ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is not taking the Knicks’ loss well
However, he’s going to pull through and host ‘First Take.’
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ESPN’s Digger Phelps has ‘game plan’ for bladder cancer
Phelps says he has ‘no more tumors’ after surgery for bladder cancer
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ESPN’s Digger Phelps diagnosed with bladder cancer (Yahoo! Sports)
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — ESPN says former Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps has been diagnosed with bladder cancer.
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The Winning Bracket of ESPN’s Tournament Challenge Is Named ‘Lennay Kekua’
And the joke goes on.
Of the 8.15 million brackets created by users for ESPN.com’s Men’s Tournament Challenge, the winning bracket belonged to…an imaginary person?
Rather, the winning bracket was “Lennay Kekua’s entry,” a play on the now-infamous incident involving former Notre linebacker Manti Te’o and his phantom girlfriend that never actually existed.
The bracket was created by user CraigGilmore (of course his name is Craig), whose picks garnered him (or her, can never be too careful these days) a whopping 1,660 points in the bracket challenge, tying them for first place overall with user DiKimbrell34.
As you can see, Lennay Kekua’s entry was remarkably spot on, picking Louisville to beat Michigan in the championship game, and correctly choosing three out of the four teams in Final Four, missing only the Cinderella run by Wichita State.
The whimsically named bracket also took a chance on Florida Gulf Coast University, correctly anticipating the No. 15 seed’s second-round monster upset over Georgetown. In a hipster fashion, it might be safe to say Lennay was into Dunk City before they sold out became mainstream.
The profile of the creator of the Lennay Kekua bracket says they are from Amissville, Virginia, and graduated from Longwood College in Virginia in 1995. Knowing this, we might assume the individual didn’t have an alma mater to cheer for in the tournament or to cloud their judgement while making bracket picks.
But despite their judgement and apparent ability to see into future, it would appear that CraigGilmore’s prize for having the best bracket is as big of a hoax as the namesake of their winning bracket.
ESPN’s entry rules state the following concerning the tie-breaker between the Kekua bracket and DiKimbrell34 (via SBnation):
Tiebreaker #1 – An Entrant’s predicted Tiebreaker Game Score is compared to the actual game score. The differences (absolute values only) between the predicted score and actual score for each team are added together into a combined total. The entry with the smallest total is considered the winning entry.
We’ll see how this pans out for Craig and Lennay, who at the end of the day have only a chance at being drawn for the grand prize: a $10,000 Best Buy gift certificate. Yup, ESPN is great.
Tweet me your best (clean) joke about this whole situation and I might post it here: Dr__Carson
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ESPN’s Jay Bilas: A social media butterfly who doesn’t follow anybody on Twitter
The Duke grad and former trial lawyer reveals why he doesn’t follow any one on Twitter.
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ESPN’s Jay Bilas takes hilarious picture with UCLA cheerleaders
It’s a shame Jay Bilas already has a book cover after his latest Twitter image.
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Jim Boeheim calls ESPN’s Andy Katz ‘idiot,’ ‘disloyal’
After Syracuse’s loss to UConn, the Orange coach had harsh words at the press conference.
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Jim Boeheim Rips ESPN’s Andy Katz in Postgame Press Conference
Syracuse Orange basketball coach Jim Boeheim was understandably upset following his team’s 66-58 loss to the Connecticut Huskies Wednesday night, but he seems to have chosen a shocking outlet upon whom to vent his frustrations.
According to Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager, Boeheim unloaded on ESPN’s Andy Katz in his postgame press conference, calling the broadcaster an “idiot” among other things:
You can listen to the full audio of Boeheim lashing out at Katz here, courtesy of WAER Sports.
One could easily chalk this up to a frustrated coach pinpointing his anger on one person. After all, Syracuse came into Wednesday’s game the No. 6 team in the country and had just lost to a bitter (and unranked) rival.
However, that does not seem to be the case. Schrager was told by sources that Boeheim’s rage toward Katz stemmed from ESPN sharing what he thought was off-the-record information about James Southerland:
The Orange forward had been suspended indefinitely in January due to an academic eligibility issue, but returned against St. John’s on Sunday. Katz wrote extensively about Southerland on Jan. 14, saying he “has let down his teammates and the [coaching] staff.” He also mentioned on ESPN that Southerland admitted his eligibility questions came from two paragraphs in a paper, per Syracuse.com’s Jason Murray.
Regardless of exactly why Katz was “disloyal,” the reporter did not exactly seem fazed by the events. According to WAER Sports’ Twitter feed, Katz insinuated that his loyalties should lie with his employer, not Syracuse University:
Based on reading the tea leaves, it seems like we’re headed for another “on-record and off-the-record” debate. That phenomenon has been a source of contention between reporters and players dating back to the inception of sports reporting (and all forms of media in general).
Boeheim seems to feel Katz violated the trust of someone at Syracuse, while Katz obviously feels otherwise. No matter whose side you ultimately fall on, it’s highly unlikely we’ve heard the last of this story.
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Leitch: ESPN’s Buzzer Beater falls short
Leitch: ESPN’s Buzzer Beater falls short
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ESPN’s Broussard: There’s a Good Chance LeBron Returns to Cleveland in 2014
Well, here we go again.
LeBron James shocked the NBA sphere in 2010 when he decided to take his talents to South Beach to run with Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. Come the summer of 2014, he has a chance to flabbergast the masses again.
And according to ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard, that’s exactly what James may intend to do.
Whilst appearing on ESPN’s SportsCenter, Broussard explained that there is a “good chance” LeBron returns to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014:
I haven’t spoken to LeBron, but I think there’s a good chance he goes back to Cleveland in 2014.
Don’t be surprised. LeBron James loves Northeast Ohio, still lives there in the summer and would love to make it right with that region.
I think there’s a good chance he goes back and I said this when he first left: ‘Don’t be surprised if LeBron James returns to Cleveland.’
I’m telling you, ‘Don’t be surprised.’
Well, Mr. Broussard, color us slightly surprised—for now, at least.
James has the opportunity to become a free agent (again) after next season. Though there’s no way he will have made good on his pledge to bring eight or more championships to Miami, teams are already crafting sales pitches and constructing rosters around his potential availability—including the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Per Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, Cleveland—the same city LeBron spurned a little more than two years ago—is positioning itself to bring Broussard‘s prediction to fruition:
Executives and agents around the league are convinced the Cavaliers won’t do anything to jeopardize their ability to sign a free agent to a max contract during the summer of 2014, when LeBron James can again become a free agent. As fans in Northeast Ohio continue to howl and remain divided about the possibility of his return, more and more people around the league believe there is a strong possibility James will indeed return to Cleveland after next season.
The Cavs are well aware of this, too, and won’t take on a bad contract if it compromises their cap space in two years. That means any bad contract they would obtain in a potential trade would have to expire after next season. It doesn’t make a deal impossible, but it dramatically reduces the field — and it decreases the price the Cavs can command since their future obligations would be brief.
Color us even more surprised.
James is a unique talent, and easily the best there is in the league, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit I’m skeptical about him returning to the Cavaliers. I respect his desire (or need) to make things “right,” but irreparable damage has already been done.
Say LeBron returns to Cleveland, say he wins one or more championships for the team that drafted him. What then?
No matter how many titles James wins for Dan Gilbert and company, he’ll still be the Chosen One who chose to leave. While the team and the entire “region” may be prepared to forgive, they—like the rest of us—will never forget.
And as LeBron contemplates The Decision Part Two, neither will he.
Meaning?
That the Cavaliers, that all of Cleveland may be setting themselves up for a James-invoked heartbreak.
Again.
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