nf Page 317 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Now would be a great time for a Ja Morant statement game
The Memphis Grizzlies play the San Antonio Spurs in the play-in game tonight that people aren’t talking as much about....

The East Play-Ins sucked, but Warriors/Lakers was really all we cared about here, right?
Tonight is when we will see if the Play-Ins were worth it....

The Charlotte Hornets are doomed to run the ‘treadmill of mediocrity’
The “treadmill of mediocrity” is a term coined by former Portland Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard in 2011. It’s pro basketball limbo — being good enough to sneak into the playoffs but not good enough to win, yet not quite bad enough to earn a top-5 draft pick and select a serious game-changer. And ...

Pitchers are even less afraid these days
We didn’t need Spencer Turnbull’s no-hitter last night to know that pitchers have smothered baseball these days (and that the Mariners have had all their bats replaced with Play-Doh). It’s the fifth no-hitter of the year, and we’re barely a quarter through the season....

Who’s got the best odds to walk away with NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year?
Let me start by saying that I am no betting wizard. However, when it comes to NFL rookies, I like to think that I know my shit. I have studied these players endlessly, have spent entirely too much time thinking about their landing spots and their potential impacts on the field, and have daydreamed a...

Dan Campbell wants a pet lion for the Lions
Dan Campbell’s wild and unscripted introductory press conference is starting to make some sense now....

France gets even scarier with return of Karim Benzema, also more blackmail-y
With club seasons stumbling to their final weekend, and the normal curtain-closer Champions League Final now less than two weeks away, attention and anticipation starts to turn to the postponed European Championships, which are still called “Euro 2020” even though it’s 2021. And also seems to be los...

Cam Heyward thinks 2021 first-round pick Najee Harris has legs of steel
When a team drafts a running back in the first round of the NFL Draft, everyone expects him to carry a heavy workload for his new team (especially when his legs look like tree trunks), but Pittsburgh’s Cam Heyward might be expecting a little bit too much out of his new teammate, Najee Harris. ...

Odds are, the Lions and Texans have no hope
We’re months away from NFL kickoff but some fanbases should just start preparing for 2022, it seems....

Does the 'hot hand' really exist? Deadspin investigates, using Steph Curry's historic streak
On April 2, Golden State’s season reached its nadir with a 53-point loss to the Raptors in Tampa. Stephen Curry, who had recently returned from a five-game absence, sat out the second game of a back-to-back, Draymond Green was out with a finger injury, and it was the kind of night where the dynasty ...

Harry Kane wants out, and the summer striker showcase showdown is on
The rumors started a few weeks ago, but Tottenham’s firing of José Mourinho as manager seemingly has not been enough to keep their favorite son home. Harry Kane has reportedly told Tottenham he wants to move on this summer, to a club where he can win things instead of just waving at them as they go ...

Hey, the NHL playoffs are actually pretty great
Playoff hockey is really cool, and my Twitter timeline seems to agree. It was littered yesterday with tweets echoing the sentiment that playoff hockey is the best of sports. I have to be honest — even my football-loving heart would agree. Seemingly every year, there’s a physicality and an intensity ...

Yes, WWE had zombies at Wrestlemania Backlash, and it’s probably fine
As a wrestling fan, it seems silly that there could be anything you could be told happened at a wrestling show where the reaction would be, “Oh that’s too stupid.” ...

The five most disrespectful dunks in NBA playoff history
It’s getting to be that time when important NBA basketball starts being played....

Tony Snell takes huge step forward from only running during NBA games
Has Tony Snell actually been hooping?...

Alisson goal saves Liverpool’s season - yes, he’s the goalkeeper
Whether barely scraping into a Champions League place while leaking buckets of oil after the heights of their last two seasons is really “saving” Liverpool’s season is an open question. And there’s a more than fair argument that after their owners were one of the main drivers of the diabolical, Mr. ...

Juantarius Bryant gets fake camp invite from jerk posing as Falcons defensive coordinator
It says a lot about a person when they can respond well to moments of adversity....

The NBA’s very confusing playoff picture, as it currently stands
We know which 20 teams won’t be heading for summer vacation after the last day of the NBA regular season on Sunday, but that’s about all we know....

Albert Pujols is the latest Hall of Famer you’ll forget played for the Dodgers
The possibility of Albert Pujols returning to St. Louis to finish his career where he started it, this time as a bench bat for a Cardinals team that has title aspirations and Paul Goldschmidt at first base, was too good to be true....

If you have Tim Tebow at TE, using your first-round RB pick at WR isn't a big deal
Rookie mini-camps are underway. It’s our first chance to see the stars of tomorrow in their new jerseys. It introduces the fans to new, fun characters — like Ravens’ OL Ben Cleveland and his squirrel-eating tendencies. Rookie mini-camps also deliver some intriguing storylines to follow....