mericans qualified second in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay prelims

CHICAGO -- The suggestion that hes a flopper drew a grin as wide as his wingspan from LeBron James. Miamis superstar shot down the accusations from the Chicago Bulls, saying they reminded him of the days when some claimed he was overrated and questioned his ability to lead a team to a championship. "Its kind of the same (as when) I heard people say I was overrated," he said Sunday. "Its kind of like the same response." The Heat are trying to repeat as champions after a dominant regular season, and if they keep this up, they wont have to worry about Chicago much longer. Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals is Monday, and Miami has a chance to take a 3-1 lead in a series with no shortage of hard fouls, technicals, ejections and fines. One thing in short supply is healthy bodies for the Bulls, with Luol Deng still recovering from a spinal tap and Kirk Hinrich from a bruised left calf. The odds that either would play seemed slim at best on Sunday. Meanwhile, coach Tom Thibodeaus wallet is a little lighter after the league smacked him with a $35,000 fine on Sunday. That hit came after he accused James of flopping on that shove to the floor and questioned the officiating after the Heat took Game 3, saying the Bulls werent going to get the benefit of the calls. Thibodeau had already addressed the media by the time the punishment was announced and declined comment through a team spokesman. Yet there was still plenty of talk about that incident between James and Mohammed. "None of this is new to us," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Nobody can hide from the fact that the games will be decided between those four lines. And our guys understand that." The Bulls Taj Gibson expects more of the same. "Both teams are tough and aggressive," he said. "Its playoff basketball. Were both rivals. They acknowledged it. We acknowledged it. Its just guys going after it playing like they dont like each other. But its just playoff basketball." In Game 3, Joakim Noah had already shoved Miamis Chris Andersen after he landed on a driving Nate Robinson late in the first quarter, and things nearly boiled over early in the second. With James dribbling near midcourt, Mohammed reached in to take a foul and stop a potential break. Their arms got tangled. Mohammed fell, and when he got up, he gave James a hard shove to the court. Both players picked up technicals. Mohammed got tossed, making him the third Bulls player to get ejected in the series along with Noah and Taj Gibson. "I dont need to flop," James said. "I play an aggressive game. I dont flop. Ive never been one of those guys." Its probably worth noting that James accused the Bulls of crossing the line a few times back in late March, when they beat Miami at the United Center to snap Miamis 27-game win streak. "What I said is what I said, but I dont want to get involved too much with what everybody else says about us, about me," he said. "Its nothing I havent heard before in my career. Its nothing. ... Im here to play basketball and do whatever it takes for our team to win. So what a coach and players say to me and about me, I dont really care." Both teams have concerns that stretch beyond the officiating. For the Bulls, it remains their health. Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of Derrick Roses surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and the only suiting up hes done for a game since then has involved a jacket and tie. Just about every other key player has missed time at some point, and thats continued into the post-season. Deng has missed five straight games, Hinrich has sat out six in a row, and both looked like longshots at best to play in Game 4 with Thibodeau saying theyre day to day. Hinrich did little other than some shooting and ride a bike, and Deng couldnt do much, either. "My body, my system, is not reacting well to anything Im doing right now," Deng said. He said hes feeling a little better and has regained two of the 15 pounds he lost because of the illness, but when he tries to exert himself, well, he really cant. Deng said he tried to work out individually on Saturday and wound up vomiting. He attempted to practice on Sunday and became ill during warmups, forcing him to stop. "I spoke to coach a little bit, If I could give 5 or 10 minutes, give these guys a little bit of a break but I cant even get through a regular warmup," Deng said. The Heat, meanwhile, continue to face questions about Dwyane Wade and his sore right knee. He took just seven shots and scored 10 points in Game 3, but he insisted that had more to do with the flow of the game and the Bulls packing the lane than his health. "A lot of my opportunities were not in the flow of the offence," he said. "If I would have shot a lot, it would have been forced. When I had the ball, I tried to make the best play. 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The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Lynn Swann Jersey . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca.RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil --- Georgias Chase Kalisz, who redshirted the 2015-16 season to train for the Olympics, claimed the silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley in the Rio Games on Saturday.As prelims relay swimmers, Allison Schmitt and Amanda Weir earned silver medals as the United States 4x100-meter freestyle relay came in second in the finals. Rising senior Chantal Van Landeghem picked up a bronze medal as Canada touched third.Kalisz, who will be a senior during 2016-17, posted a personal-best time of 4:06.75 to place second to Japans Kosuke Hagino (4:06.05). The bronze medal went to Japans Daiya Seto, who stopped the clock in 4:09.71.Im happy with my results, Kalisz said. That was all I could do, all I could hope for. I gave all I have. I dont think I couldve gone any faster. Im finee with silver knowing that I gave my best effort.ddddddddddddGeorgias Jay Litherland, a rising junior, placed fifth with a time of 4:11.68.With Weir leading off and Schmitt swimming third, the Americans qualified second in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay prelims with a time of 3:33.59. In the finals, Australia set the world and Olympics records with a time of 3:30.65 and the United States was second in an American record time of 3:31.89.Van Landeghem, who joined Kalisz in a redshirt year last season, swam the second leg of the relay as Canada placed third in 3:32.89.Also on Saturday, representing Finland, Matias Koski came in 42nd in the 400-meter freestyle in 3:55.57.Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '