Nets

UCLA and Steve Alford. A basketball program of unmatched pedigree led by a former prodigy who became a national champion and Olympic gold medalist before making a steady climb up the coaching ladder. On paper, a harmonic convergence. How they came together, a choreography of those themes, would make for a dazzling introduction, which UCLA held at center court in historic Pauley Pavilion last month. The aura of John Wooden, his contributions to sports and society -- and those 10 national titles -- was thick.

Eastern Conference semifinal No. 1 Miami vs. No. 5 Chicago Season series: Tied, 2-2. Key stat: Miami held Milwaukee to 85.3 points per game in its first-round sweep of the Bucks. Outlook: Chicago mucked things up for Miami in the regular season, ending the Heat's 27-game winning streak that fell only six games short of the NBA record. This isn't the regular season. This is the time of year when the Heat becomes unbearable, as evidenced by its romp over Milwaukee that was the closest thing the league had to a first-round bye. Miami is also enjoying the benefit of extra rest for Dwyane Wade's sore right knee, which kept him out of Game 4 against the Bucks.

Last week, in honor of World Malaria Day, viewers of "American Idol" were urged to donate $10 for an insecticide-treated bed net to save an African child from malaria, the mosquito-transmitted scourge that infects about 300 million people every year, killing nearly 1 million. The premise behind the idea of treated nets is simple. The netting prevents malarial mosquitoes from biting people while they're asleep, and the insecticide kills and repels the insects. World health experts say that using the nets can reduce child mortality in malarial regions by 20%. But even as donations roll in and millions of bed nets pile up in warehouses across Africa, aid agencies and non-governmental organizations are quietly grappling with a problem: Data suggest that, at least in some places, nearly half of Africans who have access to the nets refuse to sleep under them.

WASHINGTON - The FBI has found female DNA on at least one of the two homemade bombs detonated during the Boston Marathon on April 15, complicating the task of identifying how and where the deadly devices were constructed. The presence of genetic material does not necessarily mean a woman helped build the pressure-cooker bombs that killed three people and injured more than 260 others, said a law enforcement official, who discussed the discovery on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

The Brooklyn Nets retooled over the summer, retaining Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace while adding Joe Johnson, CJ Watson and Andray Blatche. So far the Nets have been one of the best teams in the league with a 6-2 record, second in the East to their rival New York Knicks. The Lakers finish off a six-game home-stand on Tuesday night. Four victories in five tries have finally brought the team to .500. A win over the Nets would give the Lakers their first winning record of the season.

Travis Outlaw scored the final eight points for New Jersey, and the Nets beat the Toronto Raptors, 137-136, in triple overtime to sweep the NBA's European doubleheader Saturday at O2 Arena in London. Outlaw's two free throws with 12.6 seconds left put the Nets ahead for good. Toronto's Andrea Bargnani missed a jumper at the horn. Brook Lopez had 34 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets, and Deron Williams had 21 points and 18 assists. Bargnani scored 35 points. New Jersey won, 116-103, Friday in the first NBA regular-season game played in Europe.

Deron Williams, considered one of the top NBA free agents available this summer, says he is staying with the Nets. The All-Star point guard announced on his Twitter account Tuesday he will be staying with the team as it makes the move to Brooklyn next season. He tweeted a photo of the team's new logo along with saying he "made a very tough decision today. " The Associated Press reports a person with knowledge of Williams' decision says he is agreeing to a five-year contract worth $98 million.

Kobe Bryant is 34 years old, but he's not showing many signs of aging. He's averaging 27.6 points on 46% shooting, 5.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds a game. And on Tuesday, he showed that despite any aches and pains he's acquired over 17 seasons of play, he can still elevate with the best of them. With the score tied at 80 late in the fourth quarter of a game against Brooklyn, Bryant did a hesitation move near the half-court line, then drove down the middle of the lane, leaving Gerald Wallace, Deron Williams and Kris Humphries in his wake as he rose up for a hard one-handed slam dunk.  "I was pretty shocked that the lane was so wide open," Bryant said after the game.

If only the Nets could play the Bobcats more, the worst record in NBA history might not be in jeopardy. Courtney Lee scored 21 points, Devin Harris added 17 and New Jersey never trailed in beating Charlotte, 103-94, Tuesday night. Two of the Nets' five wins this season have come against the Bobcats, who were the first team to lose to New Jersey after its 0-18 start. The Nets (5-48) ended a losing streak at eight games and moved ahead of the pace of the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who went 9-73.

