Connect with us

Uncategorized

76ers, Celtics decline to say if they are fully vaccinated, which could have playoff implications, per report

Published

on


When New York City created an exemption to its city-wide mandate that allowed Nets star Kyrie Irving to play in Brooklyn, that looked like the end of the NBA‘s vaccine drama. However, with the first round of the postseason coming up, a new potential problem is emerging for the top teams in the Eastern Conference. 

Starting earlier this season, a Canadian vaccine mandate was put into effect that prevented unvaccinated road players from entering the country. Players have been affected for single games, but thus far, the impact has been relatively minimal. However, with Toronto currently seeded No. 6 in the Eastern Conference, the possibility that they might host several home playoff games is becoming significantly higher.

Right now, there are four teams fighting for the top four seeds in the Eastern Conference: the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics. Barring a major surprise, those are the four teams that will earn the top four seeds, and unless Toronto surprisingly drops out of the playoffs, one of them will battle the Raptors when the playoffs begin. This wouldn’t be a problem for Milwaukee and Miami. According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, both have said that their rosters are fully vaccinated. 

Advertisement

However, when Bontemps reached out to the Celtics and 76ers, both declined to answer, indicating that both teams could have unvaccinated players that would be barred from participating in road playoff games in Toronto. Philadelphia has not yet played in Toronto since the mandate kicked in, but we know that star guard James Harden is vaccinated because he played home games in Brooklyn. Boston played in Toronto on Monday, and while a number of regulars were out, eight players took the floor for them in a 115-112 overtime loss. Those eight players were Grant Williams, Aaron Nesmith, Marcus Smart, Daniel Theis, Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard. Their availability proves that they are vaccinated.

Before Monday’s game, Celtics coach Ime Udoka acknowledged that Toronto had changed their rules, but said that, “all of our guys, if healthy, are available to play.” The 76ers play in Toronto on April 7, which could give some indication of which of their players would be available in a possible playoff series.

For now, the Celtics and 76ers are just trying to secure the best possible playoff positioning. That might mean the highest possible seed and home-court advantage. It might mean avoiding the lower-seeded but extremely dangerous Nets. Now, it might mean avoiding the Raptors.



Source link

Advertisement

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ten − 2 =

Uncategorized

NHL salary cap estimated to increase by $4M for 2024-25 season

Published

on


The NHL salary cap is expected to rise to approximately $87.675 million for the 2024-25 season, the league announced at the Board of Governors meeting Monday.

The salary cap currently sits at $83.5 million for the 2023-24 season after a $1 million rise from 2022-23. The cap remained flat at $81.5 million for the three seasons before that.

During the 2019-20 season, when the season was paused because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the league incurred approximately $1.5 billion in escrow debt. With the debt expected to be paid off by next year, the cap will be able to increase more significantly.

The biggest single-season jump the cap has ever made is $4.5 million.

“The state of the league is very strong,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at the Board of Governors meeting back in October. “The game is in great shape. Our franchises have never been better owned or stronger… Things are good. Vital signs are good. Revenues are growing. Everybody thinks the game is in great shape…”

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr);
gap: 20px;
}

.acf-block-preview .br-related-links-wrapper a {
pointer-events: none;
cursor: default;
text-decoration: none;
color: black;
}




Source link

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Ravens HC Makes Comical Joe Flacco Admission

Published

on


(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

 

One of the main reasons that John Harbaugh is called a Super Bowl champion as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens is the fact that he had quarterback Joe Flacco under center to help lead his team to a title.

Unfortunately for Flacco, his NFL career never hit the same high that it did while he was with the Ravens, as he’s bounced around the league quite a bit over the last five years or so.

Advertisement

After stints with the Denver Broncos and New York Jets, Flacco is currently the starting quarterback for the division-rival Cleveland Browns, as the result of Deshaun Watson going down for the season and the team having somewhat of a revolving door at quarterback.

With the Browns being bitter rivals of the Ravens, Harbaugh was asked what it was like to see his old quarterback wearing a Cleveland jersey while taking on the Los Angeles Rams over the weekend.

Harbaugh openly admitted that he was rooting against Flacco on Sunday, via Sarah Ellison of Ravens Vault.

With the Browns suffering consecutive losses to the Broncos and Rams, the Ravens are starting to separate themselves from the pack in the AFC North division, with the team sporting an impressive 9-3 record and first-place standing in the division.

Advertisement

That said, of course, Harbaugh was rooting against Flacco on Sunday, as he doesn’t want his old quarterback to help the Browns close the gap in the division standings, even though it looks like Baltimore will ultimately win the division title at this point.

The post Ravens HC Makes Comical Joe Flacco Admission appeared first on The Cold Wire.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Patriots Send QB Back To The Practice Squad

Published

on


(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

 

Nothing has gone right for the New England Patriots at the quarterback position ever since superstar Tom Brady decided to leave the franchise in favor of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The storied franchise has found it incredibly tough to find Brady’s successor under center in New England, with Mac Jones having a decent rookie season but regressing every season since then.

Advertisement

In Week 13, the Patriots made the decision to go with Bailey Zappe as the team’s new starting quarterback, which didn’t really have much of an impact on the end result against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Even though the Patriots defense was able to contain Justin Herbert and company, holding them to only six points, New England’s offense failed to score, resulting in another loss.

Ahead of the showdown with the Chargers at Gillette Stadium, quarterback Malik Cunningham was thought to get involved in the offense in some form, but that didn’t happen, and now it appears he’s back on the practice squad, according to the team’s Twitter account.

At this point in time, the Patriots want the season to be over in order to stop the bleeding, as this has been the franchise’s worst season in recent memory, with no hope of turning things around during the 2023 campaign.

Advertisement

As a result of another disappointing season, New England will likely try to shake things up during the NFL offseason while hopefully making a considerable upgrade to the quarterback position because Jones and Zappe clearly aren’t the answer that Bill Belichick and company are looking for moving forward.

The post Patriots Send QB Back To The Practice Squad appeared first on The Cold Wire.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending