1)     Lateral Lunges- Trains the hips, gluteals and hamstrings. It also trains the athlete to move correctly in the lateral direction.

2)     Lateral Shuffle- (with or without resistance) Also work well to train correct lateral movement.

3)     Lateral Step Ups- Emphasize development of the athletes hips, quadriceps (especially outer) and glutes.

Many knee ACL injuries occur when athletes place too much stress on their knees and not enough stress on their hips during deceleration. In other words, the hips are often under-used during sports activities. These exercises will help strengthen the hips. Any serious athletic exercise program would be incomplete without these exercises.

Joe Sidoti Strength and Conditioning Coach

Kennedy Catholic High School

914-772-0128

joes@hvc.rr.com

Technorati Tags: basketball, lateral lunges, lateral shuffle, Lateral speed, lateral step ups, practice, quickness, workout program

Something smells fishy. At least in San Fransisco, where the Warriors are looking deeper into Monta Ellis’s injury that he reported. After one month after signing a huge deal with the Warriors, Ellis revealed that he has an ankle injury that will keep him out for at least three months.

Reports are that the Warriors do not believe the explanation Monta gave his team and that they are launching an investigation into the situation. Maybe this is a bad idea by the Warriors to upset their most valuable asset. Ellis has been the Warriors most integral player and has shown enough promise that last month the Warriors inked him to a long-term deal.

Is this report true? The San Fransisco Chronicle says that they are not investigating and that the medical trainer who was said to look into the injury isn’t even on the same continent. This whole situation seems very confusing.

From what I learned in the past couple of months of wild sports stories, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And, something has to be up. It does seem sketchy that Ellis would conveniently report an injury for the first time after he signed a lucrative contract. Personally I think all off-season injuries should be investigated for the integrity of contracts. These players sign contracts that say you can’t do this or that or the contract will be void if you get hurt. The Warriors has to look at this from a business stand point. If a client doesn’t follow his or her contract properly you don’t look past it and say ‘just don’t do it next time’.

If this situation is under investigation and things come out saying that Ellis lied in any way, he needs to be punished. A precedent needs to be set.

Technorati Tags: Contract Problems, Ellis Ankel Injury, Ellis Ankle Injury, Ellis Ankle Injury Story, Ellis Contract, Ellis Contract Void, Ellis Injury, Ellis Injury Contraversy, Ellis Injury Explanation, Ellis Injury Fake, Ellis Injury Lie, Ellis Injury Real or Fake, Golden State Warriors, Monta Ellis, Monta Ellis Ankle Injury, Monta Ellis Contract Warriors, Monta Ellis Injury, Monta Ellis Injury Problems, NBA Contract Agreements, NBA Players Injury Contract Problems, NBA Season 08-09, San Fransisco, San Fransisco Basketball, San Fransisco Basketball Team, San Fransisco Chronicle, Sean Connolly, Sean Connolly Basketball, Sean Connolly Sports, Sean Connolly Writer, Warriors don't believe Ellis, Warriors Investigate Ellis Injury, Warriors Investigation Ellis Injury

United States’ redemption is complete. The story is over and they did what they needed to do. Now let’s look at the results of this competition that pitted NBA teammates against eachother.

Preceding the Olympics there was a lot of talk about NBA players heading east to Europe. Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and even Lebron James said that they would consider playing in Europe. There’s more money to be made there and a completely different atmosphere, something that they may easily welcome.

Now, I don’t know whether there was any validity to the comments but if there it’s not there any more. The rest of the world is in no competition with American basketball. Not only that but the international rules are not condusive to a successful career. The game seems to be sloppy, choppy, and reckless. A career ending injury is basically imminent.

I appreciate what international players have brought to the NBA, but the last thing I want to see is NBA players going to Europe. David Stern and the NBA need to do whatever they can to prevent this. Call me selfish, but I want these guys over here so I can watch them, too bad Europe.

