Jerry West: You’re playing on the same …

Jerry West: You’re playing on the same court, with better shoes. It might have been even easier (back) then if we would’ve had all those things. But as I say, the pressure and strain that you put on your body – some bodies react differently. And we’re talking about these 6-(foot)-10 guys who weigh 250, 260 pounds… You think about the enormous amount of torque you put on your body when you’re that big. I marvel at LeBron James. My gosh, you just watch him out there and how he gets around the court and, more importantly, all the time that he puts in conditioning and I marvel that, at this age, he’s still able to perform. It’s amazing. He pays attention, and he’s dedicated. That’s why he’s lasted so long, and I think, more importantly, why he’s still one of the great players that the game has ever seen.

Suns’ Cameron Johnson scored a career-high 15 points in win vs. Nets

Cameron Johnson topped his previous season-high of 12 set on Oct. 30 against the Warriors with 10 of his points coming in the second half.

Phoenix Suns first-round pick Cameron Johnson recorded a career-high 15 points Sunday night in a 138-112 win over the Brooklyn Nets to improve to 6-3 this season.

Johnson topped his previous season-high of 12 set on Oct. 30 against the Golden State Warriors with 10 of his points coming in the second half. The 11th overall pick finished by shooting 6-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

Johnson helped give the Suns a solid offensive boost off of the bench with his ability to shoot. He often spotted up in the corner, giving the Suns’ guards a good kick out option after converting on 2-of-3 of his corner 3-pointers. He also added six rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

The Nets never seriously threatened in the game after the Suns led 37-30 after the first quarter, converting on 46.2% (6-of-13) of their 3-point looks in the opening frame. They battered the Nets in the pick-and-roll and used a number of back screens to get easy buckets throughout the night.

The Suns have been one of the feel-good stories in the NBA so far this season. They have picked up a number of impressive wins and have many curious to see if they can continue their strong start under head coach Monty Williams. If the Suns can keep it up, Johnson could find himself playing meaningful minutes for a playoff contender in his rookie year.

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WATCH: Bears return to Club Dub following Week 10 win over Lions

The Chicago Bears returned to their winning ways with a 20-13 victory over the Detroit Lions, which meant a return to Club Dub.

After a prolonged absence from Club Dub, the Chicago Bears returned to their winning ways Sunday notching a 20-13 victory over the Detroit Lions.

The win snapped Chicago’s four-game losing streak and kept them out of last place in the NFC North, with a 4-5 record.

While it certainly an ugly win, any win is a welcome win. Especially when it you get to return to Club Dub.

For all of those that are criticizing Matt Nagy for holding Club Dub with the Bears below .500 and nabbing their first win in over a month, he doesn’t care. This is how they do things. This is how they celebrate victories, even ones that are far from pretty.

“That’s who we are,” Nagy said, via the Chicago Tribune. “The guys, you’d be surprised, one of the neat things that I think we have going on right now, even in this four-game slide that we just came through, is every Saturday morning we have our own (dance-off), and it just keeps the energy going. We did it last year and why not keep doing it? So we do it. (Saturday morning) is like the appetizer and then this they come to dinner.

“I just sat back and just to be able to watch the guys, seeing them in there, they ended up doing some one-on-one dancing, which is pretty neat. It’s exciting. We enjoy it. It brings you together, you know, and then you’re able to coach off of wins a lot easier. There’s still a lot of things that we need to get better at. We understand that. But you step back in those moments and you say, this is why we do what we do.”

The Bears will be looking to make it two straight trips to Club Dub when they travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams on Sunday Night Football in Week 11.

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Rafael dos Anjos wants to welcome back Conor McGregor: ‘Give him a real contender’

Rafael dos Anjos wants to welcome Conor McGregor back to the UFC.

[autotag]Rafael dos Anjos[/autotag] never got his opportunity to fight [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], but would love to welcome him back.

The two were scheduled to fight more than three years ago at UFC 196 for the lightweight title. But then-champ dos Anjos (29-12 MMA, 18-10 UFC) was forced to pull out just a couple of weeks before the fight due to a broken foot.

McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC), who was the featherweight champ at the time, was attempting to move up in weight to hold two titles simultaneously, but that was put on hold when dos Anjos suffered an injury. Nate Diaz stepped in and flipped the MMA world upside down by handing McGregor his first UFC loss.

But dos Anjos lost his title to Eddie Alvarez, and after McGregor handled his business with Diaz in a rematch, he met Alvarez for the 155-pound title and put on a masterclass to win a second UFC belt. So the fight between dos Anjos and McGregor never came to fruition, and dos Anjos thinks it’s time to make that fight happen.

He took to Instagram to call out McGregor, who hasn’t competed since his fourth-round submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 more than a year ago. McGregor is rumored to face Donald Cerrone on Jan. 18, but dos Anjos is asking the UFC to not give McGregor a “tune-up fight,” and instead give him a “real contender” like himself.

“Don’t give this guy a tune up fight, give him real contender at 170 , 165 or 155. I’m in all the way @danawhite @seanshelby”

Both dos Anjos and McGregor have competed at welterweight before. Dos Anjos recently moved up to the division, and McGregor fought Diaz twice at 170-pounds.

