The biannual regular-season showdown between Duke and North Carolina is typically appointment television for men’s college basketball fans. Not so much this year, with the bitter rivals meeting unranked for the first time since 1960. The Feb. 6 matchup posted the lowest TV rating and audience for the series in at least 14 years. Unexpected […]
During the 2020 offseason, there was no single transaction more roundly criticized than the Charlotte Hornets’ decision to sign Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120 million deal. Hayward was, after all, coming off of three injury-plagued years with the Boston Celtics, and simply had not looked like the same player since suffering a gruesome ankle […]
Two weeks into the WNBA’s free agency period, we’ve seen big moves by all 12 teams. Signings, star relocation, massive trades — on Feb. 10 we essentially had a five-team trade. Five! That’s 41.667 percent of the league involved in one trade. Players regularly outgrow more limited roles on their original teams, particularly since the […]
Sara’s on vacation this week, so it’s the perfect chance for Neil and Geoff to talk hockey. We begin with the league’s many, many postponements due to COVID-19 protocols. The league has been slow to catch up to the level of rapid testing necessary to curtail the worst outbreaks. On the ice, last year’s Stanley […]
It’s time for another installment of the Hall of Pretty Damn Good Players — our tribute to the athletes who won’t be in the Hall of Fame, but who still had a lasting effect on the history of their sport. In this edition, we salute a recently retired player who overcame his short stature and […]