Posts from the Nba Police Blotter Category at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

As the first overall draft pick, Derrick Rose has some big shoes to fill. Somewhat amazingly, he's already topped LeBron James in at least one category ... albeit an embarrassing one. In December, James was ticketed for driving 101 mph in a 65 mph zone, but Rose beat that indiscretion easily, getting caught going 106 in a 65 back in late April.

Wait, this happened back in April? Why are we just now finding out about this? That's a great question -- in the hype machine that is pre-draft coverage, it's actually quite amazing that Rose's camp was able to keep this under wraps. The only reason we found out about it is because Rose's attorney spoke with the media on Tuesday, admitting that his client will have a court appearance later this month.

At least Rose isn't following completely in LeBron's footsteps. In his first comments after the news broke about his ticket, LeBron admitted that it probably wouldn't stop him from speeding in the future, saying it's "not a big deal to me." Rose, on the other hand, showed far more poise by saying, "I know I did something dumb. I made a big mistake. I'm very sorry, and I can only promise that it will never happen again."

When something works (and by "works" I mean "gets a $400,000 debt paid off") you usually become pretty willing to use that method again. Which would explain why the Wynn Casino, who publicly shamed Charles Barkley into paying off a six figure debt, is getting busy in court again.

Wynn Las Vegas claims NBA Entertainment, NBA Properties and co-defendant Alonzo Mourning Charities have failed to pay a $50,000 bill for convention and meeting space and related services used during the 2007 NBA All-Star weekend.

[...]The casino claims to have entered into an agreement with NBA Entertainment for use of the resort's hotel and convention space during the February 2007 event.

NBA Entertainment then authorized the charity to use some of the convention and meeting space for a fund-raiser, according to the lawsuit.

But, in a vicious strike by karma, the casino quickly backtracked, stating that an "administrative error" led to the filing of the complaint against the NBA; they were only trying to sue Mourning's Charity organization. Which, while terribly stupid looking for the attorneys that represent the Wynn, is still just as embarrassing for Mourning.

Now, odds say that his charity organization either a) forgot to pay the bill or b) got crossed up with the NBA on who was going to pay the casino off. But that doesn't make it any less awkward for them, and you can bet the Wynn gets the 50k paid to them pretty fast. Or else they're coming to collect. And they don't take "no" for an answer. Just kidneys.

Via Ballhype

The Denver Nuggets suspended Carmelo Anthony for the fist two games of the 2008-09 season for his recent DUI arrest, although Melo was able to plead to a lesser charge. The statement from the team went a little something like this:

"We take drinking and driving very seriously," Nuggets vice president Mark Warkentien said. "Carmelo admits he made a serious lapse in judgment and has expressed his sincere remorse numerous times since to the Nuggets organization, his fans and the Denver community. We will continue to support Carmelo as he strives to live up to the high expectations set by Carmelo himself and the Nuggets organization on and off the court. We will respect the legal process moving forward and continue to handle the matter internally without further comment."

Blah, blah, blah. I found it curious that there's no mention of whether or not this suspension will be with or without pay, and since it wasn't mentioned, it probably means that Melo gets to keep the two game checks. Which makes this suspension completely pointless.

If the team really wanted to make a statement, they'd attach a fine to the suspension, or make it clear that Carmelo wasn't being paid to sit on the bench in a suit for two games. Instead, this is just a hollow gesture by the team, which does nothing more than ensure that the Nuggets start the season 0-2. Considering they only made the playoffs by a two game margin this season, the suspension may have some long-lasting, unintentional consequences.

Via HoopsHype, the Portland Tribune's Kerry Eggers updates us on Zach Randolph's latest visit to Rip City on May 31.

Zach was out enjoying himself at Ohm nightclub when, at 1:30 a.m., police responded to a 911 call about a disturbance.

