Jack Winter Articles - Page 109

The Kansas City Chiefs came within one stop of playing in the franchise’s first Super Bowl since 1963. Instead, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots completed three third-and-longs in overtime of the AFC Championship Game, culminating in a game-winning touchdown run by Rex Burkhead before wunderkind quarterback Patrick Mahomes ever got the chance to […]

Drew Brees is still feeling the pain inflicted by the New Orleans Saints’ heartbreaking loss the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game. Not because the quality of future Hall-of-Fame quarterback’s life is decided on the football field, though. As Brees sees it, headlines in the football world are still being dominated by the […]

Remember when Dennis Smith, Jr., now with the New York Knicks, was the young player with a prototype physical profile whose trade from his incumbent team suddenly seemed imminent? That was only two weeks ago, but probably feels like a lifetime to Smith. He was away from the team when those rumors first surfaced, ostensibly […]

Final rosters for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game were announced on Thursday evening. Among the reserves selected to play in Charlotte on February 17 were annual participants like the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook, and Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard. First-time All-Stars include the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, Philadelphia 76ers’ […]

It’s Super Bowl week, and the sports world’s marquee event features a team led by the greatest quarterback ever on the last legs of its dynasty against an upstart outfit from America’s glitziest city. The New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, though, aren’t dominating headlines to the extent Super Bowl participants normally do at […]

The future of the Indiana Pacers rests on the shoulders of Victor Oladipo more than any other player on the roster, even after the two-time All-Star suffered a season-ending right knee injury last week. Easily overlooked during the Pacers’ rise toward Eastern Conference contention, though, has been the play of Myles Turner, whose made the […]

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Golden State Warriors 113-104 at Oracle Arena on Thursday night, ending the two-time defending champions’ 11-game winning streak and sending them to their first loss since DeMarcus Cousins debuted earlier this month. It wasn’t a terrible loss for the home team by any stretch. The Sixers possess three foundation talents […]

Steve Ballmer is perhaps the most visibly excitable owner in all of professional sports. The Los Angeles Clippers owner and former CEO of Microsoft can almost always be found in his normal seat behind the basket at Staples Center, and hardly shies away from the TV camera spotlight that inevitably follows him for every home […]

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James made a surprise return to the court on Thursday to face his team’s cross-arena rival at Staples Center. Though The King clearly had built up some rust after missing the Lakers’ previous 16 games, it was also clear he didn’t spend all that time away from the game resting […]

The Philadelphia 76ers notched their most impressive win of the 2018-19 season Thursday night, going into Oracle Arena and beating the Golden State Warriors 113-104. The victory wasn’t only the Sixers’ first against the Warriors since 2013, but also ended the two-time defending champions’ 12-game winning streak – and sent Steve Kerr’s team to its […]

Kristaps Porzingis’ tenure with the New York Knicks unraveled faster than seemed possible. Less than two hours after it was reported that the pride of Latvia expressed concern with the direction of the team in a meeting with management, news broke that the Knicks and Dallas Mavericks had tentatively agreed on a trade that would […]

Jonah Bolden gave the Philadelphia 76ers a glimpse of what he can do by way of a monster rejection of Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant’s shot. Bolden got the opportunity Thursday night as Amir Johnson sat out for the Sixers. The Sixers are still searching for a viable backup to Joel Embiid. Johnson, drafted […]

Joel Embiid and DeMarcus Cousins are two of the NBA’s biggest, loudest, and most confident personalities. Somehow, their interviews, post-game media scrums, and social media antics live up to the larger-than-life personas the ultra-talented behemoths exhibit on the court. So it came as no surprise that early in Thursday night’s game between the Philadelphia 76ers […]

The Golden State Warriors are unique offensively, and not just because, with DeMarcus Cousins in the fold, they possess four players capable of dropping 30 points without a sweat in any given game. The two-time defending champions lead the NBA in offensive ratings this season, but unlike other teams with devastating offensive attacks, they are […]

Maybe the New York Knicks did the right thing after all? Kristaps Porzingis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday in exchange for Dennis Smith, Jr., two future first-round picks, and not much else of tangible value. Also heading to the Big Apple with Smith, who the Knicks infamously passed on in favor of […]

Omari Spellman is a throwback to NBA eras past. The Atlanta Hawks rookie is listed at 6-foot-9, 245 pounds, but is probably about an inch shorter and at least 10 pounds heavier. That’s a problem in today’s league, as the game grows faster and faster and smaller and smaller — perhaps changed forever by the […]

The Baltimore Ravens will miss legendary general manager Ozzie Newsome, who retired after the 2018 season following 17 years as Baltimore’s chief decision-maker. Most thought any growing pains in the transition from Newsome to replacement Eric DeCosta would come in the form of player evaluation and basic team-building strategy rather than any interpersonal turmoil between […]

Conventional wisdom says Anthony Davis wants to team up with LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers. Not only did the New Orleans Pelicans superstar formally request a trade earlier this week, but subsequent reporting has revealed that Davis could opt against signing an extension this summer with whatever team he’s employed by – unless […]

The officiating crew made the most indelible decision in the waning moments of the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints. By opting against flagging Los Angeles defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman for an obvious pass interference penalty on New Orleans receiver Tommylee Lewis with just under […]

