Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
Celtics-Knicks on
ring night highlight
new NBA schedule
Boston will get its championship rings on Oct. 22, and the rival New York Knicks will be there for the celebration.
The NBA schedule was released Thursday for the coming season, and Game 1 on the slate is the Celtics hosting the Knicks on opening night — the one where the NBA champions will get their rings and reveal their 18th championship banner.
The second game on opening night has Minnesota visiting the Los Angeles Lakers, a reunion of Olympic gold medalists with the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards facing off with the Lakers’ LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The league released 1,200 of the 1,230 games on the schedule Thursday; the other 30 will be slotted in December, depending on how teams fare during the NBA Cup. The schedule for those tournament games was released Tuesday, with Klay Thompson’s return to Golden State as a member of the Dallas Mavericks among the matchups.
Some regular-season contests were previously announced, such as Miami and Washington playing in Mexico City on Nov. 2 and the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers playing a home-and-home in Paris — with Spurs star and France native Victor Wembanyama as the main attraction — on Jan. 23 and Jan. 25.
A look at the rest of the slate:
Christmas Day games
Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio go to New York to start the Christmas Day quintuple-header, followed by Minnesota at Dallas, Philadelphia at Boston, the Lakers at Golden State and Denver at Phoenix.
It’ll be the first Christmas game for the Spurs since 2016 and the first for the Timberwolves since 2017. Milwaukee won’t play a Christmas game for the first time in seven seasons.
All 30 teams playing
There are four nights this season where all 30 teams will be in action, starting with Nov. 4 — when a new game will start every 15 minutes from 7 p.m. through 10:30 p.m. EST.
The other dates when all teams are playing: Feb. 12, April 11 (the second-to-last day of the regular season) and April 13 (the last day of the regular season).
Election Day among the off days
For the third consecutive year, Election Day — Nov. 5 this year — will not have any NBA games, with the league saying it wants to “continue to encourage fans and the broader NBA community to make a plan to vote and participate in the civic process. As part of this initiative, the NBA will share important resources from voting organizations and highlight the civic engagement work of teams in their markets.”
Other off days for the NBA this season: Nov. 28 (Thanksgiving), Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve), Feb. 17-19 (the break following All-Star weekend, which starts Feb. 14) and April 12. There will likely be one other dark day in December, depending on how the schedules are set for those teams that do not make the NBA Cup semifinals.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day slate
There are seven games on Jan. 20 as part of the league’s annual celebration of the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: Dallas at Charlotte, Detroit at Houston, Minnesota at Memphis, Atlanta at New York, Phoenix at Cleveland, Boston at Golden State and Utah at New Orleans.
Memphis, where King was assassinated in 1968, will host a game on the holiday for the 22nd time in the last 23 seasons.
Durant going back to college, for one night
Kevin Durant could play at least one more game at his college home.
The Spurs will play two games in Austin, Texas, again this season — Feb. 20 against Durant and Phoenix, then Feb. 21 against Detroit.
Durant played his one college season at Texas. He had 30 points in his home finale as a member of the Longhorns on Feb. 28, 2007.
That schedule means Detroit won’t be going to San Antonio this season. The Pistons are 1-13 in their last 14 trips to the Spurs’ home arena.
LeBron’s 40th birthday
This season will be the 22nd in the NBA for LeBron James, tying Vince Carter for the league’s longevity record.
And he gets his 40th birthday off.
The Los Angeles Lakers don’t play on Dec. 30. They’re at home on Dec. 28 against Sacramento (his first NBA opponent, when he was just 18) and then off until a home game Dec. 31 against Cleveland (his first NBA team).
James is 5-5 in birthday games.
Intuit Dome opener
The first official game inside the Intuit Dome, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers, is Oct. 23 when they take on the Phoenix Suns.
The Clippers have shared an arena with the Los Angeles Lakers since the 1999-2000 season. It wasn’t terribly uncommon for the Clippers and Lakers to play home games on the same day — one would play in the afternoon, then the other at night after the court was swapped out and the building quickly cleaned.
