Friends and family from all walks of life came out on May 1, 2023, to the famed Harlem Abyssinian Baptist Church to bid farewell to attorney Alton Maddox, Jr., who joined the ancestors on April 23, 2023.

Bill Moore photos

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Newark, New Jersey — In a hotly contested matchup that went to the scorecards, UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling defeated Henry Cejudo by split decisions 47-48, 48-47, and 48-47 in the main event of UFC 288 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. For Sterling, a native of Long Island of Jamaican descent, it was probably his domination of Cejudo at the end of the first round that seemed to be the margin of victory. All three judges gave the first round to the champion.

Sterling, who successfully defended his title for the third time, discussed the win with the media after the match, and discussed the strategic battle outside the Octagon between the two combatants.

“The guy is freaking smart,” Sterling expressed of his fallen foe. “I don’t think a lot of people could even appreciate what was going on in the middle of that Octagon. Both of us, making adjustments to each other’s adjustments. It was a high-level, physical chess match and thankfully, I think I came out just a little bit better.”

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When asked if he thought he earned the victory as it went to the scorecards, Sterling, who has now won nine in a row, had a positive mindset.

“I definitely feel like I won that (match) 3-2,” he said. “Close fight, but I definitely thought I won and edged it out, in my personal opinion.”

What’s next for Sterling? A showdown with Sean O’Malley in Boston, which was confirmed as the future target by Dana White when he spoke to the media after the event.

“My thoughts on Sean O’Malley is that [expletive] is frail, frail,” Sterling exclaimed. “Frail. If I can take down a short, stocky guy like Henry, who is a gold medalist and has good takedown defense, what am I going to do to Sean O’Malley? Let’s be honest here, guys.

Yeah, he been promised a title shot. He opted not to take the title shot and gave Henry a chance to come back and chase history. I beat Henry and now there is no more running.

You either want to swim with the big boys or you don’t. If you don’t, get the [expletive] out of the pool and go up a weight class or some [stuff]. Don’t keep sitting around here talking and barking and not saddling up and taking the opportunities that are given.”

With three UFC events in the New York/New Jersey area since August 2022, a return to the New York and/or New Jersey area, outside the annual card at Madison Square Garden, seems possible. The Amsterdam News asked UFC President Dana White about that. White said he plans to host a card in Atlantic City, New Jersey, later this year.

In the co-main, Belal Muhammad, a Muslim who accepted the fight while fasting during Ramadan, defeated Gilbert Burns, winning 13 of the 15 rounds on the three scorecards.

White said the winner would get a title shot, with Leon Edwards currently holding the UFC lightweight championship after defeating Kamaru Usman twice.

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Knicks All-Star forward Julius Randle came into Game 5 of his team’s Eastern Conference semifinals playoff matchup versus the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden as the emotionally charged home fan base’s scapegoat. The No. 5 seed Knicks were down 3-1 and staring at being eliminated by the No. 8 seed Heat in what was a distressing and unforeseen circumstance for their devoted followers.  

By his own admission, Randle’s cumulative postseason performance had been sub-par. In eight games prior to Game 5, the 6-8 power forward, who sat out the Knicks’ 108-101 Game 1 loss to the Heat due to a sprained left ankle, was averaging 16.7 points shooting a meager 34.1% overall and acutely deficient 27.1% on 3-point attempts. Randle’s  9.6 rebounds were roughly the same as his regular season average of 10 per game but the 2021 All-NBA Second Team selection had seen a precipitous decline in his offensive production and efficiency. 

The Knicks and their committed fans were looking for the version of Randle that put up 25.1 points per game and shot at a 46% clip in 77 games entering the playoffs. He was getting less opportunities from the foul line as well, dipping from 6.9 shots and 5.2 makes to 4.5 and 3.1 respectively. Then, after fouling out of Game 4 on Monday night in Miami with 3:08 remaining in the fourth quarter with a solid stat line of 39 minutes played, 20 points on 8-13 shooting and nine rebounds, Randle gave an assessment of the Knicks’ 109-101 setback, specifically the Heat grabbing seven offensive rebounds to their one in the final quarter, that stirred anger in the squad’s exacerbated supporters.  

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“Maybe they wanted it more. I don’t know,” the 28-year-old with nine years of NBA experience said matter-of-factly. It was a tone deaf and revealing comment, one that simultaneously could be construed as defeatist and detached. It wasn’t the message that needed to be sent regardless of the intent. Randle not choosing his words more prudently stoked Knicks fans’ emotional arsenal with more ammunition to demand that the franchise’s chief decision makers, namely CEO James Dolan and president Leon Rose, rid the team of a perceived problem. 

