ed down a pair of 3-pointers, including a 29-

Tommy Morrisons career reached its pinnacle on a hot June night in Las Vegas, when he stepped into the ring and beat George Foreman to become heavyweight champion. It reached its nadir when he tested positive for HIV three years later. The last 20 years of the brash boxers life would be defined by extensive legal troubles, erratic behaviour and mounting health problems. Morrison would later claim that he never tested positive for the virus that causes AIDs, even as he was hospitalized during the last days of his life. Morrison died Sunday night at a Nebraska hospital. He was 44. His longtime promoter and close friend, Tony Holden, confirmed that "the Duke" had died, but his family would not disclose the cause of death. Morrison and his wife, Trisha, continued to deny that the former champion ever had HIV during the final years of his life. "Tommys a very stubborn person and he views things the way he wants to view things. Thats his right and privilege," Holden said. "All through his career, him and I would come not to physical blows but disagreements on certain things. We always ended up friends. That was Tommy. "Thats the way Tommy took off after he was told he was HIV-positive," Holden added. "When he first was told, I was taking him to seek treatment and to different doctors around the country. And then he started research on the Internet and started saying it was a conspiracy. He went in that direction and never looked back." The controversy, along with Morrisons rapid decline, overshadowed a stellar career. Morrison was a prodigious puncher whose bid to fight in the 1988 Seoul Olympics ended at the hands of Ray Mercer, who later dealt him his first professional loss. Along the way, Morrison became such a recognizable face that he was cast in "Rocky V" alongside Sylvester Stallone. Morrison won his first 28 professional fights, beating faded champions such as Pinklon Thomas along the way. He hit it big at the Thomas & Mack Center in the summer of 1993 — a unanimous decision over Foreman, then in the midst of his comeback — to claim a vacant world title. As with so many things in Morrisons life, the good was quickly followed by the bad. Morrison was in line for a high-profile bout with Lennox Lewis when he was upset by unheralded fighter Michael Bentt in Tulsa, Okla., not far from where Morrison was raised. He was knocked down three times and the fight was called before the first round ended. The loss meant a potential $7.5 million payday for a title unification fight simply vanished. "I zigged when I should have zagged," Morrison said afterward. "Its one of those situations you have to live with and learn from it. Ill be back." Morrison indeed came back, but he was never the same feared fighter. He beat a bunch of long shots and faded stars over the next couple of years before getting knocked out by Lewis in the sixth round. That fight happened in October 1995. By February, Morrison had tested positive for HIV. Hed been preparing for another fight that winter when his blood test came back positive for the virus that causes AIDs. Morrisons license was quickly suspended by Nevada, and the ban was, in effect, upheld by every other sanctioning body. Morrison said at a news conference in 1996 that hed never fight again, blaming his plight on a "permissive, fast and reckless lifestyle." His lifestyle never changed, though, even when he stepped away from the ring. He had already run afoul of the law in 1993, when he pleaded guilty to assaulting a college student. He also dealt with weapons charges and multiple DUI incidents over the years. Morrison was finally sentenced to two years in prison in 2000, and another year was added to his sentence in 2002 for violating parole. When he was released, Morrison said his HIV tests were in fact false positives, and he wanted to resume his career. He passed medical tests in Arizona — even as Nevada stood by its decision to suspend his license — and returned to the ring. Morrison fought twice more in his career, winning once in West Virginia and for the final time in Mexico. He finished with a record of 48-3-1 with 42 knockouts. Morrison started to fade from the public eye in the final years of his life. He tried to stay connected to the sport by opening a gym in Wichita, Kan., but the enterprise was short-lived. "If Tommy was fighting today, he no doubt would be a world champion," Holden said. "You have to look at who he was fighting in the 90s, the guys in that division were Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer, George Foreman. Theres no one with that talent today. Tommy would absolutely dominate if he were in his prime boxing today." Phillip Gaines Jersey . Sources tell TSN that union executives travelled to select CFL cities Monday to open dialogue with players and answer questions. After the tentative deal was reached Saturday night, several players posted messages of frustration and disappointment on social media - and that carried over into Sunday on both the web and the field. Tremaine Edmunds Jersey .C. United have acquired midfielder Alex Caskey from the Seattle Sounders for a third-round pick in the 2016 MLS draft. http://www.thebillsgearshop.com/Bills-Ed...h-Draft-Jersey/. It took five games, but the Celtics finally helped Stevens earn his first NBA victory. "Im going to celebrate for a whole 12 minutes, and then Im going to start watching Orlando and trying to figure them out," the first-year Celtics coach said after Boston beat the Utah Jazz, one of the leagues other winless teams, 97-87 on Wednesday night. Kyle Williams Jersey . - First-timer Chris Harris Jr. John Miller Jersey . The Mets made the announcement Sunday night. Parnell blew a save on opening day against Washington and the next day it was revealed he had partially torn right elbow ligament.