Hardaway said yes, beginning the start of an incredible journey for him and the group of players who went on to win an improbable championship. After 15 years in the league, injuries retired him four years ago. He was trying to figure out his life after pro basketball when the opportunity arose.

“Lester Middle was an elementary school and high school that I went to years ago. They closed it down and reopened it as a middle school and I went back a couple years ago. One of my good friends was diagnosed with colon cancer and he was the coach. They gave him about 24 hours to live. He survived the cancer and started coaching again at Lester, and when he went back to coaching, he was still doing chemo and wasn’t strong enough to continue the head coaching job and he asked me to come over and help. The very first practice I went to, I kind of fell in love with the team and just stayed there from that point on.”

Hardaway didn’t just improve the basketball team standings, he also helped motivate the young men to do better in school and become more motivated overall.

While Kobe and his parents had reconciled, they are now estranged again as Kobe has filed a cease and desist against his mother and a New Jersey based auction house to keep his mother from selling his personal items. She has reportedly said the $450,000 advance is to purchase a new home.

Who really knows what’s going on here? Of course the internets are on fire with “fans” alleging that while his mother in law is sitting pretty, his mama’s in the poor house. I highly doubt that. Years ago, I went to the prom with Kobe Bryant. No, I wasn’t his date, singer Brandy was and I was with Brandy to write the story for the Philadelphia Daily News. The two, then both 18, were the epitome of a cute teenage couple, whispering and giggling to each other as we rode in a limo to Kobe’s parent’s house in an upper middle class Philadelphia suburb.

I remember a modest but cozy family home and a tight-knit family. I’d see Kobe’s tall, pretty older sisters, Shaya and Sharia, all the time out in Philly and at NBA All-Star Games. Since 2003, Sofia Urbieta Laine, Vanessa’s mother, has lived in a $2.5 million dollar mansion purchased by Bryant after her own tumultuous divorce. That house sold recently but not before Laine moved into another one.

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Trim levels
LE
XLE
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Price Range
The base model LE starts at $24,125 and tops out at $30,015 with options. By adding-on the all-wheel drive configuration, the price drives up $1,400.

What’s New

The RAV4 is the third vehicle in the Toyota and the Scion line up, offering emotional appeal. Basically, Toyota has finally gotten in the style game. Toyota finally realizes that there are a plethora of brand’s on the market today that match (or at least come close to matching) the Japanese brand in features and reliability. So, Toyota realizes that relying on reliability no longer compensates for a safe, conservative design.

Toyota’s direction to focus on adding pizazz to its design began with the sexy looking 2013 Scion FS-R sports car and it was followed-up by the radically redesign 2013 Toyota Avalon. Inside the RAV4, Toyota has spruced-up the interior too, depending on the trim level selected. The upgraded trim levels are now available with a two-tone interior trim known as color-blocking, which gives the RAV4 an upscale interior, which has usually been reserved for its premium brand, Lexus.

The RAV4 also becomes the first Toyota equipped with an all-wheel drive configuration, offering dynamic torque control. This system improves handling by distributing power from the front to the rear, while managing the vehicle’s braking system from side-to-side.

The Brooklyn Nets have elevated expectations this season, and a .500 record wasn’t good enough. Coach Avery Johnson was fired Thursday, his team having lost 10 of 13 games after a strong start to its first season in Brooklyn.

“We don’t have the same fire now than we did when we were 11-4,” general manager Billy King said at a news conference in East Rutherford, N.J. “I tried to talk to Avery about it and we just can’t figure it out. The same pattern kept on happening.”

Assistant P.J. Carlesimo will coach the Nets on an interim basis, starting Friday night with a home game against Charlotte. King said the Nets might reach out to other candidates, but for now the job was Carlesimo’s. The GM wouldn’t comment on a report that the team planned to get in touch with former Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

King said the decision to dismiss Johnson was made by ownership after a phone discussion Thursday morning. Owner Mikhail Prokhorov had expressed faith in Johnson before the season.

