il Page 669 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Here’s our <em>Squid Game</em> All-Star roster
Squid Game, a Korean dystopian Netflix series, is the highest-rated show in the world right now....

Wait… why isn’t Kyle Shanahan on the hot seat?
In four-plus years as the head coach in San Francisco, Kyle Shanahan has gone 31-38. He’s finished either third or last-place in his division in three of his four full seasons, and despite his teams consistently finishing in the top half of the league in terms of total offense and defense, they are ...

Davis Mills jumps Trey Lance and Zach Wilson in Rookie QB rankings
The 2021 draft class will be a focal point of the NFL for years to come. It yielded five quarterbacks who have a chance to make a significant impact on their franchises this season and beyond. ...

32 teams need to hear this: There is no pitching formula for the playoffs
Many years ago now, baseball pundits and fans tried to come up with a “secret sauce” for success in the playoffs. It can be pretty infuriating to simply accept that the sport’s biggest prize is handed out at the conclusion of a tournament that is essentially random. There had to be a reason these th...

2021 NHL Previews: Flyers haven’t made a good move since acquiring Gritty
The Metro Division is jam-packed with teams who could disappoint. Sid and Geno are back for their 16th season in Pittsburgh, and the bottom has to fall out eventually. Similarly, Alex Ovechkin is 36 and coming off a career-worst 24-goal season. Carolina was one of the darlings of hockey last year, b...

Catching up with the NHL (We hardly had time to miss ya!)
The NHL is back on its regular schedule after two straight pandemic-curtailed seasons, and that means it kicks off right now, even though it still doesn’t feel like hockey season outside in most of North America....

2021 NHL Previews: Fifty-four years between Cups for Toronto, going on 55
The Toronto Maple Leafs have now crossed the Rangers Line. The most famous Stanley Cup drought in history belonged to New York, which for years had to hear “1940” chants until Mark Messier, Mike Richter, and company finally broke the hex in 1994....

Dinosaur organization has dinosaur coach, film at 11
There isn’t much to add to the whole Jon Gruden dumbassery that my colleagues Carron Phillips didn’t address yesterday or Criss Partee the day before. Gruden never deserved his position, certainly didn’t do much to earn it while he was there, and then was found out as a world-class asshole who also ...

Hear me out: The Warriors are ready to contend again out West
Call me crazy, but the Golden State Warriors will be a force in the Western Conference this season. Yes, you heard me correctly. Golden State will be a thorn in the side of every team in the West this year, because everyone is sleeping on them, apparently....

Week 5 NFL Powerless Rankings: NY teams return to form, Fish fried
The 2021 NFL season is starting to pick up and we’re finally starting to get a clear picture of which teams are about that action and which teams are not. We can talk another day about the teams that are actually for real. This is about the teams that are not. As we do each week, let’s take a look a...

2021 NHL Previews: Don’t believe the media, it’s over in Nashville
I’m not even sure the Preds are that highly thought of this year. It definitely feels that whatever cycle they were on has come to an end, and there was a temptation to put the Avalanche here, who look set for goalie-related heartbreak come May. But I’ve never missed an opportunity to completely sh...

I’ve got a feeeeeeeling… It’ll be Bills & Bolts in AFC title game
The Buffalo Bills and L.A. Chargers are on a collision course that looks like it could wind up culminating in an AFC Championship Game matchup in January. I know we’re barely one-quarter through the season, but these teams are at the top of the conference as it stands after their Week 5 performances...

Week 5 NFL Takeaways: Kickers miss more 3s than Ben Simmons, Eagles D acts like they aren’t butt cheeks, and Raiders show us they're cubic zirconia
The 2021 NFL season is starting to pick up, and we are learning a lot about certain teams, with some starting to show us exactly who they are....

Fury-Wilder III was a damn masterclass
Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder III lived up to the hype surrounding it and then some. On Saturday night in Las Vegas, Fury and Wilder showed the world what a heavyweight championship bout should look like. Fury retained his heavyweight championships along with his undefeated (31-0-1) record. The match...

NFL Week 5 Betting Primer: Best Over/Under, Spread, Teaser, and Prop Bets
Another week, another 3-1 showing. Life would be grand if this could somehow be the result through every single weekend....

This doesn’t feel like the first time the Dodgers and Giants have met in the playoffs
Tonight will be the first time in MLB history we see the Dodgers and Giants compete in the postseason. For such a storied rivalry, it’s crazy to think that in the year 2021, there’s still something new for these franchises to experience with one another. Sure, there are some discrepancies like the 1...

NFL Week 5 returns us to the eternal question: Why are the London games always trash?
In 2021, there are two NFL games slated to play in London. The first is happening this weekend as the Atlanta Falcons take on the New York Jets. Now… you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Gee, that matchup sounds awful. If we’re really trying to expand the sport, why don’t we show London the absolu...

The Brooklyn Nets’ massive star power may be their saving grace due to Kyrie Irving’s vaccination dilemma
Kyrie Irving ain’t walking through that door…tonight....

To hell with ESPN for trashing Geno Smith as his teammates praise ‘phenomenal’ performance
Some people watch NFL games, and others just read about them. If you are in the latter category and visited ESPN’s website or saw its article on Twitter, your opening frame and video would be this:...

A steal of home, a catwalk, a double punt, and more in wild night
There were just a handful of games going on last night, but enough fodder produced from both to last as long as that box of Graham Crackers in your pantry....