Fox Sports' Jason Whitlock apologizes for Jeremy Lin tweet

Much has been written about Jeremy Lin's spectacular performance for the New York Knicks over the last week and a half -- that includes a few unfortunate words from Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock on his Twitter account.

Whitlock has since apologized for tweeting a joke involving a racial stereotype about the Asian American basketball player, who just happened to be in the middle of the game of his life against the Lakers on Friday night.

Photos: The Jeremy Lin phenomenon

The Asian American Journalists Assn. posted a letter to Whitlock, who is African American, on its Facebook page. "The offensive tweet debased one of sports’ feel-good moments, not just among Asian Americans but for so many others who are part of your audience," the letter said.

The AAJA concluded by asking Whitlock to apologize, which Whitlock did Sunday on the Fox Sports site and via Twitter:

I get Linsanity. I've cried watching Tiger Woods win a major golf championship. Jeremy Lin, for now, is the Tiger Woods of the NBA. I suspect Lin makes Asian Americans feel the way I feel when I watch Tiger play golf.

I should've realized that Friday night when I watched Lin torch the Lakers. For Asian Americans and a lot of sports fans, his nationally televised 38-point outburst was the equivalent of Tiger's first victory in The Masters. I got caught up in the excitement. I tweeted about what a great story Lin is and how he could rival Tim Tebow.

I then gave in to another part of my personality — my immature, sophomoric, comedic nature. It's been with me since birth, a gift from my mother and honed as a child listening to my godmother's Richard Pryor albums. I still want to be a standup comedian.

The ... tweet overshadowed my sincere celebration of Lin’s performance and the irony that the stereotype applies to pot-bellied, overweight male sports writers, too. As the Asian American Journalist Association pointed out, I debased a feel-good sports moment. For that, I’m truly sorry.

Some commenters on Twitter and Facebook feel the apology is not enough and that the comment should cost Whitlock his job. Others feel too much is being made out of a joke. What do you think?

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Is Jeremy Lin the real deal or a flash in the pan?

-- Chuck Schilken

Photo: New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin drives to the basket in front of Lakers' Matt Barnes on Friday night. Credit: Andrew Gombert / EPA

Is Jeremy Lin the real deal or a flash in the pan?

Jeremy Lin is taking the NBA by storm. The New York Knicks point guard, who went undrafted out of Harvard and was waived by both Golden State and Houston this season, scored 38 points against the Lakers on Friday night and has no fewer than 20 points in each of the last five games.

But is "Linsanity" here to stay? Or is he an overnight sensation whose star will fade as quickly as it lighted up?

PHOTOS: Jeremy Lin

Writers from around Tribune Co. will discuss the topic. Check back throughout the day for more responses and join the discussion by voting in the poll and leaving a comment of your own.

K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune

Jeremy Lin is the real deal -- as long as the expectation is NBA rotation player and not star. There's a reason Lin went undrafted, got cut and sat low on the depth chart until recently. And, yes, his breakout is one of the best story lines of this NBA season.

However, Lin's five-game run has come against three bad teams and a Lakers team with an aging Derek Fisher trying to guard him. Lin appears to be an excellent pick-and-roll player, so that skill should translate to him lasting. And he's of course in an ideal system for his skills with Mike D'Antoni emphasizing that set and Lin's ability to keep a live dribble to make plays.

POLL: Is Jeremy Lin the real deal or flash in the pan?

But expect advance scouting to catch up to Lin and his numbers to become more modest. He's in the league to stay, just not to star.

Is New York's Jeremy Lin the real deal? [poll]

After his 38-point performance against the Lakers on Friday night, it would be hard to convince any New Yorker that Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin isn't a budding NBA star.

Lin was practically a one-man highlight show against the Lakers, burning Kobe Bryant & Co. with fancy spin moves in the paint and pinpoint perimeter shooting.

 

It was quite the breakout performance for a player who a little more than a week ago was a relative unknown among most NBA fans.

Until Lin saw the first significant playing time of his career in a 25-point effort against New Jersey on Feb. 4, he was just another NBA bench warmer -- a guy used more as a general manager's roster play chip than a bona fide contributor on the floor. Even the Lakers looked into the possibility of acquiring Lin for a reserve role at the start of the season.

