by tyler | May 30, 2023 | CNN, sport
Nick Nurse, who as head coach led the Toronto Raptors to their lone NBA title in 2019, has been appointed the new head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, a league source has told CNN Sport.
Head coach of the Raptors from 2018 to 2023, the 55-year-old Nurse is regarded as one of the most talented minds in the NBA and was highly sought after following his exit from the Toronto team.
Former Sixers head coach Doc Rivers was relieved of his duties following a disappointing second-round exit against the Boston Celtics.
During the Raptors’ 2019 run to the ring, Nurse masterminded a seven-game series win against his new employers and received a lot of praise for how his team thwarted Joel Embiid’s threat.
After Kawhi Leonard’s Game 7 buzzer beater to sink the Sixers, the Raptors went on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals and then the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
The following year Nurse continued his good work with the Raptors and won NBA Coach of the Year after leading Toronto to a 53-19 record without former star, Leonard.
Nurse’s journey to the NBA has not followed the traditional route of a modern-day head coach in the league.
The 55-year-old’s desire to become a success in the industry took him to Europe, with his biggest impact coming in the United Kingdom.
Nurse spent many years coaching in the British Basketball League and won two BBL championships, as well as winning coach of the year twice.
Once he had nurtured his coaching skills, Nurse returned to the US and impressed during stints at the D-League (now known as the G League) franchises, Iowa Energy and Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
The Raptors then picked up the Iowa native, where he served as an assistant from 2013-2018 before landing the head coach gig.
The main talking point surrounding the Sixers’ new appointment is Nurse’s history with Sixers star and current MVP Embiid.
In the 2022 playoffs, the pair had a heated conversation during a game with Embiid saying, “I told him, respectfully, I told him to stop b***hing about calls.”
Nurse responded, telling reporters: “I got a lot of respect for him. He’s certainly playing great here. There’s nothing there but us trying to compete against him and him trying to compete against us.”
Then following a 2022 regular season game, Embiid said of Nurse’s Raptors, “They just want to shut down the other star players.”
With Nurse and Embiid now united for one franchise, the league could be in for a tough challenge stopping them.
by tyler | May 30, 2023 | CNN, sport
Kami Rita Sherpa had stood at the top of the world just days earlier, exultant at having summited Mount Everest for a record 28th time.
The Nepali climber was given a hero’s welcome on his return to Kathmandu, but all that joy appeared to have deserted him as he surveyed life’s highs and lows from an armchair in the small, neat living room of his rented apartment, while his wife poured tea.
“There is no future in Nepal,” the 53-year-old father of two told Reuters over the weekend.
“Why stay here?” he asked, speaking in his native Nepali and a smattering of broken English. “We need a future for ourselves… for our children.”
Wearing a baseball cap bearing the legend “Everest Man”, and his face blackened by wind and snow burns, Kami Rita is clearly proud of his achievements. But he is also grateful that money he made as a guide with mountain expeditions helped him move to Nepal’s capital so that his children could have the education he never received.
His son, 24, is studying tourism and his daughter, 22, is doing an Information Technology course.
“This would not have been possible had I continued to stay at Thame and not taken to climbing,” said Kami Rita, who left school in his mountain village when he was around 12 years old.
Awards and Guinness World Record certificates fill the showcase behind him, and posters of Kami Rita on Mount Everest adorn the walls, but he talked of immigrating to the United States to find new opportunities for his family.
Kami Rita was born in the same Himalayan village as Tenzing Norgay, the sherpa who together with New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary made the first summit of Mount Everest 70 years ago.
The village of Thame is in Solukhumbu, a district that has become a Mecca for mountaineers since that first successful ascent on May 29, 1953.
Located on the border with China’s Tibet, Solukhumbu’s crowning glory is Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at 8,849 metres (29,032 feet), but it also hosts Lhotse (8,516 metres), Malaku (8,481 metres), Cho Oyu (8,201 metres), Gyachung Kang (7,952 metres) and Nuptse (7,855 metres) – all names that any top mountaineer would want on his CV.