But there will be at least eight dates this season where the Clippers and Lakers are both playing at home, and all but one of them will feature simultaneous games: Jan. 11, Jan. 13, Jan. 15, Jan. 21, Feb. 6, Feb. 8, March 18 and April 4.
Super Bowl Sunday schedule
Once again, the NBA will be done for the day long before kickoff of the Super Bowl.
There are three games on Feb. 9, the day of the NFL’s title game: Charlotte at Detroit at 1 p.m., Toronto at Houston at 2 p.m. and Philadelphia at Milwaukee at 2 p.m.
Kickoff time for the Super Bowl is typically around 6:30 p.m.
Finals rematches
Boston goes to Dallas on Jan. 25 in the first rematch this season of last season’s NBA Finals. Dallas goes to Boston on Feb. 6.
This is the seventh consecutive season in which there won’t be an NBA Finals rematch on Christmas Day. There had been a Christmas rematch of the previous season’s finals in five of the seven seasons before that.
No. 1 faces No. 1
The two games between the teams with the most recent No. 1 draft picks — Victor Wembanyama from San Antonio and Zaccharie Risacher from Atlanta — will be nationally televised. The games will be Dec. 19 in San Antonio on TNT, then Feb. 5 in Atlanta on ESPN.
Both players are natives of France.
NCAA title game day
It’s been an unofficial tradition that the day of the NCAA men’s basketball championship game is an off day in the NBA. That won’t be the case this year, with Sacramento playing at Detroit and Philadelphia at Miami on April 7.
The men’s Final Four this year is in San Antonio; the Spurs won’t be going. They’ll play host to Cleveland on April 4, the day before the national semifinals, then head out on a road trip.
The last day
All 30 teams will play on the final day of the season, April 13 — with every game set to start at either 1 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. EDT.
Every team will take on an opponent from its own conference, except Toronto and San Antonio. The Raptors will visit the Spurs.
NBA Finals lookahead
Game 1 of the NBA Finals will be June 5.
That means — if the schedule is shaped as it has been in recent years — Game 2 is likely on June 8, Game 3 would be June 11, Game 4 on June 13, Game 5 on June 16, Game 6 on June 19 and Game 7, if necessary, on June 22.
Buffalo Bills starting linebacker Matt Milano out indefinitely
The Buffalo Bills will once again have to make due without the backbone of their defense with linebacker Matt Milano out indefinitely and expected to miss at least the first few months of the season with a torn left biceps.
Bills coach Sean McDermott called it “an unfortunate situation,” in providing the update on Milano on Thursday before Buffalo opened a joint practice at the Steelers’ facility. The teams will then meet in a preseason game at Pittsburgh on Saturday.
Milano was hurt when it appeared his arm was hit during a routine tackling drill on Tuesday. He is scheduled to have surgery and, barring complications, has a chance to return by December.
The injury is the latest setback for the 30-year-old. Milano was being eased back since being cleared to resume practice in mid-June after recovering from a broken right leg, which forced him to miss the final 12 games of last season.
“That’s probably one of the hardest pills to swallow right now, is we just saw him work his butt off … and now this happened,” McDermott said. “He’s resilient and we’ve got to be resilient. We’ve got to move forward and be focused on solutions.”
The four-time defending AFC East champion Bills currently don’t have many answers on their roster in once again having to replace the 2022 All-Pro, who plays a critical role in Buffalo’s two-linebacker defensive system alongside middle linebacker Terrel Bernard.
Though relatively undersized at 6 feet and 223 pounds, Milano’s sideline-to-sideline speed, and hard-hitting ability has led to him being a three-down player since his rookie season in 2017.
Milano’s injury further exposes the Bills’ lack of experience on defense following an offseason of salary cap-forced turnover, which led to the breakup of the team’s veteran secondary. Also not re-signed was backup linebacker Tyrel Dodson, who is now in Seattle and who started 10 games in place of Milano last season.
Milano’s primary backups are second-year player Dorian Williams and rookie fifth-round pick Edefuan Ulofoshio.
The only backup linebackers on Buffalo’s roster with more than three seasons of NFL experience are Deion Jones and Nicholas Morrow, who has missed a large portion of training camp with an ankle injury.