But dos Anjos seems happy to move back down to 155 to face McGregor since he thinks they have unfinished business.

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UT News: November 11, 2019

UT News: November 11, 2019

The Tennessee Volunteers escaped Lexington this past weekend with a huge comeback victory against the Kentucky Wildcats. The game was a must-win match against their SEC archrivals for a Vols team vying for a bowl game after a rough start to the season. In other news, the Lady Vols basketball team travels to South Bend to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tonight, and the volleyball team swept Alabama this weekend. But first, take a look at some notes from the football game on Saturday.

Volunteers football notes

  • Nothing much went right for Tennessee in the first half of its crucial Southeastern Conference showdown at Kentucky Saturday night as the Volunteers trailed the Wildcats, 13-3, at halftime. Kentucky scored on its initial drive as UK quarterback Lynn Bowden gashed the Vols defense with his feet.
  • A late goal-line stand and a gutsy run from a wounded quarterback gave Tennessee a huge comeback victory Saturday night at Kentucky. Redshirt junior Jarrett Guarantano rushed for a big first down to seal a 17-13 Volunteers’ victory over Kentucky on a chilly night at Kroger Field.
  • Tennessee defeated Kentucky, 17-13, in the tenth game of the 2019 season. Following the conclusion of the Tennessee-Kentucky contest, Vols Wire provided game balls for the top UT players on offense, defense and special teams.

NEXT: Lady Vols face Notre Dame tonight

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Kayak fisherman nearly toppled by 200-pound alligator gar

A kayak fisherman came close to being tipped over by the 200-pound alligator gar he battled for 40 minutes in a south Texas river.

A kayak fisherman in south Texas came close to being tipped over by the 200-pound alligator gar he battled for 40 minutes before paddling one-handed to shore and landing the prehistoric fish.

The 7-foot alligator gar was the biggest Chris Hernandez had ever caught and it was almost too much to handle.

Hernandez told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors he was fishing a river on the outskirts of his hometown of Benito when he landed the alligator gar last week.

At one point, it became a bit scary when the fish slammed his kayak with its tail.

“It was just a quick flip from the tail that hit my yak causing my yak to shake back and forth,” Hernandez told For The Win Outdoors. “If my yak would’ve tilted a couple more inches, it would’ve took in water.

“At one point my rod was halfway in the water while the gar was taking line. My upper body was [so] tired that I thought I was going to lose my rod to this dinosaur of a gar.”

Hernandez told MySanAntonio the fish “was dragging me all over the river.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Shark helps fisherman land huge tuna

Since there was no way he was going to pull the fish onto his kayak, Hernandez used one hand to paddle to shore as he held on to his fishing rod. A friend helped him through branches on the bank so he could to land the gar.

“This was an awesome experience and an awesome joy ride on the yak,” Hernandez wrote on his Facebook page. “Man, the heart was really pumping.”

Alligator gar are often referred to as “living fossils” because scientists can trace them back 100 million years in the fossil record, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They can grow up to 10 feet and 350 pounds.

Hernandez is probably lucky not to have hooked one that big.

Photos courtesy of Chris Hernandez.

Follow David Strege and the outdoors on Facebook.

Timberwolves-Pistons odds: Minnesota a small road dog

Previewing Monday’s Minnesota Timberwolves at Detroit Pistons odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis and picks.

The Minnesota Timberwolves (5-4) visit the Detroit Pistons (4-6) Monday at Little Caesars Arena for a 7 p.m. ET start. We analyze the Timberwolves-Pistons odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Timberwolves at Pistons: Key injuries

Timberwolves:

  • PG Jeff Teague (illness) questionable
  • PG Shabazz Napier (hamstring) questionable
  • PF Jordan Bell (shoulder) questionable

Pistons

  • PG Derrick Rose (hamstring) questionable
  • PG Tim Frazier (foot) probable
  • PF Blake Griffin (hamstring) probable

Timberwolves at Pistons: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Timberwolves 114, Pistons 108

Moneyline (ML)

The +125 line for the visiting TIMBERWOLVES is quite inviting. Even with the Pistons’ anticipated return of PF Blake Griffin, there expects to be a decent amount of rust.

Can Detroit keep up with Minnesota? The Pistons have shown tendencies of having a tough time piling up points. Griffin will help but maybe not right away.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Timberwolves to win outright returns a profit of $12.50. Detroit has too much uncertainty and is a -150 favorite which seems a bit high.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The moneyline is a better play but a TIMBERWOLVES (+3.5, -106) pick is not a terrible choice. A Minnesota cover here (lose by three or fewer points or win outright) returns a profit of $9.43 on the same $10 wager.

Minnesota is 3-2 against the spread on the road with a higher point cover projection (plus-2.2 points per game). Detroit is 3-2 ATS at home but there’s just too much uncertainty with Griffin returning to the lineup.

Over/Under (O/U)

Let’s take the OVER 219.5 (+105). There is a tendency to acknowledge offense comes first over defense when players return. The two teams combine for around 224 points per game.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Chris’ NBA betting record: 19-15

Follow @ChrisWasselDFS and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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