djdunson Page 4 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Bill Belichick can go quietly — or go kicking and screaming
Nobody leaves a job with quite as much oomph as Bill Belichick. Twenty-four years ago this week, Belichick handed a note with a scribbled message signaling to New York Jets officials at a press conference, stepped to the podium, and delivered his infamous remarks. ...
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is ascending into the MVP conversation
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA’s dullest superstar, which has allowed him to sneak up behind the league while they sleep on his ascendance. On Tuesday night, SGA propelled the Oklahoma City Thunder to their latest signature win. After a two-week stretch in which they’ve made mincemeat of the NBA...
The Bears are deluding themselves into thinking Justin Fields is their QB of the future
Near the end of Justin Fields’ triumphant win over the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears fans serenaded him with a passionate “We want Justin” chant. The chorus reached a fever pitch on a night when Fields threw for north of 260 yards and one touchdown in a blowout win over the Atlanta Falcons. Through...
Immanuel Quickley is the key to Toronto winning the OG Anunoby-RJ Barrett trade
On Saturday morning, the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors put their litigation aside long enough to agree on a trade exchanging OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn with RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a 2024 second-round pick....
Jalen Hurts’ fugazi QB record is evidence that sometimes numbers do lie
The NFL’s Big Data complex, including Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Focus, would have you believe that numbers don’t lie, but the truth is that numbers can be untrustworthy little digits. They don’t explicitly generate faux stats, but accurate statistics can be framed deceptively. For instance, on...
Derrick White’s All-Star bid is about to become the NBA’s ‘Brock Purdy for MVP’
After the Boston Celtics acquired Jrue Holiday in an early October trade with the Portland Trail Blazers, the five-time All-Defensive Team guard was billed as the solution to Boston’s need for a tempo-setting orchestrator. In theory, he was also the fourth All-Star in the Eastern Conference’s premie...
If you’re thinking Ja Morant is going to rebrand, think again
Ja Morant hasn’t skipped a beat since his return to the Memphis Grizzlies lineup a week ago. The city of Memphis couldn’t be happier. Without Morant in, the Grizzlies’ holes were glaring. In his absence, Desmond Bane tried valiantly to hold down the fort, but the offense was abysmal without his back...
How did the Detroit Pistons become the NBA’s lump of coal?
When the Detroit Pistons put their mind to losing, nobody has been better for the last decade, but they’ve outdone themselves now by recklessly assembling one of the worst examples of an ill-fitting roster in a league now predicated on spacing, efficient scoring at the rim or behind the arc, and ada...
After getting mauled by the Bucks, the Pacers found a veteran enforcer
Unsigned NBA wing James Johnson emerges from a cabin carrying a log. Meanwhile, on a television screen behind him, highlights of Giannis Antetokounpo hulking out on the sidelines and in the players’ tunnel repeats in a loop. ...
Cam Newton doesn't understand what 'game manager' actually means
Cam Newton has earned the right to stake his claim for the Content Clickbait King throne. He was a former MVP, Heisman Trophy winner, national champion and Super Bowl competitor. Newton recently caught a wave of backlash for classifying Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Jared Goff and Tua Tagovailoa as gam...
Golden State needs to let go of the past
The NBA season is now a three-part campaign. The NBA Cup is the opening sprint featuring teams working Usain Bolt hours to determine the NBA’s 100-meter champion. It’s fitting that this season the finale whittled down to the league’s fastest team and the oldest player in the league. The rest of the ...
Patrick Mahomes is entering his Donovan McNabb era
The Kansas City Chiefs can point to a myriad of issues behind their offensive struggles, including Matt Nagy’s playcalling, but their rapid disarmament over the last two years has hit them where it hurts. If you’re searching for a culprit for Kansas City’s offensive demise and fall from the top 10 i...
Are lawyers in Ja Morant's case really dissecting how one checks the ball in pick-up games?
Ja Morant’s life has become a theater of the absurd and that continued Monday. Instead of executing crisp crossovers while Kyrie Irving plays ragged defense, Morant is finishing his 25-game suspension and was taking part in cross-examinations and scuffing up courtroom wood. As a consequence, Morant ...
The numbers don’t lie: Steph, Klay and Dray’s Golden State Gilded Age is over
Around 2017, I realized I was behind the curve by using free Pandora. I still kept my account for another few years out of an irrational attachment to it, long after everyone else had matriculated away from Pandora digital radio towards Spotify. That’s how it feels watching Golden State try to count...
Zach Wilson keeps thriving when expectations are low
Intermittently, Zach Wilson is capable of balling out. He can’t consistently progress through reads and hit open receivers, but occasionally, his fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants quarterbacking rewards Jets fans with a rare gem. On Sunday, New York turned back to Wilson after benching him for the third...
LeBron James proved the Lakers still have life by winning the NBA’s early bird special tournament
The Los Angeles Lakers added another trophy to their overflowing stockpile, LeBron James added another accolade to his stuffed resume and all’s right with the world. After Shohei Ohtani joined the Dodgers, the City of Champions had even more reason to celebrate Saturday when the Lakers ran away with...
Does Colorado's No. 1 recruit beef up Buffs' biggest vulnerability?
During his inaugural season at Colorado, Deion Sanders coached a Gucci-wearin’, finesse football team that palled around with celebrities, flashed luxury watches and piled up obscene passing numbers in a series of offensive shootouts. They also couldn’t protect their quarterback or their jewelry. ...
If NBA teams can raise division-title banners, they should be able to raise a banner for the In-Season Cup
The inaugural In-Season Tournament is nearing its conclusion, which can only mean one thing: How can we find a new way to dump on it? Fortunately, a contrived controversy has been delivered on cue. The winner of this weekend’s In-Season Tournament will have to navigate the thorny situation over how ...
Despite Deion Sanders' success, worthy HBCU coaches still aren't getting advancement opportunities
One year ago, Deion Sanders’ swift exit from Jackson State’s sideline brought a swell of attention to HBCU football that hadn’t existed in decades. What it didn’t bring were more opportunities for the coaches who are essentially lifers, no matter how much they’ve proven themselves. Before Sanders to...
Tyrese Haliburton has the Pacers skipping the NBA waiting line
There are three tiers of NBA existence: Teams stuck in the mud, teams trying to fit through a championship window and future contenders waiting their turn. Prior to Tyrese Haliburton’s first full season as a Pacer, Indiana was rudderless and stuck on a road to nowhere. Aside from Haliburton, there w...