Lakers to waive sharpshooter and former DoorDash driver Matt Ryan, per report

On Thursday night, the NBA announced the starters for each conference in the NBA All-Star Game. In the East, the starters will be Giannis Antetokounmpo (the Captain), Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Donovan Mitchell. Meanwhile, in the West, the starters are LeBron James (the Captain), ...

Good morning to everyone but especially to... PATRICK MAHOMES AND THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS... When Patrick Mahomes suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Jaguars, it didn't look good. Not for the rest of that game, and not for any potential games going forward. Yet, as he so often does while...

Part of the appeal of the Rui Hachimura trade the Los Angeles Lakers made on Monday was the relatively meager price. Opposing teams have spent the entire season asking the Lakers for one of their two tradable first-round picks in almost any negotiated trade, but the Washington Wizards were willing to send him to the purple and gold for three second-rounders. It seems, however, that the Lakers actually are prepared to make a sizable investment in Hachimura. It just isn't going to come through the trade itself.

On March 27, 2004, the New Jersey Nets allowed a 19-year-old LeBron James to score a then-career high 41 points on them in the 69th game of his career, when he was a rookie with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Nets were obviously disappointed with the three-point defeat and the performance that led to it, but they can now take some measure of solace in the fact that James, 19 years later, has now done that against every single team in the NBA.

Rubio has been ruled out for Friday's game against the Thunder due to left knee injury management. Rubio played 17 minutes off the bench and totaled five points (2-7 FG), seven assists, three rebounds and one steal during Thursday's win over the Rockets. However, the veteran forward is coming off a lengthy rehab following ACL surgery and will take the second night of Cleveland's back-to-back set off to rest his left knee. Donovan Mitchell (groin) is doubtful for Friday's contest, so it looks like Darius Garland and Caris LeVert will operate as the Cavaliers' starting backcourt, while Raul Neto and Cedi Osman could see increased roles off the bench.

Ben Roethlisberger typically likes to wait three seasons before making any declarations on a quarterback. While Joe Burrow's third season is technically not over yet, Roethlisberger is ready to declare the Bengals' 26-year-old quarterback as the real deal. A year after leading the Bengals to the Super Bowl, Burrow's continued...

Rob Ninkovich probably isn’t welcome at Tom Brady’s retirement party, whenever that might happen. Ninkovich was teammates with Brady when the two played for the New England Patriots. The former linebacker now works as an ESPN NFL analyst and during Friday’s appearance on the Keyshawn, JWill, and Max show he said that he had texted Read more... The post Tom Brady sends former teammate harsh text appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.

Some team is going to trade with the Chicago Bears at No. 1 overall to select one of the marquee quarterback prospects in this draft class. Last week, my mock featured the Panthers doing it. This week, let's run a simulation with the Raiders doing so. Also in this mock,...

The Jets found their new offensive coordinator this week, hiring former Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett. The move reunites Hackett with coach Robert Saleh, more than a half-decade after the two worked together with the Jaguars. But what does the staffing change mean for the Jets moving forward? Easy: a splashy quarterback change.

Kelce (back), who was listed as a full practice participant Friday, is listed as questionable for Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Bengals, Matt McMullen of the Chiefs' official site reports. Though Kelce handled every rep in the Chiefs' final practice of the week, the tight end's official questionable designation...

Despite his impressive work as the Panthers' interim head coach, Steve Wilks was not chosen to be Carolina's permanent coach. The job instead went to Frank Reich, who was fired by the Colts nine games into the 2022 season. Wilks expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to be the Panthers head coach for their final 12 games of the season, saying he will always be a fan of the team in a statement he tweeted on Friday morning.

The San Francisco 49ers will aim for their 13th consecutive victory and a trip to the Super Bowl when they visit the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in the 2023 NFC Championship Game. San Francisco (15-4) hasn't lost since Week 7 against Kansas City, reeling off 12 straight wins to match the franchise single-season record set in 1984. The NFC West champion 49ers are playing for the conference championship for the third time in four years after defeating Dallas 19-12 last weekend in the 2023 NFL playoffs. Philadelphia (15-3), which won its third NFC East title in six years, rolled past the division-rival New York Giants 38-7 in the Divisional Round of the 2023 NFL playoff bracket.

Hurst (calf) was limited at practice Thursday, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports. Hurst practiced fully Wednesday, so the tight end's addition to the Bengals' injury report makes his status worth tracking as Sunday's AFC Championship Game against the Chiefs approaches. He dealt with a calf issue back in December, but it's unclear if his listed limitations Thursday are indicative of a setback in practice or a case of workload management.

The Lakers made their first trade of the season on Monday when they landed Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura. The move was solid in a vacuum: three second-round picks and salary filler for a recent lottery pick at a premium position. It's hard to ask for much better, yet it would be hard to argue that Hachimura, alone, solves this team's woes. As much upside as he offers, he's inconsistent on both ends of the "3-and-D" spectrum, which happen to be the two traits this team needs most.

Love (back) won't play Thursday against the Rockets, Chris Fedor of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. After getting added to the injury report late Thursday, Love will ultimately sit out against the Rockets, putting Dean Wade and Cedi Osman in line for more minutes. The veteran's next chance to return to the court will be Friday against the Thunder.

Gordon has been ruled out for Thursday's game against Cleveland due to right knee soreness. Gordon has played at least 30 minutes in each of his last six appearances, averaging 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 31.3 minutes per game over that stretch. However, he's dealing with a knee issue that will sideline him for the first time since Dec. 27. Jae'Sean Tate (ankle) is also out, so Kenyon Martin, Garrison Mathews and Tari Eason will likely see increased run Thursday.

The NBA has no greater hype man than Daryl Morey. Philadelphia's president of basketball operations once claimed that James Harden was a better scorer than Michael Jordan. Between Harden and Joel Embiid he finds ways to insert himself into the MVP conversation almost every year. But with the NBA announcing this year's All-Star starters on Thursday, he took things in a new direction. Embiid missed the cut in the crowded Eastern Conference front-court race, and Morey blamed the media's concentration of reporters with ties to Boston.

Doncic (ankle) will not return to Thursday's contest against the Suns, NBA writer Marc Stein reports. Doncic picked up a left ankle sprain three minutes into Thursday's matchup with Phoenix and he won't return, finishing with only one rebound. Expect Josh Green, Spencer Dinwiddie and Tim Hardaway to all see an uptick in minutes for the remainder of Thursday's contest. The severity of Doncic's ankle injury is uncertain at this point.

Castano (shoulder) cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Jacksonville by the Marlins on Thursday, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. Miami designated Castano for assignment last week as the corresponding 40-man roster move for its completion of a free-agent agreement with veteran starter Johnny Cueto. The 28-year-old left-hander holds a 3.89 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 45:28 K:BB ratio in 85.2 career innings at the MLB level.

The New York Mets and reigning National League batting champion Jeff McNeil have agreed to a four-year extension worth $50 million, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The contract includes a club option that could increase the value to $63.75 million. McNeil, 30, was previously scheduled to qualify for free agency...