Sherpas, an ethnic group living in the Everest region, have always been the backbone of mountain expeditions. They fix ropes, ladders, carry loads and also cook, making anything between $2,500 and $16,500 or more, depending on experience, during a single expedition.
But young sherpas, according to Kami Rita, are turning away from that life.
“The new generation of sherpas is not taking to climbing. They want to go abroad in search of a better career,” he said. “In 10-15 years there will be fewer sherpas to guide climbers. Their number is already low now.”
Many renowned sherpa guides have left Nepal in search of better opportunities in the West, mainly in the United States. Indeed, the famous Tenzing Norgay also immigrated, but only as far as neighbouring India, where he worked for a climbing school.
Mountain climbing and trekking attract thousands of foreigners to Nepal every year, contributing more than 4% to the $40 billion economy. The country earned $5.8 million in permit fees – $5 million from Mount Everest alone – during this year’s March-May climbing season.
Hiking tour company officials reckon more than 500,000 people are employed in tourism, but many remain economically vulnerable in this impoverished nation of 30 million people.
“The government does little for the welfare of the sherpas,” Kami Rita said, urging authorities to launch welfare schemes like a provident fund, retirement benefit and education facilities for their children.
Expeditions hiring sherpas must take out life insurance for them, but the pay out is just 1.5 million Nepali rupees (about $11,300). Three sherpas died last month crossing the treacherous Khumbu Icefall on Everest.
“This should be increased to 5 million rupees (about $38,000),” said Kami Rita, gently rubbing a bruise on his cheek.
($1= 131.83 Nepali rupees)
by tyler | May 25, 2023 | CNN, sport
Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies say Ja Morant “is fine” after authorities performed a wellness check at the Memphis Grizzlies star guard’s home on Wednesday.
The check came after Morant, according to multiple published reports, posted and then deleted messages to his Instagram Stories on Wednesday morning telling various family members he loved them before writing “bye.”
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told CNN, “Shelby County Sheriff’s Office deputies checked on Ja Morant at his residence this morning and he is fine. He advised us that he is taking a break from social media.”
CNN has reached out to Morant’s representatives and the Memphis Grizzlies for comment.
Morant is currently suspended from team activities pending a league review after video surfaced on social media earlier this month appearing to show him flashing a gun while in a vehicle with others. The suspension came just two months after the athlete was previously suspended for eight games over a similar video.
It is not known when or where the more recently surfaced video was filmed.
Last week, Morant issued a statement saying he takes “full accountability” for his actions.
“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” Morant said through a spokesperson. “This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in an interview with ESPN last week, “We’re in the process of investigating (the video). And we’ll figure out exactly what happened to the best we can. The video is a bit grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst.”
by tyler | May 23, 2023 | CNN, sport
They say lightning does not strike twice but – for the second time in under a week – a bird has died after meeting the cruel fate of being hit by a flying baseball in an MLB game.
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen mirrored Randy Johnson when he accidentally killed a bird last week with a throw and, continuing the trend, the Cleveland Guardians’ Will Brennan unfortunately followed suit on Monday.
The outfielder accidentally killed the bird when he smashed a groundball in the second inning of the Guardians’ game against the Chicago White Sox.
Taking to Twitter after Monday’s game, Brennan apologized for his part in the avian affair.
“I truly am sorry @peta and bird enthusiasts. An unfortunate sacrifice,” the rookie shared.
The bird’s passing did not prove to be a bad omen for the Guardians with Gabriel Arias notching a run later that inning.
The Guardians went on to beat the White Sox 3-0 in the first game of their three-game series.
The latest incident comes some 20 years after the most infamous avian casualty episode, which saw then Diamondbacks pitcher Johnson take out a bird in a flurry of feathers back in 2001.
Johnson, who was known for his 100+ mph fastballs, was throwing a pitch in the seventh inning of a spring training game when a bird flew by at just the right moment and was hit by the ball, with an explosion of feathers heralding the bird’s unfortunate demise.
by tyler | May 23, 2023 | CNN, sport
Tom Brady has agreed to purchase a minority ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, a source familiar with the deal told CNN on Monday.
The agreement was first reported by Sports Illustrated NFL reporter Albert Breer. The sale is still subject to NFL approval.