Rosters for the 2019 NBA All-Star Game have been finalized. Well, almost. After seven reserves from each conference were announced on Thursday night, one Eastern Conference spot remained open due to the season-ending right knee injury suffered by Indiana Pacers star Victor Oladipo last week. Per league rules, the commissioner appoints the replacement for injured […]

Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid rarely finds himself at a loss for words, especially on social media. Embiid has endeared himself to an entire generation of NBA fans with his playful internet antics, from everything to his public courtship of Rihanna to frequent post-game barbs of opposing players like Andre Drummond and Draymond Green. Of […]

Remember when the New York Knicks had more reason for hope than cap space? It was barely more than a year ago, when Kristaps Porzingis began his third NBA season by turning the basketball world on its head, scoring at least 30 points in eight of his first 10 games. The 7-foot-3 big man was […]

It’s a new era for the Green Bay Packers. Still, one of the team’s most established and respected veterans can’t keep himself from looking back on errors of the past. In an interview on ESPN Wisconsin’s “Wilde & Tausch” on Wednesday, left tackle David Bakhtiari, an All-Pro each of the last three seasons, implicitly criticized […]

Kristaps Porzingis, who mere hours earlier reportedly expressed a desire to continue his career elsewhere, was traded by the New York Knicks on Thursday to the Dallas Mavericks for a package highlighted by Dennis Smith, Jr. The Knicks also sent out Tim Hardaway, Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke in the deal, while the Mavericks […]

Jalen Ramsey never lacks for confidence. The Jacksonville Jaguars star has established himself as perhaps football’s premier cover man since entering the league out of Florida State in 2016, and isn’t afraid to let the world know about it. It comes as no surprise, then, that following his touchdown catch in last weekend’s Pro Bowl, […]

Glimpsing sustained glimmers of hope for the first time in years, New York Knicks fans got a bit too carried away over the summer in their appraisal of Kevin Knox. The ninth overall pick of last June’s draft put up stellar numbers at Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 21.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game […]

All eyes in the NFL world are focused on Atlanta, where the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots will face off in Super Bowl LIII. Don’t tell that to JuJu Smith-Schuster, though, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receiver whose awe-inspiring on-field exploits and proudly-outgoing personality make him a glutton for attention. Smith-Schuster, whose team missed […]

Most people believe Jayson Tatum is one of the NBA’s most promising young players. Much less certain, especially in the wake of Anthony Davis requesting a trade earlier this week, is with what team he will develop into a star. Not that the Boston Celtics wing seems to mind, though. “It’s good to be wanted,” Jayson […]

It seems like the Charlotte Hornets have been stuck on the NBA’s treadmill of mediocrity ever since the franchise came to exist. As the Bobcats, the team never won more than 44 games and failed to advance past the first round in either of its two playoff appearances. Michael Jordan’s club has been more respectable […]

The BIG3 will be getting even bigger this summer. The basketball world’s most notable 3-on-3 league announced Wednesday that former Boston Celtics center Kendrick Perkins will be joining the fun come June. Kendrick Perkins, who has yet to officially retire from the NBA, last played with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He signed with LeBron James’ former […]

LeBron James, still recovering from a groin injury he suffered all the way back on Christmas, is nearing a return to the floor, but reportedly won’t play in the Los Angeles Lakers’ game on Thursday against their cross-arena rival Clippers. After Anthony Davis requested a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this week, there’s […]

If LeBron James were a betting man, it would be instructive regarding Anthony Davis’ trade request to know how much money the four-time MVP would be willing to wager that the Los Angeles Lakers ultimately end up with the NBA’s latest stranded superstar. But James isn’t, of course, at least concerning the NBA, and already […]

Widespread concerns regarding the present and future of the Philadelphia 76ers don’t stem from their place in the standings. Brett Brown’s team currently sits at 33-18, good for a 53-win pace, and owns the eighth-best net rating in basketball — a ranking not indicative of a surefire title contender, but hardly one that means the […]

Roger Goodell finally admitted on Wednesday that Los Angeles Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman should have been called for pass interference late in his team’s 26-23 win over the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship game. Not even that long-awaited about-face from the commissioner, though, will do much to quell heightened criticism of the […]

A few days after the New Orleans Saints’ heartbreaking overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy launched a seven-minute diatribe on the senate floor decrying the pass interference no-call that robbed his hometown team of the chance to score a late, go-ahead touchdown in the NFC Championship game. Though Cassidy’s gambit […]

Dirk Nowitzki and Luka Doncic have a special relationship. Not only is the latter picking up the former’s mantle as franchise player of the Dallas Mavericks, but Doncic is also following in Nowitzki’s footsteps as the latest elite-level NBA talent who calls Europe home. One more trait the Dallas stars share, apparently? A fondness for […]

After a surprisingly mediocre beginning to the 2018-19 season, the Boston Celtics have won six of their last seven games to come within striking distance of the top four teams in the Eastern Conference. Still, at 31-19, five and-a-half games back of the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks with only 32 games remaining on the regular-season schedule, […]

The random rise of Jahlil Okafor, at least it seems on the surface, has come at the perfect time for the New Orleans Pelicans. As general manager Dell Demps is in the process of sussing through trade overtures for stranded superstar Anthony Davis, might the Pelicans already possess his long-term replacement? Okafor’s numbers over the […]

Even during his playing days, Andre Miller was among the last of a dying breed. Point guards come in all styles and shapes in the modern NBA, but it wasn’t long ago that many clung to the outdated belief that a “pass-first” floor general was necessary for a team to reach its offensive peak, and […]