by tyler | Jun 1, 2023 | CNN, sport
Churchill Downs, host of the famed Triple Crown horse race the Kentucky Derby, announced new safety initiatives as an ongoing investigation continues into a series of horse deaths at the track.
The racetrack will continue to hold races as planned but said it would pause “track-based incentives such as trainer start bonuses and purse pay-out allocations to every race finisher through last place.”
Other initiatives, to go into effect immediately, include restricting the number of starts per horse to four during a rolling eight-week period. The racetrack will also establish ineligibility standards for poor performance.
There have been 12 equine fatalities at the facility since March 30, according to Churchill Downs Incorporated.
On Tuesday, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) held an “emergency veterinary summit,” which included members from Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to review all available information related to the deaths.
As the probe continues, HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said, “Everyone is committed to seeing what is happening and stopping it to the extent it can be stopped.”
The track said Thursday equine surgeon Dr. Ryan Carpenter “provided educational information and tools to trainers and practicing veterinarians about advanced interventions that can be considered for certain equine injuries.”
“Any decision must be made first and foremost with the long-term well-being of the horse in mind,” Dr. Will Farmer, the equine medical director for Churchill Downs Incorporated, said in a statement. “It is imperative that all available, educated and informed options can be efficiently, confidently and thoroughly relayed to the owners.”
by tyler | Jun 1, 2023 | CNN, sport
It is the tale of two of the NBA’s most beloved players.
There’s Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets – the hulking Serbian center who has battled underappreciation and misinterpretation to become one of the league’s greats and a two-time Most Valuable Player.
Then there’s the Miami’s Heat Jimmy Butler – another undervalued player whose grit and never-say-die attitude against the odds has earned him plaudits and fans in recent years, but in particular, these playoffs.
It’s the performances of Jokić and Butler which help to explain why the NBA Finals are being contested by Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat as the 2022/23 NBA season concludes.
The two teams have a lot in common; both are led by a star player with complimentary contributors around them and both have long-tenured head coaches at the helm – Miami’s Erik Spoelstra has the second longest active spell as a team’s head coach while Denver’s Michael Malone has the fourth longest.
After sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, the Nuggets have had over a week off while the Heat have come off a grueling seven-game series with the Boston Celtics, so tiredness could be a factor.
Whoever is left standing with the Larry O’Brien trophy held high come the end of the Finals – whether it be Jokić or Butler – is likely to be a great story for neutral fans, with both players aiming to win their first rings.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals begins on Thursday, June 1 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, with Game 2 taking place on Sunday.
The series then travels to Miami for Games 3 and 4 before returning to Denver for Game 5 if necessary. If required, Game 6 will be held in Miami and Game 7 in Denver.
The finale of the NBA season will be broadcast on ABC in the US, while all games are available via the NBA League Pass.
International viewers can watch all the action on the League Pass, as well as through local broadcasters.
For the Nuggets, a run to the Finals was the only acceptable outcome at the beginning of the season after years of near misses. And as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, they have made good on those desires.
Jokić has become a transformative player for Denver over recent years; but this season in particular, the two-time MVP has gone from regular-season monster to postseason juggernaut.
The 28-year-old has averaged a triple double of 30.4 points, 13.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists in 13 games this postseason as Denver has romped through the playoffs.
He has fended off challenges from a long list of superstar opposition – LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker have all fallen by the wayside.
It’s Jokić’s unique combination of passing, scoring and vision that have made him such a dominant force and, paired with Jamal Murray’s scoring ability, the Nuggets have been almost unstoppable on offense.
Due to some savvy additions in recent years – in particular, Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Denver’s defense has also been stifling.
Jokić admitted that the celebrations were short-lived after the Western Conference Finals sweep of the Lakers as Denver’s goal is lifting the title.
But he admits that if they are able to claim that ring, he might allow himself to fully soak it all in.
“I’m going to have bigger emotions, yes. We won the (Game 4 against the Lakers) and I was really happy, yes, yes, we made history, this, that,” Jokić told reporters. “But at the end of the day, next year, nobody is going to remember us or two years from now.
