Jack Winter Articles - Page 65

Mecole Hardman almost certainly isn’t the second coming of Tyreek Hill. Not only because it would be remiss to expect the young receiver to reach the esteemed level of play of the Kansas City Chiefs superstar, but also because Hardman, fast as he is, doesn’t quite scoot with the truly unsurpassed speed of Hill. Andy […]

Emmanuel Sanders is still not 100 percent as kickoff of the regular season draws closer and closer. The good news? As head coach Vic Fangio tells it, the Denver Broncos’ top wide receiver is expected to play in the preseason despite his ongoing recovery toward full health from offseason surgery. Vic Fangio said he expects […]

For the first time in four years, the Golden State Warriors will enter the upcoming NBA season as something less than prohibitive championship favorites. Steve Kerr’s team, in fact, isn’t even among the handful of teams most consider likeliest to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy next June, relegated to the status of sub-contender following the […]

The NBA has positioned itself as perhaps the country’s lone major professional sports league in which players wield as much power and influence as owners and officials. While most recent headlines indicative of that reality fall under the umbrella of players using their public platforms to effect change in social justice, the league office has […]

There’s debate as to how Eli Manning will adjust to his new circumstances with the New York Giants this season. Now that New York has finally drafted his eventual replacement, will Manning rise to the occasion to play his best football in years and stave off retirement? Or crumble under the mounting pressure made heavier […]

Going head-to-head at training camp is nothing new for Tom Brady and Mike Vrabel. After all, the pair were teammates with the New England Patriots for eight seasons during the 2000s, with Brady guiding the offense from behind center and Vrabel serving as his team’s emotional leader on the other side of the ball. They’re […]

Mike Conley is excited to chase a championship with the Utah Jazz both this season and going forward. Reflecting on the longest chapter of his NBA career finally coming to a close, though, the veteran floor general made it clear that he’ll never forget the Memphis Grizzlies. “Memphis made me. I always say that. The […]

Perhaps no player in the NBA engages in more celebratory antics than Stephen Curry – and certainly no superstar. When he and the Golden State Warriors are rolling, Curry routinely adds insult to injury with his signature shoulder shimmies, giddy skips, arrogant no-look makes, and more. He’s arguably an even more flamboyant celebrator when he’s […]

NBA players wasted no time to make it abundantly clear how they feel about the NCAA’s so-called “Rich Paul rule.” The league office, though, is taking a more cautious approach to voicing its stance on the matter. Asked to respond to new NCAA requirements regarding player agents, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum stressed the need to […]

USA Basketball isn’t exactly sending its strongest side to the FIBA World Cup. LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Steph Curry, arguably the three best players in the world, never seriously considered participating with the national team this summer. Prior stalwarts like Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson were kept from competition by injury, but there was […]

Niele Ivey has only been an official member of the Memphis Grizzlies’ coaching staff for less than a week. Still, she already seems to fully understand the importance of Ja Morant’s development to the present and future of her new team. Ivey, the NBA’s ninth female assistant coach, told David Cobb of the Memphis Commercial […]

A string of high-profile defections has left USA Basketball with its weakest roster leading up to international competition in recent memory. Just because training camp in Las Vegas came to a close as Team USA drubbed the younger Select Team 97-78, though, hardly means coach Gregg Popovich has finalized his roster for the upcoming FIBA […]

The Boston Celtics didn’t exactly make a concerted effort last season to quiet swirling rumors of locker-room discontent. Superstar point guard Kyrie Irving called out his team’s younger players on multiple occasions, while veteran forward Marcus Morris was also no stranger to publicly and candidly discussing the Celtics’ lack of chemistry. Needless to say, playing […]

Alvin Kamara might be the most explosive playmaker in the NFL. Many believe Michael Thomas is the best wide receiver in football. Cameron Jordan is one of the most reliable, versatile, and effective defensive lineman in the game. The New Orleans Saints, obviously, have done exceedingly well to surround Drew Brees with upper-echelon talent in […]

Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals fared just fine without Andy Isabella in their preseason opener. Still, the Cardinals will no doubt be even more difficult to cover once their second-round pick makes his on-field debut next week. According to team reporter Darren Urban, first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury said on Friday that Isabella is expected […]

There’s still no indication as to when Antonio Brown will be ready to take the field in wake of a freak accident that left his feet horribly frostbitten. The superstar wide receiver has put another obstacle in the way of his return, too, reportedly telling the Oakland Raiders he won’t play football again unless the […]

If the first time Christian Wade ever touched the ball in an official football game is a harbinger of what’s to come, the Buffalo Bills will have unearthed the most productive player in the history of the sport. Wade, a former rugby star in England who had never played in a football game before his […]

The Kyler Murray era is one step closer to officially beginning for the Arizona Cardinals. The No. 1 overall pick made his on-debut in the NFL on Thursday night during his team’s preseason opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, showing off the classic passing skills that many believe he lacked. Murray went 6-of-7 for 44 […]

In March, NFL owners voted to allow offensive and defensive pass interference to be subject to a coach’s challenge, with a booth review being initiated in the last two minutes of each half, even if no flag was initially called on the play. The Cincinnati Bengals’ Mike Brown was the lone holdout among the league’s […]

