Lindsey Vonn finished second to Maria Riesch of Germany in the final downhill of the season Wednesday, failing to clinch the World Cup overall title but maintaining a huge lead with three races to go. Vonn finished nearly a half-second behind Riesch, but the Olympic downhill champion holds a commanding 225-point lead over her friend and rival. Vonn would have clinched the title with a win, which is worth 100 points.

“I haven’t won it yet,” said Vonn, who already clinched the downhill title. “It’s not finished yet. It’s still possible (for Riesch to win), it’s unlikely but it’s not finished.”Riesch claimed the win over her home course with a dominating performance.

“When I crossed the line I did not look at the board immediately but when I saw that I was more than a second ahead, I thought I could win this race,” Riesch said after her 14th career victory and fourth downhill win. “If Lindsey is half a second behind, I must have had a really good race.”

Riesch won slalom and combined gold medals at the Vancouver Olympics. Anja Paerson of Sweden was third, more than a second behind Riesch. Although Riesch cut Vonn’s overall lead by 20 points, the German said she had given up hope of collecting that title.

“I am still 200 points behind, I don’t think it’s possible,” Riesch said. “The pressure is off. I am proud of today’s win, this is the course for next year’s World Championship and it’s good to know that I can be fast on it.”Riesch came down the sun-drenched 2,920-meter Kandahar course in 1 minute, 34.82 seconds. Vonn was .48 seconds behind and Paerson 1.13 seconds back.

Olympic silver medalist Julia Mancuso finished fifth, while bronze medalist Elisabeth Goergl of Austria was the only racer to crash but appeared unhurt. Vonn clinched the downhill title last Saturday in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, which was her sixth downhill win of the season. She won all but two races. The American is also sure of the super-G title .

Vonn is still nursing a sore right shin and a broken little finger on her right hand. She bruised the shin before the Olympics and broke the finger in a spill in the Olympic giant slalom. Vonn can become the American with the most World Cup wins this weekend. She is tied with Bode Miller with 32.Miller ended his season early to rest a sore right ankle and is not competing at the World Cup finals.The next women’s race is Thursday’s giant slalom.

Marty Turco made 49 saves, Brad Richards had a goal and an assist, and the Dallas Stars scored three times in six shots early in the third period en route to a 4-3 shootout victory over the Capitals on Monday night, ending Washington’s club-record home winning streak at 13 games. Washington’s Alex Ovechkin snapped a season-high, six-game goal drought by scoring twice to match Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby for the league lead with 44. Ovechkin’s second goal came with 3:16 left in the third period and tied the game.

But Turco stopped Ovechkin in the opening round of the shootout, and the Stars went on to take it 2-1, with Richards and Loui Eriksson beating Semyon Varlamov. It was a topsy-turvy game: The Capitals took a 2-0 lead after two periods thanks in part to Ovechkin’s first goal. Then the Stars went ahead 3-2 before 8 minutes were gone in the third period.

And then Ovechkin – who else? – faked out defenseman Stephane Robidas and sent a shot under the crossbar, eliciting loud “M-V-P!” chants from the stands. Entering the third period, the hosts were dominating play, holding a 42-16 edge in shots, and had yet to be called for a penalty. But things changed quickly as Richards, Trevor Daley and James Neal all scored.

First, with Mike Green off for hooking, Richards connected on a slap shot from the right circle for his 18th goal of the season, 1:33 into the period. Then, with Matt Bradley in the penalty box for holding, Richards helped set up Daley’s fourth goal at the 4:46 mark. And then, a little more than 3 minutes later, Neal netted his 25th. All in all, it was quite a quick turnaround. Consider: The Capitals last lost in Washington on Dec. 28, against Carolina.

Varlamov entered the night 8-0-0 at home this season, and there were other measures of how unlikely a result this was. Since the break for the Vancouver Olympics, Washington was 3-0, Dallas was 0-3. Plus, the Stars had been outscored 17-5 in those games. But Turco hung in there after a rough start and through a game-long shotfest. Washington finished with 52 shots, twice as many as Dallas.