“So maybe, if we win it all, maybe it’s going to be different, but we will see.”
The Nuggets have remained unbeaten in home games these playoffs, and with home court advantage in the Finals, Denver is a strong favorite to claim a first title in franchise history.
While the Nuggets’ journey to the Finals wasn’t unexpected, the Heat’s run certainly was.
Having stumbled through the regular season – battling consistent injuries and shooting woes – Miami eventually booked a spot in the Play-In tournament.
But even then they struggled, first losing to the Atlanta Hawks before overcoming a late deficit to squeak past the Chicago Bulls into the playoffs.
Their reward for squeaking through the Play-In route was a match-up with the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Miami was given little hope, but five games later, the Heat had shocked the Bucks 4-1 and advanced to the next round.
The New York Knicks were the next to succumb to Butler and Co. and the Boston Celtics, despite recovering from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7, failed to get the better of the Heat.
The 33-year-old Butler has been at the forefront of Miami’s extraordinary run and has been consistently unfazed in the face of unimaginable pressure.
This postseason, he has averaged 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists as he has led the Heat to within four wins of a first title in 10 years.
But more than that, his confidence has been praised even when the odds seem stacked against his team.
Following the Heat’s demolition of the Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals – having lost three games in a row prior to it – Butler pointed to the team spirit which has gotten them to where they are now.
“I’m not going to say losing three in a row is part of the Heat culture we like to talk about because we don’t play to lose and we don’t want to lose. [The Celtics] are an incredible team over there and they will be for a while,” he told reporters.
“I just think the guys that Coach (Spoelstra) and Coach Pat (Riley) put together, when a guy goes down, the next guy could fill in that gap and do exactly what that guy that went down did and do it at a high level.
“Then be humble enough to know that when that guy comes back, you’ve got to take a step back and get back in your role. Nobody ever complains. They always do exactly what you ask of them to do, which is why you want to play with guys like that, which is why they are the reason we win so many games.
“I don’t call them role players; I call them teammates because your role can change any given day, especially how many games I’ve missed, in and out of lineup, off nights, whatever you want to call it.
“But we have some hoopers. We have some real-deal basketball players that can score, can defend and can pass and can win games for us.”
Will it be the wily old veteran or the Serbian superstar to claim their first ring? We will soon find out.
by tyler | Jun 1, 2023 | CNN, sport
Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris helped save a drowning child in Las Vegas this past weekend, according to ESPN.
Morris was at the Encore Las Vegas with his family when he saw a young boy drowning in the hotel pool. The boy was taken out of the pool by his father and brought over to the lifeguard, ESPN reported.
While the lifeguard started CPR compressions, Morris offered to help before getting an automatic external defibrillator (AED).
“I saw people calling 911 so my first question was, where is the AED?” Morris told ESPN on Wednesday. “When I got back, we had a doctor on site that was able to start the compressions. I was able to hand the AED to him, get it open for him, put the pads on the child, and he ended up being OK.”
Morris gave credit to the teams’ recent CPR, AED and first aid training for knowing the proper protocols.
“I’m just thankful I knew what to do,” Raheem Morris added to ESPN. “You just never know when you’re going to need that stuff.”
The Encore Las Vegas declined to comment on the incident when reached out to by CNN.
The Rams confirmed ESPN’s report to CNN on Wednesday.
Morris also mentioned Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin and the drowning death of Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett’s two-year-old daughter in April helped increase “awareness and preparedness” in situations like this.
In January, Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during the team’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
by tyler | Jun 1, 2023 | CNN, sport
The Detroit Pistons have agreed to a record deal with Monty Williams to be the franchise’s new head coach, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The deal is for six years, $78.5 million, making it the largest coaching deal in NBA history, sources told Wojnarowski.
The deal has team options for years seven and eight and could reach close to $100 million in incentives, league sources told The Athletic.
