The Phoenix Suns have signed free agent forward Paris Bass to a second 10-day contract, the team announced Wednesday.
Bass first signed a 10-day contract with the Suns on Dec. 31 and appeared in two games. In his NBA debut on January 2 at Charlotte, he recorded four points, two rebounds and a steal in five minutes off the bench, and he tallied two points and two rebounds in two minutes on January 6 vs. the LA Clippers.
Prior to signing his first 10-day contract with the Suns, the 6-8 Bass was named to the NBA G League All-Showcase Team in December after appearing in 14 games for the South Bay Lakers this season, averaging 17.9 points on 49.0% shooting, 8.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals. This is Bass’ second season in the NBA G League, as he also played with the Erie BayHawks in his first professional season in 2016-17.
The 26-year-old played internationally in Puerto Rico and Austria between his time in the NBA G League. A native of Birmingham, Michigan, Bass played collegiately at Detroit Mercy. He earned First Team All-Horizon League honors as a sophomore in 2015-16, averaging 18.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals, and was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year in 2015.
Boxing superstar Claressa “G.W.O.A.T.” Shields will make her long awaited U.K. debut on Saturday, February 5, kicking off Black History Month by defending her WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight titles against undefeated #1 ranked challenger Ema Kozin live on pay-per-view in the U.S. and Canada.
The four-fight pay-per-view telecast will begin at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT with Shields vs. Kozin serving as the co-main event to the highly-anticipated headliner between middleweight contenders Chris Eubank Jr. and Liam Williams. Shields signed a lucrative multi-fight deal with promoter Boxxer and broadcaster SKY Sports in the U.K. that has put her on the path toward a superfight showdown with WBO Middleweight Champion Savannah Marshall in 2022.
Marshall owns an amateur victory over Shields, the only boxing defeat she has ever suffered in the amateur or pro ranks. Shields must emerge victorious on February 5 to clinch her long-awaited revenge match against Marshall.
“I’m eager to get back in the ring and I can’t wait to return to boxing on February 5 in the U.K.,” said Shields, who is training in her hometown of Flint, Michigan with her coach John David Jackson. “We’ve been pushing through the delays so that I’m 100% ready to display my skills against Ema Kozin. I’m going to give her a beating that’s going to make Savannah Marshall regret agreeing to face me. This is going to be a performance you’re not going to want to miss.”
The 26-year-old Shields defeated the previously unbeaten and then IBF World Super Welterweight Champion Marie-Eve Dicaire in March of last year to make history and become the first boxer in the four-belt era to be an undisputed world champion in two weight classes. Shields has made history throughout her boxing life, as she is also the only fighter in U.S. Olympic boxing history to win two gold medals with wins in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016.
On Sunday, Jalen Hurts and the upstart Philadelphia Eagles(9-8) will try to go on the road and defeat Tom Brady and the world champion Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Before losing a meaningless game to the Cowboys in Week 18, the second-year quarterback had the Eagles on a four-game winning streak, and after starting 3-6, the Eagles have won six of their final eight games.
In Week 6, Hurts and the Eagles fell to the Buccaneers 28-22 at Lincoln Financial Field. In that game, Philadelphia was down 28-7, but the Eagles trimmed the lead to 28-22 with just under six minutes left, but they could not get the ball back.
Hurts, who was 12/26 for 115 yards, touchdown, interception and two rushing touchdowns in the regular season matchup against Tampa Bay, won big on the collegiate level, including winning a National Championship at Alabama, but this is the NFL, and he’s playing Brady in the playoffs, so it won’t be easy.
According to Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia will have to play very good football to defeat Tampa Bay.
“It’s going to take everybody’s best effort, but the process remains the same of how we go about our business, right? When it’s about the process when you’re process-driven, and you’re results-aware, then you don’t ride the highs and lows of the season,” Sirianni said on Monday.
Sirianni expects Hurts to be ready against the Buccaneers when it’s all said and done.
“I know he’s ready for the next game, which just so happens to be a playoff game, and he’s going to prepare the same way he has prepared,” he said. “I know, from the outside, it looks like it’s a bigger game and everything, but to us, we understand the consequences of losing, and when you win – you’re done if you lose, so we understand that.
“But our process remains the same through it all, and I’m confident in our process. I’m confident in [QB] Jalen [Hurts’] process that he’s going to go out and be ready to play in this game.”
On paper, the Buccaneers are the better team, and for the Eagles to defeat Tampa Bay, they will need Hurts to be at his best, and they will need the team to be at their best.
However, no matter what happens, 2021 is a successful season for the Eagles.
The New York Giants fired head coach Joe Judge, the team announced Tuesday.
The Giants were 4-13 in 2021 and ended the season on a six-game losing streak.
In two seasons, the 40-year-old Judge had a 10-23 record.
On Monday, senior vice president and general manager Dave Gettleman announced his retirement following a 35-year career in the National Football League.
“Steve (Tisch) and I both believe it is in the best interest of our franchise to move in another direction,” said team president John Mara. “We met with Joe yesterday afternoon to discuss the state of the team. I met again with Joe this afternoon, and it was during that conversation I informed Joe of our decision. We appreciate Joe’s efforts on behalf of the organization.
“I said before the season started that I wanted to feel good about the direction we were headed when we played our last game of the season. Unfortunately, I cannot make that statement, which is why we have made this decision.
“We will hire a general manager, and that person will lead the effort to hire a new head coach.”
Added Tisch, “It is an understatement to say John and I are disappointed by the lack of success we have had on the field. We are united in our commitment to find a general manager who will provide the direction necessary for us to achieve the on-field performance and results we all expect.”
Before joining the Giants, Judge was the special teams coordinator for the New England Patriots and spent eight seasons in the Patriots’ organization.
After the way this season ended for the Giants, Judge being relieved of his duties is not surprising.
The Giants needed to overhaul the organization, and they have done that in the last two days.
