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Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Supt. Eddie Johnson on Tuesday bemoaned the fights that forced the United Center to close, canceling the championship game of a basketball league intended to keep teenagers off the streets in the summer. The pandemonium — some captured on cellphone video — prevented neighborhood teams made up of players from two of Chicago’s top high school basketball teams — Orr Academy and Curie Metropolitan — from squaring off in a title game. As upsetting to Emanuel and Johnson as the ugly scene outside the United Center was the fact that the league itself was supposed...

Tom Hawkins, who played six seasons for the Lakers, worked as a broadcaster in L.A. and later served as a Dodgers executive, passed away at his home in Malibu on Wednesday. He was 80. A 6-foot-5 forward, Hawkins starred at Chicago’s Parker (now Robeson) High School before playing at Notre Dame, where he became the first African-American student-athlete to earn All-America honors for the Fighting Irish. Hawkins was the first Irish player to average in double figures for scoring and rebounding during each of his three seasons (freshmen were ineligible during his collegiate career). His 1,318 career rebounds remains the...

Never in history has there been an NCAA investigation like the one that is (still) ongoing at the University of North Carolina. Now, six years after the initial investigation began, it appears that the school will finally have its day in NCAA Court on August 14th. The outcome will almost certainly have a huge impact on UNC and on college athletics – one way or the other. The basic premise of the investigation is this: During a period that might have been as long as 18 years (!!) dating from 1993, numerous Carolina athletes were involved in sham classes in...

Before Phil Jackson and Pat Riley, before Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown, even before Red Auerbach, there was John Kundla. Kundla, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Minneapolis Lakers to five NBA championships, died Sunday. He was 101. Son Jim Kundla said his father died at an assisted living facility in Northeast Minneapolis that he called home for years. With George Mikan in the middle and Kundla the calm, steady hand directing the team, the Lakers won the 1949 championship in the BAA — the league that preceded the NBA and NBA titles in 1950 and 1952-54, cementing...

Truth should be a slam-dunk. Yet activists that support and defend Planned Parenthood just keep blocking the facts. The WNBA’s Seattle Storm co-owner, Dawn Trudeau, is taking pride in being the first sports team to partner with the nation’s leading abortion business. The team is donating $5 from every ticket sold for their upcoming July 18th game. Oh, the irony of female players and owners celebrating an organization from which they were spared.Trudeau claims that “the league leadership is very socially conscious”. Sadly, that doesn’t translate into being informationally conscious. Trudeau told Politico recently: “It is pretty clear that people...

KENILWORTH -- A Catholic school that first expelled a girl over her battle to play on a boys basketball team - but then reversed its decision and took her back - is now saying she is not welcomed back this fall. St. Theresa's School rejected the applications for 13-year-old Sydney Phillips and her younger sister, Kaitlyn, to attend classes there in the 2017-2018 school year. The girls' parents are now going back to court to get their daughters into the only school they have ever attended. Scott Phillips, the girls' father, confirmed that the school refused to accept the applications,...

Ben's tweet was in reply to one of mine about Steve Kerr's post-championship appearance on the Lowe Post earlier this week. Discussing the topic of the best players in the league, Kerr told Lowe, "LeBron's the best player in basketball, and KD [Kevin Durant] is right there with him." The Warriors are NBA champions for the second time in three seasons. We have you covered with the latest news and analysis from Oakland. Finals » When Lowe followed up about mentioning Durant and not Stephen Curry, Kerr explained the choice. "Steph is one of the great players in the world,...

The NCAA suspended University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino for the first five Atlantic Coast Conference games next season following an investigation into the program's basketball escorts case. Pitino's suspension is just one penalty levied against the program, which was put on probation. Former staffer Andre McGee was hit with a 10-year show cause penalty after the NCAA said Pitino failed to monitor McGee, a former director of basketball operations at Louisville.

Andre Iguodala made it clear that even if the Warriors wind up meeting with President Trump at the White House, he won’t be going. When asked by USA Today’s Sam Amick if he would accept an invitation from Trump, Iguodala said, “Hell nah.” The Warriors downplayed the potential presidential controversy Monday, saying in a statement, “Today is all about celebrating our championship. We have not received an invitation to the White House but will make those decisions when and if necessary.” The Warriors’ standout sixth man posed a possible scenario where he would join the team for a White House...