But can Lin keep this up? A lot of upset Lakers fans would like to think he can't, but "Lin-sanity" has certainly affected the Knicks' courtside contingent. Here's what filmmaker and longtime Knicks fan Spike Lee tweeted after the game:

"Jeremy 'Kobe Wuz Smokin' But I Wasn't Joke-'Lin. Tonight Was NO FLUKE. I Seen It Wit' My Own 4 EYES. JLin Is LEGIT.NBA DEAL WITH IT."

Usually a player has made it when he has his own celebrity trash talker but what do you think? Is Lin a here-today-gone-tomorrow talent carried by Tim Tebow-like sensationalism or is he poised to become one of the biggest surprises of the season?

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Jeremy Lin was there for the taking

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-- Austin Knoblauch

Photo: New York guard Jeremy Lin, left, celebrates with teammate Jared Jeffries after making a basket during the Knicks' 92-85 victory over the Lakers on Friday. Credit: Frank Franklin II / Associated Press

Kobe Bryant is not caught up in Jeremy Lin 'Linsanity'

It seems as though the whole world is buzzing about Jeremy Lin's sudden and drastic ascent from total anonymity to New York studded stardom.

But one prominent figure apparently is not aboard the LinExpress.

Kobe Bryant.

After the Lakers' dramatic 88-87 overtime win against Boston on Thursday, Bryant was asked for his thoughts on Jeremy Lin and the craze surrounding the guard that has been dubbed "Linsanity."

"What? No idea," Bryant said. "I know who he is but I don’t really know what’s going on too much with them."

When further prodded by reporters, Bryant added, "I don’t even know what he’s done. Like, I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I’ll take a look at [the tape] tonight though."

He'd better.

Lin, a Harvard grad with a degree in economics, has gone from being cut by two mediocre NBA teams three months ago -- the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets -- to starring for the Knicks while averaging 25 points and eight assists over the last three games.

The alacrity with which Lin rose to prominence is quite shocking.

After all, when the Lakers last played New York on Dec. 29, Lin didn't enter the game until L.A. had already clinched the win with 1:39 remaining. When the teams play again Friday evening, things  surely will be different.

“I think it’s been surprising for everyone,” Pau Gasol said of Lin. “Obviously, a player that didn’t get any minutes, zero minutes, and was sent to the D-League at some point in the season. Pretty much never really done much in this league, and now to put together three games with the numbers that he’s playing is pretty surprising to anyone.”

Lin, a devout Christian who didn't receive any Division I scholarship offers out of high school and acknowledged that his chances of even making the NBA were "very, very, very small," told The Times in October 2010 that making the big league was "a miracle from God."

Said Matt Barnes: "A lot of guys in the league just need an opportunity to play. When your coach has confidence in you that’s all you really need, because if you’re in the NBA you can play, obviously."

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LeBron James won't apologize for tweet on Griffin's dunk

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-- Melissa Rohlin

Photo: Fans show their support for New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin on Feb. 8. Credit: Chuck Myers / MCT.

LeBron James won't apologize for tweet on Griffin's dunk

LeBron James took to Twitter to express his excitement after Blake Griffin's monster dunk over Oklahoma City's Kendrick Perkins.

The Miami Heat star wrote: "Dunk of the Year! @blakegriffin just dunked on Kendrick Perkins so hard!!! Wow! I guess I'm No. 2 now. Move over #6."

James' unbridled enthusiasm apparently didn't sit well with Perkins, who told Yahoo! that he wasn't pleased by the forward's emphatic reaction to his nearly 3.5 million followers.

“You don’t see Kobe [Bryant] tweeting,” Perkins said. “You don’t see Michael Jordan tweeting. If you’re an elite player, plays like that don’t excite you. At the end of the day, the guys who are playing for the right reasons, who are trying to win championships, are not worrying about one play.

“They also are not tweeting about themselves talking about going down to No. 2. I just feel [James] is always looking for attention and he wants the world to like him.”

When James was told of Perkins' adverse reaction to his tweet, the forward immediately fired back.

"I would never apologize about anything like that when I'm connecting to my fans," James told ESPN.

"Did I call him out? I mean, did you read the tweet? Did I call him out? I can see why he felt embarrassed. I don't think I was the only one to react to the unbelievable play by Blake and that's what it was all about," James said.

