ann Page 86 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Kamaru Usman needs to ignore Dana White’s advice about Canelo Álvarez, especially if he’s not going to pay the champ more money
The week of UFC 268, ESPN’s Max Kellerman interviewed UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman to preview his then-upcoming championship defense against Colby Covington — whom he beat for the second time on Saturday — but then Kellerman asked Usman what was next after UFC 268. Kellerman made logical s...

Bulls currently thriving with Alex Caruso, and the Lakers could’ve brought their defensive stalwart back at a discount
The 2019-20 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers were a much deeper team than just two stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rajon Rondo, and Alex Caruso were all key contributors on a team that finished the regular season 11th in offensive rating and third in defe...

OBJ is ring-chasing, and who can blame him?
Despite being only 29 years old, based on his statistics and games missed due to injuries the past few seasons,Odell Beckham Jr. could be in the twilight of his career. Through six games this season, OBJ is averaging the fewest yards per game, fewest receptions per game, lowest catch rate, fewest ya...

Upset Sunday! In the NFL, division leaders, one loss teams, Cowboys, Bills, Rams, it doesn’t matter L’s were handed out like club flyers on Sunday
The NFL had a case of the upsets in Week 9. Some teams were dealing with extenuating circumstances, such as the Green Bay Packers without MVP quarterback Aaron “I discount double-checked the coronavirus myself” Rodgers and the New Orleans Saints trying to get quarterback Trevor Siemian to play like ...

The Cleveland Browns have botched the Odell Beckham Jr. situation
Yesterday, I wrote that the Cleveland Browns and Odell Beckham jr. relationship can absolutely be salvaged, but Beckham’s father sharing that 11-minute video is a problem if the post is a frustrated father speaking for his son, who is also frustrated with his current situation....

Joe Judge blames headsets for his own incompetence
The New York Giants are 2-6 and blaming inanimate objects for their failure....

Celtics’ struggles less about style of play, more about players
I don’t blame overconfident NBA players for attempting to take over a game when the only people excited for the Austin Rivers experience are opposing fans. I think it’s less, “I got this,” and more “I want to do the fun thing, too.” Who wants to watch someone play video games when you could have the...

Friends don't let friends go on the ManningCast
Everyone knows about the Madden curse. Whomstever graces the cover of the latest installment of the Madden franchise is doomed to suffer a terrible season. It doesn’t happen every year, but more often than not, having your face on EA’s broken football simulation video game is a horrible omen....

Derrick Henry is hurt
The Tennessee Titans have been on a tear in recent weeks. They have won four consecutive games, including back-to-back victories in weeks 6 and 7 against the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. Sunday’s win gave them a comfortable three-game lead in the AFC South — but disaster has struck the Tita...

NFL Week 8 Takeaways: The NFL had a scary movie in Week 8, <em>The Day of the Backup QB</em>, staring Mike White, Trevor Siemian, and Cooper Rush
For the average NFL viewer, the true horror didn’t arrive on Halloween, it arrived in Week 7 with six teams on a bye week. Not only were there less games, but the ones that were played were much less entertaining than a Saw movie marathon....

Mathieu and Hitchens aren’t all too pleased with Chiefs fans right now
The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t playing exactly as well as we all thought they would. Through seven weeks, the reigning AFC champions are 3-4, tied for last place in their division, and just not looking like the Chiefs we’ve come to know, love, and/or root against in recent years. Star quarterback Pat...
![Someone notify the Nobel Prize committee — this new Rooney Rule is racial equity perfected [sarcasm font]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/bdf0705824e606d94b927a96e8d1f56d.png)
Someone notify the Nobel Prize committee — this new Rooney Rule is racial equity perfected [sarcasm font]
The NFL is continuing its tradition of not doing enough to promote diversity by doubling the Rooney Rule requirement to interview at least two external minority general manager/executive/coordinator candidates. Head coaching slots were already under this rule, but now, along with GM roles, must incl...

Thursday Night Football, Week 8: Injuries and COVID — it’s beginning to feel like 2020 again
Thursday Night Football has a reputation for being underwhelming. Just look at the seven Thursday games we’ve had thus far this season. Only two were really enticing matchups: Week 1's Cowboys-Bucs and Week 5's Rams-Seahawks. Luckily, in Week 8, we get another thrilling matchup between the 7-0 Arizo...

Somehow the 'BuT-tHe-AmATeUR-MoDeL!' NCAA survived the beginning of NIL
We’re approaching the four-month mark since the NCAA officially approved name, image, and likeness rights for student-athletes and, somehow, the apocalypse has not come, the collegiate model has not collapsed, and Dabo Swinney is still coaching (to some extent, at least). As athletes, schools, spons...

Is a small-market, slow-build dynasty even possible in this era of basketball?
A single championship does not a dynasty make, despite Kevin Durant’s comment this summer that the Bucks were “forming somewhat of a dynasty.” ...

The Mannings are back to try to save a far-from-marquee <em>Monday Night Football</em> matchup
The Manning brothers took a one-fifth season hiatus, but they were back yesterday for the fourth Manningcast of the 2021 NFL Season. Eli and Peyton returned to their respective dens, or basements, or whatever on ESPN2 providing their commentary on a low-scoring Saints-Seahawks Monday Night Football ...

You need to win more than just games at the U, Manny
The Miami Hurricanes are 2-4 and their athletic director is saying things like, “Everyone’s constantly being evaluated,” which is AD speak for “Manny Diaz needs to start winning or I’m gonna lose my job, too.”...

Dwight Howard in another Hollywood disaster? It’s too soon to tell, but yikes
If only the NBA season were the Colecovision game that the Lakers roster grew up playing, they could unplug it, and plug it back in....

Trae Young feels disrespected — and that’s a good thing
The Atlanta Hawks blasted the Dallas Mavericks in their season opener, 113-87, with Trae Young racking up 14 assists and Deandre Hunter holding Luka to 18 points on almost as many attempts (17). Afterward, Young had a message for the haters:...

Ex-exec offers peek inside the high school nightmare that is the Mavericks’ front office
You always have to take the word of a former/disgruntled employee with a few grains of a salt and a shot of tequila (and a lime if that’s your thing), so when former Mavs front office exec Haralabos Voulgaris compares your franchise’s dysfunction to “high school drama,” it’s fair to be skeptical. Ye...