Month: March 2022

Monday night is going to be full of big returns from back injuries that could play a major role in the NBA playoffs in both conferences.

The Golden State Warriors will play their first game of the season with Draymond Green and Klay Thompson healthy at the same time, as Green makes his return after nearly two months on the shelf with a back injury against the Wizards at the Chase Center in San Francisco. On Sunday night, word emerged from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Bucks center Brook Lopez would likewise be making his return from a back injury, one that has kept him out of every game since opening night and required surgery, as the Bucks face the Jazz in Utah.

The team made the news official shortly after.

While not quite the name Draymond is, Lopez’s importance to the Bucks has been clear this season as they’ve had to navigate life without him, seeing their defensive rating dip considerably in his absence. Lopez’s presence in the paint unlocks so much of what they want to do in terms of being aggressive on the perimeter, knowing if they get beaten off the dribble Lopez is always there as a second line of protection at the rim, and allowing Giannis to be a secondary roamer rather than having to serve as the primary rim protector.

Getting Lopez back now with a month left in the season will hopefully allow him to work his way back into full game speed by the time the playoffs start and the Bucks begin their title defense in earnest against a number of serious contenders in the East.

The 2022 NCAA men’s basketball tournament field of 68 is set, as the full bracket was revealed on Selection Sunday. Shortly after, the full TV schedule for the first round of the tournament was released, with CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV once again splitting duties for the first weekend of action.

Earlier in the week, CBS and Turner announced their commentator teams for the tournament, with the first four teams continuing on into the second weekend for regional games.

Jim Nantz / Bill Raftery / Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson*
Brian Anderson / Jim Jackson // Allie LaForce*
Ian Eagle / Jim Spanarkel // Jamie Erdahl*
Kevin Harlan / Dan Bonner / Reggie Miller // Dana Jacobson*
Lisa Byington / Steve Smith / Avery Johnson // Lauren Shehadi
Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas // Andy Katz
Spero Dedes / Deb Antonelli // AJ Ross
Brad Nessler / Brendan Haywood // Evan Washburn

Here is the full schedule of tip times, TV networks, and broadcast teams for next week’s action (all times Eastern):

Thursday, March 17

12:15 p.m. (CBS): 11. Michigan vs. 6. Colorado State (Eagle/Spanarkel/Erdahl)
12:45 p.m. (truTV): 13. South Dakota State vs. 4. Providence (Nessler/Haywood/Washburn)
1:45 p.m. (TNT): 9. Memphis vs. 8. Boise State(Catalon/Lappas/Katz)
2:00 p.m. (TBS): 16. Norfolk State vs. 1. Baylor (Anderson/Jackson/LaForce)
2:45 p.m. (CBS): 14. Longwood vs. 3. Tennessee (Eagle/Spanarkel/Erdahl)
3:10 p.m. (truTV): 12. Richmond vs. 5. Iowa (Nessler/Haywood/Washburn)
4:15 p.m. (TNT): 16. Georgia State vs. 1. Gonzaga (Catalon/Lappas/Katz)
4:30 p.m. (TBS): 9. Marquette vs. 8. UNC (Anderson/Jackson/LaForce)
6:50 p.m. (TNT): 12. New Mexico State vs. 5 UConn (Eagle/Spanarkel/Erdahl)
7:10 p.m. (CBS): 15. Saint Peter’s vs. 2. Kentucky (Nessler/Haywood/Washburn)
7:20 p.m. (TBS): 12. Wyoming/Indiana vs. 5. Saint Mary’s (Catalon/Lappas/Katz)
7:27 p.m. (truTV): 9. Creighton vs. 8. San Diego State (Anderson/Jackson/LaForce)
9:20 p.m. (TNT): 13. Vermont vs. 4. Arkansas (Eagle/Spanarkel/Erdahl)
9:40 p.m. (CBS): 10. San Francisco vs. 7. Murray State (Nessler/Haywood/Washburn)
9:50 p.m. (TBS): 13. Akron vs. 4. UCLS (Catalon/Lappas/Katz)
9:57 p.m. (truTV): 16. Texas Southern/Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. 1. Kansas (Anderson/Jackson/LaForce)

