What's Next: Refs Gone Wild?8 a.m. Your alarm goes off, waking you to the old Hank Williams Jr. cry, "Are you ready for some football?" Of course you are. The NFL has made sure that you are always ready for some football, because the league is with you everywhere, all the time.… Jul 10 20July 10, 2020Article at Sports Illustrated
NO.2 NEW YORK KNICKSCenter Patrick Ewing vows the Knicks will win the championship this season, a declaration most Knicks fans regard as similar to a Manhattan cabbie's guarantee of a leisurely ride--it's nice to hear but hard to take seriously. Ewing's victory promises… Feb 05 20February 05, 2020Article at Sports Illustrated
NO. 1 LOS ANGELES LAKERSThere are no small roles, only small actors. Rick Fox, the Lakers' swingman and a fledgling thespian, is obviously a believer in that show business adage because he turned down chances to be a leading man for several other teams and signed instead… Jan 22 20January 22, 2020Article at Sports Illustrated
Taylor: Oracle Arena, a California Jewel Box with a history as unique as its varied tenantsThere was a brief time, decades ago when it was new to the Oakland cityscape, that people occasionally referred to it as the Jewel Box. But the nickname didn’t stick, probably because it was too flashy for a building that didn’t stand out or call… Oct 14 18October 14, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: Josh Hader will face plenty of scrutiny on the road, beginning next week at AT&T ParkThe suddenly notorious Josh Hader’s first six games following the All-Star break will be at home in Milwaukee, and for that, the Brewers reliever should be grateful. After the discovery during Tuesday’s All-Star Game of the racist, homophobic and… Jul 19 18July 19, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: Does Adam Silver see the Warriors as a threat or a boon to the NBA?NBA commissioner Adam Silver has a remarkable ability to use language in a way that seems simultaneously quite specific yet somehow open to interpretation. That talent has been on display recently in talking about the Warriors, whom Silver considers… Jul 12 18July 12, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: In attempted career comebacks, Pablo Sandoval and Tim Lincecum are tracking opposite pathsPanda and The Freak. It is a measure of Pablo Sandoval and Tim Lincecum’s enduring popularity around these parts that neither one of them will ever need more identification than that. But they share more than a couple of catchy nicknames and… Jun 28 18June 28, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: Stanford’s loss of Reid Travis highlights the athletic emphasis of the NCAA’s graduate transfer ruleA Bay Area basketball team just lost an elite player in free agency. (Relax, the Warriors’ roster is still intact.) The local star who’s leaving town is Stanford’s Reid Travis, the 6-foot-8, 245-pound power forward— emphasis on power — and two-time… Jun 21 18June 21, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: Warriors don’t need to spend the summer trolling the Cavs — the sweep is enough of a statementSomewhere along the road to three championships in four years the Warriors became a Rorschach test for the basketball world. Look at them and what do you see? A fun, lively group that carries itself with joy and flair on and off the court, or a… Jun 14 18June 14, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: The loss of Dwight Clark leaves a message the NFL needs to answerThe mourning continues. Dwight Clark’s death on Monday brought on a sorrow for everyone who knew him, loved him or just loved watching him that remains fresh and will not soon subside. Memories of “The Catch” and all it meant to the 49ers, to the Bay… Jun 07 18June 07, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: Warriors know Game 3 is their chance to break the Cavaliers’ spirit completelyFor all the talk of adjustments in every postseason series, it’s always hard to avoid the trap of overvaluing the last game in forecasting the next one. The tendency is to spot a trend and expect it to be repeated, and that’s an easy thing to do in… Jun 05 18June 05, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: The Warriors’ good luck is the repeated, and repeated, and repeated residue of designEvery team that wins as much as the Warriors have won over the last four years inevitably attracts more than a few buzzkills who want to diminish their accomplishments by attributing them to lucky breaks, biased officiating and/or preferential… Jun 01 18June 01, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: Reuben Foster’s hearing should reveal a lot about his legal and football futureToday is an important day for Reuben Foster. By the end of it, his legal situation — and with it, his future as a 49er — could be a great deal closer to resolution. At a preliminary hearing scheduled for Thursday morning in a San Jose courtroom,… May 17 18May 17, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: In a NBA playoffs not without its dramatic moments, Warriors-Rockets could be the climactic series fans craveSo far, the playoffs have made good on much of the promise that we were all waiting for during the long, often tedious prelude of the NBA’s regular season. They have been intense at times — witness how testy things got between the Celtics and Sixers… May 10 18May 10, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: Charles Barkley apologized to Draymond Green, but the uproar is mostly about his attitude towards the WarriorsAnother week, another ex-player-turned-television-talking-head picking a verbal fight with Draymond Green. During the Warriors’ first-round series against San Antonio, Green calmly brushed off Chris Webber’s head-scratching comment about how valuable… May 03 18May 03, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: Why TNT analyst Chris Webber’s comment about Draymond Green was foolishIf you spend roughly two and a half hours making quick, spur-of-the-moment comments about events that are unfolding in front of you at breakneck speed, it’s unlikely that your every utterance is going to be a pearl of wisdom. Some of what you say is… Apr 26 18April 26, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: The A’s made a big splash with their free-admission game, but will it lead to anything tangible?It’s impossible not to love what the A’s did on Tuesday night, throwing open the doors of the Coliseum for free admission and parking for their game against the White Sox. It made for a beautiful baseball evening in the East Bay, with a near-capacity… Apr 19 18April 19, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: Spurs are proving to be the perfect opponent to prepare the Warriors for the road aheadDown the stretch of the regular season, the Warriors never had the chance to get themselves ready for the playoffs the way that teams in their elite position usually do. Injuries kept them from playing a set rotation from game to game, and they had… Apr 17 18April 17, 2018Article at The Athletic
Game 6 of the 1986 World Series; a bar in Tuscaloosa, Ala; the uniting power of sportsA good friend who is a Red Sox fan messaged me the other day to call my attention to this tweet: It’s been 32 years. I’m so ready for this. pic.twitter.com/eVxr5PFIEX The Red Sox and Mets having the two best records in baseball, even at this early… Apr 14 18April 14, 2018Article at The Athletic
Taylor: History suggests it’s unlikely — but not impossible — for Warriors to win the title as the No. 2 seedWe are only a few days away from finding out whether the switch that everyone is waiting for the Warriors to flip really exists. As they enter the playoffs this weekend they are much more of a question mark than any 58-win defending NBA champion… Apr 12 18April 12, 2018Article at The Athletic
