and Page 343 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Jimbo Fisher declares war on Nick Saban in press conference for the ages
You know what? Maybe everyone getting along wasn’t so great after all. When you think about it, there haven’t been any real true, deep-down, openly public, hate-filled coaching rivalries in college for awhile. Jimbo Fisher blew all of that up today in about 11 minutes, between 10:04 and 10:15 a.m. c...

Troy Aikman says Washington is Carson Wentz’ last opportunity as a franchise QB
Carson Wentz is one of those lucky individuals who’s received chance after chance to prove himself as a starting NFL quarterback. Hall of Famer Troy Aikman even suggests this is likely Wentz’ last opportunity to show the league he’s a franchise QB. ...

Baseball is less fun when NO ONE MOVES THEIR BACK ROW
Sporting leagues should enact a per game minimum of fun-yet-stupid plays attempts. For the NBA, each squad should be required to take at least 15 30-foot plus jumpers. There should be at least two trick plays per team in NFL games. I don’t know what it is for soccer or hockey. Maybe it’s something a...

Here’s to feelin’ good all the time
The NHL’s second round hasn’t gotten off to the most rousing start. The Lightning did that efficiency thing where they play just well enough for just long enough to win, even if it did involve Nikita Kucherov turning Aaron Ekblad into a tetherball set. The Avalanche looked unstoppable, and the Range...

An incomplete list of people we’d like to see at the 2023 Tom Brady Netflix roast
Tom Brady’s love affair with the spotlight will take yet another form come 2023 — Netflix announced yesterday that the recently unretired QB will be the executive producer and first subject of a new series, Greatest Roasts of All Time....

Properly handling Rajon Rondo’s domestic violence allegations has to be a top priority for the NBA
Society has a long history of normalizing domestic violence, especially when an athlete is involved. ...

The International Gymnastics Federation will break you… eventually
The ability of the sports world to churn on through societal decay is dismaying or courageous depending on how you frame it. Oscillating between the stoicism of the Ukrainian national team playing through an invasion, and Black athletes being asked to perform in front of white people a day after a r...

Who would win? Pitchers or position players?
Baseball is wacky nowadays. Just a few nights ago we watched Tampa Bay outfielder Brett Phillips pitch to reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani. The very next day, Ohtani was on the mound pitching to Phillips. When was the last time something like that happened? We’ve got a universal DH now. This stuff shou...

USWNT finally gets paid
Today is the first day that the US men and the US women’s soccer teams will earn the same wages for performance on the field. The US women’s team has won four World Cup gold medals and four Olympic medals. In 1930, the US men had their best result in World Cup play, finishing third. ...

Thunder, Magic luck out in a top-heavy NBA draft
After three years of embarrassing tanking, GM Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder have returned to relevance. They came into the NBA Lottery with the sixth-best odds at the top pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and ended up with the second pick in the draft. The Orlando Magic won the first pick and wi...

Timberwolves huffing fumes of playoff berth instead of coasting off them
The Minnesota Timberwolves were eliminated from the playoffs on April 29, and with that 114-106 loss to Memphis, we thought all aspects of the T-Wolves franchise would be gone until next season. For those of us who enjoy Anthony Edwards putting guys on posters and stupid fouls from Karl Anthony-Town...

Tale of the tape: Battle of Alberta vs. Battle of Florida
The second round of the playoffs worked, in part, the way that the NHL dreamed up when it went to this postseason format of divisional brackets. You can question the wisdom of it happening in the second round, but we’re getting the Battle of Alberta and the Battle of Florida now....

Vince McMahon deserves whatever consequences come from booking Sasha Banks and Naomi poorly
Sasha Banks and Naomi took their ball and went home. This is far from a work or part of WWE’s scripted episodic weekly television programming. Two of Vince McMahon’s most talented female performers walked out of Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va., and didn’t return despite being booked in last evening’s or...

The USFL’s Tampa Bay Bandits have a turnover whip — wait, what?
Having a mascot/nickname that’s intimidating is essential in sports. There’s a reason why teams are never called the “librarians” or the “kittens.” And ever since Miami Football introduced the turnover chain a few years ago, we’ve seen multiple teams replicate the gimmick. But, every now and then, s...

Drew Brees’ midlife crisis is right on time
Over the weekend, Jameis Winston’s commentary about realizing his passion “wasn’t football,” it was “playing football” seems to have resonated with Drew Brees. It was also more interesting than anything he’s ever said in the public sphere. Brees is going through a pseudo-mid-life crisis exacerbated ...

For Black America, moments of silence are no longer enough
As of March, it has been 25 years since I had my introduction to society. My ninth birthday was in my sights, as was the end of the school year. Springtime in Chicagoland may not always bring sunshine and flowers, but it does come with promise. The occasional 60-70 degree day gives just enough hope ...

It’s going to be a long summer in Phoenix after a Game 7 no-show against Dallas
Wow. Freaking wow....

Gary Bettman must make the Oilers wear their ‘80s jerseys for the second round
Much like the Canadiens-Leafs series last year, this is why the NHL rejiggered its playoff system nearly a decade ago. To get things like the Edmonton Oilers vs. the Calgary Flames in the playoffs. OK, Gary Bettman’s NHL was only really concerned with getting Penguins-Capitals as often as possible a...

We have a new standard for pants-filling
When it comes to truly historic pants-shittings, they generally get to be known simply by the name of the place they took place. Say “Belo Horizonte” to any fan with even a reasonable amount of soccer knowledge, and they’ll know it was Germany 7-1 Brazil. Except that was a deeply flawed Brazil team ...

Don’t believe the hype, Cowboys nation: Zeke running 22 mph in May is nothing but propaganda
Ezekiel Elliott had one of the best starts to his NFL career of any Cowboys player in recent memory. As good as Elliott was during his rookie season in 2016, his production has declined every year since. Many fans in Dallas, including owner Jerry Jones, continue to hold out hope of a return to the Z...