- SEGA Genesis – December 2022 Game Updates – Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo of America
- Four Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Games Have Been Added To Switch Online’s Expansion Pack Nintendo Life
- Nintendo Switch Online adds SEGA Genesis games Golden Axe II, Alien Storm, Columns, Virtua Fighter 2 Nintendo Everything
- Game the Whole Winter With This Nintendo Switch Online Family Membership Gift Card The Inventory
- SEGA Genesis – Nintendo Switch Online adds Alien Storm, Columns, Golden Axe II, and Virtua Fighter 2 Gematsu
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: 2022
UFC 282 REACTIONS!!! | Round-Up w/ Paul Felder & Michael Chiesa – UFC – Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC 282 REACTIONS!!! | Round-Up w/ Paul Felder & Michael Chiesa UFC – Ultimate Fighting Championship
- ‘Uncrowned champion’ Magomed Ankalaev done with Vegas (not UFC): ‘The judges were horrible’ MMA Mania
- ‘It was mistranslated’ – Magomed Ankalaev clarifies post-fight interview after drawing Jan Blachowicz at UFC … Bloody Elbow
- Magomed Ankalaev issues statement on his split draw against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 282: “It’s hard to describe the words” BJPENN.COM
- Jan Blachowicz defends UFC 282 stalemate, criticizes Magomed Ankalaev’s post-fight comments: ‘One dude cried’ MMA Fighting
- View Full Coverage on Google News
HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022 | Ahsan/Setiawan (INA) [2] vs. Astrup/Rasmussen (DEN) | Group B – BWF TV
- HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022 | Ahsan/Setiawan (INA) [2] vs. Astrup/Rasmussen (DEN) | Group B BWF TV
- HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2022 | He Bing Jiao (CHN) [3] vs. Ratchanok Intanon (THA) | Group B BWF TV
- Axelsen dominates as An suffers shock loss at BWF World Tour Finals Insidethegames.biz
- Badminton, BWF World Tour Finals 2022: Results & live scores and updates – day one featuring Axelsen, Prannoy, Ginting, Christie, Loh, Yufei, Seyoung and Yamaguchi Olympics
- Axelsen sails through opening match at Badminton World Tour Finals Malay Mail
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Updates on Jaire Alexander, Keenan Allen and others
Week 4 of the NFL season is here, and teams continue to assess injuries to their players ahead of game time.
The San Francisco 49ers have suffered another blow to their offense, as star left tackle Trent Williams is expected to be out four to six weeks with an ankle injury. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair will miss time after he sprained an MCL against the Denver Broncos. The New York Giants also lost a key offensive player after wide receiver Sterling Shepard tore an ACL against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, ending his season.
The New England Patriots will be without quarterback Mac Jones, who suffered a high ankle sprain last week against the Baltimore Ravens. Veteran Brian Hoyer will start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. He has lost 11 consecutive starts.
In more positive news, New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson is expected to make his 2022 debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Wilson has been out since the first game of the preseason because of a torn meniscus and a bone bruise in his right knee.
Our NFL Nation reporters have more updates on key players entering the weekend:
Quick links:
Schedule | Depth charts | PickCenter
Injury: Knee
Patterson is officially listed as questionable on the team’s injury report, but he told ESPN on Friday that he plans on playing against the Cleveland Browns.
“I feel like I’m going to play every Sunday, no matter what the situation is,” Patterson said. “I plan on playing Sunday and we all know that’s the plan.”
Patterson, the NFL’s third-leading rusher, did not practice Wednesday or Thursday and was listed as a “resting player/knee.” He returned to practice Friday, did work on a limited basis and then was listed as questionable with a knee injury.
Coach Arthur Smith said Friday that Patterson “looked good,” but that he would assess Patterson’s status Saturday.
— Michael Rothstein
Injury: Ankle
Stanley, who is officially listed as questionable, said he’s “really close” to returning after missing 31 of the past 32 games. He was given a rest day Friday after fully practicing the previous two days. The Ravens could use the 2019 All-Pro left tackle to protect Lamar Jackson’s blind side. If Stanley can’t play, Baltimore would turn to rookie fourth-round pick Daniel Faalele to block Von Miller.
