Ray Allen reportedly signed with the Heat despite an much more enticing offer from the Celtics. (Mike Ehrmann, Getty Images)

Ray Allen left the Boston Celtics to sign with the Miami Heat in the offseason despite an offer of a no-trade clause and twice as much money to stay in Boston, Celtics GM Danny Ainge told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan on Thursday.

Ainge said that he realized that constant trade rumors involving Allen had been disconcerting for the former Celtics guard, so he added a no-trade clause on top of a two-year, $12 million offer.

“I knew the (trade rumors) had been weighing on him,” Ainge told MacMullan.

Despite the no-trade clause, Allen left the Celtics to join LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh with the Heat for a two-year, $6 million deal.

Part of the reason Allen also signed with the Heat was a reported “rift” with some members of the Celtics organization, most notably star point guard Rajon Rondo.

Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reported in July of several issues that drove Allen away from the Celtics. Allen did become annoyed at the Celtics involving him in trade talks, and he was irritated that he did not get his starting job back after returning from an ankle injury late in the season.

But most significantly, his relationship with Rondo had crumbled in the past year.

For all the past indignities – real or imagined – Rondo was the issue that hadn’t gone away, that would still be there come training camp. They don’t like each other, and it had become a bigger and bigger drag on Allen, sources said. Each had culpability for why things had gone awry, and yet each was better on the court because he had played with the other. [...]

“When it comes to basketball, Rondo is the smartest player on the team – one of the smartest players in the league,” one locker-room source said. “And Ray considers himself a smart guy. But at some point, it became hard for Ray to be corrected by a guy so much younger than him.”

New Lakers center Dwight Howard admitted he wanted a trade to the Nets in the offseason. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

Dwight Howard said Thursday that he did indeed prefer a trade to the Brooklyn Nets this offseason, but added that where he ended up — with the Los Angeles Lakers — is a “blessing in disguise.”

“I did want to go to Brooklyn. That’s a place where I told the Magic that I really wanted to go,” Howard told Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco on ESPN NewYork 98.7 FM. “[But] I was traded to the Lakers, and I think it was a blessing in disguise.

” … I think there’s a reason why everything happened the way it happened. So far it’s been an unbelievable experience for me. … It’s like a dream come true.”

After an offseason filled with trade rumor after trade rumor, Howard was finally dealt to the Lakers from the Orlando Magic in a four-team trade. Howard had pressed for a trade to Brooklyn and numerous reported deals were close to being finalized, but all of them fell through. The Magic also had serious discussions involving the Houston Rockets.

But Howard said Thursday he was pleased with how everything shook out.

“I thought I was going to get traded at the beginning of the year, actually, that’s when I asked for it,” he said. “But everything happened for a reason. I had to go through last year to get to where I’m at today. It’s made me a stronger and better person for it. I had to go through the hell and the stormy forecast to come out to a place like this … and I’m thankful for it.”

Tyrann Mathieu was reported to be among four ex-LSU players arrested for drug possession. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Four former LSU football players — including 2011 Heisman Trophy finalist Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu and ex-quarterback Jordan Jefferson — were arrested Thursday and charged with possession of marijuana, law enforcement sources told WAFB’s Jim Shannona Kiran Chawla.

Mathieu and Jefferson were charged with Simple Possession of Marijuana, Karnell Hatcher was charged with 2^nd Offense Simple Possession of Marijuana and Derrick Bryant is charged with Possession With Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Baton Rouge police confirmed.  All four men will be booked into to the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.

Police said a search of the apartment found a marijuana grinder, digital scale and 10 bags of high grade marijuana. 7 of the bags were found inside Bryant’s book sack, police said.

Mathieu was dismissed from the LSU football team earlier this year after what sources said was multiple failed drug tests. He has remained enrolled at LSU and said he hoped to return to the team next season.

Jefferson started at quarterback in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game. Hatcher and Bryant both played defensive back.

The Mavericks intend to waive guard Delonte West after his second suspension in 10 days. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The Mavericks plan to waive backup guard Delonte West in order to free up a roster spot and put in a waiver claim on center Eddy Curry, a source told Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.

The team indefinitely suspended West for “conduct detrimental to the team” Thursday morning. He was previously suspended on Oct. 16 following a locker room outburst on Oct. 16.

