In LaVar Ball, the president of the United States has finally met his match: a master troll with an appetite for attention even bigger than his ownOn November 23rd, Thanksgiving Day in the United States, a day set aside on the calendar for gratitude, the man who just 10 months prior had been inaugurated president of the world’s leading superpower rose in the early morning hours before a planned day of golfing and tweeted about LaVar Ball, the self-proclaimed “CEO” of a tiny, family-based basketball apparel company in Chino Hills, California. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Related: Donald Trump blasts 'ungrateful fool' LaVar Ball as war of words escalates Related: LaVar Ball, the $495 sneakers and the battle against basketball's status...
African American athletes can be everything: grand slam champions, Olympic medalists, explosive, magic. Everything, that is, except benignWhat’s a brother gotta do to catch a break in sports? Asking not for myself, a black sportswriter, but for a friend. OK, not for a friend. For DeShone Kizer, the beleaguered rookie quarterback of the terrible Cleveland Browns.Early one Saturday morning last month Kizer ducked into a downtown bar for a break, a bit of release. The pressure on him at the time surely pinched, what with the Browns being 0-6 and his passer rating at a league-worst 27.3. He is of legal drinking age, didn’t break any laws and didn’t violate any sacrosanct policies held by the team. But a Zapruder-grade...
The Celtics are on a 12-game winning streak – and that’s without some of their best players. How their Eastern Conference rivals must envy themA few weeks ago, it felt like the Boston Celtics’ season had ended before it had begun. Gordon Hayward, the team’s prime free-agent acquisition over the summer, suffered a season-ending ankle injury just a few minutes into the NBA’s opening night. Unsurprisingly, Boston went on to lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers, despite a valiant comeback attempt, and then fall to the Milwaukee Bucks the very next night.And then, somehow, the Celtics became unbeatable. With their 94-95 win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, the Celtics improved their winning streak to 12 straight games, something the team...
America’s most progressive major sports league may be at the onset of its most important season – and not for what will happen on the courtImagine a sports league whose athletes are encouraged to speak out against social injustice. Imagine a league that doesn’t treat activism like a threat, painting over the shouts for change with flimsy public relations initiatives in hopes of placating fans and advertisers. Imagine a league that invites difficult conversations rather than close its eyes and hope the uncomfortable moments go away. As the NFL dithers in the face of player expression, the NBA embraces it. For the last three weeks NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has danced around the proper response to his players’ silent shout...
Can anything stop the Warriors? Will the 76ers finally make the playoffs? And who will win MVP? Guardian writers on what’s coming up this seasonSeeing how Oklahoma City will fit Paul George and Carmelo Anthony with Russell Westbrook. The Thunder have essentially rented George and Anthony for a season. Both will want the ball and while Westbrook’s reputation is as a player who craves control he also knows he must share to win – and challenge Golden State. LC Continue reading...