In the first battle between the Houston Rockets' small ball and the Los Angeles Lakers' more traditional lineup, small ball won.
But Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni and star James Harden were quick to caution that it's only one game.
The top-seeded Lakers will aim to even their Western Conference semifinals series against the fourth-seeded Rockets on Sunday night at ESPN's Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando. The Rockets, meanwhile, will try to push for a 2-0 series advantage.
"The playoffs (are) about making adjustments," Harden said after Game 1. " ... We've got to be even better in Game 2, because the principles and the schemes and all that stuff will ramp up, so guys gotta be even more engaged."
Houston pulled away in Friday night's Game 1, outscoring the Lakers 27-18 in the fourth quarter to lead by as many as 19 points in a comfortable victory.
The Rockets continued to be paced by their committed, scrappy defense that, entering Saturday, rated as the NBA's best during the postseason.
Houston held the Lakers to 97 points, 42.2 percent from the field and 11-of-38 from 3-point distance. The rebounding numbers were even (41-41), a big win considering the Rockets are so undersized. Houston swiped 13 steals and limited the Lakers to 19 free throws (Houston had 27).
Perhaps most important, the Rockets scored 27 points off of 15 Lakers turnovers.
"Versus a team that's a 100-meter dash team, you cannot turn the ball over like that," James said. "It's just that simple. It starts with myself being the primary ballhandler and it trickles down to everyone else. So we gotta be a complete turnaround going into Game 2."
James compared the Rockets' you-can't-simulate-this speed to "The Greatest Show on Turf" iterations of the NFL's St. Louis Rams. Houston certainly did not look like a team that had just wrapped a hard-fought, seven-game first-round series against Oklahoma City two nights prior.
The Lakers, meanwhile, perhaps displayed a bit of rust following a six-day layoff after needing just five games to beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round.
Offensively, Harden played like a former MVP and perennial All-Star in Game 1. He scored 25 of his 36 points in the first half, and got to the free-throw line 11 times before the break.
D'Antoni said late Friday that Rockets reserve forward Danuel House, who left Game 1 with a head injury, "seems to be fine" and that he is "hoping (House will) be ready to go on Sunday."
The Lakers' All-Star duo of James (20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) and Davis (25 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks, three steals) largely carried the load Friday, but also combined to commit seven turnovers.
The Lakers, of course, also lost Game 1 to Portland before winning four consecutive contests to close out that series. That's why D'Antoni and Harden were quick to caution that Friday was just one game.
But Harden said his team's confidence is high. He also rejects the "small-ball" label.
"I don't know why people keep saying we're small," Harden said. "I don't care if you're 7 feet (tall). If you don't have heart, it doesn't matter. If you don't have 'dog' in you, it doesn't matter.
"We've got guys that are able to switch and play different positions and guard different guys on the court."
A documentary following Greta Thunberg and her journey from Swedish schoolgirl to global climate activist accurately portrays her as a "shy nerd", the teenager said.
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Extinction Rebellion said it took the action to highlight what it regards as the Murdoch-owned newspapers failure to accurately report on climate change.
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A late charge from odds-on favourite Tiz The Law wasn't enough as trainer Bob Baffert won a sixth Kentucky Derby on a day like no other at Churchill Downs.
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Melbourne will be without three experienced players against Fremantle on Monday but the banged-up Demons maintain they are still embracing the opportunities available to them this season.
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Trout surpasses Tim Salmon as the Angels' all-time home run leader, becoming the 151st player to hit 300 home runs.
Move over, King Fish—there's a new fish in town.
Angels center fielder Mike Trout hit his 300th career home run Saturday, breaking a tie with Tim Salmon for the Angels' all-time leader.
The home run gave Trout 15 on the season, giving him the major league lead. He entered the day tied with Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. at 14.
Trout, 29, reaches the 300 home run mark in his 1,235th game, 433 games fewer than it took Salmon to hit 299. He's the 151st player to reach the 300-home run milestone, and is 11th among active players in career home runs.
With 201 career stolen bases, Trout is the fastest to reach the 300 home run and 200 stolen base mark, surpassing Willie Mays.
Salmon spent his entire 14-year career with the Angels, helping lead the franchise to its lone World Series championship in 2002. He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 1993 and had eight seasons with 20 or more home runs.
The Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights have little time to enjoy their dramatic Game 7 victories Friday.
The two teams face a quick turnaround and begin their best-of-seven Western Conference finals on Sunday night in Edmonton, with the winner earning a berth in the Stanley Cup Final.
Third-seeded Dallas, eliminated in a 2-1 double overtime loss in Game 7 in the second round to eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis last season, advanced to the conference final for the first time since 2008 with a 5-4 overtime victory over No. 2 seeded Colorado on Friday. A few hours later, Vegas avoided blowing a 3-1 series lead for the second straight postseason when it defeated Vancouver 3-0.
