Sports
The ‘Immaculate Reception’ remains a defining moment for Pittsburgh 50 years later
Moments earlier than Franco Harris made essentially the most unbelievable play in NFL historical past, possibly in professional sports activities historical past, his mother sensed one thing was fallacious, even from almost 300 miles away.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 1972 season was on the brink, and Harris, their star rookie working again, knew he was in all probability lining up for his remaining play that 12 months. In an AFC divisional playoff recreation Dec. 23 — solely the franchise’s second postseason recreation — the Steelers trailed the Oakland Raiders 7-6 with 22 seconds left and confronted fourth and 10 at Pittsburgh’s 40-yard line.
“At dwelling in Jersey, my brothers and sisters and my dad are watching the sport,” Harris — whose demise at age 72 was introduced by his son Wednesday — mentioned in an interview with The Occasions final month. “My mother, being from Italy, didn’t know a lot about soccer, so she’s within the kitchen consuming espresso. She may really feel that one thing wasn’t proper, although, so she went and bought her Italian album out and put it on.
“My brothers and sisters swear that when the Immaculate Reception occurred, ‘Ave Maria’ was enjoying.”
The play the Steelers ran 50 years in the past Friday , 66 Circle Choice, turned out to be a “Hail Mary” certainly.
Their third-year quarterback, Terry Bradshaw, confronted heavy strain from the Raiders’ protection. He was in a position to hearth the ball to Oakland’s 35-yard line — he has mentioned that he noticed a black Steelers jersey and easily threw to it — and a violent collision occurred between fearsome Oakland security Jack Tatum and Pittsburgh working again John “Frenchy” Fuqua.
As Fuqua crashed to the Three Rivers Stadium synthetic turf and a few Raiders celebrated, believing the cross was incomplete, the ball ricocheted again towards midfield. Harris was being lined by second-year linebacker Phil Villapiano, a future four-time Professional Bowl choice and a mainstay of the Raiders’ protection within the ’70s. Seeing the ball within the air, Villapiano instinctively headed towards it.
Nonetheless debated at this time, this diagram exhibits how the ball deflected off both Oakland’s Jack Tatum (31) or Pittsburgh’s “Frenchy” Fuqua (33) earlier than Franco Harris’ “Immaculate Reception.” The Raiders’ Phil Villapiano (41) and Harris could be seen to the precise trailing the motion.
(Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame through Related Press)
“It blows my thoughts that I’ve no visible recollection of catching the ball.”
— Franco Harris, on his “Immaculate Reception”
“What I ought to have achieved was seize Franco and pull him in tight, so it regarded to the ref like he was blocking me,” Villapiano mentioned. “However as a substitute I see the ball bounce up within the air after which the following factor I do know, Franco is working down the sector. I assumed to myself, ‘What the hell is he doing that for?’ ”
Harris additionally had run towards the ball, which he grabbed simply earlier than it hit the turf. With out breaking stride, he headed for the Steelers’ sideline, the left aspect of the sector.
“When Bradshaw threw the ball, my first thought was to go towards the ball, since you by no means know what’s going to occur,” Harris mentioned. “So I began to go to the ball and the following factor I keep in mind was stiff-arming Jimmy Warren alongside the sideline.
Corridor of Fame working again Franco Harris poses in his well-known “Immaculate Reception” catch place throughout a ceremony commemorating the play.
(Keith Srakocic / Related Press)
“It blows my thoughts that I’ve no visible recollection of catching the ball. That wasn’t a simple ball to catch. It simply doesn’t make any sense. How did I observe it? How did I hold in stride? You usually don’t catch a ball in that approach. If I had dived for it, I’d have been dominated down as a result of the principles had been totally different again then.”
Within the stadium’s higher deck, 16-year-old Mike Bodura was watching the sport together with his father, a steelworker. The Steelers had been shifting away from them, which meant that the soccer had rocketed again of their course after Tatum’s punishing hit on Fuqua.
“You noticed that collision in the course of the sector, and other people round us slumped of their seats as a result of all of us figured the cross was incomplete,” mentioned Bodura, a lifelong Pittsburgher. “After which some man close to us yelled, ‘Hey, Franco’s bought the ball!’ and we noticed him working down the left sideline.”
Harris encountered Warren, the Raiders’ veteran cornerback, across the 10-yard line however managed to fend him off and run into the top zone, setting off pandemonium. Harris’ teammates mobbed him, and followers poured out of the stands. 5 seconds remained on the sport clock.
