aol Page 5 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Victor Wembanyama is in America, and taking part in a matchup that, on a college court, would be one of the most anticipated of all time
While it was great to see Ja Morant taking off for a 360 dunk on Monday night, and Paolo Banchero throwing it down on two people, that was just preseason Memphis Grizzlies vs. Orlando Magic basketball. The NBA regular season doesn’t begin until Oct. 19. Until that day, any minutes fans see of their ...

It’ll be the NBA vs. the NFL on Christmas Day
Roger Goodell is marking his territory on property that Adam Silver has the deed to....

Vince McMahon is an actual American story
As the eulogies for Vince McMahon’s career pile up in the wake of his not-in-any-way-forced retirement on Friday, they follow the usual script of any powerful and ungodly wealthy man’s career coming to an end. His offenses, crimes, and responsibility for the misery and violation of basically countle...

5 players to watch at NBA Summer League
Players who were added to NBA rosters two weeks ago take the court to play against young NBA talent, and people who are still desperately clutching their professional basketball dreams. There were a handful of teams in San Francisco and Utah earlier in the week, but the big show is in Vegas for 10 d...

In the NBA, who just got overpaid? And who got underpaid?
One of the best things about NBA Free Agency is witnessing the many athletes who have spent years toiling on blacktop courts in ignored corners get paid. Nothing wrong with hard-working people getting money legally. Isn’t that the American Dream? Playing armchair quarterback in group chats, comment ...

Jolly St. Perk, fashion faux pas, and more from NBA Draft night
I had the ESPN broadcast of last night’s NBA Draft on while cooking dinner, and even with my hands occupied by a pot of mac and a large spoon instead of my phone and internet, I knew Kendrick Perkins was going to get broiled over hot Twitter embers....

The 2022 NBA Draft’s top five picks felt like a sidekick draft
The 2022 NBA Draft’s starting lineup is exactly what we thought it would be with a zesty twist.Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, Jaden Ivey, and Keegan Murray flew off the shelf to kick off the evening. After reports emerged earlier in the day that the Orlando Magic were sinking their hoo...

Riding the Chet Holmgren overhype train
The 2022 NBA Draft is just hours away, and the top three seem to be locked among Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga), Jabari Smith (Auburn), and Paolo Banchero (Duke). Some talking heads and experts think it’s a toss-up as to which player will be selected No. 1. I don’t think it’s even close. Holmgren is pullin...

Back to school
The Chet Holmgren vs. Paolo Banchero vs. Jabari Smith debate as to who will be the first player taken in tomorrow’s NBA Draft has been the talk of the entire season (and offseason). Three one-and-dones from great schools representing the way it’s been done for decades, two of them not yet 20 years o...

How the 2022 NBA Draft will go — Lottery Edition
Last year’s draft is already looking like an all-time great. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t gems to be had in the 2022 NBA Draft. Analysts have said this is a four-person draft. But with the league experiencing greater parity than it has in the last two decades, the need for high-impact rol...

Thunder, Magic luck out in a top-heavy NBA draft
After three years of embarrassing tanking, GM Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder have returned to relevance. They came into the NBA Lottery with the sixth-best odds at the top pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and ended up with the second pick in the draft. The Orlando Magic won the first pick and wi...

Frank Gore scores knockout and redemption in pro boxing debut on 39th birthday
After rushing for 16,000 yards in the NFL, Frank Gore is entering the next phase of his career as a professional athlete and stepping into the boxing ring. On Saturday, Gore had his first pro boxing match on his 39th birthday against Yaya Olorunsola in Biloxi, Miss., for Gamebred Boxing. Gore took t...

After Kansas and North Carolina’s thriller it’s official: Transfers are in and one-and-dones are out
College basketball is full of rituals, and one of them is that the day after the season ends a host of publications will release their “way-too-early” preseason rankings, as more attention will be focused on mock drafts and the upcoming NBA Draft....

NCAA prospects who could turn into NBA All-Stars
As March Madness kicks off in a few days, the next class of NBA regulars will play in their final college games before transitioning into pre-draft prep, doing everything they can to hear their name called higher on June 23. Most of the top prospects for this summer’s draft will display their talent...

Get ready for the next bunch of NBA bigs
Glance around the basketball landscape and you’ll see skyscrapers cast a shadow over the courts again. A whole new host of bigs are on the verge of challenging the convention that the NBA is a guard’s league....

Peng Shuai ‘retires,’ most of the world barely notices
Since Peng Shuai bravely penned details of her sexual abuse at the hands of former Chinese vice-premier Zhang Gaoli in November, the 36-year-old tennis star has become a symbol for the extent of Chinese censorship. Saying that China has handled Shuai’s accusations against a high-ranking Chinese gove...

The WTA stood up to China, thank goodness somebody did
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) decided that enough was enough and it could not continue its business relationship with China, but the right decision could come with a significant financial cost. WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon released a statement that the organization will be suspending all ...

The WTA stood up to China, thank goodness somebody did
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) decided that enough was enough and it could not continue its business relationship with China, but the right decision could come with a significant financial cost. WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon released a statement that the organization will be suspending all ...

Welcome to the Paolo Banchero Show
To call Friday night’s matchup between Duke and Gonzaga a “game” would be doing a disservice to what really happened in Las Vegas at an hour that no sporting event should ever be starting. Despite my moral qualms with a 10:30 EST tip-off, I stayed up to watch the game that was more than a game — it ...

Gonzaga is looking pretty dominant
Drew Timme’s iconic ‘stache might be tragically missing from this college hoops season, but he and the Zags are back in full force after an absolute rout of the No. 2 team in the nation last night. In a rematch of March’s overtime Final Four game, Gonzaga looked like a varsity team scrimmaging JV at...