Sports Poets Society

MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES Jamal Murray deposits two of his 26 points as the Nuggets win their NBA Finals debut over the Heat.  The teams meet Sunday in Game 2. Jokic has triple-double as Denver cruises in opener NUGGETS 104, HEAT 93 Game 2: Heat at Nuggets Sunday, 8 p.m., ABC Denver — The leading juggernaut of these NBA playoffs needed only a few minutes Thursday to prove that rust wouldn’t be slowing its roll. After enjoying a nine-day break before the Finals, the Denver Nuggets looked focused, imposing and, above all, well oiled in their series opener against the Miami Heat, making the most of their first visit to the championship stage. The points came early, often and effortlessly for the Nuggets during their 104-93 Game 1 victory over the Heat at Ball Arena. To set the tone, Denver’s egalitarian offense, built around Nikola Jokic’s playmaking and Jamal Murray’s shot-making, opened by attacking the heart of Miami’s undersized defense. While Jokic towers over Bam Adebayo insid

Pep Guardiola gives instructions to John Stones during Manchester City’s Champions  League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.  Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jun/02/the-season-of-stones-how-barnsley-beckenbauer-sparked-citys-surge Manchester City’s treble bid has been built not only on Erling Haaland but on subtle changes and innovations further back Jonathan Liew  - The Guardian Fri 2 Jun 2023 14.00 BST “Talk about John Stones. Please, before Haaland.” And Pep Guardiola banged his head on the press conference dais in mock exasperation. It was September last year, at the height of Erling-mania, and Manchester City had just beaten Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League with a goal from their big new striker. But Guardiola was keen to shift the conversation elsewhere. And in hindsight, Guardiola was not really joking. Instead, he was trying to give us a clue. He was, as ever, urging us to look beyond the superficial and see what was ha

Nikola Jokic, right, finished with a game-high 27 points,  10 rebounds and 14 assists, his ninth triple-double of these playoffs. The unusual history of the Nuggets has led to this peak Jerry Brewer 2 Jun 2023 - The Washington Post Denver — On the eve of history, a modest crowd gathered at Bannock Street Plaza on Wednesday afternoon to commemorate the Denver Nuggets’ first NBA Finals appearance . The mayor did what mayors do, bottling the enthusiasm and making a gesture. Michael Hancock declared that, finally, the city belonged to this NBA franchise that had never been good enough. During his 12 years as mayor, Hancock has created a tradition of renaming the street here when a team played for the championship. He did it for the Broncos and the Avalanche , which won the Stanley Cup last season. But there was something about the navy blue and gold Denver Nuggets Way sign that felt more meaningful than a customary act. The Nuggets haven’t had many nice things. Their good has stood as a

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed-oGOPql-E by Jim McArdle - Irish Times Although there have been very good international wins on the amateur scene during 1992 by Conor Henry, Stephen Spratt and David Hourigan, my highlight of the season was Stephen Roche's Tour de France stage win. I was not at the Tour of Britain for Henry's great triumph or when Hourigan won the Manx International in the Isle of Man. Spratt's most recent success in the tour of Hokkaido in japan was, of course, well out of range but I followed closely his exploits in the Ras where his victory was clouded by the unfair tactits of a few of his "mates" against the Italian race leader. My straightforward reporting on what occurred that day in Dun Laoghaire led to a defamation of character action so I'll have to leave it at that but Spratt could really have won it on his own without the efforts of the "gang of six".  The national road race championship, won by Ian Chivers, unfortunately