2 Page 393 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Last Night Was Probably The Closest We'll Ever Get To A Super Bowl Fair-Catch Kick, The Rarest Play In The NFL
When the Ravens intentionally took a safety, to give themselves better field position and run a few seconds off the clock, it brought the 49ers to within three points. It was the smart call, but it also raised the possibility of the rarest of all football plays—the fair-catch kick. It's only been at...
Here's The All-22 Footage Of That Mind-Boggling Fake Field Goal
Baltimore has three less points than it otherwise would right now because John Harbaugh got greedy (or went briefly insane) and tried this fake field goal run for a first down on 4th and 9. It would have been a 32-yard attempt for a kicker that made 30 of 33 field goal attempts this season and at...
French Magazine Reports That Qatar Bribed Its Way To The 2022 World Cup
This is not new; from the moment Qatar was named the 2022 World Cup hosts, allegations have been made that FIFA committee members had accepted millions of dollars in bribes to make it happen. Some of those executives were even banned or quit in disgrace! So it's not outside the realm of probability....
Inauguration Day In Post-Racial America: George Stephanopoulos Thinks Bill Russell Looks Like Morgan Freeman
Never mind that Morgan Freeman looks nothing like the 6-foot-10 NBA Hall of Famer: The Celtics cap with Russell's number on it apparently wasn't enough of a clue for Stephanopoulos, either. With a nudge from David Remnick, Stephanopoulos—a Massachusetts native—quickly corrected himself. But not bef...
Joe Flacco, The Big-Armed Oaf Who Saved Baltimore
Joe Flacco has played five full seasons in the NFL, and in each one, he has thrown for less than 4,000 yards and completed less than 64 percent of his throws. He has never been sacked fewer than 30 times, and he has never thrown more than 25 touchdowns. Flacco turns 28 tomorrow. He'll be a free agen...
National Radio Announcers Just Couldn't Believe The Ravens Let The Clock Expire At The End Of The First OT Period
With all of the changes made to the NFL's overtime rules in recent years, anyone can be forgiven for not understanding some of the basics. But one detail that didn't change is what happens in a playoff game at the conclusion of the first overtime period: the teams move to the other side of the fie...
Fox Gets Conservative: Did The Denver Coach's Risk-Averse Strategy Cost The Broncos A Playoff Victory?
NFL coaches will often refer to "playing the percentages." But if there's one thing I've learned by studying strategic decisions, it's that coaches don't have a firm grasp of those percentages. And when anyone is uncertain of the odds, he'll fall back on the sure thing. That was the case with Bronco...
Sports Video Gaming Must Face Its Own Era Of Excess
Wednesday was supposed to be a day of no news in Major League Baseball. There are no league games in January, of course; pitchers and catchers report to spring training in 29 days. And exit polling had long foreseen the shutout ballot, for the first time since 1996, that the Baseball Writers Associa...
Tim Tebow's Press Conference Sucked, or Why the Celebrity Headphone Trend Is Idiotic
At the end of December, a PR agency representing Tim Tebow's new signature line of Soul brand headphones—model number SL300, $299.95 retail—emailed us to invite us to a CES event at which Tebow himself would be showcasing his headphones and "speaking with the media." The event was total bullshit. J...
Your Early Leader For Hustle Play Of 2013 Is This Peruvian Goalkeeper's Two Miracle Saves
Peru's football fortunes have rarely mirrored those of South American counterpart countries. They haven't qualified for the World Cup since 1982, and their U-20 youth squad has never gotten the nod for inclusion in that division's world championship. That could change with a strong performance in ...
<em>Lincoln</em> Hogs: Grierson & Leitch's Rapid Reaction To Today's Oscar Nominations
The Oscar nominations just came out, announced by Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone. There were surprises and oddities and the usual silliness. Also, now we know that Lincoln is going to win everything. Here are our quickest thoughts....
Chaps Don't Get A Fella What They Used To: We Predict The 2013 Academy Award Nominees
Thursday morning, Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone will get up about seven hours earlier than they usually do to announce the nominees for the 85th Academy Awards. This will be stupid and pointless and watched by millions of idiots, myself giddily among them. The Oscars are dumb, but as far as awards ...
The Health Of An NFL Player Belongs To Everyone But The Player Himself
"Greatness is not given," Robert Griffin III says in his national Gatorade spot. "Greatness is taken, when the weak and distracted are resting on their reputations."...
An Inside Look At The Impending Flying Robot Apocalypse (And How To Put A Stop To It)
The Consumer Electronics Show, held in Vegas every year during the second-ish week in January, is an odd duck. Everyone is desperate to talk to you and show you things and shake your hand and trample you on the show floor and so forth. But (and this is my third time being here) there's often littl...
In Defense Of Mike Shanahan
Three months ago, the head coach of a professional football team made a terrible, terrible decision. On Sept. 30, up by a point with less than two minutes to go, Carolina's Ron Rivera decided to punt the ball away to the Atlanta Falcons, even though it was fourth-and-1, even though his team was on A...
Brazilian Prostitutes Learning English For The World Cup
You know what they say: English is the international language of negotiating payment for sexual services provided by a professional. To that end, since World Cup is heading to Brazil in 2014, a prostitute advocacy group in the city of Belo Horizonte is offering free English classes to get the women ...
Ryan Lochte Is Getting His Own Reality Show
We imagine—we have only the vaguest idea of how television works—that, after the Olympics, broadcasting companies considered hiring Ryan Lochte in some capacity. He was a big star! Everyone loved him! He even beat Michael Phelps that one time. But no one did hire him—aside from bit parts on 30 Rock ...
Robert Griffin III Twisted His Knee On A Dead Patch Of Sports Language
LANDOVER, Md.—After the Redskins' 24-14 playoff loss to the Seahawks, Washington's players and head coach talked about the "difference between being injured and being hurt," the importance of being there for your teammates, and how, in the words of Robert Griffin III, "you have to step up and be a m...
A Season Of Miracles In Washington: The Redskins Reappear, And The Owner Vanishes
Dan Snyder didn't even show up to his team's annual turkey giveaway before Thanksgiving. Somebody clearly told Snyder, the Redskins' unbeloved owner, that he couldn't win until his team won. And dang if he didn't listen. And dang if the team didn't win....