The Game News BARRANQUILLA, THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2020
THE GAME NEWS • THURSDAY • MAY • 7
1
TN/ARD/07/2020-2024 ● RNI No. 1001/1745 ● ISSN 0972 - 5142 ● USA EDITION ● 24 PAGES ● Cop.2.000
NFL plans full season; being “deliberate, reasonable”
Why 2016-17 Warriors are best NBA team of all time”
NBA, PAGE 6
NFL, PAGE 3
Miocic responds to possibility of being stripped of UFC title UFC, PAGE 10
Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan People love to compare Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan. Others will say Kobe Bryant is nowhere near Michael Jordan’s statistics. MJ’s career field-goal percentage is an astounding 49.7 percent while Kobe’s is 45.4 percent
1. Kobe played his first three years on the bench, whereas Jordan started his first season hoisting up 19.8 shots a game. 2. Kobe played alongside Shaquille O’Neal (at the time, the face of the franchise), meaning Shaq was the primary scorer, and also the preliminary post-scorer, which brings me to my third point. 3. Kobe shot a hell of a lot more threes than Jordan ever did. And hitting threes has an obviously lower efficiency than playing a midrange game or a post game.
So as similar as Kobe is to Jordan, already there are red flags that should be going up in your head. The argument doesn’t stand on same grounds. So in order to compare them on a more level playing field, let’s take away Kobe’s 3 years of coming off the bench, and take away Jordan’s Wizards campaign, because we all know he never should have played for the Wizards. Also, let’s take away the threepoint shooting from both players (since they can’t be compared) and
The decision Friday was no surprise because the team tried to trade Fournette over the last month. General manager Dave Caldwell had conversations with Tampa Bay and Miami, baut neither made a worthwhile offer. The deadline for teams to exercise the option is Monday, with make $4.17 million in 2020. Fournette is entering the final year.
NBA, PAGE 2
let’s focus on the post/mid-range where both players excelled. Already you can tell how different their games are. Kobe played a lot as a wing shooter and Jordan played closer to the rim than Kobe did. Jordan took 4500 more shots in the mid-range than Kobe. If using the statistics, Kobe emulated Jordan’s mid-range game throughout his career, it would look like this: Kobe’s FG (48.4%) x Jordan’s total shot attempts (20016) = 9687
The head-to-head stats between Jordan and Bryant are relatively even, though need some context to fully explain what they mean. It’s important to note that neither Jordan nor Bryant met while the other was in their prime. Kobe’s total made (9687) = 720 shots made.
Jordan’s total made (10407) With no definitive word on when, or if, the NBA season will resume and the possibility of the playoffs starting in June and the Finals ending in August, the 2020-21 season could be immensely disrupted. So maybe it’s time for the Association to consider a truly radical revamping of its calendar.
NBA, PAGE 7
Former UFC champ Anderson Silva is on his way to a clean bill of health and intends to fight at least twice more before retirement. Silva (3410 MMA, 17-6 UFC), the former longtime middleweight titleholder, has not seen action since a TKO loss to Jared Cannonier .
UFC, PAGE 10
2
NFL
THE GAME NEWS • THURSDAY • MAY • 7
WHY DIDN’T THE PATRIOTS DRAFT A QB? When the New England Patriots came on the clock with the 23rd pick of the 2020 NFL draft, Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert had been selected at the quarterback position. But Bill Belichick and director of player personnel Nick Caserio had their pick of Jordan Love, Jalen Hurts, Jacob Eason and Jake Fromm— players all ranked by expert draft analysts as potential top-50 selections. Instead of drafting a quarterback, the Patriots traded the pick to the Los Angeles Chargers, opting to move out of the first round. With Tom Brady leaving Foxborough after 20 seasons for Tampa Bay, why did the Patriots not prioritize an heir apparent? Two words—Jarrett Stidham. As soon as it was known Brady was leaving, the Patriots signed veteran Brian Hoyer, the type of backup who won’t threaten Stidham’s spot on the depth chart and has the experience to mentor a young player. Settling on Hoyer instead of spending on Marcus Mariota or trading for Nick Foles should have signaled to the NFL that New England was committed to the second-year passer from Auburn. Every move the Patriots have made has pointed to turning the keys of the franchise over to No. 4. They franchise-tagged top guard Joe Thuney. They drafted two tight ends to make middle-of-the-field passing easier.