Joel Kiviranta, in because regular forward Andrew Cogliano was deemed unfit to play, scored the game-winner at 7:24 of overtime for the Stars to become just the seventh player in NHL history and the first rookie ever to score a hat trick in a Game 7.
"This is the moment you dream about when you are a young kid," said Kiviranta, the 24-year-old Finnish forward who had one goal in 11 regular season games. "Today was the day I played the first Game 7 in my life, and I didn't know what to expect."
When he arrived back to a cheering locker room after doing a TV interview, Kiviranta then delivered an assist to the Stars' marketing department with this comment to loud cheers from the squad: "We're not going home!"
"Obviously we were in the same situation last year and came out on the wrong end of it," Dallas captain Jamie Benn said. "And this year it's nice to get that win and move on."
Kiviranta didn't play in any of the three previous meetings between the two teams this season. Dallas took the first one at home on Nov. 25, 4-2, while Vegas won the second one on a Max Pacioretty overtime goal, 3-2, on Dec. 13 in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights also rallied from a 3-1 third period deficit with three goals in the span of 5:02 to pull out a 5-3 victory in the opening game of the Qualifying Round on Aug. 3 in Edmonton.
Shea Theodore's power-play goal from the left point past a double screen by William Karlsson and Mark Stone with 6:08 left in the third period snapped a 0-0 tie and also an amazing 98-save streak by Vancouver backup goalie Thatcher Demko to give Vegas the Game 7 win in the second round. The Golden Knights sealed it with a pair of empty-net goals.
"I thought it was way more than 98 to be honest," said Theodore. "I thought it was a couple hundred. He's a great goalie."
Robin Lehner finished with just 16 saves for his record-tying third shutout of the series but one of them was a diving, highlight-reel glove save on Brock Boeser midway through the second period that may have been the biggest stop of the tournament so far.
"I know you say I can't save backdoor shots, but the big man can move when he wants to," Lehner, nicknamed the Panda, said.
This is the second time in their three seasons that the No. 1 seeded Golden Knights have advanced to the Western Conference final. They knocked off the Winnipeg Jets in five games in their inaugural season in 2018 before losing to the Washington Capitals in five games in the Stanley Cup Final.
Vegas could be without fourth line forward and team enforcer Ryan Reaves for the start of the series. Reaves has a Saturday appointment with NHL Department of Safety after garnering a match penalty for his head shot on Tyler Motte in the second period. He was ejected from the Game 7 win for the hit.
Authentic was named the winner of the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby, beating out heavy favorite Tiz The Law.
Authentic won the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday in Louisville, Ky., holding off pre-race favorite Tiz The Law down the stretch.
The colt was piloted by jockey John Velazquez, who took home his fifth Triple Crown race and third Kentucky Derby. Authentic was trained by Bob Baffert, who has now won the Derby six times.
This year's race marked the third time the Derby has been held outside the month of May, and the first since 1945. It was also the first Derby run in the month of September, and the first time the Derby was not the first leg of the triple crown since 1931.
This year's Triple Crown led off with the Belmont Stakes, which Tiz The Law won by 3 3/4 lengths. The last leg—the Preakness Stakes—will run on Oct. 3. Tiz The Law had won four races this year, and his only career loss heading into Saturday came at the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs in November, where he finished third.
Authentic's victory was his fifth career win and first appearance at the Derby. Jockey Velazquez has now won with three different horses and three different trainers.
After a random bus-stop conversation, 22-year-old Lilli Collingwood landed her dream job in the Big Apple, where she is now a leading designer at a quirky museum.
Though electronic and remote voting has been debated for many years, there is a sense that the coronavirus may fast-track the Parliament into a new age.
After a random bus-stop conversation, 22-year-old Lilli Collingwood landed her dream job in the Big Apple, where she is now a leading designer at a quirky museum.
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Though electronic and remote voting has been debated for many years, there is a sense that the coronavirus may fast-track the Parliament into a new age.
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The state reported five new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, all linked to known clusters. But a new case in an emergency department health worker is under investigation.
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The Players' Association say the Tigers can't force Sydney Stack and Callum Coleman-Jones to pay the club's $75,000 AFL fine without an agreement from the pair.
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In some ways, it is a pity Atlanta United never consistently saw the best of playmaker Gonzalo Martinez after his high-profile signing.
Moving forward after selling the midfielder and still without their top scorer, the Five Stripes try to make do starting Saturday at Orlando City.
Martinez – nicknamed "Pity" -- was a record $14 million signing by Atlanta United (3-4-1) prior to the start of the 2019 season with a rising profile after leading Argentine side River Plate to the Copa Libertadores title and was named the best player in South America in 2018. He was signed as a replacement for Miguel Almiron, who left late in the 2018 season for English Premier League side Newcastle United.
Martinez, though, never truly found a sweet spot with the team and has scored just seven goals in 39 matches. The success Atlanta United enjoyed under Tata Martino did not continue under Frank De Boer, who was fired after the Five Stripes underwhelmed at the MLS Is Back tournament last month.
