Matthew Zemek Articles - Page 101

Nigel Bradham caught a deflected pass in the end zone for a game-sealing interception of Aaron Rodgers, helping the Philadelphia Eagles fend off the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night in Lambeau Field. The Eagles, who had lost multiple members of their highly depleted secondary to injury in Thursday’s game, needed a piece of good […]

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Carolina Panthers, but the NFL officiating crew led by Jerome Boger did not make it easy at all. The Thursday Night Football game had a 16-year veteran on the job. That ought to create a seamlessly administered game with fluid communication among the various members of the crew. Tonight’s […]

The Denver Broncos’ offense was not prolific in Thursday night’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, but Royce Freeman gave Vic Fangio a positive building block for the rest of the preseason. Freeman, who will share carries in the backfield with Phillip Lindsay this season, needs to take pressure off quarterback Joe Flacco and give Denver […]

Entering Thursday’s preseason opener, Josh Rosen occupied the spotlight for the Miami Dolphins. By game’s end, Preston Williams had taken center stage. The Dolphins’ quarterback battle between Josh Rosen and Ryan Fitzpatrick is one of the main stories of the NFL preseason. Yet, a quarterback is only as good as his receivers. In Miami’s first […]

Kamu Grugier-Hill, who is widely believed to have a good chance of becoming a starting linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019, suffered a Grade 3 MCL sprain in practice on Saturday. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported the news. #Eagles LB Kamu Grugier-Hill suffered a Grade 3 MCL sprain in practice today, sources say. […]

An honest person is “on the up and up.” An improving person is “on the up.” DeMarcus Lawrence might have been honest and improving when he spoke about his health. Lawrence, a star pass rusher for the Dallas Cowboys, had surgery in May. He wants to play in Week 1 of the NFL season in […]

Kyle Johnson, the security guard who got involved in an altercation with Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott in May, wants to press charges of battery against Elliott. Per Pro Football Talk and FOX TV 5 in Las Vegas: “To not have anything happen to him, the NFL is basically saying it’s OK to go to Vegas, […]

It has become a cherished part of the NBA calendar in the days between the Finals and free agency: players such as Jimmy Butler reacting on social media to blockbuster trades involving superstars such as Anthony Davis. After the New Orleans Pelicans traded Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first blockbuster deal […]

The Anthony Davis trade to the Los Angeles Lakers — the first huge event of a typically explosive NBA offseason, right after the end of the NBA Finals — elicited reactions from the league’s more opinionated players, past and present: Welp there goes the first domino… Things about to get interesting…💯💯💯 — DeMarre Carroll (@DeMarreCarroll1) […]

Ten years after Pau Gasol won his first NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009, Marc Gasol won his first NBA title with the Toronto Raptors. The Gasol family has already left a Hall of Fame-level imprint on the NBA and international basketball, but that shimmering legacy just became exponentially greater after Marc […]

Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry completed a long championship journey Thursday night. Only after it ended could the principals acknowledge its complexities. Kawhi Leonard came to Toronto as a hoped-for savior this NBA season. Being welcomed by a city and enjoying a honeymoon period are some of the more agreeable parts of being a superstar […]

Shaun Livingston, as a member of the 2015 Golden State Warriors, knows better than most what the Dubs must try to do in the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. As a part of the 2015 Warriors, Livingston went through two separate playoff series — including the Finals — in which Golden State stumbled […]

Jerry West, a basketball player so iconic his silhouette became part of the NBA logo, will be honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, made the announcement about West on Saturday: The Great Jerry West will be receiving our Nation’s highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal of […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers released a statement Monday evening on team owner Dan Gilbert, who was hospitalized early on Sunday after suffering a stroke. Update from the Cavaliers on owner Dan Gilbert, who is recovering from a stroke he suffered Sunday … pic.twitter.com/zuj9Zw86Hu — Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 28, 2019 The statement from Quicken Loans CEO […]

Mychal Thompson, a teammate of Los Angeles Lakers star James Worthy in the 1980s, knows what Klay Thompson is going through. In an article by Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Mychal Thompson spoke about Klay Thompson in a particular way — not as a father of a son who is playing for a third straight […]

Draymond Green continues to be the Portland Trail Blazers’ worst nightmare in the Western Conference Finals for the Golden State Warriors. The good thing about this nightmare for Portland: The Blazers will soon be put to sleep. Draymond Green is doing a little bit of everything in this series, and the stats reflect as much: […]

It won’t be spicy Curry — with no bitter taste or resentments — but it will be wet Curry with all the 3-point splashdowns likely to occur: Yes, Stephen Curry and Seth Curry will meet in the 2019 NBA Western Conference Finals, the first time in league history that two brothers will meet in a […]

Every professional athlete and every professional sports team wants to be a champion. The Golden State Warriors are the envy of the NBA for what they have established. Moreover, their ability to win Game 6 against the Houston Rockets without Kevin Durant underlined the reality that they will still be the title favorites in 2020, […]

The New York Giants have signed veteran offensive tackle Mike Remmers, as noted by his agent, Brent Tessler. Big Blue acquired the former Carolina Panther and Minnesota Viking on Saturday. Happy to announce that Mike Remmers just agreed in principle to a deal with the New York Giants and is looking forward to moving back […]

For years, the Toronto Raptors ran into the one unstoppable player in the Eastern Conference. Now, they might have the beast of the East: Kawhi Leonard. LeBron James stood in Toronto’s way the past few seasons, just as Bron was the ultimate roadblock for every other team in the Eastern Conference dating back to 2011, […]