"We were told Zach showed up with an entourage and got into a disagreement with a known gang member and drug dealer," Mike Reese, central precinct commander for the Portland Police Bureau, tells the Portland Tribune's Nick Budnick.

When police arrived, the scene at Ohm "looked like an old western barroom brawl, with chairs and tables being thrown around ... the bar was trashed," Reese says. Police emptied out the remaining patrons and shut down the club.

Aah, Z-Bo. How the police officers of Portland missed you. How Portland has missed you. It seems worth nothing the reason why Z-Bo was in Portland: he had a May 30 court date for a January incident where a man alleged Zach and old buddy Qyntel Woods beat him up for snitching about Qyntel's dog situation. (Randolph settled, Eggers surmises.)

No word on whether Z-Bo punched anyone in the airport terminal, the McDonald's drive-thru, in the hotel lobby, at the precinct, or anywhere else.

With the NBA Finals in full swing and the media presence the highest it's been all season, it's obviously the worst possible time to be hearing from disgraced referee Tim Donaghy. But heard from him we did, throwing out amazing (and unbelievable, if you really look at it) allegations that the league fixed playoff series to last longer and to favor teams from larger markets. Before Game 3, David Stern once again addressed the accusations, and called the claims baseless.

"He turned on basically all of his colleagues in an attempt to demonstrate that he is not the only one who engaged in criminal activity. The U.S. attorney's office, the FBI have fully investigated it, and Mr. Donaghy is the only one who is guilty of a crime."

Now of course the league is going to deny the accusations here, but it's with good reason. Donaghy is looking at up to 33 months in prison, and the NBA is seeking $1M from him in damages, so naturally he has a lot to gain by throwing this stuff out there in the hopes that the league might settle with him to get him to pipe down. But that's not how Stern rolls.

The commissioner is going to keep pointing to Donaghy as the lone gunman rogue official, because that's all that the evidence will back up. Besides, what would be the easiest game for Donaghy to point to as being fixed? The controversial Game 6 in 2002 of course, because it was such a famous example of bad/one-sided officiating. So until there's a shred of evidence to the contrary, Donaghy can talk all he wants, but the rest of us shouldn't listen to the ramblings of someone who's clearly just trying to save his own skin.

Last week, UNC point guard product Ty Lawson got arrested for allegedly driving with some alcohol in his blood and committing sundry other violations (like having his music too loud). Note: it wasn't a DUI. But Lawson had been drinking, and he's not yet 21. So it's criminal.

Lawson, already settling into the lower part of the first round, had to think his stake might slide. Various reports prior to the incident had Lawson aimed at pick #20, which belongs to Denver. The Nuggets play up-tempo ball and have a desperate need at the point. They also have some recent, painful history with respects to drinking and driving, if you'll remember Carmelo Anthony's unfortunate postseason arrest.

And guess what? Hoopsworld's Travis Heath reports this evening that Denver has revoked its invitation to Lawson for a team workout. Lawson was supposed to be in Denver this weekend, but the Nuggets told him to stay home. While it doesn't mean Lawson won't get drafted, it almost certainly means the Nuggets ain't biting.

That's a bit of a problem, as Lawson has said he'll only stay in if he's projected in the top 20. Again, Denver picks #20. Taking one of the few options that high -- and seemingly the most likely, before the arrest -- means Lawson might not meet his goal. Will he go back to Chapel Hill? Will he fall into the second round and end up as a 13th man or NBDL assignee?

It's as regular as the seasons. It's as predictable as the Grizzlies not getting the #1 seed. It's strangely comforting, like the rains of spring, only vaguely smelling like alcohol and weapon grease.

That's right.

It's that time of year when NBA players start getting themselves arrested.

We start with San Antonio Spurs and former D-League Austin Toro DerMarr Johnson, AKA Big Slim, who was arrested on May 31st for driving while intoxicated. He failed the breathalyzer and was driving 20 miles over the speed limit, "weaving and following other cars too closely" according to the police. Johnson said after leaving jail that he'd only "had a few cups of wine." Dixie cups, probably. That's some tricky stuff, right there.