Technorati Tags: 2008 USA Basketball Team, American Basketball, Beijing, Beijing Olympics 08 Mens Basketball, Chris Paul Olympics, David Stern, David Stern Europe, Dwayne Wade, Dwayne Wade Trade To Europe, European Basketball, Injuries Olympics Basketball, International Basketball, International Basketball Rules, Kobe Bryant, Kobe Bryant Gold Medal, Kobe Bryant Trade to Europe, LeBron James, Lebron James Gold Medal, Lebron James Trade To Europe, NBA, NBA Europe Trade, NBA Olympics, NBA Players Moving to Europe to plau, NBA Trade Rumors, Olympics 08, Olympics Gold Basketball, Olympics USA Basketball Gold Medal, USA Olympics Victory

If you forgot how great Michael Jordan is, just watch this video please. He’s at a basketball camp and a kid asks Jordan who would win in a one-on-one game between him and Kobe Bryant. Jordan responds, “in my prime, not even a contest.” It’s Jordan being Jordan.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqlBUj9bFC4&feature=related]

How amazing is that. I know he’s not up against NBA players but it’s obvious that he still has it. You know after that he was thinking…hmmm, maybe my Bobcats need a guard.

I just love how confident he is when he’s playing, there’s no doubt in his mind that he’s going to miss, even with his eyes closed. Earlier this season when Kobe was on a tear, I began to wonder…maybe he is good as Jordan. I’ll tell you this right now, Jordan at 45 years old is better than Kobe is now or will ever be.

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Today the Bulls signed Luol Deng to a six year deal worth up to $80 million. Now is $80 million worth it for a guy who put up 17 points a game with 6 rebounds and 2 assists? I don’t think so.

Looking at those numbers, the best you can say about them is that they’re good, not great, not worth $80 million. I understand that the Bulls have made it clear that they want Deng to be the corner stone of the franchise, but shouldn’t your cornerstone put up better numbers and play more than 63 games?

Deng has only been in the league three years and although he has shown a good deal of talent, he had injury problems all of last year and has yet to prove that he can make a significant enough impact in which the team can depend on him in crunch time. He isn’t a player that’s going to take over the game, he’s a guy who will give you points somewhere in the high teens and put up a solid shooting percentage. But, if the Bulls want to improve with the amazing amount of talent they have in Derrick Rose, Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, and more they should have traded Deng for someone more talented.

I just think the Bulls could have got two players with equal amount of talent for the price of Deng. There were talks of a trade of Deng to the Utah Jazz, but I guess the Bulls were to adamant about signing Deng to a long term deal. Since Michael Jordan retired and left the Bulls, the Bulls have had ten years of outstanding young talent that could never develop. They have the same dilemma this year and I think it’s their last shot before they run out of chances to become the dynasty they once were.

Technorati Tags: Ben Gordon, Bulls Dynasty, Bulls Dynasty Jordan, Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Luol Deng Bulls, Luol Deng Career Stats, Luol Deng Contract, Luol Deng Deal, Luol Deng Debate, Luol Deng Money, Luol Deng Signs, Luol Deng Signs Contract, Luol Deng Signs With Bulls, Luol Deng Stats, Luol Deng Stats 07-08 Season, Luol Deng Trade, Luol Deng Trade Debate, Luol Deng Trade Rumors, Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan Retires, Shooting Percentage, Tyrus Thomas, Utah Jazz, Utah Jazz Trade Rumors, Utah Jazz Trade Rumors Deng

After the way the 76ers played towards the end of last season and also in the playoffs, Andre Iguodala and the Sixers were showing a lot of upside. They are in a weak Eastern conference and have one of the strongest, most exciting young players in the league in Iguodala. The team is young and has been showing much more promise with the acquisition of one of the best forwards in Elton Brand. So why would Iguodala want to be traded to the Clippers?

If some how Iguodala ends up a Los Angeles Clipper I will be absolutely astonished over the stupidity. First of all what is there in Clippers? Their best players are leaving in Brand and Corey Maggette and they might not even sign Baron Davis. So, what’s the point of leaving a young, talented, playoff team to go to a team who hasn’t been in the playoffs in years and unless they can perform a miracle will not make it next season? I like Andre and all but I think the answer to that question is his desire for more money.

You know, just when I think the league is getting better and more ethical, someone goes and makes a money hungry move like this. There is no better explanation. It is moronic to even think about this move if you’re Iguodala.

I really think the Sixers have a legitimate chance to do some damage next season with players like Brand, Andre Miller, and Iguodala. But, no matter what the integrity of Iguodala will be in question if he stays. Because there is no way you should even be rumored in being traded to the Clippers when you have such a talented team and a week earlier you acquired one of the best forwards in the past 20 years. Glory before money, Iguodala.

