fl Page 736 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

What if FIFA Seeded The World Cup The Way Americans Would?
FIFA is so hopelessly corrupt that today's lottery to determine World Cup round robin groups is a necessary evil. If a committee determined the groupings behind closed doors, it would surely result in political enemies being forced to face Brazil in the first round and the country giving Sepp Blatte...

The Best Part Of Tonight's Texans-Jaguars Game
You haven't missed much by ignoring tonight's Texans-Jaguars game. Here's one entertaining highlight, though: DeAndre Hopkins and Alan Ball slapping each other around. Come on, guys, stop fighting about whose team is worse. They're both awful....

Seahawks Player Impersonates Russell Wilson To Get Dinner Reservations
Russell Wilson's quarterbacking the best team in the NFL right now, so of course there are perks to that status. Those benefits are also available to his teammates, but only if they pretend to be him, as Michael Bennett did....

NFL Betting Lines, Visualized: Week 14 (Late Edition)
Below is updated betting information for the Week 14 NFL games (you can see the early-week edition here). Spread movement and money lines are now included; major books have not yet opened for Browns-Patriots or Falcons-Packers, as they're presumably holding off until starting QBs are announced for C...


Drunk Vikings Fan Tumbles Down Seats, Spills Beer
You'll want headphones for this one. NSFW language, but perfect commentary for the perfect Vikings fan....

When Alabama Loses, The Earth Shakes: 125 FBS Teams, Ranked
Each week during college football season we put the conventional polls to shame by ranking every FBS team from 1-125, by whatever standard we see fit. As always, last week's rankings were not consulted....

Price Of Fame: Ray Durham, Who Made Ballgames Worth Enduring
Over the next few weeks, we'll be examining the merits—and relative lack of merits—of all 36 players on this year's Hall of Fame ballot for the purposes of better informing the electorate, i.e., you. All entries in the series can be found here....

Pols, Press Thought Winston State Atty Presser Was A Barrel Of Laughs
Once word leaked Florida State quarterback and Heisman favorite Jameis Winston wouldn't be charged with rape, today's televised press conference with state attorney Willie Meggs didn't seem to have much purpose. The Seminole alum-turned-prosecutor decided, then, to turn it into his own amateur hour ...

How Stupid Was The Bears' OT Field Goal? Let's Do Some Math
Drew Magary’s Thursday Afternoon NFL Dick Joke Jamboroo runs every Thursday during the NFL season. Email Drew here. ...

Jameis Winston Won't Be Charged
ESPN is reporting that Jameis Winston will not be charged with sexual assault. ESPN Radio's Jeff Cameron reported it first. [Update, 1:56 p.m.: Confirmed.] ...

Chart: Peyton Manning Marches Towards The NFL Touchdown Record
Peyton Manning had 33 touchdowns through Week 9 this season, putting him on pace to throw 59 and crush Tom Brady's single-season mark. He slacked off with back-to-back "disappointing" performances against the Pats and Chiefs (in which he led the Broncos to six touchdowns but threw just three), but w...

This Florida State Ball Boy Is A College Football Hero
Meet Frankie, AKA Red Lightning. He's a ball boy for the Florida State football team, and the three things he loves most are football, Florida State, and getting really excited about football....

Advanced NFL Stats has made some significant tweaks to its win probability model, which now incorporates team strength and the value of second half kickoffs while adjusting the likelihood that trailing teams will attempt fourth-down and 2-point conversions late in the game. It's good stuff. [Advance...

NFL London Game Will Begin Ass-Early
One of the NFL's London games next season will actually be an afternoon game for Brits: It'll kick off at 1:30 p.m. local time. That means it'll be 9:30 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:30 a.m. on the West Coast, and, like, Tuesday in Hawaii....

Lenny Cooke: Almost Famous
What happens when the American Dream comes too early?...

After A Career Of Eating Headshots, Gino Odjick Is Not Doing Well
Newspapers in Canada this week have been reporting that Gino Odjick — the former left-winger for the Canucks, Islanders, Flyers and Canadiens — spent the past several days in the psychiatric unit of a hospital in Quebec. He's apparently well enough to retweet well-wishers' regards ("Sending love to ...

