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NBA Finals roundtable: Did Michael Jordan ever have better playoff run than what Nikola Jokic’s doing in 2023?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:39:05 GMT

Mark Kiszla: I’m not very good with numbers. Heck, I couldn’t remember the four-digit entry code to Team Post’s abode in South Florida without a cheat sheet. But I saw this stat from a hoops number-cruncher with a sense of history: Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is the first player in NBA history to produce 500 points, 250 rebounds and 150 assists in a single postseason. Sounds pretty, pretty good to me. Was Michael Jordan ever more dominant in the playoffs than the Joker we’re watching now? Has LeBron James or any other legend of the game ever done more for his team in the pursuit of a ring? Put it in historical perspective and explain it to me like I’m a 7-year-old child.Mike Singer: Nikola Jokic is an unsolvable riddle capable of flummoxing even the NBA’s best coaches. Double-team him, and he’ll slice the defense with darts. Single-cover him and he’ll bully the defender like a bear. From 3-point range, he’s devastating. His touch...

Drew Sanders could grow into Vance Joseph’s next versatile weapon: “I think Denver got a steal”

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:39:05 GMT

Drew Sanders’ road to the NFL isn’t quite a Johnny Cash song, but suffice it to say he’s been almost everywhere, man.He attended middle school in Oregon, then three Texas high schools in four years as his dad, a coach, got hired at Lake Dallas one year, Colleyville Heritage the next and then Denton Ryan. Then Sanders went to college, where he spent two years at Alabama and one at Arkansas.Seven years, six schools, four states, just as many alignments on the football field.Quarterback? He did that in high school. Tight end, too. Outside linebacker, inside linebacker, pass-rusher, cover man, Hackensack, Fond du Lac. He’s played pretty much everywhere, man.So while getting up to speed in the NFL as a third-round draft pick of the Broncos is undoubtedly a big move, learning and getting comfortable on the fly is nothing new for the 6-foot-5, 233-pounder.“It’s all kind of going by pretty fast,” Sanders allowed last month at Denver’s rookie minicamp. “A lot of stuff happening and a lot of ...

Keeler: Blind Nuggets fans see what Kendrick Perkins, Stephen A. Smith can’t. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray destined to be NBA champions. “Watch. Just watch.”

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:39:05 GMT

MIAMI — Blind men shake their heads and wonder what the heck Kendrick Perkins and Stephen A. Smith are looking at. Chris Tucker? Forest Whitaker? Shakira? Because it sure ain’t the Nuggets.“I just heard that Perkins is still doubling down on, ‘Miami’s gonna win this series,’” Lakewood’s Paul Sandoval told me with a laugh before Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Nuggets and Heat.“It’s just like, ‘Why? What are you doing?’ I don’t think these national guys watch these games.”Exhibit B: Stephen A. hopped onto ESPN Thursday morning, fresh off Game 3 of the Finals, and decreed that two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic “isn’t known for having some kind of dominant post game now. That’s not his game.”After which his three co-hosts looked at him, justifiably, as if he’d just broken wind at the Vatican.“We’re kinda used to that,” Sandoval said. “We still get some of that small town treatment, but we’re not a small town. We get some of that from the coasts. A championship in the NBA will go a lon...

Colorado natives Tyler Rogers, Taylor Rogers relishing time together in Giants bullpen as fourth twins to be MLB teammates

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:39:05 GMT

The Rogers twins keep waiting for somebody to pinch them.Chatfield alums Tyler and Taylor are in their first season together on the San Francisco Giants and checked off another pie-in-the-sky feat this week with a three-game series at Coors Field, where they admitted their intertwined baseball lives feel more like dream than reality.“We keep having these ‘This is frickin cool’ milestones,” Taylor said. “In spring training, in the corner we had three lockers that were in its own little section. That set the feeling in. Then we opened up a Yankee Stadium — and the conversation was like, ‘Dude can you imagine 15-year-old us believing this?’ Then Tuesday, we drove to the ballpark together and played catch on Coors Field.“Just when we’re done (soaking in one moment) as brothers, another one comes and might top it.”The southpaw is Taylor, who’s in his first season with San Francisco. He signed a three-year, $33 million deal...

Walters: California water rights at risk as three bills advance

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:39:05 GMT

When California imposed its first-ever regulation on the extraction of water from underground aquifers in 2014, it gave environmental groups a landmark victory in their decades-long effort to overhaul water use laws.It was also a political setback for farmers, who are California’s major water users and have depended on wells to irrigate their crops as increasingly frequent droughts reduce surface water in rivers and reservoirs.However, while groundwater regulation ended one front in California’s never-ending political and legal battles over allocation of water, it merely set the stage for an even bigger conflict over surface water rights, particularly those pre-dating 1914, when the state first began controlling diversions.Just months after the groundwater regulation’s enactment, with drought still gripping the state, the water rights battle was joined when the state Water Resources Control Board attempted to curtail diversions by some pre-1914 rights holders.The board accused a sma...

