James Harden, Scoring Machine, Is Only Getting Stronger

data-mm-id=”_pxpo0unih”>James Harden's ability to get bucket after bucket has not been hampered in the least by the addition of fellow ball-pounding enthusiast Russell Westbrook. This was a major concern, though not the only concern– meshing together and creating a team capable of emerging from a crowded Western Conference is the real goal here. At 16-8, the Rockets appear on course to get homecourt advantage before going through one, perhaps two Los Angeles-based teams. Last night, Harden poured in 55 points in a victory over Cleveland. He did this while shooting a season-low five free throws, meaning those who knock him from feasting from the charity stripe will have to find a new slant for a day or so. But however Harden is gathering his points, he's building an impressiv…

Will Outdoor Sporting Events Face the Same Coronavirus Fate as Indoor Ones?

data-mm-id=”_31jgbqqdm”>Coronavirus has already had a dramatic impact on the sporting world around the globe and its effects are becoming clearer stateside. March Madness is very much in doubt, conference tournaments are being played in front of only essential attendees, and the Ivy League canceled theirs outright. The expectation from those plugged into the NBA is that a precipitous change could be coming sooner rather than later with an indefinite end. A snowball in motion downhill is only going to grow larger as time goes on. Thus far, American cancellations and empty-stand decisions have been for indoor events. The next questions are if and when outdoor games will face the same fate. On first blush, it seems as though they will. But one wonders if there's a mental disconnect b…

Bob Costas Had the Best Line of 'The Last Dance' About That Famous Push-Off

data-mm-id=”_n3id6vjk9″>Bob Costas shined on the last night of The Last Dance, as Episodes 9 and 10 featured Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls facing the Utah Jazz in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals. Costas called the 98 playoffs for NBC and had a lot to say. But his line about the final shot of Jordan's career with the Bulls topped anything else uttered in the docuseries. There has long been a debate among fans as to wheter or not Jordan pushed off on Utah's Bryon Russell on that famous last shot. You can watch the play below:During Sunday night's broadcast, Costas claimed Jordan didn't push-off and that Russell was already falling to the ground on his own. He agreed that Jordan obviously had a hand on Russell, but he had this to say about it:””That hand on his bac…

The Texas Football Coronavirus Outbreak Is a Preview of the Fall

data-mm-id=”_phrsh3oph”>Texas announced 13 of its football players have tested positive for coronavirus. That's a big number, considering 58 players initially returned to campus last week. Frankly, this is just a preview of the fall. If the NFL and NCAA plan to play football on a normal schedule, both organizations have to get comfortable with the fact that a lot of players will undoubtedly contract the virus. Texas announces 13 players tested positive for COVID-19: pic.twitter.com/MbS2fxVagJ— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) June 18, 2020The 13 positive test results include two players who tested positive last week, and in addition to those 13, four players have tested positive for antibodies. This news comes the day after Kansas State announced that eight Wildcats athletes teste…

Robert Kraft Did Not Take a Shot at Bill Belichick By Pointing Out Draft Struggles

data-mm-id=”_h7nt0b98m”>Robert Kraft spoke to media yesterday about the New England Patriots' whirlwind of an offseason that featured an uncharacteristic spending spree in free agency. One thing he said that has driven several discussions on the morning sports talk studio shows was about the Patriots' recent draft history. When asked about the discrepancy between teams that spend big in free agency and teams that don't, Kraft voiced his belief that consistent winning cannot be found via free agency. The draft is where good teams find long-term contributors that make up the foundation for winning football. Having great players on cheap contracts for years at a time makes it easier to fill out the rest of the team with bigger contracts. It is harder to do it the other way …

NFL Broadcasts Roll Out Steroid-Inspired NFL Player Graphics

data-mm-id=”_spu3bvwg2″>I'm not exactly sure what broadcast networks are going for this week but apparently they want more muscles on NFL quarterbacks. During Sunday's games, several graphics appeared that made four quarterbacks look "enhanced."Check out these graphics and click through to see the whole thing:Like seriously, what's with the steroid look on these cartoons? pic.twitter.com/oCRnFUi907— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 18, 2020Well now we have our answer to the question, "What would Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady look like if they were on the 1990 Oakland A's?"I think the networks were going for a comic book/superhero look here but really they just made these guys look juiced to the gills. You also have to love the fourth catego…

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens Not Close in Contract Extension Talks

data-mm-id=”_kjsyec685″>Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens had a disappointing end to their 2020 season with an exit in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. While Jackson wasn't as good in 2020 as his 2019 MVP season, there's no question Baltimore should want to lock him up this offseason. The two sides have begun discussions on a contract extension but are apparently not close to on the same page. The Boston Globe's Ben Volin is reporting the Ravens and Jackson are "far apart" in extension talks and have been struggling to find common ground. That's not great news for Ravens fans. Baltimore needs to fix its offense this offseason, and that will be made more difficult by Pro Bowl offensive tackle Orlando Brown's request for a trade. After ranking…

Stugotz's Patrick Mahomes-Alex Smith Take May Become the Worst Ever

data-mm-id=”_ngaqm2902″>Patrick Mahomes now has two Super Bowl MVPs and very few people on this Earth would feel confident in betting that he will end with only two. Last night the quarterback gutted through a tremendous amount of pain to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to the promised land yet again. His storybook career is just beginning and the only way he doesn't end up on the signal-calling Mount Rushmore is if things really go off the rails through injury or other catastrophe. Mahomes is becoming one of the more predictable things in sports.He's like Michael Jordan in that he has the most talent. He always delivers. And his teams usually win. No one is able to offer a reasonable rebuttal so there's no debating he's the best currently doing it. READ NEXT: 30 Best S…

Donald Trump Seems to Agree With Joe Biden About the Nine Wonders of the World

data-mm-id=”_k4fqpykpt”>Donald Trump skipped the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night, instead opting to do a pre-taped interview with Tucker Carlson that aired on X, a rival social media site to Trump's own Truth Social. About midway through the interview Trump was asked about Chinese influence in Cuba, which turned into a history lesson on mosquitos at the Panama Canal and a one-person debate about how many wonders of the world there are. the panama canal pic.twitter.com/RHqiclN8FZ— Mark 🦑 (@Bartleby_Kamoi) August 24, 2023"We built a thing called the Panama Canal. We lost 35,000 people to the mosquito. Malaria. We lost 35,000 people. We lost 35,000 people because of the mosquito. Vicious. They had to build under nets, it was one of the true great…

Here's the Totally Normal Handshake Between Jim Harbaugh and Ryan Walters

data-mm-id=”_6c5hzf2n1″>Michigan toyed with Purdue in Ann Arbor last night and even allowed a backdoor cover to be gracious hosts yet remained unblemished on the year headed into a huge game against Penn State next week. It was cathartic for the Wolverines to be on the football field, as it always is, while the NCAA investigation into allegedly illegal sign-stealing and whatever the hell else Connor Stalions got up to continues.Boilermakers coach Ryan Walters was the most clear-eyed and open about what's going on in the leadup to Saturday night's game saying that they're not exactly allegations, actually more of some things that happened backed up by video evidence. So no one involved expected he and Jim Harbaugh, noted bad handshaker, to have a nice warm moment at midfi…