newsletter - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn crash the party
On a night and weekend that is meant to celebrate the sheer enormity of WWE–the bombast, the cultural reach, the money, the sheer scale of it all–it was two guys who made their names in various, darkly lit auditoriums and armories and bingo halls and whatever other seedy corner you might find indie ...
Cody Rhodes proves it doesn’t matter what you actually say
There’s a bit in my favorite stand-up special of all time, Suzy Eddie Izzard’s Dress To Kill, where she mocks most Americans for not knowing the lyrics to the national anthem but also advises them how to get around it. It’s mostly about how one looks and how one sounds, not really what is actually b...
Is the new Vince McMahon biography worth reading?
On one hand, mainstream interest in Vince McMahon, the “Walt Disney of wrestling” has never been higher: last year he retired in disgrace as CEO and chairman after allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. (He has previously been twice accused of sexual assault, and has denied all allegations of...
The Great Debates tournament: Sweet 16
It’s Sweet 16 time. The primaries are over and it is time for the general election. In real-life debates, this is about the time when candidates would be making disingenuous retorts about each other’s bad-faith arguments....
Boy, this John Cena heel turn sucks
It’s what a good portion of wrestling fans have wanted for a couple of decades now. John Cena finally going heel. Well, like most things WWE does, when it finally happened it landed with a splat on par of tossing turkeys from a helicopter (IFYKYK). ...
Bryan Danielson is on the run of his life
This is what I came for, just eight years later. ...
Tom Brady's not the only star who couldn't quit the spotlight
For the second straight Feb. 1, Tom Brady retired from the National Football League. His first retirement lasted all of 40 days, coming back to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers minutes after the NCAA Tournament field was chosen on Selection Sunday. He’s now retired “for good” and the entire sports world kno...
Damar Hamlin's first public speaking appearance since cardiac arrest is at <i>Masked Singer</i> taping
Less than a month since he went into cardiac arrest on Monday Night Football, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made his first public speaking appearance since the incident on Tuesday night as a surprise guest at a taping of FOX’s upcoming season of The Masked Singer. Per TMZ Sports, Hamlin attended...
WWE hits the right notes, even if it can’t play the song
You’d be forgiven if you thought that WWE falls into its best long-term storytelling by accident, including in last night’s Royal Rumble. It’s so fixated on providing “moments,” where the crowd pops to a riotous level and (these days) social media starts spinning and buzzing like a slot machine. Wha...
Sami Zayn must win the Royal Rumble
WWE kicks its Wrestlemania season into fifth gear this week with Saturday night’s Royal Rumble. Even those who have soured on the product New York has been putting out come back in for the Rumble — for the most part — due to its uniqueness and penchant for surprises, and setting up what the build to...