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Which state can field the best starting 5?
Now that the Warriors have returned to glory post-Durant, NBA fans just survived one of the most unbearable periods of the NBA. One filled with superteams and razor-thin parity between the three to four coastal teams with stacked talent (Warriors, Lakers, Nets), and the rest of the small-market team...

What if the Saudis come for tennis next?
Let’s paint a picture for a moment. It’s two, maybe three years from now. The Saudi Golf League has taken off, gotten its sponsorships and TV deals, and superstar commitments. It’s expanded its tournaments, the majors are now allowing defectors to return, and — all in all, it’s a success....

How much will Davante Adams’ absence affect Aaron Rodgers?
In 2021, with the help of Davante Adams, Aaron Rodgers threw for 37 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Those 37 touchdowns were tied for fourth-most in the NFL. Rodgers didn’t have much help outside of Adams. While Adams did catch 11 of those touchdowns (29.73 percent of Rodgers’ total), that’s...

MLB trade deadline candidates — Bats
There’s still a lot of talent on the table, but not nearly as much as there was 365 days ago....

You’re never going to guess who’s pushing the Yankees for AL supremacy
Hopefully, you’ve been watching enough baseball to know the answer to that headline isn’t the Red Sox. At 61-32, and now only 2.5 games behind New York for the best record in baseball — courtesy of a doubleheader sweep — the Houston Astros are in a position to make the second half interesting....

Darwin Núñez’s courting of Liverpool holdouts is underway
It must be a slow period for sports in the U.K. as well. There’s not a dart league or a cricket game (match?) going on either? It could be the record-breaking heat that’s made fans more irritable than normal. Whatever it is, overreacting to a player’s preseason debut during a couple of friendlies is...

Sean Payton is already prepping the NFL for his comeback, but it won’t be with Dallas
Former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton walked away from the sideline this offseason after 15 years but is already speaking about the possibility of a return — and it sounds like it could happen sooner rather than later....

Jimmy Garoppolo is free to seek a trade — where does he fit best?
It’s been a wild ride for Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco, to say the least. He’s been nothing short of a savior for the franchise, returning them to their status as a powerhouse in the NFC. But all good things must come to an end, and that time has officially come....

Deshaun Watson’s potential punishment could be a slap on the wrist compared to suspensions for betting, deflating the football
The latest Deshaun Watson rumor, coming from Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, is that Judge Sue L. Robinson is planning to hand down a suspension of between two and eight games for the new Browns quarterback under the league’s Personal Conduct Policy. This is a significant reduction from earlier rep...

Bring Brittney back: Griner needs to return to the U.S. ASAP
Brittney Griner is not forgotten, as she sits in a Russian jail cell after pleading guilty to having a tiny amount of cannabis oil in her luggage after playing basketball for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the WNBA offseason....

Look out 'Bama and Ohio State, this Pac-12 power is back and looking championship-worthy
USC football is back. ...

The Home Run Derby was on some Mountain-vs.-Viper stuff
Juan Soto is going to win the All-Star Break in many ways, but the most significant might be by virtue of being the most thirst-inducing thoroughbred at the auction. It makes sense that he took the Home Run Derby a few days after the Nationals announced they’re listening to offers. There are a half ...

Danny Ainge has turned the Utah Jazz into a League Pass offseason team
Now in his third decade as a general manager or team president, Danny Ainge is in the next stage of what’s been a blessed NBA existence. As a supporting player on a pair of championship Celtics teams, he was one of the league’s first 3-point specialists, and reached the NBA Finals with Portland, the...

Ryan Garcia vs. Gervonta Davis would be spectacular, but it takes more than a good matchup for fights to materialize
There are few things more overwhelming than the tornado that forms when two pugilists circle each other for months, and even years, before finally engaging each other in the ring. Right now, between King Vasiliy Lomachenko, Teófimo López, Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson, Ryan Garcia, and Gervonta Davi...

Not so fast Justin Jefferson, Davante Adams isn’t the only WR you’ll need to pass for best in the NFL
Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson is calling his shot by saying he’ll be the best at his position by the end of the 2022 NFL season. Jefferson’s bold proclamation has been the talk of Twitter, but he might not be far off. The third-year wideout offered up his thoughts in a recent...

Stubbornness and health — that’s all Russell Westbrook has left
Short guards are notorious for aging poorly in the NBA. When quickness is your best asset, losing a step can be fatal. Only the craftiest players — think Jason Kidd, or Chris Paul — can remain effective. Whether it’s changing their playing style, using so many defensive tricks it borders on dirty pl...

NBA player movement junkies stuck smoking roaches this offseason
Rudy Gobert being the biggest name to change teams during free agency made this iteration feel like an overhyped, under-delivered trade deadline. While there’s still quite a bit of time left in the offseason, all but a star is running it back with last year’s team. Unless the Brooklyn Nets find a tr...

Miami’s Raheem Mostert is Mike McDaniel’s X-Factor
Since the dawn of time, mankind has had but one goal: “I. MUST. GO. FAST.” Whether it be speedrunning Super Mario 64 on Twitch, Joey Chestnut wolfing down 70-plus hot dogs in 5 minutes (You could never!), or Lightning McQueen going for the Piston Cup, speed has always dazzled onlookers and made for ...

Le’Veon Bell is choosing boxing over football, but is it really his choice?
Veteran NFL running back Le’Veon Bell recently announced his intention to skip the 2022 season to focus on his boxing career. Bell will make his ring debut on July 30 against Adrian Peterson in a battle of the backs. You have to wonder about Bell’s decision to forgo this NFL season. Is it because he...

We have some issues with ESPN’s Top 10 QB list for 2022
It’s mid-July, and we’re getting ever so close to NFL training camps opening, and you can feel the anticipation. Along with that comes a whole host of pundits writing lists ranking players at various positions — most notably, quarterback. ESPN caused an uproar over the weekend when it released its T...