Things sure seemed to be going Washington’s way, especially after Ovechkin watched his second-period wrist shot rip through traffic and into the net. He raised his stick, threw his head back and pumped both fists. It had been a month since he scored in an NHL game. The drought ate up so much of the calendar because of the break for the Olympics. His last goal for the Capitals was Feb. 7 against Pittsburgh. Defenseman Tom Poti scored in the first period for Washington.

Vince Carter had 25 points, Dwight Howard finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds and the Orlando Magic beat the Lakers 96-94 on Sunday to hand Los Angeles its first three-game losing streak of the Pau Gasol-Kobe Bryant Era. Carter made his first 13 free throws and kept the Magic in control, showing signs of why Orlando made the move for the eight-time All-Star after losing to the Lakers in last year’s finals.

But Carter’s lone miss gave the Lakers a chance at the end, with Bryant’s 20-foot jumper falling short. Bryant had 34 points and Gasol added 20 points for the Lakers, walking to the locker room distraught and dejected after their latest loss. And with quite a different feeling than that champagne-soaked championship celebration last June.

But this one had all the drama of that series. Matt Barnes made a 3-pointer to push the Magic’s lead to six with 1:10 remaining. A missed free throw by Jameer Nelson gave the Lakers a chance to tie, and Bryant delivered with a 3-pointer – if only for a second – with 12.9 seconds remaining.

Bryant jumped into his teammates pouring out from the bench in what would be a premature celebration. Officials reviewed the play and ruled that it was only a two-pointer. And just like that, the Lakers are in the first three-game skid since they acquired Gasol from Memphis in February 2008.

The rematch had the physical feel of a finals. Bryant and Barnes continuously traded elbows and were each hit with a technical foul in the third quarter after going chest-to-chest in a verbal spat. Barnes had a put-back dunk a few plays later and dangled his legs on Bryant, who extended his right arm slightly into his opponent’s chest, leading to another confrontation.

Howard interjected and was called for a technical after muttering a few words at Bryant. The two All-Stars and Olympic teammates kept the verbal jabs going, showing no similar love when their NBA teams meet. All the rough and tough play gave way to a foul fest.

The teams combined to shoot 29 free throws – with Orlando going 17 for 18 – in the opening quarter alone. Howard and Andrew Bynum were sidelined in foul trouble for most of the first three quarters, but a strong effort from Carter and the Magic bench put Orlando ahead by 12 points late in the third.

Then the Lakers provided a reminder of the finals. They came back just like they did in Games 4 and 5 last year in Orlando, scoring 10 straight points – including the first eight to start the fourth – to cut the Magic’s lead to 74-72.

Howard answered with a thunderous dunk over Gasol, who was called for a flagrant-one foul on the play about halfway through the fourth. Then like Game 4 – when Howard missed a pair of crucial free throws – he again missed badly on both, but still put Orlando ahead 81-74 in what would be a back-and-forth finish.

Lakers F Ron Artest reached for his inner Dennis Rodman on Sunday. His hair was dyed blonde with letters in three different languages in Lakers purple. He didn’t want to talk about his hair before the game, but he posted on his Twitter page that the letters spelled “Defense” in Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese. Yankees pitchers CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte were sitting in the first row on the baseline.

Minnesota Wild forward Derek Boogaard has been suspended for two games, without pay, as a result of a kneeing incident during NHL game #954 against the Edmonton Oilers,  the National Hockey League announced today. Boogaard, who was suspended for five games on Feb. 28, 2009, now is considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.  Accordingly, he forfeits $21,341.46 in salary, based on the number of games in the season (82), rather than the number of days (193).  The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

At 7:29 of the first period, Boogaard delivered a knee hit on Edmonton forward Ryan Jones. Boogaard was assessed a minor penalty for kneeing on the play. Boogaard will miss games on Mar. 7 vs. Calgary and Mar. 9 vs. Florida.  He will be eligible to return Mar. 11 at Detroit. Meanwhile One of the best rivalries in the NHL will take center stage on Sunday afternoon, as the Detroit Red Wings visit the Chicago Blackhawks as part of the League’s nine-game schedule.

