by tyler | Apr 5, 2023 | CNN, sport
LeBron James powered the resurgent Los Angeles Lakers to a crucial 135-133 overtime win over the Utah Jazz as LA looks to battle its way into the NBA playoffs.
The Lakers looked down and out before the trade deadline but, thanks to clever maneuvering by the front office and an uptick in performances, their season has been rescued from the depths of despair.
LeBron’s performance in the latest clutch win even resulted in his teammates making goat noises post-game – paying homage to his big display.
Following the victory against the Jazz, the Lakers currently have the same 41-38 record as their crosstown rivals, the LA Clippers – with the two playing in the Lakers’ second game of a back-to-back tonight.
The winner of the all LA clash will temporarily claim sixth place in the Western Conference standings and will control their own destiny as they look to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
The tension was palpable throughout the first quarter at Salt Lake City’s Vivint Arena, with both franchises needing to secure the victory.
Both teams traded buckets throughout the first and the Lakers claimed a 34-33 lead after the opening 12 minutes.
However, LeBron and Co. demonstrated their strong form and stamped their authority on the game throughout the second quarter.
Even in his 18th year in the league, James showed he still has his explosiveness of old and finished off an incredible alley-oop with a powerful slam from an Austin Reaves assist.
Will Hardy’s Utah squad came out of halftime 11 points down and with a point to prove. Following the interval, the Jazz stormed back into the tie – making it a one-possession game in the third.
But just as they have in the latter part of the season, the Lakers rallied and regained some control of the situation.
With just 1:43 left in the game, Reaves – who has been integral to the Lakers’ turnaround – drained a huge three with what should have been the dagger.
The 24-year-old’s shot from deep condemned the Jazz to a 10-point deficit with less than two minutes left on the clock. But in the topsy-turvy Western Conference, anything can happen and, led by Kelly Olynyk, the Jazz went on a late run.
With just 11.1 seconds left in the game, Damian Jones was sent to line with the Jazz down two. The center nailed both free throws to tie things up at 124-124.
Jones then came up clutch on the defensive end: the 27-year-old stopped James from giving the Lakers the win on the final possession and ensured the game headed to overtime.
Fans in Salt Lake were treated to five minutes of free basketball and neither side pulled away in the extra period.
However, in a game where he scored for fun, LeBron managed to seal the win for the Lakers with a tricky, spinning move resulting in a layup.
James finished the game with 37 points, six assists and five rebounds in a complete performance from the NBA’s all-time leading scorer – and the goat noises got underway.
Darvin Ham’s side will now get ready to take on their local rivals in a game with severe ramifications on who will finish where in the West.
The winner will take control of the last guaranteed playoff spot with just two games left in the regular season.
Lakers fans will be delighted with their turnaround in the second half of the campaign and will head into the postseason full of confidence if their team can continue to produce when it matters.
by tyler | Apr 4, 2023 | CNN, sport
First lady Jill Biden appeared to walk back suggestions that the White House might invite both LSU and Iowa’s women’s basketball teams after Tigers star Angel Reese called it “A JOKE” on Monday.
Speaking on Monday, Biden congratulated both teams on their performance in Sunday’s national championship game, as well as specifically highlighting Iowa’s sportsmanship.
“Last night, I attended the NCAA women’s basketball championship,” said Biden, while speaking at an event at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.
“So I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do. So, we hope LSU will come but, you know, I’m going to tell Joe [Biden] I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”
It is traditional for the national champions to be invited to the White House, but not for the runners-up. Reese tweeted a link to the story which included Biden’s comments, calling it “A JOKE” along with three rolling-on-floor-laughing emojis.
In a comment on an Instagram post from ‘The Shade Room’ which included Reese’s tweet, the recently crowned NCAA champion said: “WE NOT COMING. period.”
Press secretary to the first lady Vanessa Valdivia sought to clarify Biden’s comments on Tuesday, saying in a tweet that they “were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House.”
The 20-year-old Reese played a key role in the Tigers’ 102-85 victory over the Hawkeyes to win the first national title in program history on Sunday. She was named the women’s NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as a result of her standout performances.
Before Valdivia’s clarification, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith had echoed Reese’s sentiment, replying to her tweet saying: “I mean absolutely zero disrespect to the First Lady, but you are 1000% correct.
“That is a bad suggestion. Runner-ups don’t get invited to the White House. Why are we trying to change it now? I completely agree with you, Angel.”
