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Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

Preston Spradlin leaves Morehead State for James Madison

Sports / Basketball /

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Morehead State men’s basketball is now tasked with replacing the head coach who led the Eagles through a golden age of on-court success.

On Friday afternoon, James Madison announced it hired Spradlin to be the next head coach of the Dukes. According to a James Madison news release, Spradlin’s contract with the school (...Read more

Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Kelly Oubre, Nick Nurse fined $50k for 'abusing' officials after controversial Clippers loss

Sports / Basketball /

PHILADELPHIA — Nick Nurse and Kelly Oubre Jr. were both fined $50,000 for their actions toward the officials at the end of Wednesday’s controversial loss to the Los Angles Clippers, the NBA announced Friday afternoon.

Nurse was reprimanded for “aggressively pursuing and verbally abusing” the crew of Kevin Scott, JD DeRosa and Brandon ...Read more

Sarah Stier/Getty Images North America/TNS

Shaq has a message for oft-injured Nets star Ben Simmons: 'Get some … Icy Hot. Man up!'

Sports / Basketball /

NEW YORK — Shaquille O’Neal thinks Ben Simmons has one of the sweetest gigs in the NBA.

On Wednesday’s episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” the four-time champion and NBA Hall of Famer was asked by co-host Adam Lefkoe which players in the league he’d buy a ticket to see.

And O’Neal chose Simmons because of the 27-year-old's ...Read more

Silas Walker/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

Mark Story: One thing Kentucky men's basketball acutely needs: A coaching succession plan

Sports / Basketball /

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The track record of major college basketball and football coaches who have “lost” their team’s fan bases — which seems now the case for John Calipari at Kentucky — going on to recover and produce a positive ending is not great.

Yet it is not impossible.

Former UK football coach Rich Brooks went from a “dead coach...Read more

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Dejounte Murray's career-best 44 points lift Hawks over Celtics again

Sports / Basketball /

ATLANTA — After completing a comeback win over the Celtics on Monday, the Hawks delivered another thrilling game against Boston on Thursday night. Despite being on the second night of back-to-back games and missing several rotation players, the Hawks downed the Celtics, 123-122 in overtime.

Here are five observations:

— 1. The Hawks had 6....Read more

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UNC goes cold in second half as Tar Heels suffer season-ending loss against Alabama

Sports / Basketball /

Throughout the final 10 minutes of an NCAA Tournament West Regional semifinal here on Thursday night, North Carolina and Alabama put on the kind of show befitting of this moment and this stage, and delivered the kind of finish that only this tournament can. It was a finish befitting of the urgency of March; the intensity and the drama of this ...Read more

K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Rematch a rerun as top-seeded UConn knocks San Diego State out of NCAA Tournament

Sports / Basketball /

BOSTON — San Diego State forward Jaedon LeDee was asked Wednesday about getting a rematch of the national championship game against the Connecticut Huskies.

"It could have been anybody," LeDee said. "It could have been UConn. It could have been Kentucky. It could have Boys or Girls Scouts. It doesn't matter."

Actually, it did. It was the ...Read more

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images North America/TNS

UConn pulls away, advances to Elite Eight with 82-52 rout of San Diego State

Sports / Basketball /

BOSTON – Fueled by its backcourt, the UConn men’s basketball program is headed back to the Elite Eight after pulling away for an 82-52 win over 5-seed San Diego State in Boston’s sold-out TD Garden Thursday night.

Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and Stephon Castle led the way in the national championship rematch, combining for 51 points as ...Read more

Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Marcus Hayes: Kelly Oubre Jr.'s Philly moment: It was lyrical, poignant, even poetic. Even if he gets punished for it.

Sports / Basketball /

PHILADELPHIA — Kelly Oubre Jr. became an unintentional legend Wednesday night, expressing the sentiments of 20,000 outraged Sixers fans after two horrible non-calls cemented a loss that should’ve been a win.

He used an emasculating term that defines a female dog and rhymes with “witch,” the word we’ll use hereafter as a substitute. ...Read more

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NC State has had all the answers in postseason play, but what about for Marquette?

Sports / Basketball /

DALLAS — Is this when N.C. State’s comes to the end of the road?

In Dallas? Against Marquette, in the semifinals of the NCAA South Region at American Airlines Center?

