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It seems like every time the modern Lakers try to assemble a collection of superstars, it doesn't quite work out as planned -- just ask Karl Malone and Gary Payton. Dwight Howard's just the latest representation of this -- he didn't have a bad season, but it wasn't up to his usual standards, and the Lakers as a whole limped to a swift playoff exit. Now, details are emerging from Howard's exit interview with the team -- namely, that he wasn't happy with the way coach Mike D'Antoni utilized him during the season. Howard is a free agent this season, and it sounds like D'Antoni's continued employment by the team might be a sticking point in any attempt to re-sign him.

Which team will Dwight Howard be playing for next season?

•  
  30%
  Lakers
•  
  70%
  Another team

(Total votes: 18,888)

Would you want your favorite team to sign Dwight Howard this offseason?

•  
  42%
  Yes
•  
  58%
  No

(Total votes: 49,555)

Mike D'Antoni's presence as Lakers head coach is reportedly an obstacle to Dwight Howard's return. If you could only have one, who would you rather keep?

•  
  29%
  Mike D'Antoni
•  
  71%
  Dwight Howard

(Total votes: 13,350)

At 4:02 p.m. ET (3:02 CT) Monday, the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla., warned the residents of Moore, a suburb just south of Oklahoma City, that their lives were in peril.

302pm - LARGE VIOLENT TORNADO moving toward Moore and SW OKC. Take cover right NOW!!! Do not wait!! #okwx

— NWS Norman (@NWSNorman) May 20, 2013

The devastation that followed the next 45 minutes was felt throughout the sports world. Many simply offered the hashtag #PrayForOklahoma. Others offered instructions on how they could use their mobile devices to donate to relief efforts.

Those with personal connections to Oklahoma City and its surrounding communities were among the first to react on Twitter. Thunder star Kevin Durant, who on Tuesday pledged $1 million for relief efforts, was among them.

Praying for the victims of the Tornadoes in OKC these last few days..Everybody stay safe!

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) May 20, 2013

Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp, a native of nearby Midwest City, said he would let his bat do the talking:

I'm giving $1000 for tonight's HR and every HR until the All-Star break for the victims of my hometown in OKC. #PrayforOklahoma

— Matt Kemp (@TheRealMattKemp) May 21, 2013

The first tweet from Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, an Oklahoma City native, came at 5:09 ET, little more than an hour after the tornado touched down. He asked followers for prayers and assistance. (While McCoy called it an "F5" tornado, the storm has been classified an F4, at least for now.)

Please please please pray for my home!! Oklahoma!! Devastating twister ripping things apart. Classified as an F5. Kids stuck in a schools.

— Gerald McCoy (@Geraldini93) May 20, 2013

This is real people not a game!! F5!! My goodness. God be with my home please!! twitter.com/Geraldini93/st&

— Gerald McCoy (@Geraldini93) May 20, 2013

Whatever anybody can do to help my home state please do!! It is much needed. Devastating day in OK!! #pray4Oklahoma

— Gerald McCoy (@Geraldini93) May 21, 2013

Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker is also a native of Oklahoma City. He used Twitter to offer a means for followers to donate to relief efforts.

Thoughts and prayers to my hometown OKC. Luckily my family is safe. I have lived in OK a long time. This one might be the worst!

— Wes Welker (@WesWelker) May 20, 2013

Please text STORM to 80888 to donate $10 to the recovery and relief efforts in #Moore, OK. I am spending the rest of my day texting this #!

— Wes Welker (@WesWelker) May 20, 2013

I don't even know what to say. My thoughts, prayers, concerns, and heartache goes out to my family, friends, and everyone in Oklahoma.

— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) May 20, 2013

To everyone reaching out to me, I am physically ok and flew back from OKC to Detroit yesterday.

— Barry Sanders (@BarrySanders) May 20, 2013

For former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, the news struck a personal chord of a different kind. Wife Brenda's parents were killed in 1996 when a tornado struck their Arkansas home.

My heart & prayers go out to all those impacted by the tornados in Midwest... A devastation our family knows all too well!

— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) May 20, 2013

My heart is breaking as I contemplate parents having to spend night wondering what has happened 2 their child or knowing they were killed!

