Bryant was a full participant in the Lakers' Tuesday practice, taking part in 5-on-5 with the team and showing little rust. “I’m pleasantly surprised, Bryant said, according to the team. "Been doing some things… It’s always different in a game though.” As for when he will play in a game, there still is no set date for his return. The Lakers previously said they would defer to Bryant on his level of practice involvement, and they are likely to take the same approach with games....

And because of that confidence, there is no doubt in his mind that he is the best player in the world, even at age 36. In one of a series of untold Bryant stories, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report provides details that explain who Bryant is as a competitor, teammate and teacher. MORE: Trailer for Kobe documentary | K. Love octopus traded to Cleveland | LBJ the strategist One of the best came back in 2010, when Bryant was in his prime, it figures that he had a few words for LeBron James, whose free-agency decision held the entire NBA offseason hostage....

Everton suffered a 1-0 home defeat on Sunday, their fourth loss in five Premier League matches, which leaves them 16th after being tipped to challenge for the top four ahead of the season. Everton 28/1 to win Europa League Koeman is coming under intense pressure with the Toffees also bottom of their Europa League group, but he believes the club’s fans would be wrong to criticise his players’ effort....

The Everton manager previously gave an ultimatum to Barkley, whose current deal has a year to run, stating that he must agree fresh terms before the final game of the season or be sold. Mou: Ajax should not be in the Europa League Koeman’s men face a trip to Arsenal on Sunday to complete their Premier League campaign and, with Barkley yet to sign the deal offered by Everton, the Dutchman signalled that the midfielder could now leave....

Closer Koji Uehara is out for the season after suffering a broken bone in his wrist when he was hit by a line drive, the team announced Monday. X-rays taken Friday night came back negative, but the pitcher was sent back to Boston on Sunday for further tests, which revealed the fracture. The 40-year-old will finish his season at 2-4 with a 2.23 ERA and 0.917 WHIP in 43 appearances....

Top officials from 46 countries were at Monday’s summit convened by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Russia’s move to annex the territory is widely viewed as illegal. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized the summit as an event against his country. When Zelenskyy first spoke, he promised to “do everything possible to return Crimea, so that Crimea, together with Ukraine, becomes part of Europe....

That’s exactly what happened in Arizona as Bryant teamed up with Red Bull to prank Mesa Community College. The Cubs All-Star and NL Rookie of the Year posed as a transfer player whose name was Roy Nabryt. How did they come to that name? Roy is short for Rookie of the Year and Nabryt is Bryant scrambled. MORE: RoY winners who fell flat | Predicting the next great rookie...

These were some of the strongest on-camera reactions to the Knicks drafting power forward Kristaps Porzingis fourth overall in 2015. The unpopular pick from Latvia went on to exceed expectations with his on-court production. When Porzingis returns to Madison Square Garden on Thursday in his first New York visit since forcing his way to the Mavericks last year, he will likely hear a similar wave of vitriol. It’s an outcome, he said, to which he’s resigned, given what he has seen on social media from Knicks fans since his exit....

But Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis says he isn’t not worried about Porzingis’ apparent run into the rookie wall. MORE: Best free agent options | LeBron James trapped in Cleveland “He’s still 20 years old. He’s got a lot to learn,” Rambis said Wednesday, via the New York Post. “My mindset is not going to change about him. He’s going to be great. There’s not a doubt in my mind....

That progress, led by rookie sensation Kristaps Porzingis, saved the Knicks from being made fun of on “The Simpsons.” Instead, the writers opted to make fun the 76ers, who have the league’s worst record this season. MORE: Scout breaks down rookies | Can Phil keep Dolan from ruining Knicks? The Knicks can take pride in not being the laughing stock of the NBA anymore.

