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As season winds down, time to reflect on Spurs’ sensational rookie

By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press Victor Wembanyama figured he might be getting into trouble. It was a rare moment of celebration for the San Antonio Spurs in this long season, a win over the New York Knicks last month that had another sold-out crowd stirred into a frenzy. He had just intercepted the game’s final pass as time expired. He high-fived a courtside fan, then tossed the ball to someone about 10 rows deep in the stands. Everyone loved it, except the NBA, which fined him $25,000 two days later. Money well spent, he figured. “I remember players being fined for ...

Sports world shouldn’t include ‘evil’

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror It’s possible that a man who lived over 2,500 years ago is responsible for initiating our society’s penchant for identifying heroes and villains in sports. The man was named Pheidippides, and he is regarded as the inspiration for the marathon. Pheidippides was a “day-long runner” in the Greek military who is credited with traversing a distance of nearly 25 miles from Marathon to Athens in 490 B.C. to announce a Greek victory over the invading Persians. The course for the marathon in the 1896 Athens Olympics replicated Pheidippides’ ...

Top 10 players to watch at next weekend’s Masters

By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press The 10 leading players for the Masters start with Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player and a past champion at Augusta National. It includes a pair of long shots that have eight green jackets between them. One is Tiger Woods, the five-time champion. He has played only one tournament and 24 holes this year. The other is Phil Mickelson. A major champion in his 50s, he was a runner-up last year at the Masters. Here is a capsule look at 10 key players for the Masters, to be played April 11-14 (listed in predicted order of ...

Steelers’ QB housecleaning justified

Talk about a spring housecleaning. Steeler GM Omar Kahn completely gutted his team’s quarterback room faster than Bob Vila taking down a century-old Victorian on an episode of This Old House. Kahn didn’t just knock out a few walls. He bulldozed the entire building and demolished the structure’s foundation. And for a team that hasn’t reached a conference title game since 2016, it is a wake-up call the organization desperately needs. I can’t ever recall any NFL team swapping out an entire position group, let alone its most recognizable one. The acquisition of Russell ...

What’s in a naming right? Plenty

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror In my first job as a newspaper reporter, I submitted my copy to an editor who spent a fair amount of his free time walking through local cemeteries. On occasion, he would enter the newsroom soon after completing one of his treks and, beaming like an explorer who had chanced upon a fascinating discovery, eagerly share interesting facts or bits of trivia which he gleaned from the tombstones and memorials that he had observed. His experiences were a reminder that cemeteries also function as repositories of inspirational stories, notable ...

Packers, Commanders get good grades in NFL free agency

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press NFL teams have spent hundreds of millions of dollars this week to add new players, re-sign their own and try to improve their chances of winning. From Kirk Cousins and Saquon Barkley changing teams soon after the league’s tampering window opened to Chris Jones and Mike Evans staying put before hitting the open market, it’s been a wild spending spree. The grades are in even though signings will continue on through the weekend and into next week and beyond: ARIZONA CARDINALS: C+ Focused on defense, adding defensive tackle Justin Jones ...