Do you think James owes Perkins an apology?

Was James out of line and did his tweet serve to further mortify Perkins? Or is Perkins overreacting to a spontaneous and benign moment of excitement by James?

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--Melissa Rohlin

Photo: LeBron James. Credit: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images

Will Ferrell introduces the New Orleans Hornets at Wednesday's game

In what could be considered the NBA's version of a tragic comedy, Will Ferrell introduced the Hornets before Wednesday's game.

The Hornets have the second-worst record in the league at 4-22 and went on to lose to the Bulls, 90-67, but at least the team's fans had a pregame chuckle.

Here's what the comedian said about the players.

Gustavo Ayon: "He doesn't speak a lick of English but we still love him."

Trevor Ariza: "He still loves to listen to Bell Biv DeVoe [an R&B group that branched off from New Edition]."

Emeka Okafor: "He majored in Econ but he minored in love."

Marco Belinelli: "He hates Italian food."

Jarrett Jack: "After basketball, his dream is to become a rodeo clown."

Speaking of basketball and comedy, remember when Metta World Peace decided to try his luck at making people laugh (intentionally) by hosting comedy shows during the lockout?

In case you missed it, here's the clip below.

Perhaps World Peace could try his routine before a Lakers game?!?

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-- Melissa Rohlin

New York's Jeremy Lin went from the D-League to fan favorite

New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, a Harvard graduate, has captured people's attention around the nation.

Lin has reportedly gained more than 60,000 Twitter followers in just five days. One fan wrote: "Can I get a RT from your biggest fan! Makes every asian not give up on their dreams on making it big!"

Lin, who allegedly didn't receive any college scholarship offers out of high school, has made quite an impact in the NBA.

In the team's last three games, he has scored 25 points against New Jersey, 28 points against Utah and 23 points against Washington.

In Wednesday's game against the Wizards, he had his first dunk of the season, a one-handed jam.

“I didn’t know he could dunk,” Tyson Chandler told the New York Times. “When he’s going in for it, I go: ‘No, Jeremy! Just lay the ball up.’ And all of a sudden he dunks it.”

Lin is the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA.

The New York Times reported that up until a few days ago, Lin had been living on his brother's couch in Manhattan because his contract of nearly $800,000 this season wasn't guaranteed.

“He has his own couch,” Lin's brother Josh, a New York University dental student, told the newspaper.

Lin went from being sent to the D-League three weeks ago to becoming an NBA star who receives "MVP" chants at Madison Square Garden.

To emphasize just how far he's come, we'll leave you with a Tweet he wrote on Jan. 4.

"Everytime i try to get into Madison Square Garden, the security guards ask me if im a trainer LOL."

We're pretty sure that no longer happens.

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Clippers lose to Cavaliers, 99-92

The Clippers, playing their first game without Chauncey Billups, who is out for the rest of the season with a torn left Achilles’ tendon, appeared to sleep through most of the game, which was also the debut for power forward Kenyon Martin.

They trailed by 15 points in the third quarter, tied the score in the fourth and then couldn’t make plays late, which sent the Clippers to a 99-92 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Chris Paul had a rough night, scoring 16 points on five-for-16 shooting. He also had 12 assists. Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 25 points and 15 rebounds before he fouled out late in the game.

Martin played 20 minutes 24 seconds, finishing with six points on three-of-seven shooting with four rebounds, two blocked shots, one steal and four personal fouls.

PHOTOS: Clippers vs. Cavaliers

The Cavaliers didn’t have prized rookie point guard Kyrie Irving, who didn’t play because of a concussion. But they had four players score in double figures to get the win.

Antawn Jamison had 27 points and eight rebounds and Ramon Sessions had a double-double with 24 points and 13 assists.

The Clippers had one last chance to tie the score after Daniel Gibson made one of two free throws for a 95-92 Cavaliers lead with 16.4 seconds left.

But Caron Butler, who had a solid game with 21 points, missed a three-pointer.

Alonzo Gee made two free throws for a 97-92 Cavaliers lead that spelled the end for the Clippers.