The Original Six matchup gets under way at 12:30 p.m. ET and can be seen across the United States on NBC. Both teams are in a dogfight — Chicago (43-16-5) is battling for the top seed in the Western Conference, while Detroit (30-22-12) is one point ahead of Calgary for the conference’s final playoff spot. Fans who watch the game are in for a special treat; there will be isolated cameras on Chicago forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, as well as Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk.

Three games get under way at 3 p.m. ET. The Pittsburgh Penguins, who have won five in a row after Saturday’s 6-3 win over Dallas, return to the ice to face the Boston Bruins at Mellon Arena. Boston is coming off a 3-2 win on Long Island on Saturday afternoon. Also, the Minnesota Wild battle the Calgary Flames at Xcel Energy Center in a rematch of the Wild’s 4-0 win at Calgary on Wednesday, while the Nashville Predators host the Vancouver Canucks.

The Atlanta Thrashers, who lost 6-2 at Tampa Bay on Saturday, get back into the swing of things at 5 p.m. ET against the Carolina Hurricanes at Phillips Arena. Carolina had its seven-game winning streak snapped with a 4-1 loss at Florida on Saturday.

A pair of games will begin at 7 p.m. ET — the New York Rangers, who lost 2-0 in Washington on Saturday, host the Buffalo Sabres at Madison Square Garden, while the Philadelphia Flyers face the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Wachovia Center. The Leafs won 2-1 in a shootout at Ottawa on Saturday.

In the final games of the night, the New Jersey Devils battle the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place, while the Anaheim Ducks host the Montreal Canadiens at the Honda Center. Both have 8 p.m. ET start times. The Ducks lost 4-0 at Phoenix on Saturday, while the Canadiens won 3-2 at Los Angeles.

The Denver Nuggets will be without forward Kenyon Martin and guard Ty Lawson for Friday’s game against Indiana. Martin is out with left knee patella tendonitis. He injured his knee in Denver’s win over Golden State on Feb. 25 and missed one game but has played in the last three games. Martin, who leads the Nuggets in rebounding at 9.6 per game, is listed as day to day. Lawson suffered a left shoulder contusion against the Lakers last Sunday and sat out Wednesday’s win over Oklahoma City. His shoulder was heavily wrapped Friday and he said he is doubtful for Sunday night’s game against Portland.

On the other hand Michael Finley will celebrate his 37th birthday Saturday as a member of the Boston Celtics.The veteran swingman asked for and was granted his release from the San Antonio Spurs earlier this week. He will earn a prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum of $1.1 million.

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said after practice in Philadelphia on Friday that he expects Finley to join the team in Boston on Saturday and debut the next day against the Washington Wizards.”He’s got high character,” Rivers said. “He’s another shooter. We don’t know where we’re going to fit him in, but adding a veteran can never hurt. Adding a guy who can make open shots can never hurt. Adding a guy who’s been through the wars can never hurt. That’s how we looked at it.”

Finley sprained his left ankle early this season and appeared in just 25 games for San Antonio. He had fallen out of the Spurs’ rotation, prompting him to request to be waived. Finley has scored more than 17,000 points since joining the league with Phoenix in 1995. He also played for Dallas. A career 37 percent shooter from 3-point range, Finley’s percentage dipped to 31.7 percent this season. He’s averaging 3.7 points in 15.8 minutes.

“I think he has basketball left in him,” Rivers said. “What he can give us and how it fits, we’ll figure it out as we go.”He brings 111 games of playoff experience and was part of the Spurs’ championship in 2007. The two-time All-Star will play behind Paul Pierce and Marquis Daniels at the small forward position. The Celtics entered play Friday leading the Atlantic Division at 38-21.

“He’s a veteran who can spread the floor and shoot pretty well,” Pierce said. “He brings a lot of experience. He’s a veteran who has been around the block a few times. I’m sure he’ll find his way, and he’s played in a lot of big games during his career. He knows how to approach them and play in them. Experience can always help in tight situations.”

As part of the NBA’s first fully-integrated Hispanic marketing campaign,  the NBA today announced the schedule of this season’s Noche Latina (Latin Night) program, which celebrates the league’s Hispanic heritage with special telecasts and in-arena festivities, including distinctive NBA team uniforms.

