Wizards: Rookie Bilal Coulibaly to miss rest of season due to injury

Wizards rookie Bilal Coulibaly will miss the remainder of the regular season after suffering a right wrist fracture.

Washington Wizards rookie Bilal Coulibaly will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a right wrist fracture, the team announced on Monday.

Coulibaly sustained the injury on Saturday after taking a fall on the road in a loss to the Chicago Bulls. The team initially deemed the injury a contusion, but testing revealed a fracture in the wrist, which isn’t expected to require surgery, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic.

He recorded 15 points, eight rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes.

Coulibaly didn’t play on Sunday in a loss to the Boston Celtics and was seen wearing a brace on the bench. He will now be sidelined for the final 14 games of the season.

Coulibaly will finish the season averaging 8.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists on 34.6% shooting from 3-point range in 63 games. He became the third-youngest player to appear in a game in franchise history on Oct. 25, 2023 (19 years, 91 days).

The seventh pick is one of eight rookies to average at least eight points, four rebounds and 1.5 assists per game this season. He is also one of four first-year players with at least 40 steals and 40 blocked shots, joining Chet Holmgren, Ausar Thompson and Victor Wembanyama.

Coulibaly was among 11 rookies selected to compete in the NBA Rising Stars game. He has drawn high praise for his maturity and professionalism since joining the Wizards and appears to be a franchise cornerstone moving forward.

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Thiago Moises knows how to wreck a leg – and crush a Dan Hooker callout, too

Thiago Moises called out Dan Hooker after his leg-kick TKO win over Mitch Ramirez at UFC Fight Night 239.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Thiago Moises[/autotag] beat Mitch Ramirez with a third-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 239 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Moises, who put Ramirez away courtesy of leg kicks – a UFC rarity.

Former UFC champion Sean Strickland vents mental health struggles: ‘I feel like I’m a danger to people’

In a video posted online, Sean Strickland opened up about mental health issues and thoughts of harming others.

Former UFC middleweight champion [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] says he has everything he wants in life, but still struggles with mental health issues and thoughts of harming other people.

Despite openly admitting he has unresolved childhood trauma, Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) doesn’t believe therapy will help get him to a better mental state.

“The problem with therapy, I think they would just convince me to like f*cking start killing everybody,” Strickland said at a recent pre-fight news conference.

Well aware of his mental trauma and the effects it may have on his daily life, Strickland still balks at receiving help. As a result, he often goes down dark paths, especially with a microphone in his hand during UFC fight week media obligations.

Before UFC 297, Strickland went on an unhinged anti-LGBTQ rant after a reporter asked him about a previous statement when he said that having a gay son would mean he failed as a father. All while wearing a t-shirt that read, “A woman in every kitchen, a gun in every hand.” In no other major sport would that fly, but the UFC offers a unique space for fighters to say what they want without repercussion, for better or worse.

Fighting is a valuable outlet that helps Strickland exorcise his demons. He spars a lot in the gym, more than most of his peers. Typically, he’s getting his energy out against other pro fighters, but there’s also that time he recently went too hard on streaming influencer Sneako.

“Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose,” he wrote about battling demons in the caption of a video posted to Instagram on Monday. In that video, Strickland revealed how dark his thoughts can sometimes get. Despite reaching the peak of his division as a UFC champion and all of the money that comes along with headlining multiple events throughout his career, Strickland admits the mental fight is an ongoing daily struggle.

“All week I’ve been f*cked up, dude,” Strickland started. “I’ve been on the Twitter saying crazy sh*t, just f*cking spiraling. I woke up and I told my girl, I was like, ‘Babe, I feel like I’m a danger to people. Like I don’t feel like I should be out in the world.’ And I think that – I have everything. I’m rich, I’m famous, I have everything I ever f*cking wanted and I am still mentally unwell. I get in these mindsets to where like I want to burn everything down in the world. Like, I want to have nothing, so I can just f*cking lose it and just take out everything on people.

“I think that you guys, in a weird way, are like my family. Like I’ve shared some sh*t with you guys, and you guys have shared some sh*t with me. I feel more connected with my fans than I think most people feel just because we’ve gone through a lot together. I have everything I want, and I still struggle with mental health. My memory is so short that, like, when I go out into this week, I think to myself, like once I get past it, I think to myself, like, ‘Oh, man. That was a really rough time in my life.’ But then when I really think about it, this happens multiple times a month, every month.”

