il Page 629 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Fictional Hooper Bracket: The Rucker Region - Round 2
The only havoc in the first round of the Rucker Regional was a 5-12 upset, which has become almost commonplace in March Madnesses everywhere. We’ll see how things tighten up heading into the Silver Screen 16 with matchups like Kyrie Irving alter ego Uncle Drew getting his first real test of the tour...

Fictional Hooper Bracket: Venice Beach Regional - Round 2
The first round of the Venice Beach Regional went mostly according to the seedings, with an easily predicted upset (12-seed Buggs beating the 5-seed Pound in a Space Jam rematch), and one I didn’t see coming (13-seed Clarence Withers toppling 4-seed Quincy McCall). At the top of the bracket, Billy H...

Don’t discuss Lia Thomas without mentioning how Caster Semenya was treated
Labeling Lia Thomas as a lightning rod is an understatement....

The Colts have the ingredients to resurrect Matt Ryan
Since Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement during the 2019 preseason, the Indianapolis Colts have been salvaging every down-on-his-luck quarterback they find. During the 2020 season, they took a flier on Philip Rivers. Rivers became available in his 17th season and led the Colts to an 11-5 campaign, lo...

Phil Mickelson is such a weiner
A rite of spring, The Masters, is sneaking up on us. It’s less than three weeks away. It’s about the first time anyone seriously pays attention to golf, though the recently concluded Players Championship might have stolen some of that shine. Still, the entire sports world generally casts a stare at ...

The return of the Celtics
It wasn’t long ago that the Boston Celtics were viewed as one of the more underachieving teams in the NBA this season. ...

This Rickard Rakell pickup is very Penguins-y
The NHL trade deadline passed about an hour ago, and it wasn’t the most boring in the history of the game but it wasn’t the most exciting. The Bruins got better with Hampus Lindholm coming to town a couple days ago, except Hampus! Hampus! might not be that good anymore. The Avalanche, already the le...

Claude Giroux trade signifies the Flyers are a total failure
Knowing that the dagger is coming doesn’t make it hurt any less....

Russell Westbrook’s latest incident with heckler on Toronto street highlights serious issue for the NBA
This has probably been the most challenging season of Russell Westbrook’s 14-year career in the NBA. Teaming up with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers has proven to be an experiment not worth repeating next season. ...

After an all-time bad freshman campaign, where does Emoni Bates go from here?
Jalen Duren and Chet Homgren’s matchup in the Round of 32 provided a preview of two future lottery picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. Holmgren and Duren didn’t exactly light it up, but they gave scouts a glimpse of two future franchise cornerstones....

The Phillies OF should probably wear their helmets in the field, too
When in the NL East, and having designs on competing to win it, the natural conclusion is that you’ll have to score a lot of runs to do so. Fair enough. The Braves are still here, Ronald Acuña Jr. is going to be healthy (enough), A team also can’t expect Francisco Lindor to be in a constant state of...

<i>Winning Time</i> Episode 3: 'The Best Is Yet To Come'
Damn, even legendary Chick Hearn is a bastard? Winning Time is hell-bent on tearing down all the NBA totems. Even the adored voice of the Lakers for 40-plus years, Hearn, is caught calling black security guards “gorillas.” Writers Max Borenstein and Rodney Barnes show us the circus behind the curtai...

Dajuan Harris is the quiet force behind Kansas’ hoops success
Call him the stabilizer. The nickname fits Kansas’ Dajuan Harris. Losses were at a premium for KU this season, but adversity came to the Jayhawks doorstep more than most would imagine for a 30-win team. And the soothing presence in Lawrence was Harris....

This Burger is overcooked
Jake Burger does his best work for the White Sox with his batting helmet on, and after Saturday’s outing at third base in spring training, he might think about asking to spend more time as a designated hitter. ...

Fictional Hooper Bracket: Hickory Region
Welcome to the old-head section of the bracket. There’s a lot of striped socks and short shorts in this region, so it’s only right that these games are played in the dusty gym in Hickory, Ind. JImmy Chitwood catches a break getting to play at home, but he’s not the upset that is looming in this regi...

After initial Madness, it’s March Moderation
After the wild and bracket-busting first day of men’s March Madness, Candace Parker saw the future on the postgame show. The future Hall of Famer said that after so many upsets on Thursday, coaches of higher-seeded teams would be able to point to that and get their squads focused on the challenge of...

Steve Cohen Tax? It’s Mets’ rivals flashing cash
One of the headline parts of the new Major League Baseball collective bargaining agreement was the “Steve Cohen Tax,” a new level of the not-a-salary-cap salary cap system designed to rein in the Mets’ billionaire owner....

Lia Thomas is first trans athlete to win a NCAA title
Lia Thomas became first known transgender athlete to win a Division I national championship in any sport after finishing the 500-yard freestyle for Penn. yesterday in four minutes and 33.24 seconds, defeating Virginia freshman Emma Weyant to take home the gold for the Quakers....

The Fictional Hooper Bracket: Western University Region
The regional sites worked out well for Monica Wright McCall. Western University and USC are on different sides of L.A., but she’s still at home. However, if she advances to the regional final, as expected, another hometown hero might be waiting for her, the trash-talkingest king of the Venice Beach ...

After last night, John Calipari has a new name: Can’t-Coach Cal
It’s official: John Calipari can’t coach....