hurricanes might miss up to six months after tearing his Achilles' tendon yesterday.
General Manager Jim Rutherford said Williams will have surgery this week and is expected to be sidelined at least four months.
Rutherford said Williams, 26, injured the tendon in his right leg while running during an off-ice workout three days before the start of preseason camp.
Williams -- one of the team's most durable players, and a key member of the No. 1 line that also includes star center Eric Staal and left wing Ray Whitney -- already was coming back from knee surgery that cost him 43 games last season.
Golf
■ There's a new link between Jim Valvano and N.C. State.
Officials at the V Foundation for Cancer Research said yesterday that the charity golf tournament that bears the late Wolfpack coach's nickname is moving to the new course at N.C. State.
The Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic comes to the school's new Lonnie Poole Golf Course this August after a two-year stint at Pinehurst Resort, a 90-minute drive southwest of Raleigh-Durham, where the foundation is based.
Before the move to Pinehurst, the tournament was held for 13 years at Prestonwood Country Club in the Raleigh suburb of Cary, before a move became necessary when the annual Champions tournament was switched to mid-September and there wasn't enough time for the course to recover.
N.C. State's $11.8 million course, which was designed by Arnold Palmer, is scheduled to open this spring on the school's Centennial campus.
Auto racing
■ NASCAR fined David Starr $10,000, suspended three crew members and penalized several others yesterday for fighting on pit road after a Truck Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Starr spun Todd Bodine with seven laps left in Saturday's race, and Bodine retaliated by tapping the back of Starr's truck after the race.
That led to a full-blown fight on pit road, where Bodine's crew confronted Starr and crew members from both teams had to be separated by several NASCAR officials.
David Reutimann, who was Bodine's teammate on Saturday, also spun during the race after contact with Starr and his crew chief was penalized, too.
Soccer
■ Natasha Kai scored in the 72nd minute and the U.S. women's team beat Ireland 1-0 last night at Giants Stadium in the second game of a 10-game post-Olympics tour.
Briana Scurry preserved the victory with a late diving save on Michele O'Brien's shot. Ireland's Aine O'Gorman also had a chance at an empty net in extra time, but Heather Mitts cleared the ball away.
After failing on multiple second-half opportunities, the Americans broke through when Carli Lloyd fed Kai with a pass from inside the penalty box. Kai's left-footed shot from 12 yards away went past goalkeeper Emma Byrne and inside the right post. Kai has scored in consecutive matches and has 15 goals in 21 games this year.
Just 6 minutes earlier, Kai missed an open net when her shot from 15 yards away flew over the net.
Team USA captain Christie Rampone was honored before the game. She became the sixth player to play 200 matches for the U.S. national team.
The meeting was the second of a three-game series between the two teams. The United States won the opener 2-0 on Saturday night in Philadelphia. The series will conclude Saturday in Bridgeview, Ill.
The United States won the Olympic gold medal with a 1-0 overtime victory over Brazil on Aug. 21 in Beijing.
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