Author: Shekari Philemon

Efton Chism III caught a diving one handed touchdown with 1:50 remaining on Sunday to complete New England’s 29 to 26 comeback win in Buffalo, a play that became the focus of a postgame exchange between the two teams. What was said about it? Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson dismissed it. He described the catch as a hell of a play by a practice squad player and an elevated guy, said the receiver would probably not be heard from again and suggested the catch would not be repeated. He also said New England had not done anything better than Buffalo, that…

Lewis Hamilton finished third after recovering from near the back of the field, following a Ferrari decision to start him on slick tyres on a wet surface at the Bahrain Grand Prix, run this year at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit. What went wrong at the start? The tyre choice. He dropped from second to 16th on the opening lap as cars on intermediates passed him, with his Ferrari struggling for grip. He said he had raised concerns before the start, telling the pit wall twice that the track was still wet after inspecting the pit lane surface himself. The team’s…

Carlos Alcaraz reached his first final since returning from a four and a half month injury layoff, beating qualifier Jaume Munar 5 to 7, 6 to 3, 6 to 1 in the Japan Open semifinals on Monday. What happened in the first set? A collapse he could not explain. Having broken midway through to take control, he lost 14 consecutive points to hand the set over, ending it with back to back double faults. The run extended to 16 straight points into the second set. He said afterwards that he did not know what happened and that he seems to…

San Antonio announced before Sunday’s intrasquad scrimmage that forward Tobias Harris strained his left calf during training camp, leaving him questionable for the Oct. 20 season opener against Oklahoma City. What is the timeline? Open. A team spokesman said he would sit out Sunday’s scrimmage and be reevaluated after the preseason, which means no return date has been set and the opener is the first checkpoint rather than a target. How serious is a calf strain? It depends entirely on grade, which has not been disclosed. A mild strain can resolve in a week or two. A more significant one…

Philadelphia held its annual intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday in front of roughly 10,000 people, moving the exhibition from its G League affiliate’s arena in Delaware to its own building to accommodate demand. Why does the venue change matter? Because it is the clearest available measure of interest. A practice game that previously fit in a minor league arena now fills a portion of an NBA one, with fans queuing in the atrium an hour before a noon start. That is a commercial signal rather than a basketball one, and it is the most concrete thing the day produced. What was…

Portland announced a new play by play announcer on Thursday and dismissed him the same day, after a local reporter surfaced social media posts he had written years earlier. What did the team say? That it has no tolerance for racist, sexist or harmful comments and that the posts violated team and league policies as well as its own standards. The Trail Blazers broadcaster will not take the role. The team also apologised to supporters, said it had not met its own bar in the process and committed to doing better. What was in the posts? Racist comments directed at…

Detroit center Jalen Duren agreed to a five year, $200 million fully guaranteed deal on Thursday night, ending a standoff that had run four months and into the opening days of training camp. Did the terms change? No, and that is the notable part. The deal he accepted is the same five year, $200 million offer he declined two weeks ago. Earlier offers during the summer had ranged from $170 million to $190 million, so the team did move substantially across the process, just not in the final fortnight. Then why did it take until Thursday? Because the dispute was…

Deshaun Watson led Cleveland into field goal range in the closing seconds on Thursday night, setting up a 56 yard kick with 10 seconds left to beat Pittsburgh 27 to 24. What is the streak? Three consecutive games with a game winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime. That makes him the second Browns quarterback since the 1970 merger to do it, after Brian Sipe. He had thrown a winning touchdown against Carolina four days earlier. How did the game unfold? Cleveland controlled the first half and then nearly lost it. Deshaun Watson threw for 181 yards before the…

Wang Xiyu won Asian Games women’s singles gold in Nagoya on Friday, beating compatriot Zhang Shuai 6 to 2, 6 to 1 in an all Chinese final that also secured her an automatic place at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. What did the win deliver? Two things at once. The medal and a guaranteed Olympic berth, which removes the ranking pressure most players carry into a qualification cycle. For a player ranked outside the top 50, locking in a Games place three years out is arguably worth more than the gold itself. Who did she beat? Someone she described…

All combined WTA 1000 tournaments will award women the same total prize money as men from 2027, the tour announced Thursday, with the Italian Open, Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open the last to join. How large was the remaining gap? In Rome this year, men’s total prize money was $9.6 million against $8.3 million for women. The other combined 1000 events, at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing, already paid equally, as do all four Grand Slams. Has this been promised before? In Rome, yes. Organisers pledged in 2023 to reach equality by 2025 and did not. That history is…