ick Page 245 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Prop bet season is here: Wacky Super Bowl wagers for you to lose some money
As legal gambling spreads further across the country, the Super Bowl is bigger than ever for betting, and of course that doesn’t just mean betting on whether the Rams cover the 4-point spread....

People want Roger Goodell to be better at his job — he can’t
It was 85 degrees in Los Angeles on Wednesday, but that wasn’t the reason why Roger Goodell was sweating....

Are we sure that defense still wins championships?
The saying goes, “Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships.” Having a flashy offense with a quarterback who can throw the ball 80 yards through the air is great and all, but a defensive unit that can counteract those talents is arguably more valuable, or at least you’d think....

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf deserves an apology
Now that the NBA’s social justice pomp and circumstance have faded away, it’s past time the league officially apologized to former player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf....

If Lillard and McCollum didn’t work, then why was it so much fun?
I just saw CJ McCollum in Chicago like a week ago. He seemed fine — he had 29 on 13-of-23 from the floor and played well — but the team wasn’t itself anymore. It was a Sunday morning, and I was in bed when my girlfriend asked, “Hey Portland’s playing today. Want to go?”...

If you didn’t already know Caitlin Clark’s name, you'd best learn it
Steph Curry is arguably the most exciting player to watch in the NBA right now. His ability to expand the floor with the range of an ICBM can make stone-faced humbugs raise an eyebrow and crack a smile in astonishment and awe. Women’s basketball hasn’t had anything like that in recent memory, that i...

Nathan Chen deserves every second of the Olympic spotlight he’s about to get
The Winter Olympics are always sports’ most unique event. For the most part, it’s a collection of niche sports getting international attention all at once. Exceptions have existed with men’s ice hockey, with five straight Olympiads allowing the NHL’s stars to participate for their countries, last ta...

The NFL’s Rooney Rule is a joke, and owners like it that way
Could abolishing the single ownership model in the NFL be a catalyst for legitimate change in the league’s hiring processes? Probably — but there’s no real path to that abolition. ...

The NFL knew Alvin Kamara was a suspect in a Vegas police investigation before Sunday’s Pro Bowl, but let him play anyway
Contrary to what the NFL would like you to believe, they aren’t always the most upstanding, law-abiding group of individuals. I’m not only referring to players, but the people running these organizations all the way up to ownership....

I know just the coach for Auburn
The writing is on the wall for Bryan Harsin at Auburn, to the point where Paul Finebaum is openly speculating about Hugh Freeze coming in from Liberty — after five years of SEC exile — to take the Tigers job....

It sure looks like the Arizona Coyotes are going to play in a warehouse for the next few years
There’s little that can surprise anyone when it comes to the Arizona Coyotes anymore. They’re being kicked out of their building after this season. They were nearly kicked out in the middle of it. It’s apparently an abhorrent place to work. The owner might not have any actual money. And the team has...

The Senior Bowl ceased public weigh-ins that resemble slave auctions the same week Brian Flores filed his lawsuit against the NFL
Back in the era of slavery — which wasn’t as long ago as racists, conservatives, and the GOP would like you to believe — Black bodies would be stripped naked, or close to it, and put on the auction block where they were sold to the highest white bidders. Their height, weight, skin color, sexual orga...

Odell Beckham Jr. to the New England Patriots, that was nearly a thing
There was no force on earth that would’ve stopped the Buffalo Bills from dragging the New England Patriots up and down the field during that 47-17 Wild-Card beatdown. But maybe that’s not the Patriots’ first-round opponent if they were able to land Odell Beckham Jr. after he was released by the Clev...

MLB owners are truly desperate for the strangest things
We would hardly be the first to point out that if the MLB owners had spent as much time talking to the MLB Players Association as they have trying to swing the PR war, the regular season just might start on time (we’re only about two or three weeks from Opening Day being delayed, and there is more h...

Evan McPherson explains his stone-cold demeanor that has helped take the Bengals to the Super Bowl
LOS ANGELES — There is no lack of confidence with the Cincinnati Bengals. Quarterback Joe Burrow returned from an ACL injury and mostly picked up where he left off in 2020, being the steadying force behind center that the Bengals have spent years trying to find. There’s JaMarr Chase, who is basicall...

Even a lockout can't prevent the Cubs from being greedy and stupid
It’s still worth it, every so often, to consider how impressive it is that the Ricketts family pissed all over the glow of being the ownership group that brought the first World Series title to the Northside of Chicago in 100 years to being universally hated in less than five....

From bad to worse: 15 years ago the NFL had 2 African-American coaches in the Super Bowl, now they barely have that in the entire league
To fully understand just how bad the NFL is at hiring African-American and Black coaches, a history lesson is needed....

Former players like Tiki Barber have hindered racial equality with unconditional support for wrongdoing owners
Tiki Barber isn’t the only one, just the most recent one....

Who are the 12 teams who have never won a Super Bowl?
Close your eyes for a moment and think of all the terrible organizations in the NFL. Well, maybe don’t close your eyes, you should keep reading. Just take a second to think....

Claude Giroux gets his due
Saturday might have been the day that put Claude Giroux’s eventual candidacy for the Hall of Fame over the top. That’s a strange thing for an All-Star Game MVP nod, but sometimes you need a cherry on the sundae to bring it home. ...