nf Page 109 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The NFL is all in on betting, just not for players
Five years after states won the right to regulate a sports betting market, American consumers are starting to get it. With sports shows adopting the language of wagering, and professional leagues partnering with fantasy and betting outfitters, those campaigns to “educate” a sports fan base where bet...

Last year Deshaun Watson apologized, this year he's playing the victim
Deshaun Watson is great at reading defenses — he’s completed 67 percent of his passes and thrown for over 100 touchdowns and 15,000-plus yards in his career. But, what Deshaun Watson is not great at, is reading the room. He has a history of it....

Bronny James collapses at USC practice
LeBron James’ oldest son, freshman USC Trojans point guard Bronny James, suffered cardiac arrest while practicing Monday and collapsed on the court. The positive news is that according to a statement by a James family spokesman, Bronny was evaluated and treated in the ICU and ultimately released. Ho...

Arthur Smith’s Falcons are riding the Bijan Robinson train in an age of aviator offenses
Arthur Smith migrated to the Falcons after laying down the railroad tracks for the Tennessee Titans’ 2020 AFC Championship berth. One would hope he isn’t trying to put his spin on the Derrick Henry cloud of dust offense he conducted for two years, but with Bijan Robinson. An essential part of buildi...

This might be Trey’s last dance in San Francisco
Trey Lance is entering year three in San Francisco and has suited up for eight games and started just half of them. Multiple injuries coupled with the emergence of Brock Purdy during the second half of last season has built some doubt around the former No. 3 overall pick. With Purdy’s status up in t...

Jags coach Kevin Maxen isn’t obligated to shut up about his personal life
There are almost 400 coaches on NFL staffs, however, openly homosexual male coaches were non-existent from the active pool until Friday when Jacksonville Jaguars strength and conditioning coach Kevin Maxen came out to Outsports.com....

It’s fair to ask Nick Saban about Alabama’s racist politics
Kay Ivey — the Republican Governor of Alabama — doesn’t have more juice than Nick Saban. That’s how things work in the South, especially when you’ve won seven national championships as a head coach in the SEC. And since people are more familiar with Saban than Ivey, it’s fair to ask him about a ruli...

World Cup Day 5: We cannot run from who we are
Day 5 of the World Cup was probably the most rewarding, and a great example of how football is football no matter who is playing it, no matter where they come from. We do our best to not compare or relate the women’s game to the men’s, as they’re two different sports. But Sunday night’s fare was per...

You have to marvel at the wretchedness of the Chicago White Sox
There are certainly a host of disappointing teams in MLB this year. More so than usual it feels like, with the Mets, Padres, and Cardinals face down in a muck they never considered being in back in the spring. You can throw the Mariners on there if you’re feeling truly dispirited and want to take it...

Aaron Rodgers wowing at New York Jets training camp
This might be the most highly anticipated New York Jets season in the organization’s history. Signing future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers and all that surrounded that fiasco has brought us here to the start of training camp, and A-Rod is already wowing folks with his brand of creativity. Rodgers conn...

When is the worst time to hassle an athlete for an autograph?
I’m not a big signed memorabilia type of guy. Personally, I’d rather take a picture. It lasts longer, is less labor intensive and I feel like less of a goofball displaying it. The parasocial connection between autograph seekers pressuring athletes to sign comes with the territory though. This week, ...

Not all change is a good thing, as the Coastal Athletic Association shows
Are we sure this isn’t April Fools’ Day? About two weeks away from when Division-I football teams open fall camp, one of the best FCS conferences and overall D-I mid-majors across the country changed its name. And not only does the shift not make sense, it’s a straight-up repetitive name that doesn’...

NFLPA prez implies franchised running backs should fake injuries for leverage
Apparently all the striking and picketing going on at various writer and actor guilds has seeped into the professional sports. The New York Giants and running back Saquon Barkley are at an impasse over the team giving him an ultimatum of a shitty contract, or the franchise tag, and now he’s mulling ...

Without Deion Sanders in attendance, Pac-12 Media Day might as well pack it up and go home
Things have grown so dire for the Pac-12 that they’re one cycle away from returning to tape delay airings. The Left Coast’s elite has always found themselves at a disadvantage in cuing up interest for its football campaign. Cue the beat of Deion Sanders drum. ...

The NFL’s program for diversity in sports medicine is something this league finally got right
Doing right by diversity isn’t in the NFL’s DNA. But their venture with the league’s Physicians Society (NFLPS) and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS) is a great diagnosis. ...

Baker Mayfield propaganda is back in full effect for 2023
We haven’t heard much from Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield this summer. After signing a one-year deal with the Bucs in March, it’s been relatively quiet on the home front for Mayfield, which is unusual. His name hasn’t been mentioned much this offseason outside of Tampa. Now that tra...

World Cup Day 1: It’s their party and they’ll win if they want to
And we’re off. World Cup 2023 finally kicked into gear, and while it’s a bit disorienting to watch an event on a cold winter night from a summer morning locale as the sun comes up, we here tend to do our best work when we’re disoriented. Both hosts started the tournament, and both exited the day wit...

Trade James Harden for Grade-A role players, you coward!
When Daryl Morey says he’s not going to be irrational with a James Harden trade, he is to be trusted. We saw what happened with Ben Simmons, and the plain-clothes staring contest that resulted in Harden becoming a Philadelphia 76er. It was an arduous ordeal that festered until mid-February 2022, and...