This year, Noche Latina celebrations will begin on March 3 and take place in Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas, Chicago, Houston, New York, and Orlando, and highlight the impact of the league’s Hispanic players — including 18 players from six Latin American countries — while paying tribute to the more than 16 million Hispanic NBA fans across the country.

“With Hispanics comprising 15 percent of our fan base, we have a responsibility to connect with them in meaningful ways,” said Saskia Sorrosa, NBA Senior Director of Hispanic Marketing. “Noche Latina is an opportunity for us to thank the Hispanic community for their support and showcase how their pride and passion impact our teams and players.”Noche Latina, first launched during the 2006-07 NBA season, features uniforms that display the team name as spoken by the Latin population. The Miami Heat, for example, is called “El Heat”; the San Antonio Spurs are referred to as “Los Spurs.”

To further honor Hispanic fans and players during Noche Latina games, participating teams will host in-arena Latin-themed activities, including music, performances, and giveaways. Noche Latina events will be supported with television and radio advertising on both English- and Spanish-language media across the country as well as on the league’s Spanish-language Web site. Noche Latina merchandise, including the special game jerseys produced by adidas, will be available at the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, Champs Sports retail stores, online at NBAStore, and at in-arena stores for participating teams.

The NBA brings initiatives focused exclusively towards Hispanic fans under a platform that includes media, events, grassroots, and merchandising programs. Fifteen percent of the NBA’s total fanbase is Hispanic. Five U.S.-born Latino players and 18 players from Spain and Latin America are on 2009-10 season rosters. The NBA has played 25 preseason games and one regular-season game in Latin America.

On the other hand Detroit center Ben Wallace missed a game for the first time this season Wednesday, sitting out the Pistons’ game against the New York Knicks with a sore right knee. Wallace was hurt in Tuesday’s home loss to Boston. Coach John Kuester said he would be “very surprised” if the 35-year-old veteran played through the weekend.

The former Defensive Player of the Year has been one of the most durable players on an injury-plagued Detroit team, joining guard Rodney Stuckey as the only Pistons to appear in every game. Knicks swingman Wilson Chandler missed his second straight game for personal reasons.

Sacramento Kings forward Andres Nocioni has been suspended by the NBA for two games without pay after pleading no contest in California to drunken driving. The suspension was to begin with Tuesday night’s game between the Kings and the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

Nocioni was arrested about 2 a.m. Nov. 5 when a police officer noticed his car weaving in downtown Sacramento, hours after the Kings had lost a home game to the Atlanta Hawks. An attorney entered a no contest plea to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge on Nocioni’s behalf on Feb. 22.As part of his sentence, Nocioni will serve two days in a work program operated by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. He also must complete a three-month alcohol class, pay a $480 fine and court penalties and serve three years’ probation.

On the other hand Allen Iverson’s second stint with the Philadelphia 76ers ended on Tuesday when the team announced he would not return for the rest of the NBA season. Iverson has mostly been absent from the team for a month, returning to Atlanta to be with his family as they deal with an undisclosed illness of his 4-year-old daughter, Messiah. Iverson, who returned as a free-agent to the 76ers in December, has not played since Feb. 20.

“After discussing the situation with Allen, we have come to the conclusion that he will not return to the Sixers for the remainder of the season, as he no longer wishes to be a distraction to the organization and teammates that he loves very deeply,” team president Ed Stefanski said. “It has been very difficult for Allen and the team to maintain any consistency as he tries to balance his career with his personal life.”

The former NBA MVP and four-time scoring champion averaged 13.8 points in 28 games this season. He started the season with the Memphis Grizzlies but played only three games before he announced a short-lived retirement.

The 34-year-old Iverson made a tearful return to Philadelphia eager to prove he wasn’t finished after disastrous stints in Detroit and Memphis. He returned to a sold-out crowd dotted with No. 3 jerseys, but he showed only flashes of his former playmaking self when he ruled the NBA as one of the best guards around and led the 76ers to the NBA finals. He scored at least 20 points six times — including a 23-point effort in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers that turned into a retro 1-on-1 duel vs. Kobe Bryant.

