Columnists: George Willis

Latest Columns

• No title, just a fight

  ATLANTIC CITY — THEY won’t sell out Boardwalk Hall the way 2013 Hall of Famer Arturo Gatti once did, but the slugfest that’s likely to erupt tonight between Lamont Peterson and Lucas Matthysse would make the late...   May 18, 2013

  From Boxing

• Selvie aims to team with JPP again

  George Selvie sat on a stool yesterday eight lockers down from the one being occupied by Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. Four years ago, Selvie and the man now known as JPP shared another locker room, the one at...   May 12, 2013

  From Giants

• Mayweather fight was ‘Money’ for Showtime

  Showtime boxing boss Stephen Espinoza said Friday Floyd Mayweather’s fight with Robert Guerrero last Saturday at the MGM Grand attracted “over a million” pay-per-view buys. “We’re not sure how much over,” Espinoza told...   May 11, 2013

  From Boxing

• Cheap shots at Jets QB out of bounds

  Geno Smith will need to grow some thick skin if he’s going to succeed in New York. He can ask Mark Sanchez about that. I’m guessing by the time Smith’s career as a Jet is complete, the criticism awaiting him will...   May 11, 2013

  From Jets

• Stoudemire deserves chance to be part of Knicks' solution

  A slim and sleek Amar’e Stoudemire raced down the floor looking to establish position with his back to the basket. James White fed him the ball. Stoudemire turned, put a head fake on Earl Barron, and exploded to the rim...   May 10, 2013

  From Knicks

• Foul-mouthed fighters spew garbage in front of women, kids

  LAS VEGAS — Paulie Malignaggi vs. Adrien Broner for the WBA welterweight championship, set for June 22 at Barclays Center, is an intriguing bout that should garner plenty of attention in the days to come. But neither...   May 05, 2013

  From Boxing

• Guerrero’s dad has his corner — and back — vs. Mayweather

  LAS VEGAS — Those who know the Guerreros were not surprised when Ruben, the father of Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, went on the attack during a press conference to promote tonight’s WBC welterweight championship fight...   May 04, 2013

  From Boxing

• Time for Nets to create magic in Brooklyn

  CHICAGO — Gerald Wallace admits he has no idea what to expect tomorrow night when the Nets play host to the Bulls in a winner-take-all Game 7 at Barclays Center.  “I’ve never played in a Game 7,” Wallace said last night...   May 03, 2013

  From Nets

• Mayweather starts huge Showtime deal against Guerrero

  Boxing has been trying to reinvent itself over the last couple of years in hopes of increasing its fan base and pay-per-view sales. There was a time when a matchup was announced and then bought by one of the television...   May 03, 2013

  From Boxing

• Nets believe they’re better than Bulls, now they have to prove it

  CHICAGO — I asked Brook Lopez if he was looking forward to Game 7 in Brooklyn. He didn’t go for the bait.  “We’re not focusing on Game 7 at all,” he said yesterday. “We’re focused on Game 6.” I asked Joe Johnson the...   May 02, 2013

  From Nets

• Wallace: Nets show they have guts, heart

  Gerald Wallace isn’t shy about saying it and he doesn’t mind if the Bulls hear it. “We’re the better team,” he said last night, following the Nets’ 110-91 live-another-day first-round playoff victory over the Bulls at...   April 30, 2013

  From Nets

• Brooklyn crowd deserves proud showing by Nets

  It was a year ago yesterday when Derrick Rose suffered a torn ACL in Game 1 of the Bulls’ first-round series against the Sixers. That Chicago has recovered enough to stand one win away from advancing to the second round...   April 29, 2013

  From Nets

• Nets may not recover from crushing loss

  CHICAGO — Deron Williams sat in a quiet Nets locker room with his feet in an ice bucket, staring out at nothing. It was as if he were replaying in his mind the nightmare he had just witnessed. Coming to grips with how...   April 28, 2013

  From Nets

• P.J. in ‘must-win’ situation for job

  CHICAGO — The Nets yesterday announced the signing of general manager Billy King to a multi-year contract extension, but if you think that enhances the chances of P.J. Carlesimo returning as the Nets head coach, think...   April 27, 2013

  From Nets

• Carlesimo’s Nets must quickly learn how to be a Bull-y

  CHICAGO — There’s a certain toughness that’s needed to succeed in the NBA playoffs. Part of it is mental. Much of it is physical. What became clear at the United Center last night in Game 3 of the first-round series...   April 26, 2013

