unc Page 15 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

NBA is granting two-way players postseason-eligibility, per report, which could help some teams
Suddenly, depth may become even more important in this year’s playoffs. ...

You should probably prepare for a Patrick Kane MVP campaign again
As I’ve remarked a few times before, just because the shape and structure of the seasons have been so greatly altered hasn’t kept the favorites from reaching the top. It’s no different in the NHL, where all four divisions are led by the teams you would expect, and if they’re not, those teams are sim...

Stop trying to make Nerds vs. Fun happen in the NBA, too
Let’s get this out of the way immediately: if your reaction to seeing Anthony Edwards’ dunk last week was to complain that it was “all over Twitter” but also note that he was 0-for-7 on three-pointers, you’re either an idiot, a serious killjoy, trolling for attention, or some combination of the thre...

Remembering Leon Spinks’ forgotten upset over Ali 42 years ago
Leon Spinks passed away on February 5 due to prostate cancer at the age of 67. On February 15, 42 years ago, he starred in one of sports’ larger-than-life upsets over one of the most unforgettable boxers to have ever stepped into a ring. If you compile your own Tale of the Tape retrospective, withou...

The push for Tom Brady as the greatest ever feels like Great White Hope talk
Once Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl ring on Sunday, you knew people would gush all over the 43-year-old Tampa Bay quarterback....

Tim Duncan is way, way better than Anthony Davis, jeez
For some inexplicable reason, there is a conversation happening on the interwebs debating the merits of Tim Duncan vs Anthony Davis. Davis is an incredible talent, there’s no denying it, and nor do I want to. However, “The Big Fundamental” is an all-time great and deserves much more respect than thi...

ESPN replaces Sage Steele with the woman she tried to get fired
Karma always finds a way to win....

Cursed Steelers-Ravens matchup sees last-minute COVID scratch
Hours before the Ravens and Steelers are expected to kick off in a nearly unprecedented Wednesday afternoon NFL game due to COVID-19 outbreaks, news broke that Pittsburgh center Maurkice Pouncey was being placed on the COVID/Reserve list....

The NFL and White House are paying the price for pretending the pandemic will just go away
The past week has felt like a month, the past month has felt like a year, and the past six months have felt like a decade, so maybe it’s time for a refresher on what Dr. Anthony Fauci said a decade ago, back on March 26, in an Instagram Live interview with Stephen Curry:...

RIP Uncle Cliffy, NBA Star and Cannabis Pioneer
Cliff Robinson, an NBA player who by many accounts was a time machine into the future in a number of aspects of his life, including being a fierce proponent of marjiuana legalization, died Saturday at 53....

NBA Ratings Nosedive Proves Sports Are Not Essential
Televised sports are entertainment — just like video games, Netflix, and pornography. The industry serves no other practical purpose in society. Farmers produce food. Builders produce homes. Professional athletics deliver fucking Mitsubishi commercials and $19 stadium beers and an irrational sense o...

Rating Each League’s Virtual Fans
With all the leagues that had to restructure their schedules or create a completely new tournament now back in action, we’ve seen various ways of trying to incorporate fans into the TV presentation. All leagues want you to know just how much they miss you (or your money), and how welcome you (or you...

With Preseason Axed, Will the NFL Play at All?
The way things are playing out between the NFL and its players association mirrors negotiations between the MLB and its own union. ...

Happy Bobby Bonilla Day! The Mets are still paying $1.19M each year to a guy who retired decades ago
July 1 in baseball is Bobby Bonilla Day, when the Mets pay $1,193,248.20 to their former third baseman, who hasn’t set foot on a major league diamond since 2001, as part of a deferred payment plan. It’s a check the Mets have been cutting annually since 2011, and they will send a seven-figure sum to ...

Dabo Swinney's Take On The Pandemic Is What 'Merica Wants To Hear. And That Means We Are All Doomed
In case you missed it, Dabo Swinney, the noted pandemic expert and Clemson football coach, suggested Friday that the coronavirus can be beaten into submission simply through the sheer force of America’s greatness. ...

These Guys Were Great, They Just Never Got Enough Credit: The 10 Most Underrated NBA Players Since 1990
In today’s edition of “Let’s talk about sports to distract ourselves from apocalyptic horrors,” we follow up our list of most overrated NBA players with their diametric opposites: the most underrated....

Report: Jim Boylen's Back And Sweatier Than Ever
When he was handed the reins in Chicago part way through last season, Jim Boylen did not try to be a coach so much as he tried to be an idea of a coach, the approach someone might take with a job if they simply workshopped some things they’d seen on television. He benched the entire Bulls starting l...

Claressa Shields Fight Called Off After Opponent's Trainer Got Sucker Punched At Weigh In
Saturday’s junior middleweight title fight between two-time Olympic champion Claressa Shields and Ivana Habazin was cancelled after James Ali Bashir, Habazin’s veteran trainer, got sucker punched in the back of the head at the weigh-in. Bashir was knocked unconscious for about 20 minutes, according ...

Jaguars Junction: Week Four
Another National Football season has begun, I’m told, and with it, as one would expect, another slate of 16 regular-season games for the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team regarded with interest by many—primarily by those in Jacksonville and its immediate vicinity, but to a lesser degree by Floridians at ...

Mike Francesa Stirred From Years-Long Nap To Appear In Feature Film
Apologies to Kevin Garnett, but he’s been upstaged by Mike Francesa as the most intriguing sports-adjacent figure to appear in the upcoming movie Uncut Gems. In the anxiety-inducing trailer, radio’s drowsiest fella dons pinstripes, fits the film’s NYC milieu perfectly, and nails his line delivery: “...