Strickland continued:

“Again, I don’t know why I’m telling you guys this. I’ve just been kind of going through some sh*t. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I’m going to go train right now and try to hurt all of my friends, and all of the demons will go away. I just want you guys to know that I have everything I could ever want in the world, and I still struggle. So, whatever you guys are going through man, hope y’all feel better. Go to the gym, train. F*cking wish you all the best.”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4q_pWIPJfM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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Nets full injury report for Tuesday matchup against Pelicans

Here is the full injury report for the Brooklyn Nets heading into their matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.

The Brooklyn Nets are hanging out to their hopes of making the Eastern Conference play-in tournament by a thread as they have not taken advantage of what opportunity was ahead of them following the All-Star break. The one thing that can be said about Brooklyn is that they have been healthy and that looks to continue on Tuesday.

In the Nets’ initial injury report released on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s tough matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans, Brooklyn is going to be mostly healthy for the game. However, forward Dorian Finney-Smith is listed as questionable for the contest due to left ankle soreness.

This listing is more concerning than when he was listed on the injury report ahead of Sunday’s game at the San Antonio Spurs for the same injury. On that report, Finney-Smith was listed as probable and his status was never downgraded so it always looked like he was going to play unless something unforeseen happened during warmups.

This time around, Finney-Smith is starting off as questionable so there is a possibility that he could be downgraded prior to Tuesday’s tip-off, even though the Nets need him on the floor. Finney-Smith, 30, is averaging 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 42.7% from the field and 36.6% from three-point land.

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Alexandre Pantoja: Steve Erceg good name but ‘so lucky’ to get UFC 301 title shot

UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja thinks Steve Erceg’s title shot is a case of timing luck.

UFC flyweight champion [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Steve Erceg[/autotag]’s title shot is a case of timing.

It came as a surprise to many that Erceg wound up getting the next shot at Pantoja after notching just his third octagon win with a knockout of Matt Schnell at UFC Fight Night 238. He challenges Pantoja for the flyweight title in the UFC 301 headliner May 4 in Rio.

While Pantoja (27-5 MMA, 11-3 UFC) also didn’t foresee Erceg (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) being his next opponent, he argued that everyone is talented in the top 15.

“I didn’t expect it to be Steve Erceg, but it’s a good name, too,” Pantoja told MMA Junkie. “That’s funny because if you watch my interviews, all the time I was talking about in the flyweight division, you can take someone from No. 10 and fight with the champion or the No. 1 contender, and it’s going to be a good matchup. In this division, all the guys are so good.”

Pantoja also didn’t have too many fresh matchups as options. Erceg threw his name in the hat in an interview with MMA Junkie, and Muhammad Mokaev and Brandon Royval also campaigned.

“I fought with all the division,” Pantoja said. “I fought with the No. 1 (Royval) two times, the No. 2 (Moreno) three times, No. 3 right now is Amir Albazi, who has an injury. I fought Kai Kara-France before, Manel Kape, Alex Perez, Matt Schnell, I fought everyone. I think that guy is so lucky because all these things happened.”

Pantoja is motivated by the fact that Erceg hasn’t had to go through the trenches to get to him.

“He’s coming fresh for that fight because he didn’t fight the No. 8 or No. 6 or No. 4 like me,” Pantoja said. “I needed to fight with all these guys, and I had a lot of wars with Manel Kape, Brandon Moreno, Brandon Royval, that gives me a lot of emotion.

“I lost a couple of years of my life in those fights, and that guy Steve comes so fresh. He didn’t fight the guys at the top of the division. All the fighters in the flyweight division are very good. He has good boxing, good jiu-jitsu, it’s going to be very interesting for me.”

As for undefeated Mokaev, who notched a win over former title challenger Alex Perez at UFC Fight Night 238, Pantoja expects to see him very soon.

“I really thought at that time I’d fight with Mokaev, but I don’t know what plans the UFC prepared for me,” Pantoja admitted. “Maybe they want Mokaev to fight with Royval first. It’s going to be a very good matchup.

“Also, Mokaev is so young. He has a chance to prove he deserves to fight for the title. I know 100 percent if I defend my belt in Brazil, I’m going to see Mokaev next.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 301.

UFC’s Mike Davis explains how ‘Halo’ video game helped overcome childhood bullying: ‘That saved my life’

Bullied as a child with no friends, UFC’s Mike Davis explains how the “Halo” video game helped him overcome bullying and self-harm.

LAS VEGAS – Long before [autotag]Mike Davis[/autotag] began making a name for himself in the UFC’s lightweight division, he was a kid from New York struggling with thoughts of self-harm as a result of bullying.