  From Nets

• Slowing down former Knicks guard Nate key for Nets vs. Bulls

  CHICAGO — When Nate Robinson first entered the NBA as a rookie with the Knicks in 2005, we weren’t sure how long he would last in the league. He was 5-foot-9 in a game of giants and as reckless as he was explosive. He...   April 25, 2013

  From Nets

• Deron, Nets taught an ‘intense’ lesson

  It would be easy to point the finger at Deron Williams for this one. The stat sheet makes him a logical target. This is the playoffs, the time of year when your superstar has to play like a superstar. Williams did in...   April 23, 2013

  From Nets

• Nets' Deron flies into playoff mode

  Deron Williams was strutting across the practice court yesterday, his cocksure attitude on display for all to see. Only players who have game walk the way Williams does. He has earned the right. “Two-minute warning,” he...   April 22, 2013

  From Nets

• Lopez looms large, sets tone in physical series

  While the Bulls were hemming and hawing about whether or not Joakim Noah was going to play in Game 1 last night at Barclays Center, P.J. Carlesimo kept saying it was more about how the Nets played than who played for...   April 21, 2013

  From Nets

• P.J. makes best of a ‘difficult situation’

  P.J. Carlesimo was waxing poetic about the Nets season and ‘the whole Brooklyn phenomena” when he issued a subtle challenge to the home crowd that will be in the Barclays Center for tonight’s NBA playoff opener against...   April 20, 2013

  From Nets

• Trout fishing for Alvarez

  One has been groomed to be the next boxing superstar from Mexico. The other forced people to take notice. Saturday night, they meet at the Alamodome in San Antonio to decide the true king of the 154-pound division. Saul...   April 20, 2013

  From Boxing

• Nets' Deron starts building legacy now

  Those who have been in New York long enough know the deal. Reggie knew it. Jeter lives it. So does Eli and Messier and anyone who played from the 1969-70 and 1972-73 Knicks. It’s what you do in the playoffs that shapes...   April 19, 2013

  From Nets

• Masters champ wins it for Norman & a nation

  AUGUSTA, Ga. — Adam Scott was 16 years old when Greg Norman took a six-stroke lead into the final round of the Masters and began to endure the biggest meltdown in major championship history. The greatest golfer...   April 15, 2013

  From Golf

• No good reason for Woods to withdraw from the Masters after drop controversy

  AUGUSTA, Ga. — When Tiger Woods stepped to the first tee at 1:45 p.m. yesterday at Augusta National, you never would have known he was at the center of one of the biggest controversies in the 77-year history of the...   April 14, 2013

  From Golf

• Bullying teenager reflects poorly on Masters officials

  AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tianlang Guan isn’t the fastest player on a golf course. That was evident in his opening round Thursday when he took his time gauging the elements, selecting his clubs and visualizing his shots. Most 14...   April 13, 2013

  From Golf

• No ‘Flash’ in pan

  Nonito Donaire was posing with the Radio City Rockettes the other day when he noticed how precisely the dancers stood when being photographed. “They’re pretty straight,” he told a confidant, referring to their posture....   April 13, 2013

  From Boxing

• 14-year-old phenom Guan has some grand (slam) plans

  AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tianlang Guan says his goal isn’t just to win one major championship. He wants to win all four majors in one year. After the way he played in the first round of the 77th Masters yesterday, I wouldn’t bet...   April 12, 2013

  From Golf

• Bradley win at Masters could force decision on long clubs

  AUGUSTA, Ga. — Billy Payne was all smiles during his annual press conference yesterday, happy to have “the ladies issue” resolved by the admission of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and financier Darla Moore...   April 11, 2013

  From Golf

• Emotional ‘Blubba’ shows how much Green Jacket means

  AUGUSTA, Ga. — Bubba Watson was bawling his eyes out again yesterday. Tears ran down his cheeks just like they did 12 months ago after he pulled off one of the greatest shots in Masters history to capture his first...   April 10, 2013

  From Golf

• Women members, expanded coverage show Augusta finally is stepping into 21st Century

  For most of the last decade, there have been three constants at The Masters: azaleas, pimento cheese sandwiches and the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club being asked when a female would be added to its membership....   April 07, 2013

  From Golf

• Photos
• Videos
• Blogs