I think it’s bulls*** the NBA throws the refs under the bus like that. | | | | | NBA commissioner Adam Silver. (Keith Allison/Flickr) | | | | |  | “I think it’s bulls*** the NBA throws the refs under the bus like that.”
|
| |
| | rantnrave:// NBA players – from their public calls against gun violence to LEBRON JAMES campaigning for HILLARY CLINTON – are seemingly a liberal group and not shy about expressing their views. So it will be very interesting to watch what kind of role the NBA and its players carve out over the next four years. The league could very well serve as a cultural opposition force during the age of DONALD TRUMP. That would make for a difficult line to walk for COMMISSIONER ADAM SILVER. It’s not surprising that he thinks NBA teams should visit the WHITE HOUSE when they win championships. It’s what he should say and it’s the practical point of view. But what happens if the WARRIORS or CAVALIERS don’t want to visit PRESIDENT TRUMP next year? What does Silver say then? It could be a PR nuisance for the league or it could prop the league up as a liberal beacon in professional sports -- a generally conservative ecosystem. Would owners or the league office be within their rights to force players to go -- though they haven't in the past? Would skipping the White House visit be an act of courage or disrespect? That usually depends on your political leaning. Either way, it will be interesting to watch... It wasn’t surprising to see SWANSEA CITY fire BOB BRADLEY but it was disappointing. Aside from the obvious, that the team’s struggles probably weren’t Bradley’s fault, it was a big loss for U.S. SOCCER. Bradley is a good coach but it won’t help American soccer's respect abroad when he gets fired so quick, even as he stepped into a bad spot to begin with. With so much money at stake with relegation, Swansea had to do something and the surest way to panic is to fire the coach… But times like these make you wistful about relegation in college sports. Imagine how fun that would be. What if a bad season sent DUKE to the ATLANTIC SUN CONFERENCE or immense success sends TROY into the SEC?... Goodbye REX RYAN. He was an unspectacular coach but a great character in a league that values blandness. Hopefully he can get another job just to hear him chatter away from behind a podium not on a TV set. | | | - Mike Vorkunov, curator |
|
|
 | MMQB |
| A regular caller to sports talk radio in New York City, Benny lives and dies with his beloved Packers while chain-smoking, fist-pumping and nervously pacing throughout the action. Just another rabid fan? He also has Roger Goodell and Green Bay president Mark Murphy in his phone | | |
|
 | Houston Chronicle |
| Long before Rockets general manager Daryl Morey emerged as an analytics whiz and salary cap savant, becoming a poster child for the 21st century wonk uprising in professional sports, he dreamed of immersing in musical theater. "The theater has its fair share of fanatics," said James LaPine, a Tony Award-winning director who Morey befriended. Morey supports local companies Theater Under the Stars and Catastrophic, and now he has his own project in motion. | | |
|
 | Huck Magazine |
| Sixteen-year-old Rahel Gebretsadik had to flee Eritrea to find her feet. Now she's gunning for the finishing line in Israel, running free as a refugee. | | |
|
 | The New York Times |
| The officials ended their long denial, but insisted the state had no role in the doping and it was not responsible for the institutionalized cheating. | | |
|
 | Forbes |
| ESPN made headlines last year when it announced Jessica Mendoza would become its lead baseball analyst. But what it's doing with its NBA coverage is even more remarkable. | | |
|
 | Vice Sports |
| Fighting and suspensions for illegal hits are both declining in the NHL. This is not a coincidence, and further shows that hockey doesn't need brawling to be its best self. | | |
|
 | The Undefeated |
| One of the most hypocritical conundrums in college sports is who is eligible for postseason bowls and playoffs in NCAA Division I sports and who is not. | | |
|
 | ESPN.com |
| What is a backyard rink to you? To John Buccigross, it's more than a sheet of cold, perfect ice. It's also a place of possibility and wonder, of hot cocoa and cold wrist shots -- and happiness. | | |
|
 | The Boston Globe |
| Afternoon naps are part of the normal routine for many players. | | |
|
 | Slate |
| Garry Kasparov on Vladimir Putin’s meddling and America’s response. | | |
|
 | The Washington Post |
| After 36 years, the “Granny-style” free throw returned to the league when a Rockets rookie used the technique players have uniformly resisted as, among other things, unmanly. | | |
|
 | Philadelphia Inquirer |
| After the friends had walked off the football field, they gathered with their families not far from where the ambulance had been. | | |
|
 | Los Angeles Times |
| Each program navigated the fallout differently. USC chose caution and heavy planning. Penn State scrambled to keep its program from collapsing during one frantic week and throughout a longer court battle. The sanctions have ended for each program, but their effects linger even as the Trojans and Nittany Lions prepare to meet in one of college football’s most storied events, the Rose Bowl. | | |
|
 | Rolling Stone |
| LeBron James, the Chicago Cubs, Simone Biles, Leicester City and other stories that helped make 2016 one of the best years in sports history. | | |
|
 | Sports Illustrated |
| Former star Auburn recruit Zeke Pike found himself on the verge of suicide after years of drug abuse and a horrific tragedy. Now he's piecing his life back together. | | |
|
 | Aeon Magazine |
| Using baseball’s cultural status to exploit fans is part of a long, dark trend: the tendency to milk the masses for what ostensibly belongs to everyone | | |
|
| The New York Times |
| She made her statement about the power of women by relentlessly pursuing every victory. | | |
|
| Vice Sports |
| WWE's roster is more talented than maybe at any time in the promotion’s history-yes, even the Attitude Era or right after the WCW buyout-and indie wrestling had plenty going for it, too. | | |
|
| MMQB |
| The Bills brought the Rex Ryan era in Buffalo to an end a game short of two full seasons. What went wrong, and what’s next for the team and the coaching lifer who was supposed to turn around the franchise. | | |
|
| The Undefeated |
| How the former hoops star went from NBA outcast to international trailblazer. | | |
|
 | via YouTube |
| | | | | | |
|
|
| © Copyright 2016, The REDEF Group |
|
|
