After a strong showing in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Australian Joe Ingles has earned an NBA contract.

Going to LA

According to sources, Ingles has agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers. The 26-year old Happy Valley, Australia native impressed NBA teams by averaging 11.4 points, 3.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 31.0 minutes of action per game in Australia’s six game stint at the World Cup.

It was unclear however, if the contract was guaranteed as the Clippers now have a total of 15 players in their current roster with the addition on Ingles. At Los Angeles, The 6-8 Ingles will fight for a roster spot against starter Matt Barnes and reserve small forwards Reggie Bullock and Chris Douglas-Roberts.

Not a first timer

Although Andrew Bogut is the first Australian to play in the NBA, it was Joe Ingles who first set foot in America. An 18-year old Ingles applied for but was undrafted in the NBA Draft of 2009. He tried his luck by playing for the Golden State Warriors’ summer league team in the same year but didn’t get the call after shooting a miserable 20% from the field and averaging just 3.2 points per game in five games.

Ingles was close to going to the NBA again in 2013 when his former Barcelona teammate Marc Gasol lobbied for him at Memphis. But Ingles opted to play in Europe at that time. The Grizzlies renewed their interest in Ingles last week after the FIBA tournament, but luxury tax issues kept them from making a bid this time around as they are $1.2M away from the NBA salary cap limit. The Philadelphia 76ers also reportedly made a run at Ingles since their head coach Brett Brown called the shots for the Australian National Team in 2012.

Lights out

Ingles isn’t really a tremendous athlete who has superstar potentials. But he’s one guy who can shoot the lights out at any given night.  His ticket to the NBA was his showing at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup where he torched the nets with his 69% FG shooting. The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the second straight major international competition where Ingles shone. He was the Boomers’ second leading scorer at the 2012 London Olympics with his 15.0 points per game average. Their leading scorer Patty Mills earned a contract with the reigning NBA champion San Antonio Spurs after playing well in the Olympics. Ingles hopes to follow Mills’ footsteps with this leap to the big league.

Finally, boxing fans got the first clear confirmation that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has re-opened his mind about fighting Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao.

Not in his radar

Boxing’s best pound for pound fighter has been rejecting the idea of fighting Pacquiao in the last two years after the Pacman suffered back to back losses to Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012. In fact, after defeating Canelo Alvarez in September 2013, Mayweather told reporters that he “wasn’t thinking of Manny Pacquiao.”

When Pacquiao signed a two year contract extension with Top Rank last May, many fight experts believed that the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout was officially killed. Mayweather had vowed never to do business with Bob Arum again, saying that he doesn’t want his former promoter to make any money off him or his fights. Re-signing with Top Rank also meant that Pacquiao would continue to work with HBO, while Mayweather is on an exclusive six fight deal with rival Showtime.

Surprise in May

But things started to change last July, when Mayweather announced his September 13 opponent. Mayweather didn’t only name Marcos Maidana as his next foe, he also left an intriguing one-liner:

“Then in May, I’ll have a big surprise for you.”

That single statement resurrected conversations of a fight that was killed before it was made. Mayweather has already fought the best of the best, the who’s who of this era except Manny Pacquiao. And if there was a surprise that would come from someone like Mayweather, it had to be a Manny Pacquiao. Yet during the recent promotional tour for the Pacquiao-Algieri bout in the US, Money Mayweather vehemently denied rumors that his team was starting to make serious negotiations with Bob Arum and company.

Let’s make it happen

Last Saturday, that dream fight got its first true chance of life minutes after Mayweather beat Marcos Maidana:

“I got to go back and talk to my team. I’m not ducking or dodging no opponent. If the Manny Pacquiao fight presents itself, let’s make it happen,” Money told Showtime’s Jim Gray. “He’s got a guy in front of him [Chris Algieri on Nov. 22]. Once he gets past that task, we’ll see what the future holds.”

“Let’s make it happen” is the most interest that Mayweather has shown in Pacquiao since 2009 when the two went at odds with the drug testing and purse money for their proposed mega bout.  And it’s about time, not only because both of them are aging fast, because Vegas is starting to lose interest in Mayweather.

Where is the money?

According to a report by ESPN, the gambling money wagered last Saturday was “significantly down”. The Mayweather-Maidana rematch “attracted less than 50% of the betting action” that the Mayweather-Canelo bout did last September 2013.

The reason isn’t really Mayweather, because he’s the sport’s  top draw. But it’s not translating to bets right now because of his opponents. Fighting Maidana twice  caused the drop and with two fight left in his career, Floyd Mayweather Jr. needs better foes.

A rematch with the rejuvenated Miguel Cotto could be a possibility, although weight could be a problem. Amir Khan does have a huge UK following, but Mayweather doesn’t seem to be interested in him and Khan should be more matched with Kell Brook in a domestic fight. Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter and even Brook himself could be considered, although none have the same luster as a Manny Pacquiao.

The Best Ever

Floyd Mayweather Jr. continues to wear the TBE cap anywhere he goes. Maybe he is correct although some would argue. But he certainly doesn’t need to fight Manny Pacquiao to cement his legacy as TBE. But boxing is only half a sport, the other half is business and that’s why Mayweather is called Money Man. He’s smart enough to know where the pot of gold is before he hangs up his gloves.Mayweather is called Money Man. He’s smart enough to know where the remaining pot of gold is before he hangs up his gloves.

So Manny Pacquiao better take care of business of November 22nd, because this may be the last shot we have at the super fight that has eluded all of us for five years now.

The Pitbull proved that he still has some bite left in him.

Quick stoppage

Andrei “Pitbull” Arlovski (23-10) stunned the crowd at the Nilson Nelson gymnasium in Brasilia, Brasil when he knocked out the favored Brazilian Antonio “Big Foot” Silva (18-6-1) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 51 last Saturday.

Arlovski stunned Silva with a lead straight right hand midway in the first round and dropped the Brazilian to the mat. He rushed in to land several hammer fists from hell on the fallen Silva’s face before referee Jerin Valel stopped the bout at the 2:59 mark of round 1.

He’s officially back

The victory was the second straight for the former UFC Heavyweight champion in his UFC comeback. He took a controversial split decision win over American Brendan Schaub last June. The Belarusan Pitbull looked tentative and appeared to be flat and hesitant to throw punches against Shaub. Arlovski apologized to the fans after that bout, saying that his nerves got the better of him against Schaub.

Against Silva, the Pitbull was back. When Arlovski’s first punch landed, it was clear that he wanted to take off Silva’s head. He was faster on the exchanges and darted in and out danger. He beat Silva to every punch and it was Big Foot who looked flat.  Although he stalked him, Silva looked like he was content to countering Arlovski. But the power in the Pitbull’s punches were too much, even for Silva’s famous granite chin.

Avenging 2010 loss

Although Arlovski never mentioned it after the bout, the win avenges a 2010 unanimous decision loss to Silva while both men were still competing at the Strikeforce promotion.

“I trained hard.” Arlovski said. “This fight was very important. I definitely wanted to knock him out but it was nothing personal.”  The fight was important as it gives Arlovski the opportunity to break into the Top 10 of the UFC heavyweight rankings.

Silva was ranked #7 before the fight, and the loss drops him to 0-2-1 in his last three fights. Silva was coming off a nine month suspension for elevated testosterone levels during his bout with Hunt last December. Silva and Hunt fought in an epic five round non-title main event last December which ended in a draw.

The win was Arlovski’s 16th knockout and improves his winning run to 7-1 with one no contest in his last nine fights. Prior to his UFC comeback, Arlovski fought 14 times in seven different promotions. He is definitely home where he truly belongs

At least three NBA teams are interested in signing Slovenian guard Zoran Dragic.