Artwork Rooney II, now proprietor and president of the Steelers, was 20 on the time and labored as an assistant gear supervisor for the workforce that season. The play had unfolded proper in entrance of him.
“There have been lots of people on the sector, and one of many issues I keep in mind most,” Rooney mentioned, “is that certainly one of our former gamers from the ’60s, Brady Keys, ran onto the sector and gave me a bear hug so exhausting that I virtually handed out.”
Artwork Rooney II, now proprietor and president of the Pittsburgh Steelers, was 20 years previous when he witnessed the “Immaculate Reception” at Three Rivers Stadium.
(Gene J. Puskar / Related Press)
However ought to Harris’ landing depend? On the time, NFL guidelines said that an offensive participant was ineligible to catch the ball if it had caromed off certainly one of his teammates with no defensive participant additionally touching it. Had the ball bounced off Tatum, or had it struck Fuqua? Or had each touched it?
“I don’t suppose that any of us gamers knew the rule about two offensive gamers touching the ball, however the one man who did was John Madden,” Villapiano mentioned, referring to the Corridor of Fame coach of the Raiders. “He was storming onto the sector and making an attempt to inform the officers about it.”
The officers huddled to attempt to kind out what had occurred, as your entire stadium waited for a verdict. “There have been no replays on the scoreboard in these days, so that you couldn’t see the play once more,” Bodura factors out.
Ultimately somebody known as the press field and Steelers public relations director Joe Gordon answered.
“There was a cellphone within the dugout … and our stadium operations supervisor known as me straight and mentioned, ‘[Referee Fred] Swearingen desires to speak to [Art] McNally.’ He was the NFL supervisor of officers, who occurred to be on the recreation,” mentioned Gordon, who dealt with PR for the Steelers from 1969 to 1998.
“So I handed the cellphone to McNally and I heard him say, ‘What did you see?’ He listened for a bit after which mentioned, ‘Properly, name it then.’ The entire dialog lasted 10 to fifteen seconds.”
NFL officers confer on the validity of the “Immaculate Reception” as Raiders and Steelers gamers huddle round them. Oakland coach John Madden can be current (heart, again).
(Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame through Related Press)
“It was getting scary on the sector. All it could have taken was for one individual to throw a punch and issues may have gotten actually unhealthy. These Steelers followers had been loopy.”
— Phil Villapiano, Raiders linebacker, on discipline situations after “Immaculate Reception”
When the landing was confirmed, bedlam resumed. The Steelers kicked the additional level to make the ultimate rating 13-7, then fought their approach by ecstatic followers to their locker room. The Raiders had been left offended, confused and bitterly upset.
Villapiano, who stays agency in his perception that the soccer struck solely Fuqua and that Harris’ landing shouldn’t have counted, chalks up the officers’ ruling to home-field benefit.
“That’s simply the best way it’s,” Villapiano mentioned. “It was getting scary on the sector. All it could have taken was for one individual to throw a punch and issues may have gotten actually unhealthy. These Steelers followers had been loopy. I believe they had been simply as unhealthy because the followers in Philadelphia.”
Former Oakland Raiders linebacker Phil Villapiano, left, doesn’t agree with the “Immaculate Reception” ruling in 1972 however has come to peace with the catch by Franco Harris, proper.
(D. Ross Cameron / Related Press)
In one other odd twist that day, Rooney’s grandfather, Artwork Sr., the Steelers’ founder and then-owner, didn’t get to see the play that gave his workforce its first playoff victory after 40 years of futility.
Artwork Rooney Sr. made it a behavior to greet the gamers within the locker room once they got here off the sector, win or lose, so he was on an elevator when Harris scored. When he stepped off the elevator, he heard the roar of the gang and requested a safety guard what occurred, Gordon mentioned. The person replied, “You gained!”
After celebrating together with his teammates within the locker room, Harris didn’t exit in town to bask within the victory. The 22-year-old had plans to go to his household for Christmas.
“I really went to the airport proper from the stadium,” Harris mentioned. “I went to seize a sandwich earlier than my flight, and I walked in and the entire Raiders workforce was sitting there. It was a little bit awkward.
“I assume they had been ready for his or her constitution, however I felt a chill undergo the air. I used to be the final individual they wished to see. Solely one of many gamers, Mike Siani, who I knew from a school all-star recreation, got here as much as say whats up. No person else mentioned something to me.”
That night, Michael Ord, a reveler at a Pittsburgh bar, stood up and provided a toast to what he known as the “Feast of the Immaculate Reception.”
