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Let’s put on our “First Take” hats and throw out some overreactions based on the massive sample size we’ve seen so far. MORE: Rockets, Lakers got lucky with light suspensions LeBron James is failing! The Lakers won’t make the playoffs! Overreaction: Key starters are fighting the opposition and getting suspended. Luke Walton can’t stop complaining about a lack of foul calls. James is missing clutch free throws and potential game-winners....

LA (48-13) ended the longest playoff drought in franchise history (six seasons) and became the first team in the Western Conference this year to clinch a berth with its 113-103 victory over the Bucks. James outdueled reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and became the third player in league history to score 34,000 points in a career. MORE: LeBron’s most unstoppable move is ridiculously simple It also expanded its lead in the conference to 5 1/2 games over the Clippers ahead of the LA teams’ nationally televised showdown Sunday....

The Catalan giants’ interest in Griezmann is no secret as Barcelona were desperate to secure his services last season. In case you didn’t know… With 21 goals and 10 assists in all competitions, Griezmann has been the driving force in Rojiblancos’ forward line. But the Spanish giants are set to end their campaign without any trophies due to their premature exits from the Champions League and the Copa del Rey....

Spain international Kepa, whose form has been called into question, appeared slow to react to Hector Bellerin’s curling equaliser in the 87th minute at Stamford Bridge. Jorginho and Cesar Azpilicueta earlier scored either side of Gabriel Martinelli’s solo effort but the Blues were left to rue two dropped points despite having a man advantage for over an hour following David Luiz’s red card. “I know there’s a focus on him at the minute,” Lampard said when asked about Kepa....

Evra: Someone doesn’t want me at Man Utd The Iceland captain enjoyed another fantastic performance as the Swans beat Southampton 2-1 on Tuesday, bagging an assist and superbly well-taken winning goal. And when questioned whether Sigurdsson could make the grade at some of the high-profile clubs he has helped coach in the past, Clement compared the attacker to a Chelsea great. “I’ve seen worse players than him playing at that level,” the former Bayern assistant coach said....

From 1999 to 2004, Armstrong was the lead rider on a team sponsored by the U.S. Postal Service, and he won the Tour de France every year during that period. On Thursday, Judge Robert Wilkins ruled in favor of the government’s position that Armstrong and associates owed an obligation to pay money because of the alleged breach of the sponsorship agreements with the postal service. The Postal Service paid about $40 million to be the title sponsor of Armstrong’s teams for six of his seven Tour de France victories....

A decade ago, she was the whistleblower telling the inconvenient truth about another sports hero: seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. MORE: Disgraced athletes: Where they went wrong When she and husband Frankie Andreu testified under oath that Armstrong told cancer doctors in their presence he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs, their testimony was leaked to the media. The couple was hit with “brutal” criticism for daring to accuse the cycling superstar....

The Dutchman caught the reigning champion in the dying stages of the race on fresher tires. Verstappen overtook Hamilton at Turn 4 on lap 53, but completed the move with all four wheels off the track. He was immediately asked to give the position back by the stewards, who later confirmed that failure to comply would have resulted in a five-second penalty. However, Lando Norris feels that Verstappen completed the overtake before the Dutchman went off track....

Of course, between then and now are 1) a College Football Playoff semifinal matchup against Washington, and 2) a potential CFP championship matchup against Clemson or Ohio State. On Wednesday, Kiffin met the media at the Peach Bowl and addressed a wide range of topics, some related to FAU, others to his time at — and, yes, departure from — coach Nick Saban’s program in Tuscaloosa. MORE: SN staffers make picks for New Year’s Six...

A source told Sporting News that defensive guru Monte Kiffin is expected to assist his son in some capacity as Lane Kiffin enters his first season as Owls head coach. Exactly what role Monte Kiffin will have and whether it will be a paid or even official position wasn’t immediately known. MORE: Lane Kiffin says terrible FAU hype video was a ‘joke’ Monte Kiffin, 77, previously worked on his son’s college staffs as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach, respectively, at Tennessee and Southern Cal....

The 170 million-year-old fossil unearthed in Scotland’s Isle of Skye belongs to a creature (from a family informally called Pterodactyls) believed to have been the largest to ever take to the sky over Earth up until that point. The remarkably well-preserved skeleton of the new pterosaur species, which has been named Dearc sgiathanach, reveals these flying reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs became larger earlier in Earth’s history than previously believed....

“I was trying,” Brown said on ESPN’s Mike and Mike on Friday. “I begged Mitch.” MORE: 2015 NBA Draft Grades: Did Lakers choose wisely? | The Draft’s suits and stars, in photos Brown was slated to coach Mudiay at SMU before he passed up on the college experience to play one year of professional hoops in China. And despite being spurned by the top-flight point guard, Brown still sings Mudiay’s praises....

This motion comes roughly two weeks after these layers, Malaika Ramsey-Heath and Jacqueline McCann, filed to have Nassar resentenced in Ingham County, Michigan after it was revealed that he was physically assaulted in prison within hours of his release into the general population of the prison where he is currently serving the first of the three lengthy prison sentences that he was issued between this past December and this past February....

Messi has injured the adductor in his right leg as he was immediately substituted at the starting of the second half against Atletico. The Argentine will miss at least two club games during his time off the pitch and also his country’s two World Cup qualifiers. He is expected to miss a league game against Celta Vigo as well as a Champions League tie against Borussia Monchengladbach. With Argentina, he is expected to miss the qualifiers against Peru Uruguay....

In case you didn’t know… Neither of Neymar Jr. or Ronaldinho are the highest scoring Brazilians at Barcelona, as that honour falls to another legend, Rivaldo. The Brazil striker had scored 130 goals for Barcelona from 1997 to 2002, in 203 appearances for the club. The heart of the matter Neymar has brought up his tally of 94 goals in all competitions much quicker than Ronaldinho though. The 24-year-old brought up his tally in just 164 outings for the Blaugrana, 43 games quicker than Ronaldinho, who managed to score 94 goals in 207 matches in all competitions for Barcelona....

In the comfortable 4-0 victory over Eibar, Barcelona lost their key midfielder Sergio Busquets in the opening 10 minutes due to an ankle injury. It is now being reported that the Spanish midfielder might be out for a month. Tests yesterday have confirmed that Busquets has sprained his ankle ligament and while the club has not issued a timeline as to when the player will make his comeback, local press reports have claimed that the holding midfielder is out for a month....

Y si te estás preguntando que para qué sirve una VPN, debes saber que una VPN puede lograr protegerte de muchas maneras. Por un lado, hace que puedas navegar de forma anónima. Por otro lado, protege tu conexión incluso si utilizas una red wifi pública gratuita. Una tercera ventaja (y seguramente la más popular) es que una VPN puede desbloquear sitios web a los que, de otro modo, no podrías acceder, lo que también significa que puedes ver vídeos restringidos a determinadas regiones o países....

In early October, Los Angeles was averaging fewer than 1,000 new cases per day, but by last week that number had risen to 1,200 new cases a day. The Lakers closed out their championship against the Heat on Oct. 11. The county health department is also concerned that a similar spike could follow the Dodgers’ World Series run, which could end with a title as soon as Tuesday night....

Now, Evans has posted a video on her official Instagram handle, which shows her daughter cutting a promo on Banks and Bayley. Evans also mentioned in the caption that her daughter will be on WWE’s The Bump. Lacey’s daughter had quite a list of demands to get her on the show. She took a shot at Banks, and added that Bayley is the worst Champion in the whole world....