christian Page 9 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
World Cup Daily Diary Day 3: Whoops!
Saudi Arabia manager Herve Renard might be the most handsome manager at this tournament, and he certainly didn’t have a problem taking a page from another handsome manager, Jose Mourinho. If you recall the cold war that Barcelona and Real Madrid had when Mourinho was at the helm at the Bernabeu, th...
Luka Dončić can’t do it all himself
The Dallas Mavericks’ struggles this season are well-documented and likely won’t be put to rest anytime soon. Their All-World leader, Luka Dončić, is off to another hot start, but that’s only translated into a 9-7 record, and the team barely keeping their heads above water. While Dončić is playing a...
Maybe Jimmy G throwing touchdown passes is part of a winning formula
It has been a while since Jimmy Garoppolo threw four touchdown passes in a single game. The last time was Dec. 8, 2019. That day, Garoppolo went toe to toe with Drew Brees, and won 48-46 at the Superdome. That was the game that changed the minds of many who did not believe that Garoppolo could lead ...
This is what inexperience looks like
It’s taken some cognitive dissonance for USMNT fans leading up to this World Cup, to sort of ignore the fact that they were showing up with the most inexperienced squad possible. Only Deandre Yedlin has ever been on a World Cup squad before, and he’s hardly anywhere near the first 11. It also has a ...
The 49ers better not blow it
Once again, the San Francisco 49ers have navigated early-season injuries, and a season-opening loss to the Chicago Bears, and find themselves well positioned to make a late-season run....
USMNT’s Christian Pulisic finally gets his chance
The embarrassment of the United States men’s national team missing the 2018 World Cup had several layers. One of the most understated at the time, and one that luckily has been forgotten about over time for fans of the Stars and Stripes, is how the adorned future of American soccer would always be a...
For your own health, never play against the Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are not a good team. They’re one of the worst teams in the NFL in fact. They’re trotting out a former XFL quarterback as their starter. They lost Christian McCaffrey and Robbie Anderson. They don’t utilize DJ Moore. They’re one of only two teams to have undergone a head coachin...
Walker Zimmerman ready to test himself ‘against anyone’ at 2022 World Cup
Has anyone done more to improve his stock with the United States men’s national team over the last 18 months than Walker Zimmerman? There’s no one clearly above him. The Nashville SC stalwart was in and out of the Yanks’ lineup for years before asserting himself as the captain of the 2021 Gold Cup s...
DeAndre Yedlin is USMNT’s only bridge to last World Cup appearance
Before we can truly look forward, we must go back in time, to a marvelous place where the United States men’s national team missing the World Cup was such an afterthought, it would be equal to falling into the abyss. Yeah, a few CONCACAF rivals like Panama and Costa Rica were rapidly improving and b...
The 49ers don't need Jimmy G to throw TDs to win
The Jimmy Garoppolo experience, a ride with far fewer thrills than the Michael Vick one from the Nike commercial. Riding with Jimmy Garoppolo has gotten the San Francisco 49ers to the doorstep of the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl Championship, but he hasn’t been able to get them inside the building....
The casual American soccer fan's guide to the best international players ahead of the World Cup
For the fair-weather soccer fan, and let’s be real, that’s 99 percent or more of American sports fans, the World Cup is the one event taking place over multiple weeks where general interest is at a high. The United States men’s national team didn’t make the world’s best 32 in 2018, and a huge chunk ...
Can Christian Watson get Aaron Rodgers and the Packers through the QB’s contract extension?
For all of the press that Romeo Doubs received during the summer, the wide receiver from the Green Bay Packers 2022 draft class who they had their hopes set on the most was Christian Watson. This FCS star put an exclamation point on his evaluation at the draft combine. ...
World Cup 2022 Preview: Group D — Can Denmark be the midnight bomber what bombs at midnight?
If you ascribe to the theory that this will be a truly goofy World Cup — that the short run-up, the injuries everywhere (not clear the amount of injured is all that abnormal but let’s go with it), the odd setting — and that some team from out of nowhere could make a run, you’re probably sizing up yo...
By all means, the 49ers should have no trouble with the Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are a very good football team. Even in the absence of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams for parts of the season, the downfall of JC Jackson, and the abysmal play of Jerry Tiller on the D-line — thankfully he just got waived — the Chargers have played their way to a 5-3 record a...
Who will be stepping into the limelight this NBA season?
When a new wave of players becomes NBA relevant, it usually happens over time, never all at once. It’s a gradual increase in relevance, sometimes under the radar, because it’s guys who reach their potential in small markets and losing situations. When a lottery pick hits early and fast, like Paolo B...
Chris Ballard ruined the Colts, not Alec Pierce
During the Colts’ Monday press conference announcing former All-Pro center Jeff Saturday as their interim head coach, GM Chris Ballard expressed dissatisfaction with several parts of the team, particularly the offensive line....
Week 9 NFL Powerless Ranking: The votes are in and these teams are trash
It’s time to check in on the teams that can’t get out of their own way. We’re officially halfway through the 2022 NFL season, and it’s been unpredictable at times, but there are always a few teams we expect to disappoint their fan bases. Now let’s get into the powerless ranking for Week 9....
Luka Dončić is just a more clutch James Harden
By the way Luka Dončić has been talked about this year, you’d think the Dallas Mavericks would be undefeated — or at least near the top of the Western Conference standings. The Slovenian superstar is the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to start a season with seven straight 30-point games — which...
They say a good fastball is still the best pitch
It still amazes me how quickly a baseball playoff series, especially one of the seven-game variety, can pivot. ...
Dusty Baker is doing that thing again
The funny thing, no matter what Dusty Baker’s rep is, and will be, is that he’s gotten more looks at the postseason than many. While he’ll always wear the epic choke jobs of the Giants in 2002 and the Cubs in 2003 — fair or not — his time in D.C. and in Houston has shown a guy who has learned how pl...