NEW YORK [bar] Pat Riley can't understand why Shaquille O'Neal keeps talking about the Miami Heat.
Riley responded to O'Neal's criticisms Wednesday with some of his own, saying his former center was wrong to disparage some of his old teammates and trainers in a Boston Globe story.
'It's sad that he says those things,' Riley said.
Riley dealt O'Neal to Phoenix before the trade deadline .
O'Neal made it clear how much he prefers his new teammates. 'I love playing for this coach and I love playing with these guys,' O'Neal told the Globe. ' I'm actually on a team again.'
Riley said O'Neal has no reason to blame anyone else for his unhappiness. 'When you're 9-40, we're all frustrated. I mean, everybody's at fault; we all were,' Riley said. 'Everybody was feeling bad and nobody wants that.'
pro football
Owners to mull ban on long hair
NEW YORK [bar] At their meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., next week, NFL owners will consider a proposal to ban players from having hair flow from their helmets below their names on the back of their jerseys.
That might affect the image of players such as Troy Polamalu , but help on the field. Two seasons ago, the Pittsburgh safety with the long ponytail had his hair grabbed by Kansas City's Larry Johnson and was thrown to the turf after an interception against the Chiefs.
The rule banning long hair on the field was proposed by Kansas City. It does not require players to get haircuts, but does 'require them to tuck it up inside their helmets,' said Atlanta president Rich McKay, chairman of the league's competition committee.
IN OTHER NFL NEWS
Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Trufant and the Seahawks have agreed to a $50.2 million, six-year contract that runs through 2013.
Long snapper Rob Davis retired from the Green Bay Packers, weeks after becoming the only player remaining from the team's last Super Bowl appearance.
cycling
Witness testifies in doping trial
SAN FRANCISCO [bar] A key witness in cyclist Tammy Thomas's doping trial testified Wednesday that an illicit steroid lab in Illinois made little money because the potent performance-enhancers could be bought and taken in such small quantities.
Kelcey Dalton helped market the substances developed and manufactured by Patrick Arnold, her then-boyfriend. Arnold, a chemist, invented some of the steroids at the heart of a drugs and sports scandal in which Thomas is the first person being tried.
During her testimony, Dalton also said she heard Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative founder Victor Conte say he had provided steroids to Marion Jones, imprisoned this month for lying to investigators about doping and her role in a check-fraud scheme, and to home run king Barry Bonds.
Prosecutors say Thomas lied to a grand jury about what performance-enhancing substances she bought from Arnold, and whether she had taken anabolic steroids.
college football
Starting Lineman leaves Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. [bar] Offensive lineman Justin Boren says he's left the Michigan football team because the program's 'family values have eroded.'
The 6-foot-3, 310-pound Boren would have been 1 of 2 returning starters on the offensive line next season and the Wolverines' most experienced lineman. The junior-to-be started every game last season, either at center or left guard.
Boren told reporters after Michigan's first spring practice 10 days ago that adapting to new coach Rich Rodriguez's no-huddle spread offense was physically challenging.
According to published reports, Rodriguez said Tuesday that he would not discuss Boren's decision.
IN OTHER FOOTBALL NEWS
Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford will likely miss the rest of spring practice with a knee injury.
college basketball
Assistant: I will stay at Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. [bar] Kevin O'Neill said he expects to return to Lute Olson's Arizona staff and succeed the Hall of Famer when he retires.
O'Neill became interim coach Nov. 4 after Olson took a leave of absence for undisclosed personal reasons. When Olson recently announced that he would resume coaching next season, speculation arose that O'Neill might depart instead of returning to his job as an assistant. O'Neill said he plans to fulfill the commitment he made when he came to Tucson a year ago.
Olson returned to his job on Monday .
O'Neill guided Arizona to a 19-15 record and its 24th straight NCAA tournament appearance, the nation's longest active streak.
IN OTHER BASKETBALL NEWS
California fired coach Ben Braun on Wednesday following another season in which the Golden Bears missed the NCAA tournament. Braun spent 12 years at Cal.
Ben Carnevale, the longtime Navy basketball coach , has died. He was 92. He had been living in Williamsburg.
in other news
The U.S. soccer team beat Poland 3-0 in an exhibition game Wednesday night in Krakow, Poland. The margin of victory was the largest for the Americans in Europe since April 1998.
CAPTION(S):
Polamalu Rodriguez
