'Nine days of hell' for Tigers as import Steve Dennis is ruled out for the year

Stephen Dennis drives to the basket during the 2013/14 Pre-season Blitz match against the Wollongong Hawks. Source: Getty Images

MELBOURNE Tigers are "gutted" with the season-ending injury to popular new import Stephen Dennis but coach Chris Anstey says the club's NBL campaign is far from over.

"We have a real strong group," Anstey said of the cast the Tigers assembled for their quest to return to NBL prominence after a few years in the wilderness.

"The difference between this year's group and last year's is we're very together as a unit.

"The group is really tight, and still is despite the setbacks."

The setbacks have been substantial though with the Tigers experiencing nine days from hell since star off-guard and club MVP Chris Goulding seriously injured his ankle at the Blitz tournament in Sydney.

Last night at Melbourne's practice, Dennis snapped an Achilles tendon, ruling him out for the season.

And that followed team cap

Tigers duo Nate Tomlinson and Tommy Greer battle with Todd Blanchfield of Townsville. Source: Getty Images

tain Tommy Greer tearing his pectoralis tendon, ruling him out for three months.

In just nine days, Melbourne has lost three starters, point guard Dennis, off-guard Goulding and small forward Greer.

It is reminiscent of Wollongong Hawks last season, losing their point guard Rhys Martin, off-guard import Lance Hurdle and small forward Glen Saville - three starters in a matter of weeks.

But the Hawks still reached the playoffs.

The Tigers are now back to the drawing board, with pre-season matches this week against Adelaide 36ers in Millicent and Mount Gambier before their season-opener against the Kings in Sydney on Sunday-week.

"It's not a lot of time and frankly, we will be pushing it uphill to get a guy signed and registered before that," Anstey said.

"I really like the balance of our team so we want another Steve Dennis.

"He is rare though. He is a hell of a player but he's also a hell of a person.

"He fit in so well, it felt as if he'd been part of the group for a long time.

"I was enjoying him as a person and so were his teammates and looking forward to getting to know him better.

"We knew we had a special one."

In the aftermath of the pre-season Blitz tournament in Sydney, many pundits were tipping Dennis as a league MVP candidate, his silky skills, athleticism and length as a player turning heads.

"It would be a shame for the NBL if it didn't see him play (in it)," Anstey said, the Tigers keen to retain Dennis next season after he has surgery to repair the tendon today.

"It (the freak injury) was just one of those things. It was at practice last night and there were 2.9 seconds left on the clock for training.

Chris Goulding hurts his ankle. Source: Getty Images

"We just wanted to work on a baseline out of bounds play to finish up and Steve was: 'Who just kicked me?'

"I couldn't believe it."

Greer's training accident will keep him out for the best part of three months.

"We don't expect him back before Christmas," Anstey said.

"Chris Goulding is still in a moon boot so we're hoping he might be right by round four or five."

Anstey and his coaching staff worked deep into the night considering options for replacement players.

"I felt sick when Chris went down," Anstey said of watching his star rolling in agony after landing awkwardly after a three-point shot in Sydney.

"Tommy was like: 'You're kidding me.'

"And then Steve ... it was like someone had died.

"That's what he means to the group already.

"I'm devastated for them."

While it means the Tigers are hastily back at the drawing-board, Anstey remained confident Lucas Walker (osteitis pubis) would be an impact player this year and could slot into Greer's spot.

"Lucas is not 100 per cent but was having a great build-up," Anstey said.

"We can also swing Wortho (Mark Worthington) into the three (small forward) if we need.

"And when Chris comes back, he can create his own shot."

Melbourne is looking for the best available player to fill Greer's absence.

Anstey said NBL free agents such as Aaron Bruce, Mick Cedar, Rhys Carter, Nathan Herbert and Everard Bartlett were being assessed to find the "best possible fit", along with a few young prospects from Sydney and Kilsyth.

Goulding is helped off the court. Source: Getty Images

"You also consider do we throw our development players in at the deep end but I think with the way the officiating is going, we will need depth," Anstey said.

