forgave Sharper, despite suffering through depression

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens said its sick that somebody phoned in a bomb threat involving his teams chartered plane on Saturday night but praised the flights crew and the officers who greeted the team on the tarmac in Oklahoma City for easing concerns in a tense situation.Stevens said Celtics travel and equipment manager John Connor and a flight attendant approached him about an hour before Bostons plane was scheduled to touch down at Oklahoma Citys Will Rogers World Airport on Saturday night. Stevens was briefed on the threat involving the team plane and said he was advised to not alarm those on board while the plane staff began an initial inspection.I mean, it wasnt enjoyable, Stevens said. Only a few of us knew about an hour left in the flight or so and I thought the staff on board was great at being reassuring about all the checks they had made prior to leaving. And swiftly looking, without drawing much attention to themselves, while we were in the air. Once we landed, we were greeted by a throng of police officers and fire trucks, and were on the tarmac for a while, then went to the fire station there and everybody was great.It was a unique experience because everybodys getting interviewed and everything else. Obviously, a lot of great people do their jobs well and reassure you that everything is going to be OK.Stevens, speaking before a 99-96 loss to the?Oklahoma City Thunder, said the in-flight staff were reassuring based on the confidence of their preflight inspections, but he said it still was heavy news to receive.Certainly its not a very comfortable situation when youre in the middle of the air but, again, its sick that somebody would make that call, Stevens said. But everybody that we interacted with, from the people on the plane to the people once we landed, were terrific.Celtics players and staffers were interviewed by FBI agents at the airport before being bused to the team hotel, where their bags were delivered after a more thorough inspection of the plane ensured the call was a hoax. Inside Bostons locker room Sunday, players said it was a unique experience but that they were focused on the game against the Thunder.It was just really weird. Very unexpected, said Celtics big man Al Horford. Im glad that [it] was a false alarm.Stevens said he wasnt sure what the best protocol was after receiving the information but trusted the in-flight staff. Most Celtics players and staff members didnt know of the threat until seeing the fire trucks and police presence that greeted the plane on the tarmac.I dont know what the right answer is there, Stevens said. I think, at the end of the day, you trust the people in the cockpit who got the call and the flight attendants, who I believe made a suggestion just to keep it as is and go from there. Ive never been through it, so I wasnt trained properly. A.J. Brown Jersey . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Jurrell Casey Jersey . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-20-Kevin-Byard-Womens-Jersey/ .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Jurrell Casey Womens Jersey . 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NEW ORLEANS -- The Latest on the sentencing in Louisiana of former NFL star Darren Sharper in a drug and rape case (all times local):10:20 a.m.A Louisiana judge has formally imposed a 20-year prison sentence on former NFL star Darren Sharper, who last week was sentenced by a federal judge to 18 years and four months in a drug and rape case with victims in four states.Defense attorney Billy Gibbens said that the two sentences are essentially the same, when credit for time served and other factors are considered.Thursdays second sentencing hearing was again punctuated by tearful testimony from victims. One who said she forgave Sharper, despite suffering through depression because of his assault.Sharper again apologized to his victims and their families and continued to ask for forgiveness, at one point telling the judge: I am not a monster. The sentence followed a plea deal that saw him enter guilty or no-conttest pleas in multiple jurisdictions.dddddddddddd---9 a.m.A week after he was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison in federal court, disgraced ex-football star Darren Sharper is set for formal sentencing in state court to charges that he drugged and raped multiple women.Thursdays sentencing for the former NFL player is set for Judge Karen Hermans courtroom in New Orleans. Hes pleaded guilty or no-contest in state and federal courts in Louisiana, and in state courts in Arizona, Nevada and California. A judge has said the case may involve as many as 16 victims.The pleas were part of a multi-jurisdiction deal that once was expected to net him only nine years in prison. He elected to stick to the deal even after U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo rejected the light sentence. ' ' '