Analysis Page 4 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Analysis: How the Championship 4 stack up based on Phoenix records
For the quartet of drivers making up the Championship 4, Phoenix Raceway is a fitting venue to decide the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship.,Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson and William Byron advanced to the Championship 4 and can win the title by finishing ahead of their three playoff com...
2025-26 NBA Power Rankings: Thunder repeat talk more than noise
Even before the first bogus "back spasms" show up on an injury report, it's already the Year of Barely-Walking Wounded in the NBA.,Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard and Fred VanVleet are missing more than the season-opener next week. They're done for the year. ,Optimistic fans are counting the days ...
Next Titans coach? Five names to watch
With one win in six games, Tennessee is searching for a new head coach after firing Brian Callahan on Monday.,Callahan was hired to replace Mike Vrabel and posted a 3-14 record last season before the Titans opted to fire general manager Ran Carthon. ,Under a new power structure headed by team presid...
Take 5: Penn State's top candidates to replace James Franklin
Penn State opened one of the most coveted head coaching positions in the country when it fired James Franklin following a third consecutive loss, and a few big names have already emerged as potential candidates to take over the Nittany Lions.,The storied program has robust resources, despite being o...
Legends of the fall: These teams could disrupt the CFP picture
With the regular season approaching the halfway point, the College Football Playoff picture is starting to come into focus.,In what was expected to be a wide-open year, preseason No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Penn State are now both unranked after taking stunning losses Saturday.,Defending champion Ohio Sta...
Max Arfsten among those auditioning for a U.S. team in transition
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Max Arfsten is not paranoid, but every time he crosses the white line onto the soccer field he feels like the entire world is watching.,Actually, it's the weight of the World Cup as the Columbus Crew defender makes a late push for the 26-player U.S. men's national team roster for t...
Week 2 Power Rankings: Dynasties don't last forever
The first off day of the NFL regular season arrived Tuesday and a collective deep breath could be in order. ,A loss by the three-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens' lateral of a sure victory into the hands of the Buffalo Bills are no cause for immediate panic. ,A...
NFC West Primer: Are 49ers still a threat?
The San Francisco 49ers were ravaged by injuries last season and went 6-11 just one year after reaching the Super Bowl.,It's not hard to forecast that a healthy Christian McCaffrey is the big ingredient needed for a turnaround. But the 49ers did shake up the roster a bit and that also can reignite t...
AFC North Primer: Bengals take aim at Ravens
Two-time MVP Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have been to the playoffs six times in the past seven seasons and have won the AFC North the last two seasons. ,To change that, the rest of the division must do more than slow down Jackson. ,Baltimore had the No. 1 offense in the NFL last season and no defen...
AFC West Primer: New season, same Chiefs
A one-game margin separated the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos from the Chiefs the last time Kansas City failed to finish a season first in the AFC West. ,That Peyton Manning-led outfit ruled the roost with 12 wins in the regular season, and then Kansas City began its current nine-year ...
NFC North Primer: Packers push Lions, Bears looming
Ben Johnson jumped from his gig as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions to become head coach of the Chicago Bears in a move that could create a seismic shift in the NFC North.,But that leap is bound to take some time as the Bears celebrate 40 years since the Super Bowl Shuffle.,The Bears a...
Stubbs: Resetting NASCAR playoff field entering Round of 16
On Sunday, the 76th running of the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway will kick off the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.,Sixteen drivers will begin the postseason with dreams of hoisting the Bill France Cup at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 2, but after a grueling 10-race stretch, only one will emerge vict...
Stubbs: 5 drivers to watch in NASCAR's wild race for final playoff spot
NASCAR's regular season has all come down to this.,Twenty-five races have led to Saturday night's regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, the final chance for drivers to snag a win and earn their way into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.,The regular season finale has seen its fa...
Big Ten Primer: Is Penn State the pick?
Two of the top three teams in the preseason Top 25 are in the Big Ten, but sorting out where Penn State, Ohio State and a host of other potential contenders finish in the 18-team league is a challenging assignment. ,The No. 2 Nittany Lions are following the blueprint that led Michigan and Ohio State...
SEC Primer: If league depth derails No. 1 Texas, can Georgia rise again?
In this era of bloated conference sizes, none of the other leagues can compete with the depth of the Southeastern Conference.,The SEC has the No. 1 preseason ranked team in Texas and four total teams in the Top 10 as well as six other teams landing a spot in the Top 25.,That's 10 teams in a 16-team ...
ACC Primer: Can Miami -- or Georgia Tech -- catch Clemson?
It wasn't that long ago that the Atlantic Coast Conference was winning national titles at as high a rate as any conference.,Between 2013 and 2018, the ACC won three national championships (Florida State in 2013, Clemson in 2016 and 2018), more than any other conference over that span.,In the six yea...
Trade deadline winners & losers: Padres, M's serious about Series push
The World Series is always the motivator when teams pursue trades at the deadline. The chance at a first title in franchise history only serves to double that inspiration.,Neither the Seattle Mariners nor San Diego Padres have won it all, and both acted as if they were ready to part with decades of ...
Analysis: NASCAR's innovative return to SoCal a smart step forward
NASCAR will return to Southern California in style in June 2026.,The NASCAR Cup Series' second street race destination isn't just the sport's debut in the San Diego area, but also the site of the first race in NASCAR history to be held on a military installation.,It's a move that would've seemed lik...
ACC Kickoff: Bill Belichick and the top storylines this week in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE -- Talking season in college football continues this week with ACC Kickoff, and anticipation has never been higher because of a certain coach arriving in Chapel Hill.,Every head coach and marquee players representing all 17 ACC football programs descend on Charlotte on Tuesday to discuss t...
Vying for a playoff berth, Legacy Motor Club hopes it's on the rise
Jimmie Johnson's Legacy Motor Club has shown incredible improvement in 2025, and it would only be slightly surprising if one of his drivers made the postseason.,With the NASCAR Cup Series going north for Sunday's third annual Chicago Street Race, Johnson's two-car organization, which rebranded from ...