Swimming with sharks is a dangerous form of aquatics.
Skating with the Sharks once was tons of fun for San Jose's visiting NHL teams.. That is, until this year with GM Mike Grier's sextet making a serious bid for a Pacific Division playoff berth.
The Rangers, who now have become "The Loser Team Of GM's Letters," completed their four-game Western tour at the Shark Tank with an anticipated loss; this time 3-1.
With absolutely nothing to play for now but pride – not in abundance on this New York team – the Beloved Blueshirts left for home after having to rely on third-string back-up goalie Spencer Martin to get them through this whole ugly mess.
"You can't blame Martin," says The Old Scout. "The Rangers didn't get goals for Igor Shesterkin nor Jonathan Quick; so why should they get red lights for Martin?"
Based on how the Rangers seem to have given up, it likely will get murkier when they host the Bruins on Monday at The World's Most Infamous Arena – that is, infamous for this disheveled home team.
Apart from savoring what's left of the season, certain New York players are left with personal challenges.
Last night, for example, in addition to trying to win a game, there was the matter of stopping Macklin Celebrini who led the Sharks in scoring last year and this term could possibly top the NHL scoring list.
But last night The Celebrini Gang – associates include Will Smith and William Eklund – played a speedy game with Celebrini supplying the difference with two first period goals.
By contrast, the Rangers' core scorers – Breadman Panarin, Vin Trocheck, Mika Zebanejad, J.T. Miller – are getting old by NHL standards and playing old.
Worse still, the kids who are supposed to be their "future" are producing the square-root-of Chai Nothing.
Although the injury report for tomorrow’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans isn’t due for a few more hours, Spurs wing Devin Vassell confirmed to the media at practice today that will return from his 13-game absence, albeit on a minutes restriction. Regardless, in his own words, he’s just happy to be back.
Devin Vassell told us after practice this morning he will return to action Sunday against New Orleans. He’s responding here to a question about whether he will be on a minutes restriction. pic.twitter.com/28JWNRMs9G
Vassell has missed the last 13 games with an adductor strain, which is a series muscles located in the inner thigh that connect to the groin and help stabilize the pelvis. It can be a very stubborn injury that can result in a rupture if not allowed to properly heal. He had been traveling with the team for the last couple of weeks and seen practicing, and this stretch of one game in five days (the have two days off both before and after Sunday’s game) felt like an ideal target date.
In his absence, the Spurs have gone 8-5 while struggling with offense and overall consistency. (Isn’t it nice to be able to “complain” about a winning record again?) While Vassell may not be THE answer to bringing them back to their Christmas form, he is one of few Spurs who can dribble and create is own shot almost anywhere on the floor, making him an ideal release valve when a play breaks down. He has also been shooting a steady 38% from three this season, so even if he initially comes off the bench while on a minutes restriction, hopefully he can help the Spurs find more consistency there as well.
The injury report for tomorrow’s game is due at 5 PM, and the only other name to watch will be Luke Kornet, who missed Thursday’s game against the Jazz with the same “injury”, although Mitch Johnson said it was very short term and he didn’t expect him to miss much time. If he’s back and there’s no new injuries reported, this will be the healthiest the Spurs have been since December.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing their first game of the season against the Orlando Magic. They’ll see them again just a few days later in Cleveland. Let’s take a look at this initial matchup.
Where Each Team Stands
These two teams might be close in the standings, but they have been heading in opposite directions since late December.
Orlando has fallen to the bottom 10 in offense and defense during this stretch, with the seventh-worst net rating in the league. The Cavs, on the other hand, are 9th in offense, 10th in defense, and 11th in net rating since December 22nd. All stats are according to Cleaning the Glass, which removes garbage time.
That’s not to say this game will be easy. The Magic are still a quality team, and the Cavs aren’t exactly a powerhouse right now. But it’s worth knowing where each team stands entering this matchup. The Cavs have every opportunity to continue trending upwards if they take care of business against the struggling Magic.
Back to Back
The Cavs are playing in the second night of a back-to-back tonight. They are 4-3 this season when playing with no rest.
Of course, every NBA team has to deal with the same scheduling issues. But this is worth mentioning because Cleveland has struggled to show consistent effort throughout the season. This game is ripe with potential to be a stinker, considering the circumstances.
That’s no excuse if it happens. I’m only pointing out the situation. Let’s see if the Cavs can play with the appropriate energy and intensity tonight.
Evan Mobley’s Groove
Six of the last eight quarters have been lights out for Evan Mobley. He dominated Charlotte in the first half, then crushed the Kings for the entire game last night. His 27 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 blocks were a reminder of how talented Mobley is.
Can he keep it up?
The Cavs aren’t a title contender without this version of Mobley. He’s finding his groove for the first time this season, and another dominant performance would have us feeling pretty good.
The Knicks (26*–18) take the court in Philly today, trying to avoid an 0-3 hole in their season series with the 76ers (24-19). New York comes in buoyed by Wednesday’s record-setting rout of Brooklyn, but the Sixers have already solved them twice, in fairly convincing fashion. Will New York’s wings finally neutralize Tyrese Maxey? Will their frontcourt stand up to Joel Embiid? Are our heroes truly back on track or was Wednesday’s annihilation of the Nets merely fool’s gold?
Find out at 3 p.m. EST on ABC. This is your game thread. This is Liberty Ballers. Please don’t post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Be good ambassadors of humanity. And go Knicks!
* Should be one more, but the Cup final doesn’t count.
While the main theme of the Tiger farm system is the group of top shelf prospects leading the way, the other big story in the system is a pretty disastrous run of pitcher injuries over the last two years. They’ve invested pretty heavily in prep pitching over the last three drafts, and right now they don’t necessarily have much to show for it. It’s going to be a major problem if the organization isn’t able to produce a whole lot of major league caliber pitching in a few years. Left-hander Ethan Schiefelbein got a big bonus as their competitive balance round B (72nd overall) pick in 2024, and like the other big prep signings in 2023 and 2024, he was barely on the mound at all in 2025.
The Tigers have always had a penchant for power right-handers, though that’s not unusual, so Schiefelbein was a fairly anomalous selection for the organization. An advanced high school lefty with four solid offerings and good control for his age, but without the high velocity fastball that often gets prep pitchers big bonuses, was a bet more on physical projection than anything else. His mechanics and stable, easy delivery spoke to a high likelihood of developing into a plus command guy in time.
At his best, the California native out of Corona High School looked like his just needed to grow into major league caliber stuff without requiring the huge development in command and pitch shapes that most pitchers, especially prep pitchers, need to make to reach the major leagues. His upside wasn’t necessarily on the level of harder throwing prep picks with similar big bonuses like Owen Hall and Paul Wilson, but for a prep pitcher Schiefelbein had a distinctly high floor as well. That was augmented by the fact that he only turned 18 in April of his draft year, whereas many prep players in the draft are already 19 or close to it on draft day.
Now 19 years old, Schiefelbein suffered the same fate as most of the Tigers’ young pitchers in 2025. After extended spring camp, he made three short appearances in the Complex League, looking little changed from draft day, and then missed the rest of the season with an injury that was reportedly a shoulder strain that didn’t require surgery, but did take the rest of the summer to rehab. In Schiefelbein’s case, this isn’t too concerning, at least compared to the other major injuries plaguing the Tigers’ pitching ranks. Rather than pushing him back on the mound at Single-A ball late in the year, the young left-hander just spent his time building up his body and trying to add overall strength before embarking on what will hopefully be a successful full season debut in 2026.
Point being, while 2023 second rounder Paul Wilson won’t likely be on the mound until late this season and will turn 22 years old next December, and the Tigers other top 2024 prep picks, Owen Hall and Zach Swanson most notably, aren’t going to throw a full season until they’re 21 in 2027, Schiefelbein is still on track to get on the mound and pitch his way through the Complex and Single-A levels this season as a 20-year-old. The Tigers will be hoping it plays out that way as their prep pitcher heavy strategy in the draft is looking pretty rough at the moment.
Schiefelbein is a pretty prototypical lefty with a balanced delivery throwing from a high three-quarters arm slot. He was well known to scouts as a high school senior after pitching for Team USA, and he was pretty much unhittable in his final year of school posting a 0.27 ERA with 83 strikeouts to just 11 walks over 52 innings of work. He used a twoseam fastball, slider, knuckle curveball, circle changeup mix as of the last time we saw him on a mound and showed the ability to locate all four pitches pretty effectively. His fastball typically sat 90-91 mph though he touched 94-95 mph on multiple occasions in high school.