— Jamison Hensley
Injury: Quad
Barring a setback, McCaffrey should be able to go on Sunday after missing Wednesday and Thursday’s practices. McCaffrey returned to practice Friday in a limited role, and coach Matt Rhule said he was “hopeful” his star would be ready. McCaffrey gave no indication he wouldn’t be ready. “I feel great,” he said.
— David Newton
Injury: Knee
Let’s call this take two. It seemed like Gallup would make his debut last Monday against the New York Giants but he wanted some more time to feel right before coming back. He has had another week of full practices, although the Cowboys were not in pads at all this week. Gallup said he needed to clear a mental hurdle in coming back from the surgery. It appears he is trending toward playing vs. Washington, but he will work his way into the lineup on a snap count. They will not give him the full assortment of plays right away, so Noah Brown will continue as the No. 2 receiver with Gallup seeing something of a situational role. Tight end Dalton Schultz is also trending in the right direction of playing after missing the Giants game with a knee sprain. He has worn a brace in practice, and like Gallup, he might be limited in the number of snaps he plays until he is all the way back.
— Todd Archer
Injury: Groin
Patriots backup quarterback Brian Hoyer might have it a little easier if the Packers’ best coverage defensive back doesn’t play. Alexander dropped out of last week’s game at Tampa Bay, did not appear to do much in practice all week and is questionable for Sunday. Rasul Douglas moved from the slot to the outside after Alexander’s injury, and Keisean Nixon filled in in the slot.
— Rob Demovsky
Injury: Back
Leonard is listed as questionable for the first time this season after being ruled out in the previous three games. The recovery from Leonard’s offseason back surgery has lingered, but the tide turned this week.
“He’s had three pretty good days, continued to make progress,” coach Frank Reich said. “So, let’s see how he responds.”
If Leonard plays, the Colts might consider limiting his snaps. “The original thought was he would probably start out on a pitch count, but you don’t want to limit yourself. You just take it day by day and case by case and you kind of adapt as you go,” Reich said.
Injury: Elbow
Buckner is considered questionable and has been severely limited this week. But his history of playing while injured suggests that he’ll find a way to show up on Sunday. Buckner has missed just one game due to injury in his seven seasons.
Injury: Ankle
The Colts’ starting free safety will miss Sunday’s game with an ankle sprain, a development that will likely press seventh-round pick Rodney Thomas II into action. Thomas played well in last week’s game after Blackmon left the contest and impressed coaches.
— Stephen Holder
Injury: Hamstring
Allen suffered a hamstring injury in Week 1, was inactive in Week 2 and 3 and will remain on the sideline Sunday when the Chargers play the Texans. Earlier in the week, coach Brandon Staley expressed growing confidence that Allen would return in Week 4, but said Friday that the veteran receiver “felt something” during individual workouts, so he has been ruled out.
— Lindsey Thiry
Louise Fletcher dies at 88: Oscar-winning actress played Nurse Ratched in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’
LOS ANGELES — Louise Fletcher, a late-blooming star whose riveting performance as the cruel and calculating Nurse Ratched in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” set a new standard for screen villains and won her an Academy Award, has died at age 88.
Fletcher died in her sleep surrounded by family at her home in Montdurausse, France, her agent David Shaul told The Associated Press on Friday. No cause was given.
After putting her career on hold for years to raise her children, Fletcher was in her early 40s and little known when chosen for the role opposite Jack Nicholson in the 1975 film by director Milos Forman, who had admired her work the year before in director Robert Altman’s “Thieves Like Us.” At the time, she didn’t know that many other prominent stars, including Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn and Angela Lansbury, had turned it down.
“I was the last person cast,” she recalled in a 2004 interview. “It wasn’t until we were halfway through shooting that I realized the part had been offered to other actresses who didn’t want to appear so horrible on the screen.”
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” went on to become the first film since 1934s “It Happened One Night” to win best picture, best director, best actor, best actress and best screenplay.
