jim Page 17 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

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...

What are the Florida Panthers, really?
The NHL will be more than happy to hook their star to an NBA narrative, so while all the fans north of the border bitch about a Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights, the offices probably aren’t upset about getting linked through dual South Florida 8-seeds playing f...

Boston Celtics blew it and didn’t even give fans their money’s worth
After a dramatic finish to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Game 7 didn’t nearly live up to the hype. But that only matters to the city of Boston. The Miami Heat stormed into Beantown, took care of business early, and completely silenced the crowd inside TD Garden by halftime. The Celtics mi...
![These are your NBA Conference Finals All-Stars [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/f76d81f8c8a7ff5311833c932baa6622.jpg)
These are your NBA Conference Finals All-Stars [Updated]
Unfortunately, as hard as the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics played in the conference finals, a 2010 rematch did not emerge from the conference finals. Both legendary franchises fell to a 3-0 deficit. The Celtics held on for dear life, but should never have been down that bad. In the end both...

The Miami Heat have the Boston Celtics right where they want them
Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals is going to decide nature vs. nurture, talent vs. culture, once and for all. Jimmy Butler has been giving the cameras a wry smile and an occasional wink since the Miami Heat lost Game 4, and even went as far as to say “We can and we will win this series.” Desp...

Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn does everything you’re not supposed to
Other than the New York Yankees for some reason, no sport really gives a flying fuck about having a captain. The NFL will occasionally pay lip service to it, but then coaches pass around that designation like a joint to reward whoever went longest at practice without drinking water or whatever. I as...

The Jokić bros are back and trolled Jack Nicholson out of Crypto.com Arena
The Los Angeles Lakers have been eliminated after falling to the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, 113-111, despite LeBron James playing all 48 minutes, and scoring 40 points. LA was swept out of the postseason after overachieving to make it this far, but none of that matter...

Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics have Boston on the edge of misery
Joe Mazzulla versus Erik Spoelstra has been a lopsided showdown between two coaches with a devotion to film study. Spoelstra famously began his brilliant coaching career as a video coordinator with the Miami Heat in 1995. Joe Mazzulla is more of a pure cinephile. One of the more interesting peeks in...

You gotta wonder how Ime Udoka feels about the Boston Celtics being down 3-0
Losing to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals is one thing. But, being down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals to a Miami Heat team that needed the play-in to make the playoffs is another. It’s also the barometer that Joe Mazzulla has to deal with in a post-Ime Udoka world....

'Shemy' Schembechler’s resignation is the latest humiliation for Jim Harbaugh and Michigan
There’s a distinct throughline between Michigan coaches Jim Harbaugh and Bo Schembechler. As a fifth-year senior, Harbaugh led Michigan to the 1987 Rose Bowl before getting drafted in the first round by the Chicago Bears. Harbaugh tried to strengthen that connection to yesteryear by hiring Bo’s son,...

Jim Irsay's NFL Top 5 list shows he might be *a little* out of touch
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is back at it on Twitter, stirring up controversy with one of his tweets. In a recent post, Irsay listed his top five NFL players of all time and left out a certain former Colts quarterback — Hall of Famer Peyton Manning — and only included two QBs....

The Miami Heat kicked the Celtics in the head, teeth, calf, and everyone else in Game 3
I have seen some ass-whuppings administered in my lifetime. I remember in the fifth-grade baseball playoffs beating the top overall seed by about 20 runs. To put a championship cap on Alabama’s 2012 football season the Tide ran through Notre Dame so viciously, that their opponents lost the desire to...

Jimmy Butler completely sonned Grant Williams, Boston Celtics in Game 2
Forget what you’ve heard. The Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler is the most dangerous weapon left in the NBA playoffs. Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams found that out the hard way during game two of the Eastern Conference Finals Friday night. Williams chose the trash talk route and, of all people, chos...

The NFL is having another fake diversity program for coaches next week
No one fakes the funk like the NFL. Despite being investigated by New York and California Attorneys General for allegations of hostile workplace discrimination, racial and sexual harassment, and age bias, in addition to Brian Flores’s class-action lawsuit for the league’s alleged racist hiring pract...

James Harden wants to escape the NBA title rat race
In his prime, James Harden was the star of the show. His ball dominance was unparalleled. Harden’s expression of basketball is a sublime experience. His ball handling and passing artistry are one of a kind. During his penultimate season in Houston, Harden’s 40.3 usage rate in 2018-19 nearly set an N...

Jimbo Fisher says he likes to shoot things, glad he doesn't have a gun at practice — excuse me, what?
Jimbo Fisher was all in his feelings last year when Nick Saban accused him of buying a top recruiting class with NIL money at a fundraising event. Fisher raised hell in response. He called Saban a narcissist and also said, “If you lied your old man slapped you on the head. Maybe someone should have ...

YouTube TV’s ECF Game 1 debacle gave NBA cord-cutters an excuse to switch back to cable
The only Americans more upset with Disney than Ron DeSantis sycophants for one night were NBA fans watching The Little Mermaid instead of the Eastern Conference Finals on YouTube TV. But that anger is misplaced. YouTube TV was the culprit in Wednesday night’s Eastern Conference Finals streaming deba...

Playoff Jimmy Butler is Miami's most important player, but Kyle Lowry is proving to be the Heat’s X factor
Heat culture is a thing and something we’ve heard about for years. Despite Jimmy Butler’s denial, “Playoff Jimmy” is also a thing we’ve witnessed over the past few years in May and June. Another phenomenon that’s becoming clear is the resurgence of Kyle Lowry. Lowry, 37, had to put forth the effort ...

After winning the Victor Wembanyama lottery, San Antonio’s work is only just beginning
The conventional thinking is that Victor Wembanyama will be in safe hands with Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. But there’s no guarantee that the Wembanyama era will be anywhere as fruitful as Pop’s last dynasty or that he’ll have the best career out of any prospect in this draft, but I wouldn’t bet a...