Det. Jeffrey Scott of the Norfolk, Virginia Police Department confirmed that Malone died in a Norfolk hotel room. He said there was no indication of foul play. Malone’s body was discovered when he failed to report to a celebrity golf tournament in which he was scheduled to play.

Malone was part of the 76ers’ 1983 NBA championship team, and the club said he will ”forever be remembered as a genuine icon and pillar of the most storied era in the history of Philadelphia 76ers basketball.”

A 6-foot-10 center who made the leap right from high school to the pros, Malone is the NBA’s career leader in offensive rebounds and led the league in rebounds per game for five straight seasons from 1980-85.

Malone was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and attended the induction ceremonies for the year’s class in Springfield, Massachusetts this weekend before returning to his native Virginia.

Drafted by the Utah Stars of the ABA in 1974, Malone went on to play for eight NBA clubs and was the league’s MVP in 1979 and 1982 while playing for the Houston Rockets.

”Everyone in the organization is deeply saddened by the passing of Moses Malone,” Rockets owners Leslie Alexander said. ”Moses was a true gentleman and one of the great Rockets – and greatest NBA players – of all time. He will be forever missed. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.”

Malone joined the 76ers the following season and added his third MVP award while leading the 76ers to that championship after making his famed ”Fo’, Fo’, Fo’,” prediction that the Sixers would win their playoff series in four-game sweeps.

”No one person has ever conveyed more with so few words – including three of the most iconic in this city’s history,” 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil said. ”His generosity, towering personality and incomparable sense of humor will truly be missed.”

The post NBA great Moses Malone dies at 60 appeared first on IdealCapper.

Rose, who had surgery to repair a tear to the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on May 12, has been videotaped dunking off each foot, but more casually than he would during a game. A source said that although he has been practicing and scrimmaging hard, he told the Bulls that until he feels “in his mind” he can confidently dunk off his left foot in a game situation, he is not 100 percent mentally ready to return to competition.

The team is not pressuring Rose, the source said, but the Bulls are confident he will return this season and are still hoping for a mid-March return, which would mark 10 months after his surgery. The Bulls play at Golden State on March 15.

The source said the team has been assured by Rose’s doctor that there is no more chance of the former MVP getting injured upon his return than anyone else and that the doctor told the Bulls that physically “he can play now.” Rose is now dealing with the psychological side of trusting his body.

Rose, 24, raised the possibility that he wouldn’t return at all this season during an interview on Feb. 13 after the Bulls lost to the Celtics in Boston, which was the last time Rose spoke publicly.

“I’m feeling good, but like I said, if it’s where it’s taking me a long time and I’m still not feeling right, I don’t mind missing this year,” he said. “I would love to [return]. I would love to. That’s why I approached my rehab and my workout so hard. I’m trying to get back on the court as quickly as possible, but if I have anything lingering on, it’s no point.”

Since that interview, Rose has taken part in 5-on-5 scrimmages, beginning on Feb. 18.

He began sitting on the bench with the team on March 3.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after practice Friday that there are no new developments with Rose, and that the clearance for Rose to play in a game “hasn’t been finalized yet.”

“He’s doing everything there is to do in practice, so he’s been cleared from that standpoint,” Thibodeau said.

When asked whether Rose would be able to play in a game if he says he is able to, Thibodeau said: “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. We’re just going day by day. Just keep improving.”

“Definitely getting stronger and stronger every day,” guard Nate Robinson said. “Hopefully, he’s right on time and right on schedule. He’ll be back when he’s ready.”

Thibodeau said the decision for Rose to play will be made by several people.

“There’s a lot of people that got to sign [off],” Thibodeau said. “Obviously, he’s the most important piece. But from Jerry [Reinsdorf, Bulls owner] on down, everyone has to sign off on it.”

As far as what Rose is doing in practice, Thibodeau said: “He’s doing everything. He’s participating in every part of practice.”

Thibodeau also said the Bulls are prepared to move on with or without Rose. “We’ll see what happens,” he said.

The perception that Rose wouldn’t return this season was enhanced on Feb. 22, when his brother Reggie Rose told ESPNChicago.com that the Bulls’ lack of activity before the trade deadline would be a “big factor” in whether his brother would return.

“It’s frustrating to see my brother play his heart and soul out for the team and them not put anything around him,” Reggie Rose said at the time.

Derrick Rose assured the Bulls, the source said, that he did not share his brother’s sentiment and issued the following statement: “I have always felt that the Bulls organization’s goals have been the same as mine and that is to bring another championship to this city.”

Bulls officials from Thibodeau to general manager Gar Forman, vice president John Paxson and all the way up to Reinsdorf have said they won’t rush Rose back. Reinsdorf told ESPN Chicago in August 2012 that he didn’t want to make the same mistake he made with Michael Jordan after Jordan broke a bone in his foot during his second season in 1985. Jordan returned and didn’t suffer another injury, but Reinsdorf has said that it was a risk he didn’t want to take with Rose.

The Bulls have told Rose that while they will support whatever decision he makes, they would prefer he return this season, the source said, “and get it under his belt, rather than wonder all summer if he could.”

Rose is considered the franchise cornerstone and signed a five-year contract extension worth more than $94 million in December 2011.

