Look to the stars

Getty Images After a 46-point showing against the Clippers on Tuesday, LeBron James followed up with 20 points in the Lakers ' 113-104 win over the Spurs on Wednesday that also marked the return of Anthony Davis and the L.A. debut of Rui Hachimura . With the 20, James continues to close in on the all-time scoring record. Below you can see where LeBron's pursuit of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career mark stands. ALL-TIME SCORING LEADER CAREER POINTS POINTS TO PASS Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387 ___ LeBron James 38,230 158 For the season, James is averaging 29.9 points per game. If he maintains that pace, he will need just six more games to pass Abdul-Jabbar. If James doesn't sit out any games between now and then, and again, if the pace is maintained, the record would come at home against Oklahoma City on Feb. 7. Obviously James would prefer to break the record in Los Angeles. The league would love it, too. James has been on such … [Read more...] about LeBron James record tracker: Lakers star on pace to break Kareem’s all-time scoring mark at home

Getty Images Last week, the NHL unveiled its jerseys for the 2023 NHL All-Star Game at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla. The league went with a Reverse Retro approach this season, so let's see whether it worked. Over the past few years, every NHL team has introduced two Reverse Retro jerseys, and they have largely been a hit with fans of every team. Because of that success, the NHL chose to take that route by redesigning the jerseys from the 1994 All-Star Game in order to give them a look more appropriate for South Beach. The updated away jersey features a white torso in the shape of a star with the old-school Western Conference logo in the center. Black and pink piping separates the bottom of the torso and the sleeves, which are covered in a neon blue The home jerseys, which belong to the Eastern Conference in this instance, feature a black star-shaped torso with neon pink and blue piping and a white accent at the bottom of the torso and sleeves. ⭐️ Inspired by … [Read more...] about 2023 NHL All-Star Game: Grading the Reverse Retro jerseys

From a blockbuster tie between Man City and Arsenal to Tottenham's trophy dream and Wrexham's Hollywood story, we pick out the FA Cup fourth-round talking points... Is it time for Pep's apprentice to become the master? Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola have been friends for more than two decades, colleagues at Barcelona and City and now, for the first time, title rivals. Arteta's links to Guardiola predate even before his professional debut. Both progressed through Barcelona's La Masia youth system - where despite being 11 years Pep's junior, the now-Arsenal boss was already weighed down by comparisons to the legendary midfielder and their remarkably similar styles of play. Guardiola took the teenager under his wing, offering him guidance and striking up a chord which would last for more than two decades, to the present day. But while Pep had gone on to make the middle of the Nou Camp pitch his own, Arteta - stuck behind the generational duo of Xavi and Andres Iniesta … [Read more...] about FA Cup fourth round: Liverpool, Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Wrexham stories to look out for

With more than half of the 2022-23 season in the books and the All-Star Game approaching, it's time to name the starters for the league's mid-season exhibition. Those starters were determined by a vote divided amongst fans (50 percent), media (25 percent) and players (25), and on Thursday, those starters were announced on TNT with an assist from the accounting firm Ernst and Young. With two guards and three front-court players coming from each conference, the following 10 players have been selected: Player Position Conference *LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers Forward West Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans Forward West Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets Center West Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks Guard West Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors Guard West *Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks Forward East Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics Forward East Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets … [Read more...] about 2023 NBA All-Star Game roster announcement takeaways: LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo voted team captains

USATSI The 2023 NBA All-Star starters were announced Thursday night, and naturally, a couple players who are looking at bench roles have a legitimate beef. First, here are the starters, which were selected using a weighted system in which the fan vote accounted for 50 percent, and the media and player votes 25 percent each. Western Conference: LeBron James (captain), Stephen Curry , Luka Doncic , Zion Williamson , Nikola Jokic Eastern Conference: Giannis Antetokounmpo (captain), Donovan Mitchell , Kyrie Irving , Jayson Tatum , Kevin Durant Now, let's get to the starter snubs, starting with the most obvious. Joel Embiid It's not an honest snub unless you can say who should be replaced, and in this case, Embiid deserved to start over Anteokounmpo. The media and players agreed, voting Embiid third among frontcourt players behind Tatum and Durant, but Embiid wound up fourth in the fan vote, where Giannis was first. That was the difference. I get … [Read more...] about 2023 NBA All-Star: Joel Embiid biggest starter snub; Anthony Davis had a strong case over Zion Williamson

