vic Page 16 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
How about some real stakes for the NBA In-Season Tourney?
If the NBA’s goal with its in-season tournament is to simply further pad its upcoming national television rights deals, that’s fine. A few more nationally televised contests will always increase the package, and the players on the floor for these games will compete. However, stars won’t change their...
Robert Kraft would be crazy to pick Mac Jones over Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick on the hot seat sounds like sci-fi fiction, but according to the Boston Globe, Robert Kraft might be losing his patience. There are truths, lies, and somewhere in between that sandwich are juicy, salacious rumors....
The Gold Cup was never about lifting another trophy for the US
The reinforcements won’t be coming from this group. Outside of goalkeeper Matt Turner — whose status as the unquestioned No. 1 goalkeeper for the United States men’s national team didn’t change after five games in this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup — what player from this American squad that only defeate...
Here we go already with the Wemby MVP talk
Hyperbole often rules the day in sports media in the social media age. Everyone is almost subconsciously attempting to go viral during every waking moment. Enter former NBA player and current TNT analyst Kenny Smith. While calling a summer league game this week, Victor Wembanyama’s name came up in t...
Assessment after 2 summer league games: Victor Wembanyama is scary
Victor Wembayama’s rookie summer league didn’t have quite the immediate impact of Zion Williamson’s. There was no steal in which he wrestled the ball from the clutches of NBA starter and went Daryl Dawkins on the rim, nor an earthquake that stopped the game. What Wembayama was able to accomplish thr...
Cooper Flagg was playing in the wrong summer league
Victor Wembanyama’s NBA summer league debut was a mixed bag that had quick-take artists calling him Raef “LaFrench” after a 3-for-14 shooting performance. Nevermind that he rejected several shots and affected a slew of others. On Sunday night, Wembanyama had to respond to the best player in a summer...
Long live student journalism
I spent two college summers delivering Edy’s Ice Cream to Jewels, Moo & Oinks, and 7 Eleven’s throughout the Chicagoland area. The summer after my junior year I interned for NBA.com and thought I was hot stuff with a feature I wrote on Josh Smith’s basketball camp. Nicole Markus, Alyce Brown, Cole R...
The Charlotte Hornets are a soap opera
Throughout the history of NBA teams that have called Charlotte, North Carolina home, a second-round trip to the playoffs has been the furthest point any franchise has made it. And while this iteration of the Hornets has nothing to do with the ones from yesteryear, they do feature something that prob...
Victor Wembanyama passes first test
If it wasn’t obvious from Victor Wembanyama’s interview on J.J. Redick’s podcast, this young man is ready for NBA life. Las Vegas, the slow July sports news cycle, Britney Spears, all of it crashed down on him in less than 24 hours. However, when it came time to address the scenario, Wembanyama was ...
Hoops, she did it again
This year’s No. 1 overall pick, Victor Wembanyama, has only been an official NBA player for a week, and he’s already had his first wild encounter with a fan. But this wasn’t some random fan walking around Las Vegas, where Wemby will make his summer league debut on Friday. No, this was former teen po...
Where should expectations be set for Victor Wembanyama’s summer league dress rehearsal?
Victor Wembanyama’s career prologue is almost as long as he is. It already feels like Wembanyama’s in his second NBA season doesn’t it? It feels like just yesterday, when he was in the (French) Finals at the exact same time as Nikola Jokic. According to Marc Stein, Wembanyama’s scheduled NBA debut h...
Damian Lillard and James Harden need to exchange travel plans
The two superstars residing on the NBA’s bustling trade block have their bags packed. Damian Lillard has been hinting at Miami as his preference for weeks while the mutual interest between Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers is hard not to notice. Check back in a year and Harden may change his mind ...
USMNT striker Jesús Ferreira is best against crappy teams
The surest bet for the United States men’s national team to score a goal is Jesús Ferreira against a shitty team. The FC Dallas striker has padded stats that look much more impressive than they are. In 20 appearances for the Yanks, Ferreira has 11 goals. He became the 29th American to score 10 or mo...
The Spurs like to mess with us, but it would have been unwise to use Victor Wembanyama to do so
Look at the San Antonio Spurs doing their part to properly sell the NBA. For a time there was a chance that Victor Wembanyama might be making his handful of NBA Summer League games in Sacramento and not during the league’s big event in Las Vegas....
Connor Bedard’s impending Chicago arrival needs the proper context before it’s overhyped
It’s Connor Bedard Day. The long-sought-after Canadian is more popular than Justin Trudeau (although I’m not exactly sure how high of a bar that is these days) will be selected No. 1 overall by the Blackhawks during tonight’s NHL Entry Draft. Any other move from Chicago with the top overall selectio...
Team USA Basketball needs to bring back multi-year commitments
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And if it does break, fix it the same way you did after you originally broke it. Grant Hill, this is for you....
The lazy man’s guide to Victor Wembanyama slander
If I have to hear one more TV, personality, or Twitter bird squawking about the NBA’s top draft pick, Victor Wembanyama, missing a couple of perfunctory jumpers between photo shoots, I am going to throw myself in front of Shaq next time he barrels toward Inside the NBA’s video board....
Are no-trade clauses still needed in the NBA?
It’s like the holy grail of professional sports contracts. The elusive no-trade clause. This stipulation is preserved for a select few, but they almost seem pointless in the NBA. Last week Bradley Beal waived the no-trade clause in his deal with the Washington Wizards to clear a path to Phoenix. He ...
There’s less shame in porn than on the set of <i>First Take</i>
The easiest way to get clicks for the past week or so hasn’t been Victor Wembanyama content, or Damian Lillard trade destinations. No, if you really wanted to gin up page views and subscribers, put Zion Williamson and Moriah Mills in a headline. It’s the reason why Stephen A. Smith has repeatedly go...