“With the direction we were going we felt we had to make a change,” King said.

Johnson was in the final year of a three-year, $12 million contract.

“It’s a really disappointing day for me and my family. It’s my wife’s birthday. It’s not a great birthday gift,” Johnson said. “I didn’t see this coming. But this is ownership’s decision. It’s part of the business. Fair or unfair, it’s time for a new voice and hopefully they’ll get back on track.”

The Nets have fallen well behind the first-place New York Knicks, the team they so badly want to compete with in their new home. But after beating the Knicks in their first meeting Nov. 26, probably the high point of Johnson’s tenure, the Nets went 5-10 and frustrations have been mounting.

“Our goal is to get to the conference finals,” King said. “We started out good and then we stumbled. We have to get back to playing winning basketball. It’s the entire team. It’s not like golf, where Tiger Woods can blame the caddie. It takes five guys on the court and they’re all struggling. We have to figure out the ways to get back to winning. I don’t know what happened. I’m not sure. But unfortunately, it did happen.”

The Nets were embarrassed by Boston on national TV on Christmas, then were routed by Milwaukee 108-93 on Wednesday night for their fifth loss in six games.

Star guard Deron Williams recently complained about Johnson’s offense, and Nets CEO Brett Yormark took to Twitter after the loss to Celtics to voice his displeasure with the performance.

King said the change was not made because Williams was unhappy, and he added the point guard himself has to play better.

Johnson also stood by Williams.

“From Day One, I always had a really good relationship with him. I don’t think it’s fair for anyone to hang this on Deron,” Johnson said. “We were just going through a bad streak, a bad spell. It’s not time for me to be down on one player. That would be the easy way.”

Brooklyn started the season 11-4, winning five in a row to end November, when Johnson was Eastern Conference coach of the month. But he couldn’t do anything to stop this slump, one the Nets never anticipated after a $350 million summer spending spree they believed would take them toward the top of their conference.

“You know he’s from Chicago – the Bulls through and through. He always talks Bulls this, the Bulls that,” said Kobe, who has played pickup games with the Commander in Chief at the White House. “I’m like, my goodness. Can I talk trash to the President?”

Asked if he did indeed trash-talk right back, Bryant said, “Of course I did. I couldn’t help it.”

A number of experts in HBCU sports say they are hard-pressed to recall a season with the number of proven signal-callers that will lead their teams into action this season. While none of the field generals are on par with the Steve McNairs, Doug Williamses, Eldridge Dickeys, Jacary Atkinses and Bruce Eugenes of previous seasons, the Class of 2012 boasts an inordinate number of quarterbacks with solid credentials.

“I don’t think we’ve seen this talent level at quarterback for a long time,’’ says Donal Ware, host of the syndicated radio show "From the Press Box to Press Row." “So many teams have good quarterbacks who played well than don’t.’’

Winston-Salem State senior Kameron Smith is at the head of the class. Smith, 21-3 in two years as the Rams’ starter, threw for a school record 2,706 yards and 33 touchdowns while leading Winston-Salem State to the semifinals of the Division II playoffs and the Black College National Championship with a 13-1 record.

Ironically, four other returning quarterbacks in the CIAA threw for more yards per game than did Smith, who averaged 193.3 a contest. Junior Cameron Stover averaged 235.1 yards in eight games, and he had 19 touchdown passes; Doug Cook threw for 228.2 yards as a freshman at Lincoln (Pa.), matching Saint Augustine’s Teddy Bacotte, who also had 22 touchdown passes. Cook threw for 12 touchdowns, and Keahn Wallace averaged 200.5 yards in his freshman campaign while leading Johnson C. Smith to a victory in the Pioneer Bowl.

