da Page 249 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Lakers should’ve listened when Anthony Davis said he didn’t want to play the 5
Basketball fans always wondered why the pre-Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors didn’t start its vaunted Death Lineup but instead opted to begin games with Andrew Bogut at center. The combination of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes, and Draymond Green finished the 73-win se...

The warm glow of MLB Hot Stove’s warming glow: AL Central
We continue our whip around the baseball offseason by looking at the American League’s worst division, which was won by a team that wasn’t even trying to win, the AL Central....

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....

Anyone can play Qatar — World Cup 2022 Group A Preview: Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador, Qatar
It’s still hard to believe that for a team with the history of The Netherlands — three-time World Cup finalist, Euro ‘88 champion — that their recent history doesn’t even include qualification as an automatic. They missed the last World Cup, and 2016’s Euros. The latter was the first European Champi...

Edwin Díaz might be overpaid, but that just shows the Mets are moving in the right direction
This past Sunday, the New York Mets re-signed closer Edwin Díaz to a five-year, $102 million deal — the largest reliever contract in MLB history. For reference, the previous all-time high in terms of average annual value was $18 million given to the White Sox’s Liam Hendriks prior to 2021. The previ...

Steph Curry is keeping Golden State upright, but for how long?
Golden State’s 4-7 record has been jarring to witness. A five-game road losing streak during a road trip that rolled through Charlotte (3-8), Detroit (3-8), Miami (4-7), Orlando (2-9), and New Orleans (5-5) had the alarms blaring. Despite the final result, the Warriors 116-113 win over the Sacrament...

PTI’s Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon tried to teach us a lesson four years ago
One of the most important lessons I was ever taught by my parents was this sentence that I heard over and over again as a small child: “The world doesn’t revolve around you Stephen.”...

Dwight Howard can’t get an NBA job while other past their prime vets continue to collect paychecks
Former slam dunk champ Dwight Howard, aka Superman, entered the 2022 NBA season on the free agent list. Throughout training camps and three weeks into the season, nobody has come knocking at Howard’s door until now. And you’ll never guess what team is giving Howard a chance to continue his career — ...

The warm glow of MLB’s Hot Stove warming glow — NL West
Everywhere except Houston, it’s time for teams and fans to try and get to where Houston is. Or it will be in January or February instead of November and December, like it used to be. Anyway, we run through what teams might need and what they might do, for most of them these things don’t line up, and...

From Josh McCown to Jeff Saturday — it’s impossible for Black coaches in the NFL
NFL owners are making life easier for Brian Flores’ lawyers....

Jeff Saturday is unqualified, plain and simple
Jeff Saturday’s hire is Exhibit A about what’s wrong with the NFL. It’s not consistent. It’s not fair, especially when it comes to its Black coaches....

What might have been
It’s a shame that we’ll probably never get a true look at what the New Orleans Saints would’ve looked like with Jameis Winston running the offense at full strength....

Jim Irsay is some kinda vibes
I guess if you were sentenced to hang out with one NFL owner, Jim Irsay might be atop the list. He at least has an identifiable love of music, which gives him something in common with most other people. We have no idea what most owners do for fun, aside from probably making their gardeners fight to ...

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....

The Utah Jazz are George Costanza-ing their way to the top of the West
“What is going on in Utah?” was the Brian Windhorst query that ruled the summer as the Jazz’s CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge jettisoned Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a boatload of first-round picks through 2029. The answer was Utah gutting their roster and Quin Snyder walki...

He's finally healthy, so here are seven places Odell Beckham Jr. could wind up
For those teams, and there are many, who need some help at wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr.’s services are available....

The warm glow of the MLB Hot Stove is upon us — AL West
Sure, the fans in Houston are still on their celebrations, and maybe Phillies fans are still working their way through the Death Cab catalog. But for the rest of us, the real season begins. Or it would be the real season if MLB owners hadn’t killed the baseball offseason, which should really be like...

The only African-American participants in the World Series were Dusty Baker and the pregame entertainers — baseball is pathetic
When Nick Castellanos fouled out to right on Saturday night during the top of the ninth inning of Game 6 of the World Series in Houston, it meant that the Astros were once again world champions and that Dusty Baker had finally won one as a skipper....

How the mid-2000s Suns f’ed it all up
Everything we love about the current NBA was made mainstream by the “seven seconds or less” Phoenix Suns of the mid-2000s. They mostly ran lineups that went four out, surrounding their All-Star big man, Amar’e Stoudemire, with space to dominate less athletic bigs. In the 2000s, just about every othe...