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Unable to get much lift off his sore right ankle, Bobcats centre Al Jefferson figured it was time to make an adjustment. So Jefferson made a conscious decision to try a new technique Tuesday night, jumping off both feet instead of just his right. He never expected the results he got. Jefferson scored a season-high 35 points, Kemba Walker had 12 of his 25 in the fourth quarter and Charlotte snapped the New York Knicks five-game winning streak with a 108-98 victory. "It worked for me tonight -- on my jump shot, on my jump hook. I just decided to try to do something different to get some lift," said Jefferson, who acknowledged for the first time hell likely need surgery on the ankle after the season. It was Jeffersons best game since joining the Bobcats as a free agent this past off-season and more of what he envisioned when he signed a three-year, $41 million contract. When he wasnt dominating in the low post, he was kicking the ball out to the wing and the Bobcats were knocking down shots, hitting 6 of 14 on 3-point attempts. It came at a great time. Coach Steve Clifford said he didnt want any doubt to slip into his players minds after theyd lost three straight and eight of their last 10 games. "Thats a professional win," Clifford said. "Thats a win you can get on a plane and feel good about." Walker was 4 of 4 from the field in the fourth quarter, including 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. He also finished with seven rebounds and five assists. The Bobcats benefited from the return of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who had eight points and seven rebounds after sitting out the last 19 games with a broken left hand. He also brought some needed energy on the defensive end. "You can see value of having a guy like Kidd-Gilchrist," Clifford said. "People dont always understand the energy and intensity and those kinds of things. Those are skills." Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks (15-23) with 20 points and six rebounds. Tyson Chandler returned to the lineup after missing four games with bronchitis, but wasnt much of a factor. Chandler made both shots from the field and finished with five points and four rebounds in 16 1/2 minutes. "I felt decent out there," Chandler said. "I was a little winded the first half but after that I kind of got my lungs together."t; J.ddddddddddddR. Smith was benched for the second time in four games. With Chandler limited, the Knicks had a tough time shutting down Jefferson. "We havent been hitting the bigs," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "Were letting our bigs play guys one-on-one and (Jefferson) got going and by the time we started to double team, he had already felt good about his game and that didnt even help either." The Bobcats led throughout the second half, but the Knicks cut the lead to four with less than 11 minutes remaining. Thats when Walker began to take over. After a timeout, Walker scored a layup on a nice one-handed feed from Jefferson, who had drawn double coverage. Walker then knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, including a 29-footer from the top of the key to beat the shot clock. Jefferson added an inside jumper to push the lead the 13 and the Knicks never challenged again. Jefferson finished 14 of 20 from the field and had eight rebounds. "You could tell from the first time he touched the ball he was on the attack," Clifford said. After giving up 23 second-chance points in a loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, the Bobcats limited the Knicks to just four Tuesday night and led 55-46 at the break. Jefferson had a huge first half, scoring 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting as the Bobcats outscored the Knicks 22-14 in the paint. Kidd-Gilchrist, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft, returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 3. He missed a few layups, but provided a needed presence on defence. The Bobcats were 7-12 without Kidd-Gilchrist in the lineup. The Knicks clearly looked fatigued on the second night of a back-to-back. "Im not using that as an excuse but we were a step slow defensively in terms of our rotations," Woodson said. "We scored enough points. 98 points is more than enough points. This team averages 93 points and we gave up 108 points so our defence was non-existent. You just cant do that, especially on the road." NOTES: Mike Tolbert and DeAngelo Williams of the NFLs Carolina Panthers were in the crowd. ... Amare Stoudemire had an embarrassing turnover when he threw a pass to no one in particular and knocked over a womans drink in the front row. ... In the fourth quarter, a portion of Knicks fans on hand for the game began chanting Smiths name, but to no avail. 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