Rep. Troy Carter, a Louisiana Democrat, chimed in, agreeing with Reese.
“To The Most Honorable (President Biden) and (First Lady Biden),” Carter said. “LSU has won their first NCAA women’s Basketball Championship Title with a record-breaking score of 102-85.
“With no disrespect to the outstanding players of the Iowa women’s team … they did not win!
“LSU’s Women’s Basketball is the indisputable winner of the 2023 NCAA Championship and should enjoy this historic victory singularly.”
Reese’s teammate Alexis Morris asked if they could celebrate elsewhere, specifically at a former first lady’s house. “Michelle OBAMA can we (LSU NATIONAL CHAMPS) come celebrate our win at your house?” Reese replied to Morris’ tweet saying: “THAT’S THE TWEET.”
After LSU’s victory on Sunday, head coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if the team was invited.
Sunday’s national championship drew a record-breaking average of 9.9 million viewers, according to sports broadcaster ESPN. The game, which peaked at 12.6 million viewers, was the most-viewed NCAA Division I women’s college basketball game on record across all networks.
Reese has been in the headlines following LSU’s victory, in particular as she called out the double standard in the reaction to her gesture towards Iowa guard Caitlin Clark.
Reese could be seen approaching Clark before moving her open hand in front of her face – popularized by WWE star John Cena to mean “you can’t see me” – before pointing to her ring finger in a gesture some interpreted as a reference to the place her newly-acquired championship ring might sit.
Clark made a similar gesture to another player earlier in the tournament.
The gesture sparked much debate, especially on social media. Some criticized Reese, while others defended her actions, highlighting how there was no public outrage in response to Clark’s gesture earlier in the tournament.
In the press conference after the victory, Reese referenced the difference in reaction she received as a result of her gesture as compared to the one Clark received.
“All year, I was critiqued for who I was. I don’t fit the narrative,” Reese said. “I don’t fit the box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. Y’all told me that all year. But when other people do it, and y’all don’t say nothing.
“So this is for the girls that look like me. For those that want to speak up for what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you. And that’s what I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight. And Twitter is going to go into a rage every time.”
by tyler | Apr 4, 2023 | CNN, sport
The University of Connecticut won its fifth men’s basketball national title with a 76-59 victory over San Diego State University on Monday night at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Senior guard Tristen Newton led UConn (31-8) with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Final Four Most Outstanding Player Adama Sanogo, a junior forward, chipped in with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
“We weren’t ranked going into the year so we had the chip on our shoulder,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley told game broadcaster CBS. “We knew the level that we could play at, even through those dark times,” he added, referencing the team’s six losses in eight games during the regular season.
He said going into the tournament his group had confidence garnered during the season.
“And when you have the type of leaders like Andre Jackson (game-high six assists Monday) and Adama Sanogo, they kept this team together, got us back on track and we knew we were the best team in the tournament going in and we just had to play to our level,” he added.
San Diego State (32-7) was topped by Keshad Johnson who had 14 points.
UConn trailed very early but San Diego State was undone by an 11-minute, eight-second stretch in which they scored just five free throws and missed 12 consecutive shots from the field. The Huskies went from down 10-6 to up 36-24 at halftime.
The Aztecs made a run midway through the second half and narrowed the deficit to five at 60-55 with 5:19 to play but the Huskies scored the next nine to take a comfortable lead into the final two minutes.
“We battled. Battled back to five in the second half, but gave them too much separation,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. “We had to be at our best. We weren’t at our best. A lot had to do with UConn.”
Senior guard Adam Seiko told reporters they gave themselves a chance with their second half comeback but UConn “just made a little bit more plays” at the end.
“They have a lot of weapons. They were pretty good,” said Matt Bradley, also a senior guard. “To beat them, we had to make shots. I shot poorly. And you had to have a really good game to beat those dudes on the offensive end.”
UConn won each of its six tournament games by at least 10 points, with its closest game being a 13-point win over the University of Miami in the national semifinals.
“I just want to thank my teammates, my coaches who believed in me. If it were not for them I would not be here right now,” Sanogo told CBS.
Jordan Hawkins, who scored 16 points for UConn, talked about winning the crown one day after his cousin, Angel Reese of Louisiana State University, won the women’s title.