He looks like more of a supinator than a guy who is going to turn over nasty, horizontally breaking sinkers and changeups, so I would guess the Tigers will have him moving more to the fourseamer and perhaps try and develop a cutter as he moves through pro ball. His curve was the best secondary pitch for him as a senior, and he has good though not crazy spin rates on the breaking stuff. The slider and changeup were more crude, but he wasn’t afraid to throw them in the zone, and already spotted them well for his age.
Unfortunately, there just isn’t much more to add to his scouting report yet. Guys like Hall, Wilson, and Swanson are expected to get back on the mound this year, but only Hall is on track to start his 2026 season on time. Schiefelbein will have the stage to himself to a degree early on, and while the Tigers won’t be pushing him beyond 100 innings this early in his career, he should be ready to throw a full season by now, assuming no further injury trouble emerges.
Prep pitchers take time. Even Jackson Jobe, widely regarded as one of the most advanced and talented prep pitchers of the past decade, struggled through most of his first two seasons and dealt with a host of minor injuries before suddenly breaking out in a big way two years out from his draft day. Schiefelbein is going to be a longer term project, so this season we’ll just be looking for more muscle on his slender 6’2” frame, and for him to stay healthy and start refining his craft. That would be very welcome progress in his age 20 season. The upside here is something like Cole Hamels as the absolute best case scenario, but the more realistic hope is that Schiefelbein stays healthy as he builds himself up over the next few seasons, and hits his likeliest positive outcome as a solid 3-4 level starting pitcher.
The Celtics could be without Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta when they face the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. Brown (left hamstring tightness) and Queta (non-COVID illness) are both probable.
Brown strained his hamstring in the preseason and has been dealing with some tightness in that hamstring over the past week, which he said affected him on Friday night. Still, he tallied a 27-point, 12-assist, 10-rebound triple-double, the fifth triple-double of his career.
“I’ve been dealing with some hamstring tightness, so I didn’t have my bursts today, where they were switching the five onto me with Claxton, and he’s, in my opinion, way too far,” Brown said. “I should be able to just blow by him and do what I do, but I just didn’t have that acceleration tonight. Sometimes that can mess with your head a little bit, but I found other ways to be effective, trusted my teammates, rebounded the ball, and things like that.”
The Celtics will almost undoubtedly be exhausted when gameplay tips off on Saturday; they are playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and several key players logged heavy minutes in Friday’s double overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets: Brown played 46 minutes, Payton Pritchard played 40 minutes, Sam Hauser played 39 minutes, and Anfernee Simons played 37.
Neemias Queta, meanwhile, is once again dealing with an illness that triggered two-way rookie Amari Williams to take a last-second commercial flight from Portland, Maine, to New York City. Queta ended up playing and fouling out after 28 minutes of action, tallying 6 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Williams ended up playing 5 minutes in the win, making several key plays in overtime to help secure the Celtics’ 130-126 victory.
“Neemy wasn’t feeling great, so I flew in today,” Williams said. “Just kind of being ready for whatever — you don’t really know.”
In addition to Queta and Brown, Jayson Tatum (Achilles rupture repair) and Josh Minott (left ankle sprain) remain sidelined.
Celtics Injury Report vs. Chicago (1/24):
Jaylen Brown – Left Hamstring Tightness – PROBABLE Josh Minott – Left Ankle Sprain – OUT Neemias Queta – Illness (Non-Covid) – PROBABLE Jayson Tatum – Right Achilles Repair – OUT
The Celtics face the Bulls for the second time this season
Last time the two teams faced off in early January, Anfernee Simons exploded for 27 points and the Celtics came away with a 115-101 victory.
The Celtics have won two straight games and 6 of their last 10 games, currently holding a 28-16 record, good for second-best in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls, meanwhile, have won three straight games and 5 of their last 10 games. They’re currently in the play-in mix with a 22-22 record.
The Bulls will be without Noa Essengue (left shoulder surgery), Zach Collins (right toe sprain), and Tre Jones (left hamstring strain).
In one of the most exciting games of the season, the Boston Celtics eked out a win over the Brooklyn Nets in a double OT thriller on Friday night. It was a back-and-forth game of runs, 22 lead changes, 13 ties, and no lead bigger than 11 points. With the Nets having lost their last game 120-66, I don’t think anyone expected this game to be as close as it was, but ultimately, the Celtics did what they needed to do to stave off a bitter defeat to one of the league’s worst teams.
