May 7, 2012
How Fourth Quarter Pick-and-Rolls Helped Oklahoma City Sweep Dallas
The Oklahoma City Thunder started the fourth quarter of their series-clinching Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks trailing by 13 points. With Russell Westbrook on the bench, the Thunder started the quarter with James Harden as the primary ball handler. When the team began running pick-and-roll plays for Harden, coach Scott Brooks found a mismatch […]
Read moreB.S. Report: Ric Bucher and Rembert Browne
ESPN NBA Insider Ric Bucher joins Bill Simmons to talk about the NBA playoffs, his personal interactions with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and the best-case scenario when interviewing NBA coaches. Plus, Grantland’s Rembert Browne discusses Atlanta’s playoff collapse.
Read moreMeet the Baltimore O’xpendables
In the fifth inning of Friday night’s game in Boston, the (then) last-place Red Sox took a 4-3 lead over the (then) second-place Orioles. It was the last time the (still) last-place Sox would have a lead over the (now) first-place O’s during the weekend’s marathon three-game set. Approximately 42 hours after the Sox took […]
Read moreThe Brilliance (and the Madness) of Dale Hunter’s Washington Capitals
Dale Hunter has radically altered the Washington Capitals. He’s slashed the ice time of the club’s franchise forward, Alexander Ovechkin. He’s taken a team that used to be the exemplar of run-and-gun hockey in the modern NHL and converted it into a buttoned-down, defense-first bunch. Is it brilliance, or is it madness?
Read moreReader’s Revenge: Your Worst Moment With the In-Laws
It’s time for Readers’ Revenge, the weekly feature in which we turn Grantland over to YOU, the unpredictable reader. This week’s topic was Your Worst Moment With In-Laws or a Significant Other’s Family. As with any good narrative, we’ll start with two stories of near-castration, and end with a basketball theme. I received tons of […]
Read moreNBA Playoffs Shootaround: My Man, My Melo
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. Ride the Carmelocoaster In roughly only a year and a half with the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony has […]
Read moreSan Antonio’s Full-Court Buzzer-Beater
In Game 3 of their series against the Utah Jazz, the San Antonio Spurs were trailing by one point toward the end of the first half. Following a Jazz shot clock violation, Gregg Popovich called a timeout to set up a play with 3.4 seconds left in the half. The result was a huge 3-pointer […]
Read moreWatch Bryce Harper Steal Home
First of all, you have to click on this link to see the video. Very cool embed policy, MLB.com. Anyway. Take your time. Watch it a few times. I’ll wait.
Read moreAbout Last Weekend: Everything Coming Up Roses
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here’s what you missed in sports over the weekend. A chestnut colt named I’ll Have Another won the 138th Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Nobody was happier about the win than Rex Ryan, who celebrated deep into the night until someone told him that the horse […]
Read moreMay 4, 2012
B.S. Report: JackO and Jonah Keri
When Mariano Rivera tore his ACL shagging flies last night in Kansas City, you knew two things would happen: Yankee fans would freak out, and we’d pry my buddy JackO (a die-hard Yankee fan) away from the ledge for an emergency B.S. Report podcast. We also grabbed Grantland’s Jonah Keri to discuss the implications of […]
Read moreFabolous Sat Behind the Heat Bench Thursday Night
Fabolous is responsible or partially responsible for a bunch of really, really good rap songs like “Comedy Central,” “Superwoman,” “Right Now & Later On,” “Breathe,” “The Wake,” and too many more to count. So it’s very hard for him to do wrong, in my book. On Thursday night, though, the Brooklyn rapper amused some and […]
Read moreTake a Bow, Ilya Kovalchuk
Shortly before Alexei Ponikarovsky followed up on his own shot to give the New Jersey Devils a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, New Jersey’s Ilya Kovalchuk had collected his own rebound too.
Read moreGrantland Network Podcast: The Basketball Jones
On today’s show, The Basketball Jones break down the young and unpredictable NBA Playoffs: Which series has been the most surprising? Which has been the toughest to watch? Which players have risen to the occasion? And will this postseason be remembered for anything but injuries? We also discuss the merits of the Coach of the […]
Read moreNBA Playoffs Playthrough: Mavericks-Thunder
Anthony Richardson returns with another very, very funny video game playthrough of an NBA playoff matchup. Every week, Anthony brings his distinctly English sensibility and fleeting grasp of basketball and reality to the table, doing play-by-play and color commentary on a CPU vs. CPU playthrough of an NBA playoff game on NBA2K12.
Read moreThe College Hoops Wrap: Coaches, Recruits, Tweets
College basketball stops being relevant to most people the day the champion is crowned in early April. For the diehards, it lasts a few weeks longer as players decide whether to stay in school or declare for the draft, the coaching carousel spins wildly, and the last high school recruits choose their college destinations.
Read moreNBA Playoffs Shootaround: Have Gun, Will Travel
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. Maximum Security Award: Dwyane Wade Watch this. Personally, I’ve seen a living thing cover as much ground […]
Read moreAbout Last Night: The V Syndicate
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here’s what you missed in sports on Thursday. LeBron James scored 32 points and grabbed eight boards as the Heat took an insurmountable 3-0 lead on the Knicks, winning 87-70. After the game, James huddled near his locker, speaking quietly on a cell phone. “Thank […]
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