russell Page 45 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Russell Westbrook Finds The National Anthem Boring
Russell Westbrook missed his first six shots of last night's NBA Finals Game 2, and the Thunder's slow start left them unable to overcome the Heat despite a thrilling finish. A bellwether for Westbrook's anemic first quarter performance came before the game, when during the national anthem he looke...

So, Who Embarrasses Himself The Most In <em>Rock of Ages</em>?
The central appeal—or anti-appeal—of any Hollywood adaptation of a musical is not about the music or the choreography or the set pieces; it's about watching actors who don't usually sing, sing. One of the most fun aspects of Chicago was learning how charming and deft Richard Gere was; it was equally...

What Dwyane Wade And LeBron James Can Learn From Kevin Durant And Russell Westbrook After Game 1
The Miami Heat began the third quarter of Game 1 of the NBA finals leading by seven points. The Heat had played brilliantly throughout the first half, executing crisp passes that criscrossed the floor and left the Thunder unable to close out on wide open three-point shooters. It looked like the Hea...

Thunder Take Game 1, Send Pat Riley Into His Own Personal Hell
Bless you, Pat Riley. For all your maniacal tendencies and consistently omnipresent persona, you're just willing to put yourself out there in the Chesapeake Energy Arena crowd and subject yourself to a first-hand view of the Thunder's gripping comeback in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Kevin Durant chipp...

Why The Heat Should Be Afraid Of Russell Westbrook
The Thunder won four straight last week against the unstoppable Spurs to earn a spot in the NBA Finals, which begin tonight on ABC. They'd tantalized us with potential for the last three years, but they've arrived now. They're grown-up. Scary, even—and not just because Kevin Durant has unlimited ran...

Another Day, Another Umpire On A Power Trip
Today's petty tyrant is Laz Diaz, who worked home plate during last night's Yankees-Angels game in Anaheim. Diaz exchanged words with Yankee catcher Russell Martin over balls and strikes, which is a no-no on Martin's part. But according to Martin, Diaz responded in a unique and passive-aggressive wa...

If Beast Mode Exists In Basketball, Russell Westbrook Entered It
The action in Oklahoma City has been hot tonight, with Thunder fans matching the intensity of the players (from both OKC and L.A.) on the court. Russell Westbrook's been especially full of flair this evening, but his steal-and-circus-shot is the kind of highlight that deserves several looks; Kevi...

Russell Wilson's Wife Provides Us With Our Favorite Face Of The Draft
Seattle chose quarterback Russell Wilson in the third round of last night's NFL Draft, and his wife of three months was so excited she immediately began the metamorphosis to boa constrictor....

There's A New Dunk Of The Year Candidate, And It's This Durant-To-Westbrook Alley-Oop
Okay, so we're getting a bit repetitive. First this was the dunk of the year, then this was in the running too. Yeah, yeah, they're all great dunks, and so is this one, from the second quarter of tonight's Thunder-Kings tussle in Oklahoma City. What's it got going for it? Well, it's a lob, and wh...

When Serious Actors Become Action Stars: A Guide
This Friday, Lockout opens, and beyond its prison-colony-in-space hook, probably the most interesting element to this sci-fi film is "Holy cow, is that Guy Pearce kickin' all that ass?" Why, yes, it is—and it's a conscious departure from the serious dramatic roles we usually see from him (Memento, L...

Russell Westbrook High-Fives Omer Asik As He Dunks Over Him
Keep your eye on Westbrook's left hand just after he takes flight. It's almost like he's thanking Asik for helping to make this dunk look so ferociously special....

Russell Westbrook's Dunk Attempt Did Not Go As Smoothly As Blake Griffin's
This might be a bit tough to watch after seeing Blake Griffin consume and excrete Kendrick Perkins, but every yang needs a yin and if there's anything other than that dunk to serve as synecdoche for last night's 112-100 Clippers win over Oklahoma City, it's Russell Westbrook being stuffed by the ...

Russell Westbrook And Kevin Durant Had An "Altercation"
Scare quotes on "altercation" in the headline, because no one's really sure how to sum this one up succinctly. An argument? A feud? A whole lot of nothing? A nascent Thunder dynasty being torn apart before it could even begin? Two 23-year-olds acting like 23-year-olds?...

Cam Newton Blames JaMarcus Russell And Vince Young For The Disrespect He Gets
We wrote a bit yesterday about how Panthers QB/super-rookie Cam Newton has been shortchanged by the national media. We framed it through the prism of Tim Tebow, although Newton deserves plenty of recognition in his own right....

What Do NFL Scouts Think They Know About Quarterbacks?
We're doing a season-long NFL roundtable with our friends at Slate. Check back here each week as a rotating cast of football watchers discusses the weekend's key plays, coaching decisions, and traumatic brain injuries....

SprtsCntr: Let the Russell Wilson Slurpfest Begin!
What is ESPN prattling on about right now? We condense your morning SportsCenter to its essence....

Diddy Goes To School With Russell Westbrook And Baron Davis
Your morning roundup for Aug. 18, the day the kids and the dog prevented a dude from stealing our van. Photo via @kevinlove. Got any stories or photos for us? Tip your editors....

<em>Welcome Back, JaMarcus</em>: Russell Will Return To LSU In The Fall To Take Some Classes
LSU Sports Information Director Michael Bonnette tweeted yesterday that former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell would be returning to Baton Rouge to take classes in the fall. In his honor, we've cut you the opening credits of Welcome Back, JaMarcus....

This Is Terrelle Pryor's Sweet Ride Getting Towed From A Donut Shop
If this is really Pryor's car—and it sure as hell looks that way—we have ourselves a new nadir of the Buckeye scandal. That it happened at Buckeye Donuts makes it all the more Jamarcus Russell-y. At least Russell had first-round money....

Russell Westbrook's Quarter On The Bench Is A Nice Reminder That The NBA Has Coaches
Here's the play, courtesy of Sebastian Pruiti over at the NBA Playbook, that allegedly motivated Scott Brooks to bench his starting point guard for the entire fourth quarter last night. It was, initially, a nerve-racking move to take in: you expect a young team to fold in on itself without its you...