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It’s the beginning of a rivalry. The Bulls played the Heat yesterday in a summer league game in which the two first picks in this year’s NBA draft matched up. Beasley made a statement with his play yesterday that he, not Derrick Rose should have been the first pick.

Beasley shone yesterday putting up 28 points on 9-21 shooting leading his Heat to a convincing 94-70 victory over the awful looking Bulls. Playing with a fractured sternum, Beasley made an impact immediately as he scored 9 points in his first 8 minutes. He dominated throughout showing what NBA prospects talked about pre-draft with tremendous range, an outside and inside game.

As for Derrick Rose, he didn’t do much. He did have 10 points but on 3-8 shooting and 5 turnovers. Now obviously you can’t look at this game and say that Rose was the wrong choice, but what it does show is how Rose can easily get lost in a game. He can fade at times and not be the main guy on the team. Whereas Beasley can be the go to guy throughout a game and continually draw a double team even if he’s not playing well.

Before the draft I strongly believed that the Bulls should choose Beasley. They did not. I just have a feeling that Rose won’t be the top caliber kind of player that Beasley will be. I think in today’s game Beasley’s attributes a much more important to a team in order to create a championship team. As of late, point guards don’t win championships, big men, and good shooting guards do. Just look at Nash, Kidd, Marbury, Francis, and I’ll even go far back as Stockton. I just think that Rose will fall into that category of being a great regular season player but not good enough for a championship, if he’s lucky.

Technorati Tags: Championship Derrick Rose, Derrick Rose, Derrick Rose Bulls, Derrick Rose Bulls First Pick, Derrick Rose Injury, Derrick Rose Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose Michael Beasley Matchup, Derrick Rose Stephon Marbury, Derrick Rose Stephon Marbury Comparison, Jason Kidd, John Stockton, Michael Beasley, Michael Beasley Better Than Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley Derrick Rose Comparison, Michael Beasley Heat, Michael Beasley Injury, Michael Beasley Should Have Been First Pick, NBA Draft 08, NBA Prospects, NBA Summer League, NBA Summer League 08, NBA Summer League Derrick Rose, NBA Summer League Derrick Rose Stats, NBA Summer League Michael Beasley, NBA Summer League Michael Beasley Stats, Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Steve Nash

The free agent season has begun. Following an exciting post-season and draft, the NBA has found another way to keep us hooked. In the next couple of weeks there are to be some big names moved around and could possibly shape next year’s championship team. The Celtics made all the right moves during last year’s free agency and ended up taking the title. So, don’t be surprised if a number of teams take a page from their book. Here are some of the big names who could make a move.

Elton Brand

Although his intentions are to re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, don’t be surprised to see Elton Brand move. He has yet to be on a successful team and I’m sure he’s more than eager to cement himself as a marquee player. He is unable to do so on the lowly Clippers who will again have no chance next year in the overly competitive West. If the the right offer lands on Brand’s lap, possibly from his old team in the Bulls, or with the Knicks, Pistons, or Rockets who all need a player like Brand, don’t expect him to stay in Los Angeles.

Baron Davis

After the Warriors 06-07 run that included maybe one of the biggest post-season upsets of the Dallas Mavericks, Baron Davis could not find the same chemistry this past season. Davis has had trouble in the past season with Golden State and it seems like he may be headed out of Golden State after opting out of his contract. Davis averaged 21.8 points a game last season and would be extremely valuable to either a East or West Playoff team. The Detroit Pistons have showed interest in Davis in a possible sign and trade which may include stars Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups. This may turn into the biggest trade of the off-season. Also showing interest are the aforementioned Los Angeles Clippers. If Baron Davis signs with the Clippers this may persuade Elton Brand to stay.

Corey Maggette

Elton Brand isn’t the only Clipper on the move. Corey Maggette has also opted out of his contract and will test the open market. Maggette is more likely than Brand to leave the team and could play an integral part in next seasons playoffs. There were rumors swirling last season of a trade of Maggette to the Suns, so don’t be surprised if that deal won’t resurrect itself. Another team showing interest looks to be the Utah Jazz who are one piece away from a championship team.

Wizards Aren’t Letting Agent Zero Turn Into Free Agent Zero

The Washington Wizards are planning to invest over 150 million dollars in both Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison. This seems like to much for a team who keeps getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers. I thought Washington would have to get rid of at least one of the two, but it looks as if the Wizards want to continue with Jamison and Arenas. Personally I would have let Arenas go because he did very little last year and we are still unsure about his knee. Jamison is turning himself into a fantastic player, averaging 20 and 10 last year and is bound to become better.

