The Players Field

Tim Bontemps
ESPN-

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- LeBron James has made it clear that his goal is to surpass Michael Jordan as the greatest player in the history of basketball.

On Sunday night, James took a step closer to doing so.

James was named the 2020 Finals MVP for leading the Los Angeles Lakers to their first championship in a decade and winning the fourth title of his career, with a 106-93 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night.

James, who previously won Finals MVP in 2012 and 2013 with the Heat and in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, is the first player in NBA history to win the award with three different franchises.

Winning his fourth Finals MVP award moves him out of a tie with Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal and into second all-time -- trailing only Jordan, who won the award six times.

James capped his 17th season in the league with a virtuoso run through the postseason, shooting well over 50 percent from the field while also running the Lakers offense virtually every possession he was on the court. He also displayed a commitment on the other end of the court, playing a key role in a suffocating defensive unit.

Most importantly, James outdueled Jimmy Butler in what was an all-time classic matchup between the two of them throughout these Finals, including James going off for 40 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in Game 5 and 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 6.

James delivering a 17th overall championship to the Lakers, who last won a title in 2010, came after a disappointing first season in Los Angeles.

Following their Christmas Day 2018 win over the Warriors, the Lakers were 20-14 and in fourth place in the West. But James suffered the first major injury of his career in that game, a strained groin that forced him to miss more than a month. By the time he returned, the Lakers had fallen to 10th in the West. James ended up failing to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2005.

Last summer, general manager Rob Pelinka swung a massive trade for Anthony Davis, an excellent partner for James who helped the franchise quickly turn around.

"It's exciting to have such a beautiful young mind, a beautiful player but also a great leader as well," James said of Davis at the start of the 2019-20 season.

The Lakers quickly had on-court success in large part because of James, who averaged a league-leading and career-high 10.2 assists per game in the regular season, then once again proved to be indomitable in the crucible of the playoffs.

After Portland stole Game 1 of the first round, James averaged 34.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists over the final three games of that series. He and the rest of the Lakers overwhelmed Houston in the Western Conference semifinals. His defense on Nuggets guard Jamal Murray helped put the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

And then his drive to continue willing the Lakers forward allowed them to survive a stiff test from a resolute Heat team.

"After [Miami's] Game 3 win, that confidence they had, the confidence they still have even after tonight's loss," James said after leading Los Angeles to a win in Game 4. "They are just a gritty, so damn-well-coached team.

"I feel like if we're going to be a championship ballclub, if we want to really be a championship team, that we got to have that same grit and that same attitude.":

James also made sure that the Lakers stayed unified and pushed toward their shared goal throughout their run in the bubble.


"It's probably been the most challenging thing I've ever done as far as a professional, as far as committing to something and actually making it through," James said on NBA Finals Media Day of playing in the bubble. "But I'm here for one reason and one reason only, and that's to compete for a championship. That was my mindset once I entered the bubble ... I've been as locked in as I've ever been in my career."

James's fourth championship gives him more rings than any other active player, and moves him within one title of a group of 13 players who've won five, including Johnson, Duncan and the late Kobe Bryant. With Davis all but certain to remain in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future, James should have an opportunity to add more.

"Playing for championships, and competing for championships, and representing the Western Conference in the championships," James said after beating the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, "this is what I came here for."

I don't see the heat winning a single game in this series against the Laker's and the King with His partner AD. The Laker's has a 36% 3 point shooting average. They also have more vet's on the squad. The Heat, don't get Me wrong, can shoot but they've lost too many of their most needed Player's in game 1 of the series. The Heat has no way to respond to AD or let alone Rondo.
The Heat is a nice young team with alot of explosive Player's, but they just don't have enough weapon's to take on the King and His Henchmen. what do you guy' think?

ESPN-

Liverpool could face either Leicester City or Arsenal in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after the draw was held following the completion of round two on Thursday.

Leicester facing Arsenal is the only all-Premier League clash in the yet-to-be-played third round, with the winner of that match in line to face Liverpool should they beat Lincoln City in their third-round tie.

More round three matches featuring Premier League heavyweights include Manchester United-Luton Town, Chelsea-Barnsley, Tottenham-Leyton Orient and Manchester City-Bournemouth.

Not all Premier League sides have made it through to round three, however, as Wolves were eliminated after a 1-0 home loss to second-tier club Stoke on Thursday.

Burnley advanced to the third round after beating fellow Premier League side Sheffield United 5-4 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw.

The third round starts next week, with select matches available in the U.S. on ESPN+.

Alden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff Writer-

Four-time Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey has been placed on injured reserve and will soon undergo hip surgery that will keep him out for the remainder of the 2020 season, the Los Angeles Chargers announced Thursday, a tough blow for a team that was looking forward to a healthier offensive line this season.

Pouncey, 31, also spent time on IR with a hip injury while with the Miami Dolphins in 2016. He then started every game over the next two years, including his first season with the Chargers in 2018, but missed the final 11 weeks last year after undergoing neck surgery.

The veteran, in his 10th season, has started all 114 games he has played in during his career. He is in the final year of his contract with the Chargers.

Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said Pouncey's surgery will take place before the end of September.

