Klinsmann Critical of Kobe, Says World Cup Win is "Not Possible"

U.S. Soccer soccer coach Jurgen Klinsmann made a wide array of comments that ranged from Kobe Bryant to the World Cup being"not possible" to win that went public Wednesday.

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Klinsmann has been the focus of many headlines recently since electing to leave 32-year-old midfielder Landen Donovan off the 2014 World Cup roster. The decision may come as less of a surprise if people know his opinion of the two-year, $48.5 million deal Kobe Bryant received from the Los Angeles Lakers this past season.

This always happens in America," Klinsmann said to The New York Times in December, with the interview being released on Wednesday. "Kobe Bryant, for example -- why does he get a two-year contract extension for $50 million? Because of what he is going to do in the next two years for the Lakers? Of course not. Of course not. He gets it because of what he has done before. It makes no sense. Why do you pay for what has already happened?"

Klinsmann practiced what he preached when leaving Donovan off the roster for what is, for the most part, a young roster. Klinsmann called Donovan's motivation "inconsistent," which likely stemmed back to the three-month sabbatical he took in 2013.

Donovan has been playing well in the MLS with the Los Angeles Galaxy since being left off the World Cup roster, and Klinsmann was very quick to downplay those games.

"He came back, and he was playing in MLS, and people say, 'Oh, he's playing well,' but what does that really mean?" Klinsmann said. "This is where MLS hurts him. He was playing at 70 percent, 80 percent, and he was still dominant. That doesn't help anyone.

"I watched the games. What was I supposed to say? That he was good? He was not good. Not then. No way. So he had to wait."

Klinsmann finishes the interview by being realistic about the state of U.S. Soccer heading into the World Cup. Despite being the largest country in terms of population in the competition, he said in December that "realistically, it is not possible" to win the World Cup.

"We cannot win this World Cup, because we are not at that level yet," Klinsmann said. "For us, we have to play the game of our lives seven times to win the tournament."

NBA Finals Preview: Spurs vs Heat

This matchup may look a little familiar because it's the same two teams from the NBA Finals last seasons. Last year's series went seven games and this year figures to deliver another exciting series with both rosters undergoing very few changes.

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While it was Ray Allen that stepped up and hit a clutch three for the Miami Heat to ultimately win the championship in 2013, this is a series that will decide whether it's better to have best individual player or team effort. The Heat have the best player on the planet in LeBron James, but the support around him has been shaky.

During the Heat's series with the Indiana Pacers, Chris Bosh scored nine points in each of the first three games of the series. Dwayne Wade seems to contribute to the team in some form in just about every game, but the way he does is a mystery. Some nights it's scoring, others it's assists and rebounds.

While Bosh and Wade are the only true players that James can rely on for help, the Spurs have a deep lineup that could see one of 10-12 different guys take over a game. Reports are saying that Tony Parker should be good to go for game one, but the team will be fine even if he cannot play.

Parker had to sit out the whole second half and overtime against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game six as Boris Diaw came off the bench and had 26 points as a result. The team still has the ageless Tim Duncan along with Kawhi Leonard down low and Manu Ginobili and Patty Mills conning off the bench at the guard positions.

No player on the Spurs averaged more than 30 minutes per game in the regular season and the team still managed the best record on the NBA through the brutal Western Conference. The Spurs are the more tested group with how hard that conference is compared to the East and it could pay dividends in the long run.

The Spurs would be the reigning NBA Champions if it wasn't for a Ray Allen three and they get revenge in 2014 in a six game series.

V. Stiviano Attacked Outside a New York Hotel

V. Stiviano was attacked outside of a New York City hotel Sunday night according to reports.

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CNN reported that two men attacked Stiviano after following her and yelling racial slurs at her. Stiviano's attorney Mac Nehoray said Stiviano was punched several times and her face was left red and swollen.

Nehoray also said a police report was not immediately filed because she had to flee the area, but she is expected to file one on Monday.

Stiviano is the woman who Donald Sterling was yelling at in his racist audio tape that led to his lifetime ban. She had photos on her Instagram account with Matt Kemp and Magic Johnson which caused Sterling's tirade.

Stiviano is also in hot water for her own racist comments. In a leaked video of a reality TV show pilot from 2011, she said "I don't understand black people. You give them a little bit of money, they don't know what to do with it."

It has not been reported that the alleged attackers of Stiviano have any connection to Sterling or any other NBA entity.

Spurs Back in the NBA Finals

The NBA Finals will be between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs once again as the Spurs took down the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-107 in overtime on Saturday.

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The Spurs forced Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant to be volume scorers as they combined for 65 points on 48 shots. Because they had to essentially do it a, the Thunder bench was outscored 51-5.

Boris Diaw had the third-highest playoff scoring output of his career with 26 points off the bench on 8-of-14 shooting. Though his play was great, Manu Ginobili's three with less than 30 seconds remaining put the game into a position to go to overtime.

Saturday saw the first overtime game of the playoffs since the first round of the postseason which saw a record seven games go to bonus basketball that round.

The difference in overtime was a mid-range jumper Tim Duncan hit with 19 seconds left to give the Spurs a 110-107 lead. Westbrook tried to hit a hero three to tie the game but had the shot go over the backboard

While the Spurs will take the trip to the finals, the status of point guard Tony Parker is unknown. He sat out the entire second half and overtime with ankle soreness after battling leg injuries the entire series.

The Heat and Spurs become the first pair of teams to form the same finals match in back-to-back years since 1997 and 1998 when the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz went at it.

Donald Sterling Left Out of Clippers Sale Due to Dementia

Former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was kept out of the $2 billion sale of the team to Steve Ballmer due to dementia according to Yahoo.

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ESPN's Darren Rovell initially reported on Thursday that his approval was not needed for the Clippers to sell because he was "mentally incapacitated."

As a result of all that has happened with Sterling, he is suing the NBA for $1 billion. The lawsuit states that "the forced sale of the Los Angeles Clippers threatens not only to produce a lower price than a non-forced sale, but more importantly, it injures competition and forces antitrust injury by making the ... market unresponsive to ... the operation of the free market."

"(Sterling believes) that the NBA's forced sale ... would create damages of at least $1 billion, which includes capital gains taxes, unnecessary and increased investment-banking fees, legal and transactional costs, and the loss of all future appreciation in the Los Angeles Clippers franchise value."

Sterling was banned for life from the NBA in April for racist remarks that became public.