Goran’s brother

According to ESPN, the Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers have shown “serious intentions” in signing the 25 year old younger brother of Suns’ star guard Goran. Sources say that the talks between those teams and Zoran will intensify this week following Slovenia’s elimination from the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The younger Dragic has recently renewed his contract with the Spanish Team Unicaja Malaga. But his contract allows a buy-out to the NBA provided that the move is made before the start of the Spanish league in October. However, the buyout is reported to be higher than the 750,000 euros which Malaga would be paid if Dragic waits until the summer of 2015.

Good showing at FIBA worlds

After being undrafted in the 2011 NBA draft, Zoran Dragic played four games in the NBA Summer League of 2012 for Goran’s former team, the Houston Rockets before signing a two year contract with Unicaja Malaga. He has caught the attention of NBA teams with his impressive showing at the current 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup where he was instrumental in Slovenia’s run to the quarterfinals.

Zoran averaged 12.9 points, 4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 7 games played. He scored a personal best 22 points against Mexico in the group stages and was key in their round of 16 win against the Dominican Republic with 18 points. He was held to just 11 points in their tournament ending 76-119 loss to Team USA in the quarterfinals.

NBA future

Zoran plays a lot like Goran but he is taller and heftier. Although his outside shot is not as polished a Goran’s, he plays more physical and is a lot tougher. He would be an ideal two guard in the NBA who has good ball handling skills.

Among the teams seriously interested in Zoran is Phoenix, which is Goran Dragic’s mother team. Goran was the NBA’s breakout star of 2014 where he was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player and All NBA Third team honors. Goran can become an unrestricted free agent in July 2015, and the Suns may be thinking that signing his brother to an NBA contract will help convince Goran to stay in Phoenix.

Sacramento Kings’ GM Pete D’Alessandro was reportedly in Spain supporting his players Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings’ boss was said to have watched Zoran play against Team USA in the quarterfinals. The Pacers lost Lance Stephenson in the free agency and Paul George to injury. Larry Bird’s squad needs all the offense it can get to offset those losses. The Pacers have recruited internationally this summer. They recently signed sweet shooting Croatian forward Damjan Rudez.

We have seen the last of Miguel Cotto in 2014.

Surprise announcement

Talking via Twitter, WBC and Ring Middleweight champion Miguel Cotto announced that he will be sitting out the rest of 2014:

“Fans I wanted to share with you all that my return to the ring will be in early 2015!!. Thank you for the amazing support. #WarCotto- Miguel A. Cotto (@RealMiguelCotto) September 3, 2014”

Cotto was expected be back at the Madison Square Garden for a December 13 fight against an undetermined opponent. However, his surprise on social media last week closes the door on a second fight in 2014. The Puerto Rican ring icon last fought in June 7, when he put on the performance of his life in stopping the long reigning world middleweight champion, Sergio Martinez in 10 rounds. The win made Cotto the first Puerto Rican to win boxing world titles in four weight classes and has resurrected a career that once was thought to be over in 2012 when he lost back to back bouts to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Austin Trout.

Logistics problem

Gaby Penagarciano, an adviser to Cotto, told ESPN last week that they were trying to “coordinate” with trainer Freddie Roach about having the famed ring tactician with Cotto “at all times during camp for the planned December fight.” But Roach will be flying to the Philippines to prepare his top pupil Manny Pacquiao for the Filipino’s fight against Chris Algieri on November 22. Usually, Pacquiao and Roach spend the 2nd half of their camp at Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles but since the Pacquiao-Algieri bout will be in Macau, Team Pacquiao has decided to hold the entire camp in the Philippines.

Roach and Cotto talked last week about the possibility of training in the Philippines but Cotto ultimately decided against traveling to the Philippines, citing that he doesn’t really have to force himself to fight because they have not found a viable opponent yet and he doesn’t need the money. After Team Cotto “looked at all possible scenarios”, Miguel Cotto had “no problem at all not fighting this year.”

