November 20, 2016, 1:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports from corse178's blog
LOS ANGELES -- Blake Griffin is apologizing to?Los Angeles Clippers?fans for punching the teams assistant equipment manager last season, an incident he says was 100 percent my fault.He was suspended four games and docked nearly $860,000 in pay for the altercation in January at a Toronto restaurant. Griffin broke his right hand and Matias Testis face was severely swollen. Testi no longer works for team, having left in late July with no reason given by the Clippers, who open training camp Tuesday in Irvine.Griffin says not a day goes by that he doesnt think about the incident and says he feels like he let down longtime Clippers fans. The 27-year-old forward expressed his thoughts in a letter posted Friday on The Players Tribune website, where he is listed as a senior editor.I dont want to dwell on it, but I think I owe it to Clippers fans to say it once again before the season begins: Im sorry, he wrote.Griffin was limited to 35 games last season because of a left quadriceps injury. He averaged 21.4 points and 8.4 rebounds. The Clippers lost to Portland in six games in the first round of the playoffs.We all know the narrative going into this season, he wrote. Everyones like, `Oh, they lose in the playoffs every year. Same old Clippers. All I have to say to that is this: Were the same core group that beat the defending-champion Spurs in seven games just 17 months ago. I know 17 months seems like forever, especially in NBA time, but we know how small the margins are between winning and losing, and how quickly the narratives around teams can change.Griffin said missing most of last season was a wake-up call for me.When I was hurt and basically sitting around going stir-crazy, it made me realize that basketball was like therapy for me, he wrote. No matter what was going on in the real world, if I could just get to the gym, everything else disappeared.Griffin said a few days after the altercation he received a call from his older brother Taylor, who said, Man, what are you doing? This is not you. What are you doing this for?I was crushed, Griffin said. To hear that from him, somebody Ive looked up to my whole life, who always tells me what I need to hear, thats when I had a pretty big realization about who I am, and who I want to be. I dont want to say what that realization was. I just want to go out and show you. Gary Anderson reached the semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts after staging a late charge to seal a 16-13 victory over Raymond van Barneveld on Saturday night. The world champion looked to be in a precarious position when he trailed 13-12, but reeled off four legs in a row to secure a last-four match with James Wade on Sunday in Wolverhampton. Live Grand Slam of Darts November 20, 2016, 1:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Wade had earlier shown his superior class in a comfortable 16-5 win over Chris Dobey. James Wade declared himself buzzing after beating Chris Dobey in the quarter-finals The eagerly anticipated encounter between Anderson and Van Barneveld, world champions of past and present, started in scrappy fashion and the Flying Scotsman pulled into a 4-1 lead.But the current PDC king began to fumble with his finishing, allowing Barney to level at 5-5 on double 16, much to the delight of his raucous supporters.Van Barneveld then rattled off a finish of 164, ending on the bull, and Anderson then answered with a 121 checkout of his own as the match caught fire. Anderson gave his reaction to beating Van Barneveld in their quarter-final Both men continued to trade legs, with Barney edging into a slender lead, but Andersons timely spell of heavy scoring turned the match in his favour.ddddddddddddThe Scot produced six 180s in five legs while breaking for a 15-13 lead and then sealed a memorable victory with double 20.In the opening quarter-final, Wade had ended Dobeys impressive run in the tournament with a ruthless display of finishing. Watch Wade complete a comprehensive win over Dobey The gulf of experience between Wade and the 26-year-old, who was playing in his first televised quarter-final, soon became evident as The Machine motored into a 6-1 lead.Wade was hitting the double 20 with unerring accuracy, while Dobey flailed at this finishing, and the 2010 runner-up found his favourite target yet again to complete an emphatic victory.Watch the Grand Slam of Darts semi-finals from 1pm on Sky Sports 2 HD on Sunday, and the final from 7pm on Sky Sports 1 HD. Also See: Sky Bets darts odds Schedule/Results Features Get Sky Sports Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
The Wall