LaVar on Lonzo’s debut: ‘His worst game ever’
on Monday and Tuesday, alongside Evan Roberts. Christie has appeared as a guest and has served as a fill-in host at times on the station’s “Boomer and Carton” morning show, as well as gaining radio experience on “Ask the Governor” segments on 101.5 FM in New Jersey.
WFAN program director Mark Chernoff revealed in February that Christie would be “among many names being considered” to replace Francesa, the pioneering host slated to depart the station at the end of the year.
Christie’s final gubernatorial term in office ends in January, and I suppose if they truly are looking to replace one bloviator incapable of admitting fault with another, Christie should be their man.
A self-proclaimed and unabashed Cowboys fan since the early '70s, Christie has ticked off constituents on both the north and south ends of his state by taking shots at the Giants and the Philadelphia sports teams in the past year, including this gem from February:
It took Lonzo Ball 20 seconds to get a near-capacity crowd off its feet in his first summer league game. Just like LaVar taught him. Ball’s highly anticipated Los Angeles Lakers debut on Friday night started with a flourish on a perfectly timed lob pass to Brandon Ingram. But that was one of the few bright spots for a player Magic Johnson has dubbed as the new face of the Lakers in a 96-93 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in Las Vegas.
The No. 2 overall pick scored just five points and missed 13 of his 15 shots, to the disappointment of a near-capacity crowd that came out to see him. Leave it to his father to sum up the night with some of his trademark straight talk.
“He don’t be discouraged because that’s the worst he can do,” LaVar Ball said. “He can’t go but up. And he still kept them in the game playing his worst game ever. That’s what I like about it.”
Lonzo Ball was 1 for 11 from 3-point range, including a bad miss from well beyond the line — the kind of daring pull-up the Ball family is known for — with 1:16 to play in regulation.
VENUS STILL GOING AT 37
Venus Williams beat one 19-year-old opponent at Wimbledon on Friday. She’ll face another on Monday. Both of those players were born months after Williams made her debut at the All England Club. Think about that for a minute.
Williams’ 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Naomi Osaka of Japan made the 37-year-old American the oldest woman to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon since Martina Navratilova was that age when she was the tournament’s runner-up in 1994.
“The Phillies suck,” Christie said during an SNY interview. “Let’s just start with that. They’re from Philadelphia. They’re an awful team. They’re an angry, bitter fan base and it’s not safe for civilized people to go to Citizens Bank Park if you want to root for the other team.”
That led Philly mayor Jim Kenney to retort: “In retrospect, the governor’s had a pretty rough couple of years. His presidential campaign crashed and burned. His bromance with (President Donald Trump) didn’t seem to go anywhere. I understand why he may be a little bit bitter or angry. But Philadelphia Eagles fans are Eagles fans and we love our team and we love our city and nothing anybody says is going to make anyone feel any differently.”
Even the Phillies tweeted out this zinger at Christie, which stated, “We love our fans and appreciate their unwavering support as we ‘bridge’ to a bright future!”
Say this for Christie, he appears willing to say outlandish stuff — and that goes for both sports and politics — that generates
KNIGHT IN GROPING PROBE
The FBI and the U.S. Army investigated complaints from four women that Hall of Fame basketball coach Bob Knight groped them or touched them inappropriately during a visit to a U.S. spy agency in 2015, an investigation that concluded a year later without charges, The Washington Post reported Friday.
One of the women, whose name The Post did not disclose, told the newspaper that Knight groped her on the buttocks shortly before he gave a speech to staffers at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency at its headquarters in Springfield, Virginia. The woman also filed a discrimination complaint against the NGA and the Defense Department in which she claimed she was pressured to drop the matter, The Post reported.
MURPH & NATS WALK OFF
Daniel Murphy’s one-out RBI single in the 10th inning capped the Washington Nationals’ 5-4 comeback victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves. Atlanta starter R.A. Dickey retired his first 10 hitters and took a nohitter into the sixth
l Kris Bryant hit two homers and drove in four runs, Anthony Rizzo went deep and the host Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1. Rizzo chased Trevor Williams with a two-run drive in the fourth.
RORY MISSES IRISH CUT
Rory McIlroy missed the cut at the Irish Open for the fourth time in five years, leading the four-time major winner to express concerns about parts of his game ahead of the British Open. McIlroy shot 1-over 73 in his second round over the links at Portstewart and was 1 over for the tournament.