247Sports on Thursday afternoon released the final edition of the 2023 Top 247 rankings, headlined by the 32 five-star prospects designated annually. Four of those players rose to 100 ratings 247Sports on Thursday afternoon released the final edition of the 2023 Top247 rankings, headlined by the 32 five-star prospects designated annually. Four of those players rose to 100 ratings — 98 represents the five-star threshold — to lead the class. As a reminder, December's pre-Early Signing Period update marked the beginning of the Top247's new five-star era, which will take full effect in the 2024 class. That means the next update to the 2024 Top247 will feature a full 32-player five-star field. Stay tuned for that in the coming spring. Below readers will find a link to the full 2023 Top247 final edition, as well as the final 32-player five-star field for the senior class. As for that quartet of 100-rated prospects atop the board, we provide some context on their standing as well. … [Read more...] about 2023 Top247: Final edition sets 5-star field

Getty Images The year is 2029. Graham Potter's vibrant Chelsea side are once more sweeping all ahead of them, swashbuckling in attack but with the defensive instincts that only come through years together on the training ground. Yet another Champions League is seemingly within reach for this side, who, for what feels like a generation, have grown together into a footballing force. That, perhaps, is the end vision underpinning Chelsea's radical new approach to the management of contracts at Stamford Bridge. In an era of dwindling patience and fast fixes, the Todd Boehly-led consortium that took control last summer are building a squad for the long term, whether they like it or not. Golazo Starting XI Newsletter Get your Soccer Fix from Around the Globe Your ultimate guide to the Beautiful Game as our experts take you beyond the pitch and around the globe with news that matters. I agree to receive the "Golazo Starting XI Newsletter" and marketing … [Read more...] about How Chelsea’s new spin on long-term contracts aligns with Todd Boehly’s approach as Dodgers minority owner

USATSI For the second straight season, the road to the Super Bowl will run through Kansas City in the AFC. And for the second straight season, the Bengals will be the ones looking to keep the Chiefs from making another big-game appearance. A year after edging Patrick Mahomes and Co. to face the Rams in Super Bowl LVI, Cincinnati enters this year's AFC Championship Game with lots of momentum. Whereas Mahomes is nursing an ankle injury after edging the Jaguars , Joe Burrow and his squad are fresh off a rout of the high-powered Bills , making Sunday's anticipated rematch a true tossup for oddsmakers. We already know both teams are talented, considering they're the last two standing in the AFC. But which one has the early edge on paper? Here's a position-by-position assessment: QB Bengals: Joe Burrow Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes Talk about a matchup! Mahomes has the benefit of experience, with five straight AFC title bids and two Super Bowl appearances under his … [Read more...] about 2023 AFC Championship: Bengals vs. Chiefs, position-by-position advantages, who has the edge?

Getty Images The NFC Championship game between the 49ers and Eagles will be an old-school slugfest with a new-school twist. The new school would be the 49ers' position-less football and Kyle Shanahan's motion offense, and the Eagles' RPO attack led by MVP finalist Jalen Hurts . Sure, there are superstar playmakers all over the field, but make no mistake, this game will still be one for the football purists, fought and won in the trenches. "I expect it to be a battle all the way through," 49ers linebacker Fred Warner told reporters on Wednesday . "Both the Cowboys and Eagles are physical and talented teams who are really fast and have a lot of talent. Just like it was a battle this past week [against Dallas], I'm expecting that, if not more, this week, them being in their home stadium, home crowd behind them. They're going to be juiced up, ready to go." Both teams come in highly rated up front. The Eagles have the No. 1 pass block and pass rush grades at Pro … [Read more...] about 2023 NFL playoffs: Breaking down 49ers-Eagles trench matchup for the ages ahead of NFC Championship game

247Sports It was a simpler time six years ago. The lone National Signing Day for the 2017 cycle was the first Wednesday in February, but that was before everything changed 10 months later with the introduction of the early signing period in December. Since that first early signing period during the 2017-18 recruiting cycle, we've witnessed a seismic shift in the timing of when top recruits announce their college choices and sign with their schools, a timeframe that has heavily shifted to December. Though the landscape has drastically changed, there remains a few uncommitted/unsigned players who have yet to make their decisions and will do so on Wednesday, Feb. 1. So there are still plenty of storylines to follow during the traditional National Signing Day which will take center stage next week, so let's break down some of the top ones to follow as the 2023 recruiting cycle quickly comes to a close. 1. Coach Prime's time In December 2021, Deion Sanders and Travis Hunter … [Read more...] about College football recruiting: Five key storylines to follow during National Signing Day 2023