state Page 18 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Marcus Smart might be exactly what the Memphis Grizzlies need
After nine years in Boston, Marcus Smart was sent packing to Memphis. On the surface, it might sound like a raw deal for Smart, but his arrival in Tennessee could be the best thing to happen to the Memphis Grizzlies since Ja Morant fell in their laps four years ago. Smart isn’t a superstar, but much...

NBA contenders might have to start holding onto those first- and second-round picks
The Golden State Warriors have been the model franchise for how to keep a core group together. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green were able to stay united for a decade for a few different reasons — salary cap increase, luck, well-timed contracts — but No. 1 on that list is they spent mon...

Mike Dunleavy Jr.'s job is to keep aging Golden State Warriors at a championship level
Monday was the introductory press conference for Mike Dunleavy Jr., the new general manager of the Golden State Warriors. Three days later he gets the privilege of hitting the ground running with the Warriors holding the 19th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft....

The USWNT better not have any centerbacks get hurt
We wondered out the USWNT would heading into the World Cup without Becky Sauerbrunn. The starting lineup should be ok, but how would Vlakto Andonovski answer the question of the eroded depth without the captain around? It would appear he’s decided to not answer it at all. ...

You’ll never guess who Brandon Miller proclaims as the 'GOAT'
For anyone who struggles to come to grips with getting older, this won’t help ease that anxiety. Brandon Miller, a projected top 3 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, dropped what might be a shocking revelation to some. During a pre-draft presser on Wednesday, Miller was asked everyone’s favorite basketba...

Mike McCarthy is exactly who we’ve always known he was
When it comes to athletic competition, we all love a good ranking. It doesn’t matter what it is, whom we’re comparing, or what’s at stake. It always catches our attention whenever a list is released, ranking players, or teams 1 through whatever. You can triple the attention any ranking list will rec...

Major League Baseball needs more African-American players, less Juneteenth grandstanding
Corporate America is trying to ruin Juneteenth — like the “Swag Surf” and countless things before it. It’s the reason why Gayle King had to joke about how “the only white guy at the table is off today,” on Monday’s episode of CBS Mornings. And why Major League Baseball — a sport that consistently er...

It was hard not to get a little giddy about the USMNT
Being a USMNT fan usually involves seeing things that aren’t there, or at least things that could be there but aren’t yet. It’s usually what the team could develop into, or dreaming about flashes being carried over into a full 90 minutes one day, or when an injured player or two returns or makes his...

Becky Sauerbrunn’s absence at the World Cup hurts more in the heart than on the field
The women’s World Cup continues to be a battle of attrition, even if it doesn’t start for another month. All the major powers are heading to Australia and New Zealand next month, seemingly with one hand tied behind their back, either through injury or strife within their programs (Canada and Spain)....

Another Juneteenth, and America still doesn't get it
For the third time on Monday, the United States of America will acknowledge Juneteenth as a federal holiday. President Joe Biden signed the declaration into law two days before the holiday in 2021. Now as America enters its third nationwide Juneteenth celebration — three years after George Floyd’s d...

Ja Morant fittingly suspended 25 games for a couple moments of idiocy
The other Nike dropped for Ja Morant on Friday with NBA commissioner Adam Silver levying a 25-game suspension for one the league’s brightest stars. The Memphis Grizzlies All-NBA point guard also will have to fulfill a program that he formulates himself (whatever good that’ll do) as part of his punis...

El Tri comes through in all its embarrassing, pathetic glory on an interesting night for the USMNT
US-Mexico games that count for something, even the CONCACAF Nations League, usually are more than just a result. They are a comment on where each program is at that moment, and most of the time where each is heading. Thursday night’s semifinal may have been the most definitive statement on both, inc...

The SEC nailed its 8-game schedule for 2024
One of the biggest offseason topics in college football was how the Southeastern Conference would handle the maiden voyage for Oklahoma and Texas into America’s premier league. Wednesday night’s announcement that everyone in the SEC would play either the Sooners or Longhorns once, alongside the cont...

Kirby Smart: New Nick Saban, or Urban Meyer with a visor?
The Georgia Bulldogs football program entered rarified territory after back-to-back titles this year, joining Alabama, and USC as the only programs to accomplish that feat this century. Kirby Smart has constructed a doomsday machine in Nick Saban’s image, and the proof is not only clear from the win...

Antonio Brown's disastrous Albany Empire tenure predictably gets worse
It appears that Antonio Brown won’t be suiting up with the Albany Empire this season after the National Arena League terminated his squad’s membership agreement. ...

Gregg Berhalter is pretty sure he’s getting the USMNT job back
There is something so very U.S. Soccer about taking nine months in their search for a new USMNT manager, going through two interim managers because the first one didn’t want to wait around and took a full-time job in the Middle East, and then ending up back where they started by re-hiring the guy th...

Jonathan Kuminga has fallen completely out of favor with Golden State
It is remarkable how quickly circumstances can change in sports. The NBA is no exception; we see it frequently across the league. The Golden State Warriors are a team who’ve witnessed how quickly things can go sour within a franchise. Upon being eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second rou...

Buffalo Bills avoid more drama, cancel last minicamp
What a strange and unnecessary situation for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Of course, NFL news must run every hour of every day. It’s more consistent than the satisfaction of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. For the Buffalo Bills though, Stefon Diggs not taking the field for mandatory minic...

A’ja Wilson claims the Las Vegas Aces didn’t get a White House invite
Picking and choosing which championship teams are worthy of being invited to the White House was one of the many reasons why so many people didn’t like the last guy who worked in the Oval Office. And according to A’ja Wilson, Joe Biden isn’t doing a good job either....

It’s not about what you’re worth, Saquon, it’s about what you can get
It’s wild how submissive the New York Giants were during the Daniel Jones contract negotiations when you consider how steadfast the front office has been with Saquon Barkley. The star running back has until July 17 to figure out a new deal, but after that will either have to sign off on the $10.1 mi...