abe Page 9 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

World Cup Group B Preview: It’s time for Sam Kerr to take this itty bitty world by storm
We spilled some ink in these parts about Mallory Swanson by herself making the USWNT a threat to win the World Cup, before her unfortunate injury. But the US isn’t the only team with a player who is capable of grabbing a short tournament by the haunches, and the co-hosts Australia may have the bigge...

Chiefs 'superfan' on run from law finally gets caught
After months as a fugitive on the lam, Kansas City Chiefs superfan Xaviar Babudar (aka ChiefsAholic) has been apprehended. Babudar’s capture ended one of the longest fugitive runs in sports entertainment. After being released on bond for his Dec. 16 robbery of the Tulsa Teachers Credit Union, Babuda...

Women’s World Cup 2023 preview: Can anyone stop the Nords in Group A?
It’s Norway and then everyone else. That’s how Group A will shake out, even with hosts New Zealand trying to defend home territory from two European foes and a debutant from Asia. The runaway favorites to win the group are the Nordic, who will be one of the countries making the journey from the nort...

Damian Lillard and James Harden need to exchange travel plans
The two superstars residing on the NBA’s bustling trade block have their bags packed. Damian Lillard has been hinting at Miami as his preference for weeks while the mutual interest between Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers is hard not to notice. Check back in a year and Harden may change his mind ...

The Leafs sign Ryan Reaves, solving a problem they don't have
At least the Toronto Maple Leafs never disappoint. At least anyone who isn’t a Maple Leafs fan, that is....

The $100M questions for the NBA free agents who cashed in
Before anybody evaluates contracts or shouts that Fred VanVleet is overpaid from the mountaintop, let’s take a moment to congratulate all of the free agents who just guaranteed themselves and their families generational wealth. Tyrese Haliburton, Jerami Grant, Desmond Bane, Kyrie Irving, Cam Johnson...

We have a new Michael Jordan gambling-related conspiracy theory
Michael Jordan’s sale of his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets to Melvin Capital founder Gabe Plotkin prompted a new strain of conspiracy theories pertaining to the relationship between MJ’s purported half-billion dollars in stock losses due to the GameStop meme-stock short squeeze in January ...

Connor Bedard’s impending Chicago arrival needs the proper context before it’s overhyped
It’s Connor Bedard Day. The long-sought-after Canadian is more popular than Justin Trudeau (although I’m not exactly sure how high of a bar that is these days) will be selected No. 1 overall by the Blackhawks during tonight’s NHL Entry Draft. Any other move from Chicago with the top overall selectio...

Immaculate Grid was designed for the unsalvageable like me, and the LA Kings try to convince themselves
There almost certainly is a sordid side to Immaculate Grid, just as there is to Wordle, or Numble, or Framed. In just the week I’ve been playing the Grid, I’ve probably given away my birth certificate, passport, and most of my DNA. And yet I’m not going to stop, and neither are you. ...

Michael Jordan was the only Black majority owner in the NBA, NFL, or MLB — now he’s gone
Michael Jordan is making a good business decision by selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets for approximately $3 billion — especially since he bought the team for $275 million in 2010. But, despite how bad the franchise has been during his tenure, it’s a melancholy moment given that the...

Meet Jimmy Butler, the NBA’s Neymar
They go about it in opposite ways, but Neymar and Jimmy Butler end in the same place. They’re both very good to great players. They’re billed as epicenters. It’s just as important, if not more so, that they’re seen as THE guys than just being them. Neymar goes about it with flash and showmanship, wh...

The Nuggets are immune to the Heat’s Dark Arts
The Miami Heat’s success has been hard to define all postseason. Words like resilience, toughness, and intelligence certainly apply, but that can be said about any team in any sport that makes a deep playoff run. No, Miami has been Jonathan Crane, injecting fear into Gothamites and Bostonians alike....

Chris Paul is done as a starting point guard
On Wednesday evening, Bleacher Report insider Chris Haynes’ report that the Suns were prepared to waive point guard Chris Paul before a June 28 deadline which would guarantee his entire $30 million salary for the next season triggered a fury of interest in the 38-year-old. Shams Charania and Adrian ...

Why is it 'Playoff Jimmy' and not 'Playoff Jokic?'
How many triple-doubles do you have to pile up before you get your own playoff persona? When do the pundits start referring to “Playoff Jokic?” to differentiate Nikola Jokic from what goes on October-April? One would hope that Jokic is close to it by now, seeing as how he racked up his 13th out of ...

Jimmy Butler was good enough in Game 2
There was a little too much fouling of 3-point shooters for my taste on Sunday night, but other than that, the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets played quite the thrilling Game 2. The Nuggets threw run after run at the Heat, who ate every blow and kept countering. Eventually the Heat put the Nuggets on ...

Heat can't get past Nuggets on guts alone
For once a Miami Heat 2023 playoff game played out the way that was expected. The Denver Nuggets are bigger, more talented, and won Game 1 of the NBA Finals by a double-digit margin — 104-93....

The definitive NBA Finals player rankings
The NBA Finals are upon us, and it’s time to rank the players involved. You’ll notice Tyler Herro is just an honorable mention, and that’s due to his injury status and not fully knowing when he’ll play in the series. These rankings are based on the level of importance and influence each player will ...

Will Nikola Jokić lead Denver to its first title or will Jimmy Butler fulfill his playoff prophecy?
One of the least anticipated matchups in recent memory is upon us. The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat. Let’s be real here. No LeBron, no Jayson Tatum, and no Boston Celtics legends in the stands. Media members have been openly grousing all week about having to cover the Nuggets. That’s a cornball pos...

George Washington University’s new nickname is as bad as the old one
George Washington University is named after a slave owner. The school has decided to change its moniker for sports teams from the “Colonials” to the “Revolutionaries.” ...