Clutching her Oscar at the 1976 ceremony, Fletcher told the audience, “It looks as though you all hated me.”
She then addressed her deaf parents in Birmingham, Alabama, talking and using sign language: “I want to thank you for teaching me to have a dream. You are seeing my dream come true.”
A moment of silence was followed by thunderous applause.
Later that night, Forman made the wry comment to Fletcher and her co-star, Jack Nicholson: “Now we all will make tremendous flops.”
In the short run, at least, he was right.
Forman next directed “Hair,” the movie version of the hit Broadway musical that failed to capture the appeal of the stage version. Nicholson directed and starred in “Goin’ South,” generally regarded as one of his worst films. Fletcher signed on for “Exorcist II: The Heretic,” a misconceived sequel to the landmark original.
Far more than her male peers, Fletcher was hampered by her age in finding major roles in Hollywood. Still, she worked continuously for most of the rest of her life. Her post-“Cuckoo’s Nest” films included “Mama Dracula,” “Dead Kids” and “The Boy Who Could Fly.”
She was nominated for Emmys for her guest roles on the TV series “Joan of Arcadia” and “Picket Fences,” and had a recurring role as Bajoran religious leader Kai Winn Adami in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” She played the mother of musical duo Carpenters in 1989’s “The Karen Carpenter Story.”
Fletcher’s career was also hampered by her height. At 5-feet-10, she would often be dismissed from an audition immediately because she was taller than her leading man.
Fletcher had moved to Los Angeles to launch her acting career soon after graduating from North Carolina State University.
Working as a doctor’s receptionist by day and studying at night with noted actor and teacher Jeff Corey, she began getting one-day jobs on such TV series as “Wagon Train,” “77 Sunset Strip” and “The Untouchables.”
Fletcher married producer Jerry Bick in the early 1960s and gave birth to two sons in quick succession. She decided to put her career on hold to be a stay-at-home mother and didn’t work for 11 years.
“I made the choice to stop working, but I didn’t see it as a choice,” she said in the 2004 interview. “I felt compelled to stay at home.”
She divorced Bick in 1977 and he died in 2004.
In “Cuckoo’s Nest,” based on the novel Ken Kesey wrote while taking part in an experimental LSD program, Nicholson’s character, R.P. McMurphy, is a swaggering, small-time criminal who feigns insanity to get transferred from prison to a mental institution where he won’t have to work so hard.
Once institutionalized, McMurphy discovers his mental ward is run by Fletcher’s cold, imposing Nurse Mildred Ratched, who keeps her patients tightly under her thumb. As the two clash, McMurphy all but takes over the ward with his bravado, leading to stiff punishment from Ratched and the institution, where she restores order.
The character was so memorable she would become the basis for a Netflix series, “Ratched,” 45 years later.
Estelle Louise Fletcher was born the second of four children on July 22, 1934, in Birmingham. Her mother was born deaf and her father was a traveling Episcopal minister who lost his hearing when struck by lightning at age 4.
“It was like having parents who are immigrants who don’t speak your language,” she said in 1982.
The Fletcher children were helped by their aunt, with whom they lived in Bryant, Texas, for a year. She taught them reading, writing and speaking, as well as how to sing and dance.
It was those latter studies that convinced Fletcher she wanted to act. She was further inspired, she once said, when she saw the movie “Lady in the Dark” with Ginger Rogers.
That and other films, Fletcher said, taught her “your dream could become real life if you wanted it bad enough.”
“I knew from the movies,” she would say, “that I wouldn’t have to stay in Birmingham and be like everyone else.”
Fletcher’s death was first reported by Deadline.
She is survived by her two sons, John and Andrew Bick.
Copyright © 2022 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Hurricane Kay downgraded to a tropical storm, moving up the coast toward Southern California: Here’s what to expect
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Tropical Storm Kay veered out into the Pacific just short of the U.S. border Friday, while dumping rain throughout Southern California.
The eye of Kay came ashore as a hurricane near Mexico’s Bahia Asuncion in Baja California Sur state Thursday afternoon, but it quickly weakened into a tropical storm after moving back out over open water.
