James Quizon

Nicknamed "The Wolf Pack", the Finland basketball national team is appearing at the FIBA World Cup for the first time in its country's history. B back in the world stage after participating at the basketball competition of the 1952 Finland Olympics and the 1964 Japan Olympics, the Finns are looking to make a mark in international basketball after being selected as a wildcard qualifier in the 2014 basketball world championship held from Aug. 30 to Sept. 14.

2014 FIBA World Cup Along with Croatia and Argentina, Greece is favoured to be the leader in Group B. The Greek landed 11th at the 2013 FIBA Europe championship in Slovenia but are ranked No. 5 in the FIBA world rankings. In that continental championship, Greece won just four games in eight matches for a mediocre 4-4 record.

The Puerto Rico basketball national team is one of the constants in most editions of the FIBA World Cup, previously known as the FIBA World Championships, appearing 17 times since 1957 and missing just two tournaments in that span. Known as “Los Doce Magnificos”-- translated to The Magnificent Twelve-- the Puerto Ricans will be bringing a veteran roster led by current and former NBA players in Jose Juan Barea, Carlos Arroyo and Renaldo Balkman.

NBA NEWS - Just like last year when they announced early that top pick Nerlens Noel will miss the duration of the entire season, the Sixers brass insinuated that they will have no problem doing it all over again for Joel Embiid, who most likely will follow Noel’s career path of missing his rookie year in the pro league because of injuries.

NBA NEWS - Doc Rivers will extend his stay in Hollywood after signing a new five-year deal worth $50 to continue as the head coach and president of the Los Angeles Clippers.

At 15 years old, Cici Bellis pulled off the upset in the first round of the 2014 US Open beating 12th seed Dominika Cibulkova, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to became the youngest player to win a match at the Grand Slam tournament in New York since Anna Kournikova did it 18 years ago.

FIBA World Cup News - Two powerhouse basketball national teams—Argentina and Greece lead Group B of the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. However, another top team Croatia and dark horse squad Puerto Rico dark horse squads like Puerto Rico and Croatia are looking to crash the party at the top and underdogs like the Philippines and Senegal aim for an upset or two in the basketball world championships held in Spain from Aug. 30 to Sept. 13, 2014.

NBA NEWS - Despite his brush with major injuries, veteran center Emeka Okafor is drawing serious interest from contenders around the NBA and two of those squads are LeBron James’ current team, Cleveland Cavaliers and former team, Miami Heat both of which are looking for an extra big man to shore up their frontline for the upcoming 2014-2015 NBA season.

Roughly a year removed from its finale, “Breaking Bad” is still riding high on Walter White’s hype as the most popular series in history is the runaway favourite for the Outstanding Drama Series category even as Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” is slightly chalked as the favoured series in the Outstanding Comedy Series category at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

NBA News - Kevin Love was officially traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers last Saturday. With a new team, Love, who spent his first six seasons in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves, also has to use a new jersey number switching from the No. 42 to No. 0.

How the mighty have fallen. Kobe Bryant, once considered one of the greatest players in the entire league the past decade, has “zero value” according to an unnamed NBA general manager who said that the Los Angeles Lakers star’s $48.5 million contract makes him an undesirable player in the league today.

Kobe Bryant signed a huge deal worth $48.5 million with the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason to extend his stay with the Hollywood franchise for two more years. The contract, which is valued at $23.5 million for the upcoming 2014-2015 season and $25 million the following season, is ranked the highest in the next couple of years.

Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry and James Harden are among the dozen NBA stars that will lead the United States men’s basketball national or Team USA at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup held from Aug. 30 to Sept. 14 in Spain.

Former tennis champion John McEnroe has made his pick for the 2014 US Open and he’s predicting that Novak Djokovic of Serbia will win another Grand Slam title in New York over the likes Roger Federer of Switzerland, Andy Murray of Great Britain, Milos Raonic of Canada, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and other top contenders.

Thanks to a right wrist injury of defending champion Rafael Nadal, two other top-ranked and top contenders, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are now considered the top favourites to rule the 2014 US Open in Flushing Meadows, Queens in New York.

It is official: Rafael Nadal will miss the 2014 US Open-- the final tennis Grand Slam of the year-- which means that the Spaniard won’t be able to defend the Majors title he won in 2013 and at the same time is now in real danger to lose the no. 2 spot in the world rankings to rival Roger Federer.

NBA NEWS - If you can’t beat them, join them. Shawn Marion is headed to the Cleveland Cavaliers to join LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and most likely, Kevin Love as the Ohio franchise continues their great 2014 offseason.

Cincinnati Live Streaming - Roger Federer keeps on driving home the point that retirement is still far from his plans making the championship round of the 2014 Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio. The former world number one will be facing David Ferrer of Spain in the final early Monday morning (Australia time).

Destroying LeBron James, Johnny Manziel and Lance Stephenson in just one play? That’s what World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star Roman Reigns did in a video skit for the ESPN’s SportsNation.

NBA NEWS - Mark Cuban, the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks is confident that the moves that the franchise made in the 2014 offseason will lead them to greater heights in the upcoming 2014-2015 NBA Season.

Victoria Azarenka won’t have a chance to defend her Cincinnati Masters title after withdrawing from the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournament in Mason, Ohio due to an injury to her right knee.

NBA NEWS - Greg Monroe and the Detroit Pistons couldn’t agree to a middle ground in this offseason resulting in the center deciding to sign the qualifying offer worth just $5.479 million for the 2014-2015 NBA season.

NBA NEWS - New Los Angeles Lakers head coach Byron Scott is confident that Kobe Bryant will return to his old self despite the rash of serious injuries the Lakers star has suffered the past couple of seasons.

Fresh from conquering Brazil and the 2014 World Cup, Miroslav Klose of Germany is retiring from national team duties, a move that was expected and respected by his peers.

The Toronto Raptors were fined $25,000 by the National Basketball Association (NBA) for Drake’s comments in one of his recent concerts where he pitched for Kevin Durant to play for the Canadian squad.

PG13 simply sounds more apt. Paul George, who made the headlines recently because of a horrific season-ending injury, is switching to jersey number 13 after using the No. 24 in the early part of his NBA career.

After his Wimbledon upset of world no. 2 Rafael Nadal, Nick Krygios was primed to be one of the rising stars in tennis. That climb is temporarily stopped as the 19-year-old suffered an arm injury that caused him to miss the 2014 Cincinnati Open.

One of the biggest questions in the lead-up to the 2014 US Open is if Rafael Nadal can defend his title in Flushing Meadows, New York. Will the Spaniard’s wrist injury heal in time for the final tennis Grand Slam tournament of the year?

With the favourites falling by the wayside, Roger Federer (Switzerland) is one of the top seeds left to battle it out for the 2014 Rogers Cup title in Toronto, Canada. Opposite him in the championship round is 13th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France), who delivered three consecutive upset victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals for the right to take on the former world number one.