Gorman, who has worked as a Celtics play-by-play broadcaster since 1981, is retiring at the end of the season. Mayor Michelle Wu has declared Sunday as “Mike Gorman Day” in Boston, according to a city news release on Friday. “Mike Gorman has made an impact across generations of Celtics fans, families, and visitors throughout his 40-plus years as the voice of the Boston Celtics,” Wu said. “His passion, intellect and ability to make every fan feel special and locked in for the whole game is unmatched.” Wu will join the...

This fantastic Eagles season, which saw them flirt with the No. 1 ranking before grabbing it for good in late January, stands one win — against Denver on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN2) — from a national title. ST. PAUL, Minn. — Slow, patient growth is an antiquated method of team-building in college hockey. Rare today is the program that keeps its driving forces together for three or four years, finally seeing the payoff when they become upperclassmen. They are here on the backs of four young forwards, three freshmen and...

New Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope has a fan in Rick Pitino. Pitino, the St. John’s head coach, declared Friday in a video posted on X that Pope will “go into greatness” and lead the Wildcats to a national title after he was hired to replace longtime coach John Calipari, who departed for Arkansas. “What a special day for the University of Kentucky, the leader the captains of the untouchables is coming home to lead the wildcats,” Pitino said in the video, naming other coaches, past and present. “A...

University of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari is leaving for the University of Arkansas. NPR's A Martinez talks to Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio about whether coaching is evolving.

With the increase of men wanting to compete in women’s sports, it often seems like it’s women who hate women’s sports the most. Consider South Carolina women’s head basketball coach Dawn Staley and her recent comments that anyone “who considers themselves a woman” should be allowed to play in women’s sports. I asked South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley if she supports transgender women (biological males) playing women's college basketball. "If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports or vice versa, you should be able to...

• Arkansas got John Calipari, and Kentucky got served humility. UK reportedly plans to hire Mark Pope. His top coaching achievement? A first-round NCAA exit. • Kentucky fans wanted John Calipari gone. They got their wish. What they didn't get was Billy Donovan, Scott Drew or Dan Hurley. • Mark Pope's BYU Cougars lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Duquesne. In the hours and days after Kentucky’s first-round NCAA tournament loss to Oakland, Big Blue Nation unleashed an unrelenting battle cry for athletic director Mitch Barnhart...

BYU head coach Mark Pope calls out a play during the first half of a game against Kansas State, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Manhattan, Kan. The news went over like a lead balloon in Lexington and Provo. In Lexington, they aren’t used to having their basketball coaching job turned down a myriad times and be handed to a coach who was one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament in March. In Provo, fans loved Pope, he was their man. He had personality, a dream and he could recruit. They adopted the...

BOSTON — Bojan Bogdanovic is getting comfortable, boosting the offense in his minutes and solidifying his spot in the playoff rotation. After struggling mightily to start his Knicks stint, Bogdanovic has scored at least 12 points in six of his past 10 games — including an efficient 14 during Thursday’s win over the Celtics. He said confidence was never an issue after being traded from the Pistons in February, but the adjustment to the new role and bench took time. “I’ve been confident, even with a lot of ups and...

Alabama sophomore Rylan Griffen, who started 33 games on the Crimson Tide's Final Four team this season, plans to enter the transfer portal, sources told ESPN. Griffen, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, made significant strides during his season in Tuscaloosa. He averaged 11.2 points and 3.4 rebounds, shooting 39.2% from 3-point range. He was at his best during the middle part of the season, averaging nearly 14 points per game during a 17-game stretch from late December to the end of February. After an inconsistent finish to the regular season, Griffen...

The Kentucky Wildcats basketball program has reportedly found its John Calipari replacement. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the team is closing in on hiring former BYU head coach Mark Pope. Thamel says the deal is expected to come together in the near future. Pope, 51, has been the head coach at Brigham Young University since 2019. Since joining BYU, the program has gone 110-52, good for a winning percentage of .679. They've made the NCAA Tournament twice — in 2020-21 and this past season — and they likely would have...