jonmhoefling Page 5 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Exploring how a 1-0 advantage in soccer compares to leads in other sports
The World Cup comes to a conclusion this weekend with the third-place game wrapping up earlier today — Croatia defeated tournament Cinderella Morocco 2-1 — and the finals between Argentina and France taking place tomorrow. Lionel Messi’s legacy is on the line, meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé is attempting ...

Bettors backing 3-win Bears over 1-loss Eagles… am I getting that right?
The Chicago Bears are coming off a bye week. That is pretty much the only advantage they have over the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend. Still, despite the obvious disparity in talent between the two squads, bettors seem inclined to reach for the stars, just as they did with the Texans over the Cowb...

Tyreek Hill is complaining about lack of targets in K.C.? Is there no way to make receivers happy nowadays?
Since Patrick Mahomes took over as the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018, Tyreek Hill is fourth in the NFL in targets, behind only Davante Adams, Stefon Diggs, and former teammate Travis Kelce. Yet despite this hefty usage in the Chiefs’ offense, Hill wanted more....

Leave it to the Raiders to exploit the rules
A week ago on Thursday Night Football, the NFL world paid witness to a pretty odd kickoff strategy from the Las Vegas Raiders during their game against the Los Angeles Rams. After the first drive of the game resulted in a Raiders touchdown, kicker Daniel Carlson had to boot the ball away, but he did...

The disastrous Russell Wilson still has more MVP bets than Patrick Mahomes... what?!
Russell Wilson has been arguably the biggest disappointment of the 2022 NFL season, and that’s saying a lot considering the Los Angeles Rams are fresh off a Super Bowl and currently hold a top-five draft pick. Wilson was brought to the Mile High City in exchange for a king’s ransom, but he was worth...

No, the San Francisco Giants’ offense isn’t suddenly elite with Carlos Correa
After missing out on Arson Judge, it was only a matter of time before the San Francisco Giants used their massive spending budget on one of the few elite hitters left on the open market. For weeks, the Giants-Carlos Correa speculation had been swirling with some people considering San Fran the front...

An 1800s outfielder is baseball’s most searched athlete… in Delaware
I spend a lot of time on Baseball-Reference. Apart from it being my job to do research and correctly relay player statistics to you, the readers, I enjoy looking back at old names from the late-90s and 2000s to see if they were as good as I remember them in my head. Casey Blake? Better than I rememb...

Sports writers aren't going to lose their jobs to AI just yet
Technology is terrifying. That’s why I still do all my research via newspaper and all my math by abacus. However, when I heard about an AI that could write professional-level essays and news articles with ease, my curiosity got the better of me. I’d been hearing about it everywhere. Some of my favor...

Jared Goff is playing well— the Lions still need to pick a quarterback
The Detroit Lions are currently 5-7 — two games away from a wild card spot. They have won four of their last five, and their lone loss was by only three points to the Buffalo Bills — a team many people consider Super Bowl favorites. With five games left on their schedule, only two are against teams ...

Don’t be an idiot! Bet the spread, <i>not</i> the moneyline in Texans-Cowboys
There’s no better feeling in the world than risking very little money and winning a boatload of cash. It’s why parlays have become so popular in the last few years. Why make $100 on a $100 bet, when you could make $10,000 just by picking six more games correctly, right?!...

Jets fans are right to think the world is against them, says new study
The New York Jets are a poverty franchise. They haven’t been to the playoffs since 2010. I don’t care what the outlook for the team is, until they win a playoff game, my stance on the matter isn’t changing. There’s reason to be optimistic given Robert Saleh’s solid start as head coach, Breece Hall’s...

Trea Turner to the Phillies is fine... for now at least
Two-time All-Star Trea Turner will be a Philadelphia Phillie for the next 11 years. He will be 30 in 2023, meaning the deal will end when Turner turns 40. This long-term contract with Turner near the end of his prime has some people worried. The two biggest concerns I’ve seen given to this situation...

Pat Beverley is the Grinch
Someone’s getting coal in their stocking, because Los Angeles Lakers’ guard Patrick Beverley is turning into a real-life Grinch. Earlier this week on the Pat Bev Podcast the 34-year-old, three-time All-Defense Team member told listeners that he has already informed his kids that Santa Claus isn’t re...

Jon Heyman ruined several of my friendships
Being a San Francisco Giants fan is tough right now. Never mind that the team is likely not re-signing Carlos Rodón. Never mind that there’s no plan for the hole at first base. Right now, the biggest thing on every Giants fan’s mind — including my own — is how New York Post reporter Jon Heyman grant...

LeSean McCoy has some of the wildest takes in football
Shady McCoy was one of the most exciting football players of the 2010s. He led the NFL in rushing in 2013, scored 17 touchdowns in 2011, reached five straight Pro Bowls, won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2019 and 2020 (although he wasn’t really a factor on either team at that point), and was named to ...

Don’t hate on Tyler Lockett
In an era of the NFL where yards after the catch reign supreme, with star ankle-breakers like Justin Jefferson, Deebo Samuel, and Cooper Kupp constantly putting on shows with their ability to turn screens and slants into scores, it’s weird to think about how successful someone like Tyler Lockett has...

The Deion Sanders effect is in full force in college football
“Your network is your net worth”...

Bryan Reynolds requests a trade — what is he worth?
Remember a few years ago when a power-hitting shortstop was all the rage? They were a dime a dozen, and securing a shortstop that could be a serious threat in your lineup was an enormous deal. Nowadays, every team has one of those. The Boston Red Sox had two in Xander Bogaerts and Trevor Story last ...