Yahoo Sports
Why Jamie Benn could be the NHL's most interesting podcast guest
Mike McKenna has had plenty of interesting guests on his podcast, but catching Jamie Benn for a candid conversation might top all of them.
Mike McKenna has had plenty of interesting guests on his podcast, but catching Jamie Benn for a candid conversation might top all of them.
The league will undergo a two-day playoffs, with the Isobel Cup awarded on March 27.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Newfoundland and Labrador skip Greg Smith was open to anything with his rink down 7-1 to Nova Scotia at the Brier.
Though two players were forced out of the game due to potential exposure, the NBA said nobody at the All-Star Game tested positive for COVID-19.
Maya Brady, playing for softball powerhouse UCLA, was the nation's freshman of the year in 2020.
The record streak came to an end on Monday.
A Romanian soccer referee was suspended for the season after making “inappropriate” comments about a Black coach at a Champions League game.
Washington Capitals forward Tim Wilson was justifiably suspended seven games for a malicious, and partly disguised, hit on Brandon Carlo.
In the NFL, you either have a franchise QB or you don't. Dallas does, yet Jerry Jones doesn't seem motivated to keep him around long-term.
Leonard won a championship with Popovich before forcing a trade after seven seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.
ALMATY, Kazakhstan — Mikael Kingsbury didn't let an injury early this season stop him from regaining his dominant form for the most important event of the moguls campaign.After missing the first three World Cups of the season because of a back injury, Kingsbury captured gold on Monday at the world championships.The 28-year-old from Deux-Montagnes, Que., who fractured his T4, T5 vertebrae during a training run late last year, claimed his third career world crown in the freestyle ski discipline."Because of my injury, I missed three races. I won both races in Deer Valley (Utah) on my return (last month), but I'm running out of time for the (season title). For sure it’s not fun," Kingsbury said. "But in 2021, I'm the world champion. That's why it's special to me. I’m coming out with the title that everyone wanted.”The reigning Olympic champion beat out Benjamin Cavet of France and Pavel Kolmakov of Kazakhstan, who took silver and bronze, respectively.“Today, I was the fastest in the super final, I got the best points for the technical elements and I did the most difficult jumps," Kingsbury said. “To do it at the world championships, to win by five points, it's pretty huge in my sport. Seriously, it's a perfect day."Kingsbury will compete in dual moguls Tuesday. He's won a world title in that event twice in his career, making him a five-time world champion overall."This title of world champion is as big for me as an Olympic gold medal," Kingsbury said. “To have succeeded for the fifth time in your career, it's incredible."Kingsbury feels good about his chances for double gold.“This victory gives me confidence," he said.Laurent Dumais of Quebec City was sixth on Monday, Brenden Kelly of Pemberton, B.C., was 17th, Kerrian Chunlaud of Ste-Foy, Que., was 22nd and Gabriel Dufresne of Repentigny, Que., was 33rd.In the women's event, Perrine Laffont of France won gold.Montreal sisters Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe were 12th and 16th, respectively. Sofiane Gagnon of Whistler, B.C., was 19th.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2021. The Canadian Press
The Elam Ending returned to the NBA All-Star Game with Damian Lillard's winning 3-pointer. We caught up with Nick Elam on the future of the gimmick.
PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit that challenged “race-norming” in dementia tests for retired NFL players, a practice that some say makes it harder for Black athletes to show injury and qualify for awards. A hearing had been set for Thursday. The judge instead ordered the NFL and the lead lawyer in the overall $1 billion settlement to resolve the issue through mediation. That process would appear to exclude the Black players who sued. “We are deeply concerned that the Court’s proposed solution is to order the very parties who created this discriminatory system to negotiate a fix,” said lawyer Cyril V. Smith, who represents ex-players Kevin Henry and Najeh Davenport. "The class of Black former players whom we represent must have a seat at the table and a transparent process.” The demographic factors that doctors consider during testing for dementia often include race. If so, lawyers say, the testing assumes that Black athletes start with worse cognitive functioning than white people — which means it's harder for them to show a deficit. Both Henry and Davenport were denied awards but would have qualified had they been white, according to their lawsuit. Smith hoped to learn the scope of the problem through discovery as the lawsuit progressed, but the dismissal by Senior U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody in Pennsylvania means he may never know how many Black players lost out on payments because of the practice. He wants race-norming banned in NFL testing going forward, and cases reviewed if it was used in the past. An NFL spokesperson did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The players' lead lawyer, Christopher Seeger, said the practice is not mandated by the settlement but is left the discretion of the testing physicians. “We have also opposed appeals filed by the NFL, supporting former players and physicians who found the application of such adjustments were inappropriate,” Seeger said in a statement. Brody has managed the litigation since 2011, when the first players sued alleging the NFL had long hidden what it knew about the link between concussions and brain injuries. The judge also steered secret negotiations then that led to the surprise settlement of the case — long before discovery or trial — in 2013. The settlement fund has so far paid more than $765 million to retired players for neurocognitive problems linked to NFL concussions, including about $335 million for dementia. Payments are expected to top $1 billion long before the 65-year settlement plan ends. The dementia claims have proven especially contentious. Many of them have been denied, often after challenges from the NFL. League spokesman Brian McCarthy called the lawsuit “entirely misguided" when it was filed last year. “The settlement program ... was the result of arm’s-length, comprehensive negotiations between the NFL and Class Counsel, was approved by the federal courts after a searching review of its fairness, and always contemplated the use of recognized statistical techniques to account for demographic differences such as age, education and race,” he said at the time in a statement. Seeger said he has seen no evidence of racial bias in the settlement program. Still, he said Monday, he is sorry it “opened a painful wound” for some. Henry, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1993-2000, said his claim was denied although he suffers from headaches, depression and memory loss that leave him unable to hold a job. Davenport, who played for the Steelers, Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts from 2002-2008, said he suffered more than 10 concussions, including one that broke his eye socket and left him unconscious. He was approved for an award until the NFL appealed, asking that his test results be recalculated using racial norms, Smith said. By that measurement, his claim would fail. ___ Follow Maryclaire Dale on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Maryclairedale Maryclaire Dale, The Associated Press
TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors will have women in every on-air role on a televised game later this month. The NBA team made the announcement on International Women's Day. Meghan McPeak will have the play-by-play and national women's team star Kia Nurse will handle the analysis for a March 24 game against the Denver Nuggets on TSN. TSN host and reporter Kayla Grey will handle sideline duties, while Kate Beirness and Amy Audibert will host and provide analysis. The broadcasters also will participate in virtual events to share their experiences, as well as a virtual panel with students from Ryerson University's sport business programs. Sportsnet employed an all-female broadcast crew last March for an NHL game between the Calgary Flames and Vegas Golden Knights. “We wanted to highlight the contributions that women make individually — across so many broadcasts — by bringing them all together,” John Wiggins, Raptors vice-president of organizational diversity and inclusion, said in a statement. “Yes, we’re making a point. We hope this leads to more recognition of the many roles women play in pro sports. “And we especially hope that one of the takeaways from this is for girls at home who see Meghan or Amy or Kayla, and think — hey, I could do that. There’s a place for me in sports.” Meanwhile, the Raptors also announced a maximum of 3,500 fans will be allowed to attend home games at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., starting March 19. The team started the year allowing a limited number of fans into the arena before the facility went fan-free in January because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2021. The Canadian Press
Comprised of shirts, leggings and a spacious gym bag, the capsule also includes a lavender colorway of NBA star Stephen Curry's latest sneaker the Curry Flow 8.
Our analysts reveal their favorite draft targets from the five NL Central teams.
Virginia moved past Florida State over the weekend to win the ACC regular season title. But who should you trust in the conference tournament?
MONTREAL — Former CF Montreal assistant coach Wilfried Nancy has been promoted to head coach. The MLS team made the announcement Monday. The 43-year-old Nancy has been an assistant coach with the first team since 2016. Nancy takes over for Thierry Henry, who resigned last month, citing family reasons. “I am very happy and proud to take on this new challenge,” Nancy said in a statement. “It’s even more special, since it’s with the club I’ve known since I came to Montreal." A native of France, Nancy joined CF Montreal to help coach its academy program when it debuted in 2011. Assistant coaches Kwame Ampadu and Laurent Ciman, goalkeeper coach Remy Vercoutre and fitness coach Jules Gueguen will complete Nancy’s staff. “After Thierry left, we decided to trust him and give him the opportunity to continue the work we started last season, with the same vision," said Montreal sporting director Olivier Renard. "It is also part of the club’s philosophy to consider and promote our own, as we did in the past for Jules Gueguen and Maxime Chalier (video analyst).” This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2021. The Canadian Press
A familiar program is back in the Big East tournament, and has been the hottest team in the league.
The NBA's mini-bubble in Atlanta for the All-Star Game apparently worked. No players, coaches or game officials tested positive for COVID-19 while in Atlanta, the NBA said Monday after the final tests were processed and results were returned to the league and the teams involved. That includes Philadelphia's Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, a pair of All-Stars who had to miss the game and left Atlanta early after being flagged through contact tracing. A barber both saw before going to Atlanta tested positive, and that meant Embiid and Simmons were potentially exposed to the virus. By league policy this season they couldn't play Sunday night. “All players, coaches, and game officials were tested for COVID three times after arriving in Atlanta, including a final test immediately prior to last night’s All-Star Game," the league said in a statement Monday. “Each of those tests returned a negative result, confirming no one on the court for last night’s events was infected." Embiid and Simmons have continued to return negative tests as well. It's still unclear if they will be eligible to play when Philadelphia opens its second-half schedule in Chicago on Thursday. “So far, so good as far as their testing," 76ers coach Doc Rivers said. “They feel great. They both obviously wanted to play. We’re disappointed. Both of them, their biggest concern would be if they could play the first two games when we get back. So we don’t know the answer to that yet. That’s going to be really important for us. It would be tough to start the second half of the year and not have either one." All players and coaches who were involved in the game arrived in Atlanta on Saturday and left late Sunday following the game. Team LeBron, captained and selected by LeBron James, defeated Kevin Durant's Team Durant 170-150. Some players questioned why the game needed to be played during the pandemic, and those questions persisted Sunday after it was revealed Embiid and Simmons could not participate. But the league and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver insisted throughout the planning for the game that players would be safe in Atlanta. And just as was the case last summer in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, where the NBA held the end of its regular season and then the entire 2020 playoffs in a bubble at Walt Disney World, the plan worked. “Big shoutout to everybody that made this happen, to the players for coming down and participating, playing," Phoenix All-Star Chris Paul, who also serves as president of the National Basketball Players Association, said after the game. “There’s always a lot of back and forth on these different decisions, but once guys get here, I think they’re grateful for it." ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
Collier's late father always said she was No. 1. She leaves Texas with a career-high better than Kevin Durant.