and Page 372 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

God help me, but I’m starting to hate Nick Saban less
Nick Saban has somehow made a remarkable transformation from one of the most hated men in American sports to a begrudgingly respected and liked — if perhaps not yet universally beloved — figure. How is it even possible to make that sort of shift while remaining the coach of a team that has kept on u...

If you have some time to spare on Super Bowl Sunday, the new<em> Fresh Prince of Bel-Air </em>might be worth a watch
If Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre performing doesn’t give you enough ’90s West Coast nostalgia during Super Bowl LVI, NBC Universal has you covered with the premiere of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air reboot, Bel-Air....

Rookie Quarterback Rankings: Steady play wins the race
It’s Week 18, and we’ve made it to the end of the season, and so have our rookie quarterbacks. Now let’s look at how the 2021 rookie class finished out the year and the final ranking....

Week 18 Takeaways: This one day in the NFL in which every second truly mattered
That’s all folks. The sad moment of the year when Scott Hanson signs off and the final RedZone touchdown montage plays. You’re momentarily hypnotized by the best catches, throws, and runs of the day, and then one moment the Miami Dolphins are in a dogpile in the end zone, and the next Nicki Minaj’s ...

Kevin Garnett compared Steph Curry to Michael Jordan and the NBA universe almost exploded
Transcendent athletes are the rarest of birds. Blue-Eyed Golden Doves, if you will....

The Djokovics are making steamed hams
Perhaps in the social media age, or just our vindictive society, being the best ever at something is going to cause a mass amount of idiocy around you. Then again, when you’re the author of that idiocy, maybe we have to admit that to be the best ever to play any sport, it takes such a singular focus...

White coaches owned the NFL’s ‘Black Monday’ before it even started
Even when you’re twice – and sometimes three times – as good, it still doesn’t matter. Because in the NFL, owners would rather lose with someone that looks like them instead of winning with a Black head coach....

See? Americans love ties!
You could feel the collective frustration of every sports fan outside of Pittsburgh last night. It was as if we all punched the couch at the same time. You could hear it in the wind, a spiritual “THUNK.”...

Aston Villa shows ambition by signing Philippe Coutinho, but for what exactly?
It may not be possible to feel sorry for someone who got to rake in tens of millions of dollars to live in Barcelona (with a brief sojourn to Munich) and not have to do much. And certainly Liverpool supporters won’t have any sympathy for Philippe Coutinho given the way he exited Anfield for the Nou ...

Can Tuukka Rask play center?
It is cute, if not delicious, that Tuukka Rask’s imminent return to the Boston Bruins is being greeted as something of the cavalry arriving. Because Bruins fans (and media) have never hesitated to throw whatever available cutlery was around at Tuke Nuke ‘Em every spring because he wasn’t Tim Thomas,...

Week 18 NFL Betting Primer: Best Over/Under, Spread, Teaser and Prop Bets
Unfortunately, the last week of the year has arrived. On a brighter note, the column has produced nine straight over/under victories, so technically, we’re actually seeking a sweep of the second half of the season in totals. Soak it in as we enter the historic first-ever “Week 18.”...

Coach of the Year should come down to two guys
Across all sports, the Coach of the Year Award has a misleading title. It’s not about who the best coach is; it’s about which team stunned the most people, or which team overcame the most adversity while staying near the top of the league. That’s what voters are really looking for. By that criteria,...

Let’s talk about Julius Randle and the thumbs down
“Shut the fuck up.”...

7 NFL records that could be broken this weekend — thanks to the extra game
2021 marked the first NFL season with each team playing 17 games in the regular season. Many people were quick to state their displeasure with the expansion, claiming that adding a 17th game hurts the sport and is merely a cash grab only meant to benefit the owners and put the players at greater ris...

Let’s go Brandon? Let’s stop the nonsense
Brandon Brown is the most famous race car driver in America, an incredible thing for a 28-year-old in the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series who has won exactly one race since moving up from the NASCAR truck series, where he was winless with only one top-10 finish in 22 races over four seasons....

WAR isn’t perfect, but don’t disregard it entirely
Advanced analytics are a touchy subject in the baseball world. Some people love how the game has been broken down into a series of numbers that let even casual fans understand the game better. Others don’t share the same sentiment....

It’s been the best and worst of AEW this week
If a newcomer to the wrestling world wanted an exhibition on why AEW makes so much noise for such a new company in the industry, this past week would be it. It has showcased everything the company does well, as well as exemplified the problems it has, and more importantly how it addresses those prob...

Tennessee Republican tries to depants a ref at HS game, gets booted
They said they wanted their political agendas and sports to be separate. They never practice what they preach....

Joe Burrow is the leader I thought he was
I’ve gone on record stating that Joe Burrow might be one of the best leaders in the NFL. However, after seeing the stunt he is pulling ahead of his team’s final game of the season with the AFC’s top seed on the line, I have to alter my statement....
