Sports talk icon Dan Patrick ripped LeBron James and ESPN on Thursday after James announced he’s not retiring from the NBA during a speech at the ESPYs on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
James made the statement when he received the award for best record-breaking performance by surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time scoring leader this past season. Few observers believed James would retire, and Patrick accused James of seeking attention and ESPN of manufacturing a storyline for the same reason.
“I wasn’t waiting for an announcement,” Patrick said. “I got one.
Author: Michael
ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, who is one of the most iconic figures at the network over the last two decades, almost never rose to prominence in sports media.
In fact, Smith, who is now the executive producer of one of ESPN’s most successful shows in First Take, almost left sports media to work in banking, according to a story published in The Athletic on Wednesday.
“While a cub reporter in North Carolina, he called [Rob] Parker, then a baseball writer in Cincinnati, and told him he was quitting the business and going to apply for a job at Wachovia,” the story said of Smith.
Every summer, college football conferences hold their media days to preview the upcoming season. And every summer, one team in each league is picked to finish last in the preseason media poll.
For the Big 12 this year, that team is West Virginia. And head coach Neal Brown is not happy about it.
“It really kind of pissed me off because I really think it’s kind of lazy reporting in some senses,” Brown said Thursday, per ESPN’s Heather Dinich. “We won’t finish where we’re predicted to finish.
27-year-old Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas has resumed training, she announced on Instagram.
“For many years, I’ve had an ache in my heart,” the post began. “But I didn’t want to keep carrying anger, pain, sadness, or regret and through my tears and hurt, I’ve found peace. I wanted to find the joy again for the sport that I absolutely love doing. I know I have a huge task ahead of me and I am beyond grateful and excited to get back out on the floor.”
She ended the post with “#2024,” a potential signal that she aims to return for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Welcome to The Weekly Takedown, Sports Illustrated’s in-depth look at MMA. Every week, this column offers insight and information on the most noteworthy stories in the fight world.
The next title contender in ONE Championship’s MMA featherweight division will be decided Friday night, as Garry Tonon competes against Shamil Gasanov.
Taking place at Bangkok’s famed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, ONE Fight Night 12: Superlek vs. Khalilov airs on Amazon Prime Video.
The ex-Raiders head coach has vented to confidants that he believed the leaking of his personal emails was part of an orchestrated “hit job” by enemies in the league office.
We look into our crystal ball and reveal what will happen down the stretch of the Blue Jays’ 2023 campaign.
The school said in May that approximately 15 athletes across multiple sports had allegedly wagered on sporting events in violation of NCAA rules.
Very few passing offenses are capable of supporting a top-12 fantasy wide receiver, let alone two.
Seven duos have posted WR1 campaigns over the last five years — none of them have repeated. In fact, the only player to appear on the list twice is Adam Thielen, who accomplished this feat alongside Stefon Diggs in 2018 and again with Justin Jefferson in 2020.
2023 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
Two pairs of receivers — Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith — finished as WR1s a year ago.
Transcendent athletes need the opportunity to create.
If you wouldn’t tell Patrick Mahomes how to play quarterback, or question the way Nikola Jokić operates his inside-outside game, or even explain the finer points of hitting (or pitching) to Shohei Ohtani, then why are people telling Kenny Omega how to wrestle?
It is a question Omega has grappled with since last month’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view.