With just under two and a half minutes left in regulation, Boston had a 9-point lead, but a 10-1 flurry by Brooklyn sent the game into overtime. Momentum clearly was on their side, but the Celtics managed to take a 4-point lead with a little over two minutes remaining in the period. Again, the Nets fought back, and this time it felt like they put the nail in the coffin, sinking two free throws to take a 5-point lead with just 8 seconds left. That’s when an unlikely hero emerged.
Between the free throws, Joe Mazzulla subbed Amari Williams in for Baylor Scheierman. Amari Williams, one of Boston’s second-round picks from this year’s draft who currently is on a two-way contract, was shooting around with the Maine Celtics that very same morning.
At this point in the game, Neemias Queta and Luka Garza had both fouled out. Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman, both vets with size, were sitting at the end of the bench. Joe could have gone to either of them, but instead, went with the 23-year-old rookie who flew in on a commercial flight from Portland, Maine just two hours before the game, seemingly a last-minute decision after Queta was tabbed “questionable” with an illness.
With that one substitution, Mazzulla saved the game. The Celtics opted not to use their last timeout just yet, having Sam Hauser inbound the ball from the baseline. Sam threw a perfect spiral down to Williams, who jumped up to catch the ball around the opposite free-throw line and touch-passed it over to Payton Pritchard before even landing on the ground. Payton threw a quick pump-fake to get the defender to jump, and then knocked down a massive side-step three to make it a 2-point game with just 3.9 seconds left.
Celtics using Amari Williams skillset in the clutch. Needed a tall guy to go up and catch the long pass and be able to pass that to PP good job pic.twitter.com/0yvLEzXkxu
After the game, Pritchard noted that the Celtics had practiced that exact play before, but never with Amari. Williams is known to be a great passer, though, and had practiced the play separately with the rest of the Maine squad. It serves as a testament to the system which the Celtics have set up, an amazing display of continuity and connectivity between both the NBA and G-League teams, something which fellow CelticsBlogger, Nik Land, has previously highlighted on the site. It’s also a testament to the trust Joe has in that system, as well as the players.
Speaking of trust, as we return to the game, the Celtics are still down by two at this point. Thanks to a quick foul and a missed free throw by the Nets, Boston was given a chance to tie the game, a 3-point game with three seconds left. Another smart substitution by Mazzulla, reading how the defense had set up, Joe brought in another rookie, Hugo Gonzalez. That late sub seemed to bring on a defensive miscommunication, which led to maybe the shot of the game, a wide-open corner three for Gonzalez, who nailed the shot to bring on a second overtime.
It was in this second overtime where Amari really made his mark. Williams made just his second field-goal of the season for Boston with 3.5 minutes left in the period, a tough and-one bucket to give the Celtics a three-point lead. He ran in perfect flow with Pritchard, roaming the paint to find an opening as Payton worked the defense to set Amari up.
AMARI!!! Does a good job moving with the Pritchard switching dunker spots and giving him a window to pass. AND ONE pic.twitter.com/5u6VmCESPj
Immediately after that play, Nic Claxton came barreling towards Williams on the other end of the court, trying to body his way in for a layup. Amari held his ground without fouling, though, and got extremely close to blocking the shot. While it didn’t get recorded in the stat sheet, he still made a huge defensive play, forcing Claxton to miss, and preserving the Celtics 3-point lead.
With just over 40 seconds left in the period, the Celtics held a 4-point lead. Nolan Traore, one of Brooklyn’s many rookies, was having his best game of the season, 21 points on the night. With a sneaky fake-handoff, he was able to split Baylor Scheierman and Pritchard for what seemed like an open layup, but Williams, who was guarding the corner, recognized and reacted quickly enough to slide over and swat that shot away at its peak, another massive defensive play.
That block is ultimately what sealed the game at 130-126.
Through all of that, Amari played just 5:05 minutes while making an immeasurable impact on the game. This was only his ninth game with Boston, but this performance is already having fans asking themselves, why haven’t we seen more of him?
He was thrown into the game at the end of overtime after having spent the morning with a different team, and the entire rest of the night on the bench, yet he managed to look like a vet out there. He displayed incredible maturity, and everyone took notice. After the game, Mazzulla said, “for Amari to be able to sit there the entire game and be ready to execute some of the plays that we’ve run over in practice, it’s a credit to him and the coaching staff that work with him, getting him ready to go.” Pritchard shared the same sentiment, while also adding that the Celtics are “lucky to have” Williams.
