nf Page 176 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The warm glow of MLB Hot Stove’s warming glow: AL Central
We continue our whip around the baseball offseason by looking at the American League’s worst division, which was won by a team that wasn’t even trying to win, the AL Central....

Who will be stepping into the limelight this NBA season?
When a new wave of players becomes NBA relevant, it usually happens over time, never all at once. It’s a gradual increase in relevance, sometimes under the radar, because it’s guys who reach their potential in small markets and losing situations. When a lottery pick hits early and fast, like Paolo B...

Chris Ballard ruined the Colts, not Alec Pierce
During the Colts’ Monday press conference announcing former All-Pro center Jeff Saturday as their interim head coach, GM Chris Ballard expressed dissatisfaction with several parts of the team, particularly the offensive line....

Anyone can play Qatar — World Cup 2022 Group A Preview: Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador, Qatar
It’s still hard to believe that for a team with the history of The Netherlands — three-time World Cup finalist, Euro ‘88 champion — that their recent history doesn’t even include qualification as an automatic. They missed the last World Cup, and 2016’s Euros. The latter was the first European Champi...

Steph Curry is keeping Golden State upright, but for how long?
Golden State’s 4-7 record has been jarring to witness. A five-game road losing streak during a road trip that rolled through Charlotte (3-8), Detroit (3-8), Miami (4-7), Orlando (2-9), and New Orleans (5-5) had the alarms blaring. Despite the final result, the Warriors 116-113 win over the Sacrament...

Brett Favre’s tangled web of allegedly diverting federal welfare funds just got messier
As if Brett Favre’s blunders in (allegedly) diverting $5 million of Mississippi’s federal welfare money to build a new volleyball facility at Southern Miss wasn’t crazy enough, two concussion drug companies he backed that are also entangled in the scandal overstated the known effectiveness of their ...

From Josh McCown to Jeff Saturday — it’s impossible for Black coaches in the NFL
NFL owners are making life easier for Brian Flores’ lawyers....

Jeff Saturday is unqualified, plain and simple
Jeff Saturday’s hire is Exhibit A about what’s wrong with the NFL. It’s not consistent. It’s not fair, especially when it comes to its Black coaches....

What might have been
It’s a shame that we’ll probably never get a true look at what the New Orleans Saints would’ve looked like with Jameis Winston running the offense at full strength....

Jim Irsay is some kinda vibes
I guess if you were sentenced to hang out with one NFL owner, Jim Irsay might be atop the list. He at least has an identifiable love of music, which gives him something in common with most other people. We have no idea what most owners do for fun, aside from probably making their gardeners fight to ...

Week 9 NFL Powerless Ranking: The votes are in and these teams are trash
It’s time to check in on the teams that can’t get out of their own way. We’re officially halfway through the 2022 NFL season, and it’s been unpredictable at times, but there are always a few teams we expect to disappoint their fan bases. Now let’s get into the powerless ranking for Week 9....

Both the Ravens and Saints could really use a win on Monday Night Football
BYE-maggedon concludes on Monday night with a game of great importance. The Baltimore Ravens need a win to remain one game ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals for first place in the AFC North. A victory for the New Orleans Saints at home would give them the same record as the Atlanta Falcons and the Tam...

The Utah Jazz are George Costanza-ing their way to the top of the West
“What is going on in Utah?” was the Brian Windhorst query that ruled the summer as the Jazz’s CEO of basketball operations Danny Ainge jettisoned Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a boatload of first-round picks through 2029. The answer was Utah gutting their roster and Quin Snyder walki...

He's finally healthy, so here are seven places Odell Beckham Jr. could wind up
For those teams, and there are many, who need some help at wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr.’s services are available....

How the mid-2000s Suns f’ed it all up
Everything we love about the current NBA was made mainstream by the “seven seconds or less” Phoenix Suns of the mid-2000s. They mostly ran lineups that went four out, surrounding their All-Star big man, Amar’e Stoudemire, with space to dominate less athletic bigs. In the 2000s, just about every othe...

Even after 100,000 passing yards, Tom Brady really needed a win on Sunday
After the thrilling early games in Week 9, what a dud for the big late-afternoon game to be the Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Two teams with roster deficiencies that haven’t been enjoyable to watch at all this season....

Justin Fields and the Bears’ hibernation is over
A few weeks ago, giving up on Justin Fields as a viable starter would have been warranted. He was abysmal and with a draft stocked with talent at the QB position over the horizon, who could have blamed the Chicago Bears for developing a wandering eye? In the first six games of the season, the Bears’...

Week 9 NFL Takeaways: BYE-mageddon was far from doomsday for the audience
Whenever NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson says “BYE-magddon” there’s reason to be concerned about the quality of NFL football on television that particular Sunday. For the first of two weeks this season, six teams were on a bye. Four teams were on a bye Week 7, and that was the most unentertaining week...

Aaron Rodgers is washed — let’s get that out there since nobody wants to say it
The Green Bay Packers have been a colossal disappointment this season, and that’s putting it nicely. Aaron Rodgers’ numbers aren’t horrible, but his efficiency has dropped considerably from his two previous campaigns, where he won back-to-back MVP awards. This year, compared to those performances, h...

LSU put up quite the deterrent to make sure the Tennessee goal post saga wouldn’t happen in Baton Rouge
Since Nick Saban turned Alabama into an assembly line of NFL talent, defeating his program has become a championship in and of itself. A victory that results in SEC programs forking over large sums of money for being in violation of the conference rule that prohibits student sections from rushing th...