Here is a list of other notable names that could see themselves in different uniforms next season.

Sam Cassell- Boston Celtics- Unrestricted FA

Eddie House- Boston Celtics- Unrestricted FA

Emeka Okafor- Charlotte Bobcats- Restricted FA

Luol Deng- Chicago Bulls- Restricted FA

Ben Gordon- Chicago Bulls- Restricted FA

Delonte West- Cleveland Cavaliers- Restricted FA

Allen Iverson- Denver Nuggets- Early Termination Option

JR Smith- Denver Nuggets- Restricted FA

Steve Francis- Houston Rockets- Player Option

Jason Williams- Miami Heat- Unrestricted FA

Stephon Marbury- New York Knicks- Early Termination Option

Andre Iguodala- Philadelphia 76ers- Restricted FA

Michael Finley- San Antonio Spurs- Unrestricted FA

Technorati Tags: 76ers Trade Rumors, Allen Iverson Trade, Allen Iverson Trade Rumors, Andre Iguodala, Andre Iguodala Trade, Andre Iguodala Trade Rumors, Antawn Jamison re-signs Wizards, Antawn Jamison Re-signs Wizars, Arenas Free Agent, Baron Davis, Baron Davis Clippers, Baron Davis Free Agent, Baron Davis Signs, Baron Davis Signs with Clippers, Baron Davis Trade, Baron davis trade for Wallace Billups, Baron Davis Trade Rumors, Baron Davis Trade to Clippers, Baron Davis Trade to Pistons, Baron Davis Traded, Ben Gordon Trade, Ben Gordon trade Rumors, Boston Celtics, Boston Celtics off Season moves, Cavs Trade Rumors, Celtics Free Agents 08, Celtics Trade Rumors, Charlotte Bobcats, Chauncey Billups Trade, Chauncey Billups Trade Rumors, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Clippers Off season move, Clippers Sign Baron Davis, Clippers Trade Rumors, Corey Maggette, Corey Maggette Signs Utah Jazz, Corey Maggette Trade, Corey Maggette Trade Rumors, Corey Maggette Trade to Phoenix Suns, Corey Maggette Trade to Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, Delonte West Trade, Denver Nuggets Trade Rumors, Eddie House, Eddie House trade, Elton Brand, Elton Brand Free Agent, Elton Brand Free Agent Signing, Elton Brand Offer, Elton Brand Pistons, Elton Brand signs, Elton Brand Trade, Elton Brand Trade Rumors, Elton Brand Traded, Elton Brand Traded Bulls, Emeka Okafor, Emeka Okafor Trade, Emeka Okafor Trade Rumors, Free Agent Season NBA, Free Agents, Gilbert Arenas Re-signs Wizards, Golden State Warriors, Jamison Free Agent, Jason Williams trade, JR Smith Trade, JR Smith Trade Rumors, Luol Deng Trade, Luol Deng Trade Rumors, Miami Heat, Michael Finley Trade, NBA, NBA Draft 08, NBA Free Agents, NBA off-season Trades, NBA Postseason 08, NBA Trade Rumors, New York Knicks, New York Knicks Off-Season Moves, New York Knicks problems, New York Knicks Trade rumors, Off-Season Trades, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns Trade, Phoenix Suns Trade Rumors, Pistons Off-season moves, Pistons Trade, Rasheed Wallace Trade, Rasheed Wallace Trade Rumors, Sam Cassell Trade, Stephon Marbury, Stephon Marbury Trade, Steve Francis Trade, Steve Francis Trade Rumors, Utah Jazz Trade, Utah Jazz Trade Rumors, Warriors Off-season moves, Warriors Upset Mavericks Postseason 07, Washington Wizards Trade Rumors

The Indiana Pacers have traded their most talented player, Jermaine O’Neal for Toronto Raptors T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, and the 17th overall pick in tomorrow’s draft. This is the first of possibly many trades that should take place until the end of tomorrow’s draft. This ends Jermaine O’Neal’s tumultuous era in Indiana and begins a new one for T.J. Ford.

The winner in this trade isn’t the Raptors or the Pacers, it is Jermaine O’Neal. O’Neal is easily one of the most talented players in the league and has yet to truly show it on the Pacers. He will now head over to a stronger Raptors team who made it into the playoffs last season as a 5th seed. The Raptors lack athletic size and will certainly appreciate what O’Neal can do, but the loss of a star like Ford will be difficult.

