New York Knicks Blame Lose to Oklahoma Thunder to Ghost in The Hotel

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Knicks were afraid, very afraid. And it had nothing to do with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

For two days, several players had trouble sleeping because they were convinced that their downtown hotel is haunted.

"I definitely believe it," Jared Jeffries said. "The place is haunted. It's scary."

Eddy Curry claims he slept for only two hours Sunday night because he couldn't stop thinking about ghosts roaming the hotel.

For years, guests staying at the Skirvin Hilton have reported ghost sightings and strange noises. Legend has it that sometime in the 1930s, a woman jumped to her death while holding her baby in her hands.

"They said it happened on the 10th floor and I'm the only one staying on the 10th floor," Curry said. "That's why I spent most of my time in (Nate Robinson's) room. I definitely believe there are ghosts in that hotel."

Assistant coach Herb Williams teased Jeffries and Curry for believing that the Skirvin is haunted, but Curry wasn't laughing.

"There are too many stories," Curry said. "Something is going on there."

Obama. honors NASCAR champions, drivers

WASHINGTON — Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson had the gas to get to the White House on Wednesday, where President Barack Obama honored the 2008 winner as well as auto racing.

"NASCAR is a uniquely American sport," Obama said in the Rose Garden, flanked by drivers.

Obama said the drivers work to support U.S. troops, local schools and environmental innovation. Obama said the sport certainly has grown since "moonshiners" raced in Daytona Beach, Fla., to become a service-oriented organization known around the globe.

"That's the face of America you show to the world," he said.

In a race on Sunday, Johnson took the lead with two laps to go but he gambled on his fuel and ran out of gas. Instead of winning, he finished 33rd. It was the third time this season that Johnson has run out of gas, but that wasn't a problem on Wednesday.

Joining Johnson at the White House were other Sprint Cup drivers and past champions. Special guests included wounded soldiers from a Washington hospital and campers from a North Carolina facility for terminally or chronically ill children.

Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet also was parked at the White House.

Obama joked he wanted to take it out for a spin, but the Secret Service told him no.

by the associated press

Barack Obama on ESPN

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will be interviewed live during ESPN2's NASCAR Now, originating from the White House at 4:30 p.m. ET Wednesday.


ObamaPresident Obama is honoring three-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson as well as other current NASCAR drivers and some past champions of the sport in a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.

NASCAR Now will cover the festivities live, marking the first time in ESPN's 30-year history that a regularly-scheduled ESPN program will originate and air in its entirety from the White House.

Following the ceremony, the President will join NASCAR Now host Nicole Manske and ESPN analyst Brad Daugherty for a live interview.

ESPN analysts Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace, both Cup Series champions, will be among the drivers participating in ceremonies that include a tour of the White House and photo opportunities.

from Nascar.com