nf Page 218 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Winning fourth ring and first finals MVP would quiet critics and crush many narratives surrounding Stephen Curry’s legacy
On the cusp of returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2019, Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors find themselves in prime position to silence critics. With a 3-0 lead, the Warriors are all but guaranteed to have a spot saved for them on June 2 when the Finals begin. Winning a four...

College football teams have always bought players
The Nick Saban-Jimbo Fisher feud is a microcosm of the two schools of thought in college football right now. Texas A&M beat Alabama for the top recruiting class in the nation this year and one coach, Saban, was none too pleased, saying, “A&M bought every player on their team.”...

Kylian Mbappé is PSG’s only hope
Let’s be fair, it isn’t much of a sacrifice or even a hard choice to make more money than a lot of countries’ GDP and live in Paris. It’s a pretty sweet deal, and something 95 percent of the world would opt for (with the other five percent either already living there, making millions somewhere bette...

True Basketball Crime: Andrew Wiggins delivered the coup de grace to Luka and the Mavericks’ season
Entering this series, Luka Dončić’s heft, weight and skill were expected to overwhelm Andrew Wiggins. Instead, Wiggins’ capstone moment in his jewel of a playoff series came during Golden State’s 109-100 victory at the expense of the 23-year-old Dončić....

If the Lightning can’t choke you out, Andrei Vasilevskiy will
The narrative, the easiest one to reach for which is generally what most hockey observers want to do before hitting the bar, is the two-time defending champ Tampa Bay Lightning must be playing great defense because the Florida Panthers have scored just three goals in three games. And while that’s no...

Old Football Man hates those sissy rules that protect players
Cue the “old man yells at cloud” Simpsons headline — Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant, who turned 95 yesterday, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he thinks the “boring” parts of football, including fair catches, kneels to end the game, and touchbacks, should be removed from the game. Now, to you an...

College football anarchy is creating more have nots than haves
The road to the College Football Playoff got more direct Wednesday with an announcement from the NCAA that conferences with at least 12 members were no longer required to decide their football champions by splitting its league into two divisions and the winners compete in a conference championship g...

Oilers enjoy the sounds of silence at expense of Calgary crowd
It’s tempting to try to glean some kind of lesson from big games. We all try to do it, all the time, just as fans. The playoffs are not all that different from the final few episodes of a prestige television series’ season. You know there’s not much left, and you’re looking for any clues you can get...

‘This deal is getting worse all the time’ — Lando Calrissian
When news first broke that Russell Wilson had been traded to the Denver Broncos, Seahawks fans were sad to see their franchise QB sent away but were also optimistic about the return. I mean, two first-round picks and two second-round picks is a lot. Plus, Shelby Harris ain’t bad. Yeah, and you know,...

Hey, Nick and Jimbo, the NCAA is on line one
Now that the tornado of dust whipped up by that Jimbo Fisher press conference has somewhat settled (don’t worry, there’s still plenty of other kinds of dust still floating around), the reality of what just happened is setting in. As thrilling as it was to watch adult men worth millions get up in fro...

Yankees minor leaguer cut for running alleged memorabilia scam
Can you imagine signing a $597,000 contract to play in the New York Yankees minor league system right out of college, only to ruin it all by scamming fans and stealing bats, gloves and equipment? Jake Sanford, the Yankees third-round pick in 2019, was cut by the club on May 12 for multiple infractio...

Nebraska high school QB could usher in next evolution at the position
Football has seen many evolutions in its time, and a kid in Nebraska may be introducing the next one to the game. Mikey Gow (class of 2025), Bellevue East QB in Bellevue, NE, started on varsity as a 14-year-old freshman last season and can throw the ball with either arm. Yep, that’s right. Gow could...

For a little bit we were complimenting or condemning Derrick White, then it was just time to celebrate Rihanna’s baby
For a second there, Derrick White’s child was going to be the most interesting and discussed birth in the world. The Boston Celtics tweeted out shortly before 10 a.m. that Derrick White would be missing Game 2 due to personal reasons. That’s quite a blow to their roster the morning of Game 2 of the ...

Philly embarrasses Joel Embiid by making up an award so he can win something
Winning the MVP award isn’t about taking home a chunk of metal sponsored by Kia. It’s about being able to hold the distinction of “Best Player in the World” over the competition’s heads. Nobody cares about winning something, they care about the distinction that comes with winning that thing. They ca...

CM Punk never lets us down
For the second straight time that All Elite Wrestling’s weekly flagship television show, Dynamite, was held in Texas, CM Punk, arguably the company’s biggest star, wore a t-shirt to support abortion rights. ...

Jimbo Fisher declares war on Nick Saban in press conference for the ages
You know what? Maybe everyone getting along wasn’t so great after all. When you think about it, there haven’t been any real true, deep-down, openly public, hate-filled coaching rivalries in college for awhile. Jimbo Fisher blew all of that up today in about 11 minutes, between 10:04 and 10:15 a.m. c...

Troy Aikman says Washington is Carson Wentz’ last opportunity as a franchise QB
Carson Wentz is one of those lucky individuals who’s received chance after chance to prove himself as a starting NFL quarterback. Hall of Famer Troy Aikman even suggests this is likely Wentz’ last opportunity to show the league he’s a franchise QB. ...

Why don’t people talk about Marshon Lattimore like they do Trevon Diggs?
There was a time where Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore was considered one of the top young shutdown corners in the league. During his rookie season, Pro Football Focus gave Lattimore an 87.7 grade in pass coverage, the highest among rookies that year and the highest of Lattimore’s career. After ...

Baseball is less fun when NO ONE MOVES THEIR BACK ROW
Sporting leagues should enact a per game minimum of fun-yet-stupid plays attempts. For the NBA, each squad should be required to take at least 15 30-foot plus jumpers. There should be at least two trick plays per team in NFL games. I don’t know what it is for soccer or hockey. Maybe it’s something a...

How many different ways are there to call Deshaun Watson a dirtbag?
Deshaun Watson can take the entire Browns team to Abu freaking Dhabi for all we care — it’s not going to erase the 22 ongoing sexual misconduct and assault cases that he’s still facing. Whether the announcement that he was treating his new offense to a Bahamas trip was an attempt at garnering an oun...