Lakers air grievances in team meeting as frustration mounts
EL SEGUNDO – The Lakers held a team meeting Thursday, where players were free to air their grievances about the state of the team, including “the business of the organization,” said Brandon Ingram.“Hopefully we think about what we said to each other,” Ingram said. “What we said to the coaches and that the coaches have listened to what we said. Hopefully we can take it into practice, into games and just get better.”Last week veteran center Andrew Bogut said he would be “lying to say that there are guys that are not frustrated on this team.”Plans to chase two maximum-level free agents next summer have made certain players uneasy about their futures with the team; Julius Randle has watched his minutes plummet; and the Lakers (11-22) are in the midst of a four-game losing streak and have lost seven of their last eight games. Walton characterized the Lakers issues as “normal, middle-of-the-season NBA type of stuff.”The situation with Randle is perhaps the most intriguing. The fourth-year forward played just 11 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to Memphis. He was held to just eight minutes one week earlier in a victory against the league-leading Houston Rockets.“Julius has shown us how great he can be,” Walton said. “And I believe in Julius and I continue to challenge him and some nights when he doesn’t play big minutes, it’s because other guys are rolling.“And some nights it’s because I don’t believe he is playing up to the standard that he set for himself. I want him to feel and realize the difference in those nights as part of his growth as a player.” Kuzma said the issues weren’t unusual on any team.“At the end of the day we’re going to have five guys on the floor and somebody’s always going to be frustrated by something,” Kuzma said, “whether that’s playing time, not getting enough shots, coaches being on them too hard or anything. That’s just the game of basketball.” Newsroom GuidelinesNews TipsContact UsReport an Error
AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREUCLA alum Kenny Clark signs four-year contract extension with Packers“I think it was well-needed at the point in time that we were at,” Ingram said. “I think in these last two games, very winnable games, I don’t think we played up to our potential.”Rookie forward Kyle Kuzma characterized the meeting as a “heart-to-heart” and that the Lakers were “just trying to get back on the same page.”Coach Luke Walton said Bogut bringing the Lakers frustrations to light helped spur the decision to meet as a group. The Lakers were scheduled to practice Thursday morning, but Walton instead showed film and brought everyone into an open forum.He even said he considered burning sage, a la Phil Jackson.“There’s some frustration,” Walton said. “But there’s frustration on every team unless you win every game. Whenever you lose games, there’s frustration, people want to play more as everyone in the league should want to play more.”
AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREUCLA alum Kenny Clark signs four-year contract extension with Packers2004: Named the NBA Rookie of the Year (he was the Rookie of the Month every month of the season).March 27, 2004: Becomes the youngest NBA player to score more than 40 points in a game with 41 against the New Jersey Nets.Aug. 2004: Makes his first Olympics appearance for the U.S. national team.Nov. 27, 2004: Becomes the youngest NBA player to score 2,000 points in their career.Feb. 8, 2005: Is named a starter for the NBA’s Eastern Conference All-Star Team. LeBron James has been on the national radar since he was in high school. Here’s a look at some of the key events that have shaped his life.2000: Helps lead high school team St. Vincent-St. Mary of Akron to the Ohio state championship. The team wins the championship in three of James’ four high school seasons.Feb. 18, 2002: James is featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the words, “The Chosen One.”June 26, 2003: Is chosen No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA draft. March 20, 2005: Becomes the youngest NBA player to score more than 50 points in a game with 56 against Toronto.Feb. 19, 2006: Is named to the All-Star team again and becomes the youngest MVP of the game.July 10, 2010: Announces he is leaving the Cavaliers to sign with the Miami Heat.June 21, 2012: The Miami Heat win the NBA Finals, marking James’ first championship in his third Finals appearance.Jan. 16, 2013: Becomes the youngest NBA player to score 20,000 points.June 24, 2014: Chooses to become a free agent.July 11, 2014: James tells Sports Illustrated that he’ll leave the Miami Heat and returnd to the Cleveland Cavaliers.Dec. 7, 2015: Nike confirms that it has signed a lifetime deal with James.June 19, 2016: The Cavaliers rally from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors 93-89 in a deciding Game 7 to win the NBA title. James is unanimously voted the Finals MVP after leading the Cavs to the first major sports championship that any Cleveland pro team has won since 1964.May 25, 2017: James passes Michael Jordan as the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring leader with 5,995 points. Jordan’s record of 5,987 held for 20 years.May 31, 2017: Police report a racist slur was spray-painted on the front gate of James’ Los Angeles home. At a press conference in Oakland, James comments on the state of race relations in the United States. “No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough.”Jan. 23, 2018: He becomes the seventh, and youngest, player in NBA history to score 30,000 points. The only other players who have eclipsed 30,000 points are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Dirk Nowitzki.June 2018: He is ranked number six on Forbes’ list of the world’s highest-paid athletes.July 1, 2018: James announces he is leaving the Cavaliers to sign with the Lakers.