His ankle isn’t 100 percent. His left hand isn’t 100 percent. Stephen Curry isn’t 100 percent. Steve Kerr isn’t pushing the panic button, however. After the Golden State Warriors lost Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, Kerr didn’t make any far-reaching statements about Curry, even though Steph […]

The Golden State Warriors’ embrace of 3-point shots is one reason why Klay Thompson moved past Manu Ginobili on the all-time NBA playoff 3-point list. Klay being an elite shooter is another. Thompson notched this latest milestone in his playoff career Saturday night in Game 3 of the Warriors’ Western Conference semifinal series against the […]

On Sunday against the Golden State Warriors, the Houston Rockets tried to shake off Game 7 a year ago against the Dubs. They failed. In Game 1 of this year’s NBA Western Conference semifinal series, the Rockets didn’t plummet to the depths they experienced late last May in Texas, but they still missed a truckload […]

Game 1 of a highly anticipated NBA playoff rematch became a debate about foul calls. Draymond Green and James Harden took center stage. One could very easily make the case that officiating was the most interesting and emotionally compelling topic in postgame press conferences after the Golden State Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets, 104-100, in […]

It sounds like Tom Coughlin. It reads like Tom Coughlin, and sure enough, it is Tom Coughlin. The head of football operations for the Jacksonville Jaguars wants a distraction to go away. Tom Coughlin when asked if he has a response to the NFLPA, Jalen Ramsey or his agent: “There’s no need for me to […]

New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis did not shoot down the idea that he would trade down in the 2019 NFL Draft later this week. Josh Katzenstein of the Times-Picayune in New Orleans conveyed the news: Mickey Loomis: "We’d be open to trading back if the timing is right and if the value is […]

DeMarcus Cousins rehabbed, trained and practiced so that he could chase a championship for the Golden State Warriors. That chase has been derailed. It remains to be seen if it will get back on the tracks in time for Boogie to author another comeback story. Steve Kerr said DeMarcus Cousins' injury is pretty bad (didn't […]

Lou Williams hasn’t been able to make deep playoff runs in his career, so his epic performance for the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night against the Golden State Warriors carries extra resonance. Williams, who established himself long ago as one of the NBA’s best sixth men, crafted a performance which was statistically rare and […]

The Los Angeles Clippers didn’t score the 51 points the Philadelphia 76ers scored in the third quarter on Monday in the NBA Playoffs. They settled for 44. It was enough to create one of the all-time greatest comebacks in NBA playoff history. The Clippers, down by 31 points midway through the third quarter, rallied past […]

Golden State Warriors big man DeMarcus Cousins visibly limped to the locker room in the first quarter of Game 2 of the Dubs’ NBA Western Conference first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Warriors’ playoff journey was the very part of the season DeMarcus Cousins looked forward to the most. Cousins spent the first […]

On a night when Stephen Curry passed Ray Allen for all-time 3-point makes in the NBA Playoffs, Kevin Durant passed Dirk Nowitzki in a separate category. Saturday in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinal series between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, Durant’s Warriors won, 121-104. Durant combined a team win with […]

Records don’t instantly elevate one athlete past his predecessors, but Stephen Curry took another step beyond Ray Allen Saturday night in the NBA Playoffs. Records are markers of supreme excellence. Sometimes, they can identify and magnify specialists who aren’t as well-rounded as other athletes. Given Curry’s diverse set of skills — more expansive than Allen […]

Patrick Beverley is who he is. That’s all one can say after the antagonistic guard of the Los Angeles Clippers did his thing against Kevin Durant on Saturday night in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference quarterfinal series versus the Golden State Warriors. Golden State might have controlled the play in a 121-104 win, […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are not the favorites in the Eastern Conference this year. That is not a change from the 2018 playoffs. What is different for the Sixers? The composition of their roster and the frequency with which that roster passes the ball. Rich Hofmann of The Athletic provided a deep-dive examination into the state […]

New England Patriots free safety Devin McCourty offered remarks on the team’s recent signing, free-agent safety Terrence Brooks. The Patriots signed Brooks to a two-year, $4.1 million deal in free agency earlier in March. Brooks had played 84 special-teams snaps against the Patriots the past two seasons as a member of the New York Jets. […]

Deandre Ayton has lost a lot of games in his NBA rookie season with the Phoenix Suns, but he won a high honor on Saturday night. Ayton, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, passed Alvan Adams for the most rebounds by a Suns rookie in Phoenix’s 120-115 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. […]

Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon passed Tracy McGrady on the franchise’s all-time rebounds list in Saturday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers. What made the personal achievement particularly satisfying for Gordon is that he accomplished the feat within a context of team success. Gordon and the Magic went into Indianapolis and knocked off the Pacers, […]

Two of the brightest young talents in the NBA’s Eastern Conference went at each other Saturday night. D’Angelo Russell and Jaylen Brown both scored personal victories. The game between Russell’s Brooklyn Nets and Brown’s Boston Celtics contained a battle within the larger competition. Russell and Brown displayed the skill and cleverness which have marked them […]

One of the great mysteries of the NBA Draft is where highly-ranked prospects go after suffering injuries. A foremost 2019 example will be Bol Bol of the University of Oregon. The son of former NBA player Manute Bol played just nine games for Oregon last season. His campaign was cut short in December of 2018 […]