CNN has reached out to the Detroit Pistons for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Williams was fired by the Phoenix Suns earlier in May after a disappointing run in the playoffs. The Suns stormed to a first round 4-1 series win against the below strength Los Angeles Clippers, but then struggled against eventual NBA finalists, the Denver Nuggets.
Despite the mid-season acquisition of 13-time NBA All-Star Kevin Durant, to go with stars Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton, Williams could not guide his team past Nikola Jokić and Co. – eventually falling to a 4-2 series loss and bouncing out of the Western Conference semifinals.
The Suns fell at the exact same hurdle in the 2021-22 season, losing in seven games against the Dallas Mavericks, despite leading 3-2 in the series.
The previous year, Williams helped lead the Suns to its first NBA finals appearance since 1993, which ultimately led to defeat against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
In his time with the Suns, Williams compiled a 194-115 regular season record in four years and won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award last season after the Suns won 64 regular-season games.
Williams replaces Dwayne Casey at the Pistons, who stepped down as head coach following the season to take a front-office role in Detroit. In five seasons with the team, Casey complied a 121-263 record and helped lead Detroit to the playoffs once in 2018-2019.
The Pistons are in a very different position to the Suns but Williams’ experience in turning things around in Phoenix could prove vital.
Detroit has a roster of players full of potential and it will be Williams’ job to get the best out of their young core.
Cade Cunningham, the 2021 No. 1 pick and Jaden Ivey, the 2022 No. 5 pick, will be cornerstones of the franchise for years to come and have already impressed in the NBA.
Alongside the star backcourt, Williams will look to get the maximum out of the likes of James Wiseman, Jalen Duren, and their future 2023 No. 5 pick to steer the Pistons towards the playoffs.
However, the former New Orleans Pelicans head coach won’t be expected to reverse Detroit’s fortunes overnight. The Pistons finished with the worst record in the NBA last season, ending up going 17-65 throughout the regular season.
In the 2021-22 season the Pistons finished with a 23-59 record, highlighting the job at hand for Williams.
The long-term commitment to the 55-year-old coach underlines the project being built in Detroit and the belief they have in the future of their players and new head coach.
by tyler | May 30, 2023 | CNN, sport
The Miami Heat closed out the Boston Celtics in the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals on Monday, winning a deciding Game 7 103-84 to advance to the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets.
The road victory for the Heat blocked the proud Celtics franchise from becoming the first NBA team to rally to win a seven-game series after losing the first three contests.
“We have some incredible competitors in that locker room. They love the challenge,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They love putting themselves out there in front of everybody. Open to criticism. Open to everything.”
Celtics point guard Malcolm Brodgon said he thought his team played tight and it affected their results on both ends of the court.
“I thought (the Heat) played loose. I thought they really executed on the defensive end,” the league’s Sixth Man of the Year said. “Then offensively they were poised. They weren’t rushed, they weren’t nervous.”
Eighth-seeded Miami had to come through the play-In tournament but has not let its underdog status have any bearing on its impressive playoff run so far.
Against Boston on Monday, Miami forward Jimmy Butler led the way with 28 points while forward Caleb Martin netted 26 points and had 10 rebounds.
Boston shot a frigid 39% from the field as a team, and no Celtic managed to score 20 points in the game.
Many teams have tried, a few have gotten close, but ultimately all have failed in trying to achieve the comeback of all comebacks, netting 0 for 151 attempts.
Most teams to go down 0-3 didn’t even make it this far.
This Boston squad marks the just the fourth team to ever force a Game 7 following a 0-3 start to a series: the New York Knicks forced a Game 7 in the 1951 NBA Finals against the Rochester Royals, the Denver Nuggets pushed it to the brink in the 1994 Western Conference semis against the Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers almost made history in the 2003 Western Conference first round against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Heat, who have won three NBA titles, most recently in 2013, will face the top-seeded Nuggets in Denver on Thursday.
The Nuggets have not played a game in a week after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals last Monday.
