america Page 79 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The NBA retires Bill Russell’s number
The NBA retired its first number ever Thursday, and Bill Russell’s No. 6 couldn’t be a better choice — if it’s not the only choice. A transcendent figure as a player, as a coach, and as a civil rights leader, Russell’s legacy takes dictionaries’ to define. Of the four major professional sports in Am...

How bloated are the preseason win totals for the NBA teams fans love to hate?
When oddsmakers release NBA win-total futures, most casual fans scan right to their teams’ over/under and say, “My team’s better than that.” After a prolonged and misguided rant about sharps who do this for a living doing their job, the next move is to find the franchises they hate and bitch about t...

This 'Hard Knocks'<em> </em>season premiere was good, but Lions coach Dan Campbell needs to drink that strong-ass coffee on camera soon
At some point during the time that the Detroit Lions are on “Hard Knocks,” we had better get to see Dan Campbell at Starbucks....

The Seahawks’ unofficial depth chart is officially certifiable
“What if — and this is purely hypothetical — we float out an unofficial depth just to see how they react?” — (Probably) Pete Carroll buzzing around a 3 a.m. coaches meeting, a few Adderall and five sugar-free Red Bulls deep, trying to figure out how to ease Seattle fans into a reality where Geno Smi...

Here’s Aaron Rodgers’ path to a third straight MVP award
Aaron Rodgers can win his third straight NFL MVP this coming season....

Expect more illegal contact calls from refs this NFL season
It is bad enough how bold the league is about its financial goals. The NFL wants to bring in $25 billion in revenue by 2027. It has been two years since the start of the pandemic, and the league generated $11 billion per Sportico. That number includes no local revenue dollars....

Now it’s time to get on the Brandon Vazquez train for USMNT
Yeah, I know. We do this every few months. Have for basically our entire lives, except for maybe that brief Jozy Altidore interlude…right until he popped his hammy in Brazil. And we’ll continue to do this every few months for the rest of our lives, pinning our hopes for a genuine No. 9 for the USMNT...

Exploring QB options for the Rams if Stafford’s elbow keeps him sidelined
All eyes are on Matthew Stafford and his nagging elbow injury as the defending Super Bowl champs navigate training camp. ...

Good news from Bears camp: Justin Fields is in a happy place
The Chicago Bears offense. Those words could be presented to children to teach them the meaning of the word oxymoron....

Kareem Hunt wants out of Cleveland, Jimmy G needs out of San Francisco
The offseason drama and turmoil in Cleveland will apparently carry over into the regular season. DeShaun Watson’s punishment was handed out last week to the tune of a very underwhelming six-game suspension, which has been appealed by the NFL. Now one of Cleveland’s primary offensive weapons, Kareem ...

How many times does old man Brady have to teach us a lesson?
Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme: “Brady’s gonna fall off this year.”...

Analyzing Jimmy Garoppolo’s next-team odds
Most people thought Jimmy Garoppolo would be traded long ago. Yet, with barely more than a month until the start of the NFL regular season, Garoppolo is still a 49er. At this point, it’d be easy to assume that Garoppolo will remain on the team for at least a few weeks of the season. Some sportsbooks...

Please stop saying I can’t go wrong with one of these ‘top five’ runnings backs
With impending, ill-timed, why-the-hell-did-you-schedule-it-on-a-Saturday-afternoon-when-I-told-I-have-a-wedding fantasy drafts looming, if you’re not skimming random internet top 100s to solidify your consensus top 100 list, you’re infringing on the unwritten rules of procrastination. You know the ...

Aaron Judge is in a one-man race for home run immortality
It’s never happened. In the current digital age, baseball has never had a true chase for the sport’s most sacred single-season record. Aaron Judge is making his games appointment television in a transcendent way that the Major Leagues haven’t had for a non-playoff game since Barry Bonds’ 73-home run...

Miguel Cabrera is why you don’t trade Juan Soto
Miguel Cabrera was the easy comparison for Juan Soto when he was made available and then eventually shipped out of DC to San Diego. Miggy was the last historically good hitter to be traded at a still pre-peak age. He was 25 when he started in Detroit after coming up with Florida....

Three fights in three days got a Saints rookie removed from practice
I know football is a physical sport, but when it’s your first time at OTAs, and you’re trying to make an impression that will keep you on an NFL roster for years to come, getting in fights with your teammates doesn’t seem like the best course of action....

There’s a reason hope is one letter away from hype
The biggest offseason addition for Texas football every year isn’t an offspring of the Manning family or a QB from the Ohio State discard pile. It’s hype. People point to recruiting rankings, staff changes, the Texas flag, the sky, an armadillo, and, presto, people who follow college football develo...

Well great, now I have to give up psychedelics
It’s a hard world. These days it’s hard to get through even an hour without something hammering down on you and covering you in an iron weighted coat you have to carry through the rest of the day, week, or month. It’s a real slog, and almost no one can avoid it. Certainly no one with even a sliver o...