nas Page 12 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

No man is an island, unless his name is James Harden
James Harden is a walking tragedy. He should be celebrated for his ball-handling alchemy, his mentalist-grade ability to draw fouls from reluctant defenders, and of course, the bird’s nest he’s cultivated for the past decade. Instead, he’s spent most of his career getting in his own way. ...

The Texas Rangers are backing up
For avid horseplayers, there comes a point in most races, especially when your steed has shot out to the lead from the opening of the gates, where it becomes pretty clear you’re going to lose. Somewhere on that far turn, your horse’s gait is shrinking, the jockey is working just a little too hard fo...

Breanna Stewart is the heir apparent to Diana Taurasi’s scoring crown
In a sport where offense sells, Breanna Stewart is a closer. On Tuesday night, the New York Liberty needed each and every one of Stewart’s 40 points on a panoply of turnaround fadeaways, driving finishes, post-ups, and off-the-dribble triples to put away the Dallas Wings 94-93. ...

Stephen A. Smith reminds new co-host Shannon Sharpe that he's not Skip Bayless
Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless will forever be linked to each other because of their success on ESPN’s First Take. Even after seven years apart, the sports world still flashes back to when they made sports media debate shows the hottest ticket in the industry. Smith and Bayless are connected at t...

Team USA’s lack of size was exploited in men's World Cup loss to Lithuania
The United States Senior Men’s Basketball Team got its feelings hurt on Sunday. In the final game of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Group Stage, they suffered their first international defeat of 2023 with a 110-104 loss to Lithuania....

Skip Bayless’ new <em>Undisputed</em> bombs in Week 1
Week 1 of the new and “improved” Undisputed with Skip Bayless on FS1 proved to be anything but an improvement, according to most. The numbers don’t lie either, as the season debut last Monday peaked at 131,000 viewers and has only gotten worse from there. By day three on Wednesday, Undisputed was ch...

Ben Simmons is dreaming of taking his street clothes back to Philly
It’s that time of year when we get these Ben Simmons workout videos where he’s in the gym shooting baskets, lifting weights, knocking down three-point shots, and performing like an actual NBA star. But once the regular season rolls around (if he even plays), he morphs back into the guy who can’t see...

What a race we could've had in the AL West, and Nebraska goes loopy for volleyball
As someone who likes to spend a fair amount of time complaining about crusty baseball men and crusty baseball thought, I also spend a fair amount of time dabbling in both. As a crank, one can’t help but look at the AL West and wonder what might have been. ...

Giannis Antetokounmpo sounds more excited to play in Saudi Arabia than Milwaukee
Giannis Antetokoumpo is already the savior of pro basketball in Milwaukee. Bucks ownership was threatening to relocate to Seattle while the city hedged on providing the funding for a stadium upgrade before The Greek Freak singlehandedly yanked them out of basketball purgatory. Nearly a decade later,...

Skip Bayless’ new <i>Undisputed</i> co-hosts mean more ex-athletes replacing journalists
Screaming and arguing are in. Context and nuance are out. And over at FS1, the decibel levels just got louder, while the conversations just got dumber....

Shannon Sharpe partnering with Colin Cowherd's The Volume is sure to make some noise
NFL Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe is taking his talents to….The Volume. Sharpe made the announcement via social media Wednesday morning that he’s entered a partnership with Colin Cowherd and The Volume to bring his podcast, “Club Shay Shay,” to the network. So, now we’ve got Sharpe and Draym...

Steph Curry can’t stack up to Magic Johnson because he belongs in Kobe’s bracket
On the verge of embarking on his 15th season, Steph Curry is enjoying the last mile of his NBA prime. The ascendance of Curry was the NBA’s nuclear fission breakthrough. He is a player whose ability to knock down the 3-pointer with so much efficacy that he opened up our basketball brains beyond the ...

Skip Bayless’ reign may finally be coming to an end
Skip Bayless is viewed as the godfather of this “embrace debate” culture that has consumed sports media over the past 15 years. The FS1 Undisputed host has been around to lend his disconcerting commentary style to some of the most significant events in sports for the better part of five decades. How...

Dan Orlovsky is drunk on New York Jets green Kool-Aid
Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky has become one of Stephen A. Smith’s regular adversaries on First Take over the past few years. He’s become well known for some of his hot takes on the show, but Orlovsky is best known for running out of the back of his own end zone while playing for the Detroit L...

Julio Rodriguez refuses to make any outs
Baseball fans can lose track of the Mariners, all tucked away down there, pretty easily. They’re on late at night, and they don’t come with any of the glamor of some of the other West Coast teams. Though they entered this season as one of the more promising units after last year’s exploits, a pretty...

James Harden's agent thinks we aren't paying attention
The James Harden-Philadelphia 76ers soap opera is becoming the biggest NBA storyline of the summer that looks like it’ll carry over into the 2023-24 regular season. Now, Harden’s agent, Troy Payne, is trying to sell folks on the prospects of James climbing back up the mountain to league MVP status....

10 NFL players, team units everyone thinks will be bad this season, but won't be
Assumptions can be a dangerous thing. Take the preseason conversation surrounding Tua Tagovailoa last season. There were signs that the Miami Dolphins’ third-year quarterback was about to make a quantum leap, but he was mostly ignored in lieu of cheapshots at his arm strength. The same is true for 2...

Stephen A. Smith has all the juice at ESPN
Sports media members are no more forthcoming with their career deals than the players whom we cover, and many times even less so. We are far more replaceable than people who are 6-foot-8 with 35-inch vertical leaps. Therefore most of us wait until the press release comes out before making any public...

Fred Toucher interrupts Jets talk to call Mike Greenberg a 'no-talent pr*ck'
Mike Greenberg has been a staple of ESPN for nearly three decades. He’s famously known as one half of the Mike & Mike morning radio show, which aired on ESPN networks from 2000-17. Greeny, as he’s affectionately known by many, has never been the rah-rah, flashy, over-the-top type of personality like...

To understand the RICO allegations against Team Trump, look to FIFA
After four indictments, the mental gymnastics required to equivocate for Trump requires advanced parkour skills. As of now, the former president faces 91 charges — between Miami, New York, Washington D.C., and Atlanta — which are enough to fill out an entire regional tournament bracket. It can be da...