Weekly Sports Roundup - 1-18-18

Perhaps the only industry with more movement than Hollywood is professional sports. We'll recap it all here in our regular look at the happenings across the world of sport.
 
NFL
With 10 seconds remaining in Sunday's divisional round playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints, all hope appeared lost for the hometown Vikes. Hall-of-Fame Saints quarterback Drew Brees, a Tom Condon client, had led an improbable comeback down 17 late in the third quarter to take a 24-23 lead with precious ticks remaining and Minnesota 61 yards from the end zone. Vikings quarterback Case Keenum, a Jeff Nalley client who had been so steady and reliable all year, had thrown a bad pass up for grabs in his own territory that defensive back Marcus Williams was able to intercept and change the course of the game. Early touchdowns by Minnesota's Jerick McKinnon, a Sportstars client, and Latavius Murray, a Rep 1 Sports Group signing, were ancient history. It seemed all but assured that this game would enter the pantheon of crushing playoff losses in the history of the Vikings, a franchise that has never reached the mountaintop of Super Bowl victory and continually comes up with new and inventive ways to lose the games that matter most.

Keenum dropped back and lofted a pass down the right sideline to wide reciever Stefon Diggs, with the hope that he would be able to quickly get out of bounds and set up a last-second field goal. Instead, the Adisa Bakari client came down with the ball and turned upfield, realizing there was nothing but green grass in front of him. Williams, the same safety who changed the game earlier, miscalculated badly on the ball and not only took himself out of the play but crashed into fellow defensive back Ken Crawley, taking out the Mike Swenson client and the only other player who could conceivably have made the tackle. As the clock struck 0:00, Diggs was sprinting into the endzone for the miracle 29-24 win, the first-ever game-winning touchdown with no time remaining in regulation in NFL playoff history. Williams, a Tory Dandy client, was despondent after the game, having gone from hero to goat in a matter of seconds. Improbably, the Vikings move on to the NFC championship in Philadelphia while the Saints are left to wonder what could have been. The agony and the ecstacy.
 
NBA
It was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday and it appears NBA players forgot Dr. King's nonviolent message, as a trio of fights broke out on one of the league's premier holidays. With matinee games occurring across the country and several major matchups on the schedule, things got ugly in multiple cities and truly bizarre in Los Angeles. First, Toronto Raptors guard and Philly native Kyle Lowry was back in his hometown to face the 76ers. Nearing the end of a tough loss, the ASM Sports client got into it with Philadelphia's Ben Simmons at halfcourt. Both players were quickly ejected and Simmons, a Rich Paul client, was seen on camera motioning to the hallway and suggesting they should fight away from the watchful eyes of the world. In Orlando, things were taken much farther as Magic guard Arron Afflalo threw a wild haymaker mid-play at Timberwolves forward Nemanja Bjelica as retaliation for some physical play. Thankfully, the Jeff Schwartz client missed and the big Serbian, who is with Jason Ranne at Wasserman, quickly headlocked the raging Afflalo to prevent any further punches. Both players were ejected and Afflalo has been suspended for two games, as well.
 
But the worst and most bizarre story of the day comes from the late-night Clippers-Rockets matchup featuring Chris Paul's return to Los Angeles for the first time. The Leon Rose client at CAA was seen jawing and scrapping on more than one occasion with former teammate & Clippers star Blake Griffin, who himself had significant extracurricular back-and-forth with Rockets Head Coach Mike D'Antoni. Griffin, who is with Excel, was ejected near the end of a hard-fought Clippers victory, which is where things really got interesting. After the game, the Rockets' Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green attempted to enter the Clippers locker room to confront their players after Paul showed them through a secret, back entrance in the Staples Center. A physical confrontation in the locker room allegedly occurred, with LAPD being called and many different players acting as peacemakers or aggressors. Ultimately, the NBA decided to suspend Ariza, a CAA client, and Green, who is with ISE, two games each for their role in the incident. No Clippers players were suspended, which reportedly shocked the Rockets organization. Guess that's what happens when one team is in their locker room and the other isn't.