Nets to give away T-shirts at first game against 'Manhattan' Knicks

The Brooklyn Nets may be changing the NBA landscape in the New York City area, but now the team may be altering the geography as well.

Monday night's long awaited first regular season meeting between the old New Jersey Nets — now taking residence in the borough of Brooklyn —  against the New York Knicks is the hottest ticket to see long legs and shorts in town outside of The Rockettes.  It is already being touted as the start of a long and bitter rivalry.

A skirmish that the Nets organization is even calling "The Battle of the Boroughs." 

Clever marketing, but the last time I checked my subway map, New York was a city (and a county) not one of the five boroughs. 

Either way, fans attending the game inside the Barclays Center will get a free T-shirt commemorating the game which was postponed from its originally scheduled date Nov.1 in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

The souvenir T-shirt even has the original Nov.1 date crossed off with the new date Nov. 26 written underneath.

The navy blue shirts feature a white outline of a basketball with "Clash of the Boroughs" written inside.  Below the basketball the shirt reads "Nets versus Knicks."

While the crossed-out date and the washed-out lettering are nice touches, I have to wonder if the Knicks are on board with this whole limited to one borough idea.

Either way, the shirts — and Spike Lee sighting — are both free for fans at the game.

NHL players raise money for Hurricane Sandy victims in Atlantic City charity game

Thirty-two NHL players got together in Atlantic City Saturday night and gave fans a little more than hockey to cheer for.  

The charity hockey game — dubbed Operation Hat Trick — featured Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Brodeur, Brad Richards and a host of other NHL stars from all over the league and helped raise money for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.

There was no lockout at the historic Boardwalk Hall as 10,792 hockey-hungry fans watched a battle between the New York Rangers and a team comprised of their Atlantic division rivals.

The "New York" team, captained by forward Richards, included nine of his Rangers teammates while the  Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Hartnell wore the "C" the "New Jersey/Philadelphia" side.

Lundqvist — facing his familiar counterpart Brodeur — made 56 saves to lead his squad to a 10-6 victory. 

"It seemed like he was in playoff shape," said Hartnell.  "And we were joking after the first period there that now the Rangers will want to play really bad because he's on fire right now."

The Rangers goaltender — who flew in from Sweden just for the event — had no problems with that scenario.

"I want to play real games," Lundqvist said after the game.  "But it was probably the best feeling I've had in a long time."

The sold-out crowd — mostly Flyers fans — showed support for both the Sandy relief effort and the sport which has already cancelled the first 70 days of the season and is still in a  lockout as the owners and players do battle off the ice.

Prior to the game, 25 of the players met with union executive director Don Fehr at Caesars Hotel for a lockout update — one day after the league announced the cancellation of the All-Star Game and all regular season games until Dec. 14.

"WE WANT HOCK-EY!," fans started chanting during the first period and didn't let up until the final handshakes — fans who might lose more than an NHL hockey season.  A reminder of that was right outside the doors of the rickety arena.

Get a little NHL fix on VIDEO.

Hector 'Macho' Camacho dead at 50 after being removed from life support

Former boxing champion Hector "Macho" Camacho died Saturday morning at the hospital in Puerto Rico where he has been unconscious since he was shot in the face last week.

Camacho went into cardiac arrest in the pre-dawn hours and was then taken off life support and died shortly after, reports The Associated Press.

Dr. Ernesto Torres, the director of the Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan, said the final decision was made after it had been authorized by the fighter's mother, Maria Matias.

The death came before the family was scheduled to make an announcement Saturday morning regarding taking Camacho off of the artificial respirator.  Matias wanted to wait until the boxer's three sons arrived in Puerto Rico from the U.S. mainland and had a chance to see their father for the last time.

Doctors had declared Camacho brain dead on Thursday.  Matias had said she decided it was time for doctors to disconnect life support over the objections of the boxer's eldest son, Hector Jr., because there was no chance of recovery.

The sons managed to visit their father before he died, said former pro boxer Victor "Luvi" Callejas, a longtime friend, who had been acting as a family spokesperson.

"The family is destroyed," Callejas said outside the hospital.

Hector 'Macho' Camacho's mother makes decision to take brain dead boxer off life support

Hector "Macho" Camacho will be taken off life support Saturday, his mother indicated Friday night.  The former world champion boxer, who was shot in the face last week, was pronounced clinically brain dead and is expected to be taken off the artificial respirator that keeps him alive — a decision opposed by his eldest son, Hector Camacho Jr..

The fighter's mother, Maria Matias, told the media waiting outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico hospital where the 50-year-old Camacho lay unconscious since being shot that she had decided doctors should remove life support, but only after three of his sons arrived in Puerto Rico early Saturday morning and had  a chance to see him one last time, according to The Associated Press.

"I lost my son three days ago.  He's alive only because of a machine," Matias said.  "My son is not alive.  My son is only alive for the people who love him," she added.

The three other sons were expected to arrive from the U.S. mainland around midnight Friday.

