1. ESPN’s NBA studio show has finally given us a moment reminiscent of the outstanding stuff we normally see on TNT’s Inside the NBA. On Wednesday’s NBA CountdownStephen A. Smith went full Stephen A. Smith when his cohost, Jalen Rose, made a shocking confession. Rose admitted to being the lone person who gave the Nets’ … Read more
ATLANTA— After a day filled with loitering … Snyder: Kevin Jairaj/USA Today Sports; Murray: Michael Chow/USA Today Network; Donald: Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports • I wouldn’t expect much movement on the status of Commanders owner Dan Snyder over the league’s two days here in Buckhead. In response to the USA Today story that owners are … Read more
1. With all due respect to the Heat and Celtics and the Warriors and Mavericks, the best highlights of the NBA weekend came from studio hosts Charles Barkley and Stephen A. Smith. Both men decided to up their game for their entrances to their respective pregame shows. With the Western Conference finals moving to Dallas … Read more
Joe Panik’s game-changing double play in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated For nearly as long as I can remember, whenever anyone asked me who was my favorite baseball player, I said Jorge Posada. He was the player I wanted to emulate from the time I was little. Like Jorge, I … Read more
CHICAGO — The initial pair of combine scrimmages took place Thursday, with two more coming Friday as teams continue to hold interviews and conduct business behind the scenes. As usual, when the entire league gathers in one place for an extended period of time, information travels and draft speculation starts to get serious. A series … Read more
1. As I have written before, when Bill Simmons’s “F— Jalen Green” line became a big thing online, very few people wanted to attach any context to it. Simmons, on an episode of his Ringers podcast, was not saying “F— Jalen Green” the person. He was saying, “F— Jalen Green” as a candidate to be … Read more
Bucks-Celtics has been epic. Mavs-Suns has been unexpected. Both second-round series are going the distance with a trip to the conference finals on the line. Which teams will prevail? Which stars will step up? Our writers weigh in. Celtics-Bucks, Game 7: Who ya got? Howard Beck: The team with the best player usually wins the … Read more
It’s the end of an error. One of the most dispiriting stints for any player at any club in football history technically and officially concluded on Thursday with confirmation that, nearly four-and-a-half years after joining Barcelona for an initial £105 million fee (£142 million with add -ons), Philippe Coutinho has moved to Aston Villa on … Read more
Early in the fourth quarter of Game 6 between the Sixers and Heat, an exhausted Doc Rivers abandoned attempts to scheme his team back into it and appealed directly to his competitive spirit. “fight for this,” implored Rivers. “Come on guys, fight for this.” They didn’t. Miami’s lead swelled to 19, then to 20 before … Read more
BOSTON—What happened? No, really—what just happened? The Bucks beat the Celtics 110–107 on Wednesday, seizing a 3–2 lead in the series. And, seriously—how did that happen? “We beat ourselves,” said Boston guard Marcus Smart. Said coach Ime Udoka, “We know we gave up a golden opportunity tonight.” Added forward Jaylen Brown, “We gave it away.” … Read more