leo Page 39 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The USMNT heading to the arctic seems just a touch chicken
It’s been beaten into the ground and then shot repeatedly, but it’s hard to stress enough how different and weird this World Cup qualifying schedule is. Just the three-game windows, spread over just seven days, make for nearly impossible logistics. ...

It’s just not the same without Tom Brady here
First things first, this is not a complaint about Rams-49ers being the matchup for the NFC Championship Game. The upsets in the Divisional Round happened fair and square, and both California teams deserve to play for a spot in the Super Bowl....

Cooper Kupp is the NFL’s most valuable player — he just won’t win it because it’s a QB award like the Heisman
Since value is defined as something of “great worth,” it means that Cooper Kupp is just that — ask Rams fans. After a season in which he led the NFL in receptions (145), receiving touchdowns (16), and receiving yards (1,947) — the receiver Triple Crown — Kupp caught 9 passes for 183 yards and one to...

It almost happened again, Brady almost pulled off a second Super Bowl LI
There was no way this could happen again....

Shaq punching Kyrie Irving would be like a grizzly bear mauling a weasel
Shaquille O’Neal is stirring up trouble again with his comments stemming from a recent episode of The Big Podcast With Shaq. While discussing Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving and his part-time player status, O’Neal casually stated that things would get physical if he and Irving were on the same team...

Jimmy G keeps on stinking but the 49ers keep on winning
Somehow the San Francisco 49ers did it again. They’ve gone on the road in the playoffs and come out the victor twice, despite subpar quarterback play from Jimmy Garoppolo. The Niners have shown that the dreaded “game manager” can still take a team deep into the postseason. For the second time in thr...

I don’t care if it’s loser talk
Generally as a fandom, when all you have is to delight in the follies of your rival, it means you have nothing of your own. The actual act is an admission of defeat, a lesser position. You’ve been beaten, humiliated, rendered to the sidelines, and all you can do is just watch and hope that the team(...

The 49ers are asking Trey Lance to play like Aaron Rodgers in order to prep for the Packers
Despite trading three first-round draft picks in order to move up to draft him, Trey Lance’s most important job with the 49ers this week will be trying to emulate Aaron Rodgers in practice. Will he get the opportunity to play like Aaron Rodgers during the Niners’ divisional round matchup against the...

Maybe Draisaitl has a right to be ‘pissy’
Athletes are people. People get upset when they and/or the group they associate themselves with aren’t living up to expectations. Hence, with the Edmonton Oilers having gone 2-10-2 in their last 14 games, 2020 Hart Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl might find it a little patronizing when a reporter asks ...

Mike Zimmer may have left the Vikings quietly, but he let them know how he felt while he was there
Black Monday was last week in the NFL and with a slew of coaches receiving their pink slips, it was time for another tradition in pro sports: Teams anonymously skewering their recently-axed coach, especially if the firing came as any sort of surprise....

Wild Card NFL Betting Primer: Best Over/Under, Spread, Teaser and Prop Bets
The playoffs are upon us, including the first-ever Monday Night Football postseason affair. Of course, it was all fun for those who were tailing the column throughout the campaign, but getting content would be just silly. We want more, like extending this 10-game over/under winning streak that we cl...

Without Paul George, a Kawhi Leonard return means nothing this year
After advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time last season, this year has been an up and down struggle for the Clippers with key players in and out of the lineup. Kawhi Leonard hasn’t played a game yet this season after tearing his ACL in the second round of the playoffs against...

Seriously, how did Ken Holland win those Stanley Cups?
Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz is a headline-chaser. He wants to win the press conference, get the attention, and that might be priority No. 1 for him most of the time. I mean, look at this fucking guy. This is someone who wants to be fawned over....

Herschel Walker is the ultimate dumb jock
As the University of Georgia celebrates its national championship, the program’s greatest player is in the news for being a dumbass. It’s been a helluva week for the Bulldogs....

Jon Lester just gave more of a s–t than you
Sadly, the, “You’re not winning this game,” term used to describe a transcendent performance from an athlete that just seems a Herculean or galactic level of defiance and denial has been co-opted by Bill Simmons. Which means it’s become as cartoonish as he has....

Rookie Quarterback Rankings: Steady play wins the race
It’s Week 18, and we’ve made it to the end of the season, and so have our rookie quarterbacks. Now let’s look at how the 2021 rookie class finished out the year and the final ranking....

Jim Harbaugh should get out while the gettin’s good
Jim Harbaugh’s tenure at Michigan is done....

Sorry, Aaron Rodgers, but I hope this spreads
You might not have realized that the NFL MVP debate might get annoying in the same fashion as the Baseball Hall of Fame ones do. I know, just when you thought you could find an escape....

Give DeMar DeRozan his flowers for putting the Bulls in first place
What a three-game stretch for the fifth-leading scorer in the NBA, DeMar DeRozan. Mr. Anti-analytics has been letting his mid-range shot fly all season, propelling him to a scoring average of 26.9 points per game. With 28 points and six assists on Monday DeRozan was the Chicago Bulls’ leader in poin...