Newsroom GuidelinesNews TipsContact UsReport an Error
“Ever since I stopped drinking, it’s been a transformation,” Seferian-Jenkins said. “It really has changed my life. I just try to win one day at a time. … Knowing you need help and you don’t go get it, that’s the worst thing.”Between injuries and disciplinary issues, Seferian-Jenkins played only 43 games in five seasons since being drafted in the second round by Tampa Bay in 2014. He has 116 career receptions for 1,160 yards and 11 touchdowns. Patrick Peterson surprises Cardinals by attending OTAs despite suspension The tight end position in New England remains in flux as the team announced Tuesday it has released Austin Seferian-Jenkins shortly after multiple reports that he planned to step away from the game for a month to deal with personal issues.Seferian-Jenkins signed a one-year deal with the Patriots in April after a five-game stint in Jacksonville that ended when he aggravated a core injury and landed on injured reserve. Browns’ Duke Johnson says team put him on trade block before he asked to be dealt Titans’ Adam Humphries explains decision to pass on Patriots It’s unclear what personal issues Seferian-Jenkins is dealing with, but he admitted to seeking help for a drinking problem in 2017 — less than a year after a DUI arrest that resulted in him being cut by the Buccaneers.Seferian-Jenkins told ESPN at the time he had stopped drinking. Related News With Seferian-Jenkins now off the depth chart, New England is left with Stephen Anderson (36 career receptions), Matt LaCosse (27), Ryan Izzo (0) and Andrew Beck (0) as options at tight end … a tough reminder of the stability it enjoyed at the position before Rob Gronkowski retired this offseason.Benjamin Watson was signed out of retirement last month but will serve a four-game suspension to start the season after testing positive for PEDs.New England has been linked to trade talks for Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, who is entering the final year of his contract and has been adamant about not taking a pay cut to remain in Minnesota.
MLB took a big step in improving fan safety in 2018 when all 30 ballparks extended their foul ball netting to the far ends of the dugouts at the very least. However, that hasn’t completely prevented fans from getting injured. There have been conversations about whether protective nets should go all the way down the foul lines.Among those wanting a change is Almora, who called for baseball stadiums to provide more protection for fans just two days after his line drive foul ball struck the young fan.”I hope this never happens again,” Almora told reporters (per ESPN). “So whatever the league has to do to make that happen. … I don’t think any kid that goes to a baseball game with their parents or loved one should worry about making (it) out unhealthy. I don’t think that should ever cross their mind. So whatever the league needs to do to do that, that should be in place.” Dallas Keuchel rumors: Yankees, Braves favorites to sign Cy Young winner Andrew McCutchen injury update: Phillies outfielder tears ACL, out for season MLB wrap: Marlins use record-setting inning to pull away from Brewers The concern around fan safety from foul balls came up once again last week following a scary moment in the Cubs-Astros game when a line drive struck a young fan. Despite the growing debate, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred doesn’t expect there to be any action regarding the protective netting around ballparks during the season. He said Tuesday it would be hard to enforce the change because of structural issues in each individual stadium, however, he believes the incident at Minute Maid Park will lead to more conversations in the offseason. “But, there is a balance here. We do have fans that are vocal about the fact that they don’t want to sit behind nets. I think that we have struck the balance in favor of fan safety so far, and I think we will continue to do that going forward.” The scary moment happened last Wednesday when Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr. hit a line drive down the third-base line that went into the field-level stands. The ball ended up hitting a young girl and she was later taken to the hospital.”It is important that we continue to focus on fan safety,” Manfred said (via The Associated Press). “If that means that the netting has to go beyond the dugouts, so be it. Each ballpark is different. The reason I hesitate with ‘beyond the dugout,’ I mean, a lot of clubs are beyond the dugout already. Related News