"On top of being a Pro Bowl talent, he's the ultimate captain, teammate and competitor," Telesco said in a statement. "Quite simply, he's one of the best leaders I've ever been around. Mike's played a major role in establishing the culture and standard we now have in our locker room and sets a tremendous example, especially for the younger members of our team."

Fourth-year offensive lineman Dan Feeney is expected to replace Pouncey as the starting center, with Forrest Lamp likely filling in for Feeney at left guard.

The Chargers, the third-most injured team last season according to Football Outsiders' adjusted games lost, are already without star safety Derwin James, who recently underwent season-ending knee surgery.

Fullback Gabe Nabers was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster Thursday in a corresponding move.

Mark Ogden
Senior Writer, ESPN FC-

Cristiano Ronaldo was never going to break the 100-international-goal barrier with a scruffy tap-in from 3 yards. If his previous achievements have taught us anything about the Portugal captain, it is that the spectacular is always preferable to the mundane. So it was fitting that he became only the second men's player in history to hit 100 goals for his country with a stunning free kick against Sweden to bring up his century.

And it should surprise nobody that he went on to score a second in the 2-0 Nations League victory Tuesday to take his Portugal haul to 101 goals. That is what Ronaldo is all about: Even when he records a new milestone, he instantly moves on to the next target.

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The Juventus forward will turn 36 in February, but he is now only eight away from equalling the men's world record for international goals -- the 109-goal mark set by Iran's Ali Daei -- and his performance in Sweden showed there is still plenty left in the tank.

Ronaldo clearly has a liking for the Friends Arena in Stockholm. In November 2013, he rolled into the Swedish capital for the second leg of a World Cup qualification playoff that had been billed as a shootout between Ronaldo and local hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic scored twice that night, but Ronaldo went one better by scoring a breathtaking hat trick to secure Portugal's place at Brazil 2014 and take his international goal tally to 47.

Ronaldo was 28 then, a global star at the peak of his powers with Real Madrid, but he was not even halfway to the 100-international-goal mark and nobody would have truly believed it would be possible for him to make it to triple digits and have a chance of breaking Daei's record. But by scoring Nos. 100 and 101 for Portugal on Tuesday, it is now surely only a matter of time before he claims the record for himself, and it is likely to be one that stands for many years to come.

India's Sunil Chhetri is the closest active player to Ronaldo with 72 goals for his country, but Chhetri is 36, so time is clearly not on his side. Lionel Messi (70) and Robert Lewandowski (61) are also too far adrift to have any real hope of emulating Ronaldo by hitting 100, never mind going beyond Daei's record of 109. Perhaps Neymar (61) and Ali Mabkhout -- the 29-year-old United Arab Emirates forward with 63 goals in 83 games -- are the only players with an outside chance of catching Ronaldo, but for that to happen, Ronaldo has to stop first, and there is little sign of that happening anytime soon.

Against Sweden, the pace and desire were still there, with Ronaldo twice forcing important saves from goalkeeper Robin Olsen before scoring No. 100 with a 25-yard free kick on 45 minutes. It was a classic Ronaldo strike, with the free kick just clearing the wall before flying into the top corner beyond Olsen's grasp. His second, on 73 minutes, was another textbook clean strike by the former Manchester United star.

Neither of his goals were scored in the fashion of an ageing veteran, struggling for speed of thought and movement. But Ronaldo has always belied his age. He scored 52 goals in 118 appearances for his country before the age of 30, at a rate of 0.44 goals per game. Since hitting 30, however, he has planted his foot firmly on the pedal and accelerated toward 100 by scoring 49 goals in 47 internationals, at a rate of 1.04 goals per game.

Most players, if not all of them, slow down once they get into their 30s, but Ronaldo has gone the other way, like a footballing Benjamin Button.

But for an infected toe, which forced him to miss Saturday's clash with Croatia in Porto, Ronaldo would probably have broken the 100-goal mark at Estadio do Dragao. Having scored his first international goal at that stadium against Greece at Euro 2004, it would have been a symmetrical way to bring up his century, but maybe he will hit 110 there. It is also a testament to Ronaldo's commitment to the international game that he stayed with the Portugal camp rather than withdraw and return to Juventus for treatment on his toe.

While Messi has been unable to repeat the success he has enjoyed with Barcelona -- losing multiple finals in the colours of Argentina and actually retiring from international football at one point -- Ronaldo has backed up all his titles won with Juve, Madrid and United with a European Championship and the Nations League for Portugal. His goals in Sweden are his reward for leading a country that has always had to punch above its weight on the international stage.
The next step will be to break Daei's record. Portugal face France twice, Sweden at home and Croatia away before the end of 2020, with friendlies in 2021 prior to the rescheduled Euro 2020 next summer, so the smart money would be on Ronaldo breaking the record during Portugal's defence of their European crown. And that would also be fitting, with the stature of Portugal's opponents adding weight to Ronaldo's achievement.

Of Daei's 109 goals, 16 were scored against Laos and the Maldives, with six against Lebanon and five apiece against Sri Lanka and Nepal. Lithuania, Luxembourg and Sweden have been Ronaldo's favourite opponents, with each conceding seven times against him, but he has also scored big goals against heavyweights such as Spain, the Netherlands, Argentina and Belgium.

So if, or when, he claims the world record, Ronaldo will have done it the hard way, as well as with style.