The list of topflight quarterbacks includes sophomore Greg McGhee of Howard, the 2011 MEAC Rookie of the Year, who threw for 1,780 yards and 13 touchdowns as a freshman. The MEAC also boasts other top notch quarterbacks in Nick Elko, a senior at Delaware State,  one of the top in the conference with 2,060 yards and 15 touchdowns last season; North Carolina A&T junior Lewis Kindle, 2,020 yards, 16 touchdowns, and Florida A&M sophomore Damien Fleming, 1,622 yards, 11 touchdowns.

Jackson State All-American Casey Therriault overshadowed the other quarterbacks in the SWAC the past two seasons while setting records hand over fist. Now that Therriault has moved on, the others will have an opportunity for the spotlight, and the Tigers are the only team in the conference with a proven quarterback. Grambling sophomore D.J. Williams, the son of G-Men’s coach Doug Williams, has the most name recognition of SWAC quarterbacks – and he has a championship ring as well. The younger Williams grew as a quarterback as the season progressed. He threw for 1,102 yards and 11 after an uneven start in 2011, and he is expected to continue to grow this season.

Texas Southern senior Riko Smalls was the most productive SWAC quarterback not named Therriault last season. Smalls threw for 2,122 yards and 15 touchdowns. Those numbers should increase dramatically with offensive-minded Darrell Asberry as Texas Southern’s head coach. Senior Deaunte Mason of Alabama A&M, a 2012 first team preseason All-SWAC pick, is the most seasoned quarterback in the conference, having been the Bulldogs’ starter since the eighth game of the 2009 season. He has led the Bulldogs to the conference championship twice, losing each time. Senior Greg Jenkins had Alabama State on the cusp of playing in the championship game in his first season as the Hornets’ starter after transferring from Troy despite being plagued by injuries most of the year.

Jerry Lovelocke of Prairie View A&M and J.P. Douglas of Southern are two more sophomore quarterbacks looking to build on solid freshman seasons. Douglas split time with junior Dray Joseph. The two of them combined to throw for 2,826 yards and 23 touchdowns, putting Southern in the unique position of having two dependable quarterbacks. Ben Anderson, a senior, showed promise in leading Arkansas-Pine Bluff to its first winning season since the Golden Lions reach the SWAC Championship
Game in 2006.

“It’s hard to win without having a consistent guy at quarterback,’’ says EPSN College Football Analyst Eddie Robinson Jr., an All-American linebacker at Alabama State before playing 13 seasons in the NFL. “You don’t need to have a great quarterback. You have to have someone to make plays when they need make them. When you have good play at quarterback, it improves the overall flow of the game. You won’t have silly turnovers. You’ll still have turnovers, but you won’t have simple turnovers like on the center-quarterback exchange. When you have quarterbacks who are poised and experienced, they can make changes to counteract defensive changes. That makes the game exciting and entertaining for fans.’’

That said, the championship races in all four HBCU conferences are likely to be determined by quarterback play.

In the MEAC, defending champion Norfolk State is the pre-season pick to repeat. However, the Spartans enter the season without a tested signal caller to replace Chris Walley, the 2011 MEAC Offensive Player of the Year. Junior Niko Flores, Walley’s backup last season, is competing with junior college transfers Jake Basmagian and Dylan Shaddix, sophomore Pierre Narcisse and freshman Zach Deutel for the starting spot. Whoever wins the job will have to settle in quickly to keep South Carolina State and Bethune-Cookman, both of whom have veterans to call on, in sight. Junior Richard Cue and senior Derrick Wiley are vying to start for South Carolina State, which won or shared the MEAC titles from 2008-10. Bethune-Cookman, a tri-champion in 2010, will call on Jackie Wilson, who has made 17 career starts, including the Wildcats’ 2010 playoff loss.

Still, Norfolk State coach Pete Adrian is supremely confident that the Spartans will have enough defensively and in areas other than quarterback to repeat as champions.

“All the quarterback has to do is run the show, not be the show,’’ he says.

Jackson State is the odd man out among the top contenders in the SWAC after losing Therriault. That could dim the Tigers’ chances of winning the East Division, considering that preseason favorite Alabama State and reigning division champ Alabama A&M have battle-tested field generals in Jenkins and Mason, respectively.

