ap Page 1130 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Lamar Jackson's top target returning for AFC Championship game
One of the league’s best offenses is getting even better, just in time for the AFC Championship. ...

Top 10 NFL franchises by Conference Championship appearances
The San Francisco 49ers are set to appear in their NFL-record 19th Conference Championship game. ...

Thank god for Spain holding Luis Rubiales accountable
Former Spanish Football Federation head Luis Rubiales could be facing not only criminal charges, but jail time, thanks to his planting an extremely unwanted kiss on Jenni Hermoso’s lips after Spain won the World Cup in 2023. On Thursday, the judge who presided over an inquiry into the incident recom...

It's OK for Brock Purdy to be OK
I wish that we all would just let Brock Purdy be. Of course, that is boring, and without constantly questioning his impact on the San Francisco 49ers’ success, shows like Get Up and First Take would not exist. However, no amount of screaming into a microphone attached to a sports jacket lapel will c...

On Sports Illustrated, the LA Times, and why sports writing matters
These are dark days for journalism, once considered the “Fourth Estate” of American democracy, so named because of journalism’s role in advocating for citizens, framing political and social issues, and holding the government to account on behalf of its people. These days, it seems there are two kind...

Joe Mauer, Todd Helton and the 1-team baseball Hall of Famers by franchise
The 2024 Hall of Fame inductions added two names to a very exclusive list. With Joe Mauer and Todd Helton’s nomination to Cooperstown, the two join 53 other players as the only in MLB history to make the Hall of Fame after spending their entire careers on one team. Listed by team, here are the reale...

The Heat got better <i>and</i> saved money by trading Kyle Lowry
One of the greatest charge-drawers the world has ever seen is no longer with the Miami Heat. Kyle Lowry will be creating turnovers by hitting the deck somewhere else for the rest of the season. The Heat have traded him to the Charlotte Hornets, along with a 2027 protected first-round pick, and recei...

Tristan Thompson gets 25-game PED suspension
Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson was hit with a 25-game PED suspension, according to reports. ...

If Karl-Anthony Towns drops 62 in a forest on the same night Embiid delivers 70, does it make a sound?
That sound you heard last night was Karl-Anthony Towns reminding us that he’ll always be in the shadows of his peers. On Monday night in Philadelphia, Joel Embiid painted his magnum opus en route to a 70-point, 18-rebound exhibition of scoring prowess. Embiid’s 70 also came on the 18th anniversary o...

Don't mean to rain on Joel Embiid, but scoring 70 points isn't getting the Sixers out of the second round
Reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid ran amuck on the San Antonio Spurs Monday night in Philly, dropping 70 on Victor Wembanyama and crew. Even Kevin Durant was thoroughly impressed when learning of Embiid’s feat during his postgame presser after the Suns’ win over the Bulls. In doing this, Embiid set a new...

The Coco Gauff era is fully underway
Coco Gauff was brought to tears at the 2023 Australian Open following a fourth-round loss to Jeļena Ostapenko. A year later she was in danger of another early exit in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Unforced errors were piling up and Gauff was forced to rally to pull out a win by tiebre...

WWE Monday Night Raw headed to Netflix in 2025
World Wrestling Entertainment is moving its flagship show Monday Night Raw to Netflix starting in 2025....

Luka Doncic and each NBA team's leading single-game scorer
Update: Luka Doncic is the latest NBA star to drop 70+ points this season. It topped his Dallas Mavericks single-game record of 60, set in 2022. ...

The NBA 'superstar' landscape has shifted
There is no greater conduit for NBA hyperbole than the conversation around “superstars.” To have a rational, substantive debate, there must first be basic groundwork for what constitutes superstar status. First, the bad news: former Finals MVPs Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kawhi Leona...

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown need a two-man game
The best duo in the NBA put on a show against the best team in the East on Friday night. Denver’s 102-100 win over Boston snapped the Celtics’ perfect mark at TD Garden this season, and 27-game home-winning streak overall. Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray combined for 69 points, 20 rebounds and 14 assi...

Blue Jays need some reality; Gooden, Strawberry numbers retired; Wainwright switches careers
In a lot of ways, feverishly watching the flight route of a plane that wasn’t everything it was cracked up to be is a pretty nice metaphor for the Toronto Blue Jays’ offseason and outlook. The Jays knew Shohei Ohtani wasn’t on that flight, but their fans certainly didn’t. That doesn’t mean that the ...

How suspected or confirmed PED users have fared in Baseball Hall of Fame voting
Is Gary Sheffield more Hall of Fame worthy than Alex Rodriguez, despite the fact that both are inextricably linked to performing enhancing drugs?...

Soccer’s had load management for some time — now there just might be more of it
As if on cue, one of soccer’s biggest stars on one of the world’s biggest clubs went down with injury in the Africa Cup of Nations. While there’s not a diagnosis yet, Mohamed Salah limped off just before the half in Egypt’s draw against Ghana on Thursday. This comes a day after Kylian Mbappé warned ...

The NHL Eastern Conference playoff race is a mess
We’re halfway through the NHL season, which is now meant as a device to make everyone look stupid. Or really, to make me look stupid, which isn’t all that hard, because I’m stupid. After 41 games, we should have an idea of who is what and who’s going where. But in the Eastern Conference, we really d...

Pascal Siakam makes the Pacers good at what they’re bad at, excellent at what they do best
The calendar has not yet reached February, but the Indiana Pacers have decided to kick the trade deadline into high gear. The No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference made a win-now move with darkhorse MVP candidate Tyrese Haliburton currently sidelined with a hamstring injury. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnaro...