David Fizdale, of course, was resilient …

David Fizdale, of course, was resilient and unflinching in his ownership of the mess to date. “I take the brunt of this responsibility because I’m the head coach,” he said. “I make these decisions of what’s going on on the court, what players play, who plays together, what plays we call, the defense system — that’s on me. As much as I appreciate them, I own it. That’s just who I am.”

LaMelo Ball staying in Australia?

Illawarra Hawks insist rumours LaMelo Ball could quit the club mid-season appear off beam after he reinforced his NBA No.1 draft pick claims with his finest NBL performance. The 18-year-old did plenty to excite the NBA scouts as he lit up the court with 24 points -15 from three-pointers – eight assists and six rebounds as he steered the Hawks to a much-needed 101-91 win over Cairns Taipans on Saturday night.

However, Hawks coach Matt Flinn said …

However, Hawks coach Matt Flinn said Ball’s positive attitude suggested otherwise. “As far as I’m concerned he’s contracted for the season and he’s buying in like every other player we’ve got,” Flinn said. “I hear speculation but we just treat it day by day. “You saw a guy tonight that who is really invested in his team and if you go down and sit in the locker room you’ll see a kid who is really invested in his teammates.”

Toronto has made at least 10 3-pointers …

Toronto has made at least 10 3-pointers per game this season. Raptors forward OG Anunoby has become a dependable defender and has cracked double figures in five of the last six games. Siakam has logged four 30-point games and has become the team’s primary scoring option. “There’s a lot of opportunities for a lot of guys. We’re excited about it,” Pascall said. “Everyone is excited about new roles. It’s fun. We’re playing basketball. We’re a group that has been there a long time and know each other. It’s always fun to play with people you really like.”

Kyrie Irving’s lack of free throws vs. Suns problematic

Kyrie Irving took a lot of the blame for what went wrong in the Brooklyn Nets loss to the Phoenix Suns.

One thing Kyrie Irving has done well with to start 2019-20 is getting to the free-throw line. He hasn’t always excelled at creating contact on shots or drives, but this is also a result of his ability to elude contact — something he usually does better than anyone.

Entering Sunday’s game, Irving was averaging 7.3 free throws per game. He’s never even averaged five attempts per game over the course of the season.

Then, against the Suns, Irving did not earn one trip to the line. It’s the first time he’s failed to do so with the Nets. Last year, as a member of the Boston Celtics, Irving didn’t take at least one free throw in a game 13 times.

And his lack of free throw attempts impacted the Nets beyond his point total. Irving explained to reporters in Phoenix:

I don’t think I shot one free throw tonight. That’s just a telltale sign of how aggressive I am not in the game. You know, getting downhill and really just setting a precedent of really slowing the game down and really getting it to my spots. So, a lot of the accountability falls on me.

What Ryan Fitzpatrick was mad about during latest Dolphins’ win

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Flores mad about NFL concussion policy during win vs. Colts.

The Miami Dolphins will host the Bills in Week 11. Once thought of as an easy win, the home team is actually on a two-game winning streak as Buffalo enters the game on the heels of a loss to the Browns.

Former Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins to a 16-12 win over the Colts. Albeit was a win over backup-QB led team as Brian Hoyer started, a win is still a win.

But Fitzpatrick wasn’t all happy after this one. Why?

Late in the fourth quarter, Fitzpatrick was forced to undergo a concussion test. The NFL spotters made the call to yank him from the game.

Fitzpatrick didn’t like that.

Colts defender Grover Stewart caught Fitzpatrick with a helmet-to-helmet hit causing the concussion test. But Fitzpatrick’s problem was the timing of the test, not the test itself.

Stewart hit Fitzpatrick, then two more snaps took place for Fitzpatrick, including a sack. There was then a field goal by Miami, an ensuing kickoff, and a quick Hoyer interception. At that time, Fitzpatrick was trying to go on the field but was pulled back to the sideline for the test. He wanted the test to be somewhere a bit earlier when he wasn’t needed on the field.

“I understand why they call down and have spotters. But I sat out the game for five minutes,” Fitzpatrick said.“I understand the process, but if they are going to do it they need to do it right away.”

After the interception, backup Josh Rosen handed the ball off three times and the Dolphins added another field goal. So things weren’t all bad but sending in an ice cold backup doesn’t help.

Miami head coach Brian Flores was also unimpressed and was seen upset on the sidelines as the situation unfolded.

“Once they call down it’s out of everyone’s hands,” Flores said. “They call down when they call down.”

In the win Fitzpatrick was 21-for-33 passing for 169 yards with an interception. He added another 23 yards rushing and a score on the ground in the win.

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Cris Cyborg still wants Amanda Nunes rematch in a Bellator vs. UFC cross promotion fight

Cris Cyborg still wants a rematch with Amanda Nunes in a Bellator vs. UFC cross-promotion fight.

On the heels of her first loss in more than 13 years, [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] still wants to avenge her setback to [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag].

But now that she is part of the Bellator banner, doing that could be difficult. Following her first-round knockout loss to Nunes at UFC 232, where she lost her featherweight title, Cyborg (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) rebounded with a unanimous decision win over Felicia Spencer at UFC 240.

But her complicated relationship with UFC president Dana White, who claimed that dealing with Cyborg is a nightmare, got in the way of a potential rematch with Nunes (18-4 MMA, 11-1 UFC). Cyborg was a free agent after her win at UFC 240 in July and signed with Bellator in September.

Speaking to TMZ, Cyborg said the first thing she asked Bellator president Scott Coker is if they could do a cross-promotion with the UFC and get the Nunes rematch done.

“Before I signed with Bellator, the first thing I asked Scott for (is) maybe to have the possibility to fight (against UFC fighters) – the same he’s doing for Rizin (with) his champions fighting with champions in Japan. … I said maybe if he’ll be able to do that,” Cyborg said.

Cyborg is set to make her Bellator debut when she challenges 145-pound champ Julia Budd for the title at Bellator 236 on Jan. 25. The former UFC, Invicta and Strikeforce featherweight champ is hoping to add another belt to her collection, then hopefully get her rematch with Nunes.

“Cris Cyborg (vs.) Amanda Nunes – she’s the UFC champion, and I hope in the future (UFC) vs. Bellator champion, maybe the fight will happen. Scott said yes, we can do that,” Cyborg said. “Dana White (just has) to call him and make this happen, and I think everybody would like to watch.”

“One-fight deal – just call Scott.”

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