Jeff Van Gundy’s nightmare year went well beyond ESPN firing
NY Post
The Boston Celtics were Jeff Van Gundy’s lifeline.
Van Gundy detailed what has been a very painful time in his life after he was fired by ESPN following 16 years as the network’s top NBA game analyst.
The former Knicks coach, who was added to the Celtics staff in October, was dealing with personal tragedies on top of losing his job.
“I got fired from ESPN on June 30, and then my youngest son went to school in August so we became empty nesters,” Van Gundy said on “The Mark Jackson Show” with his former broadcast partner Mark Jackson and son Mark Jackson Jr.
“Then my sister-in-law tragically passed away in the middle of August as well. Then, my best friend in Houston contracted cancer, and he died this spring.”
Jeff’s brother, Stan, recently revealed that his wife committed suicide in August.
PHOENIX — You think of Tom Thibodeau, you think of defense.
It feels right that on the day we celebrate Aaron Judge joining an elite pantheon of athlete — the multi-time winner of the Most Valuable Player award — that we take a walk back to the beginning, when Judge was little more than a 6-foot-7, 280-pound curiosity who mostly specialized in striking out.
The NFL has warned its players to take precautions against a “transnational crime ring” that is suspected of orchestrating a number of break-ins of athletes’ homes including Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Joel Embiid isn’t pleased with details of the 76ers’ team meeting after Monday’s loss being leaked, telling reporters after Wednesday’s road loss to the Grizzlies, “whoever leaked that is a real piece of s–t.”
PHOENIX — Jalen Brunson didn’t want to comment on the NBA looking into his father’s promotion and contract as a potential salary-cap circumvention, but the point guard certainly had a message to anybody questioning Rick Brunson’s coaching credentials.
PHOENIX — Wednesday brought some cautiously optimistic updates for the Knicks frontcourt.
The Greatest Escape in franchise history was perpetrated by Glen Sather, when the general manager extricated himself and the Rangers from the final five years of Scott Gomez’s contract by moving the $7,357,143-per-year center to Montreal on June 30, 2009 after two years in New York.
The Yankees publicly are on the same page: Hal Steinbrenner, like Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone before him, said that issues with the club’s fundamentals did not hover over the team all season.
The first day of the rest of Daniel Jones’ dwindling time with the Giants arrived Wednesday, with Jones in the building, in the meetings, on the practice field (although not doing very much) and not at all part of the game plan for the next game, relegated to a non-participant role for the remainder of the season.
There will be a little extra magic for Knicks-Spurs on Christmas Day.