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-- Broderick Turner, reporting from Cleveland

Photo: Clippers guard Mo Williams tries to cut off a drive by Cavaliers guard Ramon Sessions in the first half Wednesday night in Cleveland. Credit: David Maxwell / EPA

Kenyon Martin to play first game with Clippers

Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said that Kenyon Martin, who signed a free-agent contract with the team Friday, will play in his first game against host Cleveland on Tuesday night.

Del Negro said Martin will play about 15 minutes against the Cavaliers.

Del Negro said he just wants Martin, a 6-foot-9 power forward, to rebound, play defense and make shots if open.

“He worked out well yesterday,” Del Negro said. “We tried to get him up to speed as quickly as possible and to grasp everything quickly. So we’ll just get him out there and hopefully monitor his minutes and get him in game shape as soon as possible.”

Martin last played Dec. 21 for the Xinjiang Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Assn. He had 13 points on six-for-12 shooting and nine rebounds in 29 minutes.

He averaged 13.9 points and 9.7 rebounds in 12 games for the Tigers.

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Photo: Kenyon Martin with the Denver Nuggets. Credit: Associated Press.



Anaheim mayor calls Honda Center upgrade 'fan-tastic'

Ducks and Honda Center owners Henry and Susan Samueli were joined by Anaheim city leaders Wednesday in a ground-breaking ceremony for the $20-million Grand Terrace project, described as the most extensive upgrade in the venue's history and another sign of the city's still-strong interest in enticing the NBA's Sacramento Kings to move south.

"We can envision a day fans will attend NHL hockey, concerts and NBA basketball games here," Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait said at a ceremony complete with hard hats for guests, shovels in the ground and Ducks mascot Wild Wing at the wheel of a bulldozer.

"It will be fan-tastic," Tait added, a reference to the dated NBA ad campaign that some in the crowd missed, causing the mayor to explain, "That's supposed to be funny."

Anaheim is awaiting a March 1 deadline that Kings' owners have for Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to reveal a financing plan for a new arena in the state capital.

The NBA last year asked Kings owners the Maloof brothers to delay a decision on moving south for a year, allowing Sacramento officials more time to produce an arena plan. The move came after Anaheim last March approved a $75-million bond plan that would improve the Honda Center and provide a $50-million loan to the team's owners.

Anaheim was to merely act as an escrow broker in that now-expired deal, with the $75 million actually coming from the Samuelis.

Tait said Wednesday that if a similar deal comes about, the city will stay out of it, after being subjected to criticism by some who were confused about its involvement in the Samueli loan, thinking it was a typical bond deal, which it was not.

Paul Pierce: Passing Larry Bird on Celtics' scoring list a relief

Paul Pierce wasn't playing like someone who was about to pass Larry Bird as No. 2 on the Boston Celtics' all-time scoring list. He entered Tuesday night's game against the Charlotte Bobcats needing just 10 points to reach the milestone, but had just seven at halftime.

“I'm not going to lie. It was hanging over my head too much,” Pierce said. “You kind of just felt it. It was hard to really ignore it and just focus on the game.”

Relief came in the form a three-pointer from the top of the key at the 10:23 mark of the third quarter, lifting Pierce past Bird's career tally of 21,791 to become the second all-time scorer in the history of the storied franchise. Pierce received a standing ovation from the Boston crowd, with the applause lasting for several minutes as teammate Kevin Garnett waved the crowd on for more.

“It was a relief. So much was hanging over me the last couple of days. Just hearing about it and knowing that you've got a game to play,” Pierce said. “Just to be mentioned with [Bird], with this organization, is a great honor.”

Pierce has spent all 14 years of his NBA career with the Celtics, enduring losing seasons in six of his first nine years with the team before winning the league championship in 2008. He was named the MVP of the NBA Finals that year.

“Paul had a chance to leave us when we were bad and instead of moaning that he wanted to go to a championship team, he stayed,” Coach Doc Rivers said. “And he said, `I simply want to be a Celtic and I trust that we're going to win a title someday.'"

Pierce finished with 15 points in the Celtics' 94-84 victory over the Bobcats, giving him 21,797 career points. He still has a long way to go before passing John Havlicek's all-time team record of 26,395 points ... and that's just fine with Pierce.

“I think the fans would really appreciate another championship more than me passing Hondo,” he said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Paul Pierce is hugged by Kevin Garnett after becoming the No. 2 all-time Celtics scorer. Credit: Elise Amendola / Associated Press