seanebeckwith Page 48 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Liverpool manager makes the case for not shutting down English Premier League — and he might be onto something
With seemingly every major sports league in “This is fine” mode, the prevailing logic on how to calm the spread of the virus is to take a break to allow the latest variant-induced wave to pass so COVID-ravaged teams don’t have to scramble to fill lineups. English Premier League clubs have been hit s...

It’s Week 15 of the NFL, the most magical week of the year, and everyone is either injured or has COVID
Welcome to Week 15 of the NFL, where playoff races are heating up and things are getting good. Let’s see what’s cooking over at ESPN....

Report: Rick Carlisle’s treatment of others bothered Luka, led to coach leaving Dallas
The details from the report corroborating the rumor that Rick Carlisle can be an asshole are juicy, for sure. Apparently, he belittled FODs (Friends of Luka Dončić) Dennis Smith Jr. and Salah Mejri, accusing Smith of being jealous of Dončić before trading him; saw former assistant coach Jamahl Mosel...

Cold weather, not a leftist conspiracy, the reason for Michele Tafoya’s absence on SNF, says NBC
Aggregators assemble!...

Cleveland has hope — and a pretty good basketball team
If there was a way to slyly tell you that Cleveland has the second best scoring defense in the NBA behind the Warriors, I would do that. But me doing the whole, “I bet you couldn’t guess who the second best scoring defense in the league is” bit isn’t clever, because Cleveland is in the headline of t...

It’s hard to rank all the dumb things Urban Meyer has done at Jacksonville — but we're gonna try
I’m not sure who ordered the hit on Urban Meyer, but the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero went No Country for Old Coaches on the Jacksonville Jaguars head man Saturday morning delivering a devastating indictment of his first and maybe last year (mis)leading the team. The piece reads more like a prosecuti...

Give Justin Jefferson his flowers (and a QB) you cowards!
Lost in Minnesota trying to kick their fans in the junk again Thursday night like they have so many times this season — or last — was the performance of Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson....

Rutgers’ Ron Harper Jr. beats No. 1 Purdue on heave at the buzzer, sets New Jersey ablaze
The best buzzer beaters are the ones when the play-by-play guy’s reaction is all our reactions, when he just screams because, like the rest of us, yelling is the only reaction....

So about soccer’s version of Nancy Kerrigan-Tonya Harding… it’s much messier in a less fun way
A month or so ago, it appeared that Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Aminata Diallo purportedly conducted a criminal scheme so dumb that, if it wasn’t already a crime, it would be criminal....

With a little luck, the Jazz can make a deep playoff run
The Utah Jazz have been a “Yeah, but… “ team for a few years now. And while it’s better than just being butt, it’s frustrating. You can tell how much of a pretender a team is by how mad their fans get when the media disregards their relevance despite the team winning 50-plus games every year. ...

5 totally realistic trade destinations for Damian Lillard
Any rational Trail Blazers fan would avoid watching the team right now. Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, and Anfernee Simons are all injured. ESPN.com’s promotion for its Portland-Golden State matchup Wednesday is a “Top five Lillard trades they’d love to see” article, and a clip of Stephen A. Smith s...

Make way, internet, Oklahoma senator has some fake outrage over Lincoln Riley
Oklahoma Sooners fans are mad, including Oklahoma state Sen. Bill Coleman, who is looking to “honor” Lincoln Riley with by renam — wait what?! Say that again, internet, Coleman (R-Ponca City) is an Oklahoma State fan? And his planned backhanded slight of renaming a desolate 3-inch stretch of highway...

A cover letter template for the college coach trying to leave a program near you
Coaches pushing their services like politicians trying to nab a presidential bid is my favorite part of any busy offseason. The season isn’t even over, and schools and coaching are already rushing to ship each other for that rose to keep them on The Bachelor: Sex Island....

Oregon picking over suspect Thanksgiving coaching leftovers after flurry of hires
Mario Cristobal is taking his talents to South Beach and is out the door at Oregon after Utah hit him in the ass with it. (Looking at the judges to see I get credit for two cliches in a lede. And… yes, “taking his talents to South Beach” qualifies.) The hire for Miami is seemingly a home run because...

Neil Olshey firing is only going to prolong the wait for your Dame dream trade
Let’s try an exercise. Something happens to the Portland Trail Blazers franchise, and they don’t immediately try to trade Damian Lillard. It’s to the point that I wouldn’t be shocked if media outlets have a pre-written template for Blazers stories....

Even sportsbooks are tired of JB Smoove screaming ‘CAE-SARS!’
Do you remember the movie Thank You for Smoking? It was a satirical look at cigarette spokesman Nick Naylor (played by Aaron Eckhart aka Harvey Dent from The Dark Knight) who tries to remain a role model to his son despite promoting/defending lung darts....

Jordan is better than LeBron… eyes closed
It’s funny how much weight we give anecdotal evidence in arguments. Did LeBron ever eat a tainted pizza and win a title the day after? How many playoff buzzer-beaters does Curry have? Michael never beat a 73-win team in The Finals....

Here’s a workaround for enjoying Alabama’s talent without enduring ‘Roll Tide!’ chants
As a life ethos, I don’t watch Alabama unless it’s the title game. Not the SEC title game, THE title game. I take that back, I watch the title game and as much of the Tennessee-Alabama game as my girlfriend can stand. They’re too good even for their loaded conference, so save for a title game or ups...

Wait, I thought the NBA was lowering the age for draft eligibility?
The G League celebrated its 20th season of competition this season but is only on its second of genuine interest to NBA fans. Instead of the occasional player who makes the leap from AAA to a rotation player or a raw draft pick trying to hone their skills, there wasn’t too much to get amped about un...

Would you look at that — the Dolphins and Tua finally showed up this season
It’s amazing how far above average quarterback play can get you in the NFL. A lot of these teams trying to crack the hard candy shell of contending — the Broncos, Dolphins, Falcons, Colts — can take leaps with the right QB, and in the Bucs case, win it all. ...