Apr 8, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77), forward Jarred Vanderbilt (2), forward LeBron James (23), and guard Austin Reaves (15) talk to an official during a time out in the second half of a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images NEW YORK– The NBA Playoffs tip off on Saturday after a dramatic 2024-25 season of twists and turns, with shock firings, a record team sale and the Luka Doncic trade heard around the world. READ: NBA: Playoff spot set, No. 3 Lakers await first round…

The 2025 NBA Playoffs are here with three big favorites and a pool of contenders ready to play the spoiler. The Boston Celtics are trying to become the league’s first back-to-back champion since the 2017-2018 Golden State Warriors. Boston ran over the league on their way to a championship last year, but the path won’t be so easy this season. The Cleveland Cavaliers earned the No. 1 seed in the East with a shocking 64-win season powered by their ‘core four’ of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen. The Oklahoma City Thunder were even better as the…

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio — GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP PARIS, France — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Paris on Thursday to meet French President Emmanuel Macron about crafting a Ukraine ceasefire, as Washington and Europe seek common ground on ending the fighting. Top Ukrainian officials were also in the French capital on Thursday to meet EU and US delegations, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said, without specifying who. Article continues after this advertisement Rubio and Keith Kellogg, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, arrived in Paris, with US envoy Steve Witkoff…

Steve Kerr has never been one to shy away from standing up for his beliefs. That continued on Tuesday night as the Warriors’ head coach wore a Harvard basketball shirt during his post-game press conference — making a strong statement about educational freedom. “I believe in academic freedom. I think it’s crucial for all of our institutions to be able to handle their own business the way they want to — and they should not be shaken down, told what to teach, what to say by our government. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, but it’s kind of par…

Ai-Ai delas Alas. Image: Facebook/AiAi Delas Alas As part of her Holy Week celebration, Ai-Ai delas Alas shared that she has embarked on her first pilgrimage, not as a celebrity but as an “ordinary citizen” seeking spiritual reflection.  Delas Alas posted a video of herself on a bus en route to her pilgrimage in the Diocese of Novaliches.  Article continues after this advertisement “With hearts full of gratitude and faith, we are on our journey today on a pilgrimage to celebrate the Jubilee Anniversary of the Catholic Church — a sacred walk of love, reflection, and renewal,” she wrote in…

The Texans have been one of the busiest franchises this offseason as they’ve signed their fair share of new players in free agency, handed out massive contracts to several members of their young core, and traded away elite left tackle Laremy Tunsil. As things stand, the offensive line remains one of the weakest position groups on the roster. After trading away Tunsil, they’ve added a number of new guards and former Vikings and Jaguars left tackle Cam Robinson. None of the guards truly move the needle, but Robinson is a fine enough replacement for Tunsil in the short term. So…

Millions of Filipinos around the world are Catholic, thanks to the Spanish colonizers who introduced the religion mainly as a tool for social control. But we must be careful in thinking that the Catholicism of the colonizers is the same as Philippine Catholicism, particularly in the way it is understood and practiced. For the most part, it looks the same, sounds the same, and in many cases even feels the same, but if we look closely, the religiosity of the everyday Filipino is not really the same. We treat saints the same way our ancestors used to treat their anito.…

This year’s class of off-ball linebackers isn’t a strong suit of the 2025 NFL Draft, but it offers some high-end prospects that should hear their name called on the first two days. The overall depth of the position this year is pretty thin, so if a team wants to bolster the linebacker corps, they better address it early. A group of SB Nation’s draft analysts from our 32 NFL team communities ranked their top LBs in the draft and this top 10 is the result of those cumulative rankings. Our rankings are brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Sign up…

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at the Economic Club of Chicago on April 16, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois. US President Donald Trump’s tariffs will likely push up prices and constrain growth, and could put the US Federal Reserve in the unenviable position of having to choose between tackling inflation and unemployment, Powell said Wednesday. US markets fell following Powell’s remarks, with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite down 3.4 percent at around 12:50 p.m. local time in Chicago (1:50 a.m. Manila time. —Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, DC — Donald Trump’s tariffs will likely push up prices and constrain…

The NBA Playoffs used to be boring, at least according to the skeptics. Upsets were few and far between, the best team was determined by who had the best individual player, and the best team almost always won. NBA fans endured four years of the Golden State Warriors vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. With Kevin Durant in the Bay, the dream of NBA parity felt further out of reach than ever before. NBA history has been defined by dynasties, from Russell and Bird’s Celtics to Magic and Kobe’s Lakers to Jordan’s Bulls to Duncan’s Spurs to Curry’s…