Late Friday afternoon, it had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was becoming less organized, with forecasters predicting it would diminish to a remnant low overnight.
Kay was centered about 130 miles south-southwest of San Diego and was moving west-northwest at 12 mph.
The storm was expected to start a more marked turn to the west that would take it farther out into the Pacific.
The bulk of the rain, which will at times be heavy, is now expected to arrive Friday night and continue through early Saturday morning. Mountain communities and other areas with burn scars should be prepared for significant flash flooding.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to stick around Saturday.
While the rain is a welcome sight to the parched region, it could also prove to be troublesome for some beach communities. South-facing beaches are expected to see big waves for surfers, with 4-8 foot hurricane-pulse swells.
Long Beach city crews on Thursday night started working to erect sand berms at the end of Ocean Boulevard on the peninsula. Residents closest to the shore also started placing sand bags around their homes to keep the water from getting too close.
But surfers and beachgoers are advised to be cautious, as beaches in the Orange County area may also see some thunder showers.
Similar precautions were being taken in Orange County burn areas, including Laguna Niguel which was damaged by the Coastal Fire earlier this year.
As part of the recovery phase, the city has already created fences, catch basins and inspected runoff areas as a precaution. Fire crews have dug diversion ditches to make sure rain water flows smoothly down the burnt hillside into the canyon.
The rain will bring relief to Southern California after a prolonged, record-setting heat wave that has lasted more than a week. The rain will drop temperatures in the region down to the 80s and 90s. It is likely to bring 1-2 inches of rain to mountain communities starting Friday night, leading to a good possibility of flash flooding.
Desert areas are also vulnerable, expecting about an inch of rain that could wash out some roads.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2022 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.
Buffalo Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen connects with Stefon Diggs on 53-yard touchdown pass
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Buffalo Bills extended their lead on the Los Angeles Rams with a highlight-reel worthy catch by Stefon Diggs on a bomb from quarterback Josh Allen. The score extended Buffalo’s lead to 31-10.
.@STEFONDIGGS TOOK THE TOP OFF THE DEFENSE.#Kickoff2022 #BillsMafia
📺: #BUFvsLAR on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/LlxLdqcZb3 pic.twitter.com/mxWVapv13s— NFL (@NFL) September 9, 2022
To open what would become a dominant half, the Bills offense looked sharp, going 63 yards on eight plays and finishing with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Allen to wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie to put the Bills up 17-10.
McKenzie got open quickly and Allen found him for a fast strike straight to the end zone. The touchdown pass was out of Allen’s hands in 1.63 seconds, his second-quickest release on a touchdown in the last two seasons.
The Bills continued their trend of not punting in the game deep into the third quarter.
Allen did not throw an incompletion on the drive but did have an impressive run of eight yards that ended with a strong stiff arm on Rams safety Nick Scott.
Touchdown from the face of the franchise to the face of the franchise.
📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/yFovhntzdJ
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 9, 2022
To start the game, Allen finished a perfect first drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Gabe Davis.
On third-and-1 from the Rams’ 26-yard line, Allen, on the run, found Davis wide open after he scrambled outside the pocket to give Davis time to get open downfield. It is the first time the Bills have scored a touchdown on their first drive of the season since 2011 at the Chiefs (Ryan Fitzpatrick touchdown pass to Scott Chandler).
The quarterback was perfect on the opening drive of the game, completing all five of his passes for 58 yards, including the score. The five tie his most completions without an incompletion on an opening drive in his career. He also completed his first five on the opening drive of 2020 in Week 16 against the Patriots.
He connected with four different receivers on the drive.
The first touchdown of the 2022 NFL Season!
📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/2GpvRlvcLX
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 9, 2022
Match Preview – India vs Sri Lanka, Asia Cup 2022, 9th Match, Super Four
Big picture
One bad result is all it takes to leave a team staring at possible elimination from the Asia Cup. Pakistan faced – and overcame – that challenge after losing to India in the group stages. And now it’s India who are in a precarious position after losing to Pakistan in the Super 4 round.
