I hoped I would be wrong. I hoped Watt, a pillar of the Houston community, would return to his dominant self. I love what he represents as a dedicated player and a class act. But I admitted to being skeptical. Well, after Watt’s career-high seven forced fumbles, 16 sacks, a fifth Pro Bowl selection and a full 17 games including playoffs, I’m happy to say, “Mea culpa.” Sorry for doubting you, J....
Smith returned from a one-game benching for unsportsmanlike conduct and scored all of his 11 points in the game-turning second quarter Saturday night to help the New York Knicks to a 102-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Amare Stoudemire scored 21 points and Carmelo Anthony added 18 for the Knicks (14-22), who have won four straight. "I just wanted to be aggressive, attack, get back to my old self, play with a chip on my shoulder and it worked," Smith said....
The Memphis Grizzlies guard has quickly become a fan favorite and it’s easy to see why. On Wednesday, the rising star followed through on a special gesture for a young Grizzlies fan. Ellie Hughes, 11, who has been attending Grizzlies home games with her grandfather for six years, had her autographed basketball stolen at FedEx Forum by two adults after Monday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. Hughes had been collecting the signatures of Grizzlies’ players over the years on the basketball and as she tried to get Morant to add to the collection, two adults took off with her prized possession, as reported by local Memphis media....
The Grizzlies, the two-seed in the Western Conference, lost to the Warriors in Game 4 without superstar guard Ja Morant, falling to a 3-1 deficit in the series. Morant missed the contest with a knee injury he suffered in Game 3. Now, it looks like Memphis will have to prepare to be without him indefinitely. What is Morant’s injury and how long will he be out? Here’s everything we know below....
Harrison’s season also earned him the distinction of being Goal’s pick for MLS Young Player of the Year, as the top player 21 and younger in the league this season. Major League Soccer teams don’t have the best reputation for playing young players, but this year saw many youngsters enjoy breakout seasons, including several who arrived last winter on loan from the international market. A half-dozen of those players are included in Goal’s MLS U-21 Best XI, showcasing the league’s most impressive young talent this season....
The specifics, of course, were not the same — and this is certainly not to compare the man on the plane to Robinson — but the viral video struck a nerve among African-Americans who not only have to deal with the excesses of police today, but with the history of being denied something as basic as their chosen seat. The not-so-distant era of segregated lunch-counters, movie theaters and, most notably, bus seating leaped to mind....
He has been cleared to return to “5-on-5” practices starting next week, however, so Jackson’s goal is to be in uniform when Wisconsin opens the 2015 NCAA Tournament and continues its drive to reach back-to-back Final Fours. MORE: Must-see conference tourney photos | Davidson’s incredible buzzer-beater “It’s going well, going really well,” Jackson told Sporting News. “It just depends on how everything goes. “It feels fine. The actual foot feels fine; the site (of the break) feels fine....
Canelo prevailed courtesy of a unanimous points decision at T-Mobile Arena, collecting Jacobs’ IBF strap to add to the WBA and WBC belts already in his possession. Join DAZN and watch more than 100 fight nights a year And Jacobs, now 35-3 in his professional career, thinks the time may have come for him to step up and compete in the super-middleweight class. “I knew it was a sacrifice that I had to take because the 10-day weigh-in for me was just a lot,” he told a post-bout media conference....
Instead, it was the Patriots who cruised to a 27-0 victory after capitalizing on three turnovers and an efficient effort from a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start. MORE: Week 3 Power Rankings Jacoby Brissett, a third-round pick from North Carolina State who started the season as New England’s third-string quarterback, outplayed Houston’s Brock Osweiler as the Patriots marched to 3-0. Brissett finished the night 11 of 19 for 103 yards, with another 48 rushing yards....
Vrabel’s Titans crushed Meyer’s Jaguars 20-0 in Week 14 to drop Jacksonville to 2-11 and officially eliminate them from playoff contention. Vrabel, who worked under Meyer for two years at Ohio State, was understandably amped about earning a season sweep over his former boss. MORE: Urban Meyer’s timeline of NFL dysfunction with Jaguars As for Meyer, he was less than congratulatory during their handshake. That’s a pretty cold shoulder from Meyer to his former assistant, and that interaction certainly isn’t a good look for Meyer after yet another tumultuous week in charge of the Jaguars....