Following the double-OT thriller, the Celtics find themselves on the second night of a back-to-back, facing off against the Chicago Bulls. After 58 minutes of gritty basketball, there will be plenty of tired legs, which could very well create another opportunity for Amari to take the floor, especially considering Queta was already questionable for the game with Brooklyn.
Regardless, it seems like Brad Stevens found another stud in the draft. Williams made a very compelling case to see more minutes up in Boston, and if he’s able to string together more performances like this one, maybe he can even see that two-way converted into a standard contract before the end of the year. His future certainly looks very bright.
There’s a special kind of torture reserved for Golden State fans watching today’s game against Minnesota. Not the usual anxiety of a regular season matchup against a Western Conference contender, but something deeper. Something that cuts straight to the bone.
The Warriors face the Timberwolves today missing Jimmy Butler, who tore his ACL on Monday. Last spring, when these teams met in the playoffs, Golden State was missing Steph Curry, who suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain in Game 1 of their second-round series. The Wolves won four straight games while Curry sat, ending what could have been a magical run after the Warriors upset the 2-seed Houston Rockets in seven games.
Do you see the cruel symmetry here? The universe has decided that Curry and Butler can’t both be healthy against Minnesota. Pick one. Never both.
Jimmy Butler played 388 mins this season without either Curry or Draymond on the court. Net rating in those mins: +15.9
The ability to not just survive but win those mins was the biggest thing Butler contributed, and there is zero way to make that up elsewhere. Just sucks.
This is the nightmare Dub Nation has been living since February 2025, when Mike Dunleavy traded for Butler and signed him to a two-year extension. The move was supposed to give Curry one last legitimate co-star, one final push at extending the dynasty’s championship window. And for a glorious stretch, it worked. The Warriors went 23-7 with Butler in the lineup down the stretch last season. They looked dangerous. They looked like a team that could make noise in the playoffs.
Then Curry went down in Game 1 against the Wolves, and Butler had to carry the load alone. He tried. God knows he tried. But asking a 36-year-old to single-handedly will a team past a hungry Minnesota squad featuring Anthony Edwards at the peak of his powers was asking too much. Now the roles are reversed. Butler’s out for the season. Curry, who turns 38 in March, is alone again. And the opponent? The same damn Timberwolves who eliminated them last spring.
The pain in the Bay Area isn’t just about losing games. It’s about watching a window slam shut in slow motion. These two superstars finally found each other at this stage of their careers, bringing complementary skills and championship DNA to Chase Center. But they’ve barely played meaningful basketball together when both are healthy and locked in. Injuries keep stealing what little time they have left.
Today’s game against Minnesota should serve as a mirror for the Timberwolves themselves. Yes, they’ve got Anthony Edwards ascending into superstardom. Julius Randle definitely provides legitimate secondary scoring. They’re clearly positioned to compete in the West for years to come. But talent means nothing if you can’t stay healthy long enough to capitalize on it.
The Wolves should watch what’s happening to Golden State with the clarity of a cautionary tale. This Warriors team has two future Hall of Famers, championship experience, and organizational stability. None of it matters when your stars can’t share the court during the games that count. One freak injury, one awkward landing, one hamstring that won’t cooperate, and your entire window evaporates.
The Jimmy Butler injury is just the latest heartbreak for Warriors fans. It gets to a point… pic.twitter.com/dfFQrSmof3
Minnesota has their own fragile window. Edwards is 24 and indestructible until he’s not. Randle has battled injuries throughout his career. Rudy Gobert is 33. These moments are fleeting in the NBA, even when you think you’ve built something sustainable. The Warriors learned this lesson the hard way. Today, Curry will take the court at Target Center carrying the weight of back-to-back seasons defined by injuries at the worst possible moments. He’ll face the franchise that eliminated his team when Butler couldn’t save them alone. Now Butler can’t help him.
This is what the end of a dynasty can look like. Not a dramatic collapse or a roster teardown, but a series of cruel coincidences that prevent greatness from manifesting one final time. The talent is there. The will is there. But the health? The universe has decided that’s asking too much.
Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler won 70% of their games together …
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Fadima Tall scored 12 points and No. 20 Princeton won its 15th consecutive game, defeating Brown 58-49 on Saturday.
Princeton led 47-43 halfway through the fourth quarter before Tall and Olivia Hutcherson led a quick six-point run that gave the Tigers a 54-43 lead with 3 1/2 minutes left in the game. Skye Belker hit four free throws in the final minute to close out the victory.