Martinez, who also clashed with De Boer at points, appears on his way out after General Manager Darren Eales confirmed earlier this week there is a deal in principle to move the midfielder to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr. With a reported transfer fee of $18 million, the business side appears to work for Atlanta United, but it does leave a gaping offensive hole for a team with only seven goals in eight matches.
Atlanta United moved to 1-1-1 under interim coach Stephen Glass following Wednesday night's scoreless draw with Inter Miami. The Five Stripes had a majority of possession, but Martinez's absence was notable with a lack of cutting edge in the final third. They took just five shots and put only one of them on target, with Glass noting his club looked for the perfect shot instead of taking the best one.
"We were the ones pushing the envelope, in terms of going forward and keeping the ball in their half in the first half. We were the aggressor, if you'd like, in that aspect as well," Glass said. "The speed of the ball in the final third and the control and the risk-taking element, we were taking risks we probably didn't have to take in the final third when we could have shifted it maybe another pass before cutting them open."
Orlando City (4-2-3) is looking to extend its unbeaten streak to four matches after a 1-1 draw with Nashville SC on Wednesday night. Benji Michel staked the Lions to a lead on 17 minutes, but they conceded just after the restart and were denied a third consecutive victory.
First-year coach Oscar Pareja is looking to sweep the home-and-home set as part of the Phase One schedule, having rolled past Atlanta United 3-1 last Saturday. Christopher Mueller scored his team-leading sixth goal in that victory, while Junior Urso scored one goal and set up Nani's late strike that sealed the win.
"Atlanta has very good players, especially the ones who are part of their attack. It is a team who offensively is very aggressive and they have been in the last few years with a model of the game that is very clear," Pareja told Orlando City's official website. "We controlled it very well in Atlanta. It was a great game defensively for us and I would like to keep doing that. It was amazing and we were very happy, but this is a different story that needs to be written. We will be ready."
Last Saturday's victory was Orlando City's first in 10 matches (1-2-7) against Atlanta United across all competition since the Five Stripes entered MLS in 2017.
Looking to bounce back from their first regular-season loss and take a large step towards clinching the Canadian Championship, Toronto FC go for a sweep of their three matches versus the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night.
Toronto's bid to equal the longest unbeaten streak in league history fell one match short with Tuesday's 1-0 loss to the Montreal Impact. Alejandro Pozuelo may have been too clever by half in first-half stoppage time when he opted to roll his penalty forward to let Pablo Piatti rush to take it, but Piatti entered the penalty arc before blasting it past Quentin Westberg, resulting in encroachment and loss of possession.
"Not sure what was going on the penalty kick. We're down a goal, we should just be burying the ball in the back of the net and move on," TFC coach Greg Vanney admitted to The Toronto Sun. "The game ended up being very open. Defensively we were pressing a touch too much and when we weren't quite ready to press, they were able to find time between our lines. And the game gets stretched out, it gets open, I think players start to get tired."
Adding injury to the insult of the defeat was the loss of talisman Michael Bradley, who was the recipient of a challenge by Emanuel Maciel that was downgraded from a red card to yellow card in a post-match VAR review. Bradley suffered a Grade 2 MCL strain and is expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks.
The good news for Vanney and the Reds (5-1-3), whose team has nine points and leads the three-way competition for a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League next season, is that Ayo Akinola had a 30-minute runout after missing the last two matches with a hamstring injury.
Vancouver (2-6-0) failed to score in either of its defeats at Toronto, losing 3-0 and 1-0, and has not scored a goal in 379 minutes following a 2-0 defeat at Montreal on Aug. 25. It was the third straight loss for the Whitecaps, who have scored just two goals in their last six matches across all competitions.
Having played all its road matches in the three-team, six-match round robin, there is optimism in the Whitecaps camp they can turn things around and begin climbing the Western Conference standings.
"We spent a lot of time on our attacking play, how could improve in the final third that we could get more scoring opportunities. There was a lot of film individually, by groups, and also with with everybody involved," Whitecaps coach Marc Dos Santos said about the team's break. "We made sure that in training we were able to address a lot of the why's and how can we be more aggressive, how can we create more, that was important for us in the last three days."
Out to help Dos Santos is marquee offseason signing Lucas Cavallini, who has yet to open his scoring account for the Whitecaps. The Canada international, who opted out of MLS Is Back, has yet to score in five matches.
Toronto FC is 2-0-1 in its last three regular-season matches at Vancouver.
The Seattle Sounders resumed regular-season play with a resounding victory over the rival Portland Timbers. It began a path down different roads for each team.
This Cascadia rivalry is ready for another installment Sunday night in Seattle.
It's always a good time, and usually intense, when these rivals come together. In this case, it's a meeting of two sides seemingly headed in opposite directions.
Seattle (4-1-3) has totaled eight goals while going 2-0-1 since the regular-season resumed last month. The Sounders had won three straight official matches prior to Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Real Salt Lake.
