Two years after Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh opened their Big Three time together with a celebration, they got the party they really wanted Monday.

Hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets of Miami for the Heat championship parade, and then 15,000 more got into the arena afterward for a long, loud reception for the NBA's new champions.

"It's the best feeling I've ever had. … This was my dream, right here, to be able to hoist that Larry O'Brien Trophy up, hug it, grab it, never want to let it go," James said.

During the parade, players and coaches rode on double-decker buses with friends and family. The Heat won its other NBA championship in 2006.

• New Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap says the idea of trading down from the No. 2 spot in the NBA draft to acquire extra picks "makes a lot of sense" for a young team like the Bobcats, who finished 7-59 and have a variety of holes to fill this offseason.

• Danny Ferry was introduced as the Atlanta Hawks' president of basketball operations and general manager. Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson said Ferry, 45, was the only candidate he interviewed.

• The player who grabbed two offensive rebounds that allowed Wilt Chamberlain to score 100 points in a 1962 NBA game has died. Ted Luckenbill died Sunday in Dallas at age 72, according to a Crockett, Texas, funeral home. Luckenbill was drafted 15th overall by the Philadelphia Warriors in 1961.

RGIII allegedly victim of extortion try

• A former Baylor basketball player is facing a federal extortion charge for allegedly threatening to release "derogatory information" about Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III unless he was paid. Richard Khamir Hurd, 25, was arraigned in federal court in Waco, Texas. His bond was set at $25,000. Griffin was at an NFL rookie symposium in Ohio, where players were not made available to reporters.

• The Pittsburgh Steelers released veteran quarterback Troy Smith, a former Ohio State star who won the 2006 Heisman Trophy.

• New York Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson is expected to be ready for training camp next month after suffering minor injuries in a two-car crash early Saturday in New Jersey. Wilkerson, 22, was ticketed for careless driving and failure to maintain his lane, but police don't believe alcohol was involved.

General

• Retired heavyweight Andrew Golota could be deported from the United States to his native Poland. The 44-year-old boxer's case is in court. His wife, Mariola Golota, told the Chicago Tribune a decision is expected in September.

• The BCS commissioners will present their four-team playoff proposal to the presidential oversight committee, comprised of 12 university presidents, today in Washington.

• New National Hockey League Players' Association executive director Donald Fehr said negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement will begin "very quickly" – perhaps as early as this week – and didn't rule out talks stretching into the season.

• UEFA fined the German soccer association $31,200 after fans displayed a neo-Nazi flag at a European Championship match against Denmark on June 17.

• Guy Morse, who led the Boston Marathon into the prize money era and helped preserve it as the world's most prestigious 26.2-mile race, is retiring from the Boston Athletic Association after 28 years.

• IndyCar announced it will not replace its canceled Aug. 19 China street circuit race, leaving the season schedule at 15 events.

– Associated Press

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