Darius Miles’ stormy tenure with the Portland Trailblazers has come to an end. Barring a medical miracle, his professional basketball career is also at an end.
An East St. Louis High School phenom who skipped college for the NBA, Miles was drafted in 2000 by the Los Angeles Clippers. He was traded to Cleveland in 2002 to make room for LeBron James and two years later was dealt to the Blazers.
While he once scored 47 points for the Blazers, he also was labeled a malcontent who lit into coach Maurice Cheeks with a profanity-laced tirade on the sidelines during a game.
Following two knee surgeries and two lost seasons on the injured list, the Blazers released Miles on Monday.
An independent doctor appointed by the NBA and the Players Association examined Miles and found his injuries to qualify as “career-ending.”
Miles, 26, is still eligible to play in the NBA, but the ruling means the Blazers can receive financial relief from Miles’ huge contract – both immediate and long term.
GM Kevin Pritchard said the move was “closure” on the player’s turbulent four-plus seasons in Portland.
Miles began his spectacular high school career at East St. Louis Lincoln as a sophomore, but transferred to East Side in 1998 after Lincoln closed its doors. He was a McDonald’s All-American in 2000 after leading the Flyers to a third-place finish in the IHSA Class AA state tournament. He was the No. 3 pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, thus becoming the highest-drafted high school player to date.
Miles was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers, but he also spent time with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Trailblazers. He was just starting to play at a top level in the 2006 season before being felled by the knee injury. He was averaging 18.2 points in the first 15 games of the season before having micro-fracture surgery on his knee. He hasn’t been able to play since.
T.O, Cowboys coming to town
Tony Romo, Terrell Owens and those Dallas Cowboys will take on the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome at noon October 19.
While it might seem far-fetched, there is a chance that Rams coach Scott Linehan won’t be the coach when the Cowboys come to town.
Here’s why.
The St. Louis Rams open the season on Sept. 7 at the Philadelphia Eagles. The team opens its regular season home schedule on Sept. 14 against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants and quarterback Eli Manning.
The third week of the NFL season takes the Rams to Seattle to face the NFC West division champion Seattle Seahawks.
The Rams host the improved Buffalo Bills on Sept. 28.
Week 5 is the Rams’ bye week.
What if the Rams are 0-3 going into the game against the Bills? What if they were to lose that game?
At 0-4 and with a bye week looming, the Linehan era in St. Louis could easily come to a close.
A win against the Bills would most likely save his job, but a 0-4 start would certainly doom him.
If things aren’t going to be tough enough, the Rams visit a NFC Wild Card team, the Washington Redskins, on Oct. 12.
King of Internet boxing
Don King’s illustrious promotional career ventured into cyberspace with his first-ever-live webcast of a boxing event on DonKingTV.com on March 27.
As usual, his presence was felt when 400,000 total page views and 200,000 unique page views were recorded for his championship doubleheader featuring Cory Spinks vs. Verno Phillips and Devon Alexander “The Great” vs. Miguel Callist from Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
“I am delighted with the super-sensational response to my first webcast at DonKingTV.com,” King said.
“I felt the timing was right for me to begin providing boxing matches on the Internet and the public’s response with more than 200,000 individual visitors logging on in 94 countries has confirmed that. It’s definitely the wave of the future and Don King Productions will be on the leading edge.”
It is a toss up as to who took more hits per minute – King’s website or Spinks’ face in his loss to the veteran Phillips.