data-mm-id=”_pgtntsjbf”>Everyone expected the Boston Celtics to be a fine team this season. Through the first month and change of the NBA season, they're better than fine. In fact, they're one of the best teams in the league by both record and statistical metrics. While they dropped a close one to the Los Angeles Clippers last night to fall behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the best record in the league, their performance over the opening 14 games of the season seems sustainable. The 2019-20 Celtics are no fluke. The most impressive, and surprising, part of this early surge has been the team's defense. The biggest loss this offseason wasn't Kyrie Irving (going from him to Kemba Walker is as lateral a move as you're going to get when it comes to star point guard…
data-mm-id=”_nm4nsd3at”>The New York Knicks are beginning their search for a new head coach and, according to The Athletic, have a familiar name atop their wish list. Yes, Tom Thibodeau is apparently the team's preferred choice at the moment. From the report by Shams Charania and Mike Vorkunov:”The New York Knicks and president of basketball operations Leon Rose will soon embark on the search process for a new head coach and Tom Thibodeau is atop the list of targets, sources told The Athletic. The Knicks are believed to be targeting a decision in the next few weeks, sources said.”Oh man, would this be a disaster. Thibodeau spent seven-plus years as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. In that time he put together a record of 352-246 (.589) and took his t…
data-mm-id=”_jpwcxnaa5″>Speculation over what ESPN will do with the Monday Night Football booth is one of our nation's greatest exports right now with most of the industry shut down. Extremely plugged-in reporters may say they missed out on Tony Romo but my lesser sources tell me there were some rather significant logistical hurdles (like the money) that rendered this barely a pipe dream anyway. The latest scuttlebutt comes from Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports.”ESPN is looking almost exclusively at its existing talent to possibly succeed analyst Booger McFarland and play-by-play announcer Joe Tessitore, according to sources. “The network declined comment about potential turnover, as they've done about the previous stories about potential turnover. Some possibilites cu…
data-mm-id=”_8htst22bj”>The Miami Marlins have made a historic hire by naming Kim Ng as the first female and Asian-American general manager in Major League Baseball history. This is a universally applauded move and an incredible achievement for Ng.Making history by bringing a lifetime of excellence, Kim Ng steps to the helm as GM. #JuntosMiami pic.twitter.com/UrYESbjTHe— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) November 13, 2020Ng started her professional baseball career as an intern with the Chicago White Sox in 1991. By 1995 she was assistant director of baseball operations. In 1998 she was hired as an assistant general manager by the New York Yankees. She then joined the Dodgers as vice president and assistant GM in 2001. She interviewed for the GM position in LA in 2005. She also interviewed wit…
data-mm-id=”_tuhpim845″>The Milwaukee Bucks made an extremely powerful statement on Wednesday afternoon when they decided to not take the floor and officially boycott Game 5 of their playoff series with the Orlando Magic. The team is boycotting due to the shooting of Jacob Blake, who was shot seven times by police in Keonsha, Wisconsin over the weekend. The decision was met with an outpouring of support from their fellow players. Rumblings of a boycott began yesterday, when Celtics and Raptors players told media members they were considering doing so. The Bucks became the first team to take the big step from discussion to action — and they won't be the last. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets agreed to boycott their game shortly after the Bucks' protest began. Dec…
data-mm-id=”_q0p2pmzs5″>Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is your AFC Player of the Month. Allen has gotten off to a scalding start in 2020. Some might call it even MVP-level. I'm not there quite yet, but the numbers are impressive. He leads the AFC in most statistical passing categories. He's thrown for 1,038 yards, 10 touchdowns, and only one interception through three weeks of football. His team is undefeated. Some of Allen's big issues from the first two years of his career (holding the ball for much longer than he should, wildly overthrowing receivers) are still seen in his play, but by and large he's shown significant progress since we last saw him on the field in Buffalo's season-ending loss to the Houston Texans in the 2019 playoffs. But can he keep …
data-mm-id=”_t882s75mh”>It was another ho-hum night for Bradley Beal on Monday as the Washington Wizards guard scored 34 points on 12-22 shooting. Another night of buckets in a season where he's averaging 34 points per game. The big difference is that, last night against the Suns, the Wizards actually won the game, only their third of the year. So far, it looks like it'll be another season of Beal going wild on the stat sheet while his team fails to win anything and, as Beal said the other night, can't defend a parked car. Beal deserves better because he has evolved into one of the NBA's most dangerous scorers in the years since John Wall went down with a torn Achilles. Beal was forced to take on the mantle of the No. 1 option on the team after slowly growing into h…
data-mm-id=”_crs1jodfw”>Caleb Williams is in the transfer portal after an excellent freshman season at Oklahoma. It seems like young star quarterback may be close to figuring out his next destination, and it all might seem pretty familiar. Rumors are swirling that Williams will be teaming back up with Lincoln Riley at USC. Williams is currently in Los Angeles, and yesterday attended a Rams game before taking in a Lakers game. #Oklahoma QB transfer Caleb Williams apparently has a good ticket hookup in Los Angeles. After field-level suites at the #Rams game earlier, here he is (via his IG story) at center court on the bottom level at the #Lakers game: pic.twitter.com/y8HtM7TYN0— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) January 10, 2022Meanwhile, fellow Oklahoma freshman transfer portal candidat…
data-mm-id=”_4hhaf5amw”>Chris Paul spoke to reporters for the first time as a member of the Golden State Warriors on Sunday afternoon. It still does not seem real that Paul will be suiting up alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson after the three engaged in some epic playoff battles a few years ago. But the NBA is a strange place and the Warriors exchanged Jordan Poole for a veteran they hope can produce more consistent points with his passing and court vision. It also seems inevitable that Paul will come off the bench. He obviously isn't getting starts over Curry and playing both of them doesn't give the Dubs a lot of size in the backcourt. Additionally, Paul is 38 years-old and embracing the backup life will do a lot to manage his minutes and health. It's obvious to…
data-mm-id=”_xvrqeshdw”>The Miami Dolphins got off to a shockingly slow start against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Despite being rather significant favorites, the Dolphins were down by 14 to start the second quarter thanks to two punts from the offense and two long touchdown drives given up by the defense. However, they quickly got their act together and marched down the field on the third drive to score their first TD of the day. Miami kept the momentum by turning the Panthers over on downs on the very next possession, then went all the way down and scored yet again. This time they did so by throwing a touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle. Waddle celebrated by doing his patented celebration, the Waddle. The CBS cameras then did everyone a favor by flashing to the Dolphins' owner&…