12 Page 5 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

San Francisco 49ers have a health advantage over the Chiefs in the Super Bowl
Even with the bye week, there is no way that San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs are at their healthiest going into Super Bowl LVIII. They have been popping pads against the rest of the NFL for 19-20 weeks. Extensive treatment and rehab will be necessary to get those bodies back to optimum he...

It's time for the Mavericks to fire Jason Kidd and Nico Harrison
No team in recent memory has failed to build around a generational superstar more than the Dallas Mavericks have with Luka Dončić. We are not talking about Anthony Davis in New Orleans. Dončić is a consistent top-five MVP candidate and First-Team All-NBA every season, one of a handful of players of ...

Kyrie Irving says NY mayor to blame for lackluster Nets tenure
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving made his return to the Barclays Center for the first time since being traded. With Irving’s 36-point outburst in the Mavericks’ 119-107 win over Brooklyn, it bears wondering why one of the guard’s best performances ever in the Barclays Center is coming while in a ...
![Big Ten, SEC partnership won't circumvent NCAA, Sankey says [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/69c6cd8cc13f4f1ea2feaef11133225c.jpg)
Big Ten, SEC partnership won't circumvent NCAA, Sankey says [Updated]
Updated Feb. 8: SEC commissioner Greg Sankey took some time Wednesday to shed light on the new strategic partnership, insisting that there is no plan to circumvent the NCAA. Sankey appeared for an interview on The Paul Finebaum Show and stated that the purpose of the partnership was to create a more...

Tyrese Haliburton thinks the NBA's 65-game award minimum is stupid. He’s right
Tyrese Haliburton played 22 minutes and change on Tuesday night. A hamstring injury has been nagging him for most of January. Haliburton has missed 10 of the Indiana Pacers’ last 11 games. Usually, there would be no issue with him needing 15-20 games to fully recover from a soft-tissue injury. In fa...

The case for — and against — Joel Embiid for MVP
Joel Embiid, the world’s best regular-season player, is closing in on his second consecutive MVP if he remains upright. When active, Embiid is a force of nature, bending defenses to his whim and simultaneously wielding an unduly influence over Philadelphia’s defense....

NBA player averaging 12.5 ppg says he's got 'nothing to prove'
Either Deandre Ayton fell and bumped his head somewhere in Portland, or he’s the most ridiculous guy in the city. Apparently, after five and a half years in the NBA, Ayton feels he no longer needs to prove himself. Ayton let this slip while speaking with Mark Medina of Basketball Intelligence. It ha...

On Pete Carroll and how to be a great coach without being a jerk
Not many football coaches can dominate both college and the NFL. Jimmy Johnson was able to do so, but also ran so hot that it burned his relationship with Jerry Jones and he eventually burned out of coaching entirely after a few seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Pete Carroll has spent much of the las...

Michigan’s national title is a crop in the Big Ten’s budding football harvest
As maize-and-blue confetti streamed from the NRG Stadium rafters, it felt like the Big Ten’s harvest was finally ripening. The national title game was decided when Michigan outmuscled Alabama a week earlier, but Monday night’s national title was merely the coup de grâce in a process that began five ...

Oscar Pistorius being released from prison is spit in the face of Reeva Steenkamp's memory
South African Olympic track and field star, and convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius was released from prison today after serving seven and a half years for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp....

This week in the NBA: Kevin Durant unhappy in Phoenix?; Ja Morant in more hot water; Cade Cunningham can't save Pistons
Well, it didn’t take long for Kevin Durant to find something to complain about it on his new super team....

If you’re thinking Ja Morant is going to rebrand, think again
Ja Morant hasn’t skipped a beat since his return to the Memphis Grizzlies lineup a week ago. The city of Memphis couldn’t be happier. Without Morant in, the Grizzlies’ holes were glaring. In his absence, Desmond Bane tried valiantly to hold down the fort, but the offense was abysmal without his back...

If Florida State leaves the ACC, where does it go?
Updated Dec. 21: Florida State University’s Board of Trustees will meet Friday, with the Seminoles’ conference affiliation as the meeting’s central focus. According to a report from Yahoo Sports, the school may seek a declaratory judgment action in an attempt to argue that it is not bound to its con...

This week in the basketball: Illinois St. coach in n-word flap; Giannis Antetokuonmpo still hasn't found his ball
What a typical response to racism from the head coach of Illinois State men’s basketball. During a home game on Saturday, Ryan Pedon got in an altercation with Norfolk State head coach Robert Jones. A situation that was none of Pedon’s business, because Jones was not even talking in the direction of...

Ja Morant speaks for the first time about punching teen in face during pick-up game
He pulled up his shorts. That was how Ja Morant explained why he punched a teenager in the face during a game of pickup basketball at his Memphis home in July of 2022. Joshua Holloway, who was 17 at the time of the incident, is suing Morant for hitting him after a game of basketball turned violent, ...

It’s time Dr Pepper eliminated the chest pass from its Tuition Giveaway contest
Gerrit Cole doesn’t throw bounce passes from the mound. LeBron James has never tossed an off-speed slider on a backdoor cut. So then, why do we have to watch college students throw footballs like basketball-chest passes to win scholarship money?...

Washington is giving Pac-12 football a beautiful swan song
The finality of the Pac-12 is depressing. The Washington Huskies beat the Oregon Ducks, 34-31, on Friday night, and looked like a title contender doing it. Michael Penix had his full array of receivers, with Jalen McMillan returning to grab nine balls for 131 yards. Husky running back Dillon Johnson...

The week in the NHL: Patrick Kane brings his walker to Detroit, the mystery of Corey Perry's demise, the Kings are Kings again
(UPDATE): According to reports, the Blackhawks have said Corey Perry was released because of an incident involving a team employee. No further details were provided by the team. Read More...

The week in the NBA: Josh Giddey accusations drama, Ball brothers injury bug, Jason Kidd loses it for no reason
When you continue to embrace a man who reportedly impregnated a 13-year-old when he was in college, and honor that same man regularly by inviting him to marquee league events (like the 2023 All-Star Game) alongside Kareem Abdul Jabbar and LeBron James, it makes it really hard to discipline a current...

These were the best NBA games ever played on Thanksgiving or Christmas
It’s been more than two decades since we’ve seen an NBA game on Thanksgiving. And for the sake of communion and fellowship, we’re better for it. It’s not like the TV won’t be on anyway. With Fox News and CNN rotting our brains and the NFL providing an annual doubleheader, there’s plenty to go numb f...