LB VON MILLER SAYS HE HAS NOW TESTED NEGATIVE FOR COVID-19
JAGUARS DECLINE 5THYEAR OPTION ON RB LEONARD FOURNETTE The Jacksonville Jaguars have declined to pick up the fifthyear option in running back Leonard Fournette’s rookie contract. The decision Friday was no surprise because the team tried to trade Fournette over the last month. General manager Dave Caldwell had conversations with Tampa Bay and Miami, baut neither made a worthwhile offer. The deadline for teams to exercise the option is Monday.
Some great news has arrived for Von Miller and the Denver Broncos as the calendar flips to May. The perennial Pro Bowl pass rusher revealed weeks ago he had been diagnosed with COVID-19, joining New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen as those in the NFL who’ve shared the unfortunate and terrifying news. With the latter two on the mend and Payton, more specifically, seemingly recovered and in excellent spirits, Miller can now share similar encouraging news. Miller, 31, announced on Thursday he’s officially free of the coronavirus based on his latest round of tests. The Broncos edge rusher says it began with a minor symptom he normally wouldn’t have given an added thought to. But considering the current pandemic and the fact Miller suffers from asthma -- making him that much more vulnerable -- he opted to get tested, and that’s when he was given the bad news. “ I’m feeling better,” said Miller in mid-April as he began his recovery, via 3rd Hour of Today. “It all started with just a simple cough and it got worse.
Fournette is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is due to make $4.17 million in 2020. He will count $8.64 million against Jacksonville’s salary cap. The Jaguars would have taken on $4.47 million in dead money by trading him. The former LSU star is coming off a career year. He topped
1,600 yards from scrimmage in 15 games last season, carrying 265 times for 1,152 yards and catching 76 passes for 522 yards. The 25-year-old Fournette has 2,631 yards rushing, 1,009 yards receiving and 19 touchdowns in three seasons since now-fired personnel chief Tom Coughlin selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. Coughlin made Fournette the centerpiece of his oldschool, run-first philosophy. It worked in 2017, although it became clear that Fournette needed to be a better pro. He landed in the doghouse
for repeatedly being late and skipping mandatory functions. Fournette’s tenure in Jacksonville took a turn in 2018, in which he had the worst season of his football life. He was injured, suspended and on the bench in crunch time. He was fined, criticized and admittedly not in ideal shape late in the year. The Jaguars voided the remaining guarantees in his rookie contract following his one-game suspension for fighting with Buffalo linebacker Shaq Lawson, and Coughlin ripped him for being “disrespectful” and “selfish” during the season finale.
NFL REPORTEDLY EXPLORING POSSIBILITY OF ADDING GAMES OF SATURDAYS If the college football season gets postponed or canceled this year, there’s a chance that could lead to more Saturday games in the NFL for the 2020 regular season. According to the New York Post, the league has had preliminary discussions about potentially playing Saturday games throughout the season. Basically, the 2020 NFL schedule would be created in such way that
it would give the league the option to move a game (or games) to a Saturday if the NFL decides that would make more sense. The move would allow the NFL to take advantage of the open TV window that would be created on Saturdays if the college football season gets called off. The idea of flexing a game to a Saturday might sound kind of odd, but the NFL has actually done it in each of the
past two seasons. When the 2018 schedule was released, the NFL announced that there would be multiple Saturday games on the schedule in December. However, the teams playing in those games weren’t finalized until October. The NFL did the same thing in 2019 when it announced that there would be a Saturday triple-header on the schedule, although the teams playing in the triple-header weren’t finalized until November.
