champ Page 20 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Russell Westbrook — flaws and all — was crucial in the Clippers’ Game 1 victory
For those who may be too young to remember Russell Westbrook’s best work, show them from the 1:08 mark in the fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Clippers 115-110, 2023 Game 1 playoff victory against the Phoenix Suns, to when the clock stops at 10.1 seconds....
Finding the NBA playoff X factors
The NBA playoffs are where superstars can add to — or subtract from — their legacies. They may come up clutch, or absolutely choke under the spotlight. The same goes for coaches. But there are always subplots around certain youngsters, role players, and unknowns who can make a name for themselves. T...
A team should reach for Bijan Robinson in the NFL Draft
No position in the NFL has more turnover than running back. Most teams have switched to a by-committee approach rather than one superstar. And even the 49ers have suitable backups to Christian McCaffrey. With the NFL Draft two weeks away, former Texas standout Bijan Robinson will be the first tailba...
Toronto sports, man
On one level, I get it. I bet Toronto is a lot like Chicago. Whenever the first warm stretch hits, you’re looking for any excuse to be outside. And most likely drunk as shit when you are. Usually that streak doesn’t hit until somewhere around Memorial Day, so to get it in April feels like you’re ste...
And they say nothing good happens after 2 a.m.
For about three years now, most of the baseball world has wanted various current and former Houston Astros to just admit what happened in 2017. It wouldn’t change much, but everyone wants to be right to the biggest level possible. It wouldn’t really sully these players any more than they already hav...
The Masters was supposed to be LIV’s big moment, but a Brooks Koepka choke turned it into their big disappointment
It’s the obvious joke, so let’s get it out of the way. The LIV Golf representatives at The Masters aren’t used to playing 72 holes! That’s why Brooks Koepka crapped the bed on Sunday and blew his lead, only to be passed by Jon Rahm, who won his first green jacket by four strokes! If only the Saudi-b...
Is it time to start talking about Aston Villa?
The Premier League, at least this season, has become stratified in a way it never has before. There seem to be only two categories. You’re either fighting against relegation or you’re in the race for the Champions League. It’s a little more nuanced than that under the hood, though not by much. From ...
Previously out of work Frank Lampard is back at Chelsea for the interim
Chelsea FC have literally been the definition of average in the Premier League this season. For a club that was crowned European champions less than two years ago, being considered average at anything might as well be worse than relegation. The Blues have close to the same number of wins, draws and ...
Brett Favre is your Jackass tournament winner
Mr. Packer barely squeaked past the former Georgia Bulldog to capture the inaugural Sports Jackass Bracket Championship. This matchup was by far the closest of the tournament, and these competitive jackasses saved their best for last. Had this been an actual competition on the field, it would’ve com...
LeBron leading Lakers' late playoff surge — with a first-round exit likely
The Los Angeles Lakers are riding high late in the season as they attempt to sneak into the top six of the Western Conference avoiding the play-in tournament. After beating Utah Tuesday night, L.A. sits a half-game back of the fifth-place Golden State Warriors and tied with the Clippers (both 41-38)...
The Premier League is an abattoir for managers
Here’s a funny stat shared over the weekend. Erik ten Hag is the Premier League’s ninth-longest serving manager. He’s been on the job eight months....
With NFL players being allowed to wear 0, here are my favorite athletes to don the number
Look at the NFL trying to be looser as an organization. First, it relaxed restrictions on player numbers in 2021, and the league has decided that in 2023 a forbidden number will be allowed. Certain players will be allowed to wear the No. 0....
The NCAA is unfixable — it punished Ferris State’s football program for smoking victory cigars
Some things don’t have redeemable qualities, like the NCAA. In an under-the-radar recent news story, it was revealed that Ferris State’s football program was fined $15,000 for the damages that occurred after winning their second consecutive Division II national championship back in December. The cri...
Hello darkness my new friend, because Aaron Rodgers likes it
I think New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh is taking that first line from one of the signature tunes of West Side Story too seriously. You know the one — “When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way! From your first cigarette to your last dyin’ day!” With the team’s flirtation and outright “You u...
The best NBA games on this week’s schedule
Focus, people. There are only two weeks remaining in the NBA season....
Life ain’t easy for Bayern Munich… according to Bayern Munich
Wherever he is, George Steinbrenner must’ve smiled and nodded at the news of Bayern Munich firing their manager with three-quarters of the season gone. Not only would that have reminded Big Steinn of his “glory” days (obviously the Yankees didn’t regain their spot atop the baseball world until Stein...
Fred VanVleet has shown Chris Paul the way to an NBA Championship
A precedent has been set. It is time for Chris Paul to take action. The Phoenix Suns are gearing up for a playoff run in the most wide-open Western Conference since Dennis Rodman and David Robinson were sharing the screen in stuffed-crust pizza commercials. With Kevin Durant likely to be available f...
In the era of offense over everything, golf is trying to zag, and Rory McIlroy is onboard
What would you say if I told you that baseball was capping how far a ball can be hit, basketball decided to negate shots over 30 feet, or the NFL limited how far the football can be thrown in the air? Your first reaction would probably be like mine when I read that Rory McIlroy is on board with the ...
The Great Debates tournament: Sweet 16
It’s Sweet 16 time. The primaries are over and it is time for the general election. In real-life debates, this is about the time when candidates would be making disingenuous retorts about each other’s bad-faith arguments....
The WNBA head coaching situation, in Black and white
When the WNBA tips off the 2023 season on May 19, it will be with two Black women head coaches on the sidelines of courts on which 79 percent* of the league’s players are Black women and other women of color. (This figure is accurate as of March 2023, when six of the WNBA’s 12 teams had more than 12...