Rohit Sharma’s team cannot afford to lose to Sri Lanka in Dubai on Tuesday. If they do so, the defending champions will have to rely on other results going their way to have a chance of making the final. And Sri Lanka will become favourites for a place in the summit clash.
Sri Lanka didn’t start the tournament well. They were dismissed for 105 in the opening game and then watched Afghanistan run down the target with 59 balls to spare. Since then, however, Sri Lanka have had two morale-boosting wins, chasing down 184 in a must-win group game against Bangladesh, and 176 in their first Super 4 match against Afghanistan.
Sri Lanka’s batters aren’t globe-trotting T20 superstars but a big target seems to liberate them. Against Afghanistan, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Danushka Gunathilaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa smashed quick 30s to overpower Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 45-ball 84. They may follow the same plan in a chase against India as well.
Though India lost off the penultimate ball against Pakistan, they had a couple of big positives in that game. After a first-ball duck and a 39-ball 36 in his first two innings, KL Rahul found fluency and played some gorgeous shots during his 20-ball 28. His straight whip for six off Naseem Shah was arguably the shot of the match. Virat Kohli also looked close to his best, making a “conscious effort” to score at a higher rate. While Kohli was at the crease, he scored 60 runs off 44 balls; batters at the other end scored 45 off 45.
But as far as their campaign is concerned, it’s crunch time, and India must beat Sri Lanka to stay in control of their own fate at the Asia Cup. They will draw confidence from the fact that they whitewashed them at home in the three-match T20I series earlier this year.
Form guide
Sri Lanka WWLWL (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
India LWWWW
In the spotlight
Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan stifled India on Sunday, and Sri Lanka will hope their spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana can do the same. Both Hasaranga and Theekshana have impressive numbers in the UAE, and also have experience of bowling to the Indian batters at the IPL. On the flip side, India too will be aware of the tricks they have. All in all, it could be a contest that decides the game.
After going wicketless in India’s first two games of the Asia Cup, Yuzvendra Chahal had figures of 1 for 43 from his four overs in the Super 4 game against Pakistan. That performance was on a pitch where the other three spinners in the match had combined figures of 4 for 82 from 12 overs (economy 6.83). In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, India needed Chahal to up his game.
Pitch and conditions
The last three games in Dubai featured five innings with scores in excess of 180. However, it all depends on which pitch Tuesday’s match will be played on, and its location on the square will decide if there’s a shorter boundary for batters to exploit. Evening temperatures will be around 35°C and the night will not be much cooler, which reduces the chances of dew playing a role in the chase.
Team news
Expect Sri Lanka, searching for a hat-trick of wins, to stick with the same XI.
Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Charith Asalanka, 4 Danushka Gunathilaka, 5 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Dilshan Madushanka.
With Avesh Khan available, India could return to their original combination of three specialist fast bowlers, one specialist spinner, and two allrounders. That could mean Ravi Bishnoi, despite doing well against Pakistan, making way for Axar Patel.
With Axar being a left-hand batter, and Hasaranga the only spinner with a stock ball that turns away from right-handers, India could also replace Rishabh Pant with their designated finisher Dinesh Karthik.
India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 KL Rahul, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Dinesh Karthik/Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Avesh Khan, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
Quotes
“When it comes to Asian cricket, everyone talks about India-Pakistan games. But I don’t mind the [lack of] big talk [around our team]. I would prefer to focus on the way we are playing.”
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka is happy with his side flying under the radar
“When you are under pressure, anyone can make a mistake. It was a big match. The situation was also tight… but when the environment is good, you learn from those situations. And you look forward to the next opportunity. I give the credit to the captain and the team management for creating such an environment where everyone feels that the next time such an opportunity comes, we want to seize it.”
