Trade

PHOENIX - It took less than 5 seconds after the Phoenix Suns' practice ended before Markieff Morris was approached by a media member and had to say the five words he has repeated all his life. "I'm not Marcus," he said, shaking his head. "Try again. " But there wasn't a hint of anger, or even annoyance, in his response. The mistake was honest, and the reason was awesome - because "The Twins" are back together once more. Fraternal twins, close friends and basketball teammates from grade school to Prep Charter to Kansas University, Philadelphia's Marcus and Markieff Morris were forced by the 2011 NBA draft to do what no one had done to them before - separate.

19th in a series of 25   THE SIXERS won the 1982-83 championship on Sept. 15, 1982. The "NBA Guide," on Page 365, will tell you that the Sixers won Game 4 of the NBA Finals on May 31, 1983, sweeping ther Lakers in four games. But ask anyone who was a Sixers fan in 1982 and they will tell you the day the trade for Moses Malone became official, the Sixers winning the NBA title was just a formality. Malone was the missing piece, and second-year owner Harold Katz knew it. Wanting to make a statement, Katz went after Malone, who, after playing 6 years for the Houston Rockets, was a free agent.

NEW YORK - Reaction in the oil market to the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was muted Tuesday, with the price of crude rising slightly in electronic trading in New York. Chavez, 58, battled cancer for two years. In December, he underwent what officials described as a complicated six-hour, cancer-related surgery. The full impact of his death on the oil market may not be known until Venezuela elects new leadership. In the short term, analysts expect the country's long decline in oil production to continue.

TAMPA, Fla. - No matter how far removed he gets from that night, Phillippe Aumont can't escape it. In the Phillies' first exhibition game of 2010, Aumont made his first appearance for his new team against Florida State. Aumont trotted in from the bullpen in the third inning, pitching in relief of J.A. Happ. He wasn't able to finish the inning. Aumont, then 21, and the most heralded prospect of the three players the Phillies got back from Seattle in the controversial Cliff Lee trade 2 1/2 months earlier, gave up five runs on two hits and three walks against the Seminoles.

This is a post by Les Bowen on the Daily News' Eagles blog Eagletarian. THE TEAM most of us considered the main suitor for Nick Foles went in another direction Wednesday. Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs agreed in principle to a trade with the 49ers for quarterback Alex Smith, FoxSports.com reported. The 49ers will get Kansas City's second-round selection this April, 34th overall, and a conditional 2014 pick. The trade can't be official until free agency starts March 12. This development could mean the Eagles were not just posturing, and really do want to hold onto Foles, at least until Reid's successor, Chip Kelly, gets a look at last year's rookie QB on the practice field.

Alex Smith is headed to Kansas City, the first major acquisition by the Chiefs since Andy Reid took over as coach. A person with knowledge of the trade told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the Chiefs have agreed to deal for the 2005 top overall draft pick who lost his starting quarterback job in San Francisco to Colin Kaepernick last season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade does not become official until March 12, when the NFL's new business year begins.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Scott Proefrock walked through the Phillies clubhouse during the eighth inning of Saturday's Grapefruit League game with papers in his hand. The assistant general manager instructed a clubhouse attendant to find pitcher Michael Schwimer. Schwimer was in the Phillies bullpen, exactly where one is supposed to be when scheduled to pitch. Except Schwimer was no longer a Phillie. He had been traded during the game to Toronto for Art Charles, a minor-league first baseman.

NEW YORK - It had to be an accident. Though hard to imagine now, that was the prevailing theory moments after an explosion rocked the World Trade Center around noon on Feb. 26, 1993. The truth - that a cell of Islamic extremists had engineered a car-bomb attack that killed six people, injured more than 1,000, and caused more than a half-billion dollars in damage - "was incomprehensible at the time," FBI agent John Anticev said. Ahead of the 20-year anniversary of the bombing, Anticev and other current and former law enforcement officials involved in the case reflected on an event that taught them tough lessons about a dire threat from jihadists.

LeBron James led four Miami players in double figures with 26 points as the visiting Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls, 86-67, Thursday night. Dwyane Wade added 17 points, Chris Bosh had 12, and Ray Allen added 11 off the bench for the Heat (38-14), who have won nine in a row.   Knicks to sign Martin The New York Knicks traded swingman Ronnie Brewer to the Oklahoma City Thunder, opening up a roster spot that will be used to sign veteran forward Kenyon Martin. Team president Glen Grunwald said Martin will be signed to a 10-day contract with the hopes that he could remain for the rest of the season.

WASHINGTON - U.S. officials said Wednesday that they would be putting diplomatic pressure on countries implicated in thefts of trade secrets and seek stronger international enforcement of intellectual-property protections. The Obama administration pledged to share more intelligence with companies about the nations involved in economic espionage and methods used to steal corporate information, and to study the need for stronger U.S. laws against trade-secret theft. "We will act vigorously to combat the theft of U.S. trade secrets that could be used by foreign companies or by foreign governments to gain an unfair economic edge," Victoria Espinel, the U.S. intellectual-property enforcement coordinator, told reporters.