mat Page 8 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Bills played their role perfectly
Every great dynasty has its one foe that is there simply to be toppled and make that conquering force look all the more mighty. Michael Jordan had the New York Knicks. Tom Brady had Peyton Manning. The New York Yankees had the Boston Red Sox. And then the Red Sox had the Yankees. The Romans kicked a...

A playoff game for the top pick in the NFL Draft sounds good — until you remember that human beings would be participating in it
Professional athletes play sports for two reasons: They play to make money and to win games. There is no other incentive necessary, or that would even work, to get the maximum effort out of players. And what would certainly be a terrible idea, is adding a “playoff game,” in which the result is the w...

The 49ers can’t play like they did against the Packers and expect to win a Super Bowl
The San Francisco 49ers advanced to their fourth NFC championship game in five years after escaping a Green Bay Packers onslaught, 24-21. While they are the favorites to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, it’s clearly going to take a herculean effort by Christian McCaffrey to carry ...

Eastern Conference is a mess; Bruins don't need centers?; Sam Reinhart makes history
We’re halfway through the NHL season, which is now meant as a device to make everyone look stupid. Or really, to make me look stupid, which isn’t all that hard, because I’m stupid. After 41 games, we should have an idea of who is what and who’s going where. But in the Eastern Conference, we really d...

Kelce retires; Pete Carroll isn't having it; Dan Quinn gets dunked; Jerry Jones keeps on Jerry Jonesing
When it was announced last week that the Seattle Seahawks were moving in a different direction at head coach, the news caught many by surprise. It was framed as though Pete Carroll and the organization had mutually agreed that Carroll would step out of the way and into an advisor’s role. But now wit...

Who's the best at each position in the NBA? We have answers
Before you jump down our throat for ranking by position in a positionless NBA, take a deep breath. It’s fun. So, let it happen, and let’s talk hoops. The rest of the world is catching up to America’s basketball dominance. Out of the five positions, four of our picks are not from America. On the flip...

Kliff Kingsbury could be calling Chicago home real soon
Somebody once said, “Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.” But in the case of former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, his potential return to the NFL might be an unexpected return soon. As reported by Adam Schefter on Thursday, the Chicago Bears are interested in Kingsbur...

The NHL Eastern Conference playoff race is a mess
We’re halfway through the NHL season, which is now meant as a device to make everyone look stupid. Or really, to make me look stupid, which isn’t all that hard, because I’m stupid. After 41 games, we should have an idea of who is what and who’s going where. But in the Eastern Conference, we really d...

Lamar Jackson is stepping into one of those career defining moments
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has had one heck of a season, but all he’s accomplished could be nothing but a memory if they stumble against the Houston Texans this week. Jackson was so good this year that he could become the first QB since Steve McNair in 2003 to win the MVP award with ...

Deandre Ayton’s ice capades the latest embarrassment in Portland’s rebuild
The NBA trade market is open for business and one team in particular would like you to know that it is jarringly open to offers. The Portland Trail Blazers might not have issued a news release saying as much, yet when your starting center misses a game due to too much ice, the telltale signs of rebu...

Kerby Joseph-Tyler Higbee play shows the low hit is the new high hit
While the NFL is trying to make its game safer by banning helmet-first hits to mitigate concussions, it seems that the low hit by defenders is the new high hit. ...

In college coaching, it’s better to have a <i>Succession</i> plan than deal with a surprise retirement
So much about sports is often about who’s next. But ironically, over the last few years, we’ve seen how multiple team’s inability to look to the future in one certain area has hurt more than it’s helped. From Nick Saban and Jay Wright to what Tom Izzo has recently shared, it’s clear that focusing on...

Can the Bruins win without any centers?
The Boston Bruins are the perfect team in the NHL to have the eternal-long fatalism vs. determinism debate. They sit atop the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference once again, just as they did last year. Just as last year, David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand are two of the best players in the league...

It’s time to give Jordan Love and the Packers their flowers
Wild Card Weekend in the NFL is a wrap and while it wasn’t as exciting as billed, it did lead to some shocking moments. One of the biggest happened in Dallas where the Packers came through like a tornado and tossed the Cowboys around like rag dolls. Everyone has been focused on the Cowboys getting o...

All the remaining NFL playoff teams, ranked
Anything can happen in the playoffs, and I mean anything. In just the wild-card round alone, we saw:...

2023 NFL postseason passing yards leaders
See how Patrick Mahomes, Justin Jefferson, and other top NFL players performed this season — check out more Deadspin NFL Stats below:...

They thought Matt Patricia was an answer
When you’re turning to Matt Patricia, it’s obvious you’re out of answers. You may not even know the questions....

Maple Leafs have unexpected problem; Winnipeg surprises everyone; Hockey players & psychologists?
It’s hard to be an afterthought for an NHL team in Canada, and yet it kind of feels like the Winnipeg Jets are one. They’re not grouped with either of the other blocks. They aren’t near Toronto or Montreal in the Atlantic Division, and even the Ottawa Senators get more shine from being caught betwee...

NFL teams ripe for an upset; Aaron Rodgers is still a dolt; So is Jameis Winston; All the coaches & GMs who got axed
After 18 weeks of grueling NFL action, we’ve made it to Wild-Card Weekend and the first round of the postseason. We often hear the term “must-win” during the regular season, but once a team makes it this deep into January, every game is truly a must-win scenario. Like any other week, there’s always ...
