If your basketball player fiance dumps you via email the day before the wedding, why not go out and take pictures with Tyson Beckford? Apparently that's what former Nets dancer Kesha Ni'Cole Nichols did after former Nets (now San Antonio Spurs) player Richard Jefferson basically stiffed her at the altar—the Post reports, "Nichols sported a bright pink party frock as she smiled and posed for pictures last Saturday with her would-be bridesmaids -- and model Tyson Beckford -- in Manhattan, where guests who'd been invited to the nuptials rallied to lift the former New Jersey Nets dancer's spirits." And TerezOwens.com has photographs of Nichols in her pink dress with her bevy of friends and Beckford. And during Nichols' outing, Jefferson, who took his side of the story to the media, was on his way to Europe with fellow NBA player Luke Walton and some other friends. more ›

A day after news broke that former New Jersey Net Richard Jefferson left his bride-to-be at the altar in the eleventh hour, the one-time Olympian is hitting the press to clarify just what went down. He tells the Post that he gave former Nets' dancer Kesha Ni'Cole Nichols a full week's notice that the wedding was off after a contentious Fourth of July weekend in LA where they were at each other's throats. The engagement had already seen its fair share of disappointment—the pair had tickets to see Michael Jackson perform in London for their honeymoon. more ›

A former New Jersey Net dancer thought she was moving on up with a $2 million wedding all planned out with former Nets' star Richard Jefferson, set for last weekend at Mandarin Oriental in Columbus Circle. But RJ's engagement ring turned out to be a give-and-go when Jefferson told Kesha Ni'Cole Nichols in the days leading up the wedding that he would not be attending. That didn't stop Nichols from going ahead with spending her canceled wedding night in the Mandarin, where they upgraded her to a suite with a king-sized bed and a view of the park. But not only was the bride-not-to-be at the hotel, so were "(Jefferson's) boys" who claim they found out about the change of plans hours before, but apparently were already set with using his Black Amex card for the night. The Post says that according to friends, Nichols was "not entirely caught off-guard" and "just wants to keep this as quiet as possible and move on." Jefferson recently moved on up himself to San Antonio, where he joined the Spurs in a trade for Bruce Bowen. more ›

Sources say the New Jersey Nets will trade forward Richard Jefferson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons. ESPN says the Nets will be able to save $10 million longterm and continue to re-shape their team for the future--possibly with LeBron James in 2010. Further, the Chinese government will be thrilled Yi is in a big media market (that was China's grumble when Yi was drafted last year). more ›

Staal’s goal was one of the many highlights for the Rangers, who played a superior game to New Jersey except for a stretch in the third period. Chris Drury had a very good game, getting big wins off the draw and adding a goal and an assist. Gomez had two goals, including a very creative empty-netter to clinch the win. Patrik Elias had two goals for New Jersey and a very big uncalled slash that setup the third Devils goal. New Jersey will head home and try and fight off elimination on Friday. more ›

• Tampa 6 Yankees 3: After five games the biggest question in Yankeeland is what happened to the offense? 15 runs scored in five games is not what anyone expected from this team, but that’s where the Yankees stand thanks to some anemic hitting. It’s a collective slump with every regular not named Abreu, Rodriguez or Cabrera struggling. Some of the noteworthy failures right now are Jason Giambi is 1-for-12 (.083) Johnny Damon 2-for-18 (.111) and Robinson Cano 2-for-19 (.105). more ›

Overtime failed to produce a winner so things went to a shootout where Nigel Dawes made a brilliant fake to freeze Martin Brodeur and score . Dawes’ goal held up and the Rangers beat the Devils for the sixth time this season, while moving into a tie for fifth in the Eastern Conference. more ›

• Rangers 4 Carolina 2: It was the perfect blend of the old and the new for New York on Thursday. Brandon Dubinsky got things started for the Rangers with a great backhand off of the pretty feed from Jaromir Jagr. Sean Avery came off the bench at the right time to grab the puck and score a goal right before the first period ended to make it 2-0. It was 3-2 in the third when Nigel Dawes fed Brendan Shanahan with a perfect cross-ice pass to make it 4-2 and clinch the win.
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The only question after the win is what is going on with Eddy Curry? Curry played the first 9:29 of the game and then sat on the bench for the remainder of the game. Isiah gave up a ton to get the guy and now he won’t play him? more ›