After the war, Vonnegut knocked around as a police reporter, an adman, a p.r. man for General Electric, and, briefly, as a Saab dealer. But he was also writing satirical fiction. His first novel, “Player Piano” (1952,) was a surreal spoof of the corporate world. His 1959 “sci-fi” novel, “The Sirens of Titan,” took on the military, capitalism and organized religion. In 1969, Vonnegut went from cult writer to best seller with “Slaughterhouse-Five,” which dealt directly—or as directly as he could in a novel also involving time travel and an alien abduction—with his experience in Dresden....

After Sunday’s results at Watkins Glen International, William Byron and Bubba Wallace aren’t about to become pals with the No. 18. MORE: Watch NASCAR live & on demand with fuboTV (7-day trial) Busch’s day got off to a poor start on Lap 2, when he dove to the inside of Byron, but ended up spinning out in the process. Busch lost track position but managed to recover in Stage 1, all the way back to having a chance to pass Byron for fourth....

NASCAR confirmed in a statement on Friday it had received the application from the 2014 Cup Rookie of the Year and it was considering its next steps. Earlier on Friday, the 28-year-old told CBS This Morning he felt he had matured enormously since he was banned from the sport in April. “I feel like I’ve definitely grown more in these last six months than I have in the 28 years I’ve been alive,” he said....

“ALERT: GOA will be awarding Kyle Rittenhouse with an AR-15 for his defense of gun rights in America,” GOA wrote in a Friday morning tweet. “Join us in saying THANK YOU to Kyle Rittenhouse for being a warrior for gun owners and self defense rights across the country!” Rittenhouse used an AR-15 style rifle to kill Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, as well as injure Gaige Grosskreutz in Kenosha, Wisconsin on August 25, 2020....

In a letter signed by the Students for Socialism, the university’s political student organization ASIJ MECHA, Students for Justice in Palestine, and the Multicultural Solidarity Coalition, the groups called for ASU to deny Rittenhouse further admission after he was cleared of the murder charges against him in the highly divisive trial. The student groups are also calling for ASU to release a statement denouncing white supremacy and the “racist killer”, and redirect funding from its police department to support the multicultural center....

The Chiefs ended up scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter, ending with a 31-20 victory. It didn’t take long before people started noticing a similarity between this game and the Falcons’ Super Bowl loss to the Patriots in 2017. Kyle Shanahan, you’ll remember, was the offensive coordinator for Atlanta in that game. Atlanta got out to a 28-3 lead, and the game appeared to be over. But then the Patriots came roaring back, outscoring the Falcons 25-0 in the second half....

Murray, as the top selection in 2019, got an all-guaranteed four-year rookie contract through the 2023 season. The total value of that before a club option was $35.6 million, for an average annual salary of just fewer than $9 million. Arizona has every intention of keeping Murray as its franchise QB. Following his promising rookie season, he has been a worthy NFC Pro Bowler the past two seasons. Coach Kliff Kingsbury and GM Steve Keim both expressed that in addressing reporters at the NFL Combine....

The Cardinals quarterback is entering his second year — and his second appearance in the Madden NFL franchise — and figured to be a lock for a much improved quarterback in this year’s game. Instead, Murray ranked 21st among QBs with a 77 overall rating — pretty low if you consider his physical talents and decent production in 2019. On Thursday during ESPN’s “First Take,” Murray kept his cool, but clearly wasn’t happy about such a low score....

Whether Irving was trying to correct a flaw in his jumper or just blowing off steam after a bad loss, we don’t yet know. But it’s difficult to ignore a star getting up shots right after a game. Raptors guard Kyle Lowry did something similar after a poor shooting night in a playoff game last season. And fans sure remember Kobe Bryant shooting after a game in Miami back in 2011....

Against the Bulls, star point guard Kyrie Irving took an inadvertent elbow to the face from Nikola Vucevic. He left the game after the injury and didn’t return, as the Nets announced he was ruled out due to a facial contusion. Here’s a look at the play that left Irving unable to continue, per ESPN. MORE: Shaq confuses Julius Randle with Zach Randolph That Irving walked off under his own power is a good sign, but it’s a concern any time a player suffers a blow to the head....