ericblum Page 31 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Ukraine set to resume chase for World Cup spot, could play US in Group B
Russia’s brutal war isn’t stopping the Ukraine national football team from returning to competition. With the 2022 FIFA World Cup starting in November, the Ukrainians are one of seven teams vying for the final three unclaimed spots in the tournament with three hailing from Europe....

Who pissed in Stefan Savić’s pregame Gatorade?
Trying to help his team become the second from the Spanish capital to qualify for the UEFA Champions League semifinals, Stefan Savić went from composed center back to savage at the drop of a hat....

When Jackie opened the door, these men walked through
It took 2,559 days after Jackie Robinson’s debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers for Major League Baseball to have its 42nd Black player appear in a game. Those seven years and two days saw 11 of the league’s 16 franchises integrate. The Boston Red Sox were the last to do so with Pumpsie Green in July 1959...

Punches thrown after NASCAR driver takes umbrage with excessive rubbing while racing
Fists flew on pit row during NASCAR’s Xfinity Series race at Martinsville. Rivals Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs, the grandson of Super Bowl winning coach and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs, were the combatants in the altercation after Friday night’s race....

Dwayne Haskins, 24, dies after getting hit by car
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins died Saturday morning in South Florida after being hit by a car, weeks shy of turning 25. The former Ohio State star was drafted No. 15 overall by the Washington Commanders in the 2019 NFL Draft before his current role in Pittsburgh....

Chasing the Bengals' path to glory
The avalanche started with the fifth pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The Cincinnati Bengals selected Ja’Marr Chase from LSU, reuniting Chase with national-championship teammate and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, Cincy’s selection with the No. 1 overall pick in 2020. Those were far from t...

This year’s Masters dinner features beef you’ll likely never be able to afford
Find the nicest pocket square possible and stretch your pinky out for this year’s Masters Champions Dinner. Well, only if you own a green jacket. The ultra-exclusive meal with a menu chosen by the most recent green jacket winner, Hideki Matsuyama, features one of the most expensive proteins in the w...

‘As of right now, I feel like I am going to play.'
For the first time since the February 2021 car wreck that threatened his ability to walk again, Tiger Woods confirmed Tuesday he intends to play in the Masters. Woods’ desire to compete comes after a 9-hole practice round on Monday with a huge audience....

There’s only one Brock Lesnar
It’s time to recognize Brock Lesnar for what he is. Take away the reservations of his participation in primarily sports entertainment instead of plain-old sport. Look more into the diversity of his accomplishments in combat sports. Lesnar is one of the best athletes of this generation. That may be a...

U.S. gets England in World Cup Group Stage
As the United States men’s national team backed into the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday night, Friday’s draw couldn’t have realistically worked out any better for them....

Duke-North Carolina at the Final Four is already one for the ages
It’s already an instant classic and the ball won’t be tipped for four more days. The greatest rivalry in college basketball, one of the fiercest in all of sports, heads to the Final Four. Duke squaring off with North Carolina is a momentous, must-watch occasion when it takes place under routine circ...

Didn’t know Jordan Mailata had those pipes, kinda knew Joe Buck didn’t
Jordan Mailata sang his ass off and probably shouldn’t have been revealed as Thingamabob on Wednesday night’s episode of FOX’s The Masked Singer. The Eagles’ offensive lineman made the transition from blocking defensive ends to singing “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi on national television....

Bellator’s Yaroslav Amosov withdraws from bout, will defend Ukraine instead
The Ukrainian people aren’t losing one of their resistance fighters to protect themselves from Russia’s needless war against their country. Bellator Ukrainian welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov already has a fight on his hands and won’t defend his championship as scheduled on May 13....

Jorge Masvidal hit with felony charges for punching Colby Covington in face at restaurant
Update (3/24): Jorge Masvidal was arrested Wednesday night and charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief, both felonies, for (allegedly) slugging Colby Covington twice in the face. If this truly is a pro wrestling-style work, as we hypothesize below, the level of commitment is impressive...

How Sweet it is
From 68 teams to the final 16. More than 50 teams with their eyes on a national championship are handing in jerseys instead of preparing for more games. The first six days of NCAA Tournament action left three double-digit seeds, including maybe the biggest Cinderella in Tournament history, which you...

Dajuan Harris is the quiet force behind Kansas’ hoops success
Call him the stabilizer. The nickname fits Kansas’ Dajuan Harris. Losses were at a premium for KU this season, but adversity came to the Jayhawks doorstep more than most would imagine for a 30-win team. And the soothing presence in Lawrence was Harris....

Gregg Berhalter drops the ball on USMNT roster
Expected, disappointing. Two words that best describe my reaction to seeing the United States Men’s National Team’s roster for the final trio of octagonal World Cup Qualifying matches, beginning next week. Outside of the core, can’t-miss players and super-subs, which any soccer fan with a brain coul...

Ryan Turell wants to be the first Orthodox Jew to play basketball in the NBA
It’s not just about him. Yeshiva University’s Ryan Turell clearly gets that, much in the same vein as Brian Flores with his recent lawsuit against the NFL, trying to put a greater focus on equal treatment of minorities in the league knows it’s not just about him. Central to both is the overriding pr...

Russia extends Brittney Griner's detention by two months
One of our country’s elite basketball players remains in a Russian prison, a country that’s showed no signs of deescalating its meaningless war against Ukraine and indirectly trying to provoke other countries into joining the conflict....

This is a Cinderella story
For the best chance at a major upset in this year’s NCAA Tournament, look no further than the Peacocks hailing from Jersey City, New Jersey....