Friday, March 18

12:15 p.m. (CBS): 10. Loyola-Chicago vs. 7. Ohio State (Harlan/Miller/Bonner/Jacobson)
12:45 p.m. (truTV): 15. Jacksonville State vs. 2. Auburn (Nantz/Raftery/Hill/Wolfson)
1:45 p.m. (TNT): 14. Montana State vs. 3. Texas Tech (Byington/Smith/Johnson/Shehadi)
2:00 p.m. (TBS): 14. Yale vs. 3. Purdue (Dedes/Antonelli/Ross)
2:45 p.m. (CBS): 15. Delaware vs. 2. Villanova (Harlan/Miller/Bonner/Jacobson)
3:10 p.m. (truTV): 10. Miami (FL) vs. 7. USC (Nantz/Raftery/Hill/Wolfson)
4:15 p.m. (TNT): 11. Rutgers/Notre Dame vs. 6. Alabama (Byington/Smith/Johnson/Shehadi)
4:30 p.m. (TBS): 11. Virginia Tech vs. 6. Texas (Dedes/Antonelli/Ross)
6:50 p.m. (TNT): 13. Chattanooga vs. 4. Illinois (Harlan/Miller/Bonner/Jacobson)
7:10 p.m. (CBS): 15. Cal State Fullerton vs. 2. Duke (Nantz/Raftery/Hill/Wolfson)
7:20 p.m. (TBS): 11. Iowa State vs. 6. LSU (Byington/Smith/Johnson/Shehadi)
7:27 p.m. (truTV): 16. Wright State/Bryant vs. 1. Arizona (Dedes/Antonelli/Ross)
9:20 p.m. (TNT): 12. UAB vs. 5. Houston (Harlan/Miller/Bonner/Jacobson)
9:40 p.m. (CBS): 10. Davidson vs. 7. Michigan State (Nantz/Raftery/Hill/Wolfson)
9:50 p.m. (TBS): 14. Colgate vs. 3. Wisconsin(Byington/Smith/Johnson/Shehadi)
9:57 p.m. (truTV): 9. TCU vs. 8. Seton Hall(Dedes/Antonelli/Ross)

For the first time, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament field expands to 68 teams, matching the men’s tournament as the NCAA begins a long overdue to bridge some of the gap between the two tournaments in terms of equity. With the expanded field, there were 36 at-large bids to be handed out on Sunday night, as the women’s field moved from Selection Monday to Selection Sunday for the first time.

Like on the men’s side, this year’s tournament feels as open as ever, with the top teams all proving to be beatable this season and plenty of teams believing they could be the ones to make a deep run come tournament time. The four No. 1 seeds this year are South Carolina, NC State, Stanford, and Louisville, with some extremely enticing potential Elite Eight matchups like South Carolina-Iowa and NC State-UConn.

Here’s the complete bracket (printable version here), with the full TV schedule, tip times, and announce teams still to come.

First 4

16. Howard vs. 16. Incarnate Word
11. Dayton vs. 11. DePaul
16. Longwood vs. 16. Mount St. Mary’s
11. Missouri State vs. 11. Florida State

Greensboro Region

1. South Carolina vs. 16. Howard or Incarnate Word
8. Miami (FL) vs. 9. South Florida

5. UNC vs. 12. Stephen F. Austin
4. Arizona vs. 13. UNLV

6. Georgia vs. 11. Dayton or DePaul
3. Iowa State vs. 14. UT Arlington

7. Colorado vs. 10. Creighton
2. Iowa vs. 15. Illinois State

Bridgeport Region

1. NC State vs. 16. Longwood or Mount St. Mary’s
8. Washington State vs. 9. Kansas State

5. Notre Dame vs. 12. UMass
4. Oklahoma vs. 13. IUPUI

6. Kentucky vs. 11. Princeton
3. Indiana vs. 14. Charlotte

7. UCF vs. 10. Florida
2. UConn vs. 15. Mercer

Spokane Region

1. Stanford vs. 16. Montana State
8. Kansas vs. 9. Georgia Tech

5. Virginia Tech vs. 12. FGCU
4. Maryland vs. 13. Delaware

6. Ohio State vs. 11. Missouri State or Florida State
3. LSU vs. 14. Jackson State

7. Utah vs. 10. Arkansas
2. Texas vs. 15. Fairfield

Wichita Region

1. Louisville vs. 16. Albany
8. Nebraska vs. 9. Gonzaga

5. Oregon vs. 12. Belmont
4. Tennessee vs. 13. Buffalo

6. BYU vs. 11. Villanova
3. Michigan vs. 14. American

7. Ole Miss vs. 10. South Dakota
2. Baylor vs. 15. Hawai’i

Tom Brady spent 40 days in retirement before he decided the whole thing wasn’t for him. Brady announced on Sunday evening that he has changed his mind on ending his NFL career, and that when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take the field this fall, he’ll be their starting quarterback, marking his 23rd season in the league.

No one is more bummed out about this, I presume, than the person who dropped more than $500,000 on the football from Brady’s “final” touchdown pass. Brady threw a pass to Mike Evans during the Bucs’ playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, and according to the auction site Lelands, the ball was up for sale until Saturday night at 10 p.m.

Per Lelands, the ball went for $518,628, which is a lot of money for what is now just a pretty run-of-the-mill game-used football. Brady threw it to Evans late in the fourth quarter of the Rams game, and the Pro Bowl receiver celebrated by throwing it into the crowd.

