ioc Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The NWSL wants transparency, as long as no one’s looking at that moment
You would think that there wouldn’t be much of anywhere to hide for the NWSL after not only the Yates Report came out in the fall but the NWSL’s and NWSLPA’s joint report followed it yesterday, both detailing the rampant mistreatment, abuse, and ass-covering that followed that various coaches, front...

It’s never been easier to rebuild or bottom out in college football
The transfer window for college football players doesn’t officially open until Dec. 5., but that hasn’t stopped disgruntled wide receivers, linemen, linebackers, QBs, running backs, and every other position from making their intentions known. Per ESPN, there were 3,085 transfers in 2021-22, almost d...

Welcome to the pressure cooker, Matt Rhule
It’ll be interesting to see if the day ever comes when the hiring of a new coach at Nebraska is met with a cavalier attitude. “Well, shit, why not him?” is only uttered when the university names a men’s basketball coach. ...

Hockey still needs to be shamed into doing the right thing
It would appear that hockey has at least slithered to the level that public attention can get it to do the right thing a couple of days late. It’s just above barely nothing, but moving from nothing to a couple of inches above barely nothing is the lowest form of progress. But progress. ...

If you’re gonna have playoffs, make them as drunk as possible
Soccer doesn’t really lend itself to playoffs. It’s why league seasons and cup competitions are generally separate, and the latter are understood to just be goofy, random collections of games where just about anything can happen. As soccer games are still decided on maybe one or two moments, one or ...

Wouldn’t you know it, Cristiano Ronaldo is being a whiny turd again
If one were interested in fairness when it comes to Cristiano Ronaldo — and I’m not for a host of reasons, including the big glaring one (actually two) — one would have to concede that being a professional athlete requires an absurd amount of defiance. At some point in our childhood, we’re all told ...

Arsenal, Liverpool, and cycles
There’s always an urge, and sometimes a directive from websites and Twitter and whatever else, to attach meaning or statements to any match or result. Sometimes, two teams just play each other and the score is the score and that’s your story. It’s not an overarching comment on systems, managers, or ...

USWNT-England exhibition set as specter of NWSL abuse scandal looms
There’s no doubt about it. Friday’s far-from-friendly, friendly between the United States women’s national soccer team and the Lionesses from England is the biggest glorified exhibition in American soccer history, regardless of gender. It’s the first women’s soccer match — non-World Cup edition — to...

Don’t worry USMNT fans, England have been even more ass
As we discussed yesterday, the first half of the last batch of friendlies for the USMNT could really not have gone worse or been more discouraging. Against the B-team version of Japan, a squad that’s just about on the same plane as the USMNT, the Yanks laid a foul-smelling egg that also doubled as a...

Tyler Van Dyke is sinking under the Miami Hurricanes’ new regime
A few days after Tyler Van Dyke criticized the home atmosphere at Hard Rock Stadium, he and the Miami Hurricanes let off a stink bomb, which left their fans with fewer reasons to root for The U in person. Their 45-31 loss to Middle Tennessee State began with Van Dyke hurling up picks on his first tw...

Welcome to ROH is Jericho?
There was this internet pipe dream back in 2007. This little company with a cult independent following called Ring of Honor finally became popular enough to appear on television. It happened to be in the form of a taped pay-per-view called Respect is Earned, a live event held in New York City in May...

College football's Marty McFly Rankings Week 3: And then there was one team from Florida left
Merriam-Webster has four different entries for “back,” but none of them apply to college football teams. So it’s left up to people like me to determine what “back” actually is. Being back to Miami is not the same as being back to Washington. Also, can you get back if you never technically got anywhe...

Todd Boehly is a Chelsea owner now
If Todd Boehly’s aim was to connect himself to Chelsea tradition, even if those traditions are only 20 years old or so, he certainly took a huge step by canning Thomas Tuchel as manager today. No manager lasts at Chelsea for very long, no matter how much success they bring. José Mourinho, the first ...

The Marty McFly Rankings Week 1: Which college football program is most on its way to being ‘back’?
It feels like an abundance of college football programs are “back” this season more so than in recent iterations. USC beat Rice 66-7, and they’re already the Pac-12’s best hope of making the College Football Playoff. Florida State topped LSU (who’s still a candidate to make this list if Brian Kelly ...

Jake Paul’s next match is against a legend — whose glory days are well behind him
Look at Jake Paul stepping up his competition — in name recognition in the fight world at least....

The Oregon Ducks’ biggest pro sports star of this century is… Justin Herbert?
Since 2000, the Oregon Ducks football team has reached double-digit wins 12 times. That’s more than a lot of schools in that span, including college football programs laden with tradition like Michigan (eight seasons), Florida (nine), Notre Dame (nine), and USC (11). There have been many unforgettab...

CM Punk played himself
The honeymoon period with CM Punk in All Elite Wrestling has been over for a long time. It easily ceased before this week’s drama unfolded. He’s had to sink or swim based on what his current ability is for several months. If Punk was just a nostalgia act, he’d leave AEW head-honcho Tony Khan with no...

College football’s non-conference schedule never fails to out a few frauds
Whether you’re in school or graduated, we’re conditioned from a young age to circle June through August with a big red sharpie and write “HAVE FUN” in big, bold letters, so when September hits, the dopamine from just seeing July before a date subsides. There is a consolation prize for summer ending ...

Chelsea and Tottenham is why we watch
After yesterday’s fracas (it was certainly more than a game,) the temptation is to call Chelsea-Spurs the best rivalry going in the Premier League. Liverpool-City might have more quality, and the best quality in Europe arguably, but everything is pretty civil and they’re too respectful of each other...

Will Liverpool’s season be defined by children?
It depends on how you define drama whether or not you find any in the Premier League season. We pretty much know that either Manchester City or Liverpool will win the title. Some combination of Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, and maybe United will fill out the other Champions League places. Perhaps Newcast...