— Kurt Warner (@kurt13warner) May 21, 2013

Other athletes offered prayers for the victims as they reflected on the devastation the storm caused.

No matter how mad you are at your loved ones, always tell them you love them. This world is unpredictable

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) May 21, 2013

watching this Oklahoma Tornado coverage&prayers for all affected today. IDK why these tragedies happen but all we can do is Pray!

— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) May 21, 2013

Prayers go out to all my friends and family in Oklahoma! May god be with you in these horrible times! Love you all! Be safe! #PrayForOK

— Bryce Harper (@Bharper3407) May 20, 2013

The faith that some of the folks have displayed who have been interviewed since the tornado in Oklahoma hit is unreal...prayers up

— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) May 21, 2013

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Golf isn't exactly a strenuous sport, it can be argued, so you'd think that an innovation that would allow players to somehow put in less effort would be welcomed. That hasn't been the case with the style of anchoring a putter to the body, however, which the sport's governing body has decided to ban beginning in 2016. Several golfers who use this style are upset, but a number of golf's big names have spoken in favor of the ban -- Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Arnold Palmer, just to name a few. Fortunately for golfers opposed to the ban, they'll have a few years to work out the yips as they go back to basics.

• 521Undertaker: "Physics 101: Levers are much easier to control than pendulums. Of course it's unfair."
• GTFreek: "The real surprise is that long putters were ever legal to begin with."
• noelestabrook: "This ruling came down to one very simple fact. The game of golf relies on the free swing of the club. Not MOST of the clubs, ALL of them. The ruling is correct and sound."
• BagOfCesc: "Its fine, the rule doesn't go into effect for 3 years so all those people using long putters have time to learn how to golf like a normal person"
• dtpres2009: "Meanwhile golf club and ball technology gets better each year, yet that isn't against the traditionalism of the game?"

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

How big of an impact will banning anchored putters have on the golfers who currently use them?

•  
  57%
  Major impact
•  
  43%
  Minor impact

(Total votes: 2,001)

Welcome to SportsNation! On Tuesday, fantasy injury expert Stephania Bell will stop by to discuss all things injury related. If you have a question on any athletes' sprains, breaks, tears, any injury related question, ask Stephania!

Send your questions now and join Bell Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET!

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Just like so many other couples who are in the process of getting married, Robert Griffin III and his fiancée registered at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Nothing wrong with that, right? Well not until the Washington Post stepped in. The newspaper posted a link to their wedding registry on its website and fans took to buying gifts. RGIII tweeted a picture of himself leaning on the boxes he received thanking fans for their generosity, and later sent a tweet responding to critics who say he shouldn't keep them but donate them to charity instead.

• KnownAsSliz: "What fans do with their money is their business ... It would be nice if RG3 did donate some of the gifts from fans to various charities, but that's his and his spouse's decision."
• orlando: "If fans want to buy him gifts, that is there choice. The suggestions that he should donate the items are a bit much in some ways. Yes, he can afford it on his own, but even the rich fill out registries because friends and families want to show appreciation and that they care. So gift giving is not just based on who can afford it. And if the fans want to show they care, then they can have at it."
• kujayhawk1188: "Not his fault that people are buying these things. People do what they want ... its dumb they are doing that but that is not on RG3. Dumb for people to be mad at him for it."
• thsCoach99: "I know it is customary for weddings ... especially if you are 23, but he really shouldn't have set up a wedding registry ANYWHERE if you make millions per year and are an NFL quarterback. This was just a mistake in judgment."
• If I had a million dollars: "Kinda tacky any way you look at it! Just make sure you have a stellar season RGIII!"
• jhett09: "Hopefully all of those fans get 'Thank You' letters."

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

What should Robert Griffin III do with the wedding gifts he received from fans?

•  
  55%
  Keep them
•  
  39%
  Give them away to charity
•  
  6%
  Return to sender

(Total votes: 2,959)

EJ Manuel's praise of the Bills' offense would normally be blessedly uncontroversial. Rookie quarterback thinks new team's system is peachy keen? Not really news. Manuel's specific words, however, are interesting -- he called the offense easier to learn than the one he ran at Florida State. College offenses have been rivaling pro offenses for complexity as of late, and a simple offense isn't necessarily a bad thing, but given the Bills' offensive woes over the past few years, ''simple'' doesn't sound like a compelling solution.