Belker finished with 11 points, and Toby Nweke added 10 for Princeton (17-1, 5-0 Ivy League). Tall grabbed eight rebounds and Ashley Chea had seven assists.
Grace Arnolie, the Ivy League scoring leader at 18.6 points per game, scored 14 points and Alyssa Moreland had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears (11-6, 3-2).
After trailing 15-9 through one quarter, the Tigers went on a 12-0 tear in the second quarter, holding Brown scoreless until Moreland's layup with two minutes remaining in the half. Princeton led 24-20 at halftime.
Princeton fell behind 27-26 early in the third quarter, but a 14-0 run put them ahead 40-27 with about five minutes left. Brown was held scoreless for nearly 4 minutes before rallying to pull within six points heading into the fourth quarter.
Princeton's No. 20 ranking is the program’s highest since the end of the 2014-15 season.
While the Golden State Warriors latest pipe dream of acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James grabbed the bulk of trade rumor headlines on Friday, the Dubs were tied to another wing. Per Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Warriors, Phoenix Suns, and Milwaukee Bucks are among several teams interested in Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges. A source told Amick the Hornets are eyeing at least one, “maybe two” first-round picks in a deal.
“As for Hornets that might be on the move, veteran forward Miles Bridges is drawing significant interest, league sources told The Athletic,” Amick wrote. “The Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns are all known to be among the interested parties, though it remains to be seen if any team can compel the Hornets to give Bridges up. Charlotte’s lack of interest in the Bucks’ Kyle Kuzma is known to be an obstacle to a potential deal between those two teams. Draft capital is also a pivotal part of the conversation.“
The Warriors interest in Bridges is disheartening given his history of intimate partner violence. Bridges has been arrested multiple times after incidents with the mother of his children and has been convicted of felony domestic violence. Bridges’ first arrest led him to miss the 2022-23 NBA season before the league handed him a 30-game suspension.
However, as is unfortunately commonplace, the league has ignored red flags and allowed him to continue playing as if nothing happened.
On June 29, 2022, Bridges was arrested and charged with assaulting his then wife in front of their two children. Following the arrest, his wife publicly shared pictures on her Instagram, showing bruising and cuts all over her body. She also included an image of a medical report that listed her injuries as, “assault by strangulation, brain concussion, closed fracture of nasal bone, contusion of rib, multiple bruises, strain of neck muscle.”
Prosecutors originally charged Bridges with three felonies stemming from the incident, but Bridges reached a deal with prosecutors that allowed him to avoid jail time. He was ultimately convicted of a single felony domestic violence charge and agreed to a long list of conditions alongside three months of probation.
It was unclear whether Bridges would play in the NBA again. After sitting out for a season and receiving a punishment from the league, he ultimately returned to the Hornets. As Bridges faced pushback for his return, she publicly defended him. However, the victim is the mother of Bridges’ two children, creating a complicated economic reality and one that later events create questions around.
“I want to apologize to everybody for the pain and embarrassment that I have caused everyone, especially my family,” Bridges said in his first public statements upon his return. “This year away I’ve used to prioritize going to therapy and becoming the best person I can be — someone that my family and everyone here can be proud of.”
Yet, in the same year that Bridges and his ex-partner made those statements, behind the scenes activity seriously undermines any idea that he underwent significant growth. One of the conditions of Bridges’ was honoring a 10-year protective order to have no contact and stay at least 100 yards away from the victim. Less than a year later, Bridges was arrested for violating that order on two separate incidents.
The first arrest warrant said Bridges had tried to contact her on social media and her phone in January of 2023, a clear violation of the order. He was then charged with multiple crimes after an incident where his former partner’s windshield was shattered in October. She originally said he threw pool balls at her window with her and their children inside. She would eventually retract and contradict her original statements, leading the charges to be dropped. Still, the fact that he was violating the protective order less than a year after his plea agreement, while claiming to have learned and reformed, raises serious questions.
Meanwhile Warriors forward Draymond Green, who attended the same college as Bridges, publicly defended him throughout the process. Green was working out with Bridges the week following his felony charges. Then, after Bridges was involved in an on-court altercation in a game with the Warriors, Green went out of his way postgame to say “Miles can do no wrong to me.” For someone as media savvy as Draymond, it’s hard to believe he did not strategically choose those words to spark reaction because of Bridges’ domestic violence history.
Bridges would be the most high-profile player the Warriors have acquired with a history of intimate partner violence under owner Joe Lacob. However, he would not be the first.