More specifically, is this the game the Wolfpack — after winning seven straight games, after winning an ACC championship, after emerging as a national story, after turning ...Read more

Harry How/Getty Images North America/TNS

Underdog Clemson topples Arizona to advance to Elite Eight

Sports / Basketball /

Clemson was sweet.

Now it’s elite.

An unforgettable NCAA Tournament run continued Thursday night for the Tigers as they upset Arizona, 77-72, in a thrilling, back-and-forth Sweet 16 game in Los Angeles. With the win, Clemson advances to only the second Elite Eight in program history and first in 44 years.

The Tigers qualify for their first ...Read more

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Hollywood said 'nobody cared' about women's sports. Luckily, Sue Bird didn't listen.

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — Sue Bird is still not used to being described as a former basketball player.

It's not that the longtime Seattle Storm point guard, who called a wrap on her WNBA career in 2022 after more than two decades in the league, was worried about finding something to fill her time. Instead, she says, "the scariest part" of retiring was ...Read more

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Patrick Reusse: Glen Taylor on collapse of sale for Timberwolves, Lynx: 'It's business'

Sports / Basketball /

MINNEAPOLIS — Glen and Becky Taylor were spending a couple of weeks at their home in Naples, Fla., in mid-February, a quiet place on a narrow, passive river that leads into the Gulf of Mexico.

"We're going to miss five Timberwolves home games, which we don't want to do, but Becky likes it here,'' Glen said, and my immediate thought was, "And ...Read more

Carlos Gonzalez/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS

Taylor says Wolves, Lynx 'no longer for sale'; Rodriguez, Lore claim 'seller's remorse'

Sports / Basketball /

MINNEAPOLIS — In a significant development for the future of the Timberwolves and Lynx, Glen Taylor said he will remain the controlling owner of both franchises after Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez did not close on a $1.5 billion sale of a controlling interest in the franchises by a deadline that expired Wednesday.

But Lore and Rodriguez are ...Read more

Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Warriors' Draymond Green takes ownership for latest ejection on podcast

Sports / Basketball /

In a new podcast episode posted Thursday morning, Draymond Green took ownership of his latest on-court outburst, which earned him an ejection less than four minutes into a game the prior night against the Orlando Magic.

“Just can’t do it,” Green said on his show. “Regardless of what was said — I’m not going to get into what was said...Read more

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Scott Fowler: Alonzo Mourning trade changed Hornets. He would've stayed for 'a lot less money.'

Sports / Basketball /

MIAMI — Alonzo Mourning would have become the greatest player in Charlotte Hornets history — if he had only stuck around.

Mourning played his first three NBA seasons with Charlotte after the Hornets drafted him No. 2 overall in 1992. He quickly turned into an intimidating, 6-foot-10 star for a Charlotte team on the rise. His scowl could ...Read more

Silas Walker/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

There's no question what ruined this Kentucky basketball season. Can John Calipari fix it?

Sports / Basketball /

LEXINGTON, Ky. — There were serious questions about it before a single Kentucky basketball game was played this season. There were legitimate concerns about it soon after the Wildcats hit the court. A few months later, the NCAA Tournament began with trepidation that it might spell doom for one of the most exciting UK teams in memory.

“What ...Read more

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Mike Bianchi: If college athletes become employees, then a bunch of them are going to get laid off

Sports / Basketball /

ORLANDO, Fla. — To all of those “exploited” college athletes and to the many critics of the NCAA who are lauding the recent landmark decision by the Dartmouth basketball team to unionize so they can be considered employees of the university, just remember this:

Be careful what you wish for.

You may think you are fighting for the future ...Read more

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Can Anthony Edwards do for Adidas what Air Jordan did for Nike? Some believe so.

Sports / Basketball /

MINNEAPOLIS — Last week, Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards produced one of the most viral sports moments of the year, a one-handed slam dunk over Utah forward John Collins that was instantly titled the best dunk of the season.

Edwards himself called the dunk — which has since been viewed tens of millions of times online — the best of ...Read more

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Sixers lose on controversial ending to Clippers in James Harden's return to Philly

Sports / Basketball /

PHILADELPHIA — As expected, James Harden was Public Enemy No. 1 during his return to the Wells Fargo Center in a Los Angeles Clippers uniform on Wednesday night. But the man who refused to play for the 76ers this season and his teammates celebrated at the end after a controversial 108-107 victory over the 76ers.

It was controversial because a...Read more