ericblum Page 26 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison
After more than six months of incarceration since her February arrest for having less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage at a Russian airport, eight-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison on Thursday for drug possession and smuggling. That harsh but expect...

WWE’s new creative landscape could open Forbidden Door for AEW star
All Elite Wrestling’s biggest organic star has been off television for 63 days without a peep on when he’ll return. Since his new-age “pipe bomb” promo on the June 1 episode of “Dynamite,” MJF hasn’t surfaced. August’s first episode of AEW’s flagship show has a 99.999999% chance of being the ninth c...

NFL goes easy on Dolphins owner for tampering, tanking — and other things that shouldn't shock you
Another day, another embarrassment for the NFL....

Well, it wasn’t the massive haul we were expecting…
Juan Soto’s time with the Nationals will be talked about like Alex Rodriguez’s stay with the Rangers. A generational talent who’s MVP-worthy no matter what team’s jersey they put on 100-plus times a year. It was incredibly relevant in real time, but as those moments get further into the past, it bec...

Mariners make splash in hopes of ending lengthy postseason drought
The Seattle Mariners are looking to make the playoffs for the first time in over 20 years. Ichiro’s rookie season was the last time they played past 162 games. Heading into Saturday’s games, Seattle is only a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay in the Wild Card standings, and it’s far from a guarantee the ...

Dwight Howard’s post-NBA career could be in the WWE of all places
Dwight Howard’s career is winding down, no doubt about it. His third stint with the Lakers is over and the former No. 1 overall pick has had to think about a life outside of The Association. With Howard’s personality, a crossover into broadcasting is easy to believe. Maybe he could be a high school ...

Looking back at the NFL's QB roulette
Who will win this year’s NFL quarterback roulette?...

Texas Rangers could (eventually) have two top-of-the-line starters in their rotation
Finally, the Texas Rangers’ front office is attempting to position the franchise out of American League irrelevance. The team hasn’t won a postseason game since 2015 and, in the seven years since, Texas has tried to revamp its roster multiple times with players like Ian Desmond, Mike Napoli — eligib...

Retirement? We all know Vince McMahon didn’t leave WWE of his own volition
Stop calling it a retirement. Without the details of alleged hush payments skyrocketing well beyond $12 million to keep various women quiet, now-former WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon would still be in unquestioned power. He didn’t leave his post of 40 years unprovoked or out of humility to trans...

Our Conference Mock Draft: SEC Edition
With the snake-draft format, I was the only one forced to make every selection in pairs. I focused on the rivalries that make college sports great to a fault, which got harder as the draft went along. I more than held my own, starting with a heavy hitter and securing one of the most underrated rival...

American keepers who found success in England
If there’s one position where American soccer players have routinely found success overseas, and not had any “Yankee” stigma follow them around, it’s at goalkeeper. Several United States men’s national team goalkeepers have had long stays in Europe, especially in the Premier League....

Christian Eriksen's next miracle: Trying to revive Man U
The quadrennial UEFA European Football Championships had to wait five years for its most recent edition, with three years separating the delayed 2020 event to its regularly scheduled 2024 showcase because of the coronavirus pandemic. As the Euros got underway after a 365-day delay, it was a celebrat...

Texans settle with Deshaun Watson accusers while suspension still looms for QB
The 30 women who planned to make claims against the Houston Texans for their alleged role in the sexual misconduct allegations against the team’s former quarterback, Deshaun Watson, have reached settlements with the team, the attorney for all 30 women, Tony Buzbee, said in a statement Friday....

Should exiting schools still have a say in their conferences?
The more I hear Mike Gundy speak from Wednesday’s session at Big 12 Media Days, I become increasingly convinced his assertion about Texas and Oklahoma wasn’t a joke. Oklahoma State’s longtime head coach can parlay that he “jokingly” suggested the Longhorns and Sooners shouldn’t be involved in the le...

When does it stop? Shots fired near Little League game in North Carolina
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different outcome. That’s an evergreen statement to plenty of things in life but there isn’t a better example in America of it than our psychotic gun culture. The second known shooting in the last three months near a Littl...

Chris Benoit should be remembered for his crimes, not his in-ring work
There’s no separating the art form of professional wrestling from out-of-ring actions for Chris Benoit. And I can’t believe I have to type that preceding sentence because it’s so obvious. Whatever goodwill his sports entertainment from Japan, WCW and WWE did for fans of the squared circle was immedi...

There’s a no-pads football league and surprisingly, not everyone is concussed
Football had a health epidemic on its hands long before COVID-19 was a thing. Concussions, brain injuries and CTE have ravaged the sport, with affects touching every level of the sport. Yup, any Pop Warner tackle-football league can be just as at risk as the well-compensated rosters of the NFL....