Today, Davis (11-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is an incredible mixed martial artist, who just recorded his fourth-consecutive victory at UFC Fight Night 239 by stopping Natan Levy in the second round with an arm triangle choke.

It was the first time anyone finished Levy (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC). Next, Davis aims to make two more appearances in 2024 and doesn’t really have a preference for an opponent.

In the meantime, Davis plans to return home and get back to streaming video games. He takes pride in this activity, as he loves communicating with people who join his streams. More importantly, it is an evolution of an outlet that he says saved his life.

“I like The Last of Us, but the game that saved my life was ‘Halo,'” Davis told reporters when asked about his favorite video game at a post-fight news conference.

Naturally, the second half of that sentence prompted follow-up questions, as it was a heavy way to finish the response. Davis proceeded to recall how he was bullied as a child, which led to self-harm.

“When I grew up as a kid – I’m from upstate New York. As you can probably guess, there’s not a lot of Black people, so I got picked on a lot,” Davis explained. “I was also really small, like a tiny child. So, I got stuffed in lockers, called names, got picked up and put in the basketball – bro, I got picked on.

“A lot of the times, I would find myself in the bathroom trying to inflict pain on myself. I would take a rubber band with toothpicks and shoot them into my leg. That could cause me pain. I didn’t have friends. I didn’t, I really didn’t.”

Luckily, Davis found his escape from bullying and negative thoughts through video games, specifically “Halo.” The first-person sci-fi shooter is one of the highest-grossing gaming franchises of all time, and is one that helped a now-talented UFC lightweight find a purpose to keep living.

“What saved my life was after school, I would go home, I would turn on the Xbox that I was gifted from my Mom – it was amazing. She worked hard to get it, and I got ‘Halo,'” Davis said. “I met friends. I met friends in the area, I met friends across the globe. Every day, the only thing that made me want to keep going was to jump on Halo and play with my friends.”

Years after the bullying ceased, Davis has transformed into a high-level UFC athlete, currently riding high on a four-fight winning streak in one of the sport’s toughest divisions. However, some of those bullies have tried to keep in touch with Davis, offering remorse for their actions.

“There’s all the apologies,” Davis said. “‘Hey Mike, sorry for picking on you back in the day. You know I was only trying to help you grow into a better man.’ Bro, it’s been dumb. It’s dumb stuff.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 239.

Kamaru Usman: Belal Muhammad ‘only thing that makes sense’ for UFC champ Leon Edwards

Add Kamaru Usman to the list of fighters that think Belal Muhammad deserves the next title shot.

Add [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] to the list of fighters that think [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] deserves the next title shot.

Muhammad, who’s on a 10-fight unbeaten streak, has been heavily campaigning for a shot at UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, but a fight is yet to materialize for him. The only asterisk in his run is a no contest against Edwards in March 2021.

Former champion Usman agrees with Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC), and sees him as the most logical option next for Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC).

“The only thing that makes sense right now is Belal Muhammad – because Belal has been there for a while, has been in that top 10, that top five,” Usman said on UFC Live. “Who else makes sense? I think it’s going to take time to be able to build someone to challenge the champion.”

After falling short in his middleweight debut against Khamzat Chimaev this past October at UFC 294, Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) finds himself in a quandary.

“I never thought I’d be in this position,” Usman said. “I never thought I would just have a body of work to the point where I can sit back a little bit and let things kind of unfold. For a long time, I was like, ‘I need to get there and be that guy. I need to be champion.’ Now I’m in a position where I don’t have to.

“I definitely want to, but I’m taking time to just kind of see how things unfold because right now the welterweight division is kind of clouded and the middleweight division as well. … I’m just taking some time, letting some things heal and plotting my next move.”

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Chelsea Chandler: ‘Week from Hell’ led to UFC Fight Night 239 weight miss – complete with attempted home break-in

Chelsea Chandler missed weight ahead of UFC Fight Night 239. The reasons why will likely surprise you.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Chelsea Chandler[/autotag]’s ‘Week from Hell’ actually ended on a high note.

At UFC Fight Night 239, Chandler (6-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) became the first to defeat fellow bantamweight Josiane Nunes (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in the promotion. She did so by unanimous decision.

Smiling ear-to-ear in victory, Chandler addressed the underlying issue head-on during her post-fight news conference: a one-pound weight miss.

Chandler voiced confidence that the issue would not persist. She attributed the scale blunder to a variety of simultaneous issues that emerged throughout the week, including an alleged home break-in.