The Warriors signed Kendrick Nunn as an undrafted free agent out of Oakland University to a partially guaranteed contract and kept him in the G-League until he was signed away by the Miami Heat. Nunn had been dismissed from the University of Illinois after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery. The charges were related to an incident where a woman said Nunn struck her in the head, pushed her to the floor, and held her by the neck.
In the 2022-23 season, the Warriors signed Anthony Lamb to a two-way contract and eventually converted him to an NBA contract even though a classmate of Lamb’s had said he rape her while they were in college. Warriors general manager Bob Myers claimed the team had done due diligence related to the case, but the Warriors only contacted the NBA and other teams, never reaching out to the woman who had reported the incident to her University’s Title IX office. Steve Kerr never addressed the case directly either, and was highly complimentary of Lamb to media.
Batter will not be going to India and Sri Lanka despite fine form in the Big Bash but he does have an eye on the 2028 Olympics
Considering that Steve Smith was once observed changing gloves after facing eight balls, it is no surprise to see him throw down a gauntlet. The surprise is that he is doing so in 20-over cricket, the format where his batting has historically made the most modest impression.
It is an incongruity of Australia’s season that Smith has the hottest hand in the Big Bash League and it is too late to have him considered for an imminent World Cup with the squad selected weeks ago. Smith wanted to be there, but his bigger concern is not the T20 World Cup of 2026. It’s the Los Angeles Olympics of 2028.
Ja Morant will be sidelined at least three weeks with a UCL sprain in his left elbow suffered during the Grizzlies' loss to the Hawks on Wednesday, the team announced Saturday.
This likely keeps Morant out through the All-Star break. Look for Cam Spencer to get a bump in minutes with Morant out.
Morant is averaging 19.5 points and 8.1 assists a game this season, and while there is reason for concern about his shooting efficiency — 23.5% from 3-point range this season and a 52.1 true shooting percentage that is well below the league average — that is still a lot of points and shot creation to replace.
This impacts a couple of things in Memphis.
One is making the postseason. At 18-25, the Grizzlies sit 12th in the West, 1.5 games out of the final playoff spot. The Grizzlies are 11-12 in games Morant has missed this season, with a +0.1 net rating when he is off the court this season — Memphis is essentially a .500 team without him. While that's better than it's been with him, there is no clear path to a winning streak and the postseason without Morant.
Second, this will not help his already sluggish trade market. League sources have told NBC Sports there is no trade market for Morant at the price the Grizzlies are asking in part because of concerns about his injury history and availability — he has not played more than six consecutive games in almost three years — and this just adds to those fears. The reality is there are teams willing to buy low and take a flyer on Morant, but the Grizzlies are asking for a young player and a first-round pick in any deal, and no team appears willing to give that up right now. This injury is not going to help that cause.
Shortly after I wrote about the potential of a CJ Abrams trade, a report came out that the Giants seriously pursued the Nats shortstop, but were unable to reach a deal. The fact that this leaked out right after the Gore trade is very interesting and makes me wonder about the timing. It also makes me wonder about whether the Nats will make a late offseason deal.
The report came from Andrew Baggarly, the Giants beat reporter for the Athletic. This makes me think the leak came from the Giants side. It is clearly a strategic leak and has me wondering if this deal is dead yet. The piece reads like the Giants are telling their fanbase that we tried, but the Nats asking price was just too much.
The thing that stood out the most to me was the reporting that the Giants were willing to offer Josuar Gonzalez. Despite being 18 and never having appeared in a stateside game, Gonzalez is a top 50 prospect in baseball. In their new top 100, MLB Pipeline ranked him as the 44th best prospect, while Baseball America had him at number 30.
The Giants aggressively pursued shortstop CJ Abrams but couldn’t reach a deal with the Nationals. San Francisco was open to including top prospect Josuar Gonzalez, and discussions also involved Carson Whisenhunt, Jacob Bresnahan, Bo Davidson, and Jhonny Level, per @extrabaggspic.twitter.com/qEZZguWZlv
Gonzalez was the top player in his IFA class, and had a strong showing in the DSL. He is a potential five tool player, who stands out for his elite defensive ability at shortstop. However, the bat is also very advanced. Pipeline said he has the ceiling of a .280 hitter with 25+ homer pop. If that is the case, he could be the closest thing we have seen to Francisco Lindor.
