austin Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Hot at home, Austin FC host surging Timbers
Austin FC will look to build on an assertive five-match home winning streak when they host the up-and-down Portland Timbers on Wednesday in a Western Conference clash.,Austin (6-4-5, 23 points) returns home after coming back to salvage a 1-1 draw at San Jose on Saturday. Brendan Hines-Ike scored the...

Austin FC, Dynamo trying to rise above the Western pack
The center of Texas will play host to a clash of teams in the middle of the Western Conference standings when Austin FC play host to the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday.,The Dynamo (5-4-2, 17 points) sit in seventh place amid the 14-team West standings, while Austin FC (4-4-4, 16 points) are eighth.,The...

The best March Madness performances by players on mid-majors
Every year in the March Madness tournament, some school you have never heard of from the middle of nowhere qualifies. They almost are never expected to win, but sometimes, they have one ringer who can carry them very far. Here are some of the best players from mid-major colleges that have dazzled th...

Ask not what a free agent running back can do for you, but what you can do for them
Saying there’s no value in running backs was always nonsense, but because bad teams think a ground game is going to make their garbage quarterback and shoddy offensive line redeemable, the stereotype gets furthered. So this offseason when some NFC South team signs Derrick Henry or Josh Jacobs or Saq...

Don't be Kenny Smith; Redick blasts Rivers; the Knicks are back; How about that ASG?
You don’t have to put on the pom-poms for Sabrina Ionescu or women’s sports, but too many broadcasters are happy to communicate that women’s participation, or records, or fandom is somehow less than. ...

Doc Rivers refuses to own up to his mistakes
Accountability is a word we hear often in sports. Whether someone owns up to their mistakes or passes the buck, accountability is the word we hear thrown about in the wake of whatever action was taken. Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has been at the center of an accountability conversation sin...

NFL players have had it with artificial turf and you can’t blame them
NFL Players Association executive director Lloyd Howell told the media on Tuesday that 92 percent of NFLPA members want to play on natural grass, citing rates of injuries, general soreness and burns as the reason most of the union wants to move away from artificial turf. ...
![So much for Saquon Barkley being a 'Giant for life' [Update]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/f3c6d802297990b5c4a9b9cb3e1da6ba.jpg)
So much for Saquon Barkley being a 'Giant for life' [Update]
It’s official. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the New York Giants will not give running back Saquon Barkley the franchise tag. He will hit the open market for the first time since entering the league in 2018. ...
![92 percent of players prefer grass over turf: NFLPA [Updated]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/e57da684ba20d8cb65d03d6156acee40.jpg)
92 percent of players prefer grass over turf: NFLPA [Updated]
NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell continued the turf field debate Wednesday at the NFLPA news conference, pointing out that a vast majority of the player’s union wants to play on natural grass fields. ...

Lakers-Celtics said a lot about both teams — little of it good
The Los Angeles Lakers earned their most impressive win of the season Thursday night, while the Boston Celtics arguably ceded their worst loss. With LeBron James and Anthony Davis sidelined with injuries, Austin Reaves and Co. handed a fully staffed C’s team their third home defeat of the season, 11...

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 ...

The Lakers would be crazy not to trade for Zach LaVine
The word from ESPN insiders is that there is no chance Zach LaVine will be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. There have been issues with him and the Chicago Bulls dating back to early last season. Last week on NBA Today, Brian Windhorst said that if the Bulls could trade LaVine in a moment’s notice...

In honor of the Magic retiring Shaq's number, here is every NBA team's retired jersey numbers
With the announcement that the Orlando Magic will retire Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey, the NBA has finally done it! All 30 teams have officially retired a jersey number for a specific player (Yes, before Shaq, the Magic’s only jersey retired was No. 6 for “The Sixth Man,” a.k.a the fans)....

Darvin Ham is not the reason the Lakers are losing
News flash: The Miami Heat are a better coached team than the Los Angeles Lakers. It showed in the fourth quarter of their Wednesday night matchup. Erik Spoelstra has been with the Heat organization since 1995 — its head coach since 2008. Following nine seasons as an NBA player, Darvin Ham was an as...

Darvin Ham could be scapegoat for Lakers' woes
The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a slump and it looks like the team’s woes will be pinned on Darvin Ham. ...

Anybody up for a game of boff, marry, kill with some fringe NFL playoff teams?
Heading into the final two weeks of the NFL season, the Colts, Texans, Steelers, Bengals, Raiders, Broncos, Rams, Seahawks, Vikings, Falcons, Packers, Buccaneers and Saints are still alive for a playoff spot while only a game away from .500. Of those 12 organizations, which do you think has the best...

These are the oldest players in MLB history
Baseball is America’s oldest and most storied professional sport. The lengthy history of the game, coupled with its non-contact nature, has made these players by far the oldest to appear in a game in the history of North American sports....

Can we please find a way to fire Dean Spanos, too?
With the Chargers season officially over, the team finally removed the tumor that was its coach and general manager, firing coach Brandon Staley and GM Tom Telesco. After another dismal showing, amid a depressing season that caps a now discontinued and pitiful tenure, the Chargers’ fortunes are sure...

Justin Herbert is the latest QB done in by injury
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will miss the remainder of the 2023 regular season after undergoing surgery on a fractured right index finger, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero....

Why is no one screaming about the NBA’s MVP race yet?
There’s one unquestioned upside to the NBA’s In-Season Tournament. The endless promos and exhausting exposure to promote Adam Silver’s baby — and debate over if it’s working or if it matters — has overshadowed the usual topic de jour as we hit the quarter-season mark: The MVP race....