Football Page 1208 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Pennsylvania Man Filed Motion Against NFL To Put Steelers In Playoffs
Daniel Spuck felt that his Pittsburgh Steelers were screwed out of a playoff spot after officials overseeing the Chiefs-Chargers game didn't call a penalty that would have handed San Diego the likely loss, thereby giving the Steelers the final AFC postseason berth. Spuck took this bold stance agains...

Ric Flair Claims He's Received Death Threats From Panthers Fans
Ric Flair is one of North Carolina's favorite sons. He's also a stylin', profilin', limousine ridin', jet flyin', kiss-stealin', wheelin' and dealin' son of a gun, so when the 49ers invited him to address the team, he said hell yes. But now the 49ers are heading to Charlotte, and Panthers fans aren'...

Budweiser To Terrorize Hell's Kitchen With Super Bowl Hell Boat
Tailgating will not be allowed at this year's Super Bowl, but fans will still have ample opportunity to turn the weekend into a boozy shitshow thanks to the Bud Light Hotel New York. ...

NFL Betting Lines, Visualized: Divisional Round (Late Edition)
Below is your late betting info for the divisional-round playoff games (you can see the early-week edition here). Spread movement is now included, and the money lines, over/unders, and bet trend have been updated. I've also added one extra data point: the over/under movement from the opening line. S...

Why Do Coaches Always Beat Up On The Little Sisters Of The Poor?
The Little Sisters of the Poor are in the news again, but surprisingly not as a sports metaphor for a patsy opponent. But now's as good a time as any to wonder: Where did this ubiquitous metaphor come from?...

Hey, It's Three Years (And A Day) Since Marshawn Lynch Went Beast Mode
Three-year anniversaries aren't usually news pegs. (Three years and a day, even less so, but hey, we were busy.) Saturday's Saints-Seahawks playoff rematch makes it a little more defensible. But let's be honest—we don't really need reason to want to revisit and marvel over Marshawn Lynch's incredibl...

Reports: Jay Gruden Will Be New Redskins Head Coach
That's the word from just about everywhere. The Bengals' offensive coordinator, and one of the most successful players and coaches in Arena League history, is expected to be introduced later today....

Report: The Dolphins Are A Dysfunctional Mess Behind The Scenes
Even juicier than Black Monday in the NFL is the semi-regular "here's how truly screwed up this franchise was" post-mortem feature in a local paper. Yesterday, Armando Salguero in the Miami Herald gave us a peek into the power struggle that forced out Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland, and it's a ugly....

For Some Reason Louisville Has Intentionally Hired Bobby Petrino
Multiple reports, following Yahoo's Pat Forde, are saying that Bobby Petrino — liar, scoundrel, indifferent recruiter, proven winner — will be the new head coach at Louisville, the very program he ditched in 2006 for a short stint with the Atlanta Falcons....

Should Tre Mason Have Taken A Knee?
Over on Slate, Advanced NFL Stats' Brian Burke tries his hand at answering a classic armchair-QB question from Monday's national-title game: Should Tre Mason have taken a knee before that last Auburn touchdown?...

Warrant: Aaron Hernandez Circled Victims Before 2012 Drive-By Murders
Surveillance footage shows an SUV driven by Aaron Hernandez circling the block near a Boston nightclub, waiting for a group of men to get in their own vehicle, before pulling up alongside it and spraying it with gunfire, according to a search warrant released yesterday. It's the most solid evidence ...

Future Of NFL Playoffs Could Look Very Different
At a public forum at Manhattan's 92nd Street Y last night, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sounded optimistic that the league's competition committee will soon approve an expansion of the playoffs to 14 teams, with the extra games possibly held on Friday or Monday....

NFL Betting Lines, Visualized: Divisional Round (Early Edition)
Here is your early betting info for the Divisional round of the playoffs this weekend. Money lines for all the games are already available, but we'll update on Thursday with spread movements. Like last week, we've included the average spread and average over/under for each team, as well as the appro...

Trademark Agency Rejects "Redskins" Application As "Derogatory"
Late last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied an application to register a trademark for "Redskins Hog Rinds," a product wholly unrelated to the Washington football team. The USPTO's reasoning for refusing the trademark is simple: It's offensive....

Texas Booster Says Charlie Strong "Would Make A Great Position Coach"
Nearly everyone thinks Texas did right when they tapped Charlie Strong to be their next head coach—everyone outside of Texas, anyway....

Watch Auburn Fans, Announcers In Slow Meltdown As BCS Title Slips Away
ESPN did an enormous public service last night in offering a video feed trained on fans in Tallahassee and Auburn watching last night's BCS Championship game. Here are some clips of Auburn fans watching their title dreams disappear, matched up with Auburn IMG Sports Network radio announcer Rod Bra...

Is "Discipline" Overrated In The NFL?
The 2013-14 Seahawks finished the year with a 13-3 record, a +186 point differential, and +40.1 percent DVOA, making them arguably the best team in the NFL. They also led the league in penalties (128) and penalty yards (1,193). Baltimore led in both categories last year and won the Super Bowl over t...

Former NFL Player Dies Mysteriously At Age 35
Todd Williams, who briefly played as a reserve right tackle for the Tennessee Titans in 2004 and 2005 after playing college ball at Florida State, was found dead in Bradenton, Fla. on Monday. ...
