Magic points wand of blame Howard’s way
Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard was ejected during the third quarter of Sunday’s 103-82 NBA playoffs loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Howard’s ejection not only spelled the end of the Lakers’ chances of coming back, but it could mean the end of his tenure in Los Angeles. He will be a free agent this summer after spending one season with the Lakers, who acquired the All Star in a trade with the Orlando Magic last offseason.
Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, one of the greatest players in Lakers history, took to Twitter on Sunday night to vent his frustration not only with Howard but with the Lakers’ disappointing season.
“Laker Nation: Dwight Howard that was a big No, No,” Johnson tweeted. “Your teammates and the fans were counting on you.
“LN: Dwight, I’ve been swept before but I never let my teamdown by getting kicked out of the game.
“LN: Dwight with an already depleted team you couldn’t afford to foul out or get kicked out.
Having you on the floor was the only chance for the Lakers.
“Laker Nation: I’m sooooooooooo happy the season is over. With the talent on this team this could go down as one of the worst seasons in Lakers’ history!”
On Monday, Howard apologized on Twitter for his actions Sunday.
“I’m still upset about tonight’s game and the way this season ended,” Howard tweeted. “I’m mad I lost my cool. I’m sorry for letting my team and our fans down when they needed me the most. If there’s one thing I’ve learned this year it’s that I need to be more responsible for my actions and learn to ‘breathe’ (Maybe I will take up yoga and come back calmer or Charlie Sheen can help me with my anger management).
“But despite our tough season, it is an honor being a member of a team with this amazing history and the best fans in the league! I hope I get the chance to make it up to you! Thank u la.”Tough talk
While cleaning his locker at the Philadelphia Flyers practice facility Sunday, Russian goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was asked if he was bothered by being blamed for the team’s struggles this season. The Flyers finished with 48 points, six points behind the New York Islanders for the eighth and final playoff spot from the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
Instead, Bryzgalov, who finished 19-17-3 with a .900 save percentage in 40 games with the Flyers this season, took his time to criticize the media that covers the Flyers.
“Not anymore,” Bryzgalov told reporters. “You guys just here to blame someone. You never look yourselves in the mirror, eh?
You’re always good. You never make the mistakes. Your articles are always perfect. In reality, what have you done for this city? If you ask yourself, what have you done besides only criticize? Not much.”
Bryzgalov was then asked if he felt the media coverage was unfair.
“It’s not like fair or unfair,” Bryzgalov said. “We already had the conversation. It’s just ridiculous. Just ridiculous.
Sometimes you’re reading and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, who is this lunatic?’ What are they writing about. It was nothing close to the truth or close to related to hockey. You read this and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to deal with these people every day.’ ”
“For a guy that isn’t all that fond of the coverage, he sure keeps up with it,” wrote Yahoo!
Sports blogger Harrison Mooney.
Bryzgalov is signed with the Flyers through the 2019-2020 season.
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Sports, Pages 18 on 04/30/2013