Next up is the team soon to be formerly known as the Seattle Supersonics' forward Chris Wilcox. Wilcox was hanging out in his home of North Carolina when he was arrested on two counts of carrying a concealed weapon. One was probably a gun, and the other may or may not have been Earl Watson.

And finally, wrapping up the opening salvo, is Wizards forward Andre Blatche. Blatche was busted yesterday in south-central Virginia on charges of reckless driving and driving on a suspended license ... for the third time. He was clocked in at 86 miles an hour in a 70 mile an hour zone. Apparently in Virginia, the law is that anyone driving more than 80 can be tagged with reckless driving. Most impressive is that Blatche, after all his vehicular troubles, still thinks it's a good idea to go for a ride.

Guys, seriously. You're NBA players. If you're not spending your money on paying someone else to drive recklessly for you or carry your guns, what are you spending your money on? Oh. Cars to drive recklessly in, and guns. Right. Sorry.

We've documented Michael Jordan's run-ins with Lisa Miceli several times before, and today he formally requested a permanent no-contact order against her. He'll find out within 10 days if the judge grants him one.

Who's Lisa Miceli, you ask? She claims to have had an on-again, off-again affair with MJ, which may or may not be true, and she also claims that MJ fathered her four-year-old child, which two separate paternity tests have determined to be false.

Nevertheless, she won't stop harassing him, sending him a non-stop barrage of emails and voice mail messages. It seems clear the woman is disturbed -- she was even thrown out of today's court proceedings for speaking out of turn several times.

If you want Miceli's side of the story, well, she has a blog. She's been quite active publishing the last few days, but good luck deciphering any of her rantings. If she really feels wronged and wants to win the court of public opinion, deleting that, staying off the internet and going cold turkey on the crazy pills would be a huge step.

Via Deadspin, The Smoking Gun has some unsealed documents from the federal case against alleged game-fixer Tim Donaghy. How did the disgraced ref fix games? It's a question we've all pondered. Investigators chalk up the method to his subconscious mind.

While federal investigators found no evidence that disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy "intentionally" made bad calls in games in which he had a betting interest, the convicted felon said that "his personal interest might have subconsciously affected his on-court performance," according to federal prosecutors.

Two games are mentioned in the document: a Wizards-Grizzlies game in 2006, in which Donaghy changed his "bet" based on some pre-game injuries he was made aware of by an NBA scorekeeper, and a game in that same month between the Celtics and 76ers.

Cursory analysis of those games, with the consideration that most observers agree the most effective way for a ref to impact who wins is on foul calls (call more for the team you pick): Boston took way more FTAs than usual in their Donaghy game, Washington took far fewer than typical in their win. It's unclear just how effective Donaghy's subconscious was.

The Spurs draw their fair share of criticism between the lines (Manu flops! Bowen's dirty! Duncan whines!), but off the court they're pretty much impeccable. Or at least they were: DerMarr Johnson was ticketed for a DWI this past weekend.

Johnson was initially pulled over for doing 20 over, weaving and tailgating, and he proceeded to fail a field sobriety test as well as a breath test at the police station. From the San Antonio Express-News:

"I just had a few cups of wine," Johnson said as he left the city's detention center. [...] Asked if he believed the arrest would affect his position with the Spurs, Johnson said, "I don't know. Probably so."

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Johnson is right: he appeared in just five games this year, signing with the Spurs in April after spending the vast majority of the season in the D-League. Guys like him aren't given the benefit of the doubt very often, and it's probably more trouble than its worth from a PR perspective to keep him around next year.

The weird thing is that you'd think Johnson should know better: he was sidelined for more than a year earlier in his career when he fractured his neck after driving his car into a tree. Alcohol was never blamed for that accident (he dosed off behind the wheel), but still, if anyone understands what could go wrong, it's him.