Grambling is far and away the top team in the West and the team to beat for the SWAC championship. The G-Men enter the season ahead of where they were this time a year ago when D.J. Williams was an untested quarterback trying to find his way and Doug Williams was trying to get a handle on the squad after returning to his alma mater in the spring.

“We had a great offseason and spring,’’ Doug Williams says. “Last year this time we were learning each other. We go into this season with a little more knowledge of who have to depend on.’’

Miles, the defending champion, has a leg up on the rest of the field in the SIAC with quarterback Damon Thomas returning for his senior season. Tuskegee, the Golden Bears’ most likely challenger in the West, still has to resolve its issues at quarterback, which have existed since Jacary Atkinson departed after the 2008 season. With that being the case, complacency seems to be Miles’ most formidable opponent. Coach Reginald Ruffin has gone to great lengths to ensure that his team isn’t seduced into developing an over-inflated opinion of itself based on last year’s success by not allowing team members to wear their championship rings.

“The rings say 2011,’’ he says. “This is 2012. That’s something we harp on. You have to learn how to deal with success and put it behind you. The only way to do that is to keep working.’’

Morehouse and Albany State, the top teams in the East, are both searching for quarterbacks. The edge in the division race goes to Morehouse because of the presence of All-American running back David Carter. If the Maroon Tigers get any semblance of solid play at quarterback, they will have a decided edge on Albany State, which lost All-SIAC signal-caller Stanley Jennings.

A year ago, Winston-Salem coach Connell Maynor predicted that the Rams would go undefeated, win the CIAA title, earn a first-round bye in the Division II playoffs and win the Division II championship. This year he is predicting the Rams will be just as good, if not better, than they were in 2011. With Smith and 14 other starters returning, there is no reason that they shouldn’t be.

“We need to take care of the ball on offense and don’t give the other team a short field,’’ Maynor says, adding that complacency is an element that is lurking in the shadows.

However, he points to the 2011 season as a harbinger of how the Rams will handle their success. They were 1-10 in 2009, the season before he took over, and 8-2 in 2010. They followed that up with a school record for victories in a single season.

“We got to do the same thing this year,’’ he says, “keep getting better, shooting for goals. We got to keep our foot on them and don’t let them slack up.’’

Elizabeth City is the team most likely to challenge Winston-Salem for supremacy in the CIAA. Two of the Vikings’ four losses in 2011 came against the Rams, including a 38-18 defeat in the CIAA Championship Game.

Tennessee State celebrates the centennial anniversary of its football program this season, and the Tigers hope to mark the occasion with their first winning season since 2008. The prospects aren’t good, however. They are picked to finish fifth in the OVC, and they have a murderous non-conference schedule with games against Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman, Jackson State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Hooker, who is a member of the U.S. indoor volleyball team, has been criticized for her last name. She said being ridiculed about her name is nothing new.

"I have been dealing with it since I was a child. People can be childish," said Hooker.

Although members of the media have been scrutinizing the 24-year-old about her moniker, she loves it.

"When it comes to my name, I honestly find nothing wrong with it. I love my name," she emphasized.

The boxing champ reported to TMZ cameras that he got screwed and believes that everyone who saw the fight knows the same.

"I respect that decision, but WE KNOW in our hearts," Pacquiao told TMZ.

One of boxing's major sanctioning bodies will review Timothy Bradley's controversial split decision victory over Manny Pacquiao, the first step toward what promoter Bob Arum hopes will be "clarity" in the judging of the fight.

WBO President Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel said in a statement Wednesday that the WBO's championship committee will review video of the fight with five "recognized international judges" and make a recommendation. He said the WBO does not doubt the ability of the scoring judges.

Most reporters seated ringside and the vast majority of fans inside the MGM Grand arena on Saturday night thought Pacquiao had easily defended his welterweight title against Bradley.

