Troy Finnegan Articles - Page 20

The Memphis Grizzlies needed two cracks at it in the NBA Play-In Tournament, but they eventually got the job done in comfortable fashion with a 120-106 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night in Memphis. Over the days leading up to the do-or-die game, the status of star point guard Ja Morant was in […]

Imaging reading this sentence to a Dallas Mavericks fan in January: the Mavericks are eliminated from playoff contention after a 120-106 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies despite a 40-point game from Anthony Davis. They would probably tell you you’re crazy, right? Well here we are, and the Mavericks are heading home despite a masterful game […]

After one of the wildest seasons by any team in modern NBA history, the Dallas Mavericks are officially headed into the offseason. The Mavericks banded together to get a road win on Wednesday night in the first play-in game over the Sacramento Kings, but this hobbled version of Jason Kidd’s group was no match for […]

The Dallas Mavericks came into Friday night one game away from making the playoffs, but not much went right in Memphis against the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies jumped out to a big lead in front of a raucous home crowd and, despite Anthony Davis’ best efforts, ran away with the final playoff spot out West. Memphis […]

One of the teams to watch this offseason in the transfer portal is North Carolina with Bill Belichick at the helm. The Tar Heels have brought in a number of intriguing pieces to their roster, but they have lost some as well. Quarterback Ryan Browne, a Purdue transfer who committed to North Carolina just after […]

As will be the case for many offseasons moving forward in both college football and college basketball, NIL is at the forefront of the discussion. Players are making more money than ever in the transfer portal, and it is sparking discussion all over the sport. As usual, Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin was […]

The Nico Iamaleava saga continues to have new layers uncovered after the star quarterback’s spring NIL holdout and subsequent transfer to UCLA, and for the first time the rumors have elicited a response from him. Obviously, rumors are flying after Iamaleava skipped a spring practice in Knoxville just before Tennessee’s spring game, prompting Josh Heupel […]

One of the brightest surprises in college football last season was the emergence of SMU football. Rhett Lashlee and the Mustangs were just a play or two from winning an ACC Championship and ended up in the College Football Playoff, where they lost to Penn State. Now, Lashlee and company are trying to build off […]

The NFL Draft is just six days away and teams are finalizing their last few visits and making some last-minute adjustments to their draft boards. On the flip side, prospects are scrambling to raise their draft stock any way they can before Thursday night’s first round. Georgia football is always one of the top programs […]

The Dallas Mavericks’ season has felt like it was heading for an ugly exit for a while now, but they made sure that wasn’t going to happen on Wednesday night. In a do-or-die contest, the Mavericks played one of their best games of the season to knock off the Sacramento Kings 120-106 and advance closer […]

The Dallas Mavericks had one job on Wednesday night to keep their season alive: block out all of the noise and get a tough road win against the Sacramento Kings. The Mavericks did just that on Wednesday night, blowing out the Kings 120-106 in the NBA Play-In Tournament. Coming into the game, the vibes around […]

The Chicago Bulls came into the playoffs on a hot streak and were playing some of their best basketball in the final month of the regular season. However, with a chance to extend their season in front of their home fans, they had one of their worst games of the season. The Bulls got crushed […]

Things are going well for the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night as they look to keep their season alive against the Sacramento Kings. After a tightly-contested first quarter, the Mavericks blew the game open with a 44-19 second quarter to take a 71-48 lead into halftime. Anthony Davis is always the key to how the […]

Despite coming into the NBA Play-In Tournament with a 37-45 record and as the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat did what they usually do at this time of year and showed up to play when it mattered. The Heat went on the road against the Chicago Bulls and crushed them […]

Debate is raging across college sports about the NIL era and the transfer portal as players in both football and basketball players find new homes across the country before next fall. Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava poured gasoline onto that fire when he held out of practice just before the Volunteers’ spring game as part […]

It may be early in the very young 2025 MLB season, but that doesn’t mean that tempers aren’t flaring and competitive juices are at an all-time high. That was on full display on Wednesday nigth during a National League clash between the Washington Nationals and the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the bottom of the seventh inning, […]

The season is on the line for the Miami Heat on Wednesday night as they battle in the NBA Play-In Tournament against the Chicago Bulls. As the No. 10 seed, the Heat had to go on the road to Chicago in order to keep their season alive, but that has been no problem so far. […]

Even though its national championship is just over a week old, Todd Golden and Florida basketball are hard at work building a roster that can repeat and cut down the nets again next season. Of course, that will be easier said than done. The Gators are losing all three of their standouts in the backcourt […]

Now that Nico Iamaleava is expected to commit to UCLA after leaving Tennessee in the transfer portal, all eyes are on Josh Heupel and the Volunteers to see who their next starting quarterback is going to be heading into next season. The market for starting quarterbacks is pretty light so far in the spring portal, […]