Virat Kohli backs Arshdeep Singh after the bowler dropped a crucial catch in the defeat to Pakistan
Dana White’s Contender Series Post-Fight Press Conference | Season 6 – Week 6 – UFC – Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Dana White’s Contender Series Post-Fight Press Conference | Season 6 – Week 6 UFC – Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Dana White’s Contender Series 2022 Week 6 Play-by-Play and Results Sherdog.com
- DWCS Season 6, Week 6 results: Yusaku Kinoshita caps off another 5 contract night with brutal third-round kno… MMA Fighting
- Dana White’s Contender Series 52 results: For third-straight week, all five winners earn UFC contracts MMA Junkie
- Best Bets for Contender Series Week 6: Submission Props of +330 and +400 Among Top Plays The Action Network
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Chet Holmgren out for season
What will be the impact of Chet Holmgren’s season-ending foot injury?
The Oklahoma City Thunder announced Thursday that the No. 2 pick of this year’s NBA draft will miss his entire first campaign as a pro after suffering a Lisfranc injury to his right foot while playing in the CrawsOver Pro-Am event on Saturday.
Although Holmgren’s untimely injury costs him a chance to play and Thunder fans the chance to see their franchise’s highest draft pick since taking Kevin Durant at No. 2 before moving to Oklahoma City, the track record of other top picks sidelined by injury during their first season suggests it shouldn’t be a major detriment to his development.
Playing without Holmgren could, however, affect the Thunder’s outlook for the coming season. Without him, Oklahoma City becomes more likely to spend another year battling for lottery position despite having a handful of core players already in place.
Additionally, the high visibility and timing of Holmgren’s injury might change how NBA teams treat offseason pro-am competitions, which have grown increasingly popular in recent years. Let’s break down the many implications.
A star-studded precedent for Holmgren’s injury
With Holmgren due to miss his entire first NBA season to injury — notably not his rookie season, since he’ll retain eligibility to win Rookie of the Year in 2023-24 — he joins a star-studded list of top-three picks to do so since 2007.
Three No. 1 picks have missed their entire first season in that span: Greg Oden (2007), Blake Griffin (2008) and Ben Simmons (2016). We also saw Joel Embiid, the No. 3 pick in 2014, miss two full campaigns due to a navicular fracture in his right foot.
Each of these injuries is distinct in terms of long-term impact. The microfracture knee surgery Oden underwent before making his NBA debut was a factor in his career being cut short, while Embiid dealt with injuries for years before being allowed to fulfill his potential as one of the league’s most dominant players.
Still, the common denominator is that these players played as well as could have been expected when they returned. Both Griffin and Simmons returned to win Rookie of the Year, controversially so in the latter case. Embiid finished a narrow second only because he was limited to 31 games as a rookie.
In fact, top draft picks who have missed their first season due to injury have played so well that I answered a mailbag question a few years ago wondering whether their success implied all rookies should take a redshirt year. I certainly wouldn’t say that, but that history is encouraging when it comes to projecting Holmgren’s return for 2023-24.
Is Holmgren at a greater risk for injuries?
Unfortunately, Holmgren’s injury will serve to validate fears that his 7-foot, 195 pound frame puts him at increased risk to miss time.
Holmgren is one of the leanest players in modern NBA history. Based on those listings — Holmgren did not take measurements at the NBA draft combine — his body mass index (BMI) of 19.4 is third-lowest among current players, trailing two of his Thunder teammates (Aleksej Pokusevski, 19.1, and Ousmane Dieng; 19.3).
Aside from his two teammates, only one player since the NBA-ABA merger has been listed with a lower BMI than Holmgren: 7-foot-7 defensive specialist Manute Bol, listed at 200 pounds for a BMI of 17.0. Bol played at least 71 games each of his first seven seasons in the NBA, including 80-plus four times.
A handful of other post players have been listed with BMIs lower than 20. Keith Closs, listed at 7-foot-3, 212 (19.7 BMI) played three seasons as a reserve for the Los Angeles Clippers. Ron Behagen played power forward for seven years at 6-foot-9, 185 (19.8 BMI) and played 80-plus games in three of his five seasons as a regular. And longtime forward Mickey Johnson, aka “Rubber Band Man,” was incredibly durable after becoming a regular in his second season, 1975-76. Johnson, listed at 6-foot-10, 190 (19.9 BMI) played all but three games over the next six campaigns and never fewer than 76 until 1984-85 at age 32.