• jerjabs: "In the early 90's when the Cowboys were killing everyone including the Bills in two Superbowls, the Dallas offensive system was VERY simple. Teams knew what they were going to do...they just couldn't stop it."
• megametfan13: "Is this a compliment to FSU or an insult to the Bills?"
• mvalvo90: "of course their playbook was simple, 3 runs and a punt."
• wvsmc2003: "Rookies need to learn not to talk. Nothing good can come from being overconfident. It's one thing to read a playbook sitting in your lap. It's another thing to put that playbook into action when a 350 pound all muscle defensive end breaks through the Bills pathetic OLine and makes a beeline straight for you. "
• WV_3d: "If FSU offense is more complicated than your NFL team's offense you're in trouble."

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

Whom would you rather have at quarterback this season?

•  
  63%
  EJ Manuel
•  
  37%
  Kevin Kolb

(Total votes: 31,939)

Maybe LeBron James was merely borrowing from the school of self-motivation that served Michael Jordan and Bill Belichick so well in taking issue with a seemingly mundane statement. Then again, maybe Pacers coach Frank Vogel really was trying to get under the Heat's skin and motivate his own team when he said "They're the next team that's in our way, and that's how we're approaching it."

As pre-game trash talking goes, it's not exactly Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson questioning Terry Bradshaw's ability to spell the word "cat" before Super Bowl XIII. And according to NBA.com, Vogel said Monday that he's got respect for LeBron and the Heat. Either way, the Eastern Conference finals, which start Wednesday in Miami, now have a juicy subplot. But a more basic, pressing question remains: Do the Pacers stand a chance?

Did Pacers coach Frank Vogel disrespect the Heat by saying they are ''just the next team that's in our way?''

•  
  20%
  Yes
•  
  80%
  No

(Total votes: 43,016)

• overbite9: "The Heat are NOT just another team. However, that's not a comment that should get anyone riled up. Lebron needs something to fire him up and he'll look for anything he can to do that. This is the first opportunity he saw. Best player in the world by far, but he does act like a little baby sometimes."
• Federico6646: "If you wanna win, every team you have to play MUST be "just another team". Actually I don't understand LeBron this time. Just because you won a title and a bunch of MVP titles, and people call you "King", it doesn't mean that everybody should bow in front of you. For the Pacers, Heat are just another team."
• JHolz85: "Nothing Vogel said is incorrect. What's he supposed to say? We're going to get killed? Why bother showing up?"
• An7527: "please people don't OVEREACT. LeBron is just motivating himself ... his team. They play great when motivated. Play dirty & physical and they will fight back. Pacers & Bulls knew it."

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

Remember when perfect games were a rarity? It used to be that years would pass between them -- now, it seems like several happen per season. Baseball's Triple Crown might be going in the same direction. Miguel Cabrera, who won the first Triple Crown in 45 years last season, is leading in two of the three major categories, and he's only one behind the lead in home runs after bashing three against the Rangers on Sunday night. It's not easy to keep up the required level of excellence necessary to lead in three major offensive categories, but considering how well he's been hitting over the past year, it's difficult to see who could prevent Cabrera from winning again.

• malepreciousmetal: "I'm guessing Hamilton's numbers were similar to Cabrera's at this point last year. I think Cabrera is a better hitter but just some food for thought."
• bhopx: "Is there another hitter in baseball that could have hit for a HR the pitch that Cabrera hit for his third HR? I don't think that was even a strike."
• JimDetroitFan95: "Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter I have seen in my lifetime."
• damixedone08: "I honestly love how Cabrera would get down in the count..and still make you pitch a strike eventualy. Dude is nasty. Made holland throw it to him ...and Holland made it obvious on what he was going to do."
• sportsnirvana: "still insane that he won a Triple Crown last year. Best hitter hands down in baseball. Not even close."

What do you think? Leave your comments below.

Is Miguel Cabrera your early choice for AL MVP?

•  
  75%
  Yes
•  
  25%
  No

(Total votes: 32,202)