His girlfriend on the time, Sharon Levosky, favored the title a lot that she known as one of many native TV stations and requested to talk to colourful sportscaster Myron Cope, a Pittsburgh establishment.
Bishop David Zubik, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh.
(Keith Srakocic / Related Press)
“As a lifelong Steelers fan, I’ve all the time discovered religious which means within the time period ‘Immaculate Reception.’ ”
— Bishop David Zubik, on nickname for well-known catch by Franco Harris in 1972
Cope, who later created the Steelers’ ubiquitous Horrible Towel, was nonetheless at Three Rivers Stadium, Gordon mentioned, and Levosky’s name was patched by to him within the Steelers’ gear room.
Cope cherished the title Ord had provide you with however questioned whether or not it would offend spiritual viewers, Gordon mentioned. He needn’t have apprehensive, apparently.
“As a lifelong Steelers fan, I’ve all the time discovered religious which means within the time period ‘Immaculate Reception,’ ” mentioned Bishop David Zubik of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, who was a seminarian visiting his dad and mom for Christmas that day. “The play particularly made folks conscious of a religious dimension that exceeded a soccer recreation.”
Cope did the truth is use “Immaculate Reception” on his newscast, and the remainder is historical past. Soccer followers have now seen the play numerous occasions, and the NFL Community ranked it No. 1 on its record of the 100 biggest performs in league historical past. A statue depicting Harris catching the soccer greets vacationers at Pittsburgh Worldwide Airport (together with figures of George Washington and pioneering journalist Nellie Bly).
And the play sparks debates to this present day about who touched the soccer, Fuqua or Tatum.
Statues of the Steelers’ Franco Harris making his well-known 1972 “Immaculate Reception” and George Washington, the primary president of the US, at Pittsburgh Worldwide Airport.
(Paul Spinelli / Related Press)
Fuqua, a flashy dresser who wore platform footwear with see-through heels that had tropical fish swimming in them, all the time has refused to say who touched the ball. Tatum, who died in 2010 and was notorious for his crushing hits on receivers, all the time maintained that the ball ricocheted off Fuqua and will have been dominated useless when Harris caught it.
“I talked with Jack Tatum in regards to the play various occasions, and his ardour about it by no means dimmed,” mentioned Amy Trask, who was the Raiders’ chief govt from 1997 to 2013. “He was unequivocal in his view of what occurred.”
Villapiano says it’s solely logical that the soccer struck Fuqua, not Tatum.
“I noticed ‘Tates’ drill Fuqua within the again, so how may the ball have bounced off Jack?” he mentioned.
Though the Steelers misplaced the AFC championship recreation the week after the Immaculate Reception to the undefeated Miami Dolphins, 21-17, the victory over the Raiders marked a turning level.
Pittsburgh would go on to win 4 Tremendous Bowls in six seasons and declare the unofficial title of the NFL workforce of the ’70s. That gave town a much-needed elevate, Artwork Rooney II mentioned.
“That recreation and the success we had after that was one thing town may actually take satisfaction in,” he mentioned. “It was a tricky time right here within the ’70s with the metal trade dying, however the Steelers gave folks one thing to hold on to throughout these powerful occasions.”
The Raiders, for his or her half, continued to dominate the AFC West and finally gained Tremendous Bowl titles within the 1976, 1980 and 1983 seasons. They confronted the Steelers within the postseason 5 seasons in a row, from 1972 to 1976; within the remaining three seasons, the winner of their matchup went on to win the Tremendous Bowl.
“For a concentrated time period, I believe that was essentially the most intense rivalry that professional soccer and sports activities basically has ever seen,” mentioned creator Ed Gruver, who co-wrote a e book in regards to the groups’ rivalry, “Hell with the Lid Off.”
Former Steelers star working again Franco Harris stands subsequent to the marked spot of the “Immaculate Reception.”
(Gene J. Puskar / Related Press)
The fiftieth anniversary of the Immaculate Reception will likely be a giant deal in Pittsburgh. Among the many scheduled occasions is a ceremony Friday on the actual spot the place Harris caught the ball in long-demolished Three Rivers Stadium (a marker there commemorates the play). On Christmas Eve, the Steelers will host the Raiders, who now play in Las Vegas, with Harris’ jersey No. 32 being retired at halftime.
Harris, who was inducted into the Professional Soccer Corridor of Fame in 1990 and rushed for greater than 12,000 yards throughout his profession, would chuckle generally when watching himself catch the soccer in replays from that day in 1972.