THE GAME NEWS • THURSDAY • MAY • 7
VIRTUAL OFFSEASON IMPACTS ROOKIES, TEAMS PREPARING FOR 2020
Joe Burrow should be getting ready to report to rookie minicamp this month. But like everyone else around the NFL, Burrow is left on his own to prepare for the season with facilities shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and unlikely to open until training camp at the earliest. “You have to find a way to get in your backyard and get reps in,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “Whether it’s telling your girlfriend or mom where to line up, or how many steps to take on each route — just make sure you know it inside and outside. We’re going to challenge our guys to get creative.” The best comparison to what the NFL is going through this offseason with no practices, in-person meetings or the usual bonding that happens each spring came back in 2011 when team owners locked out the players until July. That led to no trades or free agency signings all offseason, then a rushed process to get ready for training camp that summer, with players finding new teams and learning new systems on the fly. But it wasn’t detrimental to the No. 1 pick that year, the only player before Burrow to win the Heisman Trophy, a national championship and be drafted first overall. Cam Newton won the starting job in Carolina and threw for more than 400 yards in each of his first starts on the way to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He wasn’t alone making an early impact. Andy Dalton went from a second-round pick in Cincinnati to a Week 1 starter and led the Bengals to the playoffs. Other rookies such as Von Miller, J.J. Watt, Julio Jones, A.J. Green, Patrick Peterson and Aldon Smith made major impacts. In all, more rookies started Week 1 that season than in any previous year since the merger. The 47 Week 1 starts for rookies only was surpassed in 2012 and in 2019. That success story from 2011 didn’t stop executives from taking the lack of a traditional offseason into account in their draft strategy. Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said he wanted to concentrate most of his choices in the earlier rounds where he believed the players were more finished products and would have an easier time getting up to speed. The Raiders made all seven of their picks in the first four rounds.
NFL
3
NFL PLANS FULL SEASON; BEING “DELIBERATE, REASONABLE” The NFL is planning to play a full season though it’s uncertain what that will look like. League spokesman Brian McCarthy said Thursday that since January the 2020 schedule was intended for release after the draft. It is planned for release by the end of next week, with the date for the kickoff game Thursday, Sept. 10, concluding with Super Bowl on Feb. 7 in Tampa. But the league is planning several contingencies because of the coronavirus pandemic that could lead to everything from a delayed start to a latewinter Super Bowl. “The schedule will come out as normal, but we’re doing reasonable and responsible planning as we always do, inside of game operations,” league executive Troy Vincent told The Associated Press on Thursday. “Based off of
what we are learning from the medical community and how people are handling this domestically and abroad, we are being deliberate with reasonable and responsible planning about what can work in our environment and what we can incorporate to protect the health and safety of all involved.” Empty stadiums, neutral sites and no bye weeks are among
several alternatives being discussed. “We have to look at it in the current environment based off what we’re learning through the science and through the medical community,” said Vincent, who oversees football operations for the NFL. If the season needs to be pushed back or the regular season has to be adjusted,
DANISH LINEMAN IMPROVISES WHILE PREPARING FOR NFL SEASON Steven Nielsen hopes to play for the Jacksonville Jaguars this season, but first the 6-foot-8 offensive lineman from Denmark has some tree trunks to toss around in northwest Ohio. The improvised workouts — gyms remain closed because of coronavirus restrictions — underscore Nielsen’s desire to make it to the NFL. He signed with the Jaguars as a free agent after sitting through the NFL Draft at his girlfriend’s family home in Ohio. “I thought maybe I could sneak into the seventh round,”
the 307-pound Nielsen said in a phone interview. Only two Danes — kicker Morten Andersen and guard/ center Hjalte Froholdt — have been drafted in the NFL. Andersen played 25 seasons and is a national hero in Denmark. Froholdt, drafted last year by the New England Patriots, spent his rookie season on injured reserve. Nielsen, who grew up outside Copenhagen, played mostly at left tackle for Eastern Michigan. His phone started ringing toward the end of the seventh round. He said the Los
Angeles Chargers were most interested, but he preferred the Jaguars. “It’s the best place for me in terms of making the team, or at least of having a shot at making the team,” the 23-year-old Nielsen said. “They have a lot of young guys.” The Jaguars used one of their 12 picks on an offensive lineman. They selected Ben Bartch in the fourth round, 116th overall, out of Div. 3 school St. John’s. Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell said Bartch can play multiple positions along the line.
PACKERS SIGN DEFENSIVE LINEMAN TREYVON HESTER GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers have signed defensive lineman Treyvon Hester, who is set to play for his fourth NFL team in as many seasons. Hester, 27, played 15 games for the Washington Redskins last year. The 2017 seventh-round draft pick from Toledo spent his rookie year playing 14 games and making one start
for the Oakland Raiders. He played 12 games and made one start for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018. He is best known for tipping Cody Parkey’s 43-yard fieldgoal attempt in the closing seconds to preserve the Eagles’ 16-15 victory over the Chicago Bears during a wild-card playoff game in the 2018 season. Parkeý’s kick bounced off the upright and crossbar.