West’s Twitter account claimed the latest incident was “no bi-polar trip.”

The Mavericks can wait until the Monday 15-man roster deadline to waive West and possibly add Curry, who was waived by the Spurs on Tuesday.

The Yankees expect CC Sabathia to recover from arthoscopic elbow surgery in time for the 2013 season. (Elsa/Getty Images)

CC Sabathia’s visit with orthopedist Dr. James Andrews resulted in arthoscopic surgery to remove a bone spur from his left elbow Thursday.

The Yankees expect Sabathia to recover before the start of the 2013 regular season.

The spur is believed to be the same source of soreness and swelling Sabathia has experienced off and on as far back as his seasons in Cleveland (2001-2008).

Sabbathia initially refused to acknowledge the spur affected his postseason performance, but concurred with the Yankees that it needed to be looked at this offseason.

Injured Yankees closer Mariano Rivera threw out the first pitch prior to Game 3 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium. (Al Bello/Getty Images)

It’s been assumed that closer Mariano Rivera would return to the Yankees in 2013 after recovering from a season-ending ACL tear in May. ESPN’s Andrew Marchand reports sources saying that Rivera is having second thoughts and considering retiring before the 2013 season.

I’m coming back,” an emotional Rivera said in Kansas City a day after the injury. “Put it down. Write it down in big letters. I ain’t going down like this.”

Now, with his 43rd birthday next month and having worked very hard during his rehab to return, Rivera has the familiar tug that he has carried for many years of possibly wanting to stay home with his family and call it a career. Rivera has yet to inform the Yankees of his final intentions, according to sources.

On Wednesday, Yankees manager Joe Girardi didn’t quash the notion that Rivera, Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader, may not return during his end of the season press conference.

“From watching how he rehabbed and everything that he was going through, picked up a baseball sooner than he was supposed to and got his hand smacked a little bit, that would tell me that Mo probably wants to play,” Girardi said. “But in saying that, it’s a decision that I think he’ll sit down with his family, evaluate where he is maybe a little bit later in this process and how he feels and how his arm feels to feel like you think you can compete at the same level he’s always competed at. But I don’t think that you push a rehab like he pushed it unless you think that you possibly have some interest in coming back.”

If Rivera retires in the offseason, the Yankees could find themselves searching for a new closer. Rafael Soriano stepped in as Rivera’s replacement and didn’t skip a beat, closing 42 of 46 save opportunities. Soriano, however, can opt out of the final season of his Yankees contract and choose free agency under the guidance of agent Scott Boras.

Andrew Wiggins has been ranked the nation’s top basketball recruit all summer, but college coaches and boosters have anxiously awaited his decision on when he’ll take his game to the next level. Wiggins ended speculation by deciding to reclassify from the Class of 2014 to the Class of 2013 today.

Huntington (W.V.) Prep coach Rob Fulford confirmed Wiggins’ decision on Twitter:

Spoke to Andrew father Mitch. Both he and Andrew are comfortable with him reclassifying to 2013. He wants to concentrate on school & season—
Rob Fulford (@rfulford) October 25, 2012

Fulford told Scout.com that Wiggins is more than ready.

He didn’t need to be in high school another year,” Fulford said. “Obviously it’s been the question of the summer,” Fulford said. “Our stance from the get go would be that we would support Andrew’s decision in whatever direction he decided. But this is the smart decision for him.

“His grades are good and he has enough credits,” the Huntington Prep coach continued. “We’ll just have to enroll him in an additional English course so he can graduate on time.”

The 6-foot-8 son of former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins and Marita Payne-Wiggins, who won two track-and-field silver medals for Canada in the 1984 Olympics, is being recruited by Kentucky, Florida State, North Carolina, Ohio State and Kansas among others.

Wiggins confidently detailed his approach and plan for getting himself into the NBA to USA Today.

“I just try to kill whoever is guarding me,” Wiggins said. “I don’t practice to play against people in high school like Julius Randle and Jabari Parker. I practice to play against guys in the NBA because I want to be better than them. I practice to beat the best player in the world because I want to be the best player in the world.”

