Harmon, Daly have a game of telephone
Golf instructor Butch Harmon spoke to John Daly last week but did not offer an apology for parting ways with the troubled golfer after reports that he had been drinking in a hospitality tent at a March PGA Tour event, ESPN.com reported.
Daly said Wednesday in Seville, Spain, that Harmon had apologized after learning that the two-time major champion had “lost quite a bit of money through the stuff that you said.”
Harmon said that’s not what happened.
“John called me last Thursday,” Harmon told the site. “His opening line to me was, ‘I’ve lost all my contracts because of what you said. Can you please go on the Golf Channel and make a retraction?’
“I told him I would be glad to help, but I wasn’t going to retract anything that I said.”
Sonics’ Durant lives up to high expectations
The expectations were there for Kevin Durant the day he arrived in Seattle: Anything less than being the best rookie in the NBA would be a disappointment. He didn’t disappoint.
Durant, 19, has been chosen as the NBA Rookie of the Year, the Associated Press has learned from a person with knowledge of the vote. The person requested anonymity because the official announcement has not been made, but it is likely to come on Thursday when the Sonics have scheduled a news conference.
Durant becomes the first Sonics player to receive the award after leading the downtrodden team in scoring, living up to the lofty expectations placed on him after being the national college player of the year at Texas and the No. 2 overall pick in June’s draft.
“I don’t think it’s remotely close in terms of what he’s done in any category, from top to bottom,” Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo said, “where he stacks up compared to previous rookies.”
Wolves-IceHogs rivalry just getting warmed up
The budding rivalry between the Wolves and Rockford IceHogs takes another step forward Thursday night. After 10 hotly contested meetings during the regular season — six of which were decided by one goal — the franchises meet in the postseason for the first time in the second round of the AHL playoffs.
“Every game was a great match,” league MVP Jason Krog said. “That’s going to be the fun part of it.”
The IceHogs, who joined the AHL this season as an affiliate of the Blackhawks, feature one of the league’s hottest goaltenders in 2003 second-round pick Corey Crawford, who leads all goalies with a 1.10 goals-against average through the first round of the playoffs.
— Matt Lynch
