The Wizards sold Bradley Beal on a vision, but it’s already looking blurry
Bradley Beal took a September meeting at the offices of Priority Sports in Chicago. Wizards owner Ted Leonsis flew into town for it. Beal’s agents were there, and so was Tommy Sheppard, the man tasked with moving a team stuck in NBA purgatory in one direction or the other.
Sheppard took over as general manager of the Wizards on July 19, 2019, after 16 years in their front office. He declared three days later he would offer Beal a max contract extension. The meeting provided the Wizards an opportunity to make their pitch to Beal. Leonsis and Sheppard couldn’t sway Beal on D.C. weather, and they couldn’t argue the roster was only a piece or two away from contention. They had to present a vision …
If Tom Brady were the Bachelor, which NFL team would get a rose?
Tom Brady is on this spring’s season of “The Bachelor.”
OK, not really. But he is on our version of “The Bachelor: NFL free agency,” otherwise known as “The Brady-chelor” here at Sporting News.
The Patriots legend has been linked to several other teams this NFL offseason as he flirts with free agency. Brady’s decision looms over the entire football world. He is a hot commodity, and a handful of lovely teams are all vying for a rose at the rose ceremony. But to whom will Tom give the (Super Bowl) ring?
Let’s meet our contestants …
In LeBron vs. Zion Round 1, King James shows the NBA he still reigns
In a matchup labeled by some as the NBA’s past — LeBron James — vs. the future — Zion Williamson — James reminded the league that he is the present.
The King set a season high with 40 points on 63 percent shooting from the field in the Lakers’ 118-109 victory over the Pelicans on Tuesday.
In a game filled with storylines, including Anthony Davis against the team from which he demanded a trade and the Pelicans’ push for a playoff spot, the biggest was always going to be the first meeting between Williamson and one of the few people on the planet who knows how it feels to be a 19-year-old who is changing the league …
Ranking the villains on ‘The Last Dance,’ from the ‘Bad Boys’ to Jerry Krause
Michael Jordan wanted to win badly, and he went to absurd lengths to do so. He turned opponents into enemies and enemies into villains. It didn’t take much imagination for Jordan to turn the “Bad Boy” Pistons — whose game plan was to physically batter him into submission — into archvillains.
Other times, as in the case of LaBradford Smith, Jordan used his imagination so well that he created an enemy out of an innocent second-year opponent by pretending Smith told him, “Good game.”
It’s fitting, then, that ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary on Jordan and the 1997-98 Bulls highlights villains in each pair of episodes. Every story needs an antagonist, and Jordan’s is no different, even if he had to create some of them himself …
Brandin Cooks trade grades: Bill O’Brien loses another one, Rams do all right
Bill O’Brien on Thursday made another trade involving a star wide receiver and a second-round draft pick. This time, the Texans coach and general manager agreed to acquire Brandin Cooks and a 2022 fourth-round pick from the Rams in exchange for the 57th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, according to multiple reports.
The move comes after the Texans agreed last month to trade All-Pro wideout DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals in exchange for running back David Johnson and the 40th pick in this month’s draft. O’Brien was heavily criticized for that trade, which is not yet official.
Sporting News grades the reported trade of Cooks from Los Angeles to Houston …
How Kirk Cousins became the top-earning NFL player in Forbes’ 2020 rankings
Kirk Cousins was blessed with the perfect amount of talent. He’s a good quarterback, but few will anoint him as being great. In his first four years as a full-time starter, Cousins finished each season within one game of a .500 record. He’s one of two active quarterbacks with multiple ties in his career. The other is Andy Dalton.
He’s been to the Pro Bowl twice and, believe it or not, has the second-highest career completion percentage in NFL history. Sure, other quarterbacks have more talent than Cousins, but that’s not the discussion.
If anything, Cousins is great at being good, but not too good. And that’s exactly how he became the highest-ranked NFL player on Forbes’ 2020 list of the highest-paid athletes in the world …
‘The Last Dance’: 3 things we learned from the second night of the Michael Jordan documentary
1. Dennis Rodman and Las Vegas were made for each other. Rodman captivated the audience from the jump on Sunday night. He spoke about rebounding so engagingly it was like he was giving a Ted Talk titled “The art of procuring missed shots” …
People mad online at Garth Brooks because they don’t know Barry Sanders from Bernie Sanders
Barry Sanders — the Detroit Lions Hall of Fame running back — and Bernie Sanders — the U.S. senator from Vermont and Democratic Party candidate for president — are different people. Apparently, not everyone knows that …
Al Kaline dies at 85: Baseball greats remember the Detroit Tigers legend on social media
The legacy of Al Kaline is best summarized by his Mr. Tiger monicker. It encompasses all of his well-earned honors on the field, but more so, what he meant to the city of Detroit …
Austin Anderson 