Now, it is entirely possible that this remains the final touchdown pass that Brady ever throws — maybe he gets hurt or somehow losing his starting job in training camp — but in all likelihood, this is merely a nice addition to that person’s collection of sports memorabilia for a massive price.

The Grizzlies made the trip over to Oklahoma City on Sunday night to face the Thunder, and were scheduled to wear their road blues with the Thunder in their home white uniforms.

Nowadays in the NBA, with each team having at least four uniforms if not more, the home-road designations aren’t set in stone so sometimes the road team will end up in white. The Grizzlies apparently thought that was going to be the case on Sunday, and so when the two teams stepped out on the court after intros and began doing pregame handshakes before tipoff they were both wearing white to the dismay of the officials and the equipment managers, creating a pretty hilarious scene on the court.

This wasn’t an issue of two teams in similar shades, but outright the exact same colors and that was going to be a disaster for the officials and TV crews, much less the players trying to pick out passes. As the two equipment managers got together and checked who was supposed to be in what, they realized Memphis had made the mistake and they all had to go back to the locker room and put on the appropriate blue uniforms so the game could go on. Luckily Memphis brought their blues with them as well and could make the change fairly quickly, but it will go down as one of the funniest delays of the season.

Tom Brady announced his retirement from the NFL earlier this year. After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost in the NFC Divisional Round to the Los Angeles Rams, Brady took a few weeks to contemplate his future and ultimately decided that he wanted to end his football playing career and spend more time with his family.

But as it turns out, Brady still has the itch to play, and on Sunday afternoon, the future Hall of Fame inductee announced on his Twitter account that he’s changed his mind on retirement and will return for his 23rd season this fall.

“That door is never closed,” Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said at the NFL Scouting Combine about Brady potentially returning to the team despite his original announcement. “Whenever Tom wants to come back, he’s back. … If Tom wants to come back, we’ll have plenty of money for him.”

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said that Brady’s potential return is why the team didn’t try to find a way to replace him or make an offer to bring Deshaun Watson in via a trade, and that they made sure everything was in order in the event he tried to come back.

Brady will turn 45 in August. He led the NFL last season with 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdowns.

March Madness has arrived in full force, with conference tournaments providing plenty of drama, upsets, and punched tickets for the 2022 NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Selection Sunday put a bow on conference tournament week as the field of 68 was officially announced and matchups were set for the first round games on Thursday and Friday, as well as the First Four games in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In a year in which there isn’t a clear dominant team, the bracket feels as open as ever for a team to get hot at the right time and make a run at a Final Four. Whether that feeling of openness leads to chaos full of bracket-busting upsets or if chalk will reign supreme remains to be seen, but with matchups now locked in, fans can start planning out their path to the second weekend and beyond. Earning the four top seeds this year are Gonzaga, …

Here is the complete bracket (printable version here), with the full first round TV schedule with tip times and commentators still to come.

First 4

16. Wright State vs. 16. Bryant
11. Rutgers vs. 11. Notre Dame
16. Texas Southern vs. 16. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
12. Wyoming vs. 12. Indiana

WEST

1. Gonzaga vs. 16. Georgia State
8. Boise State vs. 9. Memphis

5. UConn vs. 12. New Mexico State
4. Arkansas vs. 13. Vermont

6. Alabama vs. 11. Rutgers or Notre Dame
3. Texas Tech vs. 14. Montana State

7. Michigan State vs. 10. Davidson
2. Duke vs. 15. Cal State Fullerton

SOUTH

1. Arizona vs. 16. Wright State or Bryant
8. Seton Hall vs. 9. TCU

5. Houston vs. 12. UAB
4. Illinois vs. 13. Chattanooga

6. Colorado State vs. 11. Michigan
3. Tennessee vs. 14. Longwood

7. Ohio State vs. 10. Loyola-Chicago
2. Villanova vs. 15. Delaware

MIDWEST

1. Kansas vs. 16. Texas Southern or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
8. San Diego State vs. 9. Creighton

5. Iowa vs. 12. Richmond
4. Providence vs. 13. South Dakota State

6. LSU vs. 11. Iowa State
3. Wisconsin vs. 14. Colgate

7. USC vs. 10. Miami (FL)
2. Auburn vs. 15. Jacksonville State

EAST

1. Baylor vs. 16. Norfolk State
8. UNC vs. 9. Marquette

5. Saint Mary’s vs. 12. Wyoming vs. Indiana
4. UCLA vs. 13. Akron

6. Texas vs. 11. Virginia Tech
3. Purdue vs. 14. Yale

7. Murray State vs. 10. San Francisco
2. Kentucky vs. 15. Saint Peter’s

Kanye West had a lot to get off his chest today. So far, he’s used Instagram to once again air out his grievances against Pete Davidson, who is now dating his ex-wife Kim Kardashian. He also expressed his frustration with her apparent refusal to let him see his oldest daughter North. Another topic of conversation on Kanye’s Instagram was comedian D.L. Hughley’s recent comments about West. In an interview with VladTV, Hughley commented on West’s behavior towards Kardashian and said the rapper is stalking her.

“We gone stop letting practicing drug addicts be used by leftist to Willie Lynch our Future,” Kanye said in a post that also featured a clip of a past stand-up routine by Hughley. “Black people with our own opinion are not allowed to speak in public. I am the glitch. DL God does not like you. You have no favor. Your family hates you. I would hate to be related to somebody who used to be famous. Now you just known as a broke pawn. at least Oprah got billions ‘allegedly.’”

Kanye continued, “Come on leftist. Y’all gotta do better than this. DL Ye Bring the real smoke baby. Show your real face Charlemagne just don’t hit the same do he. Who y’all gone get now God is with us and you send DL to be against us. You’ve lost. No brilliant Hebrew’s will bow to y’all no more Only dumb ass drug addict House n****s.”

“Don’t play me and don’t play with God Anybody related to DL call Chris McLean at adidas for yeezys,” Kanye wrote. “They not free though. We running a business over here. He just getting ran. You see Skete missing work. Anybody else wanna play with me. Please please please for the love of God come and get me Let’s see how it turns out.”

You can view screenshots of the now-deleted posts above.

William Hurt, star of stage and screen who won an Oscar in his mid-30s, has died, according to Deadline. “It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday,” his son Will posted in a statement. “He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time.”

A Juilliard graduate, Hurt began his career on the stage, winning an Obie Award for one of his first performances. He crossed over to movies, making his screen debut in 1980’s Altered States as an obsessive psychopathologist whose experiments with isolation tanks and psychoactive drugs takes surprising turns.

He became a star thanks to two films with writer-director Lawrence Kasdan: Body Heat, a sweaty, sexy neo-noir that paired him with Kathleen Turner (in her debut), and the Boomer classic The Big Chill. By 1985 he had an Academy Award for Kiss of the Spider Woman, playing a gay man imprisoned by Brazil’s military dictatorship. Other nominations soon followed, for the drama Children of a Lesser God and the very funny, very smart Broadcast News. In Body Heat and Broadcast News, the emphatically intelligent Hurt proved himself adept at playing dumb himbos, in the former used by someone much slyer than him.

Hurt could be an arresting leading man or a scene-stealing supporting player. Among his many credits were incredible turns in I Love You to Death (paired with Keanu Reeves in what proved an underrated and unexpected comedy duo), Until the End of the World, Smoke, Dark City, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Mr. Brooks, Into the Wild, and more. He also did occasional TV work, playing Duke Leto Atreides in the 2000 Sci Fi Channel take on Dune, Damages, Too Big to Fail, and an episode of Mythic Quest.

Like many in Hollywood, Hurt wound up working for the MCU. He was an early adopter, appearing in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk as General Thaddeus Rose, a role he repeated in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and, one of his last films, Black Widow.

Hurt received his last Oscar nomination for his one-scene turn in David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence. He needs only a few minutes to work his magic, as you can see below. RIP to a king.

(Via Deadline)

There was an added buzz in the air on Sunday afternoon in Boston as the Celtics hosted the Mavericks for a Sunday Showcase game on ABC, as Celtics royalty was in the building for the jersey retirement ceremony for Kevin Garnett.

Garnett, Paul Pierce, and even Ray Allen were courtside at the TD Garden for the occasion, with Garnett seated on the baseline underneath the Celtics basket. The game started with a flurry of points from Jayson Tatum but soon settled into some sloppy offense (or, optimistically, good defensive basketball) from both teams, with the first quarter finishing at 20-18 in favor of the Celtics.

In the second quarter, the Celtics were able to seize control thanks to Jaylen Brown, who decided he would get the Celtics out of their funk by sheer force of will, starting with this nasty crossover into a thunderous driving dunk.

That was just a warmup from Brown, who shortly after found himself once again with an open lane to the basket and only Maxi Kleber in his way. That proved to be bad news for Kleber, who found himself on the wrong end of a Jaylen Brown poster, to the delight of KG.

It is as vicious a poster dunk as you’ll see, as Brown goes body-to-body on Kleber for what Marv Albert would’ve undoubtedly referred to as “a facial.” Brown celebrated with a quick dap from a fired up Kevin Garnett under the hoop and almost had a third highlight on the next possession when he nearly dropped his defender on a stepback but airballed the three. Still, Boston was able to take a 9-point lead into the halftime break thanks to Brown’s second quarter aggression as the Celtics took a bit of control.