van Page 55 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Cleveland has hope — and a pretty good basketball team
If there was a way to slyly tell you that Cleveland has the second best scoring defense in the NBA behind the Warriors, I would do that. But me doing the whole, “I bet you couldn’t guess who the second best scoring defense in the league is” bit isn’t clever, because Cleveland is in the headline of t...

With a little luck, the Jazz can make a deep playoff run
The Utah Jazz have been a “Yeah, but… “ team for a few years now. And while it’s better than just being butt, it’s frustrating. You can tell how much of a pretender a team is by how mad their fans get when the media disregards their relevance despite the team winning 50-plus games every year. ...

Chauncey Billups thinks Steph Curry is the greatest combo guard in NBA history and it’s really tough to disagree
Stephen Curry is on the cusp of passing Ray Allen for the most 3-point shots made in NBA history. Classified as a point guard, Curry is already top three at his position all-time in the eyes of most that follow the NBA. Portland Trail Blazers first year head coach and former NBA Finals MVP Chauncey ...

These Bulls are so much goddamn fun
I won’t lie to you, dear reader. Things are pretty bleak around here in Chicago, sports-wise. And actually beyond sports-wise, but I’m not qualified to discuss those things, really. Our center, the Bears, are an elaborate prank played on all of us by a trickster god, or at least they’d better be. Fi...

Divock Origi, the club legend who never plays
Every fandom has their cult heroes who seemingly drop in out of the sky and provide a lifelong memory. Phillies fans have Matt Stairs. Bulls fans have Steve Kerr, to an extent (Kerr was a fine player but he does seem an odd choice from the gods to hit a title-clinching shot, no? Then again, he did i...

The Flyers needed to fire Alain Vigneault last year
The Philadelphia Flyers fired coach Alain Vigneault on Monday, and the truth is it should have come sooner, and it’s probably not enough....

Neil Olshey firing is only going to prolong the wait for your Dame dream trade
Let’s try an exercise. Something happens to the Portland Trail Blazers franchise, and they don’t immediately try to trade Damian Lillard. It’s to the point that I wouldn’t be shocked if media outlets have a pre-written template for Blazers stories....

MLB teams want a 2021 Platinum Glove winner to change positions?
Stop the free agent talk! The lockout has commenced and with it there will be no more free agent signings until MLB and the MLB Players’ Association agree on a new CBA for the next five years. That being said, there are still several big-name free agents who remained unsigned through the Wednesday C...

Devin Booker is staking his claim for the crown of best shooting guard in the NBA and he’s got a damn good argument
Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker is following in the footsteps of his mentor, Kobe Bryant, staking his claim as the best at his position in the NBA. Like Bryant, it’s taken Booker a few years to scale that mountain of elite two-guards, but I think we can say he has arrived at the peak....

What in the name of Sam Cassell is with these Big Balls Dance fines?
At least the NBA is consistent?...

Don’t pull a muscle patting the Rays on the back
There’s obviously been a rush in the aftermath of the Tampa Bay Rays signing Wander Franco to a deal that could be worth as much as $223 million and keep him in Tampa for 12 years, according to reports. The 20-year-old star will get a serious upgrade on what he would have made the next three years w...

LaMonte Wade Jr. got an MVP vote? Explain yourself
Come here. Sit down. Let’s have a talk. I’m not angry, just disappointed....

NWSL comes to the conclusion of its landmark season
In a lot of ways, having the Washington Spirit in the NWSL final is perfect for the league. No matter where the league goes from here, what it becomes, the 2021 season will be viewed as a turning point. While the stories themselves were horrifying, heartbreaking, and infuriating, sunlight is always ...

The NFL’s domestic violence program appears to be going just great
(TW: domestic violence, assault)...

Los Angeles County lawyers are still making Vanessa Bryant suffer
There’s a lot going on in California. The Golden State Warriors are on fire. Anthony Davis thinks the Lakers “suck.” And the Staples Center will be called the Crypto.com Arena starting on Christmas. Maybe that’s why more people aren’t focused on what’s still happening to Vanessa Bryant. ...

If an athlete buys an ownership stake in a team and no one knows it, does it make a sound?
What’s the point of owning a sports franchise if you can’t make irresponsible trades, overpay role players, furtively watch from a dimly lit owner’s box or make Roger Goodell eat shit?...

The NBA future is... WOWZA!
The NBA has never felt younger and more reliant on up-and-coming stars than it does today. Teams are beginning to utilize the draft more and more. We’ve seen plenty of tank-a-thons by teams in the last five years, and these efforts have panned out to varying degrees. For some, it has materialized in...

AEW <em>Full Gear</em>: Fantastic <em>All Out</em> could look like a community board meeting compared to this
I’m not sure how AEW has put together a card that is the equal, or maybe even better than All Out in September. But this Full Gear one could easily surpass it. The stories are a little more fleshed out, and it also has Bryan Danielson in the ring instead of just making his debut. This has a chance t...

Kamaru Usman needs to ignore Dana White’s advice about Canelo Álvarez, especially if he’s not going to pay the champ more money
The week of UFC 268, ESPN’s Max Kellerman interviewed UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman to preview his then-upcoming championship defense against Colby Covington — whom he beat for the second time on Saturday — but then Kellerman asked Usman what was next after UFC 268. Kellerman made logical s...

Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes: Like… whoa
Saying Evan Mobley and Scottie Barnes are outperforming Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green is accurate. That also makes it seem like Cunningham and Green were somehow mistakes. To be clear, none of the top four picks in the 2021 NBA Draft look like misses, which is awesome for the Pistons, Rockets, Cav...