il Page 1611 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Zambonis On Fire!
We are proud to welcome famed hockey journalist James Mirtle to the post of NHL Closer writer this week....

Another Night That The Patriots Run The NFL
Sometimes it seems like the only major drama left in the NFL swirls around Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. We're almost as fascinated with the Dolphins' losing streak as we are with the Patriots' winning one, but tonight, "Monday Night Football" will reap the national benefits....

Oh, Like You Didn't Know This Picture Was Coming
Yep, it's really happening: Illinois — Illinois! — is in the Rose Bowl. The game they play on New Year's Day. That one. Seriously. Zook in Pasadena. Zooooooooook....

Marty Brodeur Is Happy Again
We are proud to welcome famed hockey journalist James Mirtle to the post of NHL Closer writer this week....

Grant Hill Drinks Prune Juice
The NBA Closer is now being written by our own Canadian weekend maestro J.E. Skeets. Enjoy....

The Culinary Genius Of Bill Belichick
For some reason, today seems like a really, really, r-e-a-l-l-y slow sports day. Maybe it's because the NFL lineup at 1:00 is substandard. Maybe it's because Dan Shanoff is making nary a sound as he quietly crunchees the numbers to see if a three-loss team can make the BCS championship game. So t...

Reports Indicate Les Miles Reports Contradict Other Les Miles Reports - A Special Report
There was a really cool fake punt in the Tulsa-UCF game, because Tulsa's quarterback was lined up at punter. Obvious fake, right? Well, he's actually averaging 40 yards a punt, which is better than their main punter. He also installed the goalposts before the game, and sometimes mans the down marker...

Never Bring A Lion To A Cannonfight
For some reason, great teams always play with more fervor after a loss. We can all assume the New England Patriots will win the Super Bowl if they fall in Week 17, or that Duke basketball will win the Final Four if they trip up in the ACC tournament. But this isn't the case over in England. Instead,...

Who Will Tony Romo Date Next?
AJ Daulerio's Cultural Oddsmaker runs every Friday. Email him to let him know what you think....

Dissecting Captain Crazy
Watching the Knicks these days is a brutal, glorious experience; last night's loss to the Celtics was the nadir in a season full of them. And the centerpiece of the madness is, of course, Stephon Marbury, the Tracy Jordan of the NBA. He's mesmerizing; we can't look away....

When Ya Gotta Go ...
Sometimes, the call of nature is so powerful that it cannot be overcome. We know. We've been there. You might be in an inconvenient location, but whaddya gonna do? Just ask Kansas State forward Bill Walker....

The NL's Best Pitchers Hunt And Hit College Bars Together
When we were the sports editor at the Daily Illini, Illinois head coach Lou Henson and his wife Mary invited us into their home, and we drank hot tea and ate chocolate on their porch while we discussed Jerry Hester, Kiwane Garris and next year's team. We are realizing today that we were sports edi...

The Rays Want You To Walk The Plank
In case you haven't seen it yet, right there's the blueprint for the new Tampa Bay Devil Rays stadium. It's a $450 million pirate ship. And, of course, the team currently has no plan to pay for it. Pretty, though ... we guess....

At Least The Big Ten Won Three, Anyway
Yes, we know we're the only people who care about the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, but indulge us: It's difficult to find any kind of sustained series between two supposedly competitive leagues that involves such repeated dominance....


The Patriots Aren't The Same Without Troy Brown
Today, we thank Bill Belichick for adding the one ingredient this otherwise-inspirational Patriots team has been missing: Troy Brown is back!...

Really, When You Think About It, Aren't We ALL Winners?
LSU coach Les Miles, who might be checking out this job posting, wants to make it clear that if college football didn't play overtime, his team would still be undefeated!...

Get This ... Duke Now Hates ESPN
As we all know, Duke basketball and ESPN grew up together; slept on each other's sofas, double-dated, brought each other homework when the other was too hung over to make it to class. But now the relationship has become frosty. Hey, we all grow up, man. Duke and ESPN just don't like all of the same ...

Bill Simmons Finally Clocks A Full Day Of Work
We know, online public opinion has shifted on the guy a bit, but we still like Bill Simmons' chats on ESPN. The guy's pretty quick — even if he's just falling back on the usual schtick, it's comfortable, reliable schtick — and, back before he signed his big ESPN Owns My Soul contract, he used to sne...

Here's Sean Taylor's Past, Relevant Or No
Michael Wilbon appears to have backed down from some of his ridiculous, offensive chat comments yesterday, but the fact remains: The way many media outlets dealt with the death of Sean Taylor yesterday was questionable, to say the least....