NFL
4
THE GAME NEWS • THURSDAY • MAY • 7
TITANS AGREE WITH IBRAHEIM CAMPBELL Campbell, who turns 28 on May 13, spent much of last season recovering from a knee injury before the Green Bay Packers activated him from the reserve/physically unable to perform list on Nov. 5.
BUCCANEERS TRADE PATRIOTS FOR TE ROB GRONKOWSKI Rob Gronkowski is coming to the Bucs to play in a city that seems tailor-made for the future Hall of Famer’s personality. Tom Brady threw 90 touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski over their nine seasons together with the New England Patriots. Now Brady and Gronkowski just might hit triple digits. The two are teammates once again after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ newsworthy 2020 offseason took another startling turn: On Tuesday, the Buccaneers traded a fourthround pick in the upcoming NFL Draft to the Patriots in exchange for Gronkowski and a seventh-round selection. The fourth-round pick is the second of two Tampa Bay owned in the fourth round, a compensatory selection
that was number 139 overall. The pick the Patriots dealt is number 241 overall and was obtained from Seattle last year in a trade of tight end Jacob Hollister. Though Gronkowski did not play in 2019 after announcing his retirement from the NFL in March, his rights still belonged to the Patriots as there was a year remaining on the six-year contract extension he signed in 2012. That required a trade in order for Gronkowski to return to the NFL and renew his prolific partnership with Brady in Tampa. Brady is considered by many as the greatest quarterback
of all time and Gronkowski wouldn’t be far behind in the tight end rankings. He is the most prolific postseason tight end in league history, with 81 catches for 1,163 yards and 12 touchdowns, and his production helped the Patriots advance to five Super Bowls during his tenure and win three of them. His 79 regular-season touchdowns from 2010-19 were the most by any player at any position in that span.
Manager Jason Licht. “Rob has played his entire career alongside Tom Brady and their accomplishments speak for themselves. Together they have developed the type of chemistry on and off the field that is crucial to success. Rob combines elite-level skills as both a receiver and blocker but what really makes him special is the fact that he’s a proven winner who brings that championship mindset and work ethic.”
“Rob Gronkowski is one of the best tight ends in NFL history and he plays the game with the type of passion and desire that sets him apart,” said Buccaneers General
The 30-year-old Gronkowski has four 1,000-yard receiving seasons on his resume, as well as five years in which he hit double digits in touchdowns.
SAINTS ADD LINEMAN HUNT The New Orleans Saints have signed free-agent defensive end Margus Hunt on Friday.
The 6-foot-8, 295-pound Hunt is a seven-year NFL veteran out of SMU who was drafted 53rd overall by Cincinnati in 2013. He spent his first four seasons with Cincinnati, where he was limited by ankle and back injuries and never cracked the starting lineup. However, he has started 25 games in his past three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, including 15 games in 2018,
when he had a career-high five sacks.
Hunt has 7 1/2 sacks in his career, along with seven passes defensed, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and four special teams stops. In college, Hunt might was known as much for his special teams play as his defense. He blocked 10 field goals during his four seasons at SMU, when he also had 16 1/2 sacks. Hunt is Estonian and before college represented his country at the World Junior Track and Field Championships.
He played seven games with three starts and had 15 tackles as well as two special-teams stops during the 2019 regular season. He had two tackles on defense plus three stops on special teams during the Packers’ two playoff games. The 2015 fourthround draft pick from Northwestern has played for the Cleveland Browns (2015-17).
BRONCOS DECLINE OPTION GARETT The Denver Broncos have declined the fifth-year contract option on left tackle Garett Bolles, whose career-long holding habit has alienated fans, a person with knowledge of the decision said Friday. Bolles will make $3.5 million in 2020.
BEARS SIGN VETERAN SAFETY GIPSON The Chicago Bears signed veteran safety Tashaun Gipson to a oneyear contract Friday. Gipson has intercepted 23 passes and returned three for touchdowns over eight seasons with Cleveland, Jacksonville and Houston. He was released Tuesday by the Texans after signing a three-year, $22.5 million prior.
NFL
THE GAME NEWS • THURSDAY • MAY • 7
5
CINCINNATI BENGALS TAKE LSU QUARTERBACK JOE BURROW AS NO. 1 PICK IN NFL DRAFT.
