Off Topic » ANGELES -- Doc Rivers couldnt begin the Los Angeles Clippe

The lines on Joe (Diesel) Riggs face hint of more than a few stories. Not all good.The veteran fighter has battled drug addiction, demons and himself in the past. In 2006, Riggs and Nick Diaz infamously continued their UFC 57 fight at the hospital afterwards with Riggs firing punches undeterred by the IV in his arm.Eight years to the day since his last UFC bout, the 32-year-old Riggs returns to the Octagon to face welterweight Ben (Killa B) Saunders on a televised UFC Fight Night card Saturday in Phoenix.Im really excited, Im ready to fight, man. Im in the best shape of my life and Im going to knock it out, for sure, Riggs said in an interview.Riggs road back to the UFC has been typically complicated. He was due to fight Set. 13 on a card in Brazil, stepping in for the injured Mike Rhodes against Paulo Thiago. But instead he found himself fighting for his life after his gun accidentally discharged in late July at his Arizona home.Im a man thats handled guns my entire life and a brand new gun that should never malfunction malfunctioned, he explained.A live round was stuck in the chamber. The safety was off but as he tried to dismantle the gun, the hammer dropped and Riggs was shot in the hand and thigh.I didnt think I was going to die, I knew I was going to die ... I accepted I was dead, he said.Lying on the floor in a pool of blood, Riggs prepared for the worst.I said goodbye to my boy, who means everything to me. Who Id die for at the drop of a hat. Saying goodbye to him was really really hard for me. Picturing my son having to grow up without a father, it changes you.He called his wife, who summoned an ambulance. Because a gun was involved, police had to secure the area first. Riggs says it was 40 minutes before he made it to a medevac helicopterRiggs was fortunate in the way the bullet struck his leg. It was pinched in the right way that I didnt bleed out.Doctors told him he would never fight again.I wouldnt accept it, said Riggs. To think I went through all this for nothing, I finally got to where nobody thought I would be and this happens. I wouldnt accept it.My life has been horrible. Ive had a horrible live and Ive had a great life. But everything that I went through in my life I overcame and Ive gotten through. So I just tried to put this toward that and push through and I did. Today, Riggs says hes happy and in a great place.He used to fear thinking about losing. Now he understands anything can happen in mixed martial arts.Now I can go out and fight with a clear mind and know that whatever happens Im OK with it. I just want to fight to the best of my ability. And Im one of the best in the world so I think every time I fight its going to turn out good.The UFC lists Riggs record at 40-14. Riggs himself says he has 65 wins and 14 losses, one of which came in a K-1 fight.Riggs, who made his pro debut in 2001, acknowledges that in the past he had become jaded in the sport. Then he started training at the MMA Lab in Glendale, Ariz., determined to see how far he could go.Riggs points to newly crowned welterweight champion (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler, another veteran who has made the most of his skills and reaped the rewards of hard work and dedication.Riggs, whose nose is clear proof he doesnt work behind a desk, has been around so long that he has a tattoo that reads NHB, for no holds barred. Its a reminder of his early days fighting when there were few rules.Not many, Riggs said. I couldnt bite a mans nipple off, thats about it.With four years at the MMA Lab under his belt, Riggs says he trains smarter these days. I havent lost since.Still, just making it to the Octagon again given his past is an accomplishment.I think the fact that Im even fighting again and alive, the fact that Im doing something that nobody thought I would ever do again is a huge win for me, Riggs said. Beating Saunders is the icing on the cake.Saunders (17-6-2) is 5-3 in the UFC, returning to the promotion in August to submit Chris Heatherly in the first round after a four-year absence. The six-foot-three Saunders is a graduate of Season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter.Former champion Junior Dos Santos, currently ranked second among heavyweight contenders, takes on No. 4 Stipe Miocic in the main event at US Airways Center. No. 14 lightweight Nate Diaz, Nicks younger brother, faces No. 3 Rafael Dos Anjos in the co-main event. Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Alex Iafallo Kings Jersey . 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Kurtis MacDermid Kings Jersey .J. -- Pete Carroll said it was the suspension of linebacker Bruce Irvin last spring that finally got the attention of the rest of the Seattle Seahawks that they needed to be taking their commitment to the team more seriously.LOS ANGELES -- Doc Rivers couldnt begin the Los Angeles Clippers only day of preparation for Game 7 in the film room or on the practice court. The coach was downtown at the Clippers team offices Friday, meeting with an angry roomful of ticket-sellers and marketers still outraged by owner Donald Sterlings racist comments. "Ill say this much: Our players thought about not working. So did our employees, and they still felt that way," Rivers said. "They needed somebody to ask them to continue to work and support us. Were still trying to put this thing together." For both the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors, basketball has been secondary for much of this extraordinary series. But after the most tumultuous week in Clippers history, the first round is finally down to its grand finale. The Clippers will host a seventh game for the first time in franchise history on Saturday night, hoping to draw energy from their Staples Center crowd for a cathartic victory. The winner gets a second-round date with Oklahoma City or Memphis. "Weve got to protect home court," Clippers centre DeAndre Jordan said Friday. "Our season is tomorrow." The Warriors have been just one obstacle faced by the Clippers, who endured sleepless nights and immense scrutiny while their owner was exposed and subsequently banned for life from the NBA between playoff games. Los Angeles has lost two of three games since the Sterling saga began, playing lifelessly in Game 4 before struggling along with the Warriors in Game 6 on Thursday night. When the Clippers went back to work Friday, Sterling-related memorabilia had been removed from the trophy case in the hallway at their palatial $60 million training complex built by Sterling six years ago. Even the "Sterling Drive" sign outside the Playa Vista facility had been taken down. The Clippers missed their chance to wrap the series in Oakland, but the Pacific Division champions played all year for the chance to finish a series on their home court. "Its going to be tough, and youre going to face adversity, and we clearly have faced adversity in this round," said Blake& Griffin, who managed just 17 points on 8-for-24 shooting in Game 6.dddddddddddd"I think its just important that we all stayed the course and had positive thoughts about it. It is a Game 7, but its still a playoff game. It doesnt change a whole lot." Neither team plans to spend much time working on tactics or adjustments after six games of seeing everything their opponent has to offer. Both teams arent saying much about various nagging injuries, from Chris Pauls strained left hamstring for the Clippers to Jermaine ONeals sprained right knee for Golden State. Instead, two relatively inexperienced playoff teams are eager to show off everything theyve learned about perseverance and toughness over the past two weeks, culminating in a rare winner-take-all finish to their series. "Im not sure that both teams love each other, but Im pretty positive that both teams have tremendous respect for each other," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. The Clippers core played a Game 7 two years ago, beating Memphis on the road for just their second playoff series victory since Sterling bought the team in 1981. Jordan and Griffin said there was little to draw from that victory, with Jordan barely remembering it. The Warriors havent played a Game 7 since 1977, no surprise for a franchise with just three playoff berths in the last 20 years. When asked if an injury could keep him out of Game 7, Paul scoffed. "Ill be there," Paul said. "Seven-thirty, that balls throwed up, Ill be there. Cant wait." Even with the Clippers on the front page during this series, Golden State has plenty of its own internal drama. Jackson could be coaching his final game for the Warriors after the club ownerships reluctance to publicly back his return despite the most successful two-year stretch in two decades. "I think weve had more controversy than them throughout this whole season that gets overlooked, kind of thrown under the rug a little bit," Golden States Andre Iguodala said. "Weve had some battles this year weve had to deal with, but its kept us together and made us stronger." ' ' '