After acquiring Davis in a blockbuster trade, Los Angeles has two of the top 10 players in the NBA — but not much else. Once the Davis trade is finalized, the Lakers won’t be able to put a starting five together. They will be leaning heavily on Davis and LeBron James regardless of how the rest of free agency pans out. ANTHONY DAVIS TRADE GRADES: Lakers begin title chase; Pelicans exploit LA’s desperation...
The developing controversy between the NBA and China didn’t prohibit the Lakers and Nets from playing Thursday’s preseason game at Shanghai’s Mercedes-Benz Arena (which the Nets won, 114-11, for what it’s worth), but by no means is the league’s sticky situation dying down. Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s since-deleted tweet supporting anti-government protesters in Hong Kong from last Friday raised the ire of China, and the fallout has been nonstop since....
2013: The Lakers enter free agency confident they will keep center Dwight Howard, who had a mostly miserable first season in LA after being traded from Orlando. Howard shocks the Lakers by going to Houston, though. The Lakers’ big signings instead are Jordan Farmar, Nick Young, Chris Kaman and Wesley Johnson. 2014: With cap space on hand and a wealth of star players on the board, the Lakers hunker down to chase James, with Mitch Kupchak meeting with agent Rich Paul in Cleveland....
The NBA’s best rivalry did not disappoint as the Celtics and Lakers delivered one of the best, most chaotic games of the 2022-23 season so far. Boston looked like it was going to cruise to a victory when it led by 20 points in the third quarter, but Los Angeles didn’t quit. The Lakers rattled off a 31-5 run to lead by as much as 12 points late in the fourth quarter before the Celtics snapped out of their funk....
Paul George (33 points, 13-of-18 shooting) and Kawhi Leonard (26 points) guided the Clippers to a 116-109 victory over the Lakers in the second game of the NBA’s Opening Night doubleheader. The Clippers saw their 22-point lead dwindle to just two before halftime, but George’s steady scoring in the second half ensured they would start the new season 1-0. “I just allowed the game to come to me. I thought I put a lot of just pressure on myself to score (in the first half),” George said during his postgame interview on TNT....
Jackson became eligible for a contract extension prior to the start of the 2021 season, but he did not reach an agreement with the team. The Ravens picked up his fifth-year option for 2022 and began negotiating an extension with the 2019 NFL MVP, but the two sides couldn’t make a deal before the start of the season. Part of the issue is that Jackson wants a fully guaranteed contract....
The Steelers will absorb a cap hit of $322,500 in 2015 if they release Moore. MORE: Dan Quinn reaches agreement with Falcons | Manziel enters treatment facility | Super Bowl XLIX in photos “It didn’t go the way I’d hoped it would go, but that’s life in the NFL sometimes,” Moore told ESPN on Jan. 5 after the Steelers were eliminated in the AFC Wild-Card Game. “It’s unfortunate that it unfolded the way that it did, but I enjoyed my time here this season....
One of South Africa’s worst nightmares is looking more likely by the day: orchestrated, Zimbabwe-style land invasions. Last week’s invasions marked a significant escalation in the campaign by militant activists to mobilize hundreds of thousands of landless blacks against the disproportionately white land-owning class. The occupation was organized by the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), a tiny black-consciousness party that terrified whites during apartheid with the slogan “one settler, one bullet,” and is now gathering political capital by offering practical help to would-be invaders....
On Thursday, the CDC announced that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can stop wearing masks and social distancing, both indoors and outdoors. “Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance,” according to the CDC’s new rules. In a statement released Saturday, NNU Executive Director Bonnie Castillo said “this newest CDC guidance is not based on science, does not protect public health, and threatens the lives of patients, nurses, and other frontline workers across the country....
There were two distinct differences, though. The first is that a bucket of water was poured over Bird’s head, so he understood the concept better than Bryant, who simply dunked his head under cold water. Second, Bird wore socks… in a tub. Ice Bucket Challenge: Jordan answers call | LeBron on boat | Must-see Mutombo Bird sat in Indiana Pacers gear with only his feet submerged under water. Answering the challenge from Pacers guard George Hill, Bird took cold water over the head and ducked down into a hot tub....
Elder raised his political profile with an unsuccessful bid to replace California Governor Gavin Newsom last year. He told Newsweek that his decision to run for the presidential nomination would have nothing to do with whether former President Donald Trump runs again and was more about drawing attention to what he says is an under-appreciated problem in America: fatherlessness. “Crime, spending, inflation, the war on oil and gas, the overrun borders, of course I want to discuss that, but also what’s not talked about: the destruction of the nuclear, intact family,” Elder said in the 45-minute interview....
According to the Associated Press, Ying Ma, a spokeswoman for Elder, said the campaign wants “every proper vote to be counted.” Despite there being no grounds for widespread fraud, when asked to provide evidence for suspicious voting, Ma said “whatever shenanigans there are will not stand in the way of him becoming the next governor.” In order to avoid these shenanigans, Elder’s campaign website linked a “Stop CA Fraud” site....
He took it one step further Friday, winning his first career at Pocono Raceway. Larson ran a track-record speed of 183.438 mph for his first Sprint Cup pole. Joey Logano, who was fastest during the first two of three rounds of qualifyng, wound up second, followed by Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon. Rounding out the top 12 were Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, Austin Dillon and Kasey Kahne....
The Volunteers are No. 1 in the first set of College Football Playoff rankings. Tennessee also is ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll and No. 3 in the Coaches Poll, but a victory against No. 3 Georgia on Saturday would end the debate for another week. At that point, Tennessee would be No. 1 for the first time since the inaugural season of the Bowl Championship Series in 1998....
How else to describe only the second no-hitter in World Series history, dating back to 1903? Armchair historians today may be saying, “Sure, I guess it’s a no-hitter, but it was no perfect game.” Which is to say, they’re looking at a Monet and saying, “Sure, it’s a pretty field of flowers, but it’s no Van Gogh.” C’mon, people. What are we doing here? A no-hitter is a no-hitter, no matter how constructed....
Japan was using 10 players when it tied the game. The teams play again Sunday in Cleveland. They are in preparation for the 2016 Rio Olympics, with begin in August. MORE: U.S. women told they can’t strike | Men start Copa America Alex Morgan had two goals for the Americans, who had to rally from two goals down in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colo. It had appeared the U....
Kyrie Irving's eventual departure from Cleveland seems inevitable. Nothing about the 22-year-old guard's tenure with the Cavaliers suggests otherwise. And the latest report, a Cavstheblog.com interview with longtime Cavs reporter Brian Windhorst, only crystallizes such an idea. MORE: NBA scoreboard | Coaching candidates Some key Windhorst quotes from the interview: “The truth is [Kyrie’s] camp has been putting out there for years — years — that he doesn’t want to be in Cleveland....
EU nations have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin of pushing migrants to the border in retaliation for EU sanctions put in place after Lukashenko rigged last year’s presidential elections and subsequently cracked down on protesters, journalists, and civil society. New migrant flows appeared in August, with Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia all reporting a surge in attempted crossings. This week, a group of some 2,000 migrants has been attempting to cross the border from Belarus to Poland, prompting fresh recrimination from the EU and denial from Minsk and Moscow....