The biggest story of the college football offseason has been the Nico Iamaleava saga after his controversial departure from Tennessee, but now it appears he has found his new home. Iamaleava is expected to end up at UCLA next season, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. UCLA football is looking to turn things around […]

The Memphis Grizzlies nearly pulled off a historic comeback on Tuesday night to beat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Play-In Tournament, and they nearly lost Ja Morant in the process. After the star point guard led a third-quarter rally to close the gap on a 20-point lead, he came down awkwardly after a […]

The Golden State Warriors didn’t have to make things so difficult on themselves on Tuesday night, but they came out on top anyway. After seeing a 20-point lead slip away in the second half, Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler came up big down the stretch to get a massive 121-116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. […]

The Orlando Magic held serve in the first game of the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday night, taking care of business with a dominant 120-95 win over the Atlanta Hawks in front of their home crowd. Now, the Magic are officially locked in as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and will take […]

The Western Conference has been a gauntlet all season long, and that means NBA fans will be treated to great matches between evenly-matched teams right from the start in the NBA playoffs, which get going on Saturday. One of the best series on paper is the Los Angeles Clippers against the Denver Nuggets in the […]

The college football offseason is in full swing, with the transfer portal and spring football both generating plenty of buzz as fans wait for the season to roll around. After a disappointing 2024 season, Lincoln Riley and USC football are looking to get that tradition back in the cardinal and gold. USC’s offense was the […]

Florida basketball made a rapid rise to the top off the sport in 2024-25, taking over the SEC, winning the conference tournament and then making a run all the way to the national championship. Despite dominating the best conference in college basketball in the conference tournament, Florida had far from an easy time navigating the […]

The spring transfer portal in college football is about to open, but some teams are already making moves to beef up their rosters heading into the summer and eventually the regular season. This is the last chance that teams have to acquire transfers, and some big time programs such as Oklahoma football are already making […]

It may have seemed like the sky was falling after Kentucky basketball lost John Calipari to Arkansas, but the Wildcats had a very successful season in year one under Mark Pope. Kentucky consistently beat very good teams and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing out to Tennessee despite having a […]

The NFL Draft is right around the corner, and rumors of what teams may have planned are starting to heat up. While it seems like the top of the draft order is roughly coming together, there are always a few surprises coming on draft night in the heat of the moment. One of the teams […]

After a strong season and a run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament, Alabama basketball is already looking toward next season and what it can do to get back to the Final Four, like it did in 2023. However, that will be a tough task for Nate Oats and company after losing star […]

Monday has been a difficult, but not unexpected day for Illinois basketball. Just hours after star point guard Kasparas Jakucionis declared for the NBA Draft, standout wing Will Riley also announced his intentions to go pro this summer. Riley reclassified into the Class of 2024 coming out of high school and played for Illinois during […]

The biggest story in college football this spring is coming out of Knoxville, where Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is no longer with the team after holding out in the midst of NIL negotiations. Once Iamaleava didn’t show up for spring practice just before Tennessee’s spring game, the program decided to cut ties with him and […]

In a move that has been expected for a while now, the Phoenix Suns officially fired head coach Mike Budenholzer on Monday after a disastrous season that resulted in the Suns somehow missing the play-in tournament. Now, Phoenix becomes the latest team to open up its head coaching vacancy after the Memphis Grizzlies and the […]

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the last teams with an unresolved quarterback situation this offseason, and they are making sure they exhaust all options as they look for their next signal-caller. What is sure is that there will be someone new under center in Pittsburgh after Justin Fields signed with the New York Jets […]

The first high-profile holdout of the NIL era in college football didn’t last very long. After Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava ditched practice just before the Volunteers’ spring game due to ongoing contract negotiations, Josh Heupel and company essentially told him to kick rocks. Now that Tennessee has severed ties with Iamaleava and is moving in […]

Illinois basketball was one of the most talented teams in the country last season, but now Brad Underwood is losing one of his top players. Standout freshman Kasparas Jakucionis is officially entering the NBA Draft, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Jakucionis is a projected lottery pick and has been all season, and he could even […]

The Golden State Warriors are one of the outside contenders in the Western Conference after trading for Jimmy Butler earlier in the season. That move changed the course of this 2024-25 campaign for Golden State, as a team that once seemed destined for the play-in is now comfortably a playoff team. Butler was obviously the […]

The Denver Nuggets have seen their roster deteriorate a little bit since winning the NBA Championship back in 2023. The core of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon is still around, but the rest of the depth is all gone and it has really hurt them in 2024-25. Now, Denver is […]

The Denver Nuggets have reached an inflection point in their franchise, and they weren’t ready to let this season slip away with the lackluster level of play they had been putting on the floor for a few weeks. As a result, they fired head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth in an attempt […]