champions Page 9 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The NBA 'superstar' landscape has shifted
There is no greater conduit for NBA hyperbole than the conversation around “superstars.” To have a rational, substantive debate, there must first be basic groundwork for what constitutes superstar status. First, the bad news: former Finals MVPs Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kawhi Leona...
The 2023 Lions feel like the post-Katrina Saints
Another dome team led by an acolyte of Sean Payton with a young, innovative playcaller helming an explosive offense, a rehabilitated quarterback making the most of his second chance and a highly drafted rookie tailback are coalescing to alter the trajectory of a bottom-feeding franchise....
The Bills played their role perfectly
Every great dynasty has its one foe that is there simply to be toppled and make that conquering force look all the more mighty. Michael Jordan had the New York Knicks. Tom Brady had Peyton Manning. The New York Yankees had the Boston Red Sox. And then the Red Sox had the Yankees. The Romans kicked a...
A playoff game for the top pick in the NFL Draft sounds good — until you remember that human beings would be participating in it
Professional athletes play sports for two reasons: They play to make money and to win games. There is no other incentive necessary, or that would even work, to get the maximum effort out of players. And what would certainly be a terrible idea, is adding a “playoff game,” in which the result is the w...
Jordan Love’s best and worst were on display this postseason
No matter how Jordan Love’s season ended, it was an unmitigated success. He put himself in a position to secure a bag from Green Bay this offseason, obliterated the Dallas Cowboys with a 3-touchdown performance in his playoff debut, and was an all-around feel-good story despite the unhappy ending. B...
The 49ers can’t play like they did against the Packers and expect to win a Super Bowl
The San Francisco 49ers advanced to their fourth NFC championship game in five years after escaping a Green Bay Packers onslaught, 24-21. While they are the favorites to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, it’s clearly going to take a herculean effort by Christian McCaffrey to carry ...
C.J. Stroud and every rookie QB to win an NFL playoff game
C.J. Stroud became the latest rookie QB to win a playoff game for his team. The Houston Texans shellacked the Cleveland Browns, 45-14, and the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft looked terrific....
What happens when Green Bay, San Francisco meet in the playoffs
The San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers square off in the first 1 seed-vs.-7 seed matchup in NFL history. The two teams will set a record for their 10th playoff meeting, with the Packers looking to even a series that’s spanned 27 years. In a rivalry that’s racked up plenty of historic moments,...
Soccer’s had load management for some time — now there just might be more of it
As if on cue, one of soccer’s biggest stars on one of the world’s biggest clubs went down with injury in the Africa Cup of Nations. While there’s not a diagnosis yet, Mohamed Salah limped off just before the half in Egypt’s draw against Ghana on Thursday. This comes a day after Kylian Mbappé warned ...
Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff joined some elite company
After the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs, Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff have etched their names in history, joining a short list of quarterbacks to win a postseason game with two different teams....
Jerry Jones will continue to coach the Cowboys
When studying bewildering decisions that Jerry Jones makes — like deciding to keep the consistent playoff dry heave Mike McCarthy, the guy who could only get to one Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers — it’s important to remember how he and the Cowboys got here. It was a long time ago now and a lot of NFL...
Pascal Siakam makes the Pacers good at what they’re bad at, excellent at what they do best
The calendar has not yet reached February, but the Indiana Pacers have decided to kick the trade deadline into high gear. The No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference made a win-now move with darkhorse MVP candidate Tyrese Haliburton currently sidelined with a hamstring injury. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnaro...
Gio Reyna knows he needs to justify the noise
The funny thing about Gio Reyna, and more to the point, all the noise about him – the controversy with his family and Gregg Berhalter, the anticipation of any appearance with the national team, the confidence that he’s the country’s most talented player – is that it is built on such a tiny foundatio...
Mbappe bemoans lack of 'load management' in European soccer
Ligue 1 and the NBA are two leagues that usually don’t go together, but French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé is worried that European soccer is starting to mimic professional basketball in one very specific way....
The Pistons should be sending thank you cards to the Lions
Midway through January of 2024, Detroit exists at the cross-section of grief and euphoria. Grief for the terminally ill Detroit Pistons and euphoria towards the Detroit Lions reanimating. Nothing encapsulates the circle of life and sports quite like the present-day 313. There’s even a dash of relief...
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, here are some of the best HBCU athletes to make it in the pros
We’ve already highlighted some of the famous Black celebrities who are HBCU alumni, but what about the athletes?...
Here are the best possible Super Bowl LVIII matchups
People are going to watch the Super Bowl no matter what, but not all Super Bowl matchups are created equal. With a total of 49 possible Super Bowl matchups remaining, only so many are going to be truly watchable. Considering seeding, history, narratives, and outright entertainment, this is a deep di...
These are the teams most likely to suffer upsets during NFL's Wild-Card Weekend
After 18 weeks of grueling NFL action, we’ve made it to Wild-Card Weekend and the first round of the postseason. We often hear the term “must-win” during the regular season, but once a team makes it this deep into January, every game is truly a must-win scenario. Like any other week, there’s always ...
A soft, out-of-conference schedule is the way to go for major college football programs
The oddsmakers got it right with Washington on Monday night. The underdog Huskies ran out of magic wishes in the National Championship Game and for once did not beat the point spread against them. Their lack of girth was exposed all night on Monday in a 34-13 loss to Michigan. Neither team faced str...
Brandon Aubrey has suddenly given the Cowboys reason to be worried
The Dallas Cowboys are riding high entering the playoffs after securing the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a third consecutive 12-win season. That’s quite the feat for these Cowboys, but means nothing if they can’t break their unlucky streak of bowing out before championship weekend. While Dallas looks p...