open Page 9 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
What were the best and worst sports trends in 2022?
As 2023 approaches, it gives media outlets opportunities to do wrap-ups, year-end lists, and rank anything else in the timeframe of the past 12 months. It’s really the only upside of time being arbitrary and a construct of people in power to make sure the plebeians arrive at the salt mines at 9 a.m....
IDIOT OF THE YEAR: More dumbasses
WHY? Why must professional athletics function as such a powerful magnet for stupid, impetuous people? Ugh....
Eagles looking to open championship window as wide as possible
The Philadelphia Eagles don’t have a lot of flaws, and if they do, we haven’t seen them. The only undefeated team in the NFL has barely trailed at all this season, with first-quarter deficits to the Lions and Jaguars being the only times thus far that they’ve been on the wrong side of the scoreline....
Here's an idea Rory, stop talking about the Saudi Tour
This week on the Real Golf Pros of Saudi Arabia, Rory McIlroy says the feud between the PGA and LIV Golf is “out of control.” The new world No. 1 was asked yet again about the upstart competitor and, as he always does, didn’t shy away from warning fans that this fissure will soon become unfixable — ...
Climate change activist lights self, tennis court on fire during Laver Cup
A climate change activist lit himself and London’s O2 arena tennis court on fire Friday during the Laver Cup, according to multiple reports....
The Favorite
I won’t be alone in saying that Roger Federer was the first winner I consistently cheered for. Part of that was growing up in Chicago, when as a child, being a fan of a consistent winner really wasn’t much of an option (as it is now. And everything turns, turns, turns…). But a sports fan’s natural i...
HBO isn’t the only home for a Song of Ice and Fire
You can only hope you’re witnessing history at the moment. You obviously can’t know until the perspective of time kicks in. You tell yourself that this moment or that moment feels different than other ones you think you saw. But does it? Are you just telling yourself that? You can tell yourself anyt...
Oh great, they’re letting humanoids play tennis now
The US Open could’ve fizzled out after Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal lost. Casual fans are conditioned to look for those four names when following a Grand Slam. While we weren’t watching for Williams’ pursuit of her 24th Slam, we were still watching for Serena. The men’s bracket was more of the s...
Sports world reacts to death of Queen Elizabeth II
The reaction from the sports world came down quickly after Thursday’s passing of Queen Elizabeth II at 96. Tweets and other posts from athletes of British descent and others from around the globe paid tribute to the Queen, who served as the United Kingdom’s monarch for 70 years....
Tiafoe taking things to another level
The U.S. Open went plaid yesterday. ...
Et tu, WTA?
The WTA, the most successful professional league in the history of women’s sports, announced at the start of Week 2 of the U.S. Open that this year’s WTA Finals tournament will be held in Fort Worth, Texas. ...
Relieved to miss the redemption arc we didn’t need
It certainly speaks to the world’s ability to completely turn over and surprise you that Nick Kyrgios was installed as the favorite to win the U.S. Open after he pretty much paddled Danil Medvedev and Francis Tiafoe overturned Rafael Nadal. This is Nick Kyrgios after all, who never needed more than ...
Who needs the NFL after a sports weekend like the one that just passed?
Usually, the best sports weekends happen in October. A few days of dramatic playoff baseball, a good old-fashioned upset Saturday in college football followed by a championship bout, and then a dizzying Redzone Witching Hour on Sunday....
Margaret Court’s resentment is proof that envy and racism were Serena Williams’ only true rivals
Most of the time, feminists are feminism’s biggest problem. It’s why Margaret Court has chosen this moment to hate on Serena Williams. Because like tennis, feminism is/was supposed to be something just for white women....
It’s come together for Frances Tiafoe
There’s a pretty common narrative for tennis players, which has been blunted on the men’s side for a while because well, there’s been three guys stopping anyone else from taking the final step. The arc is supposed to be that a player shows up in his late teens or early 20s, flashes some serious game...
It’s just a game
The first time I wrote “professionally” about Serena Williams, back when Bleacher Report was still an onslaught of slideshows, I called her overrated. I was just out of college, and my terrible, awful, horrendous take was she didn’t win as much as she could. This was more than a decade ago, and it w...
No one wants to let go
It is obviously going to take a brave woman to stare down Serena Wiliams at Ashe Stadium, where 24,000 (minus the handful they have in their player’s box) will be backing the legend to keep her career alive for just a couple more days. It is perhaps the most unique advantage in tennis history, a wal...
Novak Djokovic is stopping Novak Djokovic from playing in the U.S. Open
Update (8/25/22): It ain’t happening, chief....
Kamaru Usman and the other athletes who’ve been stopped at history’s doorstep
Kamaru Usman’s loss to Leon Edwards in the final minute of the fifth round was the fourth latest finish for a UFC championship fight. Usman, the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC will be granted a rematch to regain his title, but his chance to tie Anderson Silva’s 16 consecutive wins is likel...