That stretch includes a 3-0 win over Portland on Aug. 23. Raul Ruidiaz recorded a goal with an assist and Kelvin Leerdam also scored as the Sounders left Providence Park with perhaps their most impressive showing of 2020.
For Portland (3-3-2), that setback opened an 0-2-1 rut that followed its run to the MLS is Back Tournament title. The Timbers have conceded 10 goals over those three contests.
However, both sides - from the standpoint of their respective coaches at least - enter this contest with attitudes somewhat reversed.
Seattle appeared headed for a 2-1 win at Salt Lake earlier this week, but it allowed the equalizer in the 85th minute. It was a valuable road point, but two were left on the table.
"Championship teams figure out ways how to close out games like that," straight-forward Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer told the official website of MLS. "The team has to understand that championship teams are able to close games out like that. It's two points dropped ... I just need to understand and make (the team) understand that these are moments where the team can close games.
"And, that's going to matter when it's later in the year, in the playoffs and all of that."
Portland trailed 2-0 early in the second half to Los Angeles FC on Wednesday, but showed fight in making it a contest in the 3-2 defeat. Diego Valeri became the third player in league history post 80 goals and 80 assists during regular-season play for a career.
"We try to be a team that tries to be more upfront and pressure a little higher," Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese told the official website of MLS. "It comes with some consequences sometimes. We'll continue to work and I'm sure with the attitude I saw, there's going to be a lot more games that we're going to win."
Valeri (four goals, two assists in 2020) has six goals with 10 assists in 23 career matches versus Seattle. Ruidiaz has also shined against the Timbers, recording seven goals with two assists in just six career matchups.
While Minnesota United FC continues to struggle, Real Salt Lake is quietly putting itself in position to contend with the best in the Western Conference.
Minnesota looks to avoid a fourth straight defeat on Sunday night when it hosts a Salt Lake squad that's unbeaten in three consecutive matches.
The return from the MLS is Back Tournament has not been kind to Minnesota (3-3-2), which has been outscored 8-2 while losing all three matches to Sporting Kansas City, FC Dallas and Houston. Six of those goals conceded came in the last two contests, including 3-0 defeat to the Dynamo on Wednesday.
The current state of the club is a far cry from the one that opened the season with three straight wins and looked as one of the favorites to win the MLS is Back Tournament. It hasn't helped that star defender Ike Opara is still not with the club, but this also isn't a team void of enough collective talent to contend in the West.
"You are only as good as your last game, and as of late we haven't been great," midfielder Marlon Hairston told Minnesota's official website. "We have to figure this thing out. The only thing we can do is look forward to our next game.
"It's a big game Sunday ... We know what (Real Salt Lake) are about and we really need to dig deep and get three points at home."
Minnesota and RSL (2-1-5) played to a scoreless draw at the MLS is Back Tournament.
Despite the potential distraction of all that's going on with RSL off the pitch - Dell Loy Hansen's ownership, executive Andy Carroll's leave of absence, John Kimball named the interim president of Utah Soccer - Salt Lake is 1-0-2 since the resumption of the regular season and shares the same 11 points as Minnesota.
Those draws have come over RSL's two most recent contests. Pablo Ruiz's goal in the 85th minute helped Salt Lake salvage a point with Wednesday's 2-2 finish against Seattle.
"This year, you can feel something is a little bit different," defender Justen Glad, whose goal Wednesday leveled the match at 1-1 in the 50th minute, told Real Salt Lake's official website. "We've always had to fight, and obviously we (wanted) three points, but it felt good to come back from being a goal down twice."
It's quite possible RSL might be playing from behind this weekend. It's 1-3-3 all-time against United and been outscored 10-5 while losing all three previous meetings at Minnesota.
Salt Lake's Damir Kreilach (five goals in 2020) had a goal in three straight matches before the Seattle contest. He has just one goal in five matches versus Minnesota.
United's Kevin Molino leads his squad with three goals, but his last official score came at the MLS is Back Tournament.
Mired in a three-match winless rut and struggling to produce goals, the New York Red Bulls are moving forward without coach Chris Armas leading the way.
After Armas and the club parted ways Friday, the Red Bulls look to get back on track when they host the Philadelphia Union on Sunday night.
Not quite two seasons after guiding the Red Bulls to the Supporters' Shield in 2018, Armas is out as New York coach. He went 29-21-11 during his tenure and took the Red Bulls to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. However, the club is just 3-4-2 in 2020 and has managed only seven total goals - two over the last six official contests.
New York fell 1-0 to D.C. United earlier this week in its most recent match, the second time in three games it failed to score.
"On behalf of the organization, I'd like to thank Chris for his hard work and dedication to the club," New York's head of sport Kevin Thelwell said via a statement. "In this business we have to make difficult decisions based on performances, and fundamentally, results. At this time, it's my decision that we must go in a different direction in order to meet the ambitions we have for our football club."
Assistant coach CJ Brown has been tabbed to run the team for the interim while the club searches for a permanent coach.