Replacing Dennis was going to be very challenging.

"The guys we were looking at before we signed Steve have all now signed somewhere else," Anstey said.

"We are looking at guys recently released from NBA rosters, summer league, we're talking with our contacts."

Anstey said Melbourne would not be able to do as exhaustive a background check on an incumbent because it was no longer about replacing a player in a few days or weeks, but closer to "seconds and minutes".

"I couldn't have been happier with the process we went through to get the two (imports) we got," he said of Dennis and Canadian centre Scott Morrison.

"We'll work on it through Saturday and by Monday should have a clear idea of what we will look like."

Anstey had praise for Greer through the club's sudden key-player crisis.

"Tommy has been outstanding as a captain," Anstey said.

"He's been great for me. Apparently, I didn't look real well yesterday.

"It was a pretty emotional session."

Anstey said the Tigers would be light-handed for their pre-season hit-outs against the 36ers.

"But we have training today, we'll all go in and get straight back to work," he said.

Better Than Ready's spring in limbo after frightening trackwork crash

SPRING carnival plans for top Brisbane sprinter Better Than Ready are in disarray after he was injured in a trackwork scare.

Trainer Kelly Schweida could only look on in horror as he watched Better Than Ready crash through the outside running rail when he shied at an unidentified object while working on the Doomben course proper on Monday.

The four-year-old suffered several cuts to his chest, which required eight stitches, and his legs but Schweida initially feared the worst.

“One of his testicles was up in his belly and there was a lot of blood but fortunately it dropped down after a couple of minutes," he said.

“When I first saw him it didn’t look good especially when I thought he was missing one testicle but we can count our lucky stars he’s still with us and the vet thinks he’s dodged a bullet."

Schweida had planned to fly Better Than Ready to Melbourne on Thursday to prepare for the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield on Saturday week.

However Better Than Ready will be unable to return to serious trackwork for another week which puts his spring campaign in limbo.

Schweida said Better Than Ready was showing no signs of distress when he was taken for a walk on Tuesday morning and the trainer was confident he could recover quickly. 

Richie McCaw 'ready to go' as All Blacks attempt to seal Rugby Championship title against Springboks

Aaron Cruden of the All Blacks is supplied with a drink by captain Richie McCaw, who took on the job of water boy for the Test against Argentina.Source: Getty Images

CAPTAIN Richie McCaw is "looking strong and ready to go" against the Springboks at Ellis Park, assistant coach Ian Foster says, boosting the All Blacks' hopes of clinching the Rugby Championship title at a ground where they haven't won in 16 years.

It's also a venue where the 119 times-capped McCaw has surprisingly never played a Test, but where he could add another significant achievement to a colossal career.

McCaw, missing for the All Blacks' last two matches - the home win over South Africa and away victory in Argentina - is on course to recover from a knee injury to start in Saturday's decider, Foster said.

Having travelled and trained with the team last week in Argentina, McCaw will have to come through full contact sessions in Johannesburg to prove his fitness.

"He's done well. He had a really good week last week in terms of his preparation and training," Foster said. "Clearly we have got a couple of runs this week where he will be tested but he's looking strong and ready to go."

The experienced and canny flanker's expected return comes as the top-ranked All Blacks look to seal a 12th title in 18 seasons in style at a ground South Africa treasures because of its 1995 World Cup final win over its archrival. But it's also a stadium where the New Zealanders are especially motivated to succeed at.

"In the sheds after the (Argentina) game there was a sense that the boys are pretty excited for this challenge," flyhalf Aaron Cruden said. "We know it's going to be a massive one, the Springboks at Ellis Park. Yeah, there's been a bit of talk about it."

While the famous '95 final often forms the backdrop for tests at Ellis Park, New Zealand's record at the intimidating 65,000-seat cauldron is not great. It last won there in 1997 and has lost three out of four since the '95 final.

