The record crowds that flocked to the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League were treated to lots more than the Victor Wembanyama Show. Our correspondent in the desert empties her notebookThe most common mistake people make post-Vegas is overreacting, whether positive or negative. Yes, the NBA’s Summer League provides a high-profile showcase for undrafted and G League players to show their mettle, so if they impress, it shouldn’t be discounted. And some rookies display their rough edges in their first NBA-branded outing in ways that might raise flags for concern. But, on the whole, sweeping generalizations from the past 11 days shouldn’t be made in either direction off a handful of games that in the long run don’t carry a whole...
Fifty-seven channels and nothing on? The splintering of French Open coverage in the United States has left many fans lostOn Tuesday night in Paris, in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic contested yet another epic contest in their immortal rivalry. It was a thrilling affair full of ferocious offensive firepower and jaw-dropping defensive escapes with Nadal emerging as the victor in four grueling sets, making the Spaniard a heavy favorite to claim his 14th French Open title.This current generation of tennis fans is perhaps the most spoiled, entitled lot of followers of any sport ever, having been gifted the remarkable array of matches between Nadal, Djokovic and, of course, Roger Federer. For nearly 20 years whenever...
The longtime NBA player has shined in his rookie year as a basketball analyst, but his viral takedown of Chris Russo this week on ESPN’s First Take showed what makes him specialJJ Redick’s emergence as a rising star for ESPN since joining the network as a basketball analyst in October has been one of the more notable stories in US sports media over the past year.The 37-year-old Redick, who launched a popular podcast while he was still a player, spent 15 seasons in the NBA after a decorated four-year stint at Duke, where he was the consensus national college basketball player of the year in 2006. He’s brought the keen insight and deep knowledge of an ex-pro to the broadcasting...
ESPN pundits’ criticism of rookie’s weight draws backlash Williamson delivered on hype with fourth-quarter outburst New Orleans Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson, the No 1 overall pick in last year’s NBA draft who’s been hailed as the best prospect since LeBron James, made his long-awaited professional debut on Wednesday night, a wait that had been made even longer by the team’s cautious approach to his rehabilitation from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.The 19-year-old prodigy managed to deliver on the extraordinary hype that’s preceded him since high school, whipping the sold-out Smoothie King Center into chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” during an electric fourth-quarter stretch where he poured in 17 unanswered points on seven consecutive possessions over a three-minute span.No. 1 overall...
ESPN asked Jemele Hill to ‘discuss sports topics, news, culture, and social issues’ and to tweet on ‘a current issue impacting sports’ – then suspended her for doing exactly thatMore than a week into her suspension for some highly anodyne tweets related to the Take the Knee protest, it feels long overdue to devote space to the ESPN anchor Jemele Hill. Still, I vaguely heard we were listening to women for a minute, and wondered if a black woman could catch a little of that entitlement to be heard. The traditional answer to that has been “No, I’m afraid she can’t” – which accounts for the nagging sense among many women of colour that sisterliness only stretches so far. Its...