Redskins’ Dwayne Haskins is ‘for sure’ a contender to start at quarterback, Jay Gruden says Smith announced in May that he will not be playing in the 2019 season for personal reasons, and while he addressed the trade rumors he’s been involved in, he reiterated that he isn’t retiring. He will instead use the time away from the field to get his “world in order.”Smith, a fifth-round selection of the Jaguars in 2014, signed a four-year contract extension worth $45 million in 2017, the same year he earned his first Pro Bowl selection.In his five seasons with the Jaguars, he has 587 combined tackles with 7.5 sacks and nine interceptions, three of which were returned for touchdowns. Cowboys’ Rico Gathers suspended 1 game for violating NFL substance abuse policy Texans end pursuit of Nick Caserio; Patriots drop tampering charge Photo of Telvin Smith instagram post: pic.twitter.com/BPbUgvCWMy— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) June 15, 2019The letter showed the Jaguars fined Smith $14,775 for missing the first day, $29,550 for the second and $44,325 for the third, adding that the sanction is required by the 2011 collective bargaining agreement.Smith didn’t seem concerned, though, as he added, “it’s still love!!” Related News Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue also missed minicamp as he seeks a new contract and is expected to be penalized as well. Telvin Smith’s absence from Jacksonville’s three-day mandatory minicamp last week was duly noted.The Jaguars linebacker posted a picture to his Instagram story on Saturday that included a letter from the team saying he had been fined $88,650 for failing to attend.
The British Open cut line can be tricky to pin down while play is in progress.With Round 2 under way at Royal Portrush on Friday, the 2019 leaderboard is crowded at the top. Blistery conditions typical of the British Open presented a challenge for some during Thursday’s Round 1, including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who underwhelmed with a 7-over 78 and an 8-over 79, respectively. The struggling stars start Friday a whopping 12 strokes back of leader J.B. Holmes (5 under). Anything short of a miracle will keep both from playing deep into the weekend as the cut line begins to materialize. More than half of the 156-player field misses the cut at the 2019 British Open. Here’s everything you’ll need to know about the cut line, rules and results as players jockey to make the weekend.MORE: Watch the British Open live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)British Open cut rules for 2019Cut rules vary by tournament on the PGA Tour. At the British Open, the top 70 players on the leaderboard after 36 holes automatically make it through to the third round, plus ties. The Open Championship follows the same rules as the PGA Championship, making them the two most forgiving of golf’s four majors.The top 60 players (plus ties) make the cut at the U.S. Open. Only the top 50 make the cut at the Masters, but there’s also a 10-shot rule that allows players within 10 shots of the clubhouse leader to make the cut at Augusta.TIGER TRACKER: Follow Tiger Woods’ Round 2 at the British OpenBritish Open cut line 2019Shane Lowry and JB Holmes are the British Open leaders at 8-under par through Friday, followed closely by Tommy Fleetwood and Lee Westwood (7-under) and and Cameron Smith, Justin Harding and Justin Rose (6-under). The cut line was officially 1-over with 73 players meeting that bar after Round 2. Cut: 1-overPlayers within cut: 73 (t-58th position)Notables who missed cut: Gary Woodland (3-over), Rory McIlroy (3-over), Tiger Woods (6-over) and Phil Mickelson (8-over)How many make the cut at the British Open?The initial 156-player field will be whittled down to about 70 by the time the first group tees off Saturday morning.British Open live leaderboardLeaderboardThe Open Championship17 – 20 July 2019Pos.Player NameNationalityScoreRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Total1Shane LowryRepublic of Ireland-15676763722692Tommy FleetwoodEngland-9686766742753Tony FinauUSA-7687068712774Lee WestwoodEngland-6686770732784Brooks KoepkaUSA-6686967742786Rickie FowlerUSA-5706966742796Danny WillettEngland-5746765732796Robert