erie Page 24 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

This week in MLB: Shohei Ohtani stirs controversy; Mariners' tough spot is bad for game; Juan Soto takes NY
Maybe GM Jerry Dipoto is trying to make that 54 percent a real challenge. ...

The Orioles should be stocking up for a World Series run, but opt to torture their fanbase instead
Baltimore Oriole fans looking to cleanse their palates of a bitter end to the team’s 101-win season will have to seek out a charcuterie board because the franchise’s big splash at the Winter Meetings is . . . Craig Kimbrel? ...

Why is Juan Soto such a burden?
Juan Soto might be the best hitter of his generation. In the past 53 years, only six players have accumulated more fWAR than Soto has before hitting age 25. They are Mike Trout, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey Jr, and Andruw Jones. All of them Hall of Famers except for Jones. And the othe...

Juan Soto is finally a New York Yankee. Took long enough
The New York Yankees have finally acquired outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres, according to New York Post columnist Joel Sherman, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan. ...

Despite Deion Sanders' success, worthy HBCU coaches still aren't getting advancement opportunities
One year ago, Deion Sanders’ swift exit from Jackson State’s sideline brought a swell of attention to HBCU football that hadn’t existed in decades. What it didn’t bring were more opportunities for the coaches who are essentially lifers, no matter how much they’ve proven themselves. Before Sanders to...

Every trade ever made between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox
Amidst slow winter meetings, two of baseball’s biggest rivals broke the ice by making a rare trade. The New York Yankees acquired Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo in exchange for Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert, and Nicholas Judice. ...

Farewell to college football divisions, the nostalgic blight we all loved to hate
With next year’s conference realignment just around the corner, the PAC-12 isn’t the only college football institution that we’re losing. The SEC and Big 10 will do away with their East and West division format of deciding the participants in their conference championship games. ...

The Winter Meetings don’t work that way, Shohei
If you exist on a plane outside the insular world of sports Twitter (sports X?), you might not be aware that the world currently hinges on MLB free agent Shohei Ohtani picking a new baseball team. Until said team is chosen, those of us left behind in the bubble can do nothing but hit “refresh” on th...

This year’s College Football Playoff controversy is the sport at its best
Amidst all the outrage and taunting on Sunday, I hope everyone took the time to enjoy the rush. A reminder about college sports: the athletes are not as good as the pros. The game is not nearly as polished. What makes up for the majority of participants having no chance at becoming well-paid profess...

Deion Sanders deserved Sportsperson of the Year honors — 28 years ago
In 1992, Deion Sanders was named first-team All-Pro for the first time in his career as a cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons. One of the games he missed that season was to play in the World Series for the Atlanta Braves. They lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in six games. Those who thought that Sanders...

The Phillies are betting on Aaron Nola to bounce back
The numbers add up for the Phillies to hand Aaron Nola a seven-year deal with an average of $24 million or so per year. Losing him would have meant a hole in the No.2 spot of their rotation. at the very least, and the Phillies aren’t chasing down Atlanta (even if at this pace their 40-man roster mig...

Ron Washington’s hiring is a bizarre move for the Los Angeles Angels
The hiring of Ron Washington is the type of short-term thinking that has come to define the Los Angeles Angels since Arte Moreno officially bought the franchise during the spring of 2003. Those Anaheim Angels were the defending champions. Washington is taking over a club with a hellish trajectory. T...

The Oilers season is already slipping away
One month into an NHL season isn’t probably the time to panic — unless you’re the Edmonton Oilers and the pressure cooker started a couple years ago. A 3-9-1 start has already left the Oil with something close to a Sisyphian climb. Sure, there’s 69 games left, but we’re just a week from Thanksgivin...

Wake me up when the NBA adds a Champions League or an FA cup
The first NBA in-season tournament kicked off Friday evening. If you were unaware, you’re less informed than most because the gimmick has only been beaten into our brains every day since the season tipped. It’s really a brilliant way to dress up a regular season game, and the courts are so obnoxious...

Will the Texas Rangers please <i>PLEASE</i> knock off the Astros?
Was it inevitable? One won the American League West, while the other led it for most of the season and was forced to go the wild-card route to make it to this stage. The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros share a state and are bitter rivals and will face each other in the postseason for the first time...

What’s to be done with these Los Angeles Dodgers?
You kind of knew it was over for the Dodgers the minute they acquired Lance Lynn. Lance Lynn? This is the Dodgers, for Christ’s sake! When they need help in the rotation, they go get Zack Greinke, or Yu Darvish, or Max Scherzer. They shop at the supermarket that plebs like you and I aren’t even allo...

Tuesday night should’ve been only celebratory for this Texas Rangers fan. It wasn’t
Last night should’ve been pure, unadulterated joy. I haven’t been shy when it comes to the Texas Rangers and writing about my favorite baseball team. It swept the 101-win Orioles and advanced to the American League Championship Series for the first time in a dozen years. I was a sophomore in college...

Buffalo really dropped the ball against the London-Jacksonville Jaguars
After putting a major league beatdown on the Miami Dolphins last week, it looked like the Buffalo Bills were taking a step toward separating themselves in a highly competitive AFC. One game after scoring 48 points against a hot Dolphins squad, the Bills couldn’t even muster up half of that in Week 5...

This is part of Clayton Kershaw's legacy, too
Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher of the 21st century. This much isn’t really in dispute. A career 2.48 ERA and 2.82 FIP over 16 years is unimpeachable. There’s three Cy Youngs to go with it, and an MVP in 2014 when he had a 1.77 ERA and a 0.857 WHIP, which is beyond stupid. He probably should hav...

Your MLB team is out, so who do you root for?
Playoff baseball is in full swing. As we move closer to crowning a champion, who do you root for if your team has been eliminated? Do you stick with a club in your favorite squad’s league? Support the underdog? Or just watch football or whatever else is on TV? ...