Inevitably, the sample size for Holmgren comparisons is limited, but the track record doesn’t show evidence to support the idea that his frame makes injuries inherently a greater risk.
How might Oklahoma City handle this season?
With Holmgren sidelined, the Thunder’s 2022-23 roster will look remarkably similar to the group that finished 2021-22. Oklahoma City still adds a pair of first-round picks, Dieng and guard Jalen Williams, as well as second-round pick Jaylin Williams. Of that group, only the Jalen Williams drafted in the lottery seems likely to contribute much immediately, raising the possibility of a third season for the Thunder near the bottom of the NBA standings.
There are two interesting variables at play here. The first is how much internal development we’ll see from Oklahoma City’s young talent. Of the nine Thunder players who saw at least 1,000 minutes of action last season, all of whom are returning, only reserve forward Kenrich Williams is older than 24. As a result, we’d expect Oklahoma City’s players to come back at a higher level.
The other is just how much we’ll see those players, particularly in the second half of the season. Only one Thunder player (forward Darius Bazley) saw action in more than 61 games last season. Bazley played 69. Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City’s best player, has played a combined 91 of 154 possible games the past two campaigns. If he plays 70-plus games in 2022-23, the Thunder will be far more competitive.
At the same time, Oklahoma City has been unusually “lucky” in close games the past two years. The Thunder were outscored by 8.1 points per game last season, similar to the Orlando Magic (minus-8.0) and Houston Rockets (minus-8.5), yet won two more games than Orlando and four more than Houston, thanks in part to going 7-6 in games decided by three or fewer points.
The trend was even more extreme in 2020-21, when Oklahoma City’s minus-10.6 point differential was far and away the league’s worst yet three teams won fewer games. If the Thunder’s record in close games flips, it’s possible they could be far more competitive next season yet still end up with a similar record.
As frustrating as one more season near the bottom of the standings would be, Oklahoma City would be rewarded with another high lottery pick who could team up with Holmgren in 2023-24, potentially fueling a rapid rise toward the playoffs.
Will — and should — pro-am appearances be curtailed?
Given how protective NBA teams have become of their players’ long-term futures, it will be interesting to see what discussions come out of Holmgren’s injury — particularly in the context of Saturday’s game featuring LeBron James, Jayson Tatum and No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero among others subsequently ending early due to court conditions.
Having been in attendance on Saturday, I think it’s worth noting that condensation on the court worsened significantly over the course of the quarter and a half that was played as compared with conditions when Holmgren was injured in the opening moments.
Last Saturday also featured an unusual set of circumstances with LeBron making his first appearance in Seattle in 15 years, leading to a packed gym and crowds lingering outside, a factor that prevented organizers from opening the doors to create airflow. Add in an unusually humid day in Seattle and the gym’s air conditioning was overwhelmed. A similar crowd to see Banchero and Holmgren play at the CrawsOver in late July went off uneventfully.
Still, NBA teams could use Holmgren’s injury as an opportunity to tighten restrictions on pro-am appearances currently outside of their control. Although everything about Holmgren’s appearance Saturday was within the NBA’s rules for sanctioned pro-am events, those are subject to change with the league and its players’ association beginning negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.
I hope the league doesn’t overreact to one unfortunate injury. Serious injuries in pro-am settings are rare — injury expert Jeff Stotts of InStreetClothes.com noted Brandon Knight’s ACL tear in 2017 as another example that cost a full season — and players must play basketball during the offseason for their conditioning and for their development.
Pro-ams get more attention because they’re open to the public, and in this case livestreamed, but that doesn’t make them any different from the pickup runs that are an inevitable part of the NBA summer.
Sadly, Holmgren’s most recent tweet — from just after his first CrawsOver appearance — was agreeing with Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray about the value of pro-am appearances to allow fans who can’t afford NBA tickets a chance to see their favorite players during the summer.
Let’s hope that continues and Holmgren is able to play in them again soon.