Spoelstra’s team took down Giannis Antetokounmpo and the No. 1-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, before winning a war of attrition against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semis.
Despite Boston’s impressive regular season record, the No. 2 seed struggled throughout the postseason. It took the Celtics six games to get past the seventh-seeded Atlanta Hawks and another seven to get through the Philadelphia 76ers.
This brought the Heat and the Celtics together in the Eastern Conference Finals. The series has been an incredible display of drama and tension with the momentum ebbing and flowing throughout.
The Heat raced to a 3-0 lead in the series thanks to incredible performances by Butler and the Miami supporting cast.
Butler has been one of the stars of the NBA postseason and continued this form during the early games of the series against the Celtics.
Missing Tyler Herro through injury meant that head coach Erik Spoelstra had to seek other alternatives to support his star man. Up stepped Gabe Vincent and Martin – who have come up big in clutch time and throughout the series.
However, the Celtics won Game 4 and Game 5 in comfortable fashion with Jayson Tatum showing his brilliance in the win-or-go-home games. Back-to-back blowouts meant that Boston took the series back to Miami for Game 6 – the most crucial game of the series so far.
Buoyed by their home crowd support, it looked like the Heat had finally got their momentum back and had enough in the tank to become Eastern Conference champions.
The Heat held a one-point advantage with just three seconds left on the clock, but with the ball in Boston’s hands, it was far from over. As Marcus Smart attempted to splash home a game-winning three, the ball bounced off the rim and Derrick White scored a buzzer-beating putback to edge the game for the Celtics.
“It felt good. Everybody was asking me, ‘Did you get it off?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I think so,’ but it was so close, you never know,” White told reporters afterwards. “We’re just happy we won. However, we got to get it done, we got it done, and now it’s on to Game 7.”
Unfortunately for the Celtics, the Game 7 hill was again too steep to overcome.
by tyler | May 30, 2023 | CNN, sport
Chicago White Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks returned to baseball on Monday night after a battle with cancer.
At the top of the eighth inning of the White Sox’s eventual 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, Hendriks made an emotional return after undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The announcement over the loudspeakers that Hendriks was warming up in the bullpen was met with rapturous applause and when he eventually jogged onto the Guaranteed Rate Field, the crowd in attendance was on its feet welcoming the 34-year-old back.
“Yeah, it was great being back out there,” said Hendriks during his postgame press conference. “Getting back, putting cleats on, running out, doing all that. I felt good, I felt strong, I felt comfortable out there.
“Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t able to get the two-strike pitch where I wanted to. It was get ahead, generally, and then struggle to put them away. There were some positives from a purely baseball aspect, but there were definitely some things to work on. Get back, be available and be ready to go tomorrow.”
Hendriks was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in December before announcing it publicly in January.
He had been able to play toss and throw some bullpens in Arizona while undergoing chemotherapy and appeared in six rehabilitation appearances for the White Sox’s Minor League Baseball affiliate team, the Charlotte Knights.
Finally, on Monday, the White Sox activated Hendriks from his injury rehabilitation assignment allowing him to return to Major League Baseball action.
“Again, this is bigger than baseball, right?” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “This is about life and the diagnosis and the comeback and how he did it. And how good he was prior to [it] and how good he’s going to be afterward.
“This is just bigger than the game itself. What he’s done and how he’s done it has been remarkable. It’s an inspiration to everybody on this club, it’s an inspiration to everybody who follows the game and knows about Liam.”
As he took to the field against the Angels, fans, players and officials took to their feet to welcome him back and Hendriks was afforded some time at the mound to soak it all in.
He threw 27 pitches, giving up runs to Zach Neto and Mike Trout. He eventually got Shohei Ohtani to ground out to end the inning.
“All I kept saying to him the whole time was just: ‘Do you see how loved you are?’” Hendriks’ wife, Kristi, said during her Monday media session. “‘You are loved by fans, your teammates, the community, the city of Chicago, the cities you played for previously. They are all supporting you.’”