The combined injuries and ineffectiveness of that pair is what prompted Jacksonville to use the No. 4 overall pick on Fournette. The rookie didn’t get an immediate declaration from coach Doug Marrone that he would be the starter, but there will be no hiding the fact that Fournette is the clear No. 1 coming out of training camp. MORE: Fournette among 2017 impact rookies Ivory, 29, is coming off a rough first season with the Jaguars....
The former Duke standout scored 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the first 5:40 of his 76ers debut against the Celtics. MORE: NBA season openers, in photos | Andrew Bogut diagnosed with concussion Okafor also blocked two shots as the Sixers led 26-21 at the end of the first quarter. Okafor didn’t stay perfect long, he had eight turnovers and the Sixers fell 110-93, but it’s obvious he has the tools to impact a game already in his pro career....
“Jahlil is the best player to ever come out of Chicago,” he told TMZ Sports. “My son’s absolutely the most decorated player ever from the city.” MORE: Seven Kentucky players heading to NBA | Draft stock after Final Four Let’s pump the brakes a bit there, dad. Have you forgotten about NBA champions Dwyane Wade, Kevin Garnett (who played a year of high school basketball in the city) and Isiah Thomas, or Pelicans star Anthony Davis?...
News broke early this week that the Jacksonville cornerback requested a trade, which prompted Ramsey to come out and address the elephant in the room. “I have nothing bad or negative to say about anyone in the building,” Ramsey said in a press conference. “S— happens, it is what it is … I don’t want to speak on it or give too much detail. I will let God do his work....
MORE: How Lakers lost Lue, extended embarrassing coaching search “He needs to pick up the cell phone (and) call Jeanie Buss,” Rose said Friday on ESPN’s Get Up. “If they don’t hire the person he would like them to hire to coach the basketball team over the next three years, he should ask to be traded. This has become a mockery.” Lakers fans are planning a protest Friday in response to the chaos surrounding the team and the coaching search drama....
Erica Kinsman agreed to go on camera for the new documentary “The Hunting Ground,” which premiered Friday at the Sundance Film Festival and will be aired on CNN and released in theaters at a later date. The Los Angeles Times described Kinsman’s recounting of the December 2012 night she says Winston raped her as “chilling.” MORE: SN early Top 10 | Draft winners & losers | SN Recruiting Central...
NFL prospect Jameis Winston has filed to trademark “Famous Jameis,” a name that was often used in reference to him on college football Saturdays. Russ Spielman, founder and principal at The Legacy Agency, which represents Winston, said the agency is trying to protect the quarterback’s future brand. MORE: Mock draft | Marshawn Lynch applies for trademark | Good, bad franchise tags “We have begun taking steps to protect our client and his intellectual property rights,” Spielman told ESPN....
Even when it’s not. MORE: Week 10 photos | Top rivalries | Scoreboard There, feel better, everyone? Jameis Winston isn’t perfect. I’m sure that makes the rest of college football — this means you, too, Alabama — all warm and fuzzy. “Even on his worst day,” says FSU tailback James Wilder Jr., “he’s better than just about anybody else.” And that’s Game No. 8 in the World According to Jameis....
Last year’s winner, Florida State QB Jameis Winston, tops the list, along with other top quarterbacks, including Baylor’s Bryce Petty, Ohio State’s Braxton Miller, Auburn’s Nick Marshall, Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and UCLA’s Brett Hundley. The watch list will be reduced to 10 players in mid-November — if someone is not on the list now, it doesn’t mean they can’t be on it when the list is narrowed — and the winner will be announced on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Thursday, Dec....
“The type of coach that he is, I wish I could have played for him,” Winston said in an interview with MGoBlue, while also heaping praise on the Wolverines’ facilities. “These guys don’t know how blessed they are to have this type of facility. Florida State, we’re a very prestigious school, we have nice stuff, but we don’t have this. I love Florida State, I mean, go ‘Noles til the day I die, but they’re so much advanced than us....