I’ll play for whoever drafts me.
The Heisman Trophy winner was expected to be the first pick as questions continue to surround longtime Bengals QB Andy Dalton. Louisiana State University quarterback Joe Burrow was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft Wednesday night. Burrow, who won the 2019 Heisman Trophy and led LSU to a national title over Clemson University in January, was picked up by the Cincinnati Bengals. The redshirt senior was expected to be the first pick as questions continue to swirl around the future of longtime Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. “Enough talk. Time to get to work,” Burrow tweeted after the announcement. The NFL draft, typically a star-studded event featuring young promising players, was held virtually this year because of social distancing restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. After Burrow, Washington selected Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young with the No. 2 pick. Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will be tasked with leading the rebuilding Miami Dolphins after they took him with the 5th overall pick despite injury concerns. And the Green Bay Packers made perhaps the night’s biggest splash, trading up at the end of the first round to select Utah State quarterback Jordan Love despite the presence of star Aaron Rodgers.
“I would have told you you were crazy,” Burrow said when asked if he would have thought a year ago that he would be taken first overall in this year’s draft. “I knew I was going to have a really good season because I knew we had good players coming back, great coaches and we were going to work really hard. But to jump up to number one overall is crazy to me. It’s a dream come true.” It was 23-year-old Burrow, though, who was the consensus top pick. The Bengals are in desperate need of new blood after an abysmal season last year. Dalton, who was drafted in 2011, dragged during the 2019 season before being benched. He was replaced by rookie Ryan Finley after an 0-8 start to the season, only to return once the Bengals lost three more games. Whether Dalton is traded or released before the start of the new season remains unknown.
T
he 23-year-old quarterback, who won the Heisman Trophy as the best collegiate football player last December before leading the Tigers to a national championship the next month, was the consensus top choice.
Early Years Burrow was born in Ames, Iowa, on December 10, 1996. He is the son of Robin and former University of Nebraska, NFL, and CFL player Jim Burrow, who went on to a coaching career that lasted nearly 40 years.The elder Burrow, whose last coaching position was defensive coordinator for the Ohio Bobcats for more than a decade, retired after the 2018 season in part to be able to see all of Joe’s games in his final college season. Burrow was born in Ames, while his father was on the staff for the Iowa State Cyclones. According to a 2019 Sports Illustrated story, “The Burrow athletic lineage dates back nearly a century.” In the 1940s, one of his grandmothers set a Mississippi state high school record with an 82-point game in basketball. His paternal grandfather played basketball at Mississippi State; his uncle, John Burrow, played football at Ole Miss; and two older brothers also played football at Nebraska. happened. The auditions bore fruit!”
Ohio State After redshirting his first year at Ohio State in 2015, Burrow spent the next two years as a backup to J. T. Barrett. Over the two years, he played in 10 games, completing 29 of 39 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Realizing that Dwayne Haskins would be named starting quarterback at Ohio State, Burrow transferred to Louisiana State University (LSU) on May 20, 2018. Burrow had graduated from Ohio State in three years with a degree in consumer and family financial services, and would be immediately eligible as a graduate transfer.
LSU In his first year at LSU, Burrow was named the starting quarterback as a redshirt junior in 2018. In an early season road trip to then-No. 7 Auburn, Burrow threw for 249 yards and a touchdown en
route to a 22–21 win. He was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week following the victory. He again earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors following a 292-yard, three-touchdown performance against Ole Miss two weeks later. Burrow helped lead the Tigers to a 10–3 record, including a win over UCF in the Fiesta Bowl, and a No. 6 ranking in the final AP Poll. Burrow finished the season with 2,894 yards passing, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He added 399 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns.
2019 burrow was again named LSU’s starting quarterback heading into his redshirt senior season in 2019. In the Tigers’ season opener against Georgia Southern, Burrow threw for 278 yards and five touchdowns in a 55–3 win, and was later named SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week (with Tua Tagovailoa).
