The Giants announced the dates and kickoff times for their three 2021 preseason games, the team announced on Tuesday.
The NFL this year increased each team’s regular-season schedule to 17 games and reduced the traditional four-game preseason to three.
The Giants will play their first game on Saturday, Aug. 14, when they host the Jets at 7:30 p.m. The teams met in 51 consecutive summers (1969-2019) before last year’s game – and the NFL’s entire preseason schedule – was canceled due to the pandemic. This will be just the fourth time the teams that share MetLife Stadium will meet in the preseason opener. They also faced each other to open the preseason in 1983, 2010 and 2019 and were scheduled to do so again in 2020. The Giants have won the four previous preseason meetings to tie the annual series – which began in 1969 – at 25-25-1. The tie was in 1972.
On Sunday, Aug. 22, the Giants will play a rare early-afternoon preseason game when they visit the Cleveland Browns at 1 p.m. The teams’ preseason series is also tied, at 9-9. They last met in the preseason on Aug. 9, 2018, a 20-10 Browns victory in New Jersey. The Giants’ most recent preseason visit to Cleveland was on Aug. 21, 2017, when they lost, 10-6.
Coach Joe Judge will face his former team for the first time when the Giants and New England Patriots meet in MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 29 at 6 p.m. The Giants and Patriots will continue a tradition of ending the preseason by playing each other, as they did for 15 consecutive summers from 2005-19. The Giants lead the preseason series, 20-10. The two teams first met in the preseason in 1971.
In their most recent preseason in 2019, the Giants were 4-0, defeating the Jets, Bears, Bengals and Patriots.
The Giants open their regular season on Sunday, Sept. 12, at home against the Denver Broncos. They do not play any of their preseason opponents in the regular season.
The Philadelphia 76ers got another big performance from Joel Embiid on Wednesday night. After scoring a then playoff career-high 39 points in Game 1, Embiid came back and set a new playoff career-high with 40 points and 13 rebounds in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference second-round matchup against the Atlanta Hawks.
However, the 76ers needed an unlikely hero to defeat Atlanta on Wednesday night.
With Philadelphia trailing 80-79 late in the third quarter, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers inserted Shake Milton, who has struggled during the playoffs. Milton proceeded to score six points in the third, including a 35-foot buzzer-beater to end the quarter, and scored eight more points in the fourth to finish with 14 points as the 76ers defeated Atlanta 118-102 at Wells Fargo Center to even the series at 1.
In 15 minutes of action, Milton was 5/8 from the field, including four threes.
Milton appeared to be out of the rotation, and before his explosion on Wednesday night, the third-year guard averaged 2.8 points per game while shooting 21% from the field in the playoffs. Despite his struggles, Rivers was impressed by Milton’s preparation.
“He prepared himself, and he believed that he would get another shot, and he got it,” Rivers said about Milton. “He gave us a huge lift. Very happy for him, personally.”
Tobias Harris, who scored 22 points in Game 2, was also happy for Milton.
“I’m extremely happy for him,” he said. “Happy and proud at the same time… For him, he’s been in and out of the rotation a bit in the playoffs, struggling a bit at times. But, he’s steadily in the gym, waiting for that moment, that opportunity. Here it came, and he took advantage of it”
In the first half, the Hawks’ bench outscored Philly’s bench 32-0, but the second half was a much different story for the 76ers, who had 26 bench points in the second half, which was a big reason Philadelphia was able to push the lead to as many as 21 points in the fourth.
Game 3 is Friday night in Atlanta.
In Game 1, Trae Young, guarded mainly by Danny Green, was tough to stop for Philadelphia as he scored 35 points and dished out 10 assists. However, in Game 2, the 76ers used the 6-11, Ben Simmons, to guard the 6-1 Young, and it worked. Young was just 6/16 from the field with 21 points and 11 assists.
As they enter Game 3, it should be interesting to see what the Hawks will do to get Young going. It also should be interesting to see how both teams will respond as the scene shifts to State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4.
Notes:
-Kevin Huerter and Danilo Gallinari gave the Hawks a big boost in the first half on Wednesday night. Both Gallinari and Huerter scored 15 points apiece in the first half. Gallinari finished the game with 21 points, and Huerter added 20.
-Seth Curry scored 21 points for the 76ers in Game 2, including 5/8 from three-point range.
Jim Fassel, who led the Giants to three playoff berths and a Super Bowl and mentored some of the franchise’s greatest players in his seven seasons as the team’s coach, has passed away.
He was 71.
