mo Page 252 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

A Ray of nope
And now a quick bit of baseball news before we get back to our regularly scheduled lockout. The MLB shut down Tampa’s proposal to alienate their current fanbase and play half of their home series in Montreal. It was a move so stupid that whoever came up with it should’ve been fired immediately....

Joel Embiid is the MVP in our hearts and on the charts
There was nothing lost in Joel Embiid’s 50 points in 27 minutes against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night because it’s impossible to talk about the 76ers without mentioning you know who. Every conversation about Philly starts and stops with, “Imagine if Ben Simmons…” Imagine if they traded him he...

Let’s try to understand the NBA’s defensive player rating and all its absurdity
Analytics can be misleading. Over the last decade, we’ve seen an influx of statistics take over the sports world, and basketball hasn’t been exempt from this revolution — just look at all the three-point attempts we see now across the NBA. But one stat in particular can be even dangerously misleadin...

Want to know who’s going to win this weekend? Just look at each team’s last game against the Bears
Sports betting is becoming more and more prevalent in the average sports fan’s life. In 2021, DraftKings saw a 60 percent increase in third-quarter revenue from a year prior. Compared to other countries with more mature gambling systems already in place like the UK, only four percent of gross gaming...

Three possible trade scenarios for John Collins
What the hell is happening in Atlanta? They went on a Cinderella-esque run in last season’s playoffs, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. This year? They currently sit 12th in the East, out of the Play-In Tournament, and 22nd in the entire NBA. During the summer of 2020-21, the Hawks happily wen...

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...

Warriors’ minority owner dragged for declaring the NBA’s stance on Uyghurs out loud
“No one cares about genocide” is, to put it lightly, a concerning stance to take, but it is the stance that billionaire and Golden State Warriors minority owner Chamath Palihapitiya chose to espouse on his podcast this week....

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 ...

Dak Prescott is sorry for praising fans who threw trash at refs
The Dallas Cowboys exited the postseason early, yet again, during “super” wildcard weekend — it wasn’t all that super, honestly — losing at home to longtime rival San Francisco, 23-17. Of course, like any other NFL game, there were times throughout that Cowboys players wish they could have back, but...

So this Romelu Lukaku thing is a problem, just not in the way we thought
Back in August, I wrote this. And it sure seemed that way, as Chelsea utterly destroyed Arsenal, spearheaded by Romelu Lukaku. These were the defending European champions, who had just added the best striker from Italy in Lukaku the previous season, and he seemed like the final piece for Chelsea to ...

Nick Saban speaks up for the right to vote (kinda)
There is no shortage of examples of athletes using their public platforms to elevate social justice causes, from the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics to the Black Lives Matter marches led by collegiate athletes in the summer of 2020, and the countless moments in between. Multiple athletes in ...

Difficult Super Bowl Trivia: Part 1
It’s the 20th anniversary of the Tuck Rule Game, or the Snow Game, depending on whether or not you’re from New England. That was the night in Foxboro that the Patriots got the benefit of a controversial call on what appeared to be a Tom Brady fumble, tied and won the game on Adam Vinatieri field goa...

Here are the Penguins again, hanging around, hanging around, can’t get rid of them…
In a world where the Patriots didn’t exist (and what a world that would be), perhaps the gold (and black) standard for bucking against the tides, refusing to be victims of a salary cap and system specifically designed to prevent sustained success, and just general obstinance would be the Pittsburgh ...

Darren Rovell is why White America needs to leave MLK Day alone
If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. magically rose from the dead, he would be dumbfounded by what America has become — and still is. But, he would soon realize one thing in particular that hasn’t changed: how infuriating the white moderate remains to be, as sports business analyst Darren Rovell decided to...

Novak Djokovic threw a temper tantrum for the ages
Novak Djokovic has effectively chosen to remain unvaccinated over his bid to break the men’s Grand Slam singles record. That may not have been his aim, but his choice nonetheless has consequences....

Buh-bye, Boys
Dallas did it again. It got your hopes up only to do what it always does....

Bengals’ win not just a whistling dick, see
It’s a bit shy of 50 years since the Raiders got knocked out of the playoffs by The Immaculate Reception, a play that wasn’t just dramatic, but controversial....

Which team could use Calvin Ridley most?
Atlanta Falcons’ wide receiver Calvin Ridley has been the subject of much criticism this year. His decision to step away from his team in the middle of the season was admirable, but not exempt from the criticism of NFL “fans.” Even when he was playing, Ridley underwhelmed. After finishing tied for f...

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...

Man City is running away with the Premier League title, so what can the rest of the EPL teams still win?
Slow starts, midseason swoons, and collapses are ways soccer clubs can blow a title race, but if you’re Man City, those don’t happen. Pep Guardiola’s team beat Chelsea for the second time Saturday, 1-0, and are now 13 points clear of the second place Blues and 14 points clear of third place Liverpoo...