The 41-year-old coach of the undermanned Boston Celtics has emerged as one of the sport’s sharpest minds, but reaching the NBA finals without his two best players would be his best trick yetThe first time I met Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens was outside Butler University’s famed Hinkle Fieldhouse. It was winter 2012, less than a year after Stevens, then the coach at the tiny Indianapolis school, had led Bulldogs to their second consecutive NCAA championship game. I was with a friend who knew Stevens a little and wanted to say hello. I was surprised Stevens had agreed to meet us. Most college coaches don’t have time for such things, especially in the middle of the season with practice barely...
Former Channel Five baseball co-host David Lengel believes Major League Baseball can make a splash in Britain despite a late startFor the tightly knit baseball community scattered throughout the UK and Ireland, Tuesday’s announcement from Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred and London mayor Sadiq Khan was as big as it gets: the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will play a pair of regular-season games at London’s Olympic Stadium in June 2019.For folks like myself, co-hosts Jonny Gould, Josh Chetwynd and others who passionately represented the sport on Channel Five’s baseball coverage from 1997 to 2008, the chance to finally see America’s national pastime on British soil is a champagne moment. Related: Red Sox and Yankees confirmed to...
The United States’ joint bid with Canada and Mexico once felt like a lock but it is looking more vulnerable by the day thanks in no small part to the US presidentThirteen months ago when the United States launched a joint bid to host the World Cup with Mexico and Canada at a news conference on the 102nd floor of One World Trade Center, the outcome felt like little more than a formality.There was a compelling proof of concept in USA 94, which set a World Cup attendance record that still stands with nearly 3.6m spectators (for only 52 matches), auguring record-smashing profits for the expanded 48-team, 80-match tournament in 2026. There was a nod toward the fiscally responsible, infrastructure-ready...
The SheIs alliance of women’s sports leagues is a nice idea, but it’s a version of empowerment that puts the onus on women to change the landscape without holding men accountableWhen I saw Tuesday’s official launch of the SheIs initiative – a group of eight professional women’s sports leagues coming together to increase resources, viewership and attendance – I thought to myself: That’s sweet. But it didn’t move me. It’s not because I’m in disagreement with the movement. I’m all for women supporting other women. It’s needed and in step with the trend. I mean, girl power is everywhere, and we’ve somehow ended up with the terms “Shero” (get it? It’s hero, but with a she!) and She-EO (like CEO,...
Having clarified that they can offer the seven-time Wimbledon champion a seeding, the All England Club must do the right thing or risk being seen to punish a player for having a babyThere are a few good reasons Wimbledon should break with precedent and offer a player ranked 449 in the world a seeding at this year’s championships. The overriding one is the fact that the player has won the tournament seven times and is called Serena Williams.Given the state of flux in the women’s game, the finest women’s player of the modern era might well be the best player in the 2018 draw – certainly nobody in the top 32 would relish playing her in the first round if...