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Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered a record-breaking performance for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Indiana Pacers at the Fiserv Forum on December 14. Renowned journalist Jon Wertheim hit back at Nick Kyrgios for his recent comments on modern players like Novak Djokovic being much better at tennis than past legends. Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic lauded Spain’s emerging tennis hero Carlos Alcaraz and said that he is a complete player.
Check out major updates in various sporting disciplines in today's sports wrap.
NBA
Giannis Antetokounm po reacts to Bucks’ 57-point record
Giannis Antetokounmpo delivered a record-breaking performance for the Milwaukee Bucks against the Indiana Pacers at the Fiserv Forum on December 14, Thursday (IST). Antetokounmpo scored a franchise-record 64 points to lead his side past the Pacers 140-126 in a drama-filled encounter. With this, he surpassed the record of 57 set by Michael Redd in 2006. After his 58th point, the 29-year-old exited the game for some time in the fourth quarter and gave an instant reaction to his record-shattering performance on the career night.
The Greek Freak as he is called, entered late in the fourth after an Indiana run and during his time on the bench, he gave a fiery reaction to his new milestone. While Antetokounmpo had cameras on him, he said, "It's not easy. It's what I f**king do." In the game against the Pacers, he added 14 rebounds and four steals. However, he didn’t make any three-pointers in three attempts and scored 24 points from free throws alone.
Warriors star Draymond Green receives indefinite suspension by NBA
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green received an indefinite suspension from the NBA after his latest ejection from a game against the Phoenix Suns. Green got the suspension less than 24 hours after he hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face and received a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection. Earlier, there were reports by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that the Warriors’ star Draymond Green received an indefinite suspension.
Not only this but reports by ESPN also stated that Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. and agent Rich Paul will meet on Thursday to discuss a counseling plan to get Green help. However, later the league announced Green’s suspension for “repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.” The decision marked Green’s second suspension for the season as well as the 18th of his career.
Tennis
Sampras + Becker would hang with anyone: Journalist hits back at Nick Kyrgios
Renowned journalist Jon Wertheim hit back at Nick Kyrgios for his recent comments on modern players like Novak Djokovic being much better at tennis than past legends. Kyrgios was in an exclusive interview with The Athletic, where he said, “What would Djokovic do to someone like Sampras? It would be a cleanup. If Hewitt was doing it, Djokovic would destroy him. He would eat him alive."
Wertheim replied to the tennis player’s comments and said, "Even if you felt this way - and for the record, Sampras + Becker would hang with anyone, esp. on grass - why diminish the previous generation like that? As the kids say, kind of a weird flex.”
Leander Paes, Vijay Amritraj get inducted in the Tennis Hall of Fame
Indian tennis legends Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj became the first Indian men to get inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The 18-time Grand Slam champion in the doubles and mixed doubles category, Leander Paes got inducted in the players’ category while Amritraj has been inducted in the contributor category. The class of 2024 will officially be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday in Newport, Rhode Islands.
With Paes and Amritraj, India is set to become the 28th nation represented in the Hall of Fame. Paes told PTI, “It has been my life's honour to play for my country for over three decades in a sport that has given and taught me everything. This acknowledgment is indeed the ultimate accolade for every tennis player.”
Carlos Alcaraz is as complete a player I have seen in ages: Novak Djokovic
Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic lauded Spain’s emerging tennis hero Carlos Alcaraz and said that he is a complete player and has a bright future in store. Djokovic was quoted as saying to Jon Wertheim on 60 Minutes, “He’s as complete of a player I’ve seen in ages.” Djokovic added, “The loss at Wimbledon pissed me off so much that I needed to win everything on American soil, which I did. It’s a great opportunity for me to reinvent myself and really push harder than I ever did.”
Badminton
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty duo gets Khel Ratna Award nominations
The men’s doubles shuttler duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty earned a Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award nomination. On the other hand, Indian pacer Mohammad Shami got nominated for the Arjuna Award. A total of 17 players have been nominated for the prestigious Arjuna Award, including the likes of the men’s hockey players Krishan Bahadur Pathak and Sushila Chanu, archers Ojas Pravin Deotale and Aditi Gopichand Swami, boxer Mohammad Hussamuddin, chess player R Vaishali, golfer Diksha Dagar, shooter Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, wrestler Antim Panghal and paddler Ayhika Mukherjee among others.
Football
32 teams enter UEFA Champions League 2023-24 first knockout round
As the group-stage matches of the UEFA Champions League 2023-24 got concluded, a total of 32 teams made it to the first knockout round. Reigning champions Manchester City and Arsenal are the two English teams who have already made it through to the knockouts from their groups. However, Newcastle United failed to qualify after Paris Saint Germain and Dortmund drew 1-1 while the Magpies lost to Milan.
Teams to advance to the Round of 16
- From group A: Bayern Munich, FC Copenhagen
- From group B: Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven
- From group C: Real Madrid, Napoli
- From group D: Real Sociedad, Inter Milan
- From group E: Atletico Madrid, Lazio
- From group F: Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain
- From group G: Manchester City, RB Leipzig
- From group H: Barcelona, Porto
Copenhagen FC give away over 30,000 free beers to fans after UCL Round of 16 qualification
Danish club Copenhagen FC celebrated the club's surprise qualification to the last 16 of the Champions League by giving out free beer to around 34,726 fans in attendance at their home stadium - Parken in Copenhagen, Denmark. Nicknamed the Byens Hold, the club held a second-place finish behind Bayern Munich in Group A and qualified for the Round of 16.
Playing against Turkish giants, Galatasaray, Copenhagen FC scraped through a 1-0 win which saw midfielder Lukas Lerager score in the 58th minute. But it wasn't a walk in the park for the Danish side as Lerager went on to get a red card after receiving his second yellow card in the 90th minute. Hence after finishing the game on the winning side, Copenhagen FC announced: " There is free beer and water on the way out of the Parken."
Ronaldo-Kohli-LeBron: Google names 'most searched athlete' of last 25 years
After releasing the most searched personalities of 2023, Google released a new video that revealed the top icons the world searched for most in the last 25 years. While football has been named the most searched sport in the last 25 years on Google, the Portuguese superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo has been crowned as the most searched athlete in the list. Apart from Ronaldo, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and NBA legend LeBron James also appeared in the list in different segments.
Google began the video by stating, "25 years ago the world started to search and the rest is history. After revealing the most searched first step, decade in history, Google named football as the most searched sport in the last 25 years.”
They used my book as an excuse to sell me: Jaap Stam on his unceremonious exit from Old Trafford in 2001
Former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam opened up on his unceremonious exit from Old Trafford in 2001. Stam's book didn’t go well with the then manager Sir Alex Ferguson, which led to his exit from the club after three years. The Dutch defender opened up on the same and said, "It wasn’t good, of course, [when Sir Alex Ferguson] let me go. They used my book more or less as an excuse to sell me, because the book wasn’t an autobiography. It was more inside information in how we worked together as a team, as a unit, in a dressing room."
