Jack Winter Articles - Page 89

Stan Van Gundy proved unable to completely turn things around for the Detroit Pistons. Nearly a year after his dismissal, though, the Pistons’ former coach and president of basketball operations harbors no resentment for the peers currently enjoying the type of success he never quite managed during his four seasons in the Motor City. In […]

The Orlando Magic have still yet to regain the form that made them a perennial contender at the top of the decade, during Dwight Howard’s brief time as a perennial MVP candidate. Still, after making the playoffs for the first since 2012, Howard’s last season in Orlando, the Magic seem to finally be trending in […]

Duke freshman forward Cam Reddish has declared for the 2019 NBA draft, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. Duke freshman Cam Reddish has declared for the 2019 NBA draft. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 11, 2019 The 6-foot-8, 218-pounder saw his draft stock drop as much as any other prospect in the 2019 class during […]

Aaron Rodgers recently revealed that he played the 2018 season despite suffering from multiple injuries. The Green Bay Packers superstar fractured the tibial plateau and sprained the MCL in his left leg during an instant-classic comeback victory over the Chicago Bears in Week 1, rendering him far less than 100 percent for the season’s remainder, […]

The Philadelphia Eagles are apparently in the market for more playmakers. According to the Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the team was one of several to recently conduct a pre-draft workout with Penn State receive and return man DeAndre Thompkins. Penn State WR DeAndre Thompkins worked out for Texans, Bills, Giants, Ravens, Eagles, Jets, […]

Kam Chancellor’s playing career ended before anyone wanted it to. The Seattle Seahawks star suffered a devastating neck and nerve injury in a win over the Arizona Cardinals on November 9th, 2017, leaving doctors unable to ever clear his return to the field due to the significant risk of paralysis. Given the leadership position he […]

It’s more accurate to call Joe Flacco the Denver Broncos’ quarterback of the present rather than quarterback of the future. At 34, Flacco is clearly on the downside of his career, years removed from a playing peak that wasn’t all that high to begin with. It’s not like Denver paid a heavy price in February […]

The complete dissolution of the Miami Heat’s Big Three came more quickly than anyone anticipated. After LeBron James made the decision to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2014, Pat Riley’s plan was to surround Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the type of role players necessary for Miami to maintain some […]

The first-round series between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers is poised to be among the most well-coached and hard-played in the postseason. If Brad Stevens’ maddeningly inconsistent team reaches a level approaching its peak, though, the absence of Victor Oladipo will probably keep that matchup from being as competitive as one would expect between […]

Dwyane Wade’s final home game with the Miami Heat was filled with memorable moments. Most notable among them, at least from a cross-cultural perspective, was the retiring superstar falling into the laps of model Chrissy Teigen and musician John Legend, sitting courtside at American Airlines Arena, after attempting a jumper from the far corner. What […]

The regular season ends on Wednesday, and the playoffs are already less than 72 hours away. Still, the postseason bracket is far from set in stone, with one spot still up for grabs back in the Eastern Conference and not a single first-round series set out West. The Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, […]

Kevin Durant made headlines in December when he called the environment around LeBron James “toxic,” fueling speculation that the Los Angeles Lakers could miss out on signing one of the league’s top free agents this summer. The Golden State Warriors superstar wasn’t decrying his friend and Los Angeles Lakers counterpart personally, to be clear, but […]

Giannis Antetokounmpo famously turned down the chance to join LeBron James and other luminaries for offseason workouts last summer. It certainly shouldn’t come as shocking, then, that the Milwaukee Bucks superstar is reportedly uninterested in appearing alongside his Los Angeles Lakers counterpart in Space Jam 2. Somewhat surprising, though, is the support Antetokounmpo seems to have […]

It wasn’t Dwyane Wade’s “One Last Dance,” but the 2018-19 season played out as a farewell tour of sorts for Dirk Nowitzki nonetheless. Just one problem: Despite the public’s insistence otherwise and multiple teams offering tributes to the future Hall-of-Famer, Nowitzki hadn’t actually announced his imminent retirement at the conclusion of the season. Fortunately, the […]

The Washington Redskins seem to be doing more than typical due diligence on the crop of available quarterbacks in advance of the April 25th NFL draft. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Duke’s Daniel Jones and Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins will both be in the nation’s capital visiting with Redskins officials this week. #Duke QB […]

Arguably the most dramatic comeback of Aaron Rodgers’ Hall-of-Fame career came in the 2018 season-opener, when the Green Bay Packers superstar returned from being carted off the field in the second quarter to lead his team to a stunning come-from-behind victory over the rival Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. Despite creating what he called “one […]

The Dallas Cowboys no longer need to worry about DeMarcus Lawrence making good on his threat of sitting out the 2019 season. The star pass-rusher agreed to a five-year, $105 million deal with the Cowboys last week, ending a months-long stalemate that some worried might lead him to hold out in protest of playing on […]

Kyler Murray is headed to the Arizona Cardinals — for a pre-draft visit, that is. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick will be in Arizona today to meet with Cardinals officials. It’s conventional wisdom by now that Arizona is likely to kick things off on April 25th by making […]

If Cookie Monster is to be believed, Baker Mayfield will more than live up to the promise he showed during the second half of his stellar rookie season. When asked to name the greatest quarterback of all time in a segment for Sports Illustrated TV, Sesame Street’s favorite fuzzy blue creature with a voracious appetite chose the Cleveland Browns’ […]

The relationship between Aaron Rodgers and former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy, it’s abundantly clear now, wasn’t exactly perfect. Still, after another story released last week chronicling the Packers’ widespread dysfunction largely stemming from Rodgers’ lack of harmony with his former coach, Green Bay’s superstar signal-caller is pushing back on the notion that he […]

