Ben Simmons had a chance to redeem himself on Sunday at the end of a series noted for his offensive stagnation. He did not. The Philadelphia 76ers point guard posted his fourth single-digit scoring effort of the Eastern Conference semifinals and again not only looked unable to shoot the ball, but unwilling. His five-point, 13-assist, eight-rebound effort arrived as the Atlanta Hawks completed a stunning upset in seven games to topple the top-seeded 76ers and advance to the conference finals… Source link

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns are encouraged with the progress of Chris Paul and are hopeful that he will clear the COVID-19 health and safety protocols at some point early in the Western Conference finals, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Paul is quarantining in Los Angeles and has been symptoms-free since testing positive for COVID-19 last week, sources said. The Suns took care of Game 1 against the Los Angeles Clippers without Paul on Sunday, winning 120-114. Devin Booker elevated his game… Source link

(Bloomberg) — Shenzhen, China’s southern tech hub, is tightening restrictions on public transit and at the airport, after nearly 40 inbound passengers tested positive for Covid. Indonesia’s hospitals are starting to fill up as the country nears 2 million confirmed cases. Japan is looking to accelerate its vaccine rollout by allowing private employers and universities to administer shots on-site. Russia, Germany and Portugal reported an expanding spread of the highly transmissible delta… Source link

Parul Khakhar describes herself as a ‘homemaker first – and a poet, second’ One morning in early May, a poetess living in a nondescript town in India’s western state of Gujarat finished her chores and picked up the newspapers. India was in the throes of a deadly second wave of the coronavirus. Disturbing pictures of India’s holiest river, the Ganges, swollen with bodies of people feared to have died of Covid-19 filled the front pages. There were reports of overflowing cremation grounds, and of… Source link

One of the craziest streaks in the sports betting world will likely end on Monday, when the Los Angeles Dodgers finally are not favored to win.  The overnight line at BetMGM for Monday night’s Dodgers-San Diego Padres game has the Padres as -125 favorites, which isn’t a big deal for any team other than the Dodgers. For the Dodgers, it’s the first time since 2019 they have been underdogs.  The Dodgers’ streak ends at a clean 150 straight games without being an underdog. It’s rare for a… Source link

(Photo by Rod Mar/MLB Photos via Getty Images) A former sports reporter who covered the Texas Rangers wrote in an essay published Sunday that she was raped by an MLB player in 2002.  Kat O’Brien wrote about the alleged attack in an essay for the New York Times headlined “I am breaking my silence about the baseball player who raped me.” O’Brien declined to name her alleged attacker but clarified that he was not a member of the Rangers.  O’Brien described the attack as taking place in a hotel… Source link

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Whether it was destiny or karma was of no relevance to Jon Rahm. He won the U.S. Open on Sunday at Torrey Pines, the perfect time and the perfect place to become a major champion. How it unfolded was beyond his dreams. One shot behind and running out of holes, Rahm made a sweeping, left-to-right birdie putt from 25 feet on the 17th hole to tie for the lead, and closed with another bending 18-foot birdie putt that gave him a one-shot victory over hard-luck Louis Oosthuizen. No… Source link

Simone Manuel (right) celebrates with Abby Weitzeil after they both qualified to represent the U.S. in the 50-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) Simone Manuel, the 2016 Olympic swimming star who has battled complicated health issues in 2021, completed a remarkable comeback on Sunday night, qualifying for her second Olympics mere months after those health issues forced her out of the pool. Manuel won the 50-meter freestyle at U.S. Olympic trials in… Source link

LA JOLLA, Calif. — For about an hour, the U.S. Open had one of the greatest leaderboards in recent golf history, with almost all of the game’s biggest names within two shots of the lead. But then Torrey Pines whittled away the competitors, and down the stretch, only Jon Rahm and Louis Oosthuizen remained standing.  One was the pre-tournament favorite. The other was a perpetual bridesmaid, winner of one major but a second-place finisher in five more. In the end, Oosthuizen was a runner-up… Source link

As his Phoenix Suns secured a Game 1 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference finals on Sunday, the NBA announced that general manager James Jones is the league’s Executive of the Year.  Jones won the award in a tight race, earning nine first-place votes and 65 total points. Utah Jazz Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Dennis Lindsey also secured nine first-place votes but finished behind Jones in total voting with 61 points.  The Suns improved from a 34-39… Source link