What the future holds

Top Rank Vice President Todd DuBoef said that Cotto will be back in the ring on February or March 2015. But his intention to take a fight in the first quarter of 2015 has seemingly clouded the picture of the proposed mega buck fight against Canelo Alvarez in the middle of 2015. Cotto and Alvarez were expected to take separate fights in December before fighting each other during the Cinco de Mayo weekend of 2015.

Alvarez has booked a December 6 bout, according to his promoter Golden Boy. GBP President Oscar De La Hoya said that while the opponent and venue have not been determined yet, the date of the bout is definite.

After his shocking upset loss to Ben Rothwell in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 50 last Friday, Alistair Overeem could himself in an unfamiliar position – on the UFC’s chopping block.

Fast start, fade fast

As in his previous UFC fights, the former K-1, Strikeforce and Dream champion had a fast start against Rothwell. He was comfortably moving around the Octagon landing knees, kicks and punches against the stalking Rothwell. But when Rothwell landed his first meaningful punch of the bout, a right uppercut that smacked Alistair’s chin, the complexion of the match suddenly changed.

Overeem backed up and then forced a clinch to recuperate. Still dazed after they broke up, Overeem landed a knee to the body but Rothwell kept pressing. Several seconds later, Big Ben connected on a right straight that flushed Overeem’s temple and dropped the Dutchman. Rothwell rushed in for the kill with vicious hammer fists and ended the bout at the 2:19 mark of round 1.

Alistair Overeem is just 2-3 in the UFC and has been 1-3 since 2013. All of those losses have been by knockout and he’s been stopped twice in the first round.

A major disappointment

Overeem was supposed to be one of the UFC’s most prized additions from the Strikeforce promotion. The former Strikeforce, Dream and K-1 world champion had an auspicious UFC debut when he retired former UFC Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 141 with a devastating first round KO victory. The win earned him a title shot against then champion Junior Dos Santos, but that fight didn’t materialize because Overeem failed a random drug test for UFC 141. He has never been the same since then.

Overeem dominated Big Foot Silva for two rounds at UFC 156 but got knocked out in the third round. He was also close to stopping Travis Browne in the first round of their 2013 bout when Browne recovered and stopped him later in the round. A unanimous decision win over Frank Mir at UFC 169 last February stopped the skid, but Friday’s loss to Rothwell could be the last straw. Overeem was an overwhelming 4-1 favorite to defeat Rothwell who was coming off a 9 month UFC suspension.

In the news

Overeem has been in the news lately for his sparring sessions with Jon Jones which reportedly caused the injury that led to the postponement of the UFC 178 main event. Light heavyweight contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson also came out to claim that Overeem “intentionally hurts people in training.” A couple of days later, UFC President Dana White also questioned the rationale behind Jones’ sparring sessions with Overeem.

But while Overeem is undoubtedly a popular figure who often fills up news pages, his octagon performances have been sub-par. The UFC is known to cut fighters whose careers are skidding, and three losses in four bouts should qualify as such. It won’t be a surprise if we see Dana White unexpectedly hands The Reem the pink slip soon.

After a failed attempt at baseball, retired NBA superstar Tracy McGrady is reportedly eyeing an NBA comeback.

Working out with the Mamba

According to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, McGrady worked out with Lakers’ superstar Kobe Bryant in a Southern California gym late this summer. The former 2 time NBA scoring champion was said to have worked out three times a week with Bryant.

“Yes, I was working out with K.B. to get in shape and see how my body feels.” Confirmed McGrady. But according to him, he will first have to fulfill a contractual agreement to be part of a basketball tour in China before deciding on a possible NBA return. “The comeback will not happen, unless I have the drive whenever I get back.”

Conflict in schedule

The main obstacle for McGrady right now is his schedule. The China basketball tour is scheduled for October, or at about the same time the NBA’s preseason opens. Because of this, it would be impossible for McGrady to attend training camp and try to make an NBA roster. But if McGrady is really dead serious about an NBA return, it would be very much likely as a midseason acquisition especially on or after the trade deadline when teams would fill in their rosters with veteran presence who can help them in their playoff run.