Burrow was the third consecutive Heismanwinning quarterback to be selected first overall in the draft, following Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
In a week two road trip to then-No. 9 Texas, Burrow threw for 471 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception in the 45–38 win. His 471 yards were the second most in school history and most since Rohan Davey’s 528 against Alabama in 2001. He was named Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week and SEC Offensive Player of the Week following the performance Burrow earned his third SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors on September 21 during LSU’s game against Vanderbilt. He threw for 398 yards and a schoolrecord-setting six passing touchdowns in the Tigers’ 66–38 win. He became the first LSU quarterback to ever throw for 350 yards in three consecutive games
NBA
6
THE GAME NEWS • THURSDAY • MAY • 7
WHY 2016-17 WARRIORS ARE BEST NBA TEAM OF ALL TIME
HOW MUCH IS THE SALARY CAP GOING TO DECLINE?
THE 2016-17 GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS WERE AN EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES. Never before has the NBA experienced a collective sense of inevitable doom as it did when Kevin Durant decided to sign with Golden State in the summer of 2016. The 2017 Larry O’Brien Trophy could have been awarded to the Warriors the moment the ink dried on Durant’s contract. But Adam Silver and the NBA made them play out the entire 2016-17 regular season and playoffs anyway. And while it always felt like they had cheated the process, the Warriors flirted with basketball perfection on a nightly basis, going 67-15 in the regular season and 16-1 in the playoffs, nearly becoming the first team to sweep the postseason. When the final buzzer sounded on the season, the Warriors were the best team in the league, the best team of the decade, the best team of the century … and, in my opinion, the best team in NBA history. They even won Yardbarker’s mythical “Team of the Century” tournament. Here’s why their my pick for best NBA team ever. The NBA orbits around its stars more than any other major professional sport in America. With a salary cap, teams
are typically limited to two, maybe three star-level players. However, the Warriors were able to assemble more star-level players than any team in history for the 2016-17 season because of three fortuitous breaks: 1. Steph Curry was on the last year of a four-year, $44M extension that he’d agreed to back when his ankle injuries were threatening his career and well before his emergence as a superstar. 2. Despite being an All-Star-level player, Andre Iguodala signed a team-friendly deal to join the Warriors around the same time Steph signed his extension. 3. The NBA’s massive, multibillion-dollar TV deal kicked in after the 2015-16 season, causing a salary cap spike for the
summer of 2016 and allowing the Warriors the requisite salary space to sign another star player: Kevin Durant. The Big 3 of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, plus a star sixth man in Iguodala, gave the Warriors one of the most talented rosters in the NBA. Adding Durant to that mix essentially gave them five star players. Star players are more consistent than role players. Star players get more calls. Star players elevate their games to match up with better competition. Star players win more games. The combination of talent, basketball fit, hunger and execution that was the 2016-17 Warriors was unlike anything we had ever witnessed in the NBA.
MAVERICKS’ MARK CUBAN WON’T OPEN FACILITY BECAUSE INABILITY TO TEST PLAYERS The NBA has informed teams around the league that they can start to reopen their facilities on May 8 depending on restrictions that are in place in their local com-
munities. Some teams plan to do just that. Others don’t. It really is a case-by-case situation due to the ongoing pandemic.
The Dallas Mavericks and owner Mark Cuban fall into that latter category. Cuban indicates that the team’s facility will not open, primarily because of the inability to test players for COVID-19. “THE PROBLEM OBVIOUSLY IS THAT BECAUSE WE CAN’T TEST PEOPLE, THEN WE CAN’T ENSURE ANYBODY’S SAFETY, WHETHER THEY’RE BASKETBALL PLAYERS OR ANYBODY ELSE, CUBAN SAID. “EVEN THOUGH WE CAN TRY TO TAKE ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRECAUTIONS, IT’S JUST NOT WORTH IT.”
This is the million-dollar question right now. As the NBA charts a path to resuming a season that’s been suspended for seven weeks, large-scale testing needs to be available. As Cuban notes, that’s not just for players and other personnel around the Association. It’s about the general public, too.
A series of events had reduced the money available this summer even before the season had been shut down. Declining revenues had already moved the salary cap projection from $116 million to $115 million (the 2019-20 number was $109.14 million). Before the pandemic shut down the season, revenues were already down, primarily because of Daryl Morey’s tweet about Hong Kong and China’s subsequent NBA boycott. Due to Chinese companies pulling sponsorships and cancelling TV broadcasts, the NBA reportedly lost between $150 million and $200 million.