Adam Thielen isn’t the only one pushing for a re-negotiated contract that would more accurately reflect his standing as one of the NFL’s most productive receivers. In a series of twitter posts on Monday, ESPN analyst and former NFL defensive back Domonique Foxworth advocated for the Minnesota Vikings to finally pony up the dough for […]

The war of words between Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster seems unlikely to end any time soon. What might be the only thing to finish it? When the ultra-talented, ultra-confident wide receivers take the field in 2019, finally getting the opportunity to let their play do the talking. In that vein, online sportsbook BetOnline.ag released […]

Former San Francisco 49ers superstar and 2018 Pro Football Hall-of-Fame inductee Terrell Owens has lost a collection of memorabilia from his playing days after an Atlanta storage company auctioned off the items in his unit due to a series of unmade payments. According to celebrity gossip site TMZ, James Rice of Jan’s Used Furniture in […]

The Miami Dolphins have embraced a full-scale rebuild. After watching several longtime incumbents like star pass-rusher Cameron Wake and starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill go elsewhere this offseason, then, veteran wide receiver Kenny Stills was fully prepared to be a casualty of the Dolphins’ youth movement. “Yeah, every offseason you kind of have those questions,” he […]

It remains to be seen whether Josh Allen will be the first defensive player taken in the 2019 NFL draft. But no matter where he’s selected on April 25th, if the University of Kentucky product ultimately lives up to his pre-draft goal, he’ll certainly have proven worthy of being the No. 1 overall pick. Allen, […]

The University of Florida’s Jawaan Taylor will visit with Buffalo Bills officials and coaches on Monday night, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, More visits: #Florida OT Jawaan Taylor is visiting the #Bills tonight, source said. … Eastern Michigan DE Maxx Crosby is in Atlanta with the #Falcons, then heads to the #Bills for a […]

The Portland Trail Blazers have received more good news ahead of their next matchup with the Denver Nuggets. According to Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports, the Nuggets are expected to rest Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap, and Jamal Murray for the second leg of their home and home with the Blazers on Sunday. After clinching the […]

The Portland Trail Blazers’ dreams of making noise in the playoffs all but vanished entirely in late March, when Jusuf Nurkic suffered compound fractures to his left tibia and fibula, ending his season in horrific fashion. Nurkic, thankfully, avoided nerve damage, and is expected to make a full recovery in time to play at some […]

Remember when Mumford & Sons was one of the biggest musical acts in America? Just in you’ve forgotten, intentionally or otherwise, Saturday’s game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets served as a reminder of just how relevant the British folk rockers once were. Late in the second quarter of Sunday’s game, which the Nets […]

Eric Bledsoe played one of his best games of the season on Sunday. The Milwaukee Bucks point guard scored a season-high 33 points and doled out 11 assists on 12-of-17 shooting overall and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, picking up the slack of a resting Giannis Antetokounmpo to give his team a chance against the […]

The Portland Trail Blazers won’t be at full-strength until next season at the absolute earliest. With the playoffs right around the corner, though, Terry Stotts’ team is poised to get back one of its best players. The team announced on Saturday that star guard C.J. McCollum has been upgraded to probable for the second leg […]

The Houston Rockets have are signing Rio Grande Valley Vipers guard Michael Frazier, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. Frazier, 25, was named the G-League Most Improved Player this season after averaging 16.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He shot 44.9 percent from the field, a number artificially deflated due to […]

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will not play in his team’s game against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday due to a sore left calf, coach Mike Budenholzer said. Coach Bud: Giannis not going to play (left calf soreness) tonight. pic.twitter.com/1wWYje7TTV — Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 6, 2019 It’s easy to dismiss concerns of Antetokounmpo’s discomfort […]

Paul Pierce probably had no idea the firestorm he would set off on Friday evening before insisting that his career was better than Dwyane Wade’s during ESPN’s NBA Countdown.  Objectively, there’s almost nothing to back up the former Boston Celtics great’s claim. Wade has more championships, more All-NBA selections, three All-Defense honors to Pierce’s zero, and more […]

The very beginning of Aaron Rodgers’ time in the NFL spotlight hardly portended greatness. The University of California quarterback, a potential No. 1 overall pick, waited in the green room for over four hours after the nearby San Francisco 49ers selected Utah’s Alex Smith first overall in the 2005 draft, beginning a stunning slide that […]

Brian Flores, unquestionably, is one of the brightest defensive minds in all of football. His rapid ascent to defensive play-caller for the New England Patriots last season was enough evidence of that reality, but his former team’s defensive performance in Super Bowl LIII made Flores’ strategic bona fides clear to a global audience. Introduced as […]

It wasn’t long ago that JaVale McGee was nothing more than the butt of tired NBA in-jokes. The Golden State Warriors, remember, signed him to a non-guaranteed “prove-it” deal in late July 2016 as Anderson Varejao dealt with back issues. Steve Kerr was under no delusion that McGee was a lock to make the Warriors’ […]

Stephen Curry already has an argument as the Golden State Warriors’ best player. He has three championships, two MVPs, and is the only unanimous winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy in league history. He’s a seven-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, and holds several three-point shooting records on his way to passing Ray Allen for the […]

Nick Young wasn’t the player the Golden State Warriors wanted him to be last season. He showed up to training camp out of shape and took longer than Steve Kerr would have liked to better his conditioning, never quite figured out how to execute Golden State’s defensive scheme, and was a more inconsistent shooter than […]