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the league’s most recent proposal would be withdrawn. All games in November may be cancelled. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The NHL plans to withdraw its most recent proposal to the NHLPA once the Thursday deadline passes, according to a report from ESPN:

“When we delivered the proposal last Tuesday, we told them it would be on the table through today,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com Thursday afternoon. “Having not reached agreement through today, I expect that we’ll formally notify the union Friday that the proposal is no longer on the table. We’re going to take it back internally and figure out where we go from here.”

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr was not surprised by the league’s withdrawal. He commented,

“Review the history here: they make a proposal, it’s essentially a take it or leave it, we respond on the core economics, they take 10 minutes and say no…. It takes two to negotiate. They seem to be really good at imposing deadlines and issuing ultimatums and having lockouts. It seems to be something they’re well-practiced at.”

Daly said the proposal would no longer work because it was created under the pretense of having an 82-game season. The league is expected to cancel games through the end of November on Friday.

Former U.S. cyclist Bobby Julich is the latest rider to come forward about PED use. He was relieved of his Team Sky coaching duties after his confession. (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Former U.S. cyclist Bobby Julich admitted to using PEDs during the late 1990s and was subsequently relieved of his duties as a coach with Team Sky on Thursday. The British team asked staff and riders to confirm they had no links to doping in a move to clean up the sport after the USADA report that led to Lance Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.

Julich, who was a teammate of Armstrong’s between 1995 and 1997, admitted to using EPO between August 1996 and July 1998. His wife discovered that he was doping during the 1998 Tour de France when he finished third, the best result of his career. In his confession letter, which was sent to Cycling News, Julich said:

“Those days were very different from today, but it was not a decision that I reached easily. I knew that it was wrong, but over those two years, the attitude surrounding the use of EPO in the peloton was so casual and accepted that I personally lost perspective of the gravity of the situation…. I apologise to everyone, especially those associated with Team Sky for my past indiscretions. I made some poor decisions and have paid and will pay a huge price.”

Julich spent two years with Team Sky. He also left a message to new cyclists in his confession letter:

“To this new generation of young riders; I hope that you will learn from the past and avoid the mistakes many of us have made. It is up to your generation to insure that the issues of the past do not affect your future. I am truly sorry that you all are dealing with something that you had no part in creating.”

David Stern announced he will step down as NBA commissioner in 2014. Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver will take his place. (David Dow/Getty Images)

David Stern announced on Thursday afternoon that he will retire from his position as NBA commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014. Stern announced the news during a press conference on Thursday afternoon; the New York Times’s Howard Beck reported on the conference:

“I don’t know what else to say other than to recite what I told the owners yesterday in executive session,” said Stern at the news conference. “I told them that it’s been a great run, it will continue for another 15 months, that the league is in, I think, terrific condition.”

The NBA’s Board of Governors chose Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver to replace Stern.

According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Stern had sent an email to key NBA executives prior to the official announcement in which Stern stated:

“The Board has selected Adam Silver to succeed me as NBA Commissioner, and I am very pleased with their choice,” Stern said in the email. “As you know, Adam is a world-class business executive who has influenced so many areas of our business during his 20-year tenure with the league, from television, to digital, to international, to merchandising, to sponsorships, to team business, to, of course, labor negotiations. I know that the organization will be in very good hands when Adam becomes Commissioner.”

Stern, 70, joined the league as an outside counsel in 1966 and became Executive Vice President in 1980.

The NBA unanimously approved billionaire Robert Pera’s bid for the Grizzlies, reported the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The league’s finance committee unanimously approved the deal on Wednesday night, and the Board of Governors followed suit Thursday morning.

Pera, 34, is a wireless technology entrepreneur and had agreed to buy the team from current owner Michael Heisley for what is believed to be $350 million. Other investors who joined Pera’s bid include Justin Timberlake, Peyton Manning and Penny Hardaway. The deal still has to be closed with Heisley, but the league’s approval was viewed as the most significant obstacle.

Darren Rovell commented via Twitter:

When Robert Pera’s company’s stock started tanking, I thought there was no shot he would close Grizzlies deal. He put together quite a team.—
darren rovell (@darrenrovell) October 25, 2012

NBA Commissioner David Stern expressed his sentiments about the deal:

“We are delighted that the NBA’s Board of Governors has approved Robert Pera’s purchase of the Grizzlies,” said Stern in a statement. “Robert will no doubt bring great energy and passion to the franchise. He has assembled an ownership group with very strong local ties, and we anticipate that their commitment to the Memphis area will greatly benefit both the team and the community.”

