This is another entry in the “Back in the Day” series, where we look back at a sports event I wrote about for the newspaper. In this case, the nearly forgotten 2008 mid-season trade of Shaquille O’Neal from the Miami Heat to the Phoenix Suns. The idea in Phoenix was that Shaq would be the […]

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“Blasts from the Past” is the idea. On days when I feel like writing but don’t feel like doing much research, I am going to revisit topics from my 40 years in journalism. This will be one of those. It is my take, from January of 2008, on Kobe Bryant’s chances of winning his first […]

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I heard about Kobe Bryant while leaving church, around 11:15 a.m. today. “Killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas,” someone said. It took me a few seconds to process. “Kobe, dead? That can’t be right.” Pause. “A helicopter? That’s possible; how many celebrities have died in private planes and copters?” Pause. “Wow. Kobe dead.” At […]

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Los Angeles Clippers supporters have been waiting a long time for their team to win an NBA championship. Or play for a championship. Or even get into the Western Conference finals. None of which the club has accomplished. Which seems to have made many of them impatient. They figured Kawhi Leonard, architect of the Toronto […]

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As the NBA season opens tonight, let’s pretend some readers are interested in finding out how a fantasy draft went for a six team league. Who went first?

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When I was working as sports editor for The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi, our No. 1 topic was soccer. Football. I expected that; soccer clearly is the preferred sport of the citizens of the United Arab Emirates, as well as the preferred sport of many expatriates who live and work in the UAE. That, […]

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Most NBA fans/observers are probably not interested in this. I am. I want the Golden State Warriors to win the NBA championship, over the Toronto Raptors, and I want them to do it with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green running the show. I want the return of the Big Three that carried the […]

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OK, yes. It turns out the Los Angeles Lakers needed more than LeBron James to be relevant in the 2018-19 NBA season. With 18 games to play, the club is 30-34, having lost seven of its past 10, including a game to the Phoenix Suns, owners of the worst record in the NBA. Before they […]

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The LA Galaxy on Saturday afternoon will unveil what is thought to be the first statue of a former player to be displayed at a Major League Soccer stadium. The club said it will be No. 1 in “a series of statues” that will stand just outside the stadium in the new Legends Plaza at […]

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Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors standout, on Monday declared that no one has stepped on the moon, setting off a bit of agitation that one of the most prominent and successful players in the NBA would actually espouse that belief. Curry’s ridiculous notion is just this side of the bat-sh*t-crazy position Kyrie Irving of […]

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