"Until they arrive, we will not disconnect the machine," Matias said. 

Another news conference was scheduled for Saturday morning at Centro Medico, the main trauma center for San Juan, when the family is expected to announce the final decision.

Camacho was shot as he sat in a car outside a bar with a friend, Adrian Mojica, who was killed in the shooting.  Police found nine small bags of cocaine in Mojica's pocket and an open bag in the car.  There have been no arrests.

The flamboyant former boxer held world titles in the super lightweight, light weight and junior welterweight divisions and ended his career with a record of 79-6-3.  Camacho's most memorable fights included high profile bouts against Felix Trinidad, Julio Cesar Chavez and a fifth-round knockout of Sugar Ray Leonard in 1997.

Jeremy Lin says going to Houston was 'God's plan'

Jeremy Lin is miles away from the Linsanity that swept New York last season and says he holds no hard feelings towards the Knicks for not matching his $25.1 million offer sheet last July.

In fact, Lin thinks his controversial exit from New York had come from a higher power than the Knicks owner James Dolan, indicating it was "God's plan" for him to go to Houston.

"The biggest thing is I enjoyed playing for the fans," the new Rockets' point guard said after Thursday's practice. "I had a lot of peace about it when it happened.  I know God has a perfect plan. And he's shown that in my life."

The struggling Lin (10.0 ppg, 6.3 assists) will be seeing some of his former Knicks teammates for the first time this season tonight at the Toyota Center since he became an overnight  cultural phenomenon that had both divided and propelled the team in 25 starts last spring.

Hurtful comments by Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith about Lin's contract and play, a season-ending knee injury and the success of the Knicks (8-2) this season have made Lin's departure and the frenzy of Linsanity a long forgotten footnote in New York.

"It didn't shake out the way everybody thought it would, but I'm still very at peace with how everything happened," added Lin.  "I'm in a great situation right now."

After his breakout year and fat new contract, Lin is still adjusting to a new system in Houston.

The Rockets (5-7) — who benched Lin Wednesday night after averaging only seven points in his last five games — hopes he can light a fire under the Rockets like he did with the Knicks last season despite the criticisms.

"I'm fine with whatever anybody says," said Lin. "It's all fair game."

Bradley Cooper segment banned from NFL Network show

Bradley Cooper has been banned from the NFL Network in a move that Hollywood honcho Harvey Weinstein is calling "censorship."

The star of the Weinstein Company's "Silver Lining Playbook" was set to headline Friday night's "Rich Eisen's Thanksgiving Special" with co-star Chris Tucker.  But after the segment was already taped and approved, the network was told on Wednesday by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's office to sack it.

The league's reason?  Because Robert De Niro's Eagles-obsessed character in the film is a part-time bookie.

 What's next?   Banning movies with concussions?

The awkward attempt by the NFL to bury its head in the sand has left host Eisen and his producers doing a last minute Hail Mary in the editing room.

An NFL Media rep confirmed, "The segment was pulled because the movie included content related to gambling on NFL games."

"The interview was planned for weeks," said a source. "The  network requested the interview."

Until Thursday, the segment from the Oscar-buzzing film was promoted online as the show's big interview.  There was even a photo of Eisen posing with Cooper and Tucker.  It was later replaced by a shot of Eisen and another guest, actor John Slattery.

Weinstein, never one to pass up a promotional opportunity, said, "We are deeply disappointed in the NFL's decision, and we are quite frankly surprised .  Pulling a pretaped interview with our stars is nothing short of censorship . . . [Silver Linings'] is not a film about gambling in the NFL.  It's a film about fathers and sons and football bonding a family together."

It looks like we'll just have to wait for next year's special to see the heartthrob Cooper promoting "Hangover III."  That movie will probably only have drugs, guns and Mike Tyson singing but, hopefully, no bookies.

Soccer star Ronaldo's totaled Ferrari on eBay for $65K

An Italian sports car that international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo totaled in January 2009 was put up for auction on eBay yesterday — but was taken down just as fast.

The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano F1 international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo crashed — when he careened into a tunnel barrier near Manchester, England — was listed on the online site for a starting price of $64,380.  A brand new version would run you about $322,000.

The listing was removed after media reported on the sale, prompting speculation that the wrecked car's pedigree could jack up the asking price at a later date.

Spanish newspaper ABC reports that the burgundy-colored car only has 1,925 miles on the odometer and comes with various documents with the 27-year-old Portuguese star's name on them.

It is being offered at the discount price, by a professional scrap dealer in the east of France, because it is in such bad shape.

According to the listing, the powerful car with the demolished front end is "certainly repairable." 

The listing was taken down early Thursday morning after Spanish, French and Portuguese media reported it was for sale prompting speculation on Twitter that it could be back on the market later this week — but at a much higher sale price.

The then-FIFA World Player of the Year escaped uninjured and the police did not take any action against him.

No word on if the vehicle comes with any of Ronaldo's leftover hair gel.