Heisley, 75, purchased the team in 2000 and orchestrated the move from Vancouver to Memphis in 2001.

James Harden is reportedly close to re-signing with the Thunder after winning gold with the U.S. Olympic team this summer. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Harden is reportedly closer to a long-term deal to stay with the team, according to a report Thursday afternoon from Steve Kyler of HoopsHype.com:

Harden and the Thunder seem like they are going to reach a deal. Sources close to the situation say there is such a desire by Harden to end the speculation that he may cave on his max contract demands. [T]here appears to be a real desire on all sides to end the circus that Harden’s impending free agency is causing and it seems the Thunder and their ownership are willing to lock James up now.

Harden has shot an abysmal 28 percent from the field during the preseason, so it could be that the contract negotiations are impeding on his performance. Harden’s teammate Russell Westbrook experienced a similar situation last season when he started off poorly only to sign a five-year contract extension worth $78 million and returned to form.

As Fran Blinebury explains on NBA.com, the Thunder have until Halloween to sign Harden to a max four-year contract extension worth $60 million. If a deal isn’t reached by then, the team will no doubt be hearing trade offers for him until the Feb. 21 NBA trade deadline. Once that passes, it will be only a matter of time before Harden becomes a free agent at the end of the season in the spring.

Harden, the 2012 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and one steal in 31 minutes per game last season but underperformed in most categories throughout the playoffs.

The Mavs suspended guard Delonte West for the second time in 10 days, according to a report from the Dallas Morning News:

“We have suspended Delonte for conduct detrimental to the team,” President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson said. “The suspension is effective immediately and no other statements will be issued.”

West was also suspended for “conduct detrimental to the team” on Oct. 16, supposedly in part because of a locker room outburst after the team’s 123-104 preseason win over the Rockets. After that incident, West tweeted: “Sorry moma…” and “I showed off on your birthday again…” (The tweets were later deleted.) The suspension lasted less than a day and West was back in the lineup the next day against the Suns.

West, who signed with Dallas as a free agent last December, has a history of disciplinary incidents and has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The disorder played a role in West’s arrest on weapons charges in Sept. 2009: West was pulled over while driving a three-wheel motorcycle in Maryland and sentenced to house arrest and later suspended by the NBA for 10 games.

After the announcement of his most recent suspension, West tweeted:

That my name showin up in any fashion in a negative light is the worst thing that can happen.everything Ived worked towards out d window—
Delonte West (@CharleeRedz13) October 25, 2012

I love the city of Dallas..I love playin in the NBA…no I'm not off my meds…no I ain't on no bipolar trip…this real people lives..—
Delonte West (@CharleeRedz13) October 25, 2012

West, 29, averaged 9.6 points, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game with the Mavs last season.

Special Olympics athlete John Stephens called out conservative political commentator Ann Coulter over her use of the “R-word” in a tweet she posted Oct. 22 about the presidential debate.

Stephens, 30, has participated in the Special Olympics for over 19 years, competing in soccer, softball, golf, horseback riding and basketball. He wrote an open letter to Coulter on the Special Olympics homepage that she is better than that to use such an offensive term and said that he is not “dumb or shallow” because of an intellectual disability:

“I am not either of those things, but I do process information more slowly than the rest of you. In fact it has taken me all day to figure out how to respond to your use of the R-word last night.”

He invited her to attend the next Special Olympics with the hope that she would leave a changed person. Coulter has not responded to the letter and her tweets remain posted.

I highly approve of Romney's decision to be kind and gentle to the retard.—
Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) October 23, 2012

Obama: "Stage 3 Romneysia" – because cancer references are HILARIOUS. If he's "the smartest guy in the room" it must be one retarded room.—
Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) October 23, 2012

The Dodgers and Diamondbacks might open their season in Australia. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Dodgers are “well advanced” in conversations with Australian Baseball League officials on a plan six years in the making to open their season in March 2013 in Sydney against the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to a report Thursday from Adrian Proszenko of The Sydney Morning Herald:

The proposed three-game series will be a huge coup for Australian sport, with the games to be televised to an audience of almost 300 million viewers across 81 countries. It’s estimated the event will attract up to 25,000 overseas tourists and generate $80 million for the NSW economy.

