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NBA playoffs have been full of surprises

By Ira Kaufman For the Mirror I love the NBA playoffs. Load management (the recent practice of NBA stars sitting out games for “rest”) and players missing weeks and months for injuries have impacted the quality of the six-month NBA regular season. The top teams rarely face each other with a full complement of players. While a seven-game series does not have the instant excitement of the NCAA March Madness’ single-elimination tournament, I enjoy watching the game-to-game adjustments teams make in order to win with the required four games. The 2022 playoffs have produced ...

In the SEC, football just means more

By Ralph D.Russo The Associated Press DESTIN, Fla. — The Southeastern Conference’s slogan, “It just means more,” could soon refer to the number of football games the league schedules. SEC coaches and athletic directors have been meeting this week at a resort on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Atop the agenda is whether the conference schedule should expand from eight to nine games when the league itself grows from 14 to 16 teams with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma. Whether a decision took place when the spring meetings wrapped up Friday was still to be determined — and ...

New TV deal may give NFL Brady fatigue

By Jim Caltagirone For the Mirror Further proof that sports exist in another realm of reality was revealed in early May when Fox Sports confirmed that Tom Brady will join the network as an analyst when he retires as an NFL quarterback. While the average American is stressing over how to afford the necessities of life, thanks to soaring inflation, Fox executives have determined that their programming budget can withstand a record $375 million payout to Brady over 10 years. Assuming that figure covers two preseason games, 17 regular season games and four postseason games, Brady’s ...

With college football yet to heat up, Saban, Fisher trade insults

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press Why did they wait so long to allow college athletes to make a few bucks on the side? Think of all the wildly entertaining shenanigans we’ve missed out on over the years. Let’s play the feud! Jimbo Fisher is downright livid at former boss Nick Saban for saying the Texas A&M coach bought himself the best recruiting class in the country after a free-for-all broke out in college athletics going by the deceptively boring acronym of NIL — Name, Image and Likeness. During a hastily assembled news conference that checked in at just under 10 ...

‘Chub’ Dillen was Bellwood legend

By Lynn Grove Albert “Chub” Dillen died earlier this year at the age of 85. A service to remember him will be held at the Logan Valley Baptist Church on Saturday, May 28 at 11:00 a.m. For Bellwood-Antis football fans who are up in years, there is a lot to remember. Dillen carried the ball on the very first play against rival Tyrone in 1951 — as a freshman — and earned a letter playing mostly on defense. As a sophomore in 1952, he scored two rushing touchdowns and threw for another in a win over Tyrone. He ended the season with 110 points — 18 touchdowns and two ...

PGA could use a major dose of transparency

By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press Even if Lanto Griffin was thinking only about the next shot, his 32 over the final nine holes of the Wells Fargo Championship made him the last man to qualify for the PGA Championship. Maybe. It’s hard to tell with the PGA of America, which lacks the transparency of the other majors but makes amends by delivering the strongest field every year. When the final field was announced Monday — one of the 156 spots is set aside for the winner of the AT&T Byron Nelson if he’s not already eligible — the PGA Championship was assured of having ...