WHICH TEAMS HAVE CAP SPACE? After the trade deadline, there were only seven teams who looked like they’d have significant cap space for free agency: New York, Atlanta, Detroit, Miami, Phoenix, Charlotte and Portland. Of those seven, only the Hawks, Pistons, and Knicks had enough to sign a max free agent to a deal worth 30% of the cap. Many teams made moves at the trade deadline instead of waiting for free agency.
CHARLES BARKLEY LAMENTS BROKEN RELATIONSHIP WITH MICHAEL JORDAN It appears that Charles Barkley’s broken relationship with Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan won’t be fixed any time soon. The duo’s relationship deteriorated years ago after Barkley’s comments regarding the way Jordan ran the Charlotte Bobcats franchise.
Simply put, COVID-19 testing is not anywhere near where it needs to be right now.
In reality, Barkley is actually upset that his relationship with Jordan probably won’t be mended, but he acknowledged he’s one of the greatest basketball players to ever lace them up.
As for the NBA, it’s clear that restrictions are in place to help limit the spread.
Which, to be honest, makes total sense, so Barkley wasn’t wrong on that front.
THE GAME NEWS • THURSDAY • MAY • 7
NBA
7
WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH FA
NBA FREE-AGENCY
Anyone expecting a bonanza like last year’s first day of free agency must dial back expectations. But with a disappointing draft awaiting, a tight market, and a lot of players under contract, we should see a lot of trades.
We don’t know what’s going to happen to the remainder of the suspended NBA season or playoffs because of the coronavirus pandemic. But for hoops junkies, it’s almost as important that we still don’t know when free agency will begin.
HOW ‘THE LAST DANCE’ BULLS WOULD FARE IN TODAY’S NBA As we eagerly anticipate the remaining episodes of “The Last Dance” on ESPN, the endless “MJ vs. LeBron” debates on talk shows and social media drone on. And while these hot take topics are as nauseating as they are repetitive.
The answer is a lot more nuanced than some might think — any talking head who scoffs at this question with some blanket statement like “MJ would average 50 points a game today and the Bulls would go 74-8” is not worth your attention. Many of the Bulls’ main rotation players did not have the requisite skills to play in the NBA in 2020. The team would have to adapt to the modern rules, paceof-play and analytically driven strategies of opponents — not to mention compete in a much more talented league. This isn’t to suggest they wouldn’t be a championship-caliber team, but there’s a lot to consider with this prompt. If any team from the late-’90s era could compete in today’s NBA, it would be the Bulls, a team ahead of its time in many ways.
SECURITY GUARD WHO BEAT MICHAEL JORDAN IN QUARTERS GAME BECOMES MEME A security guard featured in “The Last Dance” documentary became a meme on Twitter Sunday night.
Episode 6 of the documentary aired on ESPN, and one clip showed Jordan betting with a security guard. Jordan infamously loved to gamble and bet the security guard about who could pitch a quarter closer to the wall. The guard put up $20 that he could get closer than MJ in four shots. He beat Jordan on his first try and then gave Jordan the famous shrug. Twitter absolutely loved it. Here are some of the tweets featuring the guard.
WHY NBA SHOULD PERMANENTLY SHIFT START OF SEASON TO CHRISTMAS
With no definitive word on when, or if, the NBA season will resume and the possibility of the playoffs starting in June and the Finals ending in August, the 202021 season could be immensely disrupted. So maybe it’s time for the Association to consider a truly radical revamping of its calendar. Let’s start next season on Christmas Day, begin the playoffs in June and move the Finals, draft and free agency to August. Then make this radical change permanent. This idea was spurred by Bobby Marks of ESPN, who floated a hypothetical timetable for the next few months of this season.
Unlike most ‘90s-era teams, which were built around the league’s best post players, the Bulls were structured around two elite wings: Jordan and Scottie Pippen. This would make them right at home in today’s NBA, in which the best teams — Lakers, Clippers, Bucks — revolve around some of the game’s best wings and forwards (LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton). Jordan and Pippen would be the best wing combination in the NBA today. Though they were older than Kawhi (28) and George (29), Jordan (34) and Pippen (32) would probably have a slightly larger impact in terms of two-way play. In fact, if you look at Jordan-Pippen’s combined per-game production (47.8 points, 11 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 3.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks)
LUKA LEGEND? MAVERICKS’ DONCIC ON TRAJECTORY OF ALLTIME GREATS
Every NBA season, a handful of young players make “The Leap,” ascending to stardom. Typically, this happens in the third, fourth or fifth season. Every so often, however, a player makes an even greater leap, at an even younger age, than his peers. Think LeBron James when he went from averaging 20.9 points, 5.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds as a rookie to 27.2 points, 7.2 assists and 7.4 rebounds in his 2004-05 sophomore season. Well, that’s the kind of jump Dallas’ Luka Doncic has made in 2019-20, only his second season in the league.