“I wasn’t working very quick,” he mentioned, “however I assume it was the precise velocity on the proper time. And in the precise place.”
Though Villapiano’s workforce misplaced the sport and he believes the officers made the fallacious determination, he doesn’t tire of speaking in regards to the play.
“It’s one of many craziest issues, and no person is aware of the solutions,” he mentioned. “That’s why individuals are nonetheless so desirous about it and why it retains getting increasingly more immaculate.”
It was impossible to know what Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham said when he approached Harry Kane as the Bayern Munich striker prepared to take a penalty in Tuesday evening’s Champions League semi-final first leg.
Whatever the precise words, it was very unlikely that Bellingham was wishing his international team-mate the best of luck, and referee Clement Turpin had to intervene to tell the midfielder to get out of the way.
Not that Kane was unduly concerned. In his initial post-match interview with TNT Sport, the game’s UK broadcaster, the England captain said he hadn’t heard what Bellingham said. It wasn’t until after the final whistle that Bellingham revealed all.
“I spoke to him after and he said: ‘I know you’re going to go left of the keeper’,” said Kane. “But it was nice for me because I saw the keeper go a little bit early and I put it away.”
Nothing was going to distract Harry Kane from getting his goal 😤 pic.twitter.com/mR05vjxCPH
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 30, 2024
It was hardly incendiary stuff, and there is unlikely to be any lasting rancour between two players who had greeted each other warmly before kick-off. Yet the contrast between the image of Bellingham whispering in Kane’s ear in an effort to gain an advantage for his club and the picture of him putting his arm around the same player moments after he had missed a crucial late penalty against France in England’s 2022 World Cup quarter-finals defeat could not have been greater.
Elsewhere on The Athletic…
They also speak to two sides of Bellingham’s personality, both of which have been evident in what is his debut season in Spain. There have never been any doubts regarding strength of character – his penchant for late goals, including in both La Liga Clasicos against Barcelona, is testament to that.
While clearly enjoying the attention coming his way from his new club’s fans, Bellingham has also been praised for sharing the limelight: take, for example, his instruction for fans to applaud Fede Valverde for setting him up to score against Osasuna in October.
GO DEEPER
Vinicius Jr is Real Madrid’s transformative big-stage player – with a twist
He also provided a very unselfish assist for striker Joselu the following month, subsequently explaining that he wanted to help out a team-mate who had been going through a rough spell in front of goal.
This looked like exceptional emotional intelligence and personal maturity, and helped make Bellingham phenomenally popular with Madrid players and supporters alike.
His gesture to Kane following that World Cup quarter-final penalty was significant, too. Bellingham – then aged just 19 – was the only member of the England side to console their captain after he failed to equalise in the 84th minute of what ended as a 2-1 loss, and it spoke to a maturity beyond his years.
Jude Bellingham consoles Harry Kane (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
The flipside to all this, however, is that Bellingham can also come close to the line – or even cross it – when things are not going so well either for him personally or for his team.
That was already signalled during his time at previous club Borussia Dortmund, when Bellingham was known to feel that some team-mates did not reach his own high standards — especially when they threw away a great chance to win the German title in May last year.
Bellingham’s patience with Spanish referees also wore thin quite quickly. He felt he was not receiving enough protection as defenders used any methods they could to limit his influence on games.
He picked up four yellow cards in six games through January and February, mostly for either dissent or ‘revenge’ fouls, serving a punishment for accumulation of bookings. Then came his most high-profile run-in with officialdom, when he was red-carded for furious protests after referee Jesus Gil Manzano whistled for full time just as he thought he had scored another late winner in a La Liga game against Valencia in early March.
Bellingham was still raging as he left the pitch that night, quickly reposting an Instagram message which said: “The referee literally waited for Brahim Diaz to cross the ball! THIS IS A SCANDAL.” He quickly removed that message from his account, but he was still banned for three matches.
GO DEEPER
Jude Bellingham is different – A portrait of Real Madrid’s new superstar
There was also the incident when Madrid played neighbours Getafe in early February, and Bellingham clashed with fellow Englishman Mason Greenwood, during a bad-tempered game against a physical team.
Getafe claimed that Bellingham had made an “offensive remark” to Greenwood, who joined the La Liga club on a season-long loan from Manchester United at the end of last summer’s transfer window. Greenwood had seen charges of attempted rape, assault, and coercive control dropped by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in February 2023. He denied all the alleged offences.