What struck a deep chord for those that have closely watched the Knicks this season is the fact that their exceeding effort and intensity have been their calling card. They have been consistently more physical and outworked their opponents from tip-off to the ending buzzer, grinding them into submission. Until meeting the Heat, a team led by superstar forward Jimmy Butler and directed by 52-year-old head coach Eric Spolestra, one of the best ever by any measure. Miami is the mirror image of the Knicks in the relentless physicality and dogged energy with which they play. However, the distinction between them has been evident.

The Heat have the offensive balance and 3-point shooting the Knicks glaringly lack. After Game 5, the Knicks were hitting just 28.2% on 3-point tries in the playoffs and only 43.2% on all shot attempts. Their frequently stagnant player and ball movement in favor of isolation sets which have Jalen Brunson, Randle and RJ Barrett dominating the ball, contracts the floor instead of optimally spreading it, ceding strategic and schematic advantages to the Heat’s swarming defense. Brunson had a game-high 32 points and Barrett 24 Game 4. 

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, who has implored his players to cut, screen and pass with more crispness and fluidity throughout this season has not seen it manifest versus the Heat. Meanwhile, he had made minimal discernible adjustments in the four games before last night to counter the Heat’s superior execution and collective abilities.  

Perhaps the most confounding issue is that he had not played guard Evan Fournier in the series despite the Knicks dire 3-point shooting. Fournier holds the franchise’s single-season mark of 241 3-pointers made, set a year ago.  The 30-year-old Fournier, who started 80 games last season, has been buried on the bench this year, appearing in only 27 games. But it’s plausible to argue his potential offensive efficiency would outweigh his possible defensive liability. 

Following Game 4, Thibodeau took a pragmatic view in stating the obvious of the Knicks’ dilemma. “You’ve got to win four to win a series,” he said. “So, all we’re thinking about is win the next game. Go quarter by quarter. Win the first quarter, win the second quarter, win the third, win the fourth. And then the next day we’ll think about the next day.”

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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic hears the opinions regarding his legacy. The 28-year-old 2014 second round pick from Serbia, an unlikely all-time great player, is well aware that his back-to-back NBA MVPs in 2021 and last season won’t completely validate him in the view of many as one of the game’s historical best unless he wins a championship. 

Similar to Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton and other Hall of Famers who ended their brilliant careers without a title, the narratives when comparing Jokic to his contemporaries such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, a two-time league most valuable player (2019, 2020) who carried the Milwaukee Bucks to the championship in 2021 and earned the Finals MVP, will be less approving. 

But the big man who finished second in the MVP voting this season to the Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid—Antetokounmpo was third—is moving closer to getting to the game’s largest stage. While Embiid, who is also pursuing his first title, has the 76ers up 3-2 in their Eastern Conference semifinals series versus the Boston Celtics, Jokic and the No. 1 seed Nuggets took a 3-2 lead over the No. 4 seed Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night at home with a 118-102 win. 

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His dominant 29-point, 13-rebound, 12-assists night followed a 53-point, 11-assists performance on Sunday night in a 129-124 Game 4 loss. Tuesday marked Jokic’s 11th career playoff triple-double in his 58 games played. 

“To be honest, I just like to win the game, so whatever it takes,” Jokic said of his massive numbers. 

In 10 games this postseason, Jokic is posting 30.6 points, 13.1 rebounds and 9.5 rebounds per game. The Suns have received consistently strong performances from their two superstars, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, but have not had the necessary level of production from the players surrounding them that Jokic’s supporting cast has generated notably guard Jamal Murray. The Nuggets will look to close out the Suns on the road in Game 6 tonight. A loss would force Game 7 in Denver on Sunday.

The No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-1 lead into San Francisco last night (Wednesday) with the objective of ending the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors season in the other Western Conference semifinal pairing. The No. 6 seed Warriors continued their uneven play this season in Game 4 on Sunday, falling to the Lakers 104-101. It wasn’t mega-stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis that put the Warriors on the brink of going on vacation, but reserve guard Lonnie Walker IV, who came off the bench to torch them for 15 points in the fourth quarter.

“…The greatest feeling you could ever imagine,” said Walker afterwards. “As a kid, this is something I’ve been dreaming of.”

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* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here