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MORE: SN ranks this year’s playoff coaches “The Rockets have a philosophy of what their coach should be,” Smith told his colleagues on the network’s pregame show. “And right now, I’m here, and it looks like I’m gonna be here. And that’s great.” The Houston Chronicle reported Monday morning that Smith was no longer a candidate for the job. The Rockets have interviewed David Blatt, Jeff Hornacek, Mike D’Antoni and Smith’s former teammate Sam Cassell, according to that report....

One could argue Kentucky always was a team, but at best it was a shattered team after the Wildcats were embarrassed by Duke in the season-opening game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. You do not walk into a game with the No. 1 ranking and walk out with a 34-point defeat and simply move on to the next game. MORE: Duke debut one to remember, and one UK won’t soon forget...

Carpe Diem has won four of five starts, just like American Pharoah, and tuned up for the Derby just down the road at Keeneland, where he won the Blue Grass Stakes. Materiality has never lost, just like Dortmund, though he has had just three starts, all since the first of the year, compared to six for Dortmund. And while the Baffert pair likely will be the top two choices in the betting come Saturday afternoon, there will be significant support for Carpe Diem and Materiality, colts who might have been the top two choices in most any other Derby....

Wing James Young broke free along the baseline and looked to make eye contact with playmaker Andrew Harrison. When they connected, Young pointed toward the ceiling of Rupp Arena, and Harrison understood the sign language. Harrison’s lob pass was placed directly to the right of the rim, and Young soared above the frozen defense to throw the ball through the goal.
It was a single moment, of course. There were others in Kentucky’s 70-55 victory over previously undefeated Boise State, but there also were 19 turnovers and several misspent opportunities to chase the Broncos entirely out of the game....

There was Kentucky's Senior Associate AD of Operations at 5 a.m., with wireless microphone in hand, coordinating the progression of 1,000 or so people across the Avenue of Champions, where fans would set up tents on the east and west sides of the Coliseum. His day started by waking up at around 2:30 and being ready for work by 3:45. So if that sounds a little too early in the name of a public basketball practice, you're not alone....

For those who can’t make it to Kentucky the 11 a.m. ET clinic, though, Calipari has conceived another of his innovations: He is planning to livestream the entire event to anyone who wishes to watch, worldwide. He will be the first Division I coach to attempt such a program. MORE: Sporting News preseason top 25 Calipari told Sporting News he gets lots of notes from coaches asking how he prepares his teams — in particular, how he is successful at getting numerous high-level NBA prospects to play for the sake of the team....

As for the Harambee Stars, this is the first time they are gracing the final since 2013, when they won the competition. Victories against Rwanda, Tanzania and a hard fought win against Burundi in the semis ensured the hosts reach the final. In the recent two outings against Zanzibar, Kenya has managed to get a single point, with Zanzibar claiming four. The two teams have met 21 times already, with Kenya winning fifteen times, drawing three times and losing as many....

Adrian Gonzalez had three hits and an RBI and Juan Uribe had two hits and two RBIs to help the Dodgers move into first place in the NL West, one-half game ahead of the Giants. Kershaw (12-2) walked one and struck out seven in his ninth career shutout and second this season. It was also his fourth complete game of the year and 15th of his career. The left-hander improved to 12-6 with a 1....

Man Utd flop Di Maria still not back to his Madrid best The 20-year-old has reportedly drawn interest from the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Roma among other clubs. Kessie has already scored six Serie A goals this season and rumours have persisted that a summer move is impending after Atalanta held off interest over the Janaury transfer window. But the Ivory Coast midfielder insists that he is still happy to play for Gian Piero Gasperini’s men, who are punching above their weight in fifth place this term....

A day after the Warriors forward criticized his former Thunder teammates and head coach Billy Donovan, Durant apologized for his “childish” and “idiotic” social media behavior. While making an appearance on stage at TechCrunch 2017 in San Francisco on Tuesday, Durant said he took his interaction with a fan “a little too far.” MORE: Joel Embiid hilariously mocks Durant’s secret Instagram account “I use Twitter to engage with fans,” Durant said (via The Athletic’s Anthony Slater)....

Letterman appeared at the Nets’ media day telling Durant that he was “Dave from Basketball Digest,” and started off his series of questions by asking him why fans and players referred to him as “KD.” Durant initially paused and appeared to be surprised by the question, saying, “My first name is Kevin, with a K and my last name is Durant with a D.” Letterman then asked Durant “what percentage” he plans on giving during the team’s upcoming season....

During Thursday’s “Kevin Durant Day” parade in Prince George’s County, Maryland, TMZ Sports asked Durant about his thoughts on NBA players speaking out against Trump. “Hell yeah, hell yeah,” said Durant. “That’s how it’s supposed to be. We don’t f— with him.” MORE: LeBron James says Donald Trump has made hate fashionable again Earlier this week, LeBron James and Steve Nash slammed Trump for the way he addressed the recent violence in Charlottesville....

In case you had any question about the D.C. native's allegiance...

At Timberwolves media day, Garnett said he is already sick of hearing about interim head coach Sam Mitchell’s time in Toronto. Mitchell will lead the T-wolves with Flip Saunders out battling cancer. He has the most career wins as a head coach in Raptors history, but KG doesn’t seem to care. MORE: Best Timberwolves of all time | Gregg Popovich is already messing with reporters (WARNING: The video below contains adult language....

Oh, KG. MORE: Source: Prince to meet Celtics’ Ainge | Knicks kiss cam snub | Injury bug hits ‘14 class The whole thing started when Howard slapped Garnett in the chest after a dead ball. Enraged, Garnett then threw the ball at Howard and head-butted him in the face. Howard responded with a right hand as the two were separated by teammates and officials. For his actions, Garnett was ejected from the game....

Harvick turned a lap of 128.474 mph around the 2.45-mile road course in the first of two practices scheduled in preparation for the Cheez-It 355. MORE: Watkins Glen picks | Pressure on Ambrose | Earnhardt on Nat’l Guard decision | Female crew chiefs Jimmie Johnson (127.841 mph) was second on the board, followed by Brad Keselowski, AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose. Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr....

It might have been the ultimate tribute from Harvick, who hasn’t always seen eye to eye with Busch. The two have had their share of run-ins and disagreements over the years, but Sunday night was about respect and honoring two Cup champions. MORE: Chase standing at end of season | Kyle Busch completes amazing comeback to win title | Kyle Busch deserved the championship, despite fan complaints Harvick, who won his first championship last year, could relate to Busch....

Harvick will start third in the AAA Texas 500, the second race of three to decide the four drivers who will compete in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship race. And he did it, Harvick said, in spite of himself. MORE: Texas starting lineup | Tougher tests ahead for teammates “The car was better than the decisions that the driver made,” he told media members. “I went into Turn 1 and I didn’t get it all the way to the bottom and pointed in the right direction before the bump....

And it wasn’t car owner Tony Stewart. Harvick got plenty of advice from Stewart but he also got a huge boost from Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson. MORE: Final 2014 Power Rankings | Ranking best crew chiefs of 2014 | Chase Elliott future at Hendrick | Kahne future set Johnson, a six-time Cup champion, is longtime friends with Harvick but they also can share technical data as part of the Stewart-Haas Racing alliance with Hendrick....

Appearing on Fox News on Sunday, the California representative added that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could lose her role if 10 of the 15 Democrats who voted against her bid in January 2019 did so again at the start of next year. He also warned that “internal fights” in the Democratic Party were emerging after the party failed to build on its House majority despite President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential contest....