Playing a different ball

T-Mac last played in the NBA during the 2012-13 season when he got his opportunity to earn a championship as a reserve for the San Antonio Spurs. However, the Miami Heat beat the Spurs in seven games to win back to back titles. McGrady retired and pursued his childhood dream of playing pro baseball by becoming a starting pitcher for the sugar Land Skeeters in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. McGrady retired one day after playing in the league’s All-Star game.

Can he come back?

McGrady is only 35 years old and with his basketball talents, he can still contribute to a contender during the postseason. He may no longer be the dominant scorer who once scored 13 points in 33 seconds, but he has a good jump shot and the ability to finish around the basket that will make him effective, as what Vince Carter is doing nowadays. Like Carter, McGrady was one of the NBA’s most breathtaking high flyers. But T-Mac has never been able to sustain his dominance and greatness because of recurring injuries. However, if McGrady is in terrific basketball shape after training with the Mamba in the summer and he is injury-free, then we might just see him once again in another NBA uniform.

The Jet is flying to another city next season.

The Jet to Space City

According to reports, the Sacramento Kings have shipped veteran guard Jason Terry and two future second round picks to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Alonzo Gee and another player with a non-guaranteed contract.

The 36 year old Terry started the 2013-14 season with the Brooklyn Nets before being traded to Sacramento at the trade deadline. Terry missed the second half of the season while recovering from a left knee surgery.

On the other hand, Gee was part of the three way trade that brought Trevor Ariza to the Rockets last July. The 27 year old forward from the University of Alabama will be playing for his fourth team in five NBA seasons.

A Reliable Sixth Man

Terry is a 15 year NBA veteran who is best known for his role as the sixth man for the Dallas Mavericks, with whom he played 8 seasons with. During that tenure, the former 10th overall pick of the 1999 draft won the NBA’s sixth man of the year twice in 2009 and 2011.

Terry was also one of the key figures in Dallas’ 2011 championship team. Terry brought his jet-setting moves to the Boston Celtics in 2012-13 but was shipped to the Brooklyn Nets last season along with fellow superstars Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in a blockbuster 10 player trade. But after being hobbled by injuries, the Nets moved him to Sacramento along with Reggie Evans for Marcus Thornton.

Terry has career averages of 15.4 points per game, 4.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. However, the 35 games which he played last season were the fewest in his career while his 4.5 points per game scoring average was also a career low. Terry had not averaged in single digit scoring since his rookie season in 2000 where he managed just 8.1 points per game. Despite those declining stats, Terry was still able to average 1.1 three pointers per game last season. He is 4th in the NBA’s All-time three point FG made list and remains a dangerous three ball shooter at .379 last year.

Backcourt Shortage

While the Kings might have traded Terry to go under the luxury tax limit should they waive Alonzo Gee, the Rockets needed another steady backcourt presence after trading Aaron Brooks to the Nuggets late last season and Jeremy Lin to the Lakers during the offseason.

The Rockets starting backcourt of Patrick Beverly and James Harden is backed up by second year PG Isaiah Canaan, SG Troy Daniels and rookie Nick Johnson.  But with the inexperience of the three reserves, the arrival of Terry gives the Rockets a combo guard who can back up both Beverly and Harden while at the same time provide the much needed leadership and championship experience to the young Rockets core.

Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya told RingTV last Friday that he will meet Top Rank President Bob Arum “face to face” in Los Angeles next weekend to finally end the “cold war” between GBP and Top Rank.

Making Big Fights

Arum confirmed the meeting, saying that De La Hoya phoned him while he was with Manny Pacquiao in San Francisco on Friday. The Filipino ring icon threw the opening pitch for the San Francisco Giants’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers as part of the media tour to promote the November 22nd Pacquiao-Algieri fight in Macau, China.

The 82 year old Arum was De La Hoya’s first promoter when the latter turned pro after capturing the gold medal in the 1992 Olympics. But as their relationship soured, so did the boxing business between GBP and Top Rank. But this impending reconciliation could lead to the fights that the fans want.

