ben Page 37 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Read 'em and weep: Here are the worst droughts in modern sports, non-title edition
The White Sox have won their first division title since 2008, which doesn’t really feel right, because they’ve only had two truly awful seasons in the last decade and a half, and power in the Central is rarely concentrated anywhere for too long, but it’s true. It would be a weird thing to lie about....

Roberto Luongo still hangs over the Canucks
While I do love the image of Roberto Luongo stalking the rafters in the Rogers Arena in a dark robe, perhaps slung over half his face (and Luongo himself might be tempted to actually act this out given the goofball he is) it’s not quite that simple. It’s not even totally the fault of either Luongo o...

The NBA needs to follow the WNBA’s lead on vaccination rates
As NBA training camps open next week, while most of the sports world is focused on college football and the NFL, the leading story around the league has centered on the drama in Philadelphia with Ben Simmons. However, there’s something else people should still be discussing — COVID-19....

The Ben Simmons soap opera continues with Doc Rivers pleading for him to stay
Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers is trying to do more damage control than Olivia Pope....

So here’s one of the worst tweets of all time
Generally, I don’t subscribe to the well-held belief that Twitter is the ultimate cesspool of our society. It definitely visits there a lot, but it can be what you make it, most of the time. And every so often, it provides something so wholly bewildering that you really do have to question if it’s a...

Najee Harris reverse-bench presses grown man into the Pittsburgh soil
Many people around the NFL were really excited about Najee Harris and the potential that the running back out of Alabama brought with him to the Steelers....

Your NFL betting primer for Week 2
Notice a flurry of sportsbook commercials during last week’s season-opening games? Of course you did, because they were, shall we say, quite frequent — it was more than $20 million worth of advertising, to be specific....

The MLB home run race is shaping up to be pretty, pretty good
If I told you at the start of the MLB season that the league’s home run race would come down to the final two weeks of the season and would be between a pitcher, catcher, and someone in contention for a Triple Crown, you would’ve called 911 and told them a patient had escaped from the local asylum....

Aaron Rodgers, with chip atop shoulder, gets his favorite punching bag back: the Lions
The first week of the NFL season had all of us scratching our heads more than usual. There were more than a few games where we just had to stand back, pause for a moment, and go: “What did I just witness?”...

Joe Johnson is wrong: Ben Simmons’ shot <i>desperately</i> needs an overhaul
If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it....

Hey, sorry Bengals fans
The Cincinnati Bengals accomplished something they hadn’t done since the 2018 season on Sunday. The Bengals won their season opener, beating the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 in overtime, making this their first win in a season opener at home since 2007. Carson Palmer was the Bengals starting quarterback ...

Your 2021-2022 Champions League Guide
Despite the attempt to kill it from Europe’s leading clubs last spring (and UEFA’s eventual success in doing so in the coming years), the Champions League returns today in its usual form. While it has become the nexus point in all that’s wrong with soccer and has certainly widened the gap between th...

Vlad Guerrero Jr. smashed a baseball so hard it opened a wormhole
The Toronto Blue Jays continue to be the story in MLB right now. They blistered the Rays last night as Tampa was on another bullpen game to the tune of 8-1. It was the Jays’ 12th win in 13 games, keeping them in the wild-card spots. And it was highlighted by Vlad Guerrero Jr. obliterating a ball for...

Steelers make Buffalo wings, Titans look like Nashville-Hot trash, and Bama QBs play good enough
The 2021 NFL season is officially here. This season will likely give us a lot of good moments. Many teams have a chance to make some things shake. ...

A nod to Toni Kukoč and all of the 2021 Basketball Hall of Fame inductees getting their dues today
We’ve feted Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace, Bill Russell, Rick Adelman, Jay Wright, Lauren Jackson, Yolanda Griffith, Chris Bosh, and Chris Webber this week for their induction into the hoops Hall of Fame....

Screw Al Michaels and screw the Bucs
It took less than one full quarter for NBC’s Opening Night broadcasting team, helmed by Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, to demonstrate exactly how little they care for the women watching the game....

A salute to Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson, who enter the Hall of Fame this weekend
If you’ve been following the WNBA since it’s first season in 1997, Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson may be two of the stars you remember from the league’s very early incarnations. ...

Ja’ Marr Chase says catching an NFL football is… different
Bengals rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had some interesting comments earlier this week that helped explain his preseason struggles....

Clinton Portis broke the law — but it doesn’t mean he was wrong
On rare occasions, it’s possible to be both the culprit and the victim. And in the case of Clinton Portis and the other 14 players who allegedly defrauded the NFL of millions, that seems to be it....

Ben Wallace is the perfect embodiment of his era
Look at a photo of Rudy Gobert in any game. Typically, he’ll be wearing the same knee sleeves with padding that most other players do, maybe an arm-sleeve or two, and that’s probably it. Let’s not make this about Gobert, though — let’s take another center: Nikola Jokić. Usually, it’s just leg sleeve...