Iverson said at a Feb. 15 practice that it was emotionally draining to leave his family to play basketball. He was hobbled by an arthritic left knee and constantly needed it drained. His dwindling production didn’t bother his fans — Iverson was voted an Eastern Conference All-Starter, though he did not play.

Dalembert, who played with Iverson in both stints, said A.I. was not the same player who once terrorized the opposition. But Dalembert also noticed a more reserved, humbled Iverson who just wanted to fit in instead of dominating the ball or making splashy headlines with controversial or selfish actions. The Sixers have been awful with or without Iverson. They are 22-37 after a 126-105 loss to Orlando on Monday.

The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James and the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Feb. 22-28.James averaged a double-double for the week, pacing the Eastern Conference in scoring (30.7 ppg) while ranking second in assists (10.3 apg). Cleveland won all three of its games. On Feb. 25, James scored a game-high 36 points and dished a team-high nine assists as the Cavaliers won in Boston, 108-88. He duplicated those numbers a night later in a 126-118 win in Toronto.

Nowitzki led the league scoring (31.8 ppg) and paced the Mavericks to a 4-0 record as Dallas extended its win streak to seven. Nowitzki added averages of 8.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists. On Feb. 28, Nowitzki recorded a game-high 36 points to go along with eight rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks in a 108-100 win vs. New Orleans.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, Boston’s Rajon Rondo, Dallas’ Jason Kidd, Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut, Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Phoenix’s Amar’e Stoudemire, Utah’s Carlos Boozer and Washington’s Andray Blatche.

Meanwhile the San Antonio Spurs waived swingman Michael Finley after nearly five seasons on Monday, giving the 15-year veteran a chance to finish the season with more playing time elsewhere. The Spurs said they honored Finley’s request to be released from his contract, which was in its final year after he exercised a $2.5 million option this season. Finley, who turns 37 this week, will be eligible to sign with a playoff contender.

Finley lost his starting job this season and missed several weeks with a sprained ankle. He appeared in only 25 games, averaging 3.7 points and 1.5 rebounds.”Michael Finley was an outstanding professional during his time with the Spurs,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said in a statement. “Both on and off the court he was great example for all to follow.”

The Spurs announced the move before Monday’s game at New Orleans. The former All-Star joined the Spurs in 2005 in search of an NBA championship, and he finally got one in 2007. He started all but five games last season but became a bench player after the Spurs signed Richard Jefferson last summer. Finley ranks fourth in Spurs history in 3-pointers made and attempted. He was drafted by Phoenix in 1995 and spent the peak of his career in Dallas, where he played eight-plus seasons.

To love what he sees in the mirror again, Woods has to understand that it was during those days that his current problems began to grow. Earl instilled in Tiger the belief that he was special and destined for greatness, embedding the message with sonorous sound bites like “Let the legend grow” and “It will unfold.” It was all undoubtedly empowering, but enabling. Though Tiger was never comfortable being deified or portrayed as near-perfect, as his success in golf accelerated he became more hesitant to work on or even acknowledge personal flaws. It appeared that he came to see them as necessary to the psychological package that made him such a winner, and thus excusable. In that same 1999 interview, when asked which qualities he didn’t like in himself, Woods paused before finally answering, “I don’t know. I’m constantly evolving.”

It was a recipe for entitlement. It’s a condition the average person resents and rejects as an excuse for bad behavior. Many who live in the public eye have a more empathetic perspective and have been more willing to lend Woods support. “I’m a strong believer that anybody can look within themselves, find their flaws and fix them,” President Obama said. Bill Clinton, whose experience might be particularly instructive, made a personal call to offer encouragement.

Most significantly, Woods has not lost the support of his intimates. Elin Woods spent several days in Mississippi to attend therapy sessions with her husband. Despite photos showing Elin without her wedding band and tabloid reports that she was preparing for divorce, she and the children — 2-year-old Sam and Charlie, who turned 1 on Feb. 8 — spent Christmas with Tiger at the family’s Southern California home.

