In the hours after the Bucks got eliminated Sunday, it would have been easy enough to look at the reigning NBA champions and think that all they needed was a healthy version of All-Star Khris Middleton in the mix to repeat this season. It’s tempting to think that, and it might even be true. But … Read more
Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning during the regular season you’ll get a fresh, topical column to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers. By the end of this week — as they start a 10-game stretch with seven games against Baltimore — the Yankees will have played a quarter of … Read more
PHOENIX – The first time it felt like the Suns could be in serious trouble was only a little over two minutes into the game. At that point, Dallas held what was an insignificant 5–3 lead when Luka Dončić dribbled the ball up the middle of the floor across halfcourt. After calling Deandre Ayton into … Read more
Early in the fourth quarter of Game 6 between the Sixers and Heat, an exhausted Doc Rivers abandoned attempts to scheme his team back into it and pronounced directly to its competitive spirit. “Fight for this, ”implored Rivers. “Come on guys, fight for this. ” They didn’t. Miami’s lead swelled to 19, then to 20 … Read more
Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning during the regular season you’ll get a fresh, topical story to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers. You see a ball that has been hit squarely, going back, back, back. You hear it. This is a home run. How could it not be? It’s … Read more
BOSTON – What happened? No, really—what just happened? The Bucks beat the Celtics 110–107 on Wednesday, seizing a 3–2 lead in the series. And, seriously—how did that happen? “We beat ourselves,” said Boston guard Marcus Smart. Said coach Ime Udoka, “We know we gave up a golden opportunity tonight.” Added forward Jaylen Brown, “We gave … Read more
While I was enjoying the quiet… One thing that I think a lot of people missed with Disney’s announcement of the Monday night games set for Sept. 19 — as part of the league’s coordinated “trickle” release of the schedule this week, ahead of Thursday’s full release — was that it isn’t actually a doubleheader. … Read more
In late March, in the back of a black sprinter van zipping through the streets of Los Angeles, I asked Joel Embiid about the importance of winning MVP. Embiid was in the final stages of his best NBA season, where he played more games (68), averaged more points (an NBA-best 30.6) and handed out more … Read more
Jeff Roberson / Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Thoroughbred racing is a mess of a sport, but it finds incredible, preposterous ways to redeem itself. It occasionally interrupts raging controversies to drop romantic stories from the heavens. It sometimes shoves aside the rich and famous to elevate winners you could not dream up, much less … Read more
BOSTON – Shohei Ohtani had already hit a ball 109 miles an hour and thrown 81 of his 99 pitches for strikes, so when he strode to the plate in the eighth inning of perhaps the greatest game ever played here, he lined a fastball off the Green Monster so hard he knocked his own … Read more