Philadelphia coach Jim Curtin took the news of Armas' departure rather hard as the two are former teammates and good friends. The Union also beat New York for the franchise's first playoff victory in 2019.
"It hurts, man," Curtin told the official website of MLS. "I'm upset. I've been saddened by it. Chris is a guy who taught me so much in the game. I can't speak to the goings-on behind the scenes, but I can speak to the quality person Chris Armas is."
The Red Bulls' current winless stretch began with a 1-0 road loss to Curtin's Philadelphia side on Aug. 25. Kacper Przybylko's goal in the 31st minute was all the Union needed to post the victory. Philadelphia followed with a 4-1 win over D.C. United, then lost 1-0 at Columbus earlier this week.
Przybylko recorded three goals over a two-game stretch before the Union were blanked by United. New York, meanwhile, has only one player - Kyle Duncan - with more than a goal on the season.
Though the Union have won the last two meetings between these clubs, both came at home. New York is 8-1-3 against Philadelphia all-time on its home pitch. The Union have also failed to score in each of their last three trips (0-1-2) to Red Bull Arena.
Winning has not come all that easy for both the New England Revolution and Chicago Fire this season.
Each side hopes to change that starting Sunday night when they meet along Chicago's lakefront.
Both the Revolution (2-2-5) and Fire (2-5-2) are sitting on two victories, ideally not the number they were hoping for even during this unprecedented campaign. However, New England currently owns a better status within the Eastern Conference, while Chicago is below the playoff line. That said, the Revs have just one official victory in their last six matches.
Their 1-0-4 stretch ended with a 2-0 loss to New York City FC this week. It was the third time in the last five official matches that New England has failed to score, but also just the second such occasion in which it's conceded more than two goals.
"I think overall we need to be better," Revolution midfielder Diego Fagundez told the official website of MLS. "If we keep playing the way we've been playing, people are going to punish us ... We need to learn (from the NYCFC loss) and make sure we start the right way and finish the right way."
This will be the second time in 2020 that New England and Chicago hook up. Back in early March before the season was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, the teams played to a 1-1 draw at Foxboro, Mass. Adam Buksa opened the scoring for New England in the 28th minute, but Fire veteran Jonathan Bornstein equalized for the visitors in the 70th.
Chicago is 1-2-1 since the resumption of regular-season play and is coming off a scoreless draw with FC Cincinnati from earlier this week. That's also the same opponent the Fire beat in their only home game to date in 2020, 3-0 last month.
"There's things that we need to improve on, and you know, we need to go over (the FC Cincinnati match from this week) video and we need to try to keep improving on those things, hopefully for Sunday," goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth told the Fire's official website.
Mauricio Pineda and Robert Beric each have two goals apiece for the Fire, who have managed just eight in 2020 and four over their last six matches.
Gustavo Bou leads the Revolution with three goals on the season. Bou had scored in two straight matches before he and his teammates were blanked by New York City FC.
“One evening in late June, gunmen stormed a village in northern Burkina Faso,” the Washington Post reported, “and ordered people who had been chatting outside to lie down. Then the armed strangers checked everyone’s necks, searching for jewelry. They found four men wearing crucifixes — Christians. They executed them…”
A team of City of Perth council aspirants who were rallying around high-profile mayoral candidate Basil Zempilas are under scrutiny over their eligibility to run in next month's election.
Spring is in the air and what better way to celebrate Father’s Day than chilling out together? We join photographer Trevor King and his family on their day in the sun. Fashion editor Penny McCarthy. Photographer Ben Sullivan.
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A team of City of Perth council aspirants who were rallying around high-profile mayoral candidate Basil Zempilas are under scrutiny over their eligibility to run in next month's election.
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If you look at US economic data, you might presume that Donald Trump's presidential re-election prospects are doomed. But he might be the man Americans want to lead them out of a downturn.
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A leading British pension group has added weight to demands for greater accountability over Rio Tinto's blasting of two ancient Aboriginal rock shelters.
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Check out the latest news and notes from around the NFL.
Both the Saints and Titans are making strong pushes to try and sign former No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney, according to ESPN's Diana Russini. Per ESPN, both teams want Clowney on the field by next Monday.
Clowney spent last season with the Seahawks after a preseason trade from the Texans. He was acquired in exchange for linebackers Jacob Martin and Barkevious Mingo and a 2020 third-round draft pick, which New England ended up using on tight end Devin Asiasi after it changed hands in a couple more trades.
In his sixth season, Clowney notched 31 tackles, seven tackles for loss and three sacks. He also had a career-high four forced fumbles and his first career interception.
Here are the latest news and notes from around the NFL:
The charter school industry has done much during the COVID-19 pandemic to add to systemic inequities that afflict Black communities by hijacking small business relief aid originally intended for mi
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WHITE HOUSE - U.S. President Donald Trump attempted to clarify Thursday comments he made a day earlier urging his supporters to vote twice to ensure their votes are counted, comments that have sown
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A leading British pension group has added weight to demands for greater accountability over Rio Tinto's blasting of two ancient Aboriginal rock shelters.
