Can LeBron, Lakers come back from brink against Nuggets?
The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina writes that LeBron James has comeback from big deficits to win it all but this is the biggest.
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1. Can LeBron, Lakers come back from brink against Nuggets?
The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina writes that LeBron James has comeback from big deficits to win it all but this is the biggest.
LeBron James raised his voice both in volume and tone.
The Lakers’ star flashed hints of frustration that he surely felt through the team’s 112-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of their first-round series lead on Thursday after squandering a 12-point first-half lead.
James showed hints of annoyance that he expressed to officials that did not see him draw contact when he drove to the rim. And James expressed defiance over an issue that partly explains why the Lakers face a 0-3 series deficit against Denver for the second consecutive postseason.
The topic: whether the Lakers have felt overwhelmed with matching the Nuggets’ championship excellence and whether their confidence has deflated amid that fruitless pursuit.
“It’s the postseason. We’re professionals. You’re supposed to have anxiety and feel pressure,” James said. “This is the postseason. This is what it’s about. This is what the postseason is about. I don’t know how to answer that question.
“I don’t know. You have to ask individuals that question and see how they feel. It’s hard for me to just be like, ‘This what I think.’ I’m not a mind reader.”
2. Inside Jack Nicholson’s return to Lakers playoff games last year
For a few nights last year, a little Showtime rubbed off on LeBron James and the Lakers, giving new life to an old man and a team, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi.
Jack Nicholson walked down the sidelines by the Los Angeles Lakers’ bench and plopped down in his courtside seats, sandwiched between the scorer’s table and the visitors’ bench. It was Friday, April 28, 2023 Game 6 of the Lakers’ first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, a game they would win — by 40 points! — to advance to the Western Conference semis.
Jack was back, and so were the Lakers.
It was the first time the Lakers had clinched a playoff series at home since 2012, but the loudest ovation of the evening came when the spotlight found Nicholson and the scoreboard blared his signature line from The Shining: “Heeeere’s Johnny!”
3. Harbaugh’s Chargers stay focused, draft OL Alt
The Sporting Tribune's Fernando Ramirez on why Jim Harbaugh and Co. stayed true to their vision and took an offensive lineman.
Since the Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh, his message has been clear: They want to have the best offensive line in the NFL. They want to protect quarterback Justin Herbert and run the football.
It wasn’t a surprise that the first draft pick of the Harbaugh era was Joe Alt, an offensive tackle from Notre Dame.
Harbaugh put priority on the position at the last month’s owners meeting.
“The offensive line to me is important,” Harbaugh said. “If I asked you the question like, ‘What position group depends on no other position group to be good, but every other position group depends on them to be good. What position group is that?’. Offensive line.”
Alt was a three-year starter at Notre Dame and played at left tackle for all 2,178 snaps of his collegiate career.
4. Newest Raider ‘really shocked’ to be headed to Las Vegas
Georgia All-America tight end Brock Bowers became the Raiders' first-round pick at No. 13 in Thursday's NFL Draft in Detroit, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Steve Carp.
hey quickly fell from the board. One after another. Six in the first 12.
If you were the Las Vegas Raiders and you were hoping to select a quarterback Thursday when you picked 13th in the NFL Draft’s first round, you missed the boat.
All the good ones were already gone. Even Michael Penix Jr., the QB whose name was constantly being linked with Las Vegas, was off the board. He was taken at No. 8 by Atlanta, which had picked up veteran Kirk Cousins in the offseason.
So what did Tom Telesco, the Raiders’ first-year general manager do?
He selected a tight end. Brock Bowers of Georgia.
Mind you, the Raiders need help on the offensive line. They need help in the secondary, specifically at cornerback. They have a good young tight end in Michael Mayer, who they took in the second round of last year’s draft. So if you’re a fan of the Silver and Black, you have every right to feel confused by this.
5. USC QB Williams selected 1st overall in NFL Draft
Williams becomes the sixth Trojan to go number one overall in the draft, the most of any school, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Adam Bradford.
What had long been assumed is now official: USC‘s Caleb Williams was the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
When the Chicago Bears called Williams’s name Thursday night, he became the sixth Trojan to be picked first overall in the draft, breaking a tie with Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Georgia for the most of any school. Prior to Williams, USC’s most recent No. 1 overall selection was quarterback Carson Palmer, who the Cincinnati Bengals took in 2003.
After starting his career at Oklahoma, Williams transferred to USC ahead of the 2022 season, following coach Lincoln Riley. In his two seasons with the Trojans, he put up record-breaking numbers, racking up more than 8,000 yards and scoring 93 total touchdowns..
As a sophomore in 2022, Williams won the Heisman Trophy, becoming the eighth Trojan to win the award. During his Heisman Trophy season, the star quarterback threw for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns, while also rushing for 382 yards and 10 scores.
6. Dodgers narrowly escape with win to sweep Nationals
Yamamoto dominates on the mound and Betts and Freeman have big days at the plate, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Grant Mona.
In a complete flip from the prior game, the Dodgers pulled out a 2-1 victory over the Washington Nationals, 2-1, on Thursday and complete a three-game sweep at Nationals Park.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-1) continued his great stretch, throwing six innings with seven strikeouts while allowing four hits and no runs. Washington’s Mackenzie Gore (2-2) took the loss despite throwing six innings and giving up one run.
There wasn’t much offense to go around for either team, however the Dodgers (16-11) out-hit the Nationals 9-7 with three players producing multi-hit games.
7. Video of the Day
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8. Ticket Time
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today:
6:38 p.m. – Twins at Angels – $12
7:00 p.m. – Current at Angel City – $16
7:30 p.m. – Oilers at Kings (Game 3) – $140
9. On the Air
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:
4:00 p.m. – NFL Draft – ESPN
4:07 p.m. – Dodgers at Blue Jays – SportsNet LA
5:00 p.m. – Clippers at Mavericks (Game 3) – ESPN
6:38 p.m. – Twins at Angels – Bally Sports West
7:00 p.m. – Current at Angel City – Amazon Prime
7:30 p.m. – Oilers at Kings (Game 3) – TBS
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. You can also watch every Friday on BLEAV on FuboTV.
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