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 Terms of the contact were not released.
Last season, the Pacers earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern
Conference but lost in the conference finals to the Miami Heat.
The Pacers struggled during the second half of last season after the
trade deadline and some were calling for Vogel to be fired, but
president of basketball operations Larry Bird stood by his coach.
Voge, 41, is entering his fourth full season as coach after taking
over on an interim basis in January 2011 when Jim O'Brien was fired.
In the three seasons since the interim tag was removed, the Pacers
have reached the Eastern Conference finals twice and Eastern
Conference semifinals once with a record of 147-82 (.641 winning
percentage).
--
Point guard Kyrie Irving suffered a right ankle injury during
practice before the Cleveland Cavaliers traveled to Brazil for their
preseason game with the Miami Heat, ESPN.com reported Wednesday.
Irving was wearing a walking boot on his right foot while
sightseeing with teammates in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.
According to ESPN, Irving had X-rays taken and underwent an MRI on
Tuesday before the team charter left. Both tests were negative. He
is considered day to day and his status for Saturday's preseason
game is uncertain.
--
DeJuan Blair, Nene, Daniel Orton and Xavier Silas of the Washington
Wizards were suspended one game on Wednesday by the NBA for leaving
the bench during a confrontation between Chicago Bulls center Joakim
Noah and Wizards forward Paul Pierce during a preseason game.
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Noah was fined $15,000 for starting the incident with Pierce by
pushing him in the chest. Pierce was fined the same amount for
hitting Noah in the forehead with his left index finger.
NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn announced the NBA's
disciplinary action. The suspensions are effective with the first
regular-season game for each player.
--
Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James moved past golfer Tiger Woods
as the most valuable brand in sports this year, according to Forbes.
The magazine listed James's brand worth at $37 million, up from $27
million in 2013, compared with Woods's $36 million.
Woods experienced a down year. Not only was he injured twice, but
his worth dropped from $46 million, mostly as a result of EA Sports
longer making the Tiger Woods video game.
Third on the list was tennis player Roger Federer at $32 million
followed by golfer Phil Mickelson at $29 million.
(Editing by Larry Fine) ))
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