MacIntyreScotland-5687271682796Tyrrell HattonEngland-56871716927910Patrick ReedUSA-47167717128011Justin ThomasUSA-37170687228111Jon RahmSpain-36870687528111Francesco MolinariItaly-37469726628111Tom LewisEngland-37568687028111Alex NorenSweden-36871687428116Rory SabbatiniSouth Africa-27070717128216Ryan FoxNew Zealand-26875706928216Sanghyun ParkSouth Korea-26972687328216Lucas BjerregaardDenmark-27068747028220Erik Van RooyenSouth Africa-17068727328320Matthew FitzpatrickEngland-17169707328320Henrik StensonSweden-17069687628320Jordan SpiethUSA-17067697728320Justin RoseEngland-16967687928320Lucas GloverUSA-17269717128320Doc RedmanUSA-17171717028320Cameron SmithAustralia-17066717628320Stewart CinkUSA-17468717028320Louis OosthuizenSouth Africa-17072726928330Webb SimpsonUSAPar6871717428430Kevin KisnerUSAPar7071707328432Bernd WiesbergerAustria+17071747028532Byeong Hun AnSouth Korea+17367707528532Kiradech AphibarnratThailand+16873776728532Joost LuitenNetherlands+17369717228532Andrew WilsonEngland+17667717128532Jason KokrakUSA+17469746828532Ernie ElsSouth Africa+17169727328532Dylan FrittelliSouth Africa+16869707828532Andrew PutnamUSA+17067707828541Russell KnoxScotland+27071687728641Callum ShinkwinEngland+27071757028641Kyle StanleyUSA+27567737128641Matt KucharUSA+27068697928641Benjamin HebertFrance+27369737128641Justin HardingSouth Africa+27165747628641Aaron WiseUSA+27269717428641Xander SchauffeleUSA+27465697828641Patrick CantlayUSA+27071717428641Inn-Choon HwangSouth Korea+27271707328651Charley HoffmanUSA+37073707428751Dustin JohnsonUSA+37267727628751Branden GraceSouth Africa+37071757128751Matt WallaceEngland+37370727228751Shubhankar SharmaIndia+37072776828751Bubba WatsonUSA+37271737128757Kevin StreelmanUSA+47765747228857Adam HadwinCanada+47469727328857Thorbjørn OlesenDenmark+47268777128857Ashton TurnerEngland+46974776828857Paul CaseyEngland+47270737328857Graeme McDowellNorthern Ireland+47370687728863Romain LangasqueFrance+56972707828963Jim FurykUSA+57368757328963Paul WaringEngland+57568757128963Mikko KorhonenFinland+57269717728967Sergio GarciaSpain+66873717829067Yosuke AsajiJapan+67271717629067J.B. HolmesUSA+66668698729067Thomas PietersBelgium+67268747629071Eddie PepperellEngland+87072767429272Nino BertasioItaly+97271757529372Yuki InamoriJapan+970737080293Click here or refresh the page if you can’t view the leaderboard.
Jets’ Adam Gase: ‘We’re going to play meaningful games’ in November and December Le’Veon Bell blasts critics in long rant: ‘You think Beyoncé is waking up singing all day?’ this is loooong overdue!! but I want to take a moment to apologize to all the fantasy owners who picked me last year, I’m sorry I couldn’t pull through for y’all…but trust me, this year’s about to be wayyyy different, I’m bringing the 🏆🏆 this year 😈😈 pic.twitter.com/IvANCzwJ6F— Le’Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) July 29, 2019Bell sat out the entire 2018 season amid his contract dispute with the Steelers.He was then moved to the Jets and signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the team in March. New York coach Adam Gase is confident Bell is a good fit with the team.”Le’Veon Bell is a great player,” Gase has previously said. “He is a good person. He’s been in constant contact with me. I enjoyed my interaction with him when he was here, when he came on his visit for his physical, when we signed him, when he was here for the beginning of phase one. He texts me all the time. All that stuff you get on Instagram, I get it first. That’s how I know what he’s doing.”Bell has tallied 5,336 rushing yards, 2,660 receiving yards and 42 touchdowns through his first five NFL seasons. He is expected to improve a Jets team that finished last season with a 4-12 record, and ranked 26th in rushing yards, and has already fit in well during the first week of training camp.“He has a lot of NFL experience, and I’m just trying to pick his brain on the certain route that he ran,” quarterback Sam Darnold said Monday, via Newsday. “It’s a good thing for our offense and it’s good for me to understand what he’s looking at. He has experienced more football than I have. … Anytime we get that back and forth it’s good for us.” Le’Veon Bell sent fantasy football owners into a frenzy last year after a season-long holdout.Now, the Jets running back wants a clean slate with his new team. C.J. Mosley says ‘whole NFL is sleeping on the Jets’ The three-time Pro Bowl player, and fantasy favorite, apologized Monday for letting fans down. He even went as far as promising a fantasy championship for those who draft him.”This is loooong overdue!! but I want to take a moment to apologize to all the fantasy owners who picked me last year, I’m sorry I couldn’t pull through for y’all,” Bell wrote, “but trust me, this year’s about to be wayyyy different, I’m bringing the (trophy) this year.” Related News
Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello let his frustration get the best of him Wednesday against the Rays. After yielding a run in the first inning, Porcello walked into the dugout and, in a perfectly synched move with both hands, destroyed two TV monitors hanging above the stairs to the clubhouse. Rick Porcello is not thrilled pic.twitter.com/RFFt5AVosM— Sox Lunch (@Soxlunch) July 31, 2019It has been that kind of season for the 30-year-old Porcello, who had a 5.55 ERA in 21 starts entering the game. That stat will go up after his outing Wednesday, as the Rays had touched Porcello for five runs through five innings. No word on the safety of TV monitors in the Red Sox clubhouse or elsewhere in the wake of that outing.On a serious note, the Red Sox need the 2016 Cy Young Award winner to regain his form down the stretch. He has been working on his delivery mechanics in recent days, so stay tuned. Related News MLB trade rumors: Rays acquire Trevor Richards from Marlins in 4-player package that includes top prospect MLB trade news: Dodgers acquire lefty Adam Kolarek from Rays
“We would have played LSU and won,” Gundy told ESPN. “They were an overload-the-box, man-to-man team on defense, and you could not play our team in man that year. We were too good. That still bothers me, that we didn’t get a shot.”MORE: Gundy would treat son the same at OK State, “even if I’m sleeping with your mom”Oklahoma State finished the season ranked third in the BCS standings after an improbable 37-31 overtime loss to Iowa State, which eventually finished the season 6-7. That opened the door for Alabama, which lost a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 matchup with LSU previously that year, to rematch the Tigers in an all-SEC national title game despite the Tide being idle in the final week of the season while No. 3 Oklahoma State whipped No. 10 Oklahoma, 44-10.Gundy can say whatever he wants about how his team matched up with LSU, but the fact is his group couldn’t finish against a vastly inferior Iowa State squad. That is ultimately what cost the Cowboys. (Oklahoma State finished the season 12-1 after beating No. 4 Stanford, 41-38, in the Fiesta Bowl.) That said, it would have been fun to see how Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon measured up against Tyrann Mathieu, Morris Claiborne and company. Seven seasons have passed since one of the biggest controversies of college football’s BCS era took place, and Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy is still sore about it.Gundy, in a wide-ranging interview with ESPN, maintained his 2011 Oklahoma State team would have beaten LSU in the national championship game — if only his Cowboys had been given the chance. “And if the system was set up like it is now, we would have been in the Playoff, Gundy said. “I guess those things don’t drive me as much. I love for our kids to have success, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t dwell on it like I used to.”Ironically, it was that all-SEC title game (and, by extension, OSU’s loss to the Cyclones) that sounded the death knell of the BCS. It lasted only two more seasons, with the inaugural College Football Playoff debuting in 2014. Had it been in place in 2011, the Cowboys would have played Alabama in one semifinal game — regardless of which team was ranked No. 2 or 3 — while top-ranked LSU took on No. 4 Stanford in the other.An unfortunate circumstance of the BCS system, but one that creates one heck of a what-if scenario.
B&H tennis player Mirza Bašić is qualified for semifinals of ITF Futures tournament in Kiseljak, worth 10.000 dollars.Bašić, which is the first holder of tournament, managed to enter the semifinals after the match with Luka Zaninović from Croatia. Luka Zaninović gave up the match in the first set with the result 5:3.The chance for qualification in semifinals have Tomislav Brkić as well, who plays against Samuel Bensoussan from France.(Source: Fena)