Jason Moore, director of sports event-marketing firm Moore Sports, has reportedly been involved in the ongoing conversations between the MLB and the ABL. The games would be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which can seat up to 46,000 people, and he said he anticipates the deal will be finalized by the end of the year:

”We’ve been to the altar a couple of times and we know believe we’re getting up to bat, so to speak,” Moore said. ”This will be the biggest sporting event in Sydney since the 2003 Rugby World Cup final.

The proposed Sunday afternoon game between the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers, who are co-owned by Magic Johnson, would air Saturday night at 8 p.m. PST in the United States. The plan would no doubt figure into MLB efforts to further globalize the game and the league brand. The MLB, along with the Australian Baseball Federation and Australia’s Federal government, fund the ABL.

But in a report from Dylan Hernandez and Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times, the MLB is not exploring the possibility:

“We are not currently exploring the possibility with the Dodgers or any other team to play in Australia,” MLB spokesman Pat Courtney said.

To confuse matters even more, Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall said he would definitely be interested in an opportunity for his team to play overseas. The team’s top executive had made a trip to Japan and Mexico earlier in October to help build the brand of the team and the league.

“If the possibility existed for the D-Backs to play overseas, we would most certainly be interested, but I would leave an official comment to MLB International,” Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall said in a statement released by the team.

Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones has made the U.S. bobsled team. (Franck Fife/Getty Images)

Less than a month after she reportedly tried the sport for the first time, Lolo Jones, an Olympic hurdler in 2008 and 2012, has made the U.S. bobsled team, according to a report Thursday morning from USA TODAY Sports.

Jones, 30, was named to the team as a push athlete, the member of the team tasked with pushing the bobsled at the beginning of the race. She will compete with the team in the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

GALLERY: RARE PHOTOS OF LOLO JONES

She had competed with 16 other potential “pushers” during the summer push championship, in which she finished seventh, and team races, which had wrapped up Oct. 24. She had finished second in a team race Oct. 20.

Jones was reportedly recruited by Todd Hays, the women’s bobsled coach and a 2002 Olympic silver medalist.

The New York Knicks may be losing one of their big three due to injury. In the first quarter of tonight’s Knicks-Nets game on Long Island, center Tyson Chandler bumped knees with Nets small forward Gerald Wallace. According to multiple reports from the game, Chandler went down hard and left the floor immediately.

According to tweets from ken Berger of CBS, Chandler left the arena on crutches, but insisted that he doesn’t believe the injury to be anything serious.

Tyson Chandler left the arena on crutches as a "precaution" before MRI on left knee tomorrow. Says his level of concern is "not much."—
Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) October 25, 2012

Chandler said contact with his left knee in the first minute of the game "stretched it out a little bit."—
Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) October 25, 2012

Shabazz Muhammad suffered a shoulder injury in practice today (Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

The nation’s top recruit may have to wait a while to play a game in college.

CBS Sports reports that UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad injured his right shoulder during practice on Wednesday. The extent of the injury is not immediately clear, but it was severe enough for Muhammad to undergo an MRI on the shoulder following the practice. The results of that MRI have not been determined yet.

Muhammad is widely considered to be the top freshman in the nation, in addition to being the projected top overal pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. However, between the injury and ongoing inquries into his eligibility, it may be a while before he can get in a game.

The United States will host a special edition of the Copa America in 2016. (Juan Mabromata, Getty Images)

One of the most important soccer tournaments in the world is coming to the United States.

The South American soccer confederation CONMEBOL announced today that it will join with the North American and Caribbean confederation CONCACAF for a special edition of the Copa America in 2016. The tournament, dubbed the Copa America Centennial, is being played to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Copa America – the tournament that has served as South America’s regional championship since 1916.

The United States will host the 16-team tournament, which will include six teams from CONCACAF (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean) and 10 from CONMEBOL (South America). The United States and Mexico will be automatic entrants in the tournament, with the other four CONCACAF teams being determined by order of finish at the 2015 Gold Cup.

The tournament will be played in between the regularly-scheduled editions of the Copa America in 2015 (hosted by Chile) and 2019 (hosted by Brazil).