Some players hide how they feel until the cameras are off. Nathan Aspinall does the opposite. On Friday night in Amsterdam he was 4-1 down to Raymond Smith, feeling physically off, and thinking about leaving the World Series of Darts Finals before the first round was even finished. Then he won 6-4 and talked about … Read more
Luke Littler walked into AFAS Live this weekend as the best darts player on the planet. He walked off it talking about never coming back. That is the strange, messy reality of the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. The 19-year-old world number one and back-to-back world champion beat home favourite Danny Noppert, then … Read more
Amsterdam turned on Luke Littler this weekend, and the world champion has finally drawn a line. Two nights of boos and whistles at the World Series of Darts Finals ended with the referee stopping play, fans online calling for both players to walk off, and Littler saying he is ready to treat the Netherlands the … Read more
The first thing Rashee Rice saw when he walked into the rehab room was sweat that was not his. Patrick Mahomes was already there. Already working. Already soaked. Rice was coming back from his own injury and looking for a standard. He found one standing on a training table before sunrise. “Coming back to Kansas … Read more
New York spent three months treating Jalen Brunson like a parade float. Championship, Finals MVP, wrist surgery, SNL booking, a family business, an SVU set in Brooklyn. The city got what it wanted. Now the calendar is doing what it always does. Training camp opens September 29. ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill said Brunson is about 80 … Read more
Darts is supposed to be loud. Songs, pints, a bit of needle. What happened in Amsterdam on Saturday was something else. Luke Littler and Nathan Aspinall were in the middle of a last-16 scrap at the World Series of Darts Finals when referee Charlie Corstophine stopped the match, pointed at a section of the crowd, … Read more
There are players who talk a good fight and players who actually have one when the room starts spinning. Nathan Aspinall sat in Amsterdam on Friday night and admitted he wanted out. Not later. Not after the tournament. Mid-match. Four-one down to Raymond Smith, feeling rough, and already halfway to the airport in his head. … Read more
Wikipedia now lists it as a 10–9 last-16, so the piece will use that score, the averages, and the two portraits. **Littler survives Aspinall fightback to book last-eight spot in Amsterdam** There are nights in darts when the result looks simple on a graphic and feels anything but simple in the building. Saturday at AFAS … Read more
Jordyn Brunson did not make it far down the runway before she spotted her dad. The two-year-old, wearing a tiny No. 11 Knicks jersey dress with a feathered boa and blue Nikes, was holding her mom’s hand under the lights outside Macy’s Herald Square. Then she stopped, pointed, and smiled. Jalen Brunson did not stay … Read more
Six match darts. One home crowd. A defending champion who had already dragged himself off the floor. And still Michael van Gerwen walked off the AFAS Live stage on Thursday night with that look fans know too well. He had just blown a 5-3 lead against Daryl Gurney and lost 6-5 in the first round … Read more