After a lip reader was consulted, the Spanish FA (RFEF) said no credible evidence of what Bellingham allegedly said to Greenwood had been found, and the case was dismissed.
Bellingham received total backing from Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti and the club hierarchy after both the Greenwood and Mestalla incidents, and everyone at the Bernabeu has been keen to look after their latest emerging superstar.
Fans of the club will also not be worried about any signs of being a bad loser, or even his taste for gamesmanship. Both fit perfectly with Madrid’s self-image as a place where winning is the most important thing (even as it goes against the ‘gentlemanly’ values that they also boast of).
Jude Bellingham does not lack confidence (Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Bellingham’s career has been on warp speed so far – from becoming Birmingham City’s youngest first-team player just past his 16th birthday, to moving to Germany as the most expensive 17-year-old in history, playing for England at two international tournaments while still a teenager, and now making such a sensational start with Madrid.
All this brings attention and pressure. Bellingham has mostly shown he can handle it, and channel whatever he is feeling into spectacular performances and moments for his team. Still, for all his many talents, he is not Superman, and there have been signs lately that he is feeling the strains of his incredible first season in Spain.
He struggled to make an impact during the two Champions League quarter-final legs recently against Manchester City. And while he followed that with the last-gasp El Clasico winner 10 days ago, he was quiet again last night in his first game in Germany since leaving Dortmund.
“Jude didn’t play at his best today, but he will be back very soon,” said Ancelotti, who also revealed Bellingham had been withdrawn because he was suffering from cramp. “He will be 100 per cent by Wednesday (the second leg at the Bernabeu next week).”
Could Bellingham’s character lead to behaviour that might be better controlled? Maybe. And s***housing your national captain in a Champions League semi-final is probably not the wisest idea.
But if Bellingham’s career has taught us anything, it is that he will do things his way.
GO DEEPER
Infuriating, embarrassing – and funny: What players really think of ‘shithousing’
(Top photos: TNT Sports and Getty Images)
Sports
Patrick Beverley apologizes to ESPN producer; Bucks guard will not reprise guest analyst role, sources say
Patrick Beverley came under scrutiny for his behavior during and after the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 6 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
A video captured Beverley throwing a basketball into the stands in the final minutes of the Bucks’ blowout loss. After the game, Beverley had a tense exchange with ESPN producer Malinda Adams.
On Friday, Front Office Sports reported sources familiar with the network’s thinking informed the outlet that “ESPN management has banned Beverley from making further guest appearances on studio shows.”
However, another source with knowledge of the situation disputed the report to Fox News Digital, noting that Beverley had previously served as a guest analyst for the network. But a decision had been made long before Thursday night’s incident not to invite him back.
Patrick Beverley of the Milwaukee Bucks dribbles against the Indiana Pacers during Game 6 of the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs May 2, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)
Adams confirmed Beverley and the Bucks contacted her and offered an apology.
“I want to thank everyone for their kind words and support. I am humbled. Patrick Beverley just called me and apologized. I appreciate it and accept it. The Bucks also reached out to apologize,” Adams wrote on X, formerly Twitter. ” I’ve been in news for over 40 years and kindness and grace always win.”
NBA LEGEND MAGIC JOHNSON POINTS FINGER AT LOAD MANAGEMENT AFTER LAKERS’ EARLY PLAYOFF EXIT
The situation began when Beverley asked Adams if she subscribed to his podcast.
“You subscribed to my pod?” Beverly asked.
“I do not,” Adams replied.
Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley (21) dribbles while Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell (9) defends during Game 6 of the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. (Trevor Ruszkowski/USA Today Sports)
Once Beverley learned Adams’ account was not one of the 260,000-plus that subscribed to “The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone” podcast, he told her she could not interview him.
“You can’t interview me then. No disrespect,” Beverley said.
ESPN did not directly comment on the incident between Beverley and Adams, but the network did express its support for the veteran journalist.
“Malinda is a well-respected colleague and a true professional. She has our full support,” ESPN said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
During the game, cameras showed Beverley sitting on the bench before he eventually stood up and launched a basketball at a female Pacers fan sitting behind the team’s bench. The ball hit the fan in the head.
He appeared to motion to get the ball back. And when it was returned, he again threw the ball at another fan, who was able to deflect it.
Coaches and other players stepped in an attempt to defuse the situation, but Beverley appeared to continue to exchange words with the fans sitting behind him.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith commented on Beverley’s behavior Thursday night.
“I just can’t believe he did that,” Smith said. “I’ve known Patrick Beverley for years. I love the brother. It’s inexcusable. It’s indefensible.”