8
THE GAME NEWS • THURSDAY • MAY • 7
THE GAME NEWS • THURSDAY • MAY • 7
9
10
UFC
THE GAME NEWS • THURSDAY • MAY • 7
UFC 249 card
Francis Ngannou Jairzinho Rozenstruik
UFC 249 FIGHTERS MUST PASS ‘DIAGNOSTIC SWAB’ AND ‘ANTIBODY’ CORONAVIRUS TESTS TO COMPETE ON MAY 9 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has implemented comprehensive safety protocols for those fighters on the scene for UFC 249 this week in Jacksonville, Florida, to identify the presence of coronavirus and help prevent the potential spread of the life-threatening disease. That includes “diagnostic swab” and “antibody” tests for COVID-19. The former requires a longass cotton swab to be jammed into dark cavities while the latter is based on a blood sample. Sounds like administering the test is about as unpleasant as actually taking it. “Part of what gave us comfort was a plan [UFC] outlined related to testing those they’re bringing to Jacksonville related to COVID-19,” Jacksonville chief administrative officer Brian Hughes told ESPN. “Based on what we’ve been briefed, it is clear that they’re going to test for COVID and they’ll have a couple of different segments of testing throughout the week.” Fighters staying at the host hotel will be assigned individual workout rooms equipped with mats, sanitizer, and personal saunas. VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena — home to three UFC events
within the next two weeks — will be scrubbed down in between cards. Nothing is fool proof and even competing inside an empty arena carries risk. There is only so much “social distancing” you can do during a live production but it sounds like the promotion is employing every tactic available to get this event streamed as safely as possible on May 9 in “The Sunshine State.” “Anybody who shows up to this event, or is a part of it, is going to be safer than anyone sitting at their house,” UFC President Dana White told ESPN. “They’re going to have access to the best medical attention, the best doctors, the best treatment you could possibly get. You’re safer being at this event with me than actually being at home or going to the grocery store. I promise you that.”
vs
There’s a logjam at the very top of the Heavyweight division, and “The Predator” is suffering the consequences. Ngannou’s trio of effortless first-round knockout victories probably should have been enough to earn him a title shot, but Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic’s trilogy fight has been given priority despite there being no real timeline for that bout.
MIOCIC RESPONDS TO POSSIBILITY OF BEING STRIPPED OF UFC TITLE Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion, Stipe Miocic, recently stated that he didn’t have any plans to fight while most states in America are under lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the reason is due to the fact that Stipe is currently working as a first responder in his home state of Ohio.
ANDERSON SILVA PLANS TO FIGHT OUT UFC
DANA WHITE: SOMETHING ‘INTERESTING’ IN THE WORKS FOR JORGE MASVIDAL OTHER THAN USMAN TITLE FIGHT Masvidal, who is riding a three-fight win streak after one of the best 2019 campaigns you will ever see, was believed to be the front runner to land the next title shot against current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. The two were even rumored to clash at UFC 249 last month, but Masvidal’s financial demands simply weren’t met. While the proposed title fight could still happen at some point this year, it now seems as if the promotion is discussing
another opportunity for Masvidal. On Friday, UFC president Dana White revealed that he is working on something “interesting” for the welterweight veteran, but that it wasn’t a clash with Usman. “We’re talking about a few different things,” White told ESPN. “We have something else interesting for Masvidal, too, that we were just talking about (Thursday). We’ll see.”
Former UFC champ Anderson Silva is on his way to a clean bill of health and intends to fight at least twice more before retirement. Silva (34-10 MMA, 17-6 UFC), the former longtime middleweight titleholder, has not seen action since a TKO loss to Jared Cannonier at UFC 237 in May 2019. The fight ended when “The Spider” took a leg kick that caused him to buckle and force a referee stoppage.The Brazilian hasn’t seen action since, and nearly a year later underwent knee surgery.