playoffs Page 25 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Ja Morant doesn’t have to wait until next season for redemption
Ja Morant spoke to the media Friday for the first time since the end of last season and the announcement of his 25-game suspension that ends Monday. The Memphis Grizzlies’ All-NBA guard said all of the right things while acknowledging that his behavior is critically more important than a soundbite. ...

This week in the basketball: Illinois St. coach in n-word flap; Giannis Antetokuonmpo still hasn't found his ball
What a typical response to racism from the head coach of Illinois State men’s basketball. During a home game on Saturday, Ryan Pedon got in an altercation with Norfolk State head coach Robert Jones. A situation that was none of Pedon’s business, because Jones was not even talking in the direction of...

Travis Kelce is a lot of things. Washed up is not one of them
It’s crazy to think someone can get to the height of NFL general manager – the position solely responsible for making roster and personnel decisions – all while not knowing football. ...

The Bucks-Pacers rivalry is now spectacular. Thank you, NBA's In-Season Tournament
The NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament has been worth it for all involved. For the Los Angeles Lakers, many men who could use a $500,000 direct deposit got it. Tyrese Haliburton emerged from the tourney as the newest NBA superstar. Also, a real inter-division rivalry is budding. The Indiana Pacers...

Pistons, Spurs serving as an impetus/impotence for another in-season tourney
If you ask Santa for anything this Christmas, ask for the Tanking Super Bowl. The Detroit Pistons, losers of 20 in a row, and the San Antonio Spurs, losers of 17 straight, play each other Jan. 10. That’s a little under a month away, and if both teams continue this dismal form, Detroit and San Antoni...

Florida officials aren't gonna let the FSU playoff snub go
The Florida State playoff snub saga continues. ...

Manchester United didn't even show up
They could have at least tried. ...

The numbers don’t lie: Steph, Klay and Dray’s Golden State Gilded Age is over
Around 2017, I realized I was behind the curve by using free Pandora. I still kept my account for another few years out of an irrational attachment to it, long after everyone else had matriculated away from Pandora digital radio towards Spotify. That’s how it feels watching Golden State try to count...

Refs defend controversial LeBron timeout call
Officials from last night’s Los Angeles Lakers-Phoenix Suns game have confirmed the controversial timeout call that helped punch L.A.’s ticket to the In-Season Tournament semifinal....

How to hate-watch the rest of the NBA's In-Season Tournament, Part 2
Human nature drives us to dump on new concepts and the IST has inspired a whole host of reasons for the NBA Cup to receive hate. There’s a lot not to like including the scoring differentials playing a role in who advances, sneakers sliding around on the NBA’s personalized ice rinks, the 30-team fiel...

Week 13 NFL Takeaways: A Byemaggedon Sunday still had lots of spice
There is no committee in the NFL that votes on the best team. In the pros, every result actually does matter. To qualify for the NFL’s 14 playoff spots, teams either have to finish atop a division or win enough games to get in as a wild card. While every game counts, there are some, even on the regu...

Golden State’s third quarter super powers are gone and that’s left them mortal
For the second time, this week, the Golden State Warriors went cold in the fourth quarter. Twice this week, the Warriors blew leads of 20-plus points. Against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, they played so frantically trying to achieve a +13 points differential in a win that would allow them to adv...

2023 NHL goals leaders
This article is based on data from Sportradar....

2023 NHL assists leaders
This article is based on data from Sportradar....

The NBA In-Season Tournament: Where you can lose and still win
The NBA has really outdone itself this time. This In-Season tournament nobody asked for in the first place has gotten more convoluted as it extends into the later stages. Rewarding teams as they lose is the biggest participation trophy-era thing there could be. Sure, the analytics crowd is juiced ab...

Week 12 NFL Takeaways: Live by the field goal, die by the field goal
On Sunday, the NFL made up for its Thanksgiving product that was more sleep-inducing than wolfing down a half-pound turkey in one afternoon. Jordan Love’s late-season turnaround was worthy of a hat tip, but the rest of the day would have been better spent arguing about the 2024 election. ...

The NBA's In-Season Tournament is broken. Here's how it can be fixed
Nobody expected the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament to have it all figured out right away. However, there are some drastic changes that need to be made. Friday night marks the final portion of the NBA In-Season Tournament’s Group Stage. After this week, the tournament whittles down to eight tea...

This week in the NBA, November 18, 2023
If you went to bed last night thinking that it’s a shame that the 76ers Kelly Oubre Jr. was injured in a hit-and-run accident on Saturday while walking alone in Philly, you may have been confused this morning to see much of X (formerly Twitter) losing its collective mind and suggesting the Oubre Jr....

Draymond Green wins another personal battle — at Golden State's expense
Tuesday night’s Warriors-Timberwolves rematch was advertised as an In-season Tournament group play match. Instead, a Draymond Green slobberknocker broke out. Early in the first quarter, Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels got into a tussle, Rudy Gobert did what happens in 1,000 routine NBA fights, by ...

NBA Weak Links: Milwaukee‘s 2-guard position could be a sinkhole on their road to a title
A great team is only as strong as its weakest link. At least that’s the consensus among every motivational coach I’ve ever heard. But for the sake of this space, it’s true for NBA contenders as well. I’ll examine the weak spots in some of the most iron-clad lineups in the NBA entering the 2023 seaso...