Basketball Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman will travel to North Korea for his first visit to the communist nation in more than three years, a senior Trump administration official confirmed to Fox News. He is going as a private citizen, the official said. It's our understanding he hasn't landed yet.

Former New York basketball phenomenon Sebastian Telfair was caught early Sunday morning in Brooklyn with a trunk full of contraband. The 32-year-old was arrested with another man, Jami Thomas, 18, in Bed-Stuy around 2.50am with a bulletproof vest and small arsenal of weapons during a routine traffic stop, police told the New York Post. Authorities found three pistols, a gas-operated submachine gun, extended magazines, ammunition and the ballistic vest in the vehicle.

LeBron James and the Cavaliers are on the brink of being swept in the NBA Finals against the Warriors. The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-113 on Wednesday to take a 3-0 stranglehold on the NBA Finals and move to within one game of an unprecedented perfect run through the playoffs. With their 15th straight win, the Warriors have the longest postseason streak for any team in the four major professional sports.

“Cavs locker room has a strong reefer aroma to it tonight. Hey, it’s Cali. You’re down 2-0 and it’s all about pain control. #NBAFinals.” Wise later clarified his tweet by saying it wasn’t clear what was causing the smell, saying it could have been a reporter, cameraman or whoever. “To be clear, I don’t know who was imbibing marijuana in the Cavs locker room – media that entered, player, etc. But it wasn’t a dead skunk.” Wise wrote.

A two-month investigation by a Nebraska prosecutor has identified seven people who threatened referee John Higgins after Kentucky’s 75-73 NCAA tournament loss to North Carolina last March. Those seven people could eventually face charges from the FBI or authorities in their jurisdictions, Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov told the Associated Press on Friday. “Based on the investigation’s findings, our office has determined that no local charges will be filed and that pursuit of any criminal charges would be best served by deferring to authorities in the appropriate jurisdictions,” Polikov said in a statement. Kentucky coach John Calipari incited a firestorm...

Ken Sears, an All-America basketball player for Santa Clara in the 1950s who later played eight seasons in the NBA, died Sunday in his hometown of Watsonville, the university announced Monday. He was 83. Mr. Sears played from 1951 through ’55 for the Broncos under head coach Bob Feerick and started as a freshman on their Final Four team of 1952. He was twice named the WCC Player of the Year, beating out USF’s Bill Russell for the honor in 1955.

An endorsement deal with Nike, Under Armour or Adidas is not in the cards for Lonzo Ball. Ball's father, LaVar, confirmed that the three shoe and apparel companies informed him they were not interested in completing a deal with his son. Sources with the three companies told ESPN.com that they indeed were moving on.

As the NBA prepares to bring its Basketball Without Borders program to Israel this summer, league officials hope that the first trip to the country can help bring children together during a time of increasing tension. Basketball Without Borders has visited cities across the globe since 2001, using the sport to promote cultural understanding and active living. The first camp was held in Italy, but brought together Vlade Divac and Toni Kukoc, teammates on the former Yugoslavian national team that grew estranged during the political turmoil that ensued as the country fractured. Now the NBA and FIBA are going to...

Russell Westbrook was not in the mood for postgame handshakes after his Oklahoma City Thunder lost Game 5 of their playoff series in Houston on Tuesday night. The Thunder’s season came to an end with their 105-99 defeat to the Rockets in Game 5 of their series. TNT, which televised the game, showed Westbrook marching straight into the tunnel and off the court immediately following the defeat:

Kentucky may have produced its first none-and-done. Heralded shooting guard Hamidou Diallo announced on Twitter on Sunday evening that he is declaring for the NBA draft without ever playing a game for the Wildcats. The 6-foot-5 wing is not hiring an agent, so he’ll have until May 24 to withdraw from the draft and return to school if he chooses.

University of Maryland President Wallace Loh says he thinks the NCAA's current investigation into former conference rival North Carolina would lead to a shutdown of athletic programs at the university. Loh made the comments last week during a Maryland senate meeting last week.