New Jersey Nets General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe is set to become the team's coach for the rest of the season. He doesn't have to worry about being on the bench for a potential record-setting loss, though. Vandeweghe won't coach his first game with the team until Friday, a person with knowledge of the team's plans told the Associated Press on Monday. The person requested anonymity because the Nets don't plan to announce their plans until this morning. Tom Barrise , who led the team Sunday night after Lawrence Frank was fired, will coach again Wednesday against Dallas, when the Nets can set an NBA record with an 18th straight loss to begin a season.

WASHINGTON - The richest 7% of American families saw their average wealth soar 28% from 2009 to 2011, while the remaining households lost 4% of their net worth over the same period, according to a new report. The analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center draws on the most recent statistics on wealth. The findings throw into stark relief the dramatically uneven nature of the recovery. The economy officially emerged from recession in mid-2009, and since then, affluent families have benefited handsomely from recovering stock prices and surging gains in bonds.

WASHINGTON -- The richest 7% of American families saw their average wealth soar 28% from 2009 to 2011, while the remaining 93% of households lost 4% of their net worth over that same period, according to a new report. The analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center draws on the most recent statistics on wealth. The findings throw into stark relief the dramatically uneven nature of the recovery. The economy officially emerged from recession in 2009, and since then affluent families have benefited handsomely from recovering stock prices and surging gains in bonds.

Jay-Z might have been instrumental in bringing the Nets to Brooklyn and christening the team's home arena, Barclays Center , but the hip-hop mogul has sold his stake in the NBA team. “It was never about an investment; it was about the NETS and Brooklyn. My job as an owner is over but as a fan it has just begun,” he announced in a letter posted on Life+Times website on Thursday. The rapper was forced to sell his share in the team in order to pursue his recently announced Roc Nation Sports, which snagged New York Yankees star Robinson Cano as its first signee.

Making immigrants ineligible for public health benefits -- at least initially -- under proposed immigration law changes would push the costs of healthcare from the federal government to states and counties, said Sonal Ambegaokar, a health policy attorney at the National Immigration Law Center. And those costs could be sizable in a state like California, where there are an estimated 2.5 million illegal immigrants. “It is the federal government telling the states they have to take care of these immigrants,” she said.

A "Deadliest Catch" captain has gone missing -- in the rough waters of marketing and PR. The interwebs were set abuzz Friday morning when Discovery released a promo reel for the upcoming start of Season 9 of the show about the hazardous lives of Alaskan fisherman. Nowhere to be found was one Elliott Neese, the skipper who suffered through a miserable season of low catches and a stormy home life last year. This led to excited headlines such as "Deadliest Catch Star Missing?

WASHINGTON - President Obama laid out his vision Wednesday for $3.78 trillion in federal spending, unveiling a budget proposal for the next fiscal year that aims to reignite cooled deficit reduction talks while opening negotiations over the fate of hundreds of federal programs. Obama's budget would provide $130 million sought by Los Angeles to help extend the subway to the Westside and build a downtown tunnel to link the Gold Line from Pasadena and East L.A. to the Blue Line from Long Beach and the Expo Line from Culver City.

The Nets' regular-season debut in Brooklyn will have to wait. The New York City Marathon, however, is good to go. With mass transportation still crippled in the aftermath of the super storm Sandy, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg asked the NBA to postpone Thursday's opener between the Knicks and Nets at the Barclays Center, and the league agreed. "It's a great stadium, it would have been a great game, but the bottom line is: There is not a lot of mass transit. Our police have plenty of other things to do," Bloomberg said at a news conference Wednesday.

Dwight Howard will not play Tuesday night against Brooklyn, sitting out a third consecutive game and sixth overall because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder. "I'm not in any rush. I don't want to reinjure it," Howard said. Howard did not take part in the team's morning shoot-around. The Lakers' next game after the Nets matchup is Thursday at Boston. Howard underwent a minor procedure Saturday in Los Angeles and did not play Sunday against Detroit, citing an inability to lift his shoulder high enough.

Jay-Z appears ready to dive head first into his new role as sports agent, with Yahoo! Sports reporting the rapper/businessman is looking to divest his share of ownership with the Brooklyn Nets. That move would free the cultural icon to pursue certification with the National Basketball Players Assn. as an agent. NBA rules state that no one with an ownership stake in a league team can be affiliated with a player representation company. Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, owns less than 1% of the Nets but has been a high-profile figure as the team made its move from New Jersey to Brooklyn.

On Wednesday night, Time Warner Cable SportsNet will air " Connected With...Kobe Bryant ," an exclusive conversation between the Lakers' All-Star guard and host Kevin Frazier. Bryant talks about "the Lakers' playoff hopes, his relationships with Dwight Howard and Phil Jackson [and] his future in Los Angeles. " "I could play another five years," says Bryant. "That's not to say I will. " Additionally, on Wednesday, " Backstage: Lakers " gives a look behind the scenes as Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant share a moment on the night of O'Neal's jersey retirement.