champ Page 6 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

21 things you should know about Super Bowl LVIII
The stage is set. In two weeks’ time, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will play in their second Super Bowl matchup in four years. In anticipation of the biggest game of the year, here are 21 facts to get you ready for Super Bowl LVIII....

Barcelona are truly lost
While Jurgen Klopp stole most of the manager-leaving-at-end-of-season headlines, another of the biggest clubs in the world is losing their manager come May. That would be Barcelona, as Xavi announced he would be leaving his post when this season ends. The difference between the two is that one is le...

Here's what the 49ers have to do to become Super Bowl champs
The San Francisco 49ers are back in the Super Bowl for the second time under head coach Kyle Shanahan after beating the Detroit Lions, 34-31, in the NFC title game. As good as the Niners have been this season, it’s taken perseverance, dedication and a little luck in these playoffs. They have played ...

It’s getting harder to classify Brock Purdy
Does anyone even know what type of quarterback Brock Purdy is? Is he the new Joe Flacco? Is he Big Ben redux? Tom Brady 2.0? He’s part-Kirk Cousins, but activates Russell Wilson when he scrambles out of the pocket. All these guys reached Super Bowls by their second season and they maintained those l...

Lamar Jackson may win MVP, but he's still second fiddle to Patrick Mahomes
Now that NFL Championship Sunday is in the rearview, it’s time to reflect on what was and what could have been. For the Baltimore Ravens, it’s a matter of looking back and figuring out what you could have done differently as a team. But for Lamar Jackson, at this point, it has to be tough playing se...

How a Chicago Bears fan learned to love Dan Campbell
This is hard for a Bears fan to admit, and I might, later on, decide to deny I ever said it, but I was pulling for the Detroit Lions (God, that was uncomfortable to type). It hasn’t always been this way, of course. There was the heated rivalry between Chicago and Detroit during the Barry Sanders yea...

Yes, the Lions choked, but all is not lost in Detroit
This year’s NFC Championship Game is one the Detroit Lions and their fans will have nightmares about all offseason. One they seemingly had in the bag against the San Francisco 49ers entering the second half up, 24-7. Although the second half was entirely different from the first, and Detroit ended u...

Jurgen Klopp and the importance of Now
“It’ll never get better than this.”...

Oh, you thought you were different, Lions?
Really thought you’d built something, didn’t you, Detroit Lions? The uniform change, the positivity, the belief, the empty catchphrases, whatever they were. Thought you’d shed that old Honolulu blue-and-silver skin and become something new, something better, didn’t you? Were sure you’d left the deca...

Ravens, Lions prove hard, cold truth: The house usually wins
The United States is supposed to be the land of opportunity. A place where all that a plucky individual needs is an idea and/or a skill and some elbow grease to shake up the world. Growing up is realizing that the American dream is largely a bliss that feels amazing until the 7:00 a.m. alarm stirs a...

Kyle Shanahan can’t end too many more seasons as 49ers coach <i>not </i>holding the Lombardi trophy
The San Francisco 49ers are back in the NFC championship game for the fourth time in head coach Kyle Shanahan’s seven-year tenure. That’s quite a feat, but eventually, you’ve got to win the big one. Shanahan is quickly approaching the point where people are going to begin questioning aloud if he can...

The longest championship droughts in NBA history
With teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Philadelphia 76ers among the best teams in the league the season, we could see some of the longest current NBA championship droughts snap in 2024. To honor the potential for history, here are the longest active title droughts. ...

The longest championship droughts in NFL history
With the NFC Championship coming up, the Detroit Lions are two wins away from breaking one of the longest championship droughts in NFL history. Their opponents, the San Francisco 49ers, are looking to add to their trophy collection. The Niners haven’t been champs since the mid-90s. ...

If Detroit doesn't win Sunday, this Lions fan is gonna look silly
The Detroit Lions went 9-8 in 2022, narrowly missing out on the playoffs. It was an improvement for the moribund franchise, and both fans and analysts had high hopes coming into the 2023 season....

Novak Djokovic had a bad day at the office, for once
If beating Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros is sport’s toughest assignment, beating Novak Djokovic in Melbourne can’t be too far behind it. He hadn’t lost there in some 3,000 days (a COVID deportation playing some role in that), he’s won the tournament 10 times and he was still coming off a previous se...

Coco Gauff-Aryna Sabalenka is tennis' best rivalry
Women’s tennis hasn’t had a great rivalry in some time. The tour was dominated by Serena Williams for so long and no one could have managed to look her in the eye for very long. The closest was her sister Venus, yet matches between the two regularly and mostly were hard on the eyes, because both see...

The Lions cannot be happy with 'just being there' against the Niners
The Detroit Lions are in the NFC title game. No, it’s not a dream, it is reality and they’ve got folks believing. Detroit can turn the page, beginning a new chapter in their history. Appearing in their first Super Bowl and beating one of the NFL’s most successful franchises to advance would be an ex...

The Bucks may not have a plan, but they aren't afraid to throw money at a problem
At least Milwaukee Bucks fans can say that the Haslems aren’t penny-pinchers. Jimmy and Dee bought their way into the NBA last spring when they purchased former franchise co-owner Marc Lasry’s share. Since then, two Bucks head coaches have been fired and their most recent hire is one of the most wel...

Andy Reid’s career arc is the inverse of Bill Belichick’s
Now in his sixth consecutive AFC Title game, Andy Reid is making up for lost time after struggling to get over the hump during his decade and change in Philadelphia. The venerable Chiefs coach is a virtuoso playcaller who has shepherded Kansas City to three Super Bowls, two Lombardi Trophies and has...

Jim Harbaugh and the HCs that also played for their teams
Jim Harbaugh is returning to the NFL as the next head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. What you might have forgotten is that he played quarterback for the franchise in 1999 and 2000 — back when the Bolts were still in San Diego....