The mysterious nature of the foot injury that’s kept Antonio Brown from training camp was partially revealed earlier this week when the Oakland Raiders superstar posted a photo on social media of skin peeling off the bottom of his feet. On Wednesday, multiple reports surfaced indicating the six-time Pro Bowler has frost bite after entering […]

Nate Sutfeld made the most of his golden opportunity to start the Philadelphia Eagles’ preseason opener. In the final minutes of what was likely to be his only stint on the field against the Tennessee Titans, though, his night came to an unfortunate end that will leave him sidelined for the foreseeable future – and […]

Add another one to Adam Gase’s growing list of unintentional viral moments. The notoriously oddball head coach was caught on the television broadcast of the New York Jets’ preseason opener on Thursday night inhaling smelling salts on the sideline, presumably fulfilling his desire for a jolt of energy during his debut leading gang green. Did […]

Dwayne Haskins’ first throw in the NFL certainly won’t quiet calls for him to be the Washington Redskins’ starter this season. On his debut snap early in the second quarter of Washington’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night, Haskins rolled to his right after play-action and hit wide receiver Darvin Kidsy in […]

The Chicago Bears have boasted of being one of the best defenses in NFL history this season. Just imagine how excited they were to finally be able to not just play an opposing team, but even more importantly, tackle to the ground leading up to their preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers. Linebacker Roquan Smith […]

Uniform sticklers, rejoice! The NFL’s longest-running and most well-known oversight in color palettes will soon be a fading memory. The Minnesota Vikings announced on Thursday that team officials have worked with Riddell Sports to finally address the discrepancy in shades of purple between their helmet and jersey. Heading into 2019, the #Vikings worked with @RiddellSports […]

Eyebrows raised several years ago when J.J. Watt began publicly pondering his football longevity. Fortunately for the Houston Texans, despite multiple serious injuries and resulting surgeries later, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year put any concerns about him soon hanging up his cleats to rest on Thursday. During an interview on the Rich Eisen Show, […]

LeBron James has made no secret of his affinity for Damian Lillard’s game, and it’s safe to say the superstar pair continued developing their relationship this summer on the set of Space Jam 2. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Portland Trail Blazers’ franchise player capitalized on building anticipation for his third album […]

Several high-profile players who had previously committed to play for USA Basketball this summer pulled out of consideration for the national team before training camp. While guys like James Harden, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, and more each have their own specific reasons for reneging on their plans to play for Team USA, there’s still one […]

Udonis Haslem telegraphed throughout last season that 2018-19 would be his last. It made sense, too. Not only were his days as a worthwhile NBA contributor clearly finished, but it would have been poetic for the Miami Heat’s longtime big man to hang it up alongside Dwyane Wade, too. Haslem reversed course on Tuesday, though, […]

FOX Sports 1 analyst Chris Broussard issued a forceful critique of the NCAA’s new rules regarding player agents on Tuesday, saying the policy is “flat-out racist” and calling on young, black athletes to take action against it by attending historically black colleges. “They’re calling it the ‘Rich Paul rule,’ which is appropriate, but I’m gonna […]

Steve Kerr is far better suited than most NBA coaches to guide a team in pursuit of multiple championships. He spent five seasons of his 15-year career with the Chicago Bulls, winning three consecutive championships in the late 1990s. He won two more rings with the San Antonio Spurs, too, even becoming one of the […]

No one was shocked when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving announced their plans to play together going forward. Rumors of their interest in forming one of the NBA’s most devastating scoring tandems in league history date back to last year, and reached a fever pitch after the pair was recorded sharing a hushed conversation at […]

Remember when Kevin Durant was bound for the New York Knicks? It was in early February, when the Knicks parted ways with Kristaps Porzingis, their long-awaited and ever-rare homegrown star, in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks that created enough cap space for them to sign two a pair of max-level free agents in free […]

The Golden State Warriors have finally made their long-awaited move across the bay to San Francisco. Just because his team is no longer playing in its Oakland, though, hardly means Stephen Curry will be neglecting his longtime community in the East Bay. Case in point: His direct assistance in fixing up a shoddy basketball court […]

LeBron James is fully committed to Space Jam 2. Just because the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has decided to invest so much of his off-court time and energy into bringing Michael Jordan’s iconic film back to the big screen, though, doesn’t mean he’ll be putting himself at physical risk while filming. Enter Sheldon Bailey, a veteran […]

There was some mystery surrounding Sean Davis’ absence from a week of training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But considering that the team announced his missed time was due to a hand injury and elected against elaborating further, the assumption was the fourth-year safety wasn’t feeling much pain – and could perhaps even return to […]

CLUTCH SUMMARY: Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray just signed a five-year, $170 million max extension.  Murray has looked like a star at times, but playing with Nikola Jokic has artificially inflated his value.  Murray has a lot of work to do to truly become a star and live up to his big contract.  Jamal Murray […]

What most separates Boban Marjanovic from other NBA giants is his awesome sense of natural touch. The 7-foot-3, 290-pound center doesn’t just use his mind-bending size to overwhelm opponents in the paint, dunking over the top of defenders from a virtual standstill. He has a nice array of post moves, too, all of which stem […]

There’s clearly no love lost between the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans following the teams’ pair of heated joint practices. But after DeShaun Watson, the Texans’ injury-plagued franchise quarterback wearing the no-contact red jersey, went down during a “non-tackling” drill during Tuesday’s session, he did his best to diffuse the situation. Asked if he […]