jonhelmkamp Page 18 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Francisco (not Frankie) Lindor, Roberto (not Bobby) Clemente, and the unintentional disrespect of Americanizing Latin names
Nicknames are endearing, but they’re not always respectful. ...

Which team played the villain role best?
With the Houston Astros now wearing the crown as the most hated team in professional sports — as indicated by the chorus of boos and piercing screams of “CHEATER!” that rang through the Oakland Coliseum (whatever ridiculous name it has today) last night on Opening Day (ahh… welcome back baseball, an...

The players we’d most like to see in the Big 3’s new season
According to a report from Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the Big3 is returning after their 2020 cancelation due to COVID....

MMA fighter 'didn't even flinch' after losing finger in Philly fight
This is not what Case meant by Touch Me, Tease Me. ...

Justin Fields, Dan Orlovsky, and the never-ending degradation of Black QBs with age-old stereotypes
I find myself often being perplexed by the way some things are happening. Currently, one of those situations is the seemingly-inexplicable decrease in draft stock of a quarterback prospect I love, Justin Fields, who before the season was the consensus second-best quarterback behind Trevor Lawrence. ...

At least Biden realizes that packed ballparks are still a bad idea
I know we all want to get back to normal, but Texas’ “fuck it all, we’re completely open” approach seems a Texas-sized amount reckless. We’re close. More people are getting vaccinated by the day, there’s light at the end of the tunnel, but we still need to be smart and do exactly the opposite of wha...

Miguel Cabrera hit the first home run of the season in the snow and thought it was a double
Miguel Cabrera now has 488 career home runs (350 as a Tiger), and it’s possible that none were as unique as this....

Francisco Lindor extension shows Steve Cohen can’t go back on his promise to build a contender
In June 2019, right after drafting Tyler Herro and K.Z. Okpala, and before trading for Jimmy Butler, Pat Riley said the following:...

Vlad, Fernando, Francisco and more: The players who’ll make this baseball season interesting
Every year we discuss how baseball’s become boring, how it could grow more enjoyable for younger fans, and how we long for legitimate progress of our national pastime. ...

What to expect in the AL West
Can anyone rise over .500 and challenge the A’s? How will the Astros do without George Springer? Can the Mariners surprise a few people? Will we hear anything from Mike Trout and the Angels? And how bad will the Rangers be?...

What to expect in the AL Central
Can anyone dethrone the Twins? What will the White Sox look like with septuagenarian Tony La Russa returning to manage? Will Cleveland hit enough after trading away Francisco Lindor to help their talented rotation, and ultimately bother Cleveland or Chicago? Will K.C.’s moves move the needle? And wh...

What to expect in the AL East
Can the Rays repeat as division champs without starters Charlie Morton and Blake Snell? Can the Yankees stay healthy enough and is their starting pitching good enough to return to the top? Are the Blue Jays and all their young talent ready to break through? Where are the Red Sox? And will we see any...

What to expect in the NL West
Can the Dodgers break the single-season wins record? Can the upstart Padres with Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis, Jr. run down L.A.?...

What to expect in the NL Central
Nolan Arenado is in St. Louis. Defense will be on display. What to make of the Cubs and Brew Crew. And what about Cincy and Pittsburgh?...

What to expect in the NL East
Francisco Lindor is in Queens. Mets Owner Steve Cohen’s Twitter feed. The Braves are still young and loaded. And is Bryce Harper still a superstar? ...

Kyle Pitts might be this draft’s best wide receiver, and he’s a tight end
Travis Kelce, George Kittle, and Darren Waller have ushered in a new age of receiving-threat TEs, following in the footsteps of Rob Gronkowski (who’s still around) and Jimmy Graham (who mostly isn’t). Next in line could very well be a prospect out of Florida that will go very high in this year’s NFL...

Let Russell Westbrook’s comments be a lesson: Athletes don’t have to meet your expectations
Russell Westbrook had 35 points, 21 assists, and 14 rebounds in a 132-124 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night....

AL East Preview: Baseball Royalty? Let's discuss
The American League East is full of baseball history and royalty, with the likes of the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees often reigning from on high. Last year, the Tampa Bay Rays stole that crown, winning the division in a shortened season by a commanding seven games. The Red Sox, contrastin...

17 NFL games, 2,000 yards rushing, 7-9 records and more math to make your head hurt
The NFL has officially voted to expand the regular season to 17 games, opening up a whole can of oddities to accompany it. What happens to single-season NFL records? What about playoff seeding? What even is a .500 team? There’s so much to unpack. I’m sitting over here absorbing this news playing a h...

Is this ‘Andre Drummond to the Lakers’ thing going to work?
Depending on who you listen to, Andre Drummond is either awesome, or trash. (Does everything need to be either or?) Some will cite his annually gaudy counting stats as substantive reasoning for his standing as an elite NBA center. Others will note that he was just waived and not traded, along with s...