The Springboks have always drawn inspiration from their achievements at Ellis, yet New Zealand has overcome almost every challenge and every big game it has faced since winning the World Cup two years ago.

"Yeah, we keep having lots of those (big games). The media keep telling us it's the next one, the big one," assistant coach Foster said. "I'm not going to debate it. You can call it what you like. Quite frankly it is a big game. There's a title on the line, there's a whole lot of things on the line. We've had a few of those and we've just got to keep climbing the mountain."

Despite the All Blacks needing only a losing bonus point to win the Rugby Championship, Foster said there was no question they would still go for a sixth win from six in the competition: "We like getting the ball and playing. That's what we train for," he said.

Chinese boy Xiao Feng 'gives birth' to twin brother after doctors find foetus growing in his stomach

Doctors diagnosed a Chinese toddler as "pregnant" and rushed him into surgery after discovering his twin's foetus growing inside his stomach. Picture: YouTube Source: YouTube

A two-year-old Chinese boy had surgery "give birth" to his twin brother, after stunned doctors discovered his parasitic twin brother's foetus inside his stomach.

Xiao Feng, from Huaxi, China was taken to hospital after his stomach became so enlarged he was having difficulty breathing. X-Rays and MRI scans revealed Feng was carrying the undeveloped foetus of his twin inside his swollen stomach.

Shocked doctors diagnosed Feng as "pregnant" and rushed him into emergency surgery, where he was forced to "give birth" as doctors removed the dead twin foetus, reported the Inquisitr.

The foetus was 20cm wide and had developed a spine, fingers and toes. It had grown so much that it was taking up almost two-thirds of the boy’s stomach, doctors said.

The rare case of conjoined twins, known as cryptodidymus, is the case is extremely rare and possibly unprecedented in medicine, the Inquisitr reports. Conjoined twins form when the fertilised egg fails to separate completely.

Cher Answers Fan Questions: Madonna, 80s Medleys & Touring With Her Mom (Video)

Cher

With the arrival of Cher's first album in more than a decade, "Closer to the Truth," Billboard sat down with the diva to talk about the new release -- plus ask her fan-submitted questions.

The first part of our interview at her home in Malibu, California -- where the diva discussed the album -- premiered last week. Part two of our chat focuses on questions sent in to Billboard by her fans on Facebook and Twitter.

Among the topics discussed: Madonna, planning her upcoming Dressed to Kill concert tour, if "Closer to the Truth" is her final album, and more.

With regards to Madonna, she was once named as a possible director of a music video for Cher back in 1999, for the song "Dove L'amour." While the two never collaborated, Cher says that'd she like to work with Madonna, saying, "Yes, because Madge has got some great ideas."

CHER'S 33 MOST OUTRAGEOUS OUTFITS

One fan cut right to the chase and asked: "Is 'Closer to the Truth' your final album?"

"How would I know that? Why did I wait 11 years (between albums)? You just don't know."

Cher's upcoming tour, which starts in Phoenix on March 22, 2014, follows her very successful Farewell Tour, which circled the globe from 2002 through 2005.

One fan asked, "How do you name a tour after having a Farewell Tour?"

"It never occurred to me that I would be doing it," Cher says. "Who thinks they're going to tour after they think they're done?"

Cher says that determining the set list for the new tour is proving to be difficult, because she knows her audience wants to hear a lot of different songs of hers.

"Planning this particular act, I'm going to try to navigate in-and-out of (my catalog). Because there are people who really want to hear 'You Haven't Seen the Last of Me' and so, something's gotta go. Or people who want to hear 'Woman's World,' I can't not do that. But you know, (the show) can't be four hours long."

Speaking of the tour, one fan asked if Cher was going to bring her 86-year old mother, Georgia Holt, on tour with her. (Holt released her first album earlier this year and was the subject of the recent documentary "Dear Mom, Love Cher.")

Cher let out a big laugh, saying, "No, mom doesn't travel well. She likes it here. She's a Malibu girl. It would be fun, but no, she wouldn't do it.
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