Author: Shekari Philemon

Jahmyr Gibbs signed a three-year extension with the Detroit Lions on Thursday that makes him the highest-paid running back in NFL history, surpassing the record Bijan Robinson set with the Atlanta Falcons earlier the same week. The 24-year-old agreed to a deal worth $67.5 million that can reach up to $75.75 million with incentives and includes $51.5 million guaranteed. The average annual value of $22.5 million edges out Robinson’s $22.25 million, the previous record, and also surpasses the $22 million extension the Indianapolis Colts gave Jonathan Taylor and the $20.6 million Saquon Barkley received from the Philadelphia Eagles. He was…

Jaylen Brown sat down for his introductory news conference as a Philadelphia 76er on Thursday and spent 25 minutes doing what he said he intended to do with this next chapter. Focus forward, not backward. He said he was not fully surprised when he learned he had been traded from the Boston Celtics to a division rival that had eliminated Boston in the first round of the playoffs last season, because his name had come up in trade conversations so regularly over his 10 years with the organization. He was disappointed by how the organization communicated, but threw his phone…

A new allegation has surfaced in the NBA’s ongoing investigation of the Los Angeles Clippers, with a report claiming Kawhi Leonard had an undisclosed sponsorship deal with the company that designed and installed the massive videoboard inside the Intuit Dome. The allegation, reported Thursday by former ESPN contributor Pablo Torre on his podcast, involves Daktronics, the South Dakota-based company that created the Halo Board, described as the largest double-sided halo display built in an arena, inside the Clippers’ $2 billion venue in Inglewood, California, which opened in August 2024. Torre cited two anonymous sources who alleged the sponsorship arrangement was…

Joseph Parker is free to fight again after British anti-doping authorities imposed a three-month ban that has already been served, accepting that any cocaine in the former world heavyweight champion’s system at the time of his October bout with Fabio Wardley entered his body out of competition rather than on the day of the fight. UK Anti-Doping announced Thursday that Parker received the three-month sanction, which was deemed served given that the 34-year-old New Zealand fighter had been provisionally suspended since late November following urine tests taken after his Oct. 25 loss to Wardley at the O2 Arena in London.…

Chicago Sky find a way despite a dramatic Sparks comeback There were stretches on Wednesday night at Wintrust Arena when it looked like the Chicago Sky might give the game away. They built a lead, watched it evaporate and then had to summon something extra in the fourth quarter to make sure the night ended the right way. It did. Chicago defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 95 to 88, improving to 12 wins and 19 losses on the season. The win was not always pretty, but it was complete when it mattered most. A balanced offensive effort, a productive bench…

British boxer Raven Chapman is recovering in a Danish hospital after undergoing emergency surgery for a brain haematoma following a sudden collapse during a sparring session on July 24, with her management confirming she has been taken off sedatives and is awaiting repatriation to the United Kingdom. Chapman, 32, collapsed unexpectedly after a sparring session in Denmark. Emergency services were called immediately, and she was airlifted to a local hospital. Doctors diagnosed her with a brain haematoma and cerebral oedema, and she underwent emergency surgery to stop the bleeding and reduce the swelling. She was subsequently placed in a medically…

Stefon Diggs is signing a one-year deal worth up to $12 million with the Washington Commanders, returning a veteran wide receiver to an offense that had been searching for reliable production opposite Terry McLaurin. Diggs, 32, grew up in suburban Washington and played college football at the University of Maryland, and he had made his desire to play for the Commanders known before the deal materialized. He attended Maryland’s first fall practice on Wednesday and expressed enthusiasm about the combination of the university and the team. The signing gives Washington a proven complement to McLaurin, who has produced five 1,000-yard…

Lonnie Walker IV is returning to the NBA, agreeing to a one-year, $3.3 million deal with the Denver Nuggets after a season in the EuroLeague with Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he averaged 15.2 points and 2.5 rebounds on a lucrative multiyear contract. He and Maccabi reached a separation agreement this week to allow him to pursue the NBA opportunity. He last played in the league with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2024-25, averaging 12.4 points across what was his most recent NBA stint. The guard is entering his eighth professional season and has averaged 10 points per game across his NBA…

Dillon Brooks agreed to a three-year, $73 million contract extension with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, keeping the forward in Phoenix through the 2029-30 season. The deal was negotiated between the Suns’ front office and Brooks’ representation over recent weeks. The extension makes official what the organization had signaled for months, including a public statement from the team’s owner in January that Brooks was not going anywhere. When a trade was floated online, the owner responded directly to shut it down, saying the Suns were not interested and that Brooks was staying. The 30-year-old is coming off the best individual…

Alex Eala kept her perfect North American hard-court run intact on Wednesday with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Alycia Parks in the second round of the National Bank Open in Toronto, moving to 6-0 on the swing and setting up a third-round meeting with Catherine McNally. The win extended a stretch that began with five consecutive victories culminating in the DC Open title in Washington, D.C. last week, and it also served as a direct rematch of a defeat she suffered to Parks in the first round of this year’s Australian Open, where Parks won 6-0, 3-6, 2-6. The…