According to numerous reports, Fassel, who lived outside of Las Vegas, was taken to a hospital with chest pains and died of a heart attack while under sedation.
Fassel coached the Giants from 1997-2003. His 58 career regular-season victories are the fourth-highest total among the 19 coaches in the 96-year history of the franchise. He was named NFL Coach of the Year after his first season.
After those two seasons with the Giants, rumors surfaced for the first time that Fassel was on the hot seat and that he had to reach postseason play in 2000 to keep his job.
He did better than that, leading the Giants to the NFC’s No. 1 seed with a 12-4 record, a 41-0 demolition of Minnesota in the conference championship game and a berth in Super Bowl XXXV. The journey to get there was unlikely and unforgettable.
On November 12 and 19, the Giants lost home games to St. Louis and Detroit to fall to 7-4. With three of their final five games on the road, the Giants looked to be in trouble and the pressure on Fassel ratcheted up. No one could have predicted how Fassel would respond.
Three days after the loss to the Lions, Fassel delivered a startling performance at what was normally a pro forma news conference.
“This team is going to the playoffs,” he declared to a room full of stunned reporters. “I believe in my players, I believe in my coaches and I believe in myself. I have a lot of confidence in myself. I have a lot of confidence in my coaches and I have a lot of confidence in the players and I have no fear. I came into this season with a lots of people wondering if I was worried about my job. I’m not worried about it, I’m not worried about the pressure. I’ve got no worries. I’ve got no fear. None. Zero. Count on it.”
The Giants responded in their next game by routing the Cardinals in Arizona, 31-7. The following week they edged Washington, 9-7, to take control of the NFC East race. After Fassel’s declaration, the Giants won their final five regular-season games to finish a game ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC East race. After defeating the Eagles in an NFC Divisional Playoff Game, the Giants annihilated the Vikings in the conference championship game.
“Without a doubt, in a big game, that was by far the best one of my teams ever played,” Fassel said.
The dream run ended with a thud. Facing the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV, the Giants fell into a 17-0 hole and did not score an offensive touchdown in a crushing 34-7 loss, their only defeat in five Super Bowl appearances.
Fassel coached at the collegiate and professional levels for 30 years. He was the head coach at the University of Utah from 1985-89 and he coached in four different professional leagues (the World Football League, United States Football League, NFL and UFL). Fassel coached Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway as an offensive coordinator at Stanford and with the Denver Broncos and he also had NFL stints with the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals.
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic had a remarkable season, and that special was rewarded after he was named the NBA’s MVP on Tuesday.
Jokic, who won the award for the first time in his career, is the lowest-drafted player(41st overall selection in 2014) to be named league MVP
The 26-year-old center becomes the first player to earn the honor as a member of the Nuggets. He is also the first player from Serbia to be selected as the NBA MVP and joins Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece) as MVP winners from Europe.
In his sixth NBA season, Jokic played all 72 games and averaged a career-high 26.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, a career-high 8.4 assists, and 1.32 steals in 34.8 minutes. With his season averages, Jokic ranked 12th in the NBA in points, ninth in rebounds, sixth in assists, and 22nd in steals. He is the third player in NBA history to average at least 26.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 8.0 assists in a season, joining Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook.
This season, he broke the franchise records for career double-doubles and triple-doubles. He also became the first Nuggets player to start an NBA All-Star Game since 2011.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (586 points) finished in second place in the MVP voting, followed by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (453 points) in third place, Milwaukee Bucks forward Antetokounmpo (348 points) in fourth place, and Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul (139 points) in fifth place.
If Embiid could have found a way to stay healthy, he probably wins the award, especially when considering that the 76ers had the best record in the Eastern Conference. However, give credit to Jokic; he did it all for the Nuggets and is well-deserving of league MVP.
The Nuggets play Game 2 of their second-round playoff matchup against the Suns on Thursday night. Phoenix leads the series 1-0.
In Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals matchup between the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns, the game changed in the third quarter.
Denver led 70-60 with just over eight minutes left in the quarter. From there, the Suns outscored the Nuggets 28-9 in the third quarter and would win Game 1 122-105 at Phoenix Suns Arena on Monday night.
We may have finally seen a healthy Chris Paul. In the fourth quarter, Paul, who had been battling a shoulder injury, scored 10 straight points. Paul(6-6 fg) had 14 of his 21 points in the quarter. He also added 11 assists.
Phoenix’s five starters all scored in double figures, led by Mikal Bridges’ 23 points.
“The only way you get a chance to see how it is is during the game,” Paul said about his shoulder. “It was good. It was fun to get out there and be involved. That last series was, that was tough. I’m glad to be back helping the team.”
