pe Page 477 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Alex Ovechkin is the best, no matter what he might stand for
On Wednesday night, Alex Ovechkin recorded his 50th goal of the season. It is his eighth 50-goal season, which ties the record for most in NHL history, along with Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky. But Ovechkin’s accomplishment is far more impressive than those two’s, and eight 50-goal seasons in any era...

2022 NFL Draft: Here are the worst fits for each of the big-name quarterbacks
We’re exactly six days away from the NFL draft, and yet we still aren’t sure what the first round is going to look like. Perhaps Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown, and/or Terry McLaurin are traded in the next few days and shake up the first round. Maybe the Panthers make a move for Baker Mayfield. And I don’...

Cooper Kupp is too valuable not to run up the price on the Rams
It’s not about how much you’re worth, it’s about how much you can convince someone to pay you. But, you should always ask for more just for the hell of it....

J.J. Redick found out that yelling about sports is Mad Dog Russo’s 3-point line
I didn’t grow in New York, so I didn’t get to listen to Mike and the Mad Dog. My most vivid memories of Chris “Mad Dog” Russo are working lunch shifts at a restaurant and watching his lips flap open and closed at 3X speed on a muted bar television playing MLB Network’s High Heat with no sound. At th...

Oh man, some intern is going to get it
There are a lot of things in this world that I don’t really understand, or can’t do, or can’t foresee. But I used to be pretty sure that there’s someone out there who is paid, probably pretty well, to know those things, to predict them, and to get those things done. Or to at least make sure they get...

Joel Embiid can make fools of us all
So this was me at some point last night:...

Deebo Samuel wanting out of San Fran adds another mystery to an eventful offseason
Deebo Samuel’s emergence as a gadget-receiver was San Francisco’s equivalent to discovering they could channel electricity. With a defective quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo under center, Samuel changed the whole game for their offense and left defenses guessing....

Let them play!
A ban from the FIFA World Cup didn’t stop any needless aggression from Russia in its brutal war on Ukraine. Even those Russians brave enough to speak out against Vladimir Putin’s needless invasion have felt the consequences of the barbaric actions of the Russian army, like Fedor Smolov. As another h...

The baseball is deflated again
I’m cribbing heavily from Joe Sheehan’s newsletter again, but in his latest missive he points out that things keep getting better and better for pitchers. Thanks to technology and greater study, they discover new pitches or tweaks to existing ones as they keep throwing harder and harder. At the same...

Paging Mr. Ben Simmons: Would you please report to the court?
Ben Simmons still has not played a game for the Brooklyn Nets. ...

Tom Brady ESPN exclusive provides zero answers
OK, seriously — does Tom Brady have dirt on someone at ESPN? Does ESPN have a large chunk of its investments tied up in Brady? Wait — actually, yeah, they do. That should explain the PR puff piece they just put out on the Bucs QB a week after the news broke that Brady had planned to become a part-ow...

The NWSL has some good Twitter beef
If Drive to Survive on Netflix has taught us anything, it’s that people love the story behind the story, and it can rocket the popularity of a sport if they allow people to see it. But you don’t need a Netflix special to get into some personality and character. Twitter can do that for you, as long a...

I’m sure you’re shocked to find out Mel Kiper isn’t vaccinated
If I had to put a face to the unvaccinated, it would probably look like Mel Kiper Jr.’s. I can’t really tell you why, because it’s not like he’s been even the most outspoken at ESPN about being a dingus. But there’s something about his mush…the fact that it looks like he’s never smiled, and if he ha...

The Colts were a trendy Super Bowl pick last season, this season they want to be a favorite
The Indianapolis Colts were certainly not thrilled with the way that their 2021 season ended. It started in disappointing fashion by losing their first three games. They improved, but still lost twice to division rival Tennessee Titans, including a heartbreaker at home — 34-31 in overtime. Then the ...

Green Bay has 11 picks in this year’s draft, but replacing Davante Adams won’t be easy
As the 2022 NFL draft approaches, the Green Bay Packers find themselves in retool mode after handing Aaron Rodgers a colossal contract extension and trading away All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams. The good part of that equation is locking up Rodgers for the next few years and acquiring extra first...

Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown and Terry McLaurin want, and deserve, new contracts
It is mid-April, which means the NFL Draft is a couple of weeks away, OTAs are around the corner, and Week 1 is a mere five months away. Besides the draft, most teams have made their major offseason moves. Several record-breaking contracts have been signed since this offseason, and a few young stars...

The USMNT is crafty in the middle but dangerous at both ends… to themselves
Being panicky and reactionary about the USMNT is now part of the deal. Perhaps it’s a sign we’re growing up. Fuck, three weeks ago, the US qualified for next fall’s World Cup (and got something of a favorable draw), Christian Pulisic was starting regularly for Chelsea — looking good doing it, too — ...

This Kyrie Irving situation is why Adam Silver should allow players to respond to idiot fans
For once, Kyrie Irving is right....

The Bill Russell Case for LeBron as Lakers Player-Coach
“You want the job, Russ?” offered Celtics retiring head coach Red Auerbach in 1966....

Ranking the NBA’s first round matchups by how likely we are to see an upset
The NBA’s playoffs are easily the most predictable of the major American sports leagues. Without the variability of baseball or the single playoff game format like football, it’s pretty rare that there are any true upsets in the first round of the NBA playoffs. In most years you look at the bracket ...