“There are a lot of kids out there that would love to see Derrick Rose come back and play,” Robinson said. “He’s a role model. Everybody looks up to him, including my kids. My son asks every day, ‘Dad, when’s Derrick coming back?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’ It’s funny. Derrick’s sitting right next to me on the flight, so when I Skype my son, I take a little peek. He’s like, ‘There he is, let me talk to him.’ I’m like, ‘You can’t talk to him, just let him be.’ But (Rose) is working extremely hard, and that’s one thing I definitely respect about him. He’s very humble and he works extremely hard in the game that he loves.”

The Bulls enter action Friday in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

The post Source: Derrick Rose cleared to play appeared first on IdealCapper.

The league’s reigning MVP hasn’t played since his concussion after slamming into the end boards in a win over Florida on Feb. 22.

Coach Dan Bylsma says Malkin has passed all the mandatory NHL protocols following a head injury. Malkin says he has not experienced headaches, neck soreness or other symptoms. Malkin adds he did have short-term memory loss the day he was hurt.

Malkin has four goals and 17 assists this season. The Penguins went 2-2 in Malkin’s absence. The 26-year-old is to play on the second line with Beau Bennett and James Neal against the Lightning.

The post Evgeni Malkin back in lineup appeared first on IdealCapper.

Malkin has symptoms that include a severe headache and mild disorientation, the newspaper reported, citing multiple sources.

Malkin was injured in the third period of Friday’s game against the Panthers after getting nudged by Florida’s Erik Gudbranson. Malkin’s back hit the boards at full speed and his head snapped back upon impact.

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma ruled Malkin out for Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay. Bylsma declined to elaborate on the nature of what is being called an “upper body” injury but added that Malkin is not hospitalized.

Pittsburgh’s second-leading scorer, Malkin has registered 14 goals and 25 points in 22 games this season. The Russian center collected 50 goals and 109 points last season en route to winning the Hart Trophy.

The post Evgeni Malkin may be concussed appeared first on IdealCapper.

Rose’s rehab from his April 28 injury and May 12 surgery has steadily progressed to the point that there are no longer any physical limitations.

“He’s full-contact, yeah,” Thibodeau said before Wednesday’s morning shootaround as the Bulls prepared to face the Milwaukee Bucks.

The likely date of Rose’s return is after the Feb. 17 All-Star Game.

“He can do all the cutting, he can do shooting, he can go off the dribble,” Thibodeau said. “So it’s just a matter of him getting acclimated to playing in a game situation.

“You have to understand that in practice you’re striving to get as close to a game-like intensity as you can, but you also have to understand that you’re not going to be able to get there, so that will be a whole different level. And we have to make sure that he’s ready to handle that intensity.”

Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and executive vice president John Paxson said recently they’re going to be cautious with the 2010-11 MVP.

“We don’t have the defined plan yet because Derrick is still progressing,” Paxson said Friday on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000. “The way he feels and what his body tells him is going to dictate how we do things. But I can tell you one thing — and this is for certain — he’s going to have to have a high volume of practices and contact, and where he’s comfortable on the floor doing things that he used to do naturally. And that takes some time and he’s just starting that process now.

“We can’t sit here today and say he’s going to be back in three weeks or after the All-Star break. Those things are a hope, but his body is going to tell us and then when we get to that point, that’s when we’re going to have to sit down and determine, after we talk to our doctors and everything, then determine our game plan of minutes and how best to bring him back. We don’t want to bring him back and then have a setback because he wasn’t totally ready. We want this to be a progression where he comes back, he starts to play and every week he gets better and feels better.”

Reinsdorf consistently has maintained Rose won’t play in a game until doctors assure him he’s ready.

“There’s no date,” Reinsdorf said during an interview with WGN-TV on Monday. “The doctors say that he’s doing everything that he’s supposed to be doing and there’s no specific date.

“He’s not going to come back until the doctors say unequivocally that he has no greater chance of getting hurt than any other player. If there’s any risk, he’s not coming back.”

The Bulls head into action Wednesday 1½ games in front of Indiana atop the Central Division and in third place in the Eastern Conference. Reinsdorf said there will be an acclimation process when Rose returns, but Carlos Boozer, who’s been playing his best basketball with the Bulls in Rose’s absence, said it won’t be a problem.

“I just think we get better, man,” said Boozer, who is nursing his own hamstring injury. “I look at it as we’re going to improve quite a bit. He’ll make a seamless transition, he’s here every day, he’s practicing every day, and we do a good job of putting people in positions to be successful. So I think for us it will be a seamless transition and we’ll just be more dangerous.”

Thibodeau appreciates the mindset that his team has kept while waiting for Rose to return.

“That’s not a change,” Thibodeau said. “Over the course of a normal season those are the things that you have to deal with. Injuries are part of the game, so when we laid out the plan in the beginning of the season we said this is the way we’re going to approach this. Everyone concentrate on their improvement each and every day, focus on the opponent that you’re playing; Derrick will handle his rehab.

“You could take Derrick’s name out and substitute another player — when there’s an injury that’s how you have to deal with it and everyone focus on improvement, and hopefully down the stretch you’re playing your best basketball of the year and you’re as healthy as possible. So whether Derrick’s there or not, the approach would be the same. “

The post Derrick Rose taking full contact appeared first on IdealCapper.