Analysis: Iga Swiatek doesn’t want to say what she thinks she is capable of, but it’s a lot

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:39:05 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A popular question posed to tennis players after they begin accumulating Grand Slam titles is some form of: What’s next?What are your aims now? What do you want to accomplish? How many of these major championships can you collect?When it comes to Iga Swiatek, there is not much point in asking, although there were attempts Saturday night after she beat Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in what turned into a riveting French Open final.That victory made Swiatek the owner of four Slam trophies, including three at Roland Garros. Just making it to the last match of the tournament assured her of maintaining her grip on the No. 1 ranking, where she’s been since April 2022.“I don’t think I need any idea. I’ll just go forward, you know?” Swiatek said. “My whole career, I’ve tried to — if you’re talking about wins — just win as much as possible, obviously. … I don’t think we all know what our limits are unless we’re done or we’re really mature. But I’m 22, so I literally ...

Seis personas resultan heridas a tiros en un estacionamiento a las afueras de un club en Houston

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:39:05 GMT

La policía de Houston dice que seis personas resultaron heridas a tiros después de que alguien abriera fuego en un estacionamiento lleno de gente afuera de un club en Houston la madrugada de este domingo.El jefe de policía Troy Finner dijo que los oficiales encontraron a seis personas baleadas luego de un disturbio dentro del club que se desbordó hacia el estacionamiento. Finner dijo que una de las seis víctimas se encuentra en estado crítico y se sometió a una cirugía de emergencia. El pronóstico de la víctima era incierto. Se espera que las otras cinco víctimas sobrevivan.Ningún sospechoso ha sido arrestado. Finner dice que el video de vigilancia tomado en la escena sería revisado como parte de la investigación. Tiroteo deja al menos nueve heridos; autoridades confían en que sobrevivan Tiroteo en un supermercado de Nueva York: lo condenan a 50 años por matar al gerente Source

El papa Francisco reza el Ángelus en el hospital mientras continúa su recuperación “normal” tras una operación

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:39:05 GMT

(CNN) — El papa Francisco, que aún permanece ingresado en el hospital Gemelli de Roma tras someterse el miércoles a una operación abdominal, siguió la Santa Misa de este domingo en directo por televisión y recibió la Eucaristía, según un comunicado del portavoz vaticano, Matteo Bruni.El papa “se dirigió después a la pequeña capilla del apartamento privado, donde se reunió en oración para el rezo del Ángelus”, dijo Brini. “Después almorzó junto a quienes le asisten en estos días de hospitalización en el apartamento privado (médicos, asistente sanitario, enfermeros, auxiliares y personal del Cuerpo de Gendarmería)”, añadió.Bruni también dijo que el papa “continúa afebril y hemodinámicamente estable”. El papa fue sometido a “fisioterapia respiratoria y continúa movilizándose”, añadió Bruni.Es extremadamente raro que el papa Francisco falte al Ángelus, pero no es la primera vez que falta a citas públicas por motivos médicos.The-CNN-W...

Police: Six people shot in parking lot outside Houston club; 1 person in critical condition

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:39:05 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Police in Houston say six people were shot and injured after someone opened fire in a crowded parking lot outside of a club in Houston early Sunday. Police Chief Troy Finner said officers found six people shot following a disturbance inside the club that spilled out into the parking lot. Finner said one of the six victims is in critical condition and underwent emergency surgery. The victim’s prognosis was uncertain. The other five victims are expected to survive.No suspects have been arrested. Finner says surveillance video taken at the scene would be reviewed as part of the investigation. Source

UEFA investigations, multi-club owners raise doubts for European competition entries

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:39:05 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — The European club soccer season ended this weekend with Manchester City beating Inter Milan in the Champions League final, so entry lists are now known for UEFA competitions next season.Not so fast.When late on Monday in Switzerland the entry deadline set by UEFA for the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League passes, the lawyers will still have much work to do.Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan are among clubs awaiting investigations and legal decisions that can decide which teams — if any — must be removed from European play.UEFA punishments and rulings often lead to appeals that in past years have kept the Court of Arbitration for Sport busy until the group-stage draws in late August.Juventus looks in most jeopardy of being banned from UEFA competitions for at least one season.Barcelona is under scrutiny for possible match-fixing linked to suspect payments over several years to a Spanish refereeing official.AC Milan is in shared American ownersh...