“Oh God, we can get into it,” Chandler told MMA Junkie. “I’ve had the Week of Horror. My car was vandalized when I left my house. People tried to break into it. That was Monday. I’ve got that time of the month, too. So this has been… I was ready to go, and just little hiccups. I have it dialed in. My nutritionist, my weight, everything is good. So next time, I’ll be here on time, on weight, ready to go.”

Chandler’s alleged home invasion attempt comes less than two weeks after Marlon Vera said the same thing happened to him while he was away for his UFC 299 title fight vs. Sean O’Malley.

“People say, ‘Hey this fighter is going to be gone. Let’s take advantage of it.’ It sucks, but (I’ve) got to get those cameras up,” Chandler said. “… I’ve got to let someone else move into my house when I’m gone and take care of it and babysit the house.”

Chandler hopes the UFC won’t use the weight issues against her. A win over a previously UFC-unbeaten should earn Chandler a marquee fight next, she thinks.

“Listen, I don’t like begging for fights, but I want to fight,” Chandler said. “I want fight offers. After that last fight, there was a bad taste in my mouth. I went up. I took a risk going up in a weight class fighting a bigger girl. This is my home and I’m hoping to get a fight as soon as possible. I’m No. 13 in the world now and I feel like a couple of the girls below me are either out injured. I’m hoping to get someone in the top 10, big top 10 opponents, and get my way through this division. It’s wide open.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 239.

Rockets guard Jalen Green wins first Western Conference Player of the Week award

For the first time in his young NBA career, third-year Rockets guard Jalen Green is Western Conference Player of the Week. Houston went 3-0 in those games.

They say hard work and dedication pay off, and no one is a better example of that than Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green.

On Monday, after helping lead Houston to a 3-0 record in the preceding week, the 22-year-old was named Western Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his young NBA career.

Green is the second player from the Rockets to win the award this season. In January, third-year center Alperen Sengun won the honor.

Yet, even after losing Sengun to ankle and knee injuries on March 10, Green played a key role in helping Houston overcome what appeared to be a big loss. The Rockets (32-35) have now won five straight games and are 7-1 in March, and they are 3-0 since Sengun’s injury.

On Saturday, Green had a game-high 26 points and 11 rebounds in Houston’s blowout win over Cleveland — representing his fifth double-double in the last 24 games. During March to date, Green has averaged 24.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.

Green’s resurgence in recent weeks is a big reason as to why Houston is still in contention to make the Western Conference play-in tournament, as they currently trail the Lakers (36-32) by just three games in the loss column with 15 left to play. The Rockets would own the potential tiebreaker with Los Angeles.

“He’s got that swag, that confidence, making shots at a high level,” backcourt mate Fred VanVleet said after Houston defeated the Cavaliers on Saturday. “His threes are getting better. But he’s been playing good ball for a while now at both ends of the floor. He’s guarding. He’s taking pride in rebounding. The better he plays, the easier it is on everybody. He’s been playing his ass off.”

As the No. 2 overall draft pick of the NBA’s 2021 first round, Green has showcased his durability by appearing in all 67 games this season and has used his athletic skillset to help close out games.

Rockets head coach Ime Udoka recently said that Green had improved while working with assistant coach Royal Ivey on more extensive film study sessions. This led to some on-court changes.

“One thing that really helped with him was recognition,” Udoka said after Monday’s practice. “A lot of times, not being caught off guard when they (opposing defenses) are doing something at the start of the game. He recognizes it, dissects it, and gets the shot he wants.”

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WATCH: PJ Hall, Chase Hunter and Joe Girard talk Selection Sunday

Here’s everything Hall, Hunter, and senior Joe Girard told reporters on Selection Sunday.

Clemson had to wait a while before seeing its name appear on screen during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.

Enough of a wait to give seniors PJ Hall and Chase Hunter a bit of anxiety, it seems.

Clemson (21-11 overall) had nothing to worry about in the end, but it took until the reveal of the final region — the West Region, where No. 6 seed Clemson will face No. 11 New Mexico Friday — before the Tigers learned their fate and where they’d be playing.

The Tigers will face the Lobos (26-9) in a scheduled 3:15 p.m. EDT tipoff. The game will be televised on truTV. New Mexico won the Mountain West Tournament to secure an automatic bid to the Dance.

“Me and Chase had PTSD, man,” Hall said Sunday. “I’m sitting there like, ‘There’s no way.’ But yeah, right before, (Hunter said) ‘I hope we’re not in the first (regional announced) for a little bit of buildup. But I didn’t want that much buildup. It’s exciting. Special stuff.”

Here’s everything Hall, Hunter, and senior Joe Girard said after Clemson learned where and when they’d be playing.