January 24, 2013
Video: Flea Loves Hating the Celtics
The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist (and Laker fan) explains to Bill Simmons why hatred in sports is so satisfying.
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Q&A: Arron Afflalo on Kendrick Lamar, His Compton Roots, and the Magic’s Surprising Season
When Kendrick Lamar dropped Good Kid, m.A.A.d City on October 22, 2012, one song immediately jumped out at basketball fans, bloggers, and NBA players: the bonus track, “Black Boy Fly,” and its verse dedicated to Lamar’s fellow Compton native Arron Afflalo. In typically detailed and autobiographical Kendrick Lamar fashion, “Black Boy Fly” takes us back […]
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NBA Shootaround: I LIKE MY MEATBALLS SPICY
So much amazing is happening, and the Shootaround crew is here to help you keep track of it all. You’ll find takes on moments you might’ve missed from the previous night, along with ones you will remember forever. Italian Ice There’s really no way around it anymore — Marco Belinelli has become the most clutch […]
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The Designated Player: The Extraordinary Journey of Machael David
Not for the first or last time in his life, Machael David was approaching a fork in the road. Seventeen years old and carrying a UK passport bearing someone else’s picture, the young Nigerian found himself confronted by two lines in the JFK Airport immigration hall. Tired and hungry (he hadn’t known the food on […]
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The Miami Massacre: No. 1 Duke Goes Down in Coral Gables
On Christmas Day, the Miami Hurricanes basketball team found themselves in Honolulu, leading Indiana State, 47-40, with 2:25 left in the third-place game of something called the Diamond Head Classic. A day earlier, they’d lost to Arizona by 19 points in the semifinals, and it was hard to blame either the Canes or Sycamores for […]
Read moreAbout Last Night: Heat Are Dino-Mite
In case you were busy watching a yule log DVD in a misguided attempt to stay warm, here’s what you missed in sports on Wednesday. The Miami Heat stormed back from 15 points down against the Toronto Raptors, winning in overtime, 123-116. LeBron James, who got his 34th career triple-double in the win, said afterward, […]
Read moreJanuary 23, 2013
The Pain and the Joy of Sloane Stephens and Serena Williams
It can hurt to see someone in pain. It’s real, not metaphorical, and it’s strange. The flash of pain across a face can signal across the space between bodies and the other mind will flash like lightning in response. A faint rumble of pain follows like thunder. I can’t explain the mechanics. It has to […]
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A Five-Team, 15-Player, Completely Insane Trade That Might Actually Help the Lakers
Let’s not mince words here — the Lakers are boring. Sure, they’re a flaming train wreck from which we can’t avert our eyes, but their actual on-court product (and even some of the drama off it) is far from enjoyable, in the traditional sense. If you stripped away the star power and franchise mystique, all […]
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Men in Blazers: Special Guest Rob Stone Talks Clint Dempsey, Brek Shea, and More
It was a snowy weekend of mid-season football in the Premier League, with the weather providing a cleansing effect for Clint Dempsey in Tottenham’s home meeting with Manchester United. After close to 93 minutes of disappointing form, Deuceface slotted home the equalizer as America, Andre Villas-Boas, Manchester City, and Under Armour all rejoiced. In this […]
Read moreWhat Is the MLB Win Curve Anyway?
In baseball, a win is a win … except when it’s more than a win. One extra victory for a 100-loss team will mean virtually nothing, little added revenue, no better hope for a playoff chance. The same goes for a 100-win team: In today’s 10-team playoff system, sweating over win number 101 or 102 […]
Read moreVideo: Wilbon and Simmons on the NBA All-Star Starters
Michael Wilbon and Bill Simmons break down the feuds among the Eastern Conference All-Star starters and admire the chemistry of the Western Conference All-Star starters.
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The Non-Haters’ Guide to the NHL
Here’s a general rule about hockey fans: They hate just about everyone. If you’re an NHL player, it doesn’t take much for hockey fans to turn against you. Sidney Crosby? Too whiny. The Sedins? The whole twin thing is creepy. Alexander Ovechkin? Once he scored a goal and then looked happy about it, so screw […]
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We Went There: Thunder-Clippers
Kevin Durant is now method branding. You may be familiar with this new “KD IS NOT NICE,” or (“#KDISNOTNICE” for my Twitterati) Nike campaign. I can’t claim to call this one for the chicken or the egg (was he always not nice or is he being not nice because Phil Knight says so), but this […]
Read moreNFL Playoff Stock Watch
With the rest of this off week between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl, I’ll be taking a look back at the playoffs (today) and the season at large (Thursday and Friday) before diving back into Super Bowl coverage next Monday. Today, I want to take a step back and look at how the […]
Read moreAbout Last Night: Serena Falls to Serena 2.0
In case you were out brainstorming baby names with Shakira and Gerard Pique last night, here’s what you missed in sports on Tuesday. American teenager Sloane Stephens upset Serena Williams at the Australian Open in an exhilarating, injury-plagued three-set thriller, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. As the final shot was struck just before the clock struck midnight […]
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