Sport

Why Joel Embiid deserved better, and what his injury says about NBA’s 65-game rule

SAN FRANCISCO — Joel Embiid didn’t speak. Not with his words, anyway. The Philadelphia 76ers big man who had been ridiculed for three days after his latest disappearance, and whose MVP defense is in such early peril because of the league’s 65-game rule that is putting so much pressure on his sensitive situation, didn’t have …

Sport

After Jackie Robinson statue is destroyed, Wichita rallies around a baseball league

It was around noon last Thursday when Bob Lutz walked outside of his work and headed home before the start of his daily radio show. He looked across 17th Street in Wichita, Kan., from the offices of League 42, the nonprofit baseball league he founded in 2013. On a rainy, overcast day, he gazed over …

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Anonymous NHL player poll 2024: Who’s the best player? Most overrated? Best goalie? Worst road city?

Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon or Nikita Kucherov: Who’s the NHL’s best player? It’s gotta be McDavid, right? Not so fast, a surprising number of NHL players say. “McDavid’s going to get all the votes, I’m sure,” one player told The Athletic. “But I think MacKinnon’s better right now.” The three may well end up in …

Sport

How the PWHL’s youngest player is adjusting to a new league — and a new language

OTTAWA — Nearly 6,000 miles away from her hometown in Hokkaido, Japan, Akane Shiga was being asked about the weather. Mike Hirshfeld, general manager of Ottawa’s PWHL team, was sitting with Shiga and coach Carla MacLeod in the team office at TD Place Arena, speaking to the 22-year-old forward and Japanese national team member through …

Sport

How could Taylor Swift get to the Super Bowl from her Eras Tour? Here are possible routes

Taylor Swift has already logged plenty of miles traveling the world on her record-breaking Eras Tour, and she could soon add over 5,500 more on a one-way trip. That’s assuming the pop star makes the journey from the stage in Tokyo, where she’ll be performing on Feb. 10, to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to …

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Thompson: LeBron James vs. Stephen Curry is still the NBA’s best theater

SAN FRANCISCO — The frustration seethed in Stephen Curry. Until it boiled to the surface. Until he let out a roar. Until he ripped his jersey from the collar to the 30. He’d scored 46 points on 35 shots, getting the benefit of just three free throws in his 43 minutes. He hit the game-tying …

Sport

Thompson: Brock Purdy managed up, managed down and saved the 49ers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The most important run of the night may not have been by Christian McCaffrey. Or Deebo Samuel. Or even by George Kittle on one of his epic catch-and-runs. Nope. It was probably by the game manager. The most momentum-seizing, back-breaking, Lions-taming runs, a case could be made, were by Brock Purdy, …

Sport

Jimy Williams, A.L. Manager of the Year in Boston in ’99, Dies at 80

Jimy Williams, the 1999 American League Manager of the Year for Boston who won 910 games over a dozen seasons that included stints with Toronto and Houston, died on Friday in Tarpon Springs, Fla. He was 80. The Red Sox said his death, in a hospital, came after a brief, unspecified illness. He lived in …

Sport

Adam Johnson: Coroner suspends investigation into death of former NHL player

A senior coroner probing the death of former NHL and Nottingham Panthers player Adam Johnson has suspended her investigation as police enquiries continue. Johnson, 29, died after being cut in the neck by a skate during a Challenge Cup match against the Sheffield Steelers on October 28, with the Nottingham Panthers labelling it as a …