• 76ers 124, Knicks 84: For the second time this season, the Knicks got blown out by the second-worst team in the division. How is that possible? Start with nine turnovers in the first quarter alone -- and 23 for the game. Sprinkle in some porous defense and everything should come out just fine. The Knicks lost by 40 despite shooting 46 percent from the floor. Too bad Philadelphia made 57 percent of its shots.
• Nets 110, Bulls 102 (OT): Even without Devin Harris, the best player the Nets got in exchange for Jason Kidd, the Nets were able to take down the Bulls at home. Marcus Williams played 39 minutes and had 25 points. If he can play remotely like that down the stretch, the Nets may find themselves a first-round victim rather than draft-lottery hopeful.
• Islanders 3, Capitals 2: Suddenly, the Islanders can't be stopped. One game after he helped his team stun the Sharks, Mike Comrie scored the only goal in the shootout and helped New York to its fifth straight win. This was the second consecutive time they rallied from a two-goal deficit. Miroslav Satan and Josef Vasicek lit the lamp in regulation.

Trent Hunter got things going with a goal at 17:42 of the first. The Flyers tied it up in the second, but the Islanders took the lead and built it on two beautiful goals. Jeff Tambellini took advantage of a bad Philadelphia turnover to put the Isles back in front. Sean Bergenheim got a semi-breakaway off of a feed from Trent Hunter to make it 3-1. Philadelphia cut it to 3-2, but Rusian Fedotenko put the game out of reach with his 10th goal of the year. more ›

Jason Kidd trade rumors are hardly new, but this time, they're probably for real. Nets President Rod Thorn and the guard have made no secret of the seemingly obvious incentives for both parties to want a deal before the Feb. 21 NBA trading deadline. Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter, the younger parts of the Big Three, have expensive contracts. more ›

Jamal Crawford led the way with 35 points and eight assists, including a huge three-pointer when the game was tied at 102. Zach Randolph had 24 points and 11 rebounds Vince Carter had 26 and Richard Jefferson 22 in the loss. more ›

• Spurs 97, Knicks 93: The Spurs entered this game nearly perfect at home. What chance did the Knicks have? At least their draft lottery position keeps getting better. Eddy Curry appeared to be motivated. He had 25 points 12 rebounds. Too bad the Knicks let the Spurs shoot 50 percent from 3-point range. This game could have turned out differently.
• Nets 102, Bobcats 96: Until Friday, the Nets hadn't won four straight games. That No. 4 came against the Bobcats is of little concern to the suddenly hot Nets. Vince Carter had 30 points and Richard Jefferson, who was reportedly sick, 28 points. Jason Kidd threw in a triple double for good measure, and the Big Three turned in a vintage performance. After his critical role in the win against the Magic on Wednesday, Darrell Armstrong added two big threes late.
• Devils 3, Flyers 0: All hail the shutout king. Martin Brodeur stopped 36 shots for his 96th career regular-season shutout. He already holds the mark if playoffs are included, but Terry Sawchuk's mark of 103 is still within reach.

But, it wasn’t just the top guys. Chris Drury had added two points and the defense held Pittsburgh to 18 shots. Henrik Lundqvist looked solid in net, coming up some big saves when he was finally tested in the third period. more ›

Jamal Crawford led the way with 32 points and Zach Randolph added 20. Even Eddy Curry looked interested with 23 points and 9 rebounds, only his third game of the season with more than 8 rebounds. Add it all up and the Knicks got out of the cellar in the Eastern Conference. more ›

Clippers 91 Nets 82: The Nets simply couldn’t shoot Tuesday night, finishing a dismal 32% from the field in an ugly loss to the Clippers at the Izod Center. Jason Kidd managed a triple-double and Richard Jefferson had 21 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop LA. Chris Kaman and Tim Thomas each had 18 points while Dan “the Knicks cut me this offseason” Dickau added 11 points off the bench. Carl Pavano isn’t sure... more ›

Knicks 100, Nets 93: No Stephon Marbury, and the Knicks take down the Nets. Of course, the Nets didn't have Jason Kidd (headache), so who knows which team was worse off. Richard Jefferson's heroics couldn't get the job done for the Nets, who continue to play inexplicably poorly at home following road games. Jamal Crawford filled the backcourt "void" for the Knicks with 29 points, and Zach Randolph had 25. Richard Jefferson had 31 points... more ›

Nets 100, Cavaliers 79: With Cleveland's triple-double machine LeBron James on the bench, the Nets' Richard Jefferson played king for a day. Only he's been doing this all season long. Tuesday's totals: 36 points, 11-of-18 shooting, 13-of-15 from the line. Lines don't get much better than that. The Nets don't want to get too cocky, however. Shannon Brown led the way for the short-handed Cavaliers. When someone who average five points stepped up with 20,... more ›