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The “bubble within the bubble” protocols have left one player - deemed a close contact of Benoit Paire - frustrated about having to stay despite being out of the event.
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Kristina Mladenovic led 6-1, 5-1 and 15-0 on her own serve - and lost her second-round match. Then she let rip on being placed in the bubble-within-the-bubble in New York after playing cards with a COVID-positive player.
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We were at the start of a two-year trip around the world when suddenly, my wife was pregnant. I didn't know how to cope, and at no point did I receive professional help.
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Apple has asked suppliers to build at least 75 million 5G iPhones for later this year, in a sign that demand for the company's most important product is holding up in the midst of the global pandemic and recession.
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Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson has pleaded with the AFL to quit stalling and notify clubs of their plans around list sizes so they can plan for the future.
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NEW DELHI - Former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, who had tested positive for Covid-19 this month, died on Monday after weeks in hospital. He was 84. New Delhi’s Army Hospital (Research And Referral) said earlier in the day that Mukherjee had gone into a septic shock after coming down with a lung infection. His medical condition had declined since Sunday, it added. A veteran politician who served as foreign and finance minister in previous administrations led by the now-opposition Congress party, Mukherjee had friends on both sides of the political divide. “He has left an indelible mark on the development trajectory of our nation,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter, posting a picture of him touching Mukherjee’s feet in reverence. “A scholar par excellence, a towering statesman, he was admired across the political spectrum and by all sections of society.” For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.
Even during the biggest economic crisis in living memory, Americans still back Donald Trump's captaining of the US economy. They aren't so sure about "Bidenomics".
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With Leonard Fournette now on the waiver wire, let's revisit the decision to draft him fourth overall in 2017. Plus, which other running backs are watching Alvin Kamara's contract situation, Ja'Marr Chase opts out, Logan Ryan to the Giants and more.
So here we are, 10 days away from the regular season…
• The backstory of Leonard Fournette is relevant today, as the former fourth overall pick hits the waiver wire, and (fair warning) what I’ll write here is going to be painful for Jaguars fans to hear. After Gus Bradley was fired late in the 2016 season, the team started the process of finding a new coach—and a number of guys that interviewed for the job (Josh McDaniels and Kyle Shanahan were on the list) told the team in no uncertain terms that it needed to move on from 2014 first-rounder Blake Bortles. In fact, one reason Doug Marrone was able to win the promotion from interim coach was because he was pragmatic in his thought the process, and willing to try and get Bortles right. His plan to do it was interesting: Take the ball out of the quarterback’s hands. So that offseason, the Jags went about building a ball-control offense. And in the draft, there was a perfect back to play that style, in LSU’s Leonard Fournette. Jacksonville took him, with the decision made to run it back for another year with Bortles, eliminating the chance the team would take Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes. Again, in summary, the organization made the call to stick with Bortles, then did all it could to minimize his impact on games by taking a back that would fit the kind of offense that he would necessitate (rather than more-versatile Stanford star Christian McCaffrey). For a year, to Marrone’s credit, it worked. The Jags made the AFC title game. But the long-term fallout has been undeniable. Bortles wound up lasting two more years, and his failure necessitated overspending on Nick Foles, who lasted just one year. Meanwhile, while Fournette’s fit worked in the short-term, the price paid there was missing out on McCaffrey. Three years later, both Bortles and Fournette are without jobs, and Mahomes, Watson and McCaffrey are stars. And it can all trace back to the team sticking with Bortles for a season too long.
• As for Fournette’s future, he hits the wire Monday carrying a $4.17 million number for 2020, which is why he could go unclaimed—that’s a pretty decent chunk of money to be spending on a back less than two weeks before the opener. If he does clear, the idea of Pittsburgh makes sense to me, maybe because I remember what the similarly-old-school Jerome Bettis was before he went there, and how becoming a Steeler resurrected his career. And, for what it’s worth, Fournette’s got old offensive coordinators of his in Green Bay and Chicago. It’ll be interesting to see what’s next for him.
• Alvin Kamara’s run at a contract, presuming that’s what his absence from practice is, is interesting in a number of ways. One, there’s the fact that the Saints can report the absence as unexcused, which would cost Kamara an accrued season and make him a restricted (rather than unrestricted) free agent after the season. Two, there’s the choice to do this now, rather than at the beginning of camp, which actually could be solid strategically, in that the Saints need him present a lot more now than they would in late July or early August, when a holdout would typically be staged. Three, he’s a great player, and the team is in a win-now spot. They need him. So if this is the way to get a contract, and he’s confident it’s going to happen, Kamara doesn’t need to worry about accruing that season (even if does have an impact on his post-career benefits). Lots of push and pull on this one. Stay tuned.
