sports news update

Adam Silver said Saturday that he expects next season to be as "so-called normal as possible." View the original article to see embedded media. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Saturday in a virtual press conference ahead of the 2021 All-Star Game that he expects a stronger sense of normalcy next season.  "But the plan remains to try to resume our season as close to so-called normal as possible next year," Silver said. "It was one of the reasons why, in setting the schedule this year, we decided to stop in mid-July. We both wanted to allow those players who wanted to participate in the Olympics to do so, but in addition we realized if we were going to get back on cycle, and the players were going to get the appropriate downtime before the season began, we didn’t want to go deep into the summer or fall, as we did last season." This year's postseason is scheduled to be begin on May 22 and end July 22 at the latest, just prior to the beginning of t...

Team LeBron or Team Durant? The Crossover makes their All-Star weekend predictions. View the original article to see embedded media. The Crossover staff makes their All-Star weekend predictions ahead of tonight’s action. Chris Mannix Skills: Luka Doncic Three-point: Stephen Curry Dunk: Obi Toppin ASG winner : Team LeBron The biggest question comes in the dunk contest. Specifically, who is Cassius Stanley? The anonymity of the NBA’s once marquee Saturday event is something the league needs to address, but for now I’m expecting something spectacular from Toppin, the Knicks hyperathletic rookie. And I like the games within the game on Sunday: Giannis vs. James Harden, Jokic against Embiid in a battle of MVP candidates. And the return off the Elam ending guarantees a compelling ending. I’m taking Team LeBron, with a duel between Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving deciding the game at the end. Michael Pina Skills:  Chris Paul Three-point: Stephen Curry Dunk:  Anfernee...

Once a staple of All-Star Weekend, the NBA Legends Classic suffered the same fate as its former stars and role players View the original article to see embedded media. On the same evening in February 1988 that Michael Jordan outdueled Dominique Wilkins in one of the NBA’s great slam dunk competitions, fans in Chicago Stadium witnessed a number of other basketball stars in action. Celtics greats John Havlicek and Dave Cowens took the floor alongside fellow Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson. Rick Barry, another multi-time All-Star and Hall of Famer, headlined an opposing team that featured notables like Doug Collins and Jerry Sloan. “The one thing I’m looking at these guys, [is] we’ve got more knee braces and bandages than we ever thought we’d see,” player turned game analyst Steve “Snapper” Jones said to open the 1988 NBA Legends Classic broadcast. “We better have the paramedics standing by.” The latter collection of stars had long since retired from professional basketball. But with ...

Kansas announced they've placed head football coach Les Miles on administrative leave and will conduct its own investigation. Kansas athletic director Jeff Long announced on Friday that he has placed Les Miles on administrative leave following consecutive days of reports concerning his behavior towards women students while at LSU .  The University of Kansas will also conduct its own investigation into the allegations against Miles, according to Long. As of Friday evening, Long said they have not seen the Husch Blackwell and Taylor Porter reports, which details the alleged inappropriate misconduct.  “Today, I placed head football coach Les Miles on administrative leave as we conduct a full review to determine the appropriate next steps,” Long said in his statement . “Even though the allegations against him occurred at LSU, we take these matters very seriously at KU. “Now that we have access to this information, we will take the coming days to fully review the material and...

Conley will make his first career All-Star appearance in his 14th NBA season. He's averaging 16.1 points, 5.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Jazz point guard Mike Conley Jr. has reportedly been added to the 2021 NBA All-Star Game roster, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic . Conley's addition to the mid-season festivities is pending his clearance of the league's medical protocols. Conley will replace Suns guard Devin Booker, both in the All-Star Game and in the 3-point contest. Booker is dealing with a sprained left knee . Conley, who's 33 and in his 14th NBA season, will be making his first career All-Star appearance. He's averaging 16.1 points, 5.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game through 29 games this year, his second with the Jazz. In the All-Star draft between Team LeBron and Team Kevin Durant, the last two picks were Jazz All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. The decision felt like a snub against the team that's currently leading the Weste...

This week, we learned a darker side of the ex-Tigers coach, whose reputation is forever tarnished. We’ve had fun with Les Miles for long enough. That includes me, a person who reported on him for three years as a beat writer in Baton Rouge, a person who grew close to him after his firing from LSU in 2016, a person who even visited him once he was hired at Kansas in 2019. I thought I knew Les. Maybe most of us thought we knew Les. We were drawn to his quirky, kooky nature. The way he botched the English syntax. The way he launched into befuddling musings about national holidays. The way he smirked, his goofy gestures, the odd staring. He was different. He felt fun. He ate grass. He dressed up in costumes. He kissed a pig. Heck, the man once scaled a downtown Baton Rouge skyscraper. He even dabbled in stage acting, something for which he opened up to me about in a dimly lit casino ballroom some three years ago. This week, because of excellent investigative journalism , we learned...