The first surprise came when ring announcer Michael Buffer announced that there was a split decision, and the biggest surprise came in the reading of the scores. Jerry Roth had it 115-113 for Pacquiao, while judges Duane Ford and C.J. Ross had it for Bradley by the same score.

The Associated Press scored the fight 117-111 for Pacquiao.

"The public saw the fight and they're outraged, and we need clarity here," Arum told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "We need those responsible to investigate, to see what happened, how the judges could be so off.

"Was there any funny business going on? Or no funny business? Did they have a conversation with each other?" Arum asked. "We need to get clarity. The public is demanding it."

Arum's powerful promotional company, Top Rank, has staged thousands of fights over more than four decades, including some of the most significant in the history of the sport.

He said that the scoring of Saturday night's fight was among the worst he's ever seen.

"It puts boxing in a very horrible light," he said. "I'm looking for the sport to do damage control, and the only way it does damage control is if you do a full and complete investigation."

Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa made no immediate ruling Tuesday on an emergency motion asking the court to move Mayweather into the general jail population — something that jail officials had avoided out of fear for the celebrity's safety — or put him in house arrest for the rest of his three-month sentence.

Mayweather lawyer Richard Wright said he'd be willing to have the boxer serve the sentence in an apartment or somewhere less luxurious than Mayweather's posh Las Vegas-area home.

"I'm not looking for special treatment for Floyd Mayweather," Wright said. "I'm looking for fair treatment."

But prosecutor Lisa Luzaich said softening the sentence would be just another accommodation, similar to when Mayweather's jail surrender date was postponed for months after sentencing so he could fight Miguel Cotto in May.

"They keep chipping away, chipping away, chipping away," Luzaich said.

Mayweather pleaded guilty in December to misdemeanor domestic battery and no contest to two harassment charges that stemmed from an attack on his ex-girlfriend while two of their children watched. He was sentenced to three months and entered the jail June 1.

Mayweather's jail stay will be capped at 87 days because the judge gave him credit for three days previously served. It could be reduced by several weeks for good behavior.

The Seattle Seahawks confirmed Wednesday they will hold a tryout for Banks, a former high school football star who was exonerated last week in a California rape case in which he was falsely accused.

Seattle coach Pete Carroll did not speak following the Seahawks' offseason workout on Wednesday, but the team confirmed that Banks will work out for the team on June 7.

"This is what I have dreamed about my entire life," Banks said in a statement from the California Western School of Law, home of the California Innocence Project. "I am ready to show the NFL what I am capable of doing. I want as many opportunities with as many NFL teams who are willing to give me a shot."

Seattle may not be the only team. The statement says a half-dozen NFL teams have gotten in contact with Banks, and ESPN.com reported some of those include the Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins.

Banks' attorney, Justin Brooks, head of the California Innocence Project, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The 26-year-old Banks pleaded no contest 10 years ago on the advice of a lawyer after a childhood friend falsely accused him of attacking her on their high school campus. Last Thursday, a judge threw out the conviction that sent Banks to prison for more than five years.

It's not surprising Carroll and the Seahawks appear to be the first ones willing to give Banks a shot.

Before the charges, Banks was a star middle linebacker at Long Beach Polytechnic High School and was attracting interest from college football powerhouses such as USC, Ohio State and Michigan. He gave a verbal commitment to USC to play for Carroll.

Then, a teenage girl Banks had known since childhood claimed he had raped her. He was arrested and, on advice of counsel, pleaded no contest to rape and an enhancement of kidnapping in order to avoid a possible life sentence if tried by a jury.

Banks served five years and two months in prison, but in a strange turn of events, the woman, Wanetta Gibson, later recanted her claim and offered to help Banks clear his name after he was out of jail. Banks was on probation and was wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet at the hearing last week where he was completely exonerated.

At the press conferences that followed the court hearing, Brooks appealed to NFL teams to give Banks a chance. He said Banks has been training six days a week to get in shape for the career he wants.

"He has the speed and the strength. He certainly has the heart," Brooks said. "I hope he gets the attention of people in the sports world."