Earlier this month, a source told CNN the seven-time Super Bowl winner was in negotiations with the Raiders.
The deal won’t be ready for the owners to consider at the Spring League Meeting in Minnesota, which ends Tuesday, according to Breer.
“We’re excited for Tom to join the Raiders,” team owner Mark Davis said in a phone call to ESPN.
“It’s exciting because he will be just the third player in the history of the National Football League to become an owner.”
CNN has reached out to the NFL, the Raiders and Brady’s representatives for comment.
The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback announced his retirement from the NFL in February after 23 seasons.
During his long career, the three-time league MVP set almost every passing record, including regular season passing yards (89,214) and passing touchdowns (649). He has also amassed the most wins of any player in NFL history (251).
The agreement with the Raiders is the second partnership between Brady and team owner Davis since the former’s retirement.
In March, it was announced that Brady had acquired an ownership stake in Davis’ WNBA franchise, the defending champion Las Vegas Aces.
In October, he also joined the ownership group of an expansion Major League Pickleball team, along with former tennis World No. 1 Kim Clijsters, who in December attended the draft to support their new squad, the Las Vegas Night Owls.
by tyler | May 23, 2023 | CNN, sport
After 20 incredible years in the NBA, LeBron James has added to speculation that he could finally be hanging up his sneakers for good.
This comes after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the Western Conference Finals by Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets following a disappointing 113-111 Game 4 loss.
“We’ll see what happens going forward. I don’t know,” the NBA’s all-time leading scorer said to reporters post-game. “I’ve got a lot to think about to be honest.
“Just for me, personally, going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about.”
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said he followed up with James following the press conference to further elaborate on his comments adding that retirement is under consideration.
“When you say you got to think about stuff, what thread should we be pulling on that?” McMenamin said he asked to which James replied, “If I want to continue to play.”
James later added that he’d have to think about it when pushed further about walking away next year, according to McMenamin. The Lakers star has one year left in his contract with the team after signing a two-year contract extension prior to the season.
CNN has reached out to James’ representative but did not immediately hear back.
In the win-or-go-home game, LeBron and Co. were looking to make history by overcoming a 3-0 series deficit to advance to the NBA Finals.
Mission impossible almost got off to the perfect start, but the Nuggets came up strong in the clutch and thwarted James’ efforts to send the game to overtime.
Marked by Nuggets wing Aaron Gordon, ‘King James’ missed two opportunities to save the game. The first a tough shot way off the mark, bouncing off the side of the glass. Then with the season truly on the line, Gordon blocked a James floater with 1.1 left on the clock.
Monday’s reversal on considering retirement comes as a surprise after the four-time champion previously said he’d like to play his final NBA season alongside his son Bronny James in an interview with The Athletic in 2022.
“My last year will be played with my son,” James said. “Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It’s not about the money at that point.”
Despite the loss and his postgame comments, James’ Game 4 performance showed the 20-year veteran could easily continue his stellar career, to play with Bronny, if he so wished.
LeBron played all 48 minutes, scored 40 points on 15-of-25 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out nine assists, as the 38-year-old left it all on the floor in an all-encompassing performance.
Yet, as so often in his long career, LeBron’s individual brilliance wasn’t enough and the Nuggets were able to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history without dropping a game in the series.
Jokić had another standout series for Denver, and the two-time regular season MVP was awarded the Magic Johnson Western Conference Finals MVP trophy.
In Game 4, the ‘Joker’ was at his all-around best, with 30 points, 14 boards and 13 assists. The latest in a long line of triple-doubles also meant that Jokić broke Wilt Chamberlain’s 1967 record of the most triple-doubles in a playoff run – the Serbian star adding his eighth of the postseason.
“I think he’s showing other people nationally that he’s real. Like what he’s doing is real. The MVPs are real. The triple-doubles are real,” said Nuggets head coach Michael Malone on his star player. “The guy is a great player; give him his damn respect. Stop chopping him down at the knees. He’s a great player and give him the respect he deserves.”
The Nuggets can now look forward to the NBA Finals as they wait to see who wins between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
