Life as a sports commissioner is often confusing. Sometimes you act tough and then critics accuse you of being a wimp. Sometimes you tell a little joke and it becomes a conspiracy theory. And then you think you are acting decisively only to be accused of negatively manipulating results and a team’s ability to compete for a title. It’s a complicated job ,and David Stern found that out again Saturday when Metta World Peace returned from a seven-game suspension for the
Vinny Del Negro is under contract for one more season, but it is a team option. And mercurial owner Donald J. Sterling has a checkered history when it comes to making commitments to coaches — and even when it comes to making good on his prior commitments, such as when Bill Fitch had to take him to court to get the remainder of the money that Sterling owed him. In this interview with CineSport’s Noah Coslov, SheridanHoops.com editor-in-chief Chris Sheridan says Del
Two years ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder were the upstarts who gave the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers a serious run for their money in a first-round series that lasted six tough games. The Lakers emerged primarily on the strength of their veteran core and extensive postseason experience, while the Thunder went through growing pains that all young teams have. This time, the Thunder – two years wiser and perhaps still not at their ceiling – are the favorites, while
It was just a couple months ago that the “Save Vinny’s Job” homestand began for the Los Angeles Clippers. They returned home reeling from a seven-point road loss against New Orleans, the worst team in the West, and had lost eight of 12. What has happened since has been the second renaissance of the former laughingstocks of Los Angeles, and Del Negro coached his kiester off in Game 7 of the first round against the Memphis Grizzlies, riding the players
Through the first four games of this season’s playoffs, every series had one team that held at least a 3-1 lead. So not many expected any of the series to go to a full seven games, but two of them did, and they turned out to be quite the battles until the very end. The winners of those games turned out to be both Los Angeles teams, who are moving through to the Western Conference semifinals together for the first time ever. Since
ISTANBUL — There wasn’t a uniformed soul in Istanbul with as much Euroleague pedigree as CSKA Moscow’s Ramunas Siskauskas. With 9.7 seconds left and his team up a single point over Olympiacos, the 34-year-old former MVP strolled to the line, staring at a pair of freebies that would bring the two-time champion two points closer to a third. He missed the first. Then he missed the second. Olympiacos secured the ball off the rim, and Vassilis Spanoulis raced upcourt through a frantically scattered
When Derrick Rose went down with a torn ACL in Game 1, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said, “We have more than enough to win.” No one doubted him. After all, Chicago was 18-9 this season without Rose and his myriad injuries. And the Bulls were playing the Philadelphia 76ers, quite possibly the weakest of all the postseason teams. Then Joakim Noah went down with a severely sprained ankle in Game 3, and Thibodeau again said, “We have more than enough to win.” Again,