Devin Booker, who scored 21 points on Monday night, added this on Paul: “He just made plays… Not only scoring ability but getting everybody else involved. That’s been the story of the season for us.”
Game 2 is Wednesday night in Phoenix.
A big matchup in this series is the center battle between MVP Nikola Jokic and Deandre Ayton. Jokic(23) outscored Ayton(20), but Jokic had more field goal attempts(23) than Ayton(13), and Ayton(10) had more rebounds than Jokic(9).
Before the game, Jokic said Ayton gives him trouble. After the Suns’ win, Ayton talked Jokic.
“I love playing against Jokic, man,” Ayton said. “That’s the MVP of our league. He has so much; he has a lot to cover. Dude can do anything. That’s just the modern center there… We just have to keep competing and stay locked in.”
Phoenix is at its best when Paul is healthy, which we saw in Game 1. The Suns not only have an excellent team, but they have a great home crowd who was into the game from start to finish
The Nuggets will make adjustments, and we’ll see how much that will help in Game 2.
Watch as Paul, Ayton, Booker, and Bridges react to team’s win Game 1 win over Denver:
Floyd Mayweather and social media sensation Logan “The Maverick” Paul fought to the distance in their eight-round special exhibition bout Sunday night that headlined a SHOWTIME PPV from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
Not much drama in this fight, but hey, it probably does not matter when you’re as famous as Mayweather and Paul.
Despite Paul’s lack of experienced, Mayweather was impressed by what he saw out of the Youtube star.
“He was strong, tough, and better than I thought he was,” said Mayweather. “I was surprised by him tonight. That was some good little work.”
The 44-year-old Mayweather displayed his typical patient and clinical boxing style, feeling out Paul in the opening round before allowing Paul to come forward with a flurry of power shots at the end of the round that was mostly blocked. Mayweather began to find a spot to land numerous power shots on Paul’s head and body as the fight wore on.
At times, Paul used his over 30-pound weight advantage to frequently tie Mayweather up, which also impressed Mayweather.
“Even without much experience, he knew to use his weight to tie me up tonight,” said Mayweather.
After the fight, the fighters expressed gratitude and inspiration to the fans who have helped them reach the tremendous heights that allowed this match to become a reality.
“I had fun tonight,” said Mayweather. “I thank all the fans who came out; you’re all unbelievable.”
“I don’t want anyone to tell me anything is impossible ever again,” said Paul. “The fact that I got in here with one of the greatest boxers of all time, it proves the odds can be beat. Anyone can beat the odds and do great things in life. This is one of the greatest nights of my life; I’m happy.”
This was easy money for Mayweather, and if the easy money is out there, why not try to get it again, so don’t be surprised if we see more of Mayweather in these exhibition bouts.
The New York Knicks made a tremendous turnaround this season, and because of that, their head coach Tom Thibodeau received the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2020-21 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced on Monday.
This is the second NBA Coach of the Year Award for Thibodeau, who earned the honor in the 2010-11 season with the Chicago Bulls in his first season as an NBA head coach. Now honored in his first season as the Knicks’ head coach, Thibodeau has become the first person to be named NBA Coach of the Year in his first season as head coach with two different franchises.
With Thibodeau as head coach, New York finished tied for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference (41-31) and made the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Knicks won 16 of their final 20 games to complete a turnaround from last season’s overall record of 21-45.
Thibodeau received 43 first-place votes and earned 351 total points to edge Phoenix head coach Monty Williams, who finished in second place with 340 points (45 first-place votes). The 11-point difference between the first- and second-place finishers marks the smallest margin since the current NBA Coach of the Year voting format was introduced in the 2002-03 season.
Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder finished in third place with 161 points (10 first-place votes). Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.
Thibodeau is the 10th head coach to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award more than once and the eighth to do it with multiple franchises.
New York hired Thibodeau as its head coach on July 30, 2020. Before joining the Knicks, he served as head coach of the Bulls for five seasons (2010-15) and the Minnesota Timberwolves over three seasons (2016-19).
In the opening bout of the Mayweather-Paul pay-per-view, former NFL star Chad Johnson made his boxing debut in an exhibition that went the four-round distance against pro fighter Brian Maxwell.
“I had fun,” said Johnson. “I had two months to get ready for this, and I want to thank God for keeping us safe out there. I want to thank Floyd, Leonard Ellerbe, and my whole team for allowing me to check this off my bucket list.”
The 43-year-old Johnson ran into a bit of adversity in the fourth round. Maxwell landed a counter overhand right that connected and put Johnson onto the canvas with 40 seconds left in the round.