“My objective is to make the big fights” said De La Hoya.” We want to make great, exciting fights that fans want to see, and that’s what I want to talk to Bob about.”

Mending Fences

The meeting between De La Hoya and Arum became inevitable after the two met at Arum’s residence in Los Angeles last May. After that meeting, Arum and De La Hoya proclaimed that they had “totally repaired” their relationship and were ready to “do fights together”. Sources say this led to the conflict at GBP which ended with the resignation of CEO Richard Schaeffer who had vowed  that he would “never do business” with Bob Arum.

The GBP-Top Rank reconciliation had a breakthrough last June when GBP’s Gary Russell Jr. fought Arum fighter Vasyl Lomachenko for the WBO featherweight title. Russell is one of the GBP fighters under the wing of influential boxing adviser Al Haymon, who manages other top GBP boxers like Jr Welterweight kingpin Danny Garcia.

Pacquiao-Garcia on Mind?

De La Hoya then singled out a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Danny Garcia as one which he has” interest in discussing about” when he meets with Arum.

“What a fight that would be. Manny Pacquiao versus Danny Garcia? Come on.” An excited De La Hoya exclaimed. He added that although that one is top of mind, it could only be the tip of the iceberg for making the big fights.

Arum concurred De La Hoya’s choice, calling “Pacman vs Swift” a fight that “makes sense.” He said that he has previously brought up Garcia’s name to Pacquiao and his adviser Michael Koncz, and the Pacman camp also showed interest in the bout. Now that Golden Boy is open to that idea too, Arum expressed confidence in making that big fight soon.

Although Pacquiao still has a November 22nd date with WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri, the Pacman is expected to breeze past the unheralded Algieri.

Rory MacDonald continues his march towards a title shot as he faces #10 ranked UFC welterweight Tarec Saffiedine at the main event of UFC Fight Night 54 at Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 4th.

First Times

The event will be the UFC’s first ever Halifax and marks the UFC’s return to Canada since UFC 174 which as fought in Vancouver, Canada.  UFC 178 was also initially planned to be in Toronto, but the promotion decided to move it to Las Vegas, Nevada. Canadian sensation Rory MacDonald will also be headlining a UFC fight card for the first time in his UFC career.

The UFC is also holding a second event on October 4th, as UFC Fight Night 53 will air earlier in the day from the Ericcson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden with Swedish welterweight contender Nico Musoke fighting Amir Sadollah in the main event.

Within Striking Distance

The 25 year old MacDonald ( 17-2 with 6 knockouts and 6 submissions) is coming off a very impressive three round domination of Tyrone Woodley at UFC 174 last June. Prior to that, MacDonald fought and defeated Brazilian Jiu Jitu specialist Demian Maia at UFC 170 in a thrilling bout that won Fight of the Night honors. The UFC’s #2 ranked welterweight fought Robbie Lawler last November 2013 in what would later become a title eliminator for the belt that was relinquished by Georges St. Pierre after UFC 167. Lawler went on to face Johny Hendricks for the vacant title at UFC 171.

While MacDonald regrets that it could have been him against Hendricks at UFC 171 , he knows that he is within striking distance of the title right now. The GSP protégé has won seven of his last eight matches and a win over Saffiedine will almost surely guarantee him the next shot after Lawler who will be challenging  Hendricks once again in early 2015.

Sponge the Spoiler

Playing the spoiler’s role will be the UFC’s #10 ranked welterweight Tarec” The Sponge”  Saffiedine( 15-3 with 1 knockout and 5 submissions.. The 27 year old Brussels native won his much awaited UFC debut against Hyu Gyun Lim at the UFC’s first event of 2014 in Singapore.

Saffiedine became the last Strikeforce Welterweight champion when he upset Nate Marquardt in the promotion’s finale event in January 2013. The Team Quest fighter is on a five bout winning streak, including his last four bouts at Strikeforce. His last loss was to Tyrone Woodley in 2011.