seanebeckwith Page 28 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Naming Pat McAfee Sports Media Person of the Year is an indictment of us all
This is not (totally) a hit piece on Pat McAfee. It’s more about how we should categorize what McAfee does, because The Athletic — you know that sports site owned by The New York Times — named him its Sports Media Person of the Year, and that implies that he’s a journalist....

Finally, the Warriors know how it feels to have the rug pulled out
It’ll be OK. It’ll be OK. It’ll be OK. At least that’s what Golden State Warriors fans are telling themselves this season. Currently sitting at 14-15, Steph Curry and Co. are 10th in the West, right on the bubble for a play-in game. ...

Iranian soccer player facing possible execution after demonstrating for women’s rights
In surreal sporting news, Iranian soccer player Amir Nasr-Azadani is apparently facing possible execution for taking part in a protest for basic women’s rights in Isfahan, Iran. The government deemed the Sept. 16 protest an armed riot as three security agents were killed in the fracas....

If Joel Embiid thinks Philly fans want him traded, he’s on the wrong Reddit threads
I don’t know who incepted Joel Embiid, but someone got him to question Philly fans’ faith in him. The All-NBA center has been strangely disconnected this season. The team is lifeless, and you wouldn’t suspect that Embiid leads the league in scoring if he didn’t pop up on the ticker with a 40- or 50-...

Trading Kyler Murray isn’t the worst option for Arizona
In the 24 games since the Arizona Cardinals started 7-0 in 2021, the team is 8-16. They were embarrassed by the Rams in the playoffs, Deandre Hopkins had to sit out six games due to a positive PED test, Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury either think their dysfunctional relationship is normal or are a...

Culture isn’t going to fix the Miami Heat’s offense
When trying to illustrate how much a team is struggling, one of sportswriters’ favorite go-to’s is, “If the season ended today…” As in, “If the season ended today, the Miami Heat would need to win two play-in games only to face the team that beat them in 2022 in the first round.”...

Who announces their jump to the NFL first in 2024: Caleb Williams or Lincoln Riley?
To the surprise of very few college football fans, Caleb Williams lifted the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night. The USC quarterback finished with 4,075 yards, 47 total touchdowns, and just four interceptions, all while leading his team to within a win of the College Football Playoff. Of all the quart...

Ebenezer Scrooge would defend the Grinch
There comes a point when public figures are no longer defensible. Donald Sterling and Robert Sarver were scumbags way before we had evidence that they were. So when the audio of Sterling leaked, or the Baxter Holmes piece hit the internet, there was zero reason to go to bat for them. Let the investi...

Chris Paul is going to lose any argument that’s anti-Zion Williamson dunking
The NBA season is nearly one-third over, and the team with the best record in the Western Conference is… the New Orleans Pelicans. They have the highest average point differential of any team in the conference by almost two points, outscoring teams by 7.1 points per outing....

Sports take workshop: Sean McVay can resuscitate Baker Mayfield’s career
Welcome to sports take workshop, where opinions are half-assed because there’s not enough evidence to fully support the spice. Today the focus is Baker Mayfield. The new Los Angeles Rams QB was cut by Carolina on Monday, claimed off waivers by the Rams on Tuesday, and came off the bench to lead L.A....

The 10 best college football games of the 2022 season
With bowl season rapidly losing its significance and only really three games that matter remaining, now feels like as good a time as any to look back on the best of college football’s regular season. From upsets to heated rivalries and Heisman-defining moments, there was no shortage of great games i...

Hey, Kyrie, you know who also felt free after getting dropped from a sponsor?
I might be reading into this too much, but did Kyrie Irving writing “I’M FREE” on his taped-over Nike sneakers feel slightly like Ye going on TikTok and declaring himself free? A 3-year-old could connect those dots, considering each knucklehead’s history of antisemitic views that subsequently got th...

Willson Contreras is a Cardinal, and the Cubs let it happen
The St. Louis Cardinals found their replacement for now-retired catcher Yadier Molina, agreeing to terms with Willson Contreras on a five-year, $87 million deal. After refusing to move Contreras at the trade deadline, or pay him, the last remaining position player from the Chicago Cubs World Series ...

A decade-plus of Eastern Conference mediocrity can’t be easily forgotten
It’s weird how much energy goes into debating which conference is the NBA’s best. It makes sense in college football because schools can’t play all 100-plus teams each year, and strength of schedule determines playoff spots. But in basketball, with all 30 organizations facing each other at least twi...

The ManningCast sports media revolution should not have been televised
It would be interesting to see how much ESPN was responsible for of the $1.5 billion that Disney lost last quarter in the streaming section. What section of the Mothership do the contracts for Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and the Mannings fall under? After a year-plus, the nuance of the ManningCast has wo...

The transfer window coinciding with bowl season is as profoundly stupid as it sounds
Unlike most people, I enjoy bowl season. Despite how irrelevant it is to the final outcome of the season, eclectic matchups are the best kinds of matchups. They determine bragging rights for people whose values still align with those of their conference. Programs who only schedule cream puffs when i...

It shouldn’t take hypnotoad sorcery to get you to respect TCU
If the College Football Playoff committee does its job correctly, the TCU Horned Frogs will be the first school from Texas to make the cut for the CFP. While it’s not a shock considering the Toads and Baylor Bears have been the two best programs in the Lone Star State for the past decade, they were ...

USC craps out in Vegas, but Trojans were playing entirely with house money
If you told USC fans before the season that the eulogy for the Trojans’ College Football Playoff hopes wouldn’t be penned until after the conference title game, their reaction would’ve been euphoric. Though the first year under Lincoln Riley ended in disappointment — you don’t come a win away from t...

It’s never been easier to rebuild or bottom out in college football
The transfer window for college football players doesn’t officially open until Dec. 5., but that hasn’t stopped disgruntled wide receivers, linemen, linebackers, QBs, running backs, and every other position from making their intentions known. Per ESPN, there were 3,085 transfers in 2021-22, almost d...

Will Levis could be Josh Allen — and I could be Mark Twain
If it was up to me, Will Levis putting mayonnaise in his coffee wouldn’t only discount him from being a first-round pick, but it’d also land him in prison. People who are obsessed with condiments need serious reform in their lives. Scars from working at Subway in high school aside though, I think Le...