Tida Woods is staunchly supportive of her son, as always. Just before his 34th birthday on Dec. 30, she accompanied Tiger on their annual visit with a Buddhist monk. Afterward, her son confided that he was struggling with all the upheaval. “I tell him, ‘Tiger, right now you are in a dark hole, and I know it’s hard, but you can do it,’ ” Tida says, ” ‘You know Mom is strong, and you have my blood. You are strong, too. You made a big mistake, but now you know the cost. So you are going to be much better and stronger, a good husband and a good father. Just go to work like you do.’ ”

It’s precisely work that Woods is counting on to sustain him. As a golfer, he has described himself as an overachiever who rises to projects that challenge him to turn a weakness into strength. Now his project, at last, is himself. But if Woods can turn his personal weakness into strength, will a strength become a weakness? Is the selfishness in which his dysfunction was allowed to grow also vital to his ability to shut out the world and conquer opponents? Will becoming more balanced make winning golf tournaments less important? If so, winning five more professional major championships to pass Jack Nicklaus’ record, only months ago considered inevitable, might become impossible.

With minutes to go until his exclusive negotiating window was to expire, Michael Jordan struck a deal late Friday to buy a controlling interest in the Charlotte Bobcats, making the NBA’s greatest player the owner of the money-losing team in his home state.Owner Bob Johnson announced in a statement that he’s agreed to sell the Bobcats to Jordan, who’d been a part-owner since 2006. Jordan has been running the team’s basketball operations.The purchase price and details of Jordan’s ownership group — called MJ Basketball Holdings LLC — weren’t immediately available. A spokeswoman for Johnson and a spokesman for Jordan said neither man was available for comment early Saturday.

The league’s owners must still approve the purchase.Jordan was in competition with former Houston Rockets executive George Postolos, who also had an ownership group together to buy the team. But Postolos said Jordan had the exclusive right to buy the club until just before midnight Friday.

Jordan hit another last-second shot — reaching a deal minutes before the deadline.”I remain committed to becoming an NBA owner, and I’m glad that Michael will continue to bring his talent to the sport and the league,” Postolos said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “He’s very, very committed.”

It will end Johnson’s stint as the first black majority owner of a major U.S. professional sports team. Jordan becomes another black owner in another milestone for the Hall of Famer, but one that comes with many challenges.Jordan, a six-time NBA champion, five-time NBA MVP and 14-time All-Star, has made millions lending his name to sneakers, apparel and other items. Now he’ll begin a completely different role, trying to make the Bobcats a winner, and the team and Charlotte’s downtown arena profitable.

After paying $300 million for the expansion team that began play in 2004, Johnson accumulated about $150 million in debt and the team was expected to lose tens of millions this season as it struggles to draw fans and find sponsorships.Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, shook up management several times before recruiting Jordan to be a minority investor while giving him the final say on all basketball decisions.

Jordan, who turned 47 this month, has had a unique role with the Bobcats. General manager Rod Higgins runs the day-to-day basketball operations and Jordan has rarely attended practices or games, or worked on the marketing side of the operation.Jordan has had some missteps — drafting the disappointing Adam Morrison No. 3 overall in 2006 — but he was also able to lure Hall of Famer Larry Brown to become coach at the beginning of last season.

Jordan and Brown have made seven trades involving 21 players since the start of last season. The November acquisition of Stephen Jackson from Golden State has helped Charlotte get into playoff contention in the Eastern Conference.But attendance has still lagged, and Jordan has been criticized in Charlotte for rarely being seen — despite his iconic status in the state.

Jordan grew up in Wilmington, led the University of North Carolina to the 1982 college championship with a last-second shot, then remained one of the state’s favorite sons when he starred with the Chicago Bulls.Jordan’s first stint as an NBA executive came with the Washington Wizards, where he was roundly criticized for drafting Kwame Brown with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft.

He changed roles when he returned briefly as a player, then was fired by owner Abe Pollin in 2003 when he tried to return to his role running the basketball operations.No one will be able to fire Jordan after he takes control of the Bobcats, and it’s likely the team will not change much in the front office.Jordan’s close friend, Fred Whitfield, is team president, and Higgins was Jordan’s hire.