ned Page 16 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Crooked Olympics organizer sentenced alongside corrupt ex-Rio governor by censured Brazilian judge who’s pals with possibly criminal president
The head of Rio’s 2016 Olympic organizing committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted on charges of corruption, criminal organization, money laundering, and tax evasion....

An injury-prone flamethrower to the Angels — what could possibly go wrong?
The Los Angeles Angels had 12 different pitchers hit the IR in 2021 due to non-COVID-related injuries. That number was just six in 2020, but seeing as how the season was only 60 games, you could argue that 2020 was worse for the Angels in the pitcher injury department. In 2019, the Angels had 20 pit...

WWE and pro wrestling have always needed a union, but will it ever happen?
Talk of unionizing professional wrestling pops up at least once a year, with it usually coming on the heels of another needless round of WWE releases due to “budget cuts” like my colleague Sam Fels wrote about regarding their most recent cuts last week....

The internet finally killed ESPN Classic
I guess I’m old enough to start a column with “kids these days” because I actually have a “kids these days” moment. Before you could break down, clip and analyze every pick and roll of a Wednesday night Pistons-Wizards game, kids these days don’t know how hard it was to rewatch your favorite games l...

Perhaps it’s time for Barcelona to recognize what they are
It couldn’t end any other way, especially when you bone it and get zipped by Rayo Vallecano to fall to ninth in the La Liga table....

For one moment, Carli Lloyd had it all
It’s strange. For all the absolute world-class players the USWNT has had, and still does, we still think of them as a “team.” Maybe that’s a testament to their absurd depth, and their dedication to being the best as a unit, that we rarely single one out. Megan Rapinoe may have won Player of the Tour...

QTNA: Would you have given Tom Brady his 600th touchdown ball back?
As human beings trying to do good on Earth, life should not always be about money. We should be more concerned with how we treat others, and once we leave this place, when others are asked about us, they should be able to genuinely say that we were good instead of simply offering platitudes. However...

SEE IT: Caleb Williams converts on 4th down on unprecedented 'strip' of own player
With Oklahoma up just five in the fourth quarter, coach Lincoln Riley decided to play aggressively, keeping the offense on the field for a 4th-and-1 on OU’s 46-yard line. The Sooners’ defense had been pecked apart (buh-dum-tss) in the second half, and the Jayhawks’ last drive prior to this play saw ...

‘Grow, evolve and improve?' George Steinbrenner would never have uttered such kumbaya bunk
Hal Steinbrenner made things very clear on Tuesday morning....

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...

Open Letter to Patriots Fans: Boo Benedict Brady
To: New England fans...

When will these teams finally win and finally lose?
After three weeks, nearly everyone in the NFL has a win, and nearly everyone has a loss. There are just five winless teams remaining, and five undefeated teams keeping the 1972 Dolphins from their annual champagne toast....

The last thing we need is a Maple Leafs docuseries
The whole behind-the-scenes docuseries has been a bit played out. Hard Knocks started it, and it came to hockey almost a decade ago with the 24/7 series that tracked the two teams in that given year’s Winter Classic for the month leading up to the New Year’s Day game. Some of it was compelling stuff...

Who is wearing the NFL's lowest numbers?
The NFL opened up the lower range of the number spectrum this year, allowing players all over the field to wear uniforms 1 through 19. So, how’s it going? It bothers Tom Brady a bit to see defensive players wearing single digits, we know that, but not too many even are. It’s still a fresh thing, and...

If the Ravens can’t handle Maxx Crosby, it’s gonna be a long season
Monday night’s tilt between the Ravens and Raiders brought about one of the wackiest endings to a game we’ve ever witnessed. There were last-minute field goals to send the game into overtime, some late-game heroics from receiver Bryan Edwards, a touchdown called back and placed at the 1-yard line, a...

Your 2021-2022 Champions League Guide
Despite the attempt to kill it from Europe’s leading clubs last spring (and UEFA’s eventual success in doing so in the coming years), the Champions League returns today in its usual form. While it has become the nexus point in all that’s wrong with soccer and has certainly widened the gap between th...

The future is bright… deep in the heart of Texas
For most MLB fanbases, this part of the season sucks. You think Kansas City Royals fans, Miami Marlins fans, and Pittsburgh Pirates fans are as excited to see these games as they were at the start of the season? The only thing those fan bases are looking forward to are the players in their farm syst...

The Mets are walking into schedule hell at the worst possible time
The National League East race is tighter than a triple-knotted shoelace. The Phillies, Braves, and Mets are all in contention, with the first two currently tied for the division lead. The Mets are just half a game back and with less than 50 games remaining on each team’s schedule, every game matters...

Let’s not give Bryce Harper the NL MVP just yet
At the All-Star break, the Philadelphia Phillies were a .500 team and weren’t being taken very seriously as threats to take the NL East crown from the Mets. Despite throwing everything and the kitchen sink at All-Stars Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto in 2019, the Phillies have not reached the playoff...

Mauricio Llovera makes baseball history for wrong reasons
The Phillies are now atop the National League East by a game and a half over the Mets, whom they’ll send back to New York as a second-place team after Sunday’s series finale. Philadelphia’s 5-3 win on Saturday ensured that, after the Mets had held the lead since May....