Why Stephen A. Smith Believes Kyrie Irving Is ‘A Clone of Kobe Bryant’

Why Stephen A. Smith Believes Kyrie Irving Is ‘A Clone of Kobe Bryant’

Kyrie Irving looks like a smart, smart man right now. Since requesting a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer, his former team has been reeling, forced to trade away half the assets they received to get the 25-year-old out of Cleveland at the NBA trade deadline. Meanwhile, he has taken Boston by storm, leading the Celtics to the best record in the Eastern Conference. He’s drawn the admiration of plenty for having the foresight to get out of LeBron James’ shadow and pave his own way, and it’s for that reason Stephen A. Smith thinks he is like a “clone of Kobe Bryant.” The First Take co-host discussed Irving’s genius, and he... NESN.com

Malcolm Butler Releases Statement On Benching, Denies ‘Ridiculous’ Reports

Malcolm Butler Releases Statement On Benching, Denies ‘Ridiculous’ Reports

by Zack Cox on Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 4:33PM 1,312 Malcolm Butler addressed his Super Bowl LII benching Tuesday in a statement posted to his Twitter and Instagram pages. The New England Patriots cornerback, who played just one special teams snap in his team’s 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, denied reports that he missed curfew or violated team rules in the week leading up to Super Bowl Sunday. “During my four-year career wi... NESN.com

Celtics Notes: Boston Needs To Find Scoring Help For Kyrie Irving

Celtics Notes: Boston Needs To Find Scoring Help For Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving can’t do it all by himself. The Boston Celtics have been struggling since getting back from London, dropping their fourth consecutive game in a 108-107 loss to the Lonzo Ball-less Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. Irving did everything he could at Staples Center, scoring 33 points on 13-for-24 shooting while recording a team-high plus-16. The star point guard only spent 9:36 seconds on the bench, but the Celtics were outscored by 17 points in that time period, leading to the one-point loss. Boston’s offensive limitations have been on full display during its recent four-game losing streak. Irving has tallied 27, 40 a... NESN.com

Celtics Notes: Kyrie Irving Sorely Missed; Joel Embiid Dominates Boston Big Men

Celtics Notes: Kyrie Irving Sorely Missed; Joel Embiid Dominates Boston Big Men

Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving’s candidacy for NBA MVP was bolstered during Thursday night’s ugly offensive performance by the C’s in an 89-80 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. Without Irving, who sat out because of a shoulder injury, the C’s shot just 41.1 percent from the floor, hit only seven of 29 3-point shots, generated 13 points in the second quarter and scored a season-low 53 points through three quarters. In addition to poor shooting, the C’s also were sloppy with the basketball. They committed 19 turnovers and had just 13 assists on 30 made shots. Irving is the team’s leading scorer with 23.6 points per game,... NESN.com

How Tom Brady, Bill Belichick Helped Jimmy Garoppolo Win 49ers Debut

How Tom Brady, Bill Belichick Helped Jimmy Garoppolo Win 49ers Debut

Jimmy Garoppolo is out of Tom Brady’s shadow now. He can build his own legacy on his own team without worrying about filling TB12’s shoes. But you’d best believe he learned everything he could from the best quarterback-head coach combo in the NFL. Garoppolo came up big in his San Francisco 49ers debut Sunday, leading a 14-play, 86-yard drive late in the fourth quarter to set up Robbie Gould’s game-winning field goal with four seconds remaining. Jimmy G’s stats weren’t exactly eye-popping, but his poise on that final drive reminded some of Brady’s late-game heroics under Bill Belichick on the New England Patriots. Coincidence? Not quite. ... NESN.com

Go #BIG6 and go home: Marquez celebrates in Cervera!

With fireworks, confetti and drummers leading the way, the parade parted the crowds through the streets on its way to the Main Stage – with Marquez on the top deck celebrating with team members, family and his fan club. Once there, the number 93 talked to the crowd about the year, the Championship and the incredible support he’s had once again from the Marquez-mad town. Source link

Ancelotti out: what next for Bayern?

Ancelotti out: what next for Bayern?

Coach Carlo Ancelotti has been sacked by Bayern München, just five months after leading them to a fifth consecutive Bundesliga title.Less than 24 hours after the Bavarian side's 3-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain, the three-time UEFA Champions League-winning coach has been relieved of his duties. Assistant Willy Sagnol has been appointed to succeed him on a temporary basis. "The performance of our team since the start of the season has not met the expectations we put on them," CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. "The game in Paris clearly showed that we had to draw conclusions"[Sporting director] Hasan Salihamidžić and I gave Carlo