The biggest drawback to Gonzalez is obviously his age and lack of experience. He has never played above the DSL level, so there is some serious volatility. However, he has a truly massive ceiling. The fact the Giants were open to offering Gonzalez in a deal, and Toboni turned it down says a lot.
The report also stated that prospects Bo Davidson, Jhonny Level, Carson Whisenhunt and Jacob Bresnahan were discussed. These are all prospects with big upside. Davidson and Level are top 100 guys according to Baseball America. This report fired up Giants fans, who seemed stunned at these names all being discussed.
If Josuar, Whis, Bres, Bo, and Level can’t even get you CJ Abrams then I don’t even blame the Giants for not getting anything in the trade market this year.
There is one line that intrigued me though. The report said that even if the Giants offered all five players, it would be unclear if the Nats would have accepted. That feels like spin to me. If Toboni was offered all five, he would be a fool to turn it down.
While the report mentioned plenty of names that were being discussed, there was no leaked offer. If Gonzalez was in the deal, I would imagine the secondary pieces were not very strong. The fact there is no actual deal leaked tells me the Giants are trying to make the price sound higher than it actually was.
However, I do have no doubt that Toboni was asking for a lot. There is less incentive to move Abrams now than there was with Gore. Abrams has three years of team control compared to Gore’s two and is also not represented by infamous super agent Scott Boras.
Toboni also seems excited to get his hands on Abrams from a development standpoint. On 106.7, he talked about how Abrams is one of the most athletic players in the league, but has not fully been able to translate that athleticism to production. While Abrams has been a quality player the last few years, Toboni sees more upside.
Is CJ Abrams on the trade block? Nats President of baseball operations Paul Toboni speaks on that here after trading away MacKenzie Gore. pic.twitter.com/oicB6uCO0s
That upside could lead to Abrams being a long term piece, or it could lead to enhanced trade value. If Abrams has a hot start to the season, he would be a very hot commodity at the Trade Deadline. Another thing Abrams could do to boost his stock is prove that he is a true shortstop. I think Toboni was mostly referring to Abrams’ defense when he was talking about his athleticism not translating into production.
The Nats shortstop has all of the twitch and movement skills to be a quality shortstop, but has not put it together yet. Toboni seems like he is on a mission to change that. Right now, most teams looking to trade for Abrams see him as more of a second baseman. The Giants certainly see it that way, with Willy Adames firmly entrenched at shortstop.
All of this leads me to believe a deal is more likely to happen at the deadline, but this leak raised my eyebrows. This could be interpreted as the Giants saying we are done with this or a challenge to Toboni to come back to the table. Either way, the Giants let this get out for a reason.
Over the next few months, I have a feeling that we will be talking about CJ Abrams trade rumors some more. He is a very exciting player, but given the Nats timeline and their glut of young infield talent, a trade seems like a possibility.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Mackenly Randolph tied her career-high with 13 points to lead No. 8 Louisville to an 85-56 victory over Boston College on Saturday.
The Cardinals (19-3, 9-0 Atlantic Coast) extended their winning streak to 12 games and have won 15 of their last 16 games.
Louisville jumped out to a 10-0 lead with 5:51 left in the opening quarter and made seven of their first 10 shots. Meanwhile, Boston College (4-18, 0-9) hit just one of their first eight shots and finished the first quarter with more turnovers — four — than baskets — three.
Randolph, a 6-foot sophomore forward, scored 10 points in the first half. The daughter of former NBA All-Star Zach Randolph finished 5 of 7 from the field and has scored in double figures in a career-high three straight games.
Tajianna Roberts added 11 points and six assists, and Skylar Jones also scored 11 for the Cardinals. Louisville shot 54.7% from the field, its second-best performance this season despite going just 4 of 15 in the fourth quarter.
All 12 Louisville players who got into the game scored, and that helped the Cardinals to an 81-39 lead with less than six minutes left.
Freshman Amira Anderson’s 16 points led the Eagles, who lost their 14th straight. Jocelyne Grier added 13 points. Boston College shot 29.2% from the floor, the third time the team has shot less than 30% in a game this season.
Louisville’s current winning streak is its longest since the Cardinals won 15 straight during the 2021-22 season.
The game was originally scheduled to be played on Sunday afternoon, but was moved to Saturday due to the forecast of a winter storm that was expected to hit the Louisville area Saturday.
What You Want To Know About The Rangers And Don't As Well<b>1.</b> What happens when Igor Shesterkin is fit to return? One thought is that management should rest him for the rest of the season but that wouldn't go over with the paying customers.
