rant Page 24 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The Popeye’s meme kid grew up to become a D-II college football player with an NIL deal
It’s funny how life works sometimes. One minute you’re a nine-year-old kid who becomes a social media meme for giving the stink eye to a camera at Popeyes, the next, you’re a college freshman signing a name image and likeness deal with the same fast-food chain that made you famous. Thus, the full ci...
Who are the top 5 defenders in the NBA?
In this current era of NBA basketball, it’s all about who can shoot and dominate on the offensive end of the court. The days of lockdown defenders have disappeared and been replaced by terms like, “it’s a make or miss league.” With all the scoring we’ve seen this season, that’s all it is. Boston rec...
What is going on with the scoring in the NBA?
Wednesday was a relatively slow offensive night for the NBA. Kevin Durant was the league’s best performer and all he could manage was a season-high 44 points on 68.1/50/100 shooting splits, five assists, and four rebounds. With the way that NBA players have been lighting up the scoreboards, especial...
Was the Cavs’ ‘random’ PED test just fateful coincidence after Mitchell scored 71?
In one of the NBA’s more conspicuously timed sequences, the Cleveland Cavs were “randomly” drug tested just hours after Donovan Mitchell’s 71-point performance Monday night. It feels all too convenient for the association to “randomly” test the Cavs for performance-enhancing drugs one day after Mitc...
God forbid ESPN shows highlights of, y’know, sports
On Tuesday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 55 points. He was 20-of-33 from the field, 15-16 from the stripe, and threw in 10 rebounds and seven assists for good measure. It was the kind of performance that people want to see, and will search out on social media, SportsCenter, or an...
Grizzlies' Ja Morant facing lawsuit for allegedly striking 17-year-old
Former second-overall draft pick Ja Morant is the face of one of the best franchises in the NBA right now. The Memphis Grizzlies are 23-13, giving them the second-best record in the Western Conference, and the fourth-best record across the league. Amid all the celebration, though, comes a lawsuit ag...
Seriously, we need to stop buying Madden
Sports video games are notoriously awful. Rarely anything about them changes from year to year aside from roster updates and an occasional graphics overhaul. Gameplay stays relatively the same, thus the fun stays about the same as well. Actually, the fun may be decreasing as several sports franchise...
Who do you trust less: The Nets or the 76ers?
Can I interest you in a non-sexual game of “would you rather?” I know watching people ponder is not as fun as watching them squirm, but this is a sports site, not the living room of your college slum. So, who would you rather trust: The Brooklyn Nets or the Philadelphia 76ers?...
The James Harden and Houston Rockets reunion is a pie-in-the-sky dream
James Harden is a deeply unserious franchise cornerstone. However, in the midst of a pivotal, legacy-defining season for his career, Harden may be eyeing a return in free agency to the Rockets franchise he forced his way out of two years ago, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. ...
The NBA’s poverty franchises
The competitive lifespan of an NBA franchise is delicate. A team’s championship relevance depends on many factors, including the front office’s competence, coaching staff, and the totality of star power on the court. “Poverty” in the NBA sense can be defined by the corrosion of the team’s ethics and...
The road not taken: How Carlos Correa and other agreements voided or reversed have altered destinies
Days after agreeing to a 13-year, $350 million deal to serve as San Fran’s shortstop of the foreseeable future, former Astros SS, Carlos Correa regurgitated his Giants agreement and opted to occupy third base for the Mets for the next 12 years instead at a marked down $315 million rate. Correa’s abo...
Who is the NBA’s most clutch player of the season?
The first-ever Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year will be awarded this season. Arguing over clutch players has become a staple of sports shout-talk TV, so it was probably only a matter of time until the NBA introduced an official award hoop heads could scream about. This wasn’t a thing we wanted, ...
We really need to be more measured in how we discuss testy exchanges between players and media
The result of ESPN’s Jenna Laine posting the video of Giovani Bernard’s locker room exchange with media, following the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 34-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, was proper accountability being taken....
Lillard nominating himself as the second-best shooter in NBA history was the ultimate heat check
Damian Lillard’s Trail Blazers career has reached an inflection point where his legacy is solidifying. We feel it, fans feel it, the record books are feeling it and Dame is sensing it. On Monday night, Lillard eclipsed Clyde Drexler to become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. Lillard’s career...
The Nets soap opera has been replaced by prestige drama
Previously on The Brooklyn Nets…...
The NBA’s war on load management is pointless
Load management is going to happen in the NBA regardless of the league’s best efforts. Organizations have been taught to value the postseason over everything because of ringzzzzz culture, and that mindset only gets reinforced by teams like the Phoenix Suns busting their asses to win 64 games a year ...
Best in the West
The Golden State Warriors lost again last night. On Tuesday, the Phoenix Suns dropped a game to the lowly Houston Rockets for the second time this month. Those two wins account for 22.2 percent of the Rockets’ victories this season....
Which NBA title contender will Jae Crowder join?
Championship NBA teams have always revolved around star players, but the glue guys/role players make it possible for franchises to become title contenders. There are stars all over the Association, but only those with the best supporting casts can make deep runs into the postseason year after year. ...
I’m not ready to go all in on the Brooklyn Nets — no matter how good they look currently
After so much turmoil to start the 2022 campaign, the Brooklyn Nets have finally begun to look like the contenders many expected. The Nets have had two different four-game win streaks since Nov. 27, winning eight of their last nine. Suddenly Brooklyn is five games over .500 (17-12) and in fourth pla...
World Cup 2022 Diary: Day 21 - It's no Kane do for England again and Ronaldo walks off a loser... again
First things first: As the sport of soccer mourns, take a moment to remember Grant Wahl, a journalist of the highest order....