“Dorian’s going to do a good job. He’s been making progress,” McDermott said. “You’re never going to replace a player like Matt or Matt’s influence. But it’s time for our team to move forward in a resilient manner and pick each other up. And guys like Dorian have to step up.”
McDermott also announced backup third-year linebacker Baylon Spector will miss at least a week with a calf injury.
Indianapolis to host 2025 WNBA All-Star Game
INDIANAPOLIS | Indianapolis will host the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game for the first time at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 19, the league announced Wednesday.
This summer’s game featured the All-Star team against the U.S. Olympic team and was played in front of a sellout crowd of 16,407 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. A television audience of 3.44 million watched the All-Stars win 117-109 on July 20 in the most-watched WNBA All-Star Game.
“The city of Indianapolis and the entire state of Indiana have such an incredible and enduring passion for the game of basketball, making the region the perfect host to celebrate the WNBA and the game’s greatest stars,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.
A 3-point shooting contest and skills challenge will be held July 18.
The Indiana Fever, fueled by the buzz surrounding rookie sensation Caitlin Clark, are the focal point for the dramatic increase in the WNBA’s popularity this year. The Fever’s average attendance of just under 17,000 leads the WNBA, and 10 of their games have set league TV viewership records.
“We are in the middle of a pivotal, transformational moment in the history of the WNBA and women’s basketball, and we are thrilled Indiana will be the center of it all with the game’s biggest stars on display during next season’s All-Star Game,” said Mel Raines, CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment. “Leaders across our community are going to do what we do best: welcome fans from around the nation and the globe to Indiana, raise the bar for future host cities, and leave a lasting legacy for our city and state.”
Federal judge halts Bad Bunny firm lawsuit against players’ union
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico | A federal judge halted a lawsuit by Bad Bunny’s sports representation firm against the Major League Baseball Players Association, ruling Thursday the case should be heard by an arbitrator.
Rimas Sports, under its corporate name Diamond Sports LLC, sued in mid-May asking for a restraining order against the union that would allow it to keep working with the company’s clients.
U.S. District Judge Camille L. Vélez-Rivé issued a 23-page order granting a motion by the players’ association to compel arbitration under the union’s regulations.
“The court finds that there are no issues of fact in this case regarding arbitrability, thus allowing the court to summarily dispose of the present controversy at the pre-trial stage,” Vélez-Rivé wrote.
The union issued a notice of discipline to Rimas agents William Arroyo, Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda on April 10 and fined them $400,000 for misconduct. Arroyo was an agent certified by the union to represent players and represented Mats catcher Francisco Alvarez and teammate Ronny Mauricio. Arroyo was decertified and the other two told they could not apply for certification.
Arbitrator Ruth M. Moscovitch is scheduled to hear an appeal by Arroyo.
Rimas claimed in federal court that the union’s actions were beyond scope of its authority to regulate agents.
“The regulations clearly and unmistakably delegate to the arbitrator ample power to decide his or her own jurisdiction, any objections as to the existence, scope, or validity of the arbitration agreement, as well as the existence or validity of the regulations themselves,” Vélez-Rivé wrote.
There was no immediate comment from the union or Rimas.
Vikings No. 2 WR Addison not practicing after hurting left ankle
BEREA, Ohio | Minnesota Vikings No. 2 wide receiver Jordan Addison is not practicing Thursday after injuring his left ankle early in the first of two joint practices with the Browns.
The second-year wideout appeared to step on a Cleveland defender’s foot after jumping to try and catch a pass Wednesday from Vikings starting quarterback Sam Darnold.
Addison got up and tried to walk before stumbling and needing assistance. He was driven off the field on a cart.
Following the workout, coach Kevin O’Connell said he didn’t expect Addison to practice, but was waiting for test results before putting a timeline on the receiver’s return.
O’Connell is scheduled to meet with reporters after Thursday’s practice to provide an update on his team’s injuries. The Vikings will play the Browns in their second preseason game Saturday.
Addison went down on the same day the Vikings lost rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy for the season with a knee injury.
A first-round pick in 2023, Addison had a sensational rookie season with 70 catches for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns. He perfectly complemented star Justin Jefferson, one of the NFL’s most talented receivers.
—From AP reports
