Monday, 4 May 2026
CELTICS' JAYLEN BROWN CALLED OUT FOR MAKING EXCUSES AFTER GAME 7 LOSS
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| Getty Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics looks on during introductions prior to a game against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game Seven of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at TD Garden on May 02, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. |
It took Jaylen Brown less than 24 hours to start the blame game after he and the Boston Celtics were eliminated from the NBA playoffs.
The 2024 NBA Finals MVP blamed the referees for having “an agenda” against him and compulsively calling offensive fouls against him. He was called for 10 offensive fouls in the seven-game series versus the Philadelphia 76ers, five more than any other player.
“They clearly had an agenda, maybe because I spoke so critical on them in the regular season, so you know, how they responded,” Brown said of the referees.
“Like, we are going to call every—you are going to lead the playoffs in offensive fouls. That was the response from the officiating crew. You could clearly tell.”
Jaylen Brown Gets Called Out
Brown also took issue with Joel Embiid’s “flopping” and suggested that the Sixers star knowingly manipulated the officials in the series.
“Flopping has ruined our league,” Brown said on his Twitch stream. “Joel Embiid is one of the greatest players that has played basketball, but he flops. He knows it too.”
Former NBA All-Star Michael Redd took serious issue with Brown’s comments, urging the Celtics star to “take ownership” for the Game 7 loss rather than making excuses.
“Jaylen Brown is a great player. A great player. Fans just need slightly more right now,” Redd began in his passionate rant on X.
“I need to rewatch game tape, to know if Brown’s right or not, but what I do know is: fans don’t want to hear this the day after losing a G7 as the higher seed.
“They need accountability and ownership of what happened. They need to know you appreciate the gravity and can and will bounce back.
“Then, and only then, can you start diving into who else is to blame and what outside factors might have played a role.”
Redd concluded his message by making it clear that he hadn’t watched the entire Twitch stream and didn’t want to assume the Celtics star didn’t take accountability.
Celtics Blow 3-1 Series Lead
Brown was a -19 on the floor in Games 5, 6 and 7 as the Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history.
The Celtics were outscored by 57 points with Brown on the floor in the final three losses, when he shot 41.8% from the field and 31.6% from three.
Although he finished with a team-high 33 points, including 20 in the second half, in the Game 7 loss, Brown missed four consecutive shots in the final five minutes of the game when the Celtics trailed 97-96. His cold stretch in the end allowed the Sixers to outscore the Celtics, 12-6, in the clutch to come away with a 109-100 win.
- Sai Mohan
NORTH KOREAN CLUB NAEGOHYANG WOMEN'S TEAM TO PLAY IN SOUTH KOREA ON MAY 20
North Korean club team Naegohyang is expected to play a football match in South Korea on May 20. This will be the first time since 2018 that North Korea has sent athletes to compete in South Korea.
Naegohyang's women's team will face South Korea's Suwon in the semifinals of the Asian Champions League.
The South Korean Football Association says Naegohyang has submitted a list of players and officials expected to travel to Suwon. However, North Korean state media has not reported on the upcoming trip.
During the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, athletes from the two countries marched together and competed as a joint hockey team. By the end of that year, North Korean players participated in a table tennis tournament in South Korea, but since then relations between the countries have become frosty again and sports exchanges have ceased.
- TT News Agency
HOLDER STARTS AS GUJRAT TITANS RESTRICT PUNJAB KINGS AND SEAL 4-WICKET WIN IN AHMEDABAD
Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada had set it up for the Titans after they opted to bowl first
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| Gujarat Titans all-rounder Jason Holder rocked the Punjab Kings with his medium pace bowling, claiming 4/24 in Ahmedabad on Sunday. PTI |
When an aggressive batting line-up like that of Punjab Kings gets restricted to hitting only seven sixes in their innings, it goes on to reflect how well their opponents bowled. The Gujarat Titans bowlers, led by seamer all-rounder Jason Holder (4/24), deserve all the credit for limiting the Kings to 163/9, laying the foundation for their four-wicket victory at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The Ahmedabad pitch aided strokeplay and also had purchase for the quicks, keeping them in the game right through.
The likes of Arshdeep Singh, Impact Player Vijaykumar Vyshak and Marco Jansen took the contest closer with their respective strikes, before Washington Sundar (40 not out off 23 balls) sealed the game for the Titans off with a six as Marcus Stoinis failed to execute his yorker off the penultimate delivery.
