NBA Roundup: Upon Further Review, Cornbread Maxwell Is Sorry

Notes on Wednesday's games in the National Basketball Association ...

• Who's Sorry Now? It seems to be the new trend in apologies. First you say something incredibly insensitive. Then, when called on it, you repeat the gaffe, saying that you really meant it. Next day: Retract everything, adding some groveling if necessary. Boston Celtics radio analyst Cedric Maxwell is the latest to go through the drill. Maxwell, a former star with the Celtics, apologized on the air Wednesday night for saying that a female referee should "go back to the kitchen" after he disagreed with one of her calls. It happened on Monday during the Celtics' win over the Rockets. When his co-announcer, Sean Grande, tried to lighten the comment, Maxwell followed up with: "Go in there and make me some bacon and eggs, would you?" in reference to referee Violet Palmer. Cut to Wednesday: "If I said anything that might have been insensitive or sexist in any way, then I apologize because she worked extremely hard to get where she is now, end of quote," Maxwell said before the Celtics' game against the Knicks on WEEI-AM. Our favorite part is when he actually says "End of quote." But now Grande comes off as looking like the schmuck, as he said on Wednesday: "We are not changing the way we do our jobs because of the tendency of media outlets to present people's comments in a way that serves their story." What? Do these guys realize that they're actually on the radio?

• Oh, And Celtics Win Again. Gerald Green scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter — we wonder how many of those were dunks? — to lead the Celtics to a 102-94 win over the Knicks. Quentin Richardson had 24 points for New York.

• He's The Decider. Shaquille O'Neal, still riding on a cloud of euphoria from meeting President Bush on Tuesday, scored a season-high 23 points to lead the Heat past the Wizards 92-83. "I don't have the same 1,000-percent explosiveness," said O'Neal, who missed 39 games early in the season with a knee injury. We've never thought of Shaq as "1,000 percent explosive," but OK.

• Andre The Giant. Just when you think you have this crazy world figured out, the 76ers go and beat the Suns for Phoenix's first loss to an Eastern Conference team this season. Andre Iguodala had 24 points to lead Philadelphia.