• Also likely watching the Kamara situation: Cincinnati’s Joe Mixon and Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook. Both guys are going into contract years. How close Kamara gets to draft classmate Christian McCaffrey’s four-year, $64 million extension should at least clarify the landscape in negotiations for the other two. Kamara and McCaffrey, to be sure, are unique weapons not tied down to simply playing tailback. But Mixon and Cook have versatility too. And even if they aren’t what Kamara and McCaffrey are, if both Kamara and McCaffrey are over $15 million per year, it becomes clearer that the latter’s deal isn’t simply an outlier.
• Shout out to NFLPA president J.C. Tretter on asking the league, via a post on the union web site, for the continuation of daily testing into the season. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the success the league has had—just four of 2,600 players are on the COVID-19 list as of this writing—it’s the importance of constantly testing players. It’s pretty simple. If you don’t let COVID-19 into the building, then it can’t spread. And as well as it has worked, I think Tretter’s right. Continuing with the testing would be money well invested for the NFL.
• One thing that was interesting to hear while I was in Tampa: Fourth-year TE O.J. Howard was ecstatic to be working with Rob Gronkowski. In checking in with some people there, some concern did exist as the Gronkowski trade went down in April that Howard might not take the news well. Instead, the opposite happened—and Howard’s agent actually called the team soon thereafter to tell them that the former top-10 pick couldn’t be happier. So when I talked to Howard on Sunday, I made sure to ask him about that. “Rob is one of the greatest ever to play the position,” Howard told me. “It was an opportunity for me to go and learn, and just become a sponge and soak up a lot of knowledge. I’m always about learning more, putting more things in my toolbox, continuing to sharpen those tools and become a better player. So this is an opportunity for me to do that with him and Tom [Brady]. I couldn’t be put in a better situation at a young age, Year 4. This is only the beginning for me, it’s been a great opportunity for me to have a chance to have my career take off.” That, of course, is a great attitude to have, and it’s showing up in his play, too. Howard’s cleaned up his problem with drops, and been a star in making circus catches in contested situations all month.
• While we’re there, and just to accentuate the point I made in the MMQB column, here’s promising second-year receiver Scotty Miller on how positive Tom Brady’s been in camp: “That’s something I’ve noticed from him since the day I met him. Just extremely positive. I’d heard stuff about him, that in New England, he’d get on guys or whatever. But with us, he’s as humble as it gets. I mean, if he puts the ball on my chest and I drop the ball, he’ll be like, ‘My bad, I gotta give you a better ball,’ where it’s not his fault at all. That gives us all confidence, when we see our leader being humble and wanting to work on his game every single day. It tells us, if he’s doing that, we need to be doing the exact same thing, always willing to take the blame, and always doing your best on every single play.” And how have his teammates taken to following him? Well, I was told last week that among the veteran skill players—guys who worked with him over the spring and summer—the Bucs have seen zero (0!) soft-tissue injuries. That’s despite the adverse summer conditions in Tampa, and despite the COVID-affected camp schedule. I can’t say whether they all took up Brady’s training methods, but I do know the team thinks those guys watching and being around Brady over that time helped.
• Four weeks ago today, I gave you 12 non-quarterbacks who I believed had the sort of NFL standing to seriously consider opting out of the 2020 college season. LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase, on Monday, officially became the fourth guy on that list to do it. Those left: Clemson RB Travis Etienne, Oregon OT Penei Sewell, Alabama WR Devonta Smith, Alabama CB Patrick Surtain, Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle, Ohio State CB Shaun Wade, Florida State DT Marvin Wilson, and Alabama LB Dylan Moses. LSU had another player opt out Monday as well—per our own Ross Dellenger, massive Tiger DT Tyler Shelvin won’t play this fall, and move his focus to getting ready for April’s draft. As it stands now, he’s probably a Day 2 pick, and so the decision to go is understandable. Also, the sudden exodus from LSU highlights something pretty interesting—the three programs that have the most sustained national success over the last decade (Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State) haven’t had a single opt-out yet.
• Good signing by the Giants, bringing Logan Ryan aboard at $7.5 million for this year. Before becoming a starting corner for the Patriots, Ryan was a core special-teamer for Joe Judge in Foxboro—Ryan was a gunner on the punt team as a rookie—so the two know each other exceedingly well. And just as Ryan was able to help Mike Vrabel establish some of those New England standards in Nashville the last two years, he should be able to do the same for Judge in Jersey the next four months. But really, this was about Ryan as a player. The Giants believe he’s still got plenty to give in that department.
• The Derwin James news is super disappointing, but another reminder that, many times, pre-draft concerns are warranted. I got asked a lot in 2018 how James slipped all the way to the 17th overall pick, where the Chargers snapped him up. Well, James was outstanding as a true freshman at Florida State, suffered a catastrophic knee injury as a sophomore, then came back and was less than 100% himself as a junior before declaring for the draft. The concern wasn’t over James’s ability to play. It was over his ability to stay healthy. Sadly, that concern’s proving warranted as a pro.
Ingram received 42 first-place votes from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters and earned 326 total points.
Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram has been named the NBA’s most improved player in a season that saw him bounce back from a life-altering blood clot and a trade from the team that drafted him second-overall in 2016.
Ingram, who came to New Orleans as part of a block-buster trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers, averaged a team-leading and career-best 23.8 points per game while hitting 46.3% of his shots. He also became an NBA All-Star for the first time.
“It goes back to last March, me getting injured, and not being able to be back on the court until September,” Ingram said on a Zoom call Monday with TNT after being informed he had won the award by his parents. “That’s very little time to start preseason and to start the regular season, but I was ready for it. Since Day 1...I just wanted to put in my work every single day and just get the best out of it.”
Ingram credited former Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry for his success, saying the coach that was fired on Aug. 15 “gave me a great opportunity for me to go out there and do what I wanted to do.”
Ingram received 42 first-place votes from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters and earned 326 total points. He edged Miami Heat center-forward Bam Adebayo, who finished in second place with 295 points (38 first-place votes). Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic finished in third place with 101 points (12 first-place votes).
Ingram talked about his season earlier this month when he was a just a finalist for the award.
“It was a great year for me,” Ingram said. “People are seeing my work that I’ve put in, and it’s definitely shown on the basketball floor.”
The former Duke standout, who turns 23 on Wednesday, became a more dynamic scorer by significantly improving both his 3-point and free-throw shooting.
Ingram shot a career-best 39.1% from 3-point range, up from 33% from deep during his final season with the Lakers.
“First, it was me figuring out the mechanics and the right way to shoot the basketball ... shooting from my legs and stuff instead of my arms, just the consistency and how to shoot,” Ingram said. “Then it was the amount of attempts that I took, having the confidence to take those shots and continue to take those shots. I think that helped me with my confidence and continuing to make them.”
Ingram’s free-throw percentage rose from 67.5% last season to 85.1% this season.
Meanwhile, he remained largely healthy, playing and starting in all but 10 of New Orleans’ 72 games without experiencing a recurrence of the deep vein thrombosis in his right arm that sidelined him for his final 19 games with the Lakers.
The timing of his improved play–and the accompanying recognition–comes at a fortuitous time for Ingram, who is a restricted free agent this offseason. The Pelicans can either choose to offer him a maximum contract of about $167 million for the next five seasons or match any offer he agrees to with another team.
David Griffin, the Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, has not yet detailed his plans for Ingram, but has been highly complimentary him as both a player and person.
For his part, Ingram has shown little interest in leaving New Orleans, where he has an opportunity to continue playing with another former Duke star, 2019 No.1 overall draft choice Zion Williamson.
The Toronto Raptors will look to rebound from a sluggish Game 1 loss when they take on the Boston Celtics in the second game of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday evening near Orlando.
The Raptors easily were turned away 112-94 in the first contest of the series Sunday, never leading in the game after trailing by 19 in the first quarter. Toronto shot 36.9 percent as a team, 25.0 percent from 3-point range and didn't look close to the club that put up 150 points in finishing off a four-game sweep of the Brooklyn Nets in the playoffs' first round a week earlier.
"Tough day for us, right?" said Raptors coach Nick Nurse after the defeat. "Nothing was much fun out there today.
"They were great. We weren't very good. So we're going to have to bounce back."
Losing has been an unfamiliar feeling for Toronto in the NBA bubble -- the team had only dropped one game during seeding, a 122-100 setback against Boston. The Raptors had carried an eight-game winning streak into Sunday's contest.
The Celtics, meanwhile, have won five straight and nine of 10 overall as they flexed what many believed to be one of their weaknesses -- depth -- in dominating Game 1. Six Boston players scored in double figures, led by Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart with 21 points apiece, and Daniel Theis (13 points, 15 rebounds) and Kemba Walker (18 points, 10 assists) each had double-doubles. Backup center Robert Williams III added 10 points off the bench in forming a dynamic duo with Theis.
"Everybody's got a role to play, we've gotten great play from our centers all year because they complement our other guys extremely well," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens.
Despite it being a playoff game -- the first ever between the two Atlantic Division rivals -- basketball took a backseat during Sunday's contest. The game had been originally scheduled to be played Thursday before player protests related to the police shooting of Black man Jacob Blake in Wisconsin the weekend prior pushed back the NBA schedule by three days. The emotional toll of the situation was still heavy on the mind of the players, as it figures to be throughout the remainder of the playoffs.
"There's no excuses, but we have an obligation right now to use our platform," said Raptors guard Kyle Lowry. "That's why we're still here."
Lowry had been questionable for Game 1 with a left ankle sprain. He led the Raptors with 17 points in the loss, while Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet struggled in combining to shoot 8-of-32 for 24 points.
The Celtics remain without starting forward Gordon Hayward, who is sidelined by a Grade 3 right ankle sprain. Hayward is expected to rejoin Boston in the bubble soon but won't be rushed back to the court, Stevens said Monday.
"I think he'll rejoin us in the bubble at some point soon, but he still will be some time away when he does do that," Stevens said.
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