Johnson was able to recover from the shot and made it to the final bell.
In the post-fight interview, Johnson expressed hope that his venture into the ring will serve as a positive example for those watching.
“My life has always been about taking chances and doing crazy stuff, and this is just another one off my bucket list,” said Johnson. “It’s a message for a lot of people who are scared to fail, scared to lose, scared to take chances to go out there and live. Don’t be scared to fail; it’s okay. I don’t box. I fight, but it ain’t in the ring, so of course, I was a little sloppy.”
Johnson did not look too bad in this fight. Now, you can’t play boxing, and it’s a hazardous sport, so let’s hope this is a one-and-done situation for Johnson. In the end, it’s good to see him walk out of the ring healthy.
The Dallas Mavericks season ended against the Los Angeles Clippers for the second straight year in the first round of the playoffs. This time, the Mavericks fell to the Clippers in 7 as they lost 126-111 at Staples Center on Sunday.
Despite the loss, the Mavericks did make improvements. Last season, they were the seventh seed in the Western Conference. However, this season, they were the fifth seed in the West. Last season, they lost to the Clippers in the first round in six. This season, they lost to Clippers in seven.
Also, Luka Doncic, who had 46 points, 14 assists, and seven rebounds on Sunday, is becoming one best players in basketball. In the regular season, Doncic, 22, averaged 27.7 points, 8.6 assists, and 8.0 rebounds per game.
However, as the great ones do, they up their game in the playoffs. Doncic averaged 35.7 points, 10.2 assists, and 7.9 rebounds per game in this series against the Clippers. Also, according to mavstats, Doncic accounted for 33.7% of Dallas’ points in the series, the highest percentage in any series in Mavs history (previous record: Dirk’s 32.2% vs. DEN in 2009 West Semifinals).
According to his head coach Rick Carlisle, Doncic’s performance in this series solidifies him as a top-five player in the NBA.
“Even before this series started, I think he’s proven he’s a top-5 player in the world,” Carlise said after the game. “This series certainly validates that. And we’ve just got to keep building the team around him…Luka is an amazing player. I don’t think there’s anybody that would dispute that.”
Kawhi Leonard added on Doncic: “Oh, man, you know, he did everything. I don’t know how many 40-point games he had; I believe three, three, or four. You know, shooting it very efficiently from three for sure off the dribble shots. You know, just doing it all for his team. You know he’s a great player, and you’ll see him for many years to come. He plays at his own pace, and he makes it look easy out there.”
Doncic was the best player in this series, and If he continues at this pace, he could very well be the best in the NBA.
The Atlanta Hawks got off to a great start on Sunday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers. Atlanta shot 72 percent from the field in the first quarter, including 6/12 from three-point range, and would lead 42-27 after one quarter and led 74-54 at halftime.
The Hawks would withstand a furious Philly rally in the fourth quarter to win 128-124 at Wells Fargo Center.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Philadelphia.
The 76ers had a hard time slowing down Trae Young. The All-Star point guard hurt the 76ers with his shot and passing ability. Young scored 25 of his 35 points in the first half and had 10 assists. According to StatMuse, Young became the first Hawks player with 35 points and 10 assists in game since 1965.
Philadelphia had no answers for Young and his teammates. Atlanta averages 12 three-pointers made per game. But the Hawks made a franchise-record 20 three-pointers on Sunday and had Philly scrambling throughout the game. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 21 points, including five threes, Young had four threes, and John Collins also added 21 points and made three threes
Danny Green mostly guarded Young in the first half and could not contain him. The 76ers went with Ben Simmons on Young in the second half, but he picked up two quick fouls, and ultimately he was moved off of Young. However, in Game 2, Simmons wants to guard Young.
“I mean, I want to,” Simmons said about guarding Young. “If the refs aren’t going to call so many fouls and I can be physical and be 6-10, then I’ll be 6-10. But we’ll see.”
Philadelphia did get MVP finalist Joel Embiid back in this game after coming back from a torn meniscus, and he played very well. Embiid scored 39 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and as he goes forward, Embiid hopes to be able to manage the injury.
“All I have to do is keep managing it, do my best, try to get as much treatment as I can,” Embiid said. “Try to manage it to make sure it doesn’t swell up too much.”
If the Hawks shoot as they did in Game 1, they could sweep the first two games in Philly but expect a better defensive effort out of the 76ers, who has the second-rated defense in basketball.
The Hawks got what they wanted at this point, which is split, but now they have to get greedy and try to capture Game 2.
