2 Page 268 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Mark Emmert Admits NCAA Accepted The "Absolute Minimum" In Its Return To North Carolina<em></em>
In speaking with the Associated Press sports editors at their annual meeting with commissioners on Thursday night, NCAA president Emmert acknowledged that HB 142 was “the absolute minimum” the North Carolina legislature could have done to earn back the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and other post...

Unlike The NCAA, Some States And Cities Didn't Bite On North Carolina's Weak HB2 Repeal
The NCAA released the sites of its upcoming postseason events through 2022 Tuesday afternoon, and as was expected, the governing body of college sports made its return to North Carolina official, announcing the Tar Heel state will host 36 men’s and women’s tournaments and postseason competitions. In...

A Very Timely And Comprehensive 2017 NBA Playoffs, Uh, "Preview," Part 2
Good afternoon, basketball viewers! It’s time for the second part of our very on-time and definitely not late at all 2017 NBA playoffs preview blog post. Here’s what you need to know about the first-round series that are scheduled to begin today, presented in the order the games will start....

A Very Timely And Comprehensive 2017 NBA Playoffs, Uh, "Preview," Part 1
Hello fellow sports enthusiasts! It’s that time again: World Art Day. But also, the NBA playoffs, the best* postseason tournament of all, begin today. Another thing that began today: My work on this playoff preview blog! Let’s run down the first-round series that are starting this afternoon: the sto...

Craven North Carolina Legislators Threaten ACC Over Future Boycotts
After North Carolina kinda-sorta-not-really repealed HB2 last month under pressure from a handful of powerful sports bodies, the NBA and NCAA let the state back into their good graces. Despite the fact that the repeal kept many of HB2’s heinous facets in place, NBA czar Adam Silver said that Charlot...

The Miami Heat Are Probably Screwed, And That Sucks
Tonight, the last night of the NBA’s regular season, will settle the Eastern Conference’s seventh and eighth playoff seeds, the last two unsettled spots in the postseason. The Miami Heat, currently sitting in ninth thanks to tiebreakers, can claim one of those spots, technically, but almost certainl...

CONCACAF Wants No-Bid Deal To Host World Cup
The joint* USA/Mexico/Canada Cup bid is the favorite to land the expanded 2026 World Cup, but the organizers would like to take no chances: They’re planning to ask FIFA to speed up the awarding process by three years, and to accept no other bids for the tournament....

Confusion Still Reigns After UFC 210 Fight Ends In Bizarre TKO<em></em>
Last Saturday, Buffalo hosted its first UFC event since 1995, and Long Island’s very own middleweight contender, Chris Weidman, got to fight Gegard Mousasi in a co-main event bout. Mousasi was introduced by Bruce Buffer to a light smattering of boos, while Weidman was hailed with deafening chants o...

Daniel Cormier Miraculously Sheds 1.2 Pounds In Minutes To Make Weight
The main event of tomorrow’s UFC 210 card in Buffalo is a light heavyweight title fight match between Daniel Cormier and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Cormier won the first fight, but the rematch almost didn’t happen after Cormier initially missed weight this morning....

Report: The U.S., Mexico, And Canada Plan To Submit Joint Bid To Host 2026 World Cup
The Guardian spoke with CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, who confirmed what has long been speculated: the U.S., Mexico, and Canada plan on submitting a joint bid to host the 2026 World Cup....

WADA And The IOC Will Do Whatever They Please With Positive Tests<em></em>
A report from German broadcast network ARD—which previously broadcast bombshells about FIFA corruption in Qatar and unpunished doping activity—claims that the IOC covered up doping cases from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. German journalist Hajo Seppelt reports that “in 2016 during the re-analysis for b...

NCAA Accepts North Carolina's Weak HB2 Repeal, Will Bring Back Postseason Events
Following four days of deliberation, and the morning after the finale of its most lucrative event of the year, the NCAA announced Tuesday that its Board of Governors voted to return North Carolina to the list of states to be considered for hosting postseason events. The vote of approval comes thanks...

The Referees Didn't Want You To Have Any Fun Last Night
Everyone expects to see a certain number of lifeless offensive possessions and back-rimmed jumpers in any college basketball game, basically for the same reason you don’t expect to see the most crisply-turned double plays at a minor league ballgame, and it’s really not surprising to see more of thos...

North Carolina Takes Down Gonzaga To Win Sixth National Championship
After 40 tense, often ugly minutes of basketball, North Carolina defeated Gonzaga, 71-65, to win another national championship, their first since 2009. The game featured 44 fouls, a combined field goal percentage of 34.8, and a series of inexplicable late referee interventions. At one point, Gonzaga...

I'm So Glad Gonzaga Fouled With A Three-Point Lead
Thank you, Gonzaga. It was as if you read my angst-riddled mind on Saturday night....

NHL Announces It Won't Participate In 2018 Olympics
The biggest event on hockey’s international calendar, and one of the biggest events of every winter games, will not happen next year. The news disappoints players, who want to play, and fans, who want them to play. But it makes owners happy! The NHL will not participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics i...

The Detroit Tigers Will Offer You Aging Stars And A Terrible Bullpen
This is part of an occasional series comprising MLB season previews....

Jordan Bell: "This Is Going To Hurt Forever"
Any March Madness game decided in the final seconds is going to bring reactions of equal strength but opposite emotion, with one on the losing side that’s often hard to watch. Last week, it was De’Aaron Fox of Kentucky, and last night, it was Jordan Bell of Oregon....

Canadian Skaters Thrive As Others Struggle At Figure Skating World Championships
Life in Canada is good. Not only do our neighbors to the north have access to runaway plows and ample supplies of maple syrup, but at this year’s world figure skating championships, their two female skaters claimed spots on the medal podium, placing second and third behind predicted winner Evgenia M...

The Pittsburgh Pirates Will Be Frustratingly Competent
This is part of an occasional series comprising MLB season previews....