After Arshdeep had Holder holing out at the deep, the Titans needed 11 off the final over. But Stoinis began with a wide and got his execution wrong as the Titans reached home with a ball to spare, registering their third straight victory. For the Kings, this was the second consecutive loss.
For the Titans, Sai Sudharsan (57 off 41 balls) was their top scorer.
Penetration at its best
Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada had set it up for the Titans after they opted to bowl first. The duo reduced the Kings to 35/3 in the Powerplay and then Holder’s arrival led to the departure of both Impact Player Nehal Wadhera and Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer in the ninth over.
Wadhera and Shreyas were both bamboozled by length and a bit of movement.
Right through his spells, Holder, looking to make a comeback in Test cricket, focused on the back-of-a-length stuff and also looked to shape the ball in towards the right-handers.
It was only when Holder and the other quicks were away that Suryansh Shedge (57 off 29 balls) and Stoinis tried to maximise the scoring opportunities during their 79-run sixth-wicket stand. Shedge alone smashed five of the seven sixes in the Kings innings on way to his maiden IPL fifty.
But, given the damage caused earlier by Holder, it was extremely tough for the Kings to stage much of a recovery.
- The Telegraph India
CHARLES LECLERC PENALIZED FOR LEAVING TRACK UNNECESSARILY | FIA
Charles Leclerc has been handed a 20-second time penalty for leaving the track on several occasions without a justifiable reason.
He drops down from P6 to P8.
#FIA #F1 #MiamiGP
ANGRY ARNE SLOT SAYS VAR HAS BEEN AGAINST LIVERPOOL ALL SEASONADTER BENJAMIN SAlESKO GOAL
Arne Slot hout out at VAR after Benjamin Sesko's goal against Liverpool was allowed to stand in Manchester United's 3-2 win over the Reds
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| Arne Slot was furious after Liverpool's defeat |
Arne Slot launched into an impassioned rant criticising VAR interventions and a recurring failing of his Liverpool team after a frustrating loss at Manchester United.
The injury-hit Reds were beaten 3-2 in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon having overcome a dreadful first-half showing to level with Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo goals after the break before Kobbie Mainoo struck the winner 13 minutes from time.
United had scored twice inside the opening 14 minutes, first through a deflected Matheus Cunha strike and then a Benjamin Sesko close-range effort that was allowed after a lengthy VAR check despite replays indicating the striker handled the ball.
And while unimpressed at his team allowing Sesko to have the chance to score, a riled Slot pointed the finger at what he believes is the latest in a long line of questionable VAR calls against his team this season.
"If it was a touch, which I think it is because if you know a bit about ball sports, you know that if a ball has a certain curve and the curve changes, there must have been a contact," said the Reds boss.
"But if it's light then we should have a debate in football about whether that's enough to disallow a goal.
"But the rule is if there was a touch then it should have been disallowed.
"I don't think it's a surprise to anyone this season that if there's a VAR intervention or if there's something that could be left or could be right (50-50) then the decision goes against us.
"That has been the whole season every single time this season. I remember Paris Saint-Germain at home, getting a penalty for a soft touch on Mac Allister but of course the VAR intervenes and says no, no, no, this is not a penalty. Then one week later when I see Paris Saint-Germain play against Bayern Munich and get that same soft touch but the penalty stays.
"I saw last week my goalkeeper on the floor with an injury and the referee doesn't stop the game. I see a player of United off the pitch today and the referee stops the game when we try to play on. That has been our whole season."
Slot added: "But the second goal we didn't concede because of a handball, we conceded it because we lost the ball in a stupid position and we lost a few big moments afterwards in duels.
"We have to first look at ourselves, that is completely clear and obvious, but that decisions have gone every single game against us, that's also completely clear and obvious.
"When we played United the first time this season, I had one of my players needing five stitches on the floor, and the referee didn't stop the game and we conceded. This is a complete pattern over the whole season, but there is also a pattern that we concede ridiculous goals when we are the better team, one or two are switching off and then we concede a goal.
"That we have more influence on, so I should focus much more on that than on these referee decisions that go against us. It's clear that it's the whole season the same."
- Ian Doyle
Sunday, 3 May 2026
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