Athletics Page 52 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The SEC gaining Texas and Oklahoma a year early only makes it stronger
The 14-team Southeastern Conference has one more year on the open circuit. The baker’s dozen plus one number of full-time members lasted 12 years, when Texas A&M and Missouri departed the Big 12 for the SEC. Old habits are hard to break and instead of poaching schools that already felt like outsider...

11 football films to get you through to the Super Bowl
I know you football fans out there that are preparing for your Super Bowl parties with great enthusiasm are doing so out of a love for the day, but also to mask some pain....

No, we don't need a rule change due to Tony Pollard and Patrick Mahomes' injuries
When it comes to injuries, one of the ways in which the NBA and the NFL have similar dangers are ankle injuries. Harm to that area of the body is why the San Francisco 49ers are currently starting the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft at quarterback in the playoffs, and why Patrick Mahomes completed t...

NCAA to Congress: Stop us before we NIL again
The NCAA needs a reality check. This week the vanishingly relevant college athletics institution has once again asked Congress to help it stabilize the college sports system, but unless Hunter Biden is suiting up at linebacker for LSU next season, it’ll be hard to motivate the people in charge to fa...
![Ed Reed, Bethune-Cookman split — no more celebrity football coaches at HBCUs [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/d6fc743081eda781c014447f243a40e5.jpg)
Ed Reed, Bethune-Cookman split — no more celebrity football coaches at HBCUs [Updated]
In less than a month as the new head football coach at Bethune-Cookman University — a Historically Black College & University (HBCU) — Ed Reed has already unsurprisingly proven why he never should have been hired. Over the weekend, the College and Pro Football Hall of Famer took to social media to r...

Chicago Bears name B1G commish Kevin Warren as team president
Soon-to-be former Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren is expected to take over as CEO and president of the Chicago Bears, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The move comes amid a rebuild with the team finishing the year 3-14, and landing the No. 1 pick in the draft. This is a vital stretch for t...

HBCU football runs through the Carolinas — not Jackson State (Deion Sanders)
Putting the cart before the horse never works — especially for a coach that has a history of coming up short....

I’m here for more Dillon Johnsons expressing how they feel about Mike Leaches
Depending on your perspective — and bias — the transfer portal and NIL can be sacrilege, a movement, a nest egg, an impediment, control, a disaster, or justice....

A Las Vegas women’s college basketball tournament provided a court, and almost nothing else
Apparently, Ja Rule was called for advice on how to set up a college basketball tournament, because just like Fyre Fest, this Thanksgiving tournament was not all what it was advertised to be. ...

Aaron Patrick is pulling a Reggie Bush
By signing an NFL contract, players assume a significant risk. Injury is commonplace in all athletics, but football is a collision sport. Combine the contact of combat sports with stopping, accelerating, and the changing of direction required in basketball, and a significant number of injuries are e...

These 5 players are the top Heisman Trophy candidates
We are into November, and that means the college football season is really heating up. The first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings dropped, so it’s time for the serious contenders to lock in if they want a shot at qualifying. With Bowl season also comes award season, as the top player...

Florida A&M fiasco reminds us that college sports are professional sports
NIL is sensible. It was ridiculous that “amateur” athletes were not allowed to accept anything of financial value for their athletic talents, except for the fees to attend the institution so that they can play on the team and be properly housed and nourished so they can play well....

The Huskers haven’t even left for Ireland, and they’re already taking Ls
College football season is nearly upon us, and this year the brand is officially expanding. After COVID complications nixed last year’s attempt to hold a game at an international locale, the pandemic has been around for so long that nobody cares anymore. So get ready, people who were upset about the...

Hey Coach Cal, Kentucky isn’t just a basketball school anymore
Standing up for your program and athletes is commonplace for a college head coach, especially one with the pedigree of John Calipari. Coaching one of the royal bluebloods of college athletics in Lexington, with a lifetime contract no less, certainly skews his view of things from the mountaintop. A l...

Welcome to Blah-gust, the worst time of the sporting calendar
Mark it down: 9:35 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10. We’ve reached the peak (nadir?) of sports’ slow season. You know it’s the doggiest of dog days when ESPN is killing time with Little League World Series coverage. No disrespect to the youth, but I’m not going to subject myself to watching children’s athlet...

Mariners make splash in hopes of ending lengthy postseason drought
The Seattle Mariners are looking to make the playoffs for the first time in over 20 years. Ichiro’s rookie season was the last time they played past 162 games. Heading into Saturday’s games, Seattle is only a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay in the Wild Card standings, and it’s far from a guarantee the ...

It’s time to trade Ohtani — here are some possible deals for the two-way superstar
I can’t believe what I’m about to say: The Angels have to trade Shohei Ohtani....

Our Conference Mock Draft: Big Ten Edition
Welcome to the new Big Ten! As a lifelong Midwesterner, I have a certain fondness for the conference, and I wanted to preserve some major rivalries while keeping an open mind for expansion to new markets....

The CFBPA is not a union, but it’s making demands like one
It appears the jig is up — as if it hasn’t been for some time — and it’s clear there’s actually enough money to pay student-athletes. The thing about alleged educational institutions unapologetically trampling tradition en route to exorbitant TV deals is people notice....

MLB trade deadline candidates — Arms
Don’t expect the fever dream that was last year’s deadline (Aug. 2), but there are still some impact pitchers who could be on the move....