cia Page 131 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

2021 NBA Southeast Division Preview: The Hawks are going to break your heart
The Atlanta Hawks appeared in the franchise’s second Eastern Conference Finals last season, and their fans are preparing for what they think could be another long playoff run this year. In 2015-16, the Hawks ran into LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East Finals, resulting in a 4-0 Cav...

Sometimes the Hollywood ending works out
Candace Parker and the Chicago Sky did the damn thing, taking the WNBA title in four games with an 80-74 win. They were down 14 at one point in the second half, but roared back through some Allie Quigley threes, some tight defense, and some blown layups from the Mercury, including stalwarts Brittney...

Roy Jones Jr. doesn’t care for Twitter trolls
Watching sports in the social media era we dwell in, I often think about how some of the biggest names from past generations would handle themselves today. At least one former superstar athlete from the ‘90s and ‘00s has confirmed how he would have dealt with social media trolls had Twitter and othe...

Can the Mavs count on Kristaps Porziņģis?
This is going to be a huge year for the Dallas Mavericks, for a couple of big reasons. According to many experts, this is the year Luka Dončić completely breaks through and wins his first of many MVP awards. But more importantly, it’s finally time for the Mavs to find out if they can count on Krista...

Mohamed Salah is on one
I suppose being as analytic-minded as I can get that I’m going to be hypocritical here. It doesn’t help (or hurt, depending on your point of view) that I love Mohamed Salah in every sense of the word, to an extent that my vulnerability is teetering on “highly damaging.” So take that as you will....

NFL Week 6 Betting Primer: Best Over/Under, Spread, Teaser, and Prop Bets
“Not one, not two... not three, not four....”...

NFL investigates itself, finds nothing else wrong whatsoever
Jon Gruden lost his job over his racist, sexist, homophobic emails....

A .500 regular season team is on the doorstep of a title
The Chicago Sky went 16-16 during the regular season, including a 6-10 record at home. It’s also been a month, as of Sunday, since they lost a game in Chicago, and it just so happens that Sunday is the Sky’s next home game, with a chance to win the WNBA title after walloping the Phoenix Mercury, 86-...

Daryl Morey speaks! And there are more questions than answers for the Sixers
Daryl Morey was all smiles on a sun-dappled afternoon while taking selfies with fans in the Chase Fieldhouse parking lot Saturday after his Sixers’ annual “Blue x White Scrimmage.”...

No, Steph Marbury, Muhammad Ali was for vaccinations
Stephon Marbury has stepped up to the plate as the next clueless athlete to back Kyrie Irving....

If Giannis did what I think he just did, the rest of the NBA is in trouble, with or without Kyrie
When we last left two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo he was ordering a cheat meal fit for a champion: 50 (not 51, not 49) chicken minis from Chick-Fil-A, with a large Sprite/lemonade. This was a month after narrowly defeating the Brooklyn Nets while we all complained about his jump shot holding ...

This is what it can be
It is hard to remember in the moment, especially when that is the first moment of a qualifier like last night against Costa Rica and the USMNT is giving up yet another stupid goal before coming back for a 2-1 win and you haven’t even cracked that beer that you’re firing against the wall, that this w...

Dominique Wilkins is owed an apology and the only asterisk I’ll accept in sports
Dominique Wilkins is owed apologies from a lot of you people. ...

When you have to say something isn’t a swastika, you have already given up the game
The Herschel Walker campaign’s NOT A SWASTIKA statement has people asking a lot of questions already answered by the statement....

No Tyler Herro, you should not be in Luka, Trae, or Ja’s category
Yesterday, Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro made an appearance on a podcast and talked about how he views himself as an NBA talent. Herro responded claiming that he believes he should be in the conversation as the other young up-and-comers in the league with the potential to be All-Stars or superstars. ...

Deandre Ayton hasn’t gotten paid because Phoenix is cheap
Phoenix Suns fans might be in for a rude awakening coming very soon. Breakout big man Deandre Ayton is eligible for a rookie max contract extension, but is still without one heading into his fourth year with the Suns. This comes with the territory when you play for a frugal owner who is mainly conce...

Pierce and Garnett team up for podcast
For all of you NBA podcast lovers out there, you’ll soon have another to add to your favorites list. Former Boston Celtics and Hall of Famers Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett seem to be jumping into the NBA podcasting arena. Pierce posted a tease for the new venture via Twitter on Monday morning....

Nets do the right thing — your move, Kyrie
This weekend, I went to a fall craft show with my mom in rural northern Illinois. Is this a good idea during a pandemic? No, it is not, but the organizers promoted the event as being “masks mandatory,” and it was outside (kinda), and my mom really wanted to go, so off I went. ...

Can Westbrook thrive as a third option with Lakers?
The Russell Westbrook era is underway in Los Angeles, and after his first couple of games in a Lakers uniform, Mr. Triple-double accounted for 14 turnovers in 39 minutes. He had 9 in one game alone. Sure, it is only the preseason, and the games and turnovers don’t count, as the future Hall of Famer ...

Stop venerating men who care about nothing but football
Back in 2016, Bleacher Report wrote this in a profile of former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden:...