“I mean it’s absolutely amazing that we both get this opportunity and I mean the family reunion is going to be great so that’s all I know,” he said.
UConn enters rarefied air as only the sixth team to win five NCAA men’s basketball championships, joining UCLA (11), Kentucky (eight), North Carolina (six), Duke (five) and Indiana (five). All of UConn’s titles have come since 1999 with the most recent before Monday occurring in 2014.
UConn’s women’s teams have won 11 basketball national titles.
by tyler | Apr 4, 2023 | CNN, sport
Magnus Carlsen proved that even the very best chess players in the world can sometimes have an off day.
The Norwegian grandmaster suffered a surprising defeat against Vladislav Artemiev at the Chessable Masters on Monday, the second-leg of the new lucrative Champions Chess Tour.
Carlsen set the tone with a rare blunder in the opening game and never really found the form that has made him one of the most formidable players in history.
He went on to lose two games with white, something which rarely happens, and found himself 2-1 down in the best-of-five match, needing a win in the final game.
The thought of beating Carlsen seemed to throw Artemiev off his game and the Russian made a string of blunders to hand the reigning world champion a route back via an Armageddon tiebreaker.
The 32-year-old, though, couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity and made another game-losing blunder to hand Artemiev the victory.
“It was pretty bad. He generally outplayed me,” Carlsen said after the loss. “The last game was terrible.”
“This was a really, really awful day of chess. I did everything to lose – and then some,” he continued.
“Obviously, it takes a strong opponent to exploit that, but that was really poor.”
Carlsen has a chance to redeem himself on Tuesday when he plays Le Quang Liem in the losers bracket of the tournament.
If he loses again, he’ll be eliminated from the tournament.
“I will do my best tomorrow, but this is unacceptable,” he added.
Elsewhere, US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura overcame a tricky match to beat Vladimir Fedoseev in a tiebreaker.
He will join Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Artemiev in the winners bracket.
The Champions Chess Tour is the new online home for the world’s best players, as they battle it out for a share of more than $2 million.
Played on website Chess.com, the annual circuit consists of six tournaments, which started with the Airthings Masters in February – an event won by Carlsen.
Every event has a $235,000 prize fund and the winners of each will qualify for an eight-player, live finale in December which has a purse of $500,000.
A further $100,000 will be shared among the top 10 finishers in the overall standings.
by tyler | Apr 4, 2023 | CNN, sport
Jordan Hawkins is a national college basketball champion. But he won’t be the only one with a new ring at his family’s next get-together.
Hawkins, who scored 16 points in the University of Connecticut’s 76-59 victory over San Diego State University in the NCAA men’s college championship game on Monday, and his cousin LSU star Angel Reese, who had her own success when the Tigers won its first NCAA women’s basketball national championship title on Sunday.
The pair both will receive commemorative rings to celebrate their respective title successes.
Reese’s hometown is Baltimore, Maryland, while Hawkins was born 42 miles away in Gaithersburg. Dawkins says that their title victories are the culmination of a long journey which the pair will celebrate in style in the weeks to come.
“This is for all the kids from Gaithersburg, Maryland, that didn’t think they could do it. I did it. Now you can do it, man,” Hawkins told game broadcaster CBS. “Me and Angel paved the way. We did it.”
When asked if he’d had any contact with Reese over the weekend, Hawkins said: “I wished her luck. I’m going to see her in Maryland soon. The cookout gone be lit.”
Hawkins expanded on the duo’s journey in the media conference after UConn had won its fifth men’s college basketball national title.
“It’s absolutely amazing, showing that kids that were our age at the time, we were dreaming about the same thing and we saw that it’s possible,” the 20-year-old said.
“We saw that as amazing … that we both get this opportunity and I mean the family reunion is going to be great so that’s all I know.”
Hawkins and Reese weren’t the only family duo to feature prominently in the NCAA finals
UConn head coach Dan Hurley masterminded the team’s dominant run through March Madness – in which it won each of its six tournament games by at least 10 points – and on the team, with him every step of the way, was his son, Andrew.
Andrew, a junior guard, featured only sparingly during the team’s progression through the tournament, but his dad says his son has a much more important role outside of his contribution’s on the court, explaining to CNN Sport’s Coy Wire that he is like his “therapist, always keeping me calm and focused.”
Andrew himself says that he’s just happy to play a part however he can. “I just try to contribute in any way I can and if that’s one of them, then so be it,” he told CNN. “It means a lot to be around him every day.”
