ball Page 91 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Brock Purdy still lives like a backup quarterback
Brock Purdy appears to be a frugal man. As the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, I do not blame him. Careers for the player selected in that spot tend to not last long, and he had the expensive pleasure of being drafted by a team in California. The San Francisco 49ers play and practice in Santa Clar...

The Beard's ego has him stuck between a Rock(et) and a Harden place
James Harden is in limbo. Last season, he was all in on taking a pay cut in an effort to give the Philadelphia 76ers cap flexibility to sign glue guys who would put them over the edge come playoff time. A year later, he’s the acetone on their franchise continuity. His constant bellyaching stemming f...

Did Joel Embiid commit to Team USA just for the tampering?
Apparently, all it takes to convince American hoops players to represent their country is an insult or a loss at the FIBAs. Whether it was Noah Lyles, the B team’s fourth-place finish, or the human instinct to ape the cool kids, Team USA looks to be loaded for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. ...

There's no truly dominant NFL team so far this season
Heading into Week 5 of the 2023 NFL season there still isn’t a team that’s jumped out ahead of the pack as the clear-cut favorite being head and shoulders above the rest. We always hear the word parity, and we see it even at the top with the best teams. Nobody looks like a world-beater who could ree...

On-campus pregame shows are the latest casualty of college football’s ‘evolution’
As someone who was programmed to watch college football every fall Saturday from birth, the on-campus pregame show (now plural) was the background noise to my morning routine. It’s always fun to see how drunk college kids get just to stand outside and scream on cue for three hours. All of the analys...

Michigan State is pathetic for connection to Urban Meyer rumors
Despite the rumors, Urban Meyer isn’t going to be the next head football coach at Michigan State. Despite logic, let’s not act like Michigan State hasn’t turned itself into a place where many would welcome him with open arms. Drawing the line at Meyer after employing Larry Nassar and Mel Tucker isn’...

Evan Neal learned quickly that fighting with fans will get him nowhere
It is not easy being Evan Neal. Yes, he is a young and wealthy starter for the New York Giants, a dream for many. However, search his name in Xwitter during a Giants game and it gets ugly....

MLB got what it deserves with its wild-card round
MLB and Rob Manfred don’t really have to care what happens in the wildcard round. Their only aim was to provide more playoff baseball, good or not, because its mere existence netted them more TV cash. So the fact that MLB will get no Game 3s, no interesting storylines, and barely any drama, followin...

Jonathan Taylor and James Harden: Unhappy players in very different situations
So far, James Harden is playing nice for the Philadelphia 76ers at their training camp in Fort Collins, Colo. ESPN’s Tim Bontempts reported that he arrived on Wednesday, the second day of camp, and is “participating in practice.” The 76ers even posted photographs on social media of Harden high-fivin...

It shouldn't be this funny to see a tennis player mistakenly hit an umpire in the face. But it is
I’m told tennis is up there with golf on the list of leisure activities that aren’t as calming as they’re intended to be. While any miscue during a round of 18 is technically an unforced error, they’re documented in tennis, and there is a cumulative effect as the slight screwups can build to a momen...

Tampa Bay Rays fans have plenty of reasons to take a WFH day — even during the playoffs
Call it an all-around epic fail. ...

Anthony Davis says he wants to play all 82 games this season — how long until he sits?
Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis is ready to rock and wants all the smoke with the defending NBA Champion, Denver Nuggets, and their MVP Nikola Jokić. Davis also claims to have a goal of playing 82 games this season. Neither of those things are likely to end well for the eight-time All-Star....

Taylor Swift is the first woman the NFL has ever prioritized. And it's nothing worth celebrating
The NFL doesn’t care about Taylor Swift — or women. Like most men, the NFL only cares about what Taylor Swift — and women — can do for them. ...

Randy Arozarena’s mom’s opening pitch was straight gas
A player’s mom throwing the first pitch at an MLB game, what a sweet story. Add to it the fact that her day at the mound is the first time that she has seen her son play in the big leagues, the story is worthy of a tissue dab to the corner of both eyes. Randy Arozarena’s mom, Sandra Gonzalez, turned...

C.J. Stroud has the Texans at .500 with his cool, calm, and historic play
C.J. Stroud is making it look easy. As we’ve seen firsthand, many recent rookie quarterbacks have struggled as they adjust to the NFL. The QBs atop the 2021 NFL Draft had their bumps, with Mac Jones — who has since twice been benched for Bailey Zappe — looking like the best of that bunch that season...

The Giants got what they deserved trying to steal from the Eagles
There were several low points during the New York Giants loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night — the offensive line, the missed tackles, everything Daniel Jones did — but the most egregious play was the failed “Tush push.” It’s one thing to copycat another coaching staff; this is the NFL afte...

Kawhi Leonard thinks the NBA’s new Player Participation Policy is aimed at him
Kawhi Leonard is not happy about the NBA’s new Player Participation Policy. In fact, Leonard seemed to take it as a personal jab by the association when asked about it during the Clippers media day. The so-called “king” of Los Angeles is not impressed with the new rule and says it won’t help him pla...

Baker Mayfield is doing his best Tom Brady (at 45) impression
A season ago, the Philadelphia Eagles eased into the playoffs, and the No. 1 seed, behind Jalen Hurts, a great defense, and a favorable schedule. Their out-of-division matchups were the NFC North, and the AFC South; a combo almost guaranteed to net solid returns for really any organization. I say th...

The Tampa Bay Rays-Texas Rangers series winner will advance to the World Series
Here’s your de facto American League Championship Series. Sorry to those in Baltimore, your luck will run out despite being undervalued the entire season. Postseason baseball is a different juggernaut. The Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins just don’t have the firepower to keep up. And Houston co...

Seattle actually did the right thing with Jamal Adams
While Jamal Adams’ concussed tirade at a concussion spotter is what’s making the news this morning, what we really should be talking about is that we witnessed an event about as rare as this month’s upcoming lunar eclipse: An NFL team handling a player’s hit to the head properly....