seanebeckwith Page 33 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
We should be trying to find ways to extend, not shorten, college football games
Since when did we start caring so much about the length of sporting events? MLB’s rush to shorten games seems like a direct response to society’s inability to be bored for any length of time. My favorite thing to do on the train in the morning is tally the people who aren’t looking at their phones a...
Saturday was a perfect example of why the best college football coaches are coveted like Infinity Stones
Oklahoma getting caught by Kansas State is an annual tradition for the Sooners, and it happened again Saturday night, with the visiting team pulling out a 41-34 upset in Norman. Running back Deuce Vaughn and quarterback Adrian Martinez combined for 264 yards on the ground, with Martinez adding anoth...
It was D.J. Uiagalelei bailing out Clemson’s defense this time around
Clemson fans finally got the game from D.J. Uiagalelei that they’ve been waiting for, finishing with 371 yards passing and five touchdowns. You’d figure that kind of day would lead to a blowout of No. 21 Wake Forest with the defense we’re accustomed to seeing from the Tigers. After two overtimes and...
It’s OK to enjoy Albert Pujols’ 700th home run
I never know how to write about the teams or players I like. I could pen 2,500 words on Albert Pujols in 20 minutes, literally breaking Mavis Beacon records along the way, and none of it would be coherent or old-time-y poetic like in the days when you had to read sports writers to see a swing. ...
Clemson is still waiting on D.J. Uiagalelei to make the leap
There’s generally a better sense of Clemson by this point in the season. Dabo Swinney isn’t afraid of a tough non-conference game, and it just so happens that the Tigers’ big non-ACC game at Notre Dame takes place in early November this year. Obviously, that would’ve been a better resume builder bef...
If Amazon Prime can make Steelers-Browns watchable, world domination is within reach
Amazon wants its Thursday Night Football games to be a Monday or Sunday night event as bad as Cleveland wants a Super Bowl. Well, maybe not that bad, but still pretty bad. Tonight’s game between Pittsburgh and Cleveland features one AFC North team trying to find the heir to Ben Roethlisberger on the...
Apparently, people will say anything after a couple glasses of Sav Blanc
Even though the NBA season is about a month away, it still feels excessive to write about Ben Simmons. He never plays basketball outside of (I’m assuming) heavily edited Instagram videos, and yet he’s still in the public discussion. He could’ve had all his basketball skills drained from his body by ...
Only Lane Kiffin could come off as a dick while doing the right thing
For certain segments of college football fans, Lane Kiffin will forever be an asshole. Tennessee supporters hate losing to Ole Miss like they’re Steve Spurrier’s Florida. Even putting on a Rebels game annoys my UT-alum girlfriend. Kiffin could send a puppy, a stimulus check, and a Tesla to every mem...
The Giants’ receiver situation would be a funhouse if the team wasn’t 2-0
The Giants are 2-0 and their fans are buzzing like a 10-year-old who just had a gallon of blue raspberry Icees. Brian Daboll can do no wrong. Daniel Jones and the rest of the Joe Judge-David Gettleman holdovers are really what’s holding back the team. If only they could get some production out of Ke...
College football's Marty McFly Rankings Week 3: And then there was one team from Florida left
Merriam-Webster has four different entries for “back,” but none of them apply to college football teams. So it’s left up to people like me to determine what “back” actually is. Being back to Miami is not the same as being back to Washington. Also, can you get back if you never technically got anywhe...
The ‘keep your composure!’ 0-2 NFL team rankings
The panic button is my favorite concept in NFL media. Is it red? Where is it? Is it behind glass? Who gets to push it? Why are we pushing it? What happens when it’s pushed?...
Someone might want to check to see if Boone is still standing
Appalachian State earned its first appearance on ESPN’s College Gameday after upsetting then No. 6 Texas A&M in College Station a week ago. Usually, when Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, and the crew roll into town, the game rarely lives up to the pregame festivities....
Nebraska's biggest embarrassment this week wasn't OU, Georgia Southern, or Scott Frost
Every time Nebraska fires a coach — Scott Frost being the fifth straight person to occupy that position and then get shown the door — there’s this narrative that who on earth would want that job. The expectations don’t match the resources, and it’s no longer an attractive gig for big-name coaches....
Pujols hits No. 698, and the lies Cardinals fans tell themselves
No, the lie I’m referring to is not the one Max Kellerman spouted to win a fake debate on ESPN. I’m talking about the one St. Louis supporters wholeheartedly believe: If Pujols doesn’t leave the shadow of the Arch, the second half of his career plays out better. ...
Yordan Alvarez would like you to know that play time is over
There are less than 20 games left for each MLB team, and a lot of fan bases have already switched to football mode. When you mix that with these home runs races — Aaron Judge mashing balls toward the Yankees franchise record, and Albert Pujols trying to reach career home run No. 700 — it’s easy to f...
Brian Kelly vs. Mike Leach, a Notre Dame win watch, and more from college football’s unranked
There are so many good games featuring at least one ranked school this weekend that it’s easy to overlook the unranked matchups that are still compelling this early in the season before teams amass nicks and cuts and flaws and people deem their season a loss. If you’ve only got one TV/screen, you’re...
Chris Paul and LeBron James show Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers how to wield influence
We could argue all day about who the bigger puddle of vomit come to life is: Dan Snyder or Robert Sarver? The allegations against both are heinous, and no one in their right mind would voluntarily work under them if they didn’t own one of the 30 places to work as an NBA or NFL player. While the inve...
With Justin Herbert at the helm, can the Chargers change the hierarchy of power in the AFC West?
As someone who prefers Marvel comics to DC — you can like both but every nerd has a favorite child — I find DC’s attempt to replicate Marvel Studios’ somewhat coherent movie IP charming. Really, really bad and borderline unwatchable, but charming nonetheless. So when I see The Rock announce that “Th...
Don’t celebrate just yet, SEC fans, there’s another independent who could claim a CFP bid
For the segment of college football fans who blackout with anger every time Notre Dame makes the College Football Playoff, this season could not have started better. Marcus Freeman’s team came up short against Ohio State and then stumbled trying to get back up against Marshall, and there’s really no...
We need to redefine what an ‘expert’ is in sports media
One of my favorite parts of NFL coverage is no matter how bad you were at your job, you qualify as an expert because some clueless owner made the mistake of hiring you. Imagine if you hired a plumber, he came over and not only didn’t unclog your toilet but clogged the others in the house and was so ...