UConn entered rarefied air as only the sixth team to win five NCAA men’s basketball championships, joining UCLA (11), Kentucky (eight), North Carolina (six), Duke (five) and Indiana (five). All of UConn’s titles have come since 1999 with the most recent before Monday occurring in 2014.
The university’s women’s team has won 11 basketball national titles.
“You’re so proud that you’re able to deliver on the promise you made to the university that we can get the program back and the promises you made to the players that we can do something special like this together,” said Hurley.
“I’m crazy. I’m a maniac just like our fanbase so I think that’s why we’re such a great fit for each other.”
by tyler | Apr 4, 2023 | CNN, sport
First lady Jill Biden appeared to walk back suggestions that the White House might invite both LSU and Iowa’s women’s basketball teams after Tigers star Angel Reese called it “A JOKE” on Monday.
Speaking on Monday, Biden congratulated both teams on their performance in Sunday’s national championship game, as well as specifically highlighting Iowa’s sportsmanship.
“Last night, I attended the NCAA women’s basketball championship,” said Biden, while speaking at an event at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.
“So I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do. So, we hope LSU will come but, you know, I’m going to tell Joe [Biden] I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”
It is traditional for the national champions to be invited to the White House, but not for the runners-up. Reese tweeted a link to the story which included Biden’s comments, calling it “A JOKE” along with three rolling-on-floor-laughing emojis.
In a comment on an Instagram post which included Reese’s tweet, the recently crowned NCAA champion said: “WE NOT COMING. period.”
Press secretary to the first lady Vanessa Valdivia sought to clarify Biden’s comments on Tuesday, saying in a tweet that they “were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House.”
The 20-year-old Reese played a key role in the Tigers’ 102-85 victory over the Hawkeyes to win the first national title in program history on Sunday. She was named the women’s NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as a result of her standout performances.
Before Valdivia’s clarification, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith had echoed Reese’s sentiment, replying to her tweet saying: “I mean absolutely zero disrespect to the First Lady, but you are 1000% correct.
“That is a bad suggestion. Runner-ups don’t get invited to the White House. Why are we trying to change it now? I completely agree with you, Angel.”
Rep. Troy Carter, a Louisiana Democrat, chimed in, agreeing with Reese.
“To The Most Honorable (President Biden) and (First Lady Biden),” Carter said. “LSU has won their first NCAA women’s Basketball Championship Title with a record-breaking score of 102-85.
“With no disrespect to the outstanding players of the Iowa women’s team … they did not win!
“LSU’s Women’s Basketball is the indisputable winner of the 2023 NCAA Championship and should enjoy this historic victory singularly.”
Reese’s teammate Alexis Morris asked if they could celebrate elsewhere, specifically at a former first lady’s house. “Michelle OBAMA can we (LSU NATIONAL CHAMPS) come celebrate our win at your house?” Reese replied to Morris’ tweet saying: “THAT’S THE TWEET.”
After LSU’s victory on Sunday, head coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if the team was invited.
Sunday’s national championship drew a record-breaking average of 9.9 million viewers, according to sports broadcaster ESPN. The game, which peaked at 12.6 million viewers, was the most-viewed NCAA Division I women’s college basketball game on record across all networks.
Reese has been in the headlines following LSU’s victory, in particular as she called out the double standard in the reaction to her gesture towards Iowa guard Caitlin Clark.
Reese could be seen approaching Clark before moving her open hand in front of her face – popularized by WWE star John Cena to mean “you can’t see me” – before pointing to her ring finger in a gesture some interpreted as a reference to the place her newly-acquired championship ring might sit.
Clark made a similar gesture to another player earlier in the tournament.
The gesture sparked much debate, especially on social media. Some criticized Reese, while others defended her actions, highlighting how there was no public outrage in response to Clark’s gesture earlier in the tournament.
In the press conference after the victory, Reese referenced the difference in reaction she received as a result of her gesture as compared to the one Clark received.
“All year, I was critiqued for who I was. I don’t fit the narrative,” Reese said. “I don’t fit the box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. Y’all told me that all year. But when other people do it, and y’all don’t say nothing.
“So this is for the girls that look like me. For those that want to speak up for what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you. And that’s what I did it for tonight. It was bigger than me tonight. And Twitter is going to go into a rage every time.”