T.J. Ford has to be considered the loser in this trade. Ford will head to the Pacers where he will certainly dissapear. His talent was beginning to shine during his short time with a talented Raptors team. Indiana has no upside and Ford will find it difficult to perform as well as he did on the sharp-shooting Raptors. With Ford comes Rasho Nesterovic who cannot be enamored with the move either. His shooting improved drastically over the 07-08 season since he was surrounded by other pure shooters.

In what looks like a trade heavy draft, this may just be the first of many in the next 24 hours. The Knicks, Heat, and Mavericks all may trade their picks and move players around. Only time will tell, but this looks to be one of the biggest no matter what happens tomorrow night.

I guess when you look at this trade you can consider the Pacers to have gotten the better deal. They pick up another first round draft pick which will certainly improve their building process, and they dump a significant amount of salary in Jermaine O’Neal. They also pick up a fan friendly T.J. Ford, who with his talent can fill the stadium. If they can do well in the draft, they might have a chance to return to the form they had when Reggie Miller was around.

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Paul Pierce looked absolutely unstoppable Sunday night in his team’s loss to the Lakers, so much so that he may have already sealed the fate of Los Angeles. If it wasn’t for his team’s poor 1st quarter performance along with the outrageous amount of foul calls by Dick Bavetta and his crew, Pierce and the Celtics would be celebrating their first championship in 22 years. And without a doubt, Paul Pierce would be the MVP of the NBA Finals.

After the Celtics’ 24 point comeback on Thursday, I began wondering who would be MVP of the Finals for the Celtics. There really was no clear cut winner due to the Celtics’ fantastic all-around team play. Garnett had played alright, Ray Allen has played very well(especially compared to the series against the Pistons), and Paul Pierce has had a solid showing like usual. There were also a couple of long shots in James Posey and Leon Powe if they had another break out game, but overall no real no-doubt choice. But after watching Pierce dominate the Lakers single handedly, Pierce will be that no-doubt choice if the Celtics can prevent a Laker comeback.

It looked as if Pierce was driving against children in Game 5. In a stretch in the 2nd quarter, Pierce scored 11 straight points. Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, and even the almighty Kobe Bryant at times could not handle the strength of Paul Pierce driving to the basket. It just looked way too easy for the Celtic guard. Even after he broke down the Laker backcourt, not even the stronger Lamar Odom or Pau Gasol could step up and stop Pierce. It seemed as if every drive by Pierce took on 4 Lakers, and he easily finished every time.

All the hype coming into the series was Kobe taking the torch and becoming Jordan. Kobe hasn’t lived up to the hype, and the only one plaKying Jordanesque is Paul Pierce. Throughout this series, you haven’t seen Kobe drive, dominate the key, and get to the free throw line anything like Pierce.

If Pierce has a game half as dominating as game 5 and the Celtics decide to play before they’re down by double digits, Kobe and the Lakers simply don’t stand a chance. Pierce will be in Celtic lure along with Larry Bird and even Bill Russel for bringing the Celtics back to glory. But hey, I’ve been talking about Kobe all playoffs and I’ll never doubt what Kobe is capable of, so Pierce needs to take care of business tonight because it’s not over ’till the ring’s on the finger.

Technorati Tags: Add new tag, Allen Powe, Bill Russel, Bill Russell, Celtic Lure, Celtics, Celtics 24 Point Comeback, Celtics first championship in 22 years, Celtics Guards Defense, Celtics NBA Championships, Dick Bavetta, Dick Bavetta Referee, Dick Bavetta Referee NBA Finals 08, James Posey, Jordan Farmar, Jordan Farmar Defense, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Garnett NBA Finals MVP, Kobe Bryant Jordan Comparison, Lakers, Lakers vs. Celtics NBA Finals 08, Lamar Odom, Lamar Odom Defens, Larry Bird, Pau Gasol, Pau Gasol Defense, Paul Pierce, Paul Pierce Finals MVP, Paul Pierce Free throw, Paul Pierce Jordan Comparison, Paul Pierce MVP, Paul Pierce NBA Finals MVP, Paul Pierce wins game, Ray Allen, Ray Allen NBA Finals MVP, Sasha Vujacic, Sasha Vujacic Finals 08