fl Page 740 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The National Anthem Should Be Played With Instruments More Often
Trumpeter Jesse McGuire performed an outstanding rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before today's 49ers-Panthers game, and really, musicians should be used for the national anthem more often....

Tom Brady Left Hanging Yet Again
It's basically tradition, now....

Greg Hardy's Dedicated To Being "Kraken"
We've previously highlighted Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy and his tendency to dub himself "Kraken," but maybe we didn't realize the two might be overlapping personalities. Kraken's apparently not as disposable as one of Clinton Portis's alter egos....

Once An Afterthought, LeGarrette Blount Beats The Colts Down
Listed at 250 pounds, LeGarrette Blount is just a pound lighter than the Patriots' starting fullback, James Develin. He's not exactly a scatback. He's more of a supersized bowling ball over which someone had draped a jersey—a "north-south" runner, in scouting parlance, who in last night's 43-22 New ...

The Patriots Run All Over Colts, Advance To AFC Championship Game
The Patriots overwhelmed the Colts 43-22, but for a minute there it looked like Andrew Luck might actually be the next young quarterback to unseat the Patriots at home. Then LeGarrette Blount ran 73 yards and put that to rest....

Roof Leak Delays Rockets-Wizards Game In D.C.
The Verizon Center sprung a leak this evening because Washington, like much of the east coast, has been under a blanket of rain and this is the result: a basketball rain delay. ...

Bill Belichick Sat Down With Bill Cowher And Was Actually A Human Being
The Bill Belichick rehabilitation tour is almost complete. First, it comes out that he likes Christmas songs, then we learned he actually smiles (limitedly) at the press and now, he hugs people. ...

Seahawks Beat Saints 23-15 Thanks In Part To Marques Colston's Stupidity
All Marques Colston needed to do was step out of bounds and give Drew Brees a shot at the end zone and, in turn, his Saints a shot at tying today's game in Seattle. Instead he decided to try his hand at quarterbacking himself—and cost his team that one chance at winning....

Seahawks Play Georgia To A New Orleans Auburn
It's like they hadn't even seen this play. ...

Olympic Ski Jumper Suffers Skull Injury And Bruised Lung In Crazy Crash
Thomas Morgenstern, a three-time olympic ski jump champion was hospitalized Friday after a scary crash during a practice jump at The Kulm in Tauplitz, Austria. The injuries, though serious, are not life-threatening. He was responsive and asking questions shortly after the crash....

Who Is America Rooting For This Weekend?
Below are four maps showing which team in each of this weekend's games has more Facebook fans in every county in America....

Do Colder NFL Games Have Fewer Penalties?
While watching some insanely frigid football last weekend, one Deadspinner wondered if there were fewer flags in cold NFL games, the result of referees deciding, consciously or not, to speed games up and get the hell off the field. Without scrutinizing hundreds of hours of game tape we can't really ...

The Secret Of The Seahawks' Defense? Fouling, Maybe
The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating look at the dominant Seahawks secondary, which seems to have been able to turn just about everyone into a star. Part of that is the remarkable amount of pressure they bring, but another part—perhaps—is as brilliant as it is simple. Maul receivers, because th...

How The Seahawks' NFL-Best Defense Runs On Pressure
The Seattle Seahawks have the league's most dominant defense, one that prides itself on brutality—usually legal, but not always—and turnovers. The catalyst for all those interceptions and fumbles is an uncommon defensive scheme that prioritizes one thing above all others: Pressure....

Every Game Was Terrible: The Year The CFL Failed To Conquer America
Imagine fall Sunday afternoons without the NFL. No tailgate parties, no televisions to shout at, no games whatsoever. Nothing. Now imagine you're an executive for a television company that had just agreed to fork over hundreds of millions of dollars for broadcast rights to a league that has no games...

Phil Mushnick Is Sick And Tired Of Brent Musburger's Hip Slang
It turns out that race-baiting troll Phil Mushnick is more than just a race-baiting troll. He's also someone who isn't afraid to call out those who plague sports media with their frivolous attempts to sound "cool" and "hip." Like 74-year-old ESPN play-by-play announcer Brent Musburger, for example....

The Florida Panthers Want $80 Million In Taxpayer Money, Just Because
The use of public funds on sports stadiums and arenas is bad enough, but at least there's a concrete goal: a new building, or renovations. The Florida Panthers have asked Broward County for $80 million in tax revenue with no specific end in mind; they'd just really like the cash....

<em>Wall Street Journal</em>: Bill Belichick Smiled Seven Times This Season
Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a mumbling, taciturn grump when it comes to speaking with media. But what about those rare instances when he doesn't look like he'd rather be anywhere else? A visibly happy Belichick is a rarely occurring natural phenomenon, like a blue moon or Halley's Comet. Fortun...