Beverley later acknowledged his actions in the ball-throwing incident.
“But I have to be better. And I will,” he wrote on X.
Beverley also suggested video that surfaced on social media did not take into account the fan’s constant heckling throughout the game.
Milwaukee Bucks’ Patrick Beverley gets past Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton during the first half of Game 1 of a playoff game April 21, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
“Not Fair at all. Exchanged between a fan and our ball club all night. We warned and asked for help all night. Not fair,” Beverley wrote in reference to the video.
Smith said he believed the woman who was hit by the basketball was not the intended target, but he also made it clear Beverley should never have hurled a basketball into the stands in the first place.
“When he threw the ball into the stands, he did not mean to throw it at the woman. He meant to throw it at the guy that was in front of her … when he thew it the second time. But you should’ve never (thrown) it the first time. That’s not something that you do,” Smith said.
“You don’t do that. And Lord knows we (aren’t) trying to excuse anything the fans do and the things that they may say. … You can’t do that. Players are victimized by fans a lot with some of the verbiage they throw at these players.
“But that does not absolve you from exercising your professional decorum and your professional obligation to yourself, to the franchise you represent and to the league you represent. You don’t do that.”
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
The Clippers expect Tyronn Lue to be the coach of the team for a “long time” and the plan is to offer him a contact extension so he’s not coaching the 2024-25 season in the final year of his deal, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The subject of Lue and an extension came up after the Lakers fired Darvin Ham on Friday and the Clippers coach’s name came up as a possible candidate for them and other openings that might come up. Also, Lue and LeBron James won a championship together in Cleveland in 2016 and the two still have a strong relationship, the person said, citing another reason why there is talk the Lakers would be interested in Lue if he becomes available.
Lue’s contract for next season is a team option and is partially guaranteed, according to one person. But there have been no talks about an extension, the person said.
The Clippers gave Kawhi Leonard a three-year contract extension for $150 million that starts next season as well as the team looking to extend Paul George and re-sign James Harden this summer.
Lue, who turns 47 Friday, was offered the Lakers’ job in 2019, but the sides couldn’t agree on a deal, leading the team to hire Frank Vogel. Lue became the Clippers head coach for the 2020-21 season and led them to the franchise’s first-ever Western Conference finals in 2021.
Despite many injuries, Lue has taken the Clippers to the playoffs in three of the four seasons he has been the coach.
The Clippers are down 3-2 to the Dallas Mavericks in a first-round series, with Game 6 Friday night at American Airlines Center.
Leonard will not play because of inflammation in his right knee that now will have kept him out of four of the six playoff games.
Leonard missed the final eight regular-season games because of the knee issue, but Lue still directed the Clippers to the fourth seed in the rugged Western Conference with a 51-31 record.
Lue has a 321-212 record over his eight years as a head coach in the NBA and is considered one of the best in the game.
French Toast Girls’ Short Sleeve Picot Collar Polo School Uniform Shirt (Standard and Plus)
Video: Police Remove Dozens of Protesters from Sciences Po University in Paris
Video: University of Chicago President Says Pro-Palestinian Encampment ‘Cannot Continue’
Your May 2024 Horoscope: What’s in Store for You, Based on Your Sign
What these two pictures tell us about Jude Bellingham's attitude to football
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
At least 2 dead as tornadoes hit Alabama, damage homes across Southeast
Video: University of Chicago President Says Pro-Palestinian Encampment ‘Cannot Continue’
Border Patrol sector stops hundreds of Chinese illegal immigrants in just two days as numbers soar
In Texas, pro-Palestine university protesters clash with state leaders
Columbia is rethinking its commencement ceremony in the wake of campus protests
Democratic Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar indicted by DOJ on conspiracy and bribery charges
-
News1 week agoLarry Webb’s deathbed confession solves 2000 cold case murder of Susan and Natasha Carter, 10, whose remains were found hours after he died
-
News1 week agoFirst cargo ship passes through new channel since Baltimore bridge collapse
-
World1 week agoHaiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns, transitional council takes power
-
World1 week agoSpanish PM Pedro Sanchez suspends public duties to 'reflect'
-
World1 week agoUS secretly sent long-range ATACMS weapons to Ukraine
-
News1 week agoAmerican Airlines passenger alleges discrimination over use of first-class restroom
-
Movie Reviews1 week agoHumane (2024) – Movie Review
-
Education1 week agoVideo: Johnson Condemns Pro-Palestinian Protests at Columbia University