Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 102

The Indiana Pacers have built themselves a nice young core over the past few years, adding the likes of Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, and Jarace Walker to their Tyrese Haliburton-led core. The Pacers have gone through their fair share of hard times, as seen in recent history, but they have always managed to bounce back […]

The St. Louis Cardinals have been uncharacteristically awful during the 2023 season, but even during their lackluster campaign, there have been a few bright spots. On Friday night, there was one glimmer in a season full of triggers when Willson Contreras hit an impressive 440-foot moonshot that sent the fans in attendance at Great American […]

Sabrina Ionescu has been cementing herself as one of the biggest and brightest stars of the WNBA ever since the New York Liberty took her with the first overall pick of the 2020 WNBA Draft. Her combination of marksmanship from deep and playmaking have put her in Diana Taurasi territory multiple times over — an […]

With the 2023 NFL season in its infancy, there is no better time for fans and pundits to have high hopes and make prognoses regarding certain teams’ chances of making some noise in the playoffs. That’s exactly what two Boston Celtics legends in Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce did on the KG Certified podcast on […]

The New York Yankees may be out of the running for a spot in the 2023 MLB playoffs, but there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic about their future. One such reason is the play of electric rookie Jasson Dominguez, the 20-year old centerfielder who has done nothing but turn the heads of fans since […]

The Kansas City Chiefs are the darling of the NFL, as they stand on top of the league’s pecking order with a dominant display last season that culminated in a Super Bowl crown — their second in the span of four years. And with star quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the top of his game, there’s […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers know how difficult building a winning team is. A combination of luck and shrewd decision making is necessary for teams to break through and win a championship. And surely, as luck would have it, the arguable greatest player of all time in LeBron James grew up in the same state where the […]

The Detroit Lions entered the 2023 season with renewed hopes, as they ended the 2022 season on a high note, winning eight of their final 10 games to nearly make it to the playoffs. The main catalyst behind their strong play to end the year was the improved performance of Jared Goff, the 28-year old […]

The Kansas City Chiefs remain in as good a position as any to challenge for the Super Bowl come February, especially for as long as star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is healthy. Mahomes is capable of leading the team to great heights, as evidenced by their Super Bowl win almost seven months ago. But as that […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the teams in the running to win the 2023 World Series, thanks in large part to the superstar exploits of right fielder Mookie Betts. Betts is a fantastic player to have, especially for his dynamic table-setting at the top of the Dodgers order. He is arguably the team’s […]

With Team Canada needing to overcome Luka Doncic and Slovenia to continue their path in winning the coveted gold medal in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, a herculean effort was needed from the team’s top guys, such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dillon Brooks. Gilgeous-Alexander, the talented combo guard who made First Team All-NBA last season, […]

On every given night, every member of the Team USA squad competing for the gold medal in the 2023 FIBA World Cup can go off. But among the 12 players on the roster, no one has attracted higher expectations upon himself than Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards. Many believe that Edwards is the team’s undisputed […]

LeBron James is a freak of nature, that much is clear. Despite being 38 years of age already, the Los Angeles Lakers star remains one of the best players in today’s NBA, an incredible force of nature that bends defenses to his will. Now, James greatness is so easy to take for granted, as he […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder, of all teams, know that for small market teams, there’s no more effective way to build a contending team than by drafting well, wherever their selections may land. With the arrival of Kevin Durant as the franchise’s final impact draft pick during their time as the Seattle SuperSonics, it was imperative […]

The Texas Rangers, in the aftermath of a lackluster month of August, need all hands on deck if they were to sustain their standing as a playoff team after putting up a strong effort for the overwhelming majority of the 2023 season. And on Thursday night especially, with a game against AL West rival Houston […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers made acquiring some starting pitching reinforcements a priority prior to the trade deadline. In the end, despite reportedly showing interest in the likes of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, the Dodgers settled for Lance Lynn, the veteran starter who had struggled to that point for the Chicago White Sox. Lynn’s surface-level […]

Dillon Brooks has made a living out of annoying his opponents, and a trip to the other side of the world hasn’t changed his disposition on the basketball court one bit. During Canada’s 2023 FIBA World Cup quarterfinal matchup against Luka Doncic and Slovenia, the famous instigator notorious for his stint with the Memphis Grizzlies […]

There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel that is the Philadelphia 76ers’ James Harden trade saga. Harden and the Sixers remain at an impasse almost a month after the Beard notoriously called Daryl Morey, the team’s president of basketball operations, a “liar”. But as much as Harden tries to paint […]

In what was sure to be a heated matchup between Luka Doncic’s Slovenia and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Canada in the quarterfinal of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, it was Doncic who fell prey to his usual habits. With the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic routinely loses his cool whenever the whistle doesn’t go his way, and that’s exactly […]

The Denver Nuggets, of all teams, know how important it is to nail their draft picks, as the Mile High City isn’t a particularly attractive destination for superstar free agents. And to their credit, they have made the most out of their picks, especially in the 2010s, where they built the core of their 2023 […]

From 1975 to the early 2010s, misery kept piling on and on for the Golden State Warriors franchise. They traded away future Hall of Famers for scraps, gave a high-potential rookie a shocking contract that allowed him to enter free agency after just one season, and failed to capitalize on whatever momentum they had been […]

The Los Angeles Lakers, after much ado, have finally added Christian Wood to their roster, inking him to a two-year deal with a player option for the second year. As maddening as Wood is as a player at times, this is nothing short of a big get for the Lakers. For a low price, the […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are still in a considerable state of uncertainty, as there’s still no end in sight for the Sixers’ James Harden situation. But amid all the uncertainty, the Sixers front office remained busy adding pieces that should be of help to Joel Embiid and company next season, with or without The Beard. On […]

The Cleveland Guardians need every win they could muster, with the Minnesota Twins holding a comfortable lead over them in the AL Central standings. But with the way their 2023 season has gone, the Guardians found it difficult to keep up, as they suffered a 20-6 defeat against the team they’re looking up to in […]

The Seattle Supersonics’ NBA return is long overdue. 15 years have passed since the new owners of the Supersonics franchise decided to move the team to Oklahoma City and rebrand them as the Thunder, snatching away the city of Seattle’s beloved NBA franchise. It remains unclear when the NBA will officially greenlight its expansion plans. […]

The Seattle Mariners, after an uneven start to the 2023 season, have managed to climb their way to the top of the AL West over the likes of the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, thanks in large part to Julio Rodriguez’s incredible performances as of late. During the month of August, there was simply no […]

The Atlanta Braves recently came out on top of a heavyweight clash against the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning three out of four against one of the teams that’s most likely to threaten their status as the overlords of the National League. With Ronald Acuna Jr. leading the way for a stacked Braves squad, they were […]

The Washington Wizards franchise, like most others, isn’t exactly the most attractive destination for top-tier free agents. Nothing beats the glitz and glamour of signing with a big market team based in Los Angeles or New York, after all. But that doesn’t mean that the Wizards franchise hasn’t made its fair share of impressive signings […]

Shohei Ohtani’s unfortunate injury adds to the avalanche of tragedies that have beset the Los Angeles Angels’ 2023 season. Ohtani, the runaway candidate to win AL MVP, tore his UCL, preventing him from performing his pitching duties for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, there’s a glass half-full approach to the Angels star’s major injury. Some pundits […]

With 24 games left in the regular season, the Tampa Bay Rays, barring an epic collapse reminiscent of the 2011 Boston Red Sox, will be heading into the postseason. While nothing is set in stone at the moment, it doesn’t hurt to prepare early for what should be a playoff bloodbath. At least the Rays […]

Austin Reaves’ ascent into stardom has been nothing short of impressive. From being a plucky undrafted guard who impressed during the 2021 Summer League to someone even the most casual NBA fan recognizes, the Los Angeles Lakers guard’s star has exploded beyond imagination. And it seems like Reaves is only in the infancy stages of […]

The Los Angeles Angels’ playoff hopes have, once again, gone by the wayside despite making a few moves prior to the trade deadline. Just to further rub salt on the Angels’ wounds, Shohei Ohtani proceeded to tear the UCL on his throwing elbow, preventing him from suiting up on the mound for the foreseeable future, […]

It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors have the biggest fanbases among NBA teams. Such is the life for teams boasting the services of LeBron James and Stephen Curry, respectively. But not all fans have level-headed takes. In fact, the bigger the fanbase is, the more likely it is for […]

Entering the second round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Team USA’s confidence was at an all-time high. Anthony Edwards even told reporters that they’d win both of their crossover games against Montenegro and Lithuania, believing that the team would continue to roll along after three dominant victories in the first round. But as Lithuania […]

Team USA received a wake-up call on Sunday morning when Lithuania (figuratively) punched them in their collective mouths en route to a 110-104 victory to hand the international powerhouse its first loss of the 2023 FIBA World Cup — the only one they could afford if they were to win the entire competition. The Lithuanians, […]

The New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans franchise hasn’t exactly been a hotbed for blockbuster signings in free agency. That distinction is reserved for the big market teams, which was made crystal clear when Anthony Davis decided that he wanted a trade out of the team back in the 2018-19 season. Nevertheless, the Pelicans franchise has still proven […]

There’s no guarantee that Pete Alonso stays with the New York Mets beyond the 2023 season. The Mets reportedly held trade talks involving the 28-year old first baseman prior to the deadline, and with the team undergoing a soft reset, Alonso could be end up being an established veteran who gives way. But Alonso is […]

Oklahoma City has never been a particularly attractive free-agent destination, so it wasn’t too easy to conjure up a list of the Thunder franchise’s best signings since 2008. The Thunder also notoriously found it difficult to keep the best free agent in their history, failing to come to terms with a new contract with Kevin […]

The 2023 season is Miguel Cabrera’s swan song, the closing chapter in the Detroit Tigers slugger’s illustrious career